“Grey”China

“grey” china

Jazz singer Patti Austin couldn’t have expected she would be forced to call off her show in Beijing due to a sudden asthma attack. This was the first time in the 63-year-old singer’s career that she had had to abandon a performance for health reasons.

Although Austin’s agent did not reveal the cause of her attack， the culprit is widely believed to be the “super-smog” that has plagued northern China since October.

The capital， Beijing， for example， was covered in thick smog during the latter part of the country’s National Day holiday （October 1-7）， with levels of PM2.5， （airborne particulate matter no larger than 2.5 microns in diameter） at one point rising to exceed 750 per cubic meter， 250 over the scale’s official upper limit level of 500.

More severely hit were the three provinces that make up China’s northeast （Liaoning， Jilin and Heilongjiang） where the fuel （mostly coal） used in the heating systems has aggravated air pollution and paralyzed many cities， causing many elementary and middle schools to suspend classes and most highways to close.

Despite having closed many plants several years before for the Olympic Games in 2008， Beijing is still heavily polluted by fuel emissions from its neighbors Tianjin and Hebei Province， where heavy industry is booming. The growing number of cars is another major cause of the increasingly hazardous smog， with vehicle emissions accounting for 22.2 percent of the air pollution， almost 5 percent more than contributed by fuel emissions， according to official data.

On October 22， the Beijing government issued its strictest ever measures against smog， including shutting down heavily polluting power plants， temporarily suspending school classes and imposing significant traffic restrictions.

These policies have been criticized by drivers for infringing on their right to the road. However， it may be Beijing’s only way of meeting the goal listed in the latest national plan for dealing with air pollution： to reduce PM2.5 levels by 25 percent between by 2012 and 2017.

Army Singer’s Son Sentenced to 10 Years

Li Tianyi， the son of two well-known Chinese People’s Liberation Army （PLA） performers， was sentenced to 10 years in prison for gang rape.

The verdict was announced by a local Beijing court on September 26. According to the court’s statement， on February 20， ring-leader Li Tianyi and the other four defendants forced their intoxicated female victim into a local hotel room and raped her.

Given that Li Tianyi’s father， Li Shuangjiang enjoys a powerful position within the PLA， and that the younger Li was detained just over one year earlier for assaulting a man whose car had boxed in Li’s BMW （see： “The Show Must Go On，” NewsChina， October 2013， Vol. 063）， the rape case triggered outrage， with public calling for a harsh punishment for the privileged Li Tianyi.

Meng Ge， Li’ Tianyi’s mother， however， has continued to argue for her son’s innocence， and has criticized the public for interfering with justice. She has said she plans to appeal.

Hurun Ranks Richest Investors

The Hurun Report， China’s Forbes， issued its first ever Richest Investors shortlist on October 9， with Liu Yonghao， the largest shareholder in China Minsheng Banking Corp. Ltd.， the mainland’s first national private commercial bank， topping the ranking with 20 billion yuan （US$3.2bn）.

A sub-list of the Hurun China Rich List Series 2013， the Richest Investors only weighs the wealth an individual has earned by investment， with the lower threshold at five billion yuan （US$790m）， the second highest after the Richest Housing Magnates list.

According to the list， a total of 22 investors have earned more than five billion yuan （US$790m） through investment， and their average wealth totals 9.6 billion yuan （US$1.5bn）， 50 percent higher than the average wealth of the Hurun China Rich List 2013. Judging from the list， IT and finance have become the most attractive fields for investment.

Liu Yonghao， 62， China’s biggest animal feed producer， is listed 17th on the Hurun China Rich List 2013， possessing assets valued at 34 billion yuan（US$5.4bn）.

PBC Signs Currency Swap Agreement with ECB

On October 9， the People’s Bank of China （PBC）， China’s central bank， concluded with the European Central Bank （ECB） a three-year agreement on a currency-swap worth 350 billion yuan， or 45 billion euros（roughly US$62bn）.

The specific exchange rate between the two currencies has not yet been revealed， but analysts predict that it will be lower than the market rate.

Given that the currency swap between two governments is usually a measure to increase the reserves of the other side’s currency in case of a financial crisis， the agreement is another sign of the yuan’s rising status on the international markets.

So far， the PBC has signed currency swap agreements with a total of 22 countries and regions， with the amount involved totaling 2.2 trillion yuan （US$349bn）.

Bo Xilai verdict Upheld

The People’s High Court of Shandong Province on October 25 upheld the judgment from a lower court that sentenced Bo Xilai， former Politburo member and Chongqing Party secretary， to life imprisonment.

Bo stood trial on August 23 in a court in Jinan， capital of Shandong Province， accused of embezzlement， abuse of power and corruption. Bo was found guilty， despite denying all the charges， and filed an appeal on September 23.

The high court rejected Bo’s appeal， claiming that the evidence provided by the lower court was clear and conclusive enough for a guilty verdict. While the Jinan court provided what it claimed were live updates of proceedings during the first trial via its microblog， the details of the second trial were not made public.

According to Chinese law， which defines the verdict of the second trial as a final judgment， experts have said that Bo has no chance of a retrial unless he is able to offer new evidence to defend himself an unlikely prospect.

China Gets a Large Missile Order from Turkey

China’s HQ-9 （short for “Red Flag” 9） remote surface-to-air missile （SAM） has beat its US， British and Russian opponents to a US$4 billion order from Turkey on September 29.

The big order is a part of the“T-Loramids” program， Turkey’s first domestically-made longrange defence system against aircraft and missiles. Although some Western media， including the US outlet Defense News， doubt whether HQ-9 could integrate smoothly with NATO’s existing SAM system， Turkey told the media that HQ-9 could independently detect potential threats with its own radar， just as the US’ Patriot missile does.

During an interview with the State-owned People’s Daily， Chinese military expert Li Jie attributed China’s winning of the order to the HQ-9’s high performance and low cost. Meanwhile， the Voice of Russia cited a Turkish defense official on October 10， saying that China is much more likely to transfer its missile technology to Turkey than the US. According to the official， China promised to deliver the missile within 24 months and agreed to provide assistance in developing Turkey’s missile system.