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中国語How important is the environmental quality to your daily? Is it a big concern? Many people worry about air and water quality, and the threat of nuclear disaster. Do you worry? Does it look like science, industry and government will work together to solve these problems in the first half of this century, or are you pessimistic about any solutions being reached. Please let us know.
The Time For Working Together On Air Quality Is Now!
Eastern China December 2013 (Photo: NASA)
by David Parmer
This week, Asian Development Bank president Takehiko Nakao urged Japan and China to put aside their difference and find common ground in protecting the environment. Channel News Asia reported on Nakao’s remarks at the Asian Financial Forum meeting held in Hong Kong on 13-14 January 2014. Nakao said that Japan has much experience in dealing with its own pollution problems in the 1970s and 1980s and could share such expertise. Recent political tensions, particularly the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands problem have overshadowed the environmental problems of the region, which in the long run could be far more devastating than increased territorial tensions.
One of the biggest causes of regional pollution is the burning of coal for energy. China is not alone here as Mongolia and The Republic of Korea also burn coal.
China has taken and continues to take measures to curb pollution which has reached record, “off the charts” levels in Beijing this year. Counter-measures include setting limits on the burning of coal, regulating automobile ownership and use, and clean energy plants. One of the more promising initiatives is the Chinese government’s requirements for the online reporting of air emissions, waste water and noise levels by major industries.
However there is real concern in Japan that air containing hazardous 2.5 fine particles could arrive there by spring 2015.
For the sake of peoples’ health, commerce and the sustainability of regional resources it is imperative that real cooperation among the stakeholders in the region take place as soon as possible, and that workable long-term solutions are planned and put into effect.
Sports Diplomacy or Circus?
This week has seen a team of former National Basketball Association players head to North Korea under the leadership of former Chicago Bull’s star Dennis Rodman. The purpose of the trip was a friendship game between the North Korean team and the former NBA players. The ever-colorful Rodman considers himself a close friend of North Korea’s leader Kim Jung Un. The trip was also to celebrate Kim’s birthday. Rodman sang to Kim before the game. All quite a spectacle. Some people point to parallels between this trip and the visit of the USA ping pong team in the 1970s. They claim the Mao, like Kim was no angel, but that the so-called “ping-pong diplomacy” got things moving between the two standoff superpowers. The question now is, is there any chance of this happening? Could any diplomatic advantage result from this trip? Or, or positions so hardened that nothing like sports diplomacy will help? Any ideas? Post your opinions below.
Coming Together To Talk (WEF 2014)
(Photo: World Economic Forum)
by David Parmer
The World Economic Forum will hold its Annual Meeting 2014 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland from January 22-25, 2014. Simply know as “Davos,” the meeting has been held annually since 1971. The WEF is supported by a thousand member companies. Membership costs an hefty $50,000 a year. Members wishing to attend private industry events at the conference must be an Industry Associate, which costs $137,000, while simple tickets to the Davos conference come in at $19,000. So who comes to Davos at those prices? Lots of people, it seems.
Each year, more than 2500 leaders in business, politics, academia and media get together to discuss a wide range of global issues.
The theme for Davos 2014 is “The Reshaping of the World: Consequences for Society, Politics and Business.” According to the WEF website, this year’s program pillars are:
- Achieving Inclusive Growth
- Embracing Disruptive Innovation
- Meeting Society’s New Expectations
- Sustaining a World of 9 Billion
And how does the WEF see itself? Again, from the WEF website:
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting provides an unparalleled platform for leaders to map the complexity and interconnectivity of our changing world at the beginning of the year. The aim is to develop the insights, initiatives and actions necessary to respond to current and emerging challenges. It achieves this by convening global leaders from across business, government, international organizations, academia and civil society in a series of strategic dialogues that map the key transformations reshaping the world.
The event is said to draw around 2200 participants who attend some 220 sessions. Because the size of the venue and the town itself, Davos is seen as a premier event for networking among the elites. However, not everyone is enamored of Davos. Over the years anti-globalization activists have faulted the meeting for its capitalist bias and contribution toward global destruction of the environment. Others see Davos as merely a talking shop, with few real results coming out of the event and the participants missing the opportunity to make a real difference. Counter-events are staged in various places including a free event in the town itself.
Pro or con, at the end of January, most eyes and much media will turn to Davos for the 43rd time to watch world leaders in a number of fields as they address the pressing questions facing us in 2014.
WEF (Davos 2014) http://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2014
Abe To Yasukuni-Why, and Why Now?
This past month (December 2013) Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid a visit to Yasukuni Shrine to pay his respects to the war dead. After his December 26th visit, Abe said that he did not intend to offend anyone, but rather that he went there to pray for the war dead. Predicitably, China and Korea were outraged, and protests were made. The question is: Why did Mr. Abe visit Yasukuni at all, and why did he visit it at a time when rising tensions had peaked and subsided a bit. What was Mr. Abe thinking? Please share your insights with us and our readers on this matter.
Si Shen-She’s Got Game
(Photo: gamelook)
by David Parmer
Si Shen’s mobile social gaming company, Papaya, has 80 million users. That’s not too bad. Not too bad for a company that only got started in 2008. Not too bad for a woman who knew from the beginning that she wanted to run her own company in China. Shen grew up in Beijing and attended its prestigious Tshinghua University, where she majored in computer science. She then went on to Stanford University where she earned two Master’s degrees; one in computer management and one in engineering.
From Stanford she moved to Google where she worked for five years, eventually becoming Product Manager and returning to China with Google. In 2008 along with a college friend, Qian Wenjie, she founded Papaya, a social mobile gaming company. Papaya’s first game was Papaya Farm and was hugely successful. It was a big hit on Apple’s App Store. In 2009, just as it was in the process of raising capital, Papaya suffered a major setback: Apple withdrew the game from the App Store. Shen could get not explanation for this move, so she went to Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California to seek an explanation. After being stonewalled, she finally found out what the problem was: her game was able to be used cross platform, i.e. on both Apple devices and Android devices, and this did not suit Apple. Shen returned to China, and decided to move to Android. Although she lost the funding, the move to Android was key to the company’s growth and expansion. (Of note: Apple later returned, and now Papaya’s games are on both platforms.)
In 2011 the company shifted its focus from developing games to supporting third party developers enabling them to reach millions of users worldwide. Still, Papaya has not abandoned the users. On its website the company states: “Android users love Papaya because they can play multiple games and get a complete social gaming experience all in one easy to download and use app.”
In interviews and presentations Shen repeats here simple rule for prevailing in a competitive and ever-changing industry: Never give up.
Compiled from web sources
Papaya website (English/Chinese) http://papayamobile.com/about
Hopes For A New Year
(Photo: NASA, GOV.)
by David Parmer
The old year is about to end, and in less than a week we will ring in the new. 2013 has been event-filled with tensions reaching new levels worldwide. From the Arab Spring to the ongoing events in Egypt and Thailand we have seen peoples choosing new ways to govern themselves, sometimes throwing out or overthrowing the old, and replacing it with a more workable new. The tensions in the western Pacific have steadily been on the rise as well, with the ever-present North Korean nuclear issue and the disputes over territorial waters from north to south. North-South migration has been an issue worldwide, with peoples seeking better lives for themselves and their families in countries often ill-prepared to receive them.
With this as a backdrop we can look to more positive and favorable happenings. The most promising of these are the various space programs around the world that advance our scientific knowledge and point us in the right direction-outward to the stars. Notable are China’s lunar mission and India’s Mars mission.
For certain, 2014 will be no less event-filled than its predecessor, 2013. And we can always hope for the very best: peace and prosperity, health and happiness for all humanity.
We at RG21 join in wishing you all the best for the coming New Year.
More Thoughts On The ADIZ
RG21 Senior Research Fellow, Bill Lee has some additional thoughts on China’s Air Defense Identification Zone. Since his musings are generally insightful, we have decided to post them here. For comments by the full RG21 team on China’s ADIZ, please check out the 23 November 2013 post on this blog, which even includes an intriguing analysis based on Sun Tzu. (http://research-group21.com/admin/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&id=104&blog_id=3)
by Bill Lee
今朝の新聞に米国副大統領の日本の訪問は大きく取り上がったけれども私の目を引いたのは金正恩の叔父で張成沢は失脚したようだという記事でした。えええ！と言う感じで私は本当にびっくりした。
確かに日中、日韓関係はそれぞれまずくなってきている。チェスゲームみたいに各国は自分の駒を展開しているところです。中国は突然に防空識別圏を設定してびっくりしましたけれども実はびっくりすることではないと思う。日本では政府やメディアや市民など皆は尖閣・釣魚島を奪うという中国の狙いだと受けている。しかし私には中国の基本的な目的は海へ万里の長城のような第一列島線までの周辺線を設定しようとしている。勿論日本はいまのままで中国のADIZを認めないが中国は鋭い外交的な戦術を工夫したんです。それは中国は自分のADIZに入る飛行機が必ず事前に報告しなくてはならないというデマンドです。米国や日本のADIZはデマンドではなくて
リクエストになっています。交渉で中国側は“譲歩“でデマンドからリクエストにすれば、米国や日本のADIZに同じようになるわけ。そうすると中国のADIZの正当性の主張は強くなってほかの国から暗黙の認知・了解を得る。
心配しているのは中国の党・政府の中央指導者が離れた海岸にある軍事基地の指揮官を完全に支配しているかどうか。無謀なパイロットは「防御的な緊急措置」で事故を起こす可能性がある。一回、二回事件があっても戦争にならないと思うけれども貿易や観光客数が減るとか経済的な損害が出る。こういう緊張の中で中国側は外務省のイライラした発言とかに頼っては行けない。チャイナウォッチャーは中国の外務省は党・軍事と比べれば比較的に力が弱いとよく知られている。今のところ、大事なことは中央からの声ですね。面白いことは今の二人の世界的リーダー両氏が、共に今年の三月に現在のポジションになっていたことです。それはフランシスコ法王と習 近平。組織的に二人の状況は似ている。フランシスコ法王のバチカンは中国の共産党と共通点があると指摘されている。両組織はとても強力で不透明に機能している。なのにこのごろフランシスコ法王は結構演説やインタビューや発言により肯定的なイメージを作っています。一方で今週イギリスのガーディアンという新聞は「習近平はまだ謎」の記事を載せました。米国の政府は中国の意図は何だろうかという疑問を持っています。その質問を一番適切に答えるのは、やはり習近平であるべきでしょう。習近平法王はもっと国際社会に中国の意図や行動を理解でいるように説明すれば緊張感は大分減ると思います。
The Bear and The Dragon: Russia China Relationship 2013
2013 Was a good year for Chinese Russian relations with cooperation in the areas of trade, energy, military ties and people-to-people exchanges. Moreover, the presidents of both countries have a cordial personal and professional relationship. Things look good for two countries with a long history of involvement with each other that range from fraternal to frosty. So what does the future hold? Look into your crystal ball and tell us what you think will happen in 2014 and beyond as these two giants again focus on better relations.
2013-Putin Has A Banner Year
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)
by David Parmer
Russian President Vladimir has had a very good year indeed. It seems like he has moved from success to success. Putin’s American counterpart, Barack Obama’s, year seems to have been just the opposite, with reporters at his final press conference of 2013 asking him if this was the worst year of his presidency. Putin had his own end-of-year press conference, but for him, this year was a record of personal and national achievement.
In September, as the clock ticked down on an attack on Syria, Russia not only urged the U.S not to attack, but also put forth a bold plan to get international inspectors on the ground in Syria to remove its chemical weapons. The plan was accepted and the inspectors began their work. Score one for Putin and world peace.
Putin’s next bold move was to grant political asylum to Edward Snowden, former NSA contractor and leaker of classified information. Putin described Snowden as “noble” but said he had never met Snowden. In his press conference Putin noted that he was not going to justify U.S. surveillance, but that it was conducted for the purpose of combating terrorism.
Putin’s final big success of the year was to get Ukraine to side with Russia instead of the European Union. Russia provided a massive loan and substantially cut the price of gas. Putin described Russia’s interest in Ukraine as fraternal. While Russia did not overtly oppose Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU, it clearly looked out for its own economic interests.
And finally, neighbors Russia and China had a year of improving relations, with meetings taking place between President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Putin said he had a good working and personal relationship with Xi. Improved military ties with China were also promoted in 2013.
What will happen in 2014 for Putin and Russia is anybody’s guess, but the year begins with the Sochi winter Olympics, and the Olympics generally gives a major boost to any country’s national prestige. So maybe once again Vladimir Putin will be on the fast track to continued success.