CHINA CONFIDENTIAL
Monday, November 03, 2008
Vietnam Vows Measures Against Melamine
Vietnam will promptly destroy any kinds of animal feeds that are found to contain melamine, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Luong Le Phuong, responding to new information on contaminated foods.
After Hong Kong reported that chicken eggs of Chinese origin were found to be contaminated with melamine, Vietnamese authorised agencies have immediately begun inspections of eggs and animal feeds on the domestic market, the Vietnam news agency reported Monday.
According to Deputy Minister Phuong, all shipments of animal feed materials officially imported into the country have to present their certificates of origins to custom offices.
He said inspector teams have been continuing their checks at animal feed producing establishments.
"Any products found to be hygienically unsatisfactory will be banned from selling and all those which are found to contain melamine will be destroyed," he said.
Meanwhile Hoang Kim Giao, Head of the Husbandry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), affirmed that Vietnam has not discovered melamine in all test samples of animal feeds.
He also said the country only imports eggs for breeding purpose through official channels.
However, the MARD recommended domestic consumers to be cautious about smuggled eggs from China.
Farmers are also asked to select only certified animal feeds in order to ensure their products hygienic and safe.
Deputy Health Minister Cao Minh Quang also affirmed that his ministry would not allow any foods containing melamine and all contaminated products must be destroyed.
In addition to inspections of milk products sold in Vietnam , the Health Ministry has required that supermarkets sell only those milk products that have been certified as melamine free either by producers or authorised laboratories in Vietnam.
It also plans to coordinate with the MARD and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to extend melamine testing to products in high risk groups.
China the Key to Preventing Depression
By Craig Russell
We are witnessing the most concerted global effort in history to bail out the world economy. However, more questions have been raised than answered.
What started out as the sub-prime crisis in the United States has left many investors floundering in uncharted waters. The biggest concern: a global depression.
We believe China is the deciding factor between a global recession and a depression.
Global financial systems will be supported as long as the Chinese consumer continues to increase spending.
According to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), China is the world's third-largest economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) based on PPP (purchasing- power parity) of between US$6.9 trillion (S$10.1 trillion) and US$7.05 trillion last year.
Chinese Consumers
Chinese consumers account for about 42 per cent of the GDP.
The US and India's consumption stands at about 70 per cent of the GDP. Hence, Chinese consumption has room for growth.
China's GDP per capita is between US$5,200 and US$5,400 based on PPP, according to the World Bank and the IMF.
The third quarter saw a net capital outflow of US$1.5 billion from mainland China versus an inflow of US$170 billion in the first half of this year.
The country has nearly US$2 trillion in treasuries and cash - 20 per cent of spending in the mainland come from the central government.
Recession in the West
It is safe to say that a recession and massive drop in consumer spending in the West - which has been on a 10-year consumer spending and borrowing binge - have already begun.
Third-quarter GDP for the US declined by 0.3 per cent. Although better than the anticipated 0.5 per cent, it is still a clear indication of a recession.
Despite the bleak outlook for the US, consumer spending in China is rising. Chinese consumer spending last year increased by 17 per cent compared with 2006, and 16 per cent in 2006 compared with 2005.
One can also argue that Chinese consumers have reached a mature age with aspirations, and access to lifestyles similar to those of Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
Demand Shifts
Gone are the days when basic needs such as food and shelter were the priority. Demand has shifted to value-added items such as electronics, cars and luxury items.
The Communist Party of China recognises this increase in domestic consumer spending.
Last month, the People's Bank of China cut local interest rates by 0.27 per cent - the third cut since September - and more cuts are expected.
We do not expect movement or repegging of the Chinese yuan, which remains at 6.84 yuan to the US dollar, with the possibility of a 1-per-cent increase or decrease over the next six to eight months.
At the same time, Chinese consumer spending growth could equal 0.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent of the global GDP - about US$50 trillion - thus reducing the risk of a global depression.
The writer, based in Beijing, China, is the chief market strategist of the Saxo Bank Group, parent group of the Singapore-based Saxo Capital MarketsIndonesian Islamist Defends Child Marriage
Foreign Confidential....
An Islamist party leader has defended child marriages in Indonesia saying it is normal to marry children as young as 11 or 12.
Hilman Rosyad Syihab, deputy leader of the Islamic party Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (PKS), shared his views with Adnkronos International. The comments came after a Muslim cleric provoked public outrage in Indonesia by marrying a 12-year-old girl, and reportedly has plans to marry another two girls aged nine and seven.
Pujianto Cahyo Widianto married the girl in the central Java city of Semarang, during an unofficial religious ceremony.
Widianto, used Islam's Prophet Mohammed's marriage to a seven year-old, Aisha, in the 7th century A.D. to justify his actions.
He reportedly chose her from a pool of 20 girls, and gained her parents' approval before flying to Singapore with his new bride. He also .
"Many parents give their children for marriage when they reach 11 or 12 years of age," Hilman told AKI. "It is a normal practice even if it is in decline."
"If there is no conflict in the family, we should respect it and give them the opportunity to become a harmonious family."
The religious cleric and the young girl married in the Islamic ceremony of 'nikah siri', a rite that is not recognised by the state.
According to the Indonesian government, a woman can marry from the age of 16 and a man when he reaches the age of 19. The age of sexual consent is 16 years.
"But what the law does is suggest an age, it is not an obligation, " Hilman said.
Hilman, a member of parliament, is aligned with a party that is leading a moral crusade to pass an anti-pornography law considered draconian by many analysts.
He said he did not see any religious issue with wanting to marry another two children, even if they were younger.
"It is okay as long as the parents agree and there are no sexual relations before the children begins menstruating," he said.
Komnas Anak, the commission for the protection of children, has said that the religious leader - whose first 26-year-old wife reportedly agreed to the marriage - and the parents of the child bride should be charged by the authorities.Lebanon Accuses Two Men of Spying for Israel
Foreign Confidential....
The Lebanese Army has arrested two Lebanese, and charged them with spying for Israel since the 1980s.
The two men, who are cousins, allegedly collected information on Hezbollah and Syrian military and intelligence operations.
Communications gear, cameras and other sensors were found in the suspects homes. One of their cars was rigged with a digital camera that could record traffic for extended periods.
The two men allegedly confessed.Times: Syria Complicit in US Raid
Only in the Middle East, where conspiracy theories are commonly accepted....
If this story, in London's Sunday Times, is not true, it should be.The Syrian regime immediately denounced the raid for violating its sovereignty, froze high-level diplomatic relations with Washington and protested at the United Nations in a ritualised show of anger.
However, sources in Washington last week revealed to The Sunday Times an intriguingly different background to the events in Sukariyeh.
According to one source, the special forces operation had taken place with the full cooperation of the Syrian intelligence services.
“Immediately after 9/11, Syrian intelligence cooperation was remarkable,” said the Washington source. “Then ties were broken off, but they have resumed recently.”
Abu Ghadiya was feared by the Syrians as an agent of Islamic fundamentalism who was hostile to the secular regime in Damascus. It would be expedient for Syria if America would eliminate him.
The threat to the Syrian government has made the regime of President Bashar al-Assad jittery. In September a car bomb exploded in Damascus near its intelligence headquarters. Many of the 17 victims were Shi’ite Muslim pilgrims at a nearby shrine.
The Washington source said the Americans regularly communicate with the Syrians through a back channel that runs through Syria’s air force intelligence, the Idarat al-Mukhabarat al-Jawiyya.
In the time-honoured tradition of covert US operations in the Middle East, this one seems to have gone spectacularly wrong. The Syrians, who had agreed to turn a blind eye to a supposedly quiet “snatch and grab” raid, could not keep the lid on a firefight in which so many people had died.
Click here to read the whole article. It's intriguing--and plausible.Cholera Spreading in China's Hainan Province
Health officials in China say the number of cholera cases reported on the southern island of Hainan has increased to 51.
China's official Xinhua news agency reports the provincial health department saying that 29 of those affected have been treated and released from the hospital. No deaths from the outbreak have been reported.
On Sunday, authorities sealed the campus of Hainan University after 70 students were hospitalized with intestinal problems.
Health officials say the outbreak began at a village dinner party near Danzhou. They have blamed heavy floods for creating conditions ripe for the disease.
Cholera is a water-borne disease, which starts with acute diarrhea and can lead to kidney failure. It is especially dangerous for young children.Netanyahu: Israel Rediscovering the Likud
Foreign Confidential....
Israel's Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that "the public is rediscovering the Likud and the Likud is rediscovering the people."
Speaking at the Likud party meeting, the former Israeli prime minister added that "the public is coming back to the ways of the Likud. We've welcomed some new and important forces and I promise you they will not be the last."George Wassouf Busted for Coke in Sweden
Foreign Confidential....
Popular Syrian-Lebanese recording artist George Wassouf was arrested Saturday for alleged drug possession in Sweden, police said.
The 46-year-old singer will appear before a Stockholm judge Tuesday when the court decides whether to remand him in custody on suspicion of drug possession, the prosecutor said.
Wassouf, who has released more than 30 albums in 30 years, was arrested after police allegedly found him in possession of 30 grams of cocaine during a raid on a Stockholm hotel. He was busted just hours before he was due to perform in a concert. The event was cancelled.
Wassouf was born into a Syrian Christian family and moved to Lebanon as a child. He is a huge star in the Arab world. He also has a following in Israel among Israeli Arabs and Jews whose families emigrated from Arab lands.
Click below for a video tribute.Chavez: 'Black Man' Will Win US Election
Foreign Confidential....
Venezuela's viciously anti-American, pro-Iranian president, Hugo Chavez, predicted Sunday that the "black man" would win the US presidential race and offered to hold talks with him to improve ties between the countries.
"I am ready to sit down and talk and I hope we can enter a new stage," Chavez, who is openly anti-US and describes himself as a "political son" of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, declared at a rally.
Chavez also expressed hope that Obama will also end the 46-year-old US trade embargo on Cuba.
"We don't ask him to be a revolutionary, we don't ask him to be a socialist, only that, as a black man about to become president of the United States, he take his place in history.
"I hope the next (US) government will end that savage embargo and aggression against Cuba. That will be the test," the Venezuelan president said in a televised speech.Brazil Betrays US Over Iran Nuclear Issue
Foreign Confidential....
Brazil says the United Nations Security Council should shelve Iran's nuclear file and allow the normalization of the country's enrichment case.
In a Sunday meeting in Tehran, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said the release of "positive" reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran's nuclear program proves that Tehran is rightfully entitled to enrich uranium.
The statement came as a blow to the United States.
Iran and Brazil are both advocates of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and have condemned efforts to redefine the rights of nations seeking to attain uranium enrichment capacity.
"Any country that fulfills its obligations is entitled to enrich uranium (for civilian purposes)," Brazilian ambassador Antonio Jose Vallim Guerreiro said early October in an address to an IAEA board meeting in Vienna.
"Any new definition of the NPT is unacceptable," Guerreiro declared.
Under NPT regulations, any state signatory to the treaty is legally entitled to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, such as electricity generation.
The Brazilian foreign minister arrived in Tehran on Saturday and has held a series of meetings with high-level officials, including Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
During his visit, the Brazilian foreign minister called on Iran to play an important role in the region aimed at establishing stability in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said that the expansion of ties with Iran is a priority in Brazilian foreign policy.Chinese Delegation Visiting Taiwan
A Chinese delegation has begun a five-day visit to Taiwan aimed at boosting economic ties between the two longtime rivals.
Chen Yunlin, who heads China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, arrived in Taipei Monday and is the highest-ranking Chinese official to visit the island since the two sides split during a civil war in 1949.
Chen and his 60-member delegation is expected to focus on finding ways to cooperate in fighting the global financial crisis, and opening cargo shipping links. They also will discuss expanding direct passenger and cargo flights.
Chen says economic talks are crucial to building trust between the two sides.
Although many in Taiwan welcome the warming of relations with China, some fear Beijing may use the increased ties to exert more political influence over the island.
Pro-independence supporters and other activists have already begun holding rallies to protest Chen's visit. Members of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party plan large demonstrations throughout Chen's stay.
Last month, Taiwanese pro-independence protesters attacked another Chinese envoy who was visiting the island to attend an academic seminar. The official later cut short his visit.
Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou has urged pro-independence advocates to keep any protests legal and peaceful.
Ma has said he will meet the delegation in his official capacity as the island's president. Unlike his DPP predecessor, President Chen Shui-bian, Mr. Ma has taken a softer approach toward improving ties with China, focusing on economic relations and side-stepping the more difficult political issue of sovereignty.
China claims the self-ruled island is part of its territory and has threatened to attack Taiwan if it refuses to unify and seeks formal independence. Taiwan and China do not have formal ties, but communicate with one another through semi-official agencies.
During his visit this week, Chen will hold talks with his counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, the chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation. He will leave Taiwan on Friday.America's Bravest Preacher Speaks Out
Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Foreign Confidential....
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