August 2:
More than two dozen members of the U.S. Congressional Taiwan Caucus sent President Bush a letter urging him to approve the arms sales package to Taiwan. "We believe the freeze on foreign military sales to Taiwan violates the spirit of the Taiwan Relations Act,” the Taipei Times reported the letter as saying. "The military and strategic imperatives for Taiwan are real and urgent, and if we fail to show the necessary resolve it would mean missing a significant opportunity to improve cross-strait peace and security, a vital U.S. interest," it read.
In the wake of a series of violent attacks on Chinese public servants and security officials, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has launched a series of awe-inspiring efforts to ensure the safety of the Olympic Games. According to Colonel Tian Yixiang, China has deployed 1.4 million volunteers, 110,000 police officers, 34,000 troops, 300,000 spy cameras, 74 military planes, 48 helicopters and 33 navy vessels, plus surface-to-air missiles, radar, and bio-warfare devices in the capital and co-host cities. "We have strong intelligence agencies and are working closely with international organizations in this regard. We are well informed of the movement of terrorists," Tain said in comments carried by the South China Morning Post.
[Editor’s Note: Over the last month, a series of violent attacks have been reported throughout China. On July 9th, for instance, the Hebei Province Guangzong County Public Security Bureau exploded on injuring at least 10 people, the Ming Pao reported. Two bombs exploded on a pair of Kunming city public buses during the July 21 morning commute killing two people and injuring 14, the Washington Post reported. Most recently, on August 4th the Shanghai Daily reported that Uigher separatists drove a dump truck into a group of 70 policemen and threw explosives at a police station in Kashi, Xinjiang killing at least 16 officers and injured 16 others.]
August 5:
Chinese factories reported a plunge in new orders last month, exports are barely growing, and the real estate market is weakening, the New York Times reports. “China has slowed down a lot already, but it’s going to slow down more,” said Hong Liang, the senior China economist at Goldman Sachs. Most serious for the broader Chinese economy are the signs that the real estate market is weakening after years of climbing prices. Elsewhere, Chinese stocks have fallen by more than half after soaring to records in October 2007. Policy makers in Beijing have responded with measures including a slight devaluation of the Chinese currency and easing lending limits on banks. Over the last several weeks, as China’s factories have halted or cut back their consumption, world prices for copper, tin, zinc and aluminum have fallen.
Chinese leaders have asked Zimbabwe's president Robert Mugabe to stay away from the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. The African strongman cum international pariah – who’s ZANU-PF party has maintained close ties with the Communist party of China (CPC) for three decades – arrived in Hong Kong on Sunday but was not permitted to enter the mainland. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that “high-powered lobbying” from political leaders who will be attending the ceremony prompted the highest levels of the Chinese Government to prevail on him not to attend.