March 19, 2007:
Although official reports insist that the number of public protests went
down last year, the number of angry Chinese out on the street appears to be rising.
The chief cause of the anger is
government corruption. Senior officials admit it exists, but because of the
decentralized form of government, it's very difficult for the people in the
capital to clean up the corruption in the provinces. The officials out in the
countryside may be stealing, but they are also keeping an eye on things for the
central government. Without loyal provincial officials, there is no nation of
China, just a collection of provinces, which have been independent nations in
the past.
March 18, 2007:
While playing peacemaker in North Korea, China has also been sending
more troops to its border with North Korea, and holding military and police
exercises along the border. Some of these drills appear to cover possible
military intervention in North Korea. Not the, "we are sending troops to
assist you in your battle against South Korea and the U.S." sort of thing,
but rather, "we are Chinese soldiers and policemen, and we are taking
over." Perhaps China is just trying to send a message to the North Korean
government.
March 12, 2007:
The new rail line into Tibet has survived its first Winter in good
shape. The rail line is making it easier for Chinese to migrate to Tibet (going
by air costs three times as much), and 700,000 passengers have taken the Tibet
railroad since it opened last July. The rail link is also a major military
asset, making it possible to move troops into Tiber quickly and cheaply. Before
the rail line was built, it you had to move troops and supplies by air or truck.
The former is expensive, and the latter is not much cheaper, and takes a lot
longer.
March 11, 2007:
In the Persian Gulf, a Chinese frigate participated in four days of
exercises with warships from Bangladesh, France, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan,
Turkey, Britain and the United States. The Peace 07 exercises involved mainly
police and rescue operations. March 9, 2007:
After days of rising tension, major demonstrations in central China
(involving 20,000 people and over a thousand police) turned violent. There are
several dead, and over a hundred wounded. The government of Hunan province
downplayed the incident, saying it was a protest against increased bus fares.
But, via the Internet, the real reasons were revealed. It was all about corrupt
local officials, sparked by new seizures of farm land for development projects
(which meant big bribes for local politicians and senior bureaucrats). This all
happens just as Communist China passes its first law guaranteeing private
property. However, many fear this will increase corruption, making it more
difficult to get back assets stolen by politicians.
March 6, 2007:
While Taiwans pro-independence president continues to taunt China,
Taiwanese political disputes continue to paralyze weapons procurement. Taiwan
needs new ships, warplanes and missile systems. But pro and anti-independence
factions cannot agree on what to buy. Moreover, Chinese diplomacy has scared
off all foreign arms suppliers except the United States. Taiwan still has a
quality edge, but that is eroding year by year as China builds new stuff, and
Taiwan delays upgrading its own weapons.
March 4, 2007:
China will increase defense spending 17.8 percent in the next year, to
about $45 billion. Add in civilian programs that are actually military, and that
goes up to $60-70 billion. This is the second largest defense budget on the
planet, behind the $450 billion spent by the U.S. Since 1990, Chinese defense
budgets have increased, on average, about 15 percent a year, 50 percent higher
than economic growth.