Friday, December 3, 2010
Thursday, December 2, 2010
China arrests hundreds of computer hackers
China has arrested 460 computer hackers this year and closed a number of hacker-training websites, but warned that the chances of further cyber-attacks remain "very grim".
The announcement on the arrests of hackers only discussed the domestic Chinese situation and not attacks on international targets.
It said the authorities had arrested 460 hackers, solved 180 cases of computer crimes, and shut down 14 websites providing hacking software or training. It did not name any specific cases.
Earlier this year, however, China said it had shut down a website selling "tools" for hackers, which they said was generating around £650,000 a year in revenues from 12,000 subscribers.
The statement said Chinese hackers were seeking "private gain" from their actions, such as draining bank accounts. It said reports of hacking incidents to the authorities had risen by 80 per cent a year "in recent years".
China has a huge network of hackers, known in Chinese as "heike" or "black guests", and experts believe a significant proportion of them are trained by the government-affiliated bodies.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Blood Debts in China
China marked World AIDS Day yesterday by opening up a bit more about its troubled history with the HIV virus. State media reported that the Health Ministry revised upward—without explanation—the number of Chinese who have died from the disease since the 1980s to 68,315, from 49,845 a year ago.
Chen Bingzhong
.However, the real figure is probably much higher. Beijing spent much of the last two decades trying to cover up the extent of the disease's spread, and ignoring its causes. In particular, in Henan province rural residents sold their blood plasma to government and private collection stations that used unsanitary methods and infected perhaps 100,000 people with the HIV virus. About 10,000 of them have died of the disease. Provincial officials silenced activists who initially sounded the alarm, meaning that most of the infected were exposed unnecessarily.
Now Chen Bingzhong, a former high-ranking health official, has stepped forward to demand accountability for this crime. And he is pointing the finger at two of the nine most powerful men in the land, Politburo Standing Committee Members Li Changchun and Li Keqiang. The former is currently head of the Communist Party's propaganda apparatus, and the latter is expected to replace Wen Jiabao as the nation's premier in 2012. Both held the post of Henan party secretary in the 1990s and early 2000s while the blood contamination was happening.
Mr. Chen's public accusation would normally cost him his freedom, but since the 78-year-old official is suffering from liver cancer he may be immune to the Party's intimidation. In any case, his act of conscience deserves applause. Much like Jiang Yanyong, the military doctor who blew the whistle on the SARS cover-up in 2003 and then called for the reappraisal of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, Mr. Chen simply demands that leaders be held accountable for their actions: "They have lied to their superiors and hidden the truth from the common people. They are guilty of serious dereliction of duty."
Chen Bingzhong
.However, the real figure is probably much higher. Beijing spent much of the last two decades trying to cover up the extent of the disease's spread, and ignoring its causes. In particular, in Henan province rural residents sold their blood plasma to government and private collection stations that used unsanitary methods and infected perhaps 100,000 people with the HIV virus. About 10,000 of them have died of the disease. Provincial officials silenced activists who initially sounded the alarm, meaning that most of the infected were exposed unnecessarily.
Now Chen Bingzhong, a former high-ranking health official, has stepped forward to demand accountability for this crime. And he is pointing the finger at two of the nine most powerful men in the land, Politburo Standing Committee Members Li Changchun and Li Keqiang. The former is currently head of the Communist Party's propaganda apparatus, and the latter is expected to replace Wen Jiabao as the nation's premier in 2012. Both held the post of Henan party secretary in the 1990s and early 2000s while the blood contamination was happening.
Mr. Chen's public accusation would normally cost him his freedom, but since the 78-year-old official is suffering from liver cancer he may be immune to the Party's intimidation. In any case, his act of conscience deserves applause. Much like Jiang Yanyong, the military doctor who blew the whistle on the SARS cover-up in 2003 and then called for the reappraisal of the 1989 Tiananmen massacre, Mr. Chen simply demands that leaders be held accountable for their actions: "They have lied to their superiors and hidden the truth from the common people. They are guilty of serious dereliction of duty."
Party Talks Rejected
The Republic of Korea (ROK) and U.S. reject six party talks.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-12/01/content_11639075.htm
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2010-12/01/content_11639075.htm
China - Not Less Attractive for Foreign Investment After New Laws
"As of Dec 1, China begins to charge foreign companies two taxes, which helps finance local city maintenance, construction, and schools. Domestic firms now pays this tax."
China has came a long way in the last 30 years from when the country was in an economic standstill. The country was finally opened up to foreign investment. Since then China has been expanding its economic influence on the world. China has been attracting foreign companies by giving them hefty and exclusive tax breaks.
China has gradually shifted into more of a market economy and more equal treatment for foreign and domestic companies is being put into place.
The first change came in 2008 when the income tax rates were equalized to 25%. Foreign firms were originally at 15% while domestic firms were at 33%. Many foreign companies were not happy about this, but if they wanted to stay in the country and continue to enjoy the benefits then they would have to adjust. That's what many did...adjusted.
Foreign companies in China will now just have to do the same with the new taxes being put into place. China is smart by doing this because they know that companies will not leave and will do whatever they can to stay in China. China is going to continue to expand and foreign companies would be crazy to leave because of a few new taxes.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-12/01/content_11638359.htm
China has came a long way in the last 30 years from when the country was in an economic standstill. The country was finally opened up to foreign investment. Since then China has been expanding its economic influence on the world. China has been attracting foreign companies by giving them hefty and exclusive tax breaks.
China has gradually shifted into more of a market economy and more equal treatment for foreign and domestic companies is being put into place.
The first change came in 2008 when the income tax rates were equalized to 25%. Foreign firms were originally at 15% while domestic firms were at 33%. Many foreign companies were not happy about this, but if they wanted to stay in the country and continue to enjoy the benefits then they would have to adjust. That's what many did...adjusted.
Foreign companies in China will now just have to do the same with the new taxes being put into place. China is smart by doing this because they know that companies will not leave and will do whatever they can to stay in China. China is going to continue to expand and foreign companies would be crazy to leave because of a few new taxes.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2010-12/01/content_11638359.htm
Philips Moves Domestic Appliances to China
Philips has announced they are moving their division over household applianced to China in order to increase growth in both China and the world, along with lowering production costs.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
70,000 People Relocated for China's water diversion plan
70,000 Residents of China's Hubei Province have all relocated to new communities because their residences will be underwater after the creation of the South-North water diversion project. An additional 10,000 people will also have to be relocated to make way for the project.
The South-North water diversion project will be taking water from the Yangtze River which is the largest in China and make routes to get water into drought prone areas of China. These routes include an eastern, middle, and western route. The creation of the middle route will force another 330,000 residents to relocate.
http://www.china.org.cn/china/2010-11/30/content_21450692.htm
Monday, November 29, 2010
Tax puzzle
The disagreement between the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Commerce over the legitimacy of a 1,000-yuan tax on iPads purchased overseas and brought into the country for personal use seems to have come to an end. But it should not have ended in the way it has.
In a statement released on Tuesday morning, the commerce ministry said it supports the customs in carrying out its duties, and believes levying the tax is consistent with the latter's duties and current conditions.
Before that, the ministry sent an enquiry to the customs authorities and expressed concerns about the legitimacy of the tax. The letter pinpointed two concerns shared widely by ordinary citizens. First, both the sum and rate of the tax imposed on iPad units brought into the country for personal use are too high. Second, the after-tax price of iPad units has been over-estimated.
The official reply from the customs, though simple and assured, sounded lame to most. Instead of presenting a convincing clarification of the composition of the blanket 1,000-yuan levy, it said the sum was determined in consideration of passenger convenience at customs.
Link: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/2010-11/17/content_11562371.htm
Video: http://www.china.org.cn/video/2010-11/16/content_21351948.htm
Experts: Same-sex marriage could help curb HIV
AIDS among teens, seniors on the rise in Beijing
The number of HIV/AIDS carriers aged over 60 in the capital has been increasing in recent years, an official surnamed Mao from the Beijing Health Bureau revealed on Friday.
Mao said the number of teenagers and seniors with HIV/AIDS was climbing fast in the city.
An additional 16 clinics offering tests and consultations for the disease were opened this year.
By the end of September, Beijing had 61 such clinics in 16 districts and counties.
According to statistics from the bureau, four hospitals that offer treatment to people with HIV/AIDS - including YouAn Hospital and Ditan Hospital - had helped more than 1,100 patients this year.
This article says that only .05 of China's population is gay. With a population size of over 1 billion, .05 of the population is around 67 million people!
If the article is right in claiming that 1 in 5 gays have HIV, that still leaves a total of around 15 million afftected.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)