July 8:
Chinese traders in Northern Namibia are under pressure by a coalition of a dozen tribal leaders, business people and traders in Oshikango district. The coalition has criticized the Chinese traders "poor human relations," claiming they "ignore all regulations and norms" and are calling on the African nation’s government to place restrictions on them. In particular, locals were angry because the community's reservoir has been filled to make room for a Chinese trading complex. The chief executive officer of the town, Christiaan Shivolo, addressed rumors that it was to be renamed China Dragon City. “The Dragon City is a new trade centre and currently under construction. Neither the town council nor the central government will allow such renaming," he said in comments carried by the Namibian newspaper Republikein.
[Editor’s Note: As an unforeseen consequence of China’s “going-out policy,” Chinese communities, particularly traders, have come under increasing pressure across sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to Namibian protests, resentment against Chinese activities has been reported in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, while kidnappings and killings against Chinese have been reported in Ethiopia, Nigeria, and in Equatorial Guinea; where security forces killed two Chinese workers in late March.]
July 9:
China has held its first large-scale, comprehensive maritime anti-terrorism drill prior to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. The combined sea and air exercise took place near the Qinhuangdao Olympic Site and composed the Hebei Provincial public security border defense forces, a People’s Liberation Army naval unit, Qinhuangdao City public security forces, and emergency response personnel. In all more than 20 ships to form four maritime defensive lines took part in the activities. The concerns driving these measures were captured in the comments of Zhang Zhifa, head of the Hebei Provincial border defense forces, carried by the official Zhongguo Xinwen She: “The security of the Olympic Games is grim, and we cannot rule out the possibility that terrorists will carry out terrorist explosions on the sea to impact the games.”
July 16:
Beijing has arrested at least 1,500 petitioners from around the country in Beijing seeking redress for grievances committed by local officials. Most will be repatriated back to their hometowns. The Hong Kong Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reports that local officials have signed "pledges" to strictly control the number of petitioners heading for Beijing. After the Olympics, all provinces and cities will compile a list of rankings for petitioners in relation to their total number of people. Officials from localities with high numbers of petitioners will not receive promotion and may face punishment.
July 17:
A company of 172 Chinese engineers has arrived in Nyala in South Darfur to join the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission (UNAMID) in Sudan’s troubled western region. They bring the total number of Chinese engineers in Darfur to 315 and the total number of UNAMID forces to 8,000. UNAMID Force Commander General Martin Luther Agwai said, “What we need most is the engineering capacity to build and expand our camps to allow us to increase the numbers of our deployed forces.” The Chinese company of engineers includes bridge and road-building detachments, construction and installation units, maintenance and support teams, and well-drilling specialists. Apart from their work on the camp in Nyala and other UNAMID bases, the engineers will also assist local communities in Darfur with Quick Impact Projects, such as well-drilling. The UN is aiming to deploy 80 percent of a total contingent of 26,000 troops and police officers by the end of the year.