November 12:
China has sent police to South Sudan to take part in the UN peacekeeping mission, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement carried by the official China Daily. The 14-member squad includes members from Chongqing’s departments of departure and entry, fire fighting, criminal investigation, public security, training, and traffic patrol trained in international law, first aid, and peacekeeping. The day before South Sudan declared independence on July 9, the UN Security Council approved sending a peacekeeping mission including 7,000 soldiers and 900 police to the newest African country.
November 13:
In each of the last five years the number of divorces in China has increased 7 percent and in the first three quarters of 2011, 2.8 million couples registered for divorce, up 12 percent over 2010. In the first-tier cities like Beijing and Shanghai figures from the Ministry of Civil Affairs show that the 2011 divorce rate is up 30 percent over 2010 levels. Everyday 10,000 Chinese couples get divorced, with more than half initiated by women. For women, economic self-sufficiency has fostered a new mantra: “Financially, I am independent. I don’t need someone to take care of me. I only look for love.” The official China Daily also hinted that additional factors include widespread infidelity, lackluster sexual relations, increasing social tolerance toward divorce, and an absence of communication between couples.
November 16:
The second annual Confucius Peace Prize has been awarded to Russian Prime Minister and former KGB agent Vladimir Putin for “achievements in regional and global peace development.” Last year’s award, which was organized by the Cultural Protection Department under the Chinese Local Art Association affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, was given to Kuomintang honorary chairman Lien Chan, who did not attend the ceremony. In September, however, the Ministry of Culture cancelled the controversial prize for “violating relevant regulations,” claiming the organizers had “severely breached regulations of social organizations.” The organizers then paid 9,300 yuan to register a company in Hong Kong to bypass the ministry’s ban and will present it to Putin – if he shows up – on December 9 in Beijing. The mainland authorities have distanced themselves from this year’s award, the South China Morning Post reports.
November 21:
China will strengthen military ties with Sudan, the Global Times reports. During a meeting in Beijing between Xu Caihou, Vice Chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, and Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, Sudan’s Defense Minister, both agreed to expand bilateral military cooperation in a range of fields but did not specify which ones. China has previously supplied the Khartoum government with military supplies including tanks and helicopter gun ships.
China and South Korea have held joint a naval exercise including a Chinese frigate and a 4,500-ton South Korean destroyer in waters off Ningbo and Shanghai. The four-day exercise is the fourth joint Search and Rescue Exercise, or SAREX, the two navies have held since 2005. The SAREX was also held in 2005, 2007 and 2008, the Korean Yonhap news agency reports.
November 23:
South Korea’s Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik, Seoul’s top official in charge of relations with Pyongyang, has requested China change its policy on North Korean refugees and send them to South Korea “based on their free will” instead of back to North Korea where they face harsh punishment and even execution. China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi responded that China would handle defectors in accordance with domestic and international laws as well as humanitarian principles. Tens of thousands of North Korean defectors are believed to be hiding in China, hoping to travel to Thailand or other Southeast Asian countries that will hand them over to the South Korean authorities for resettling; more than 22,700 North Korean defectors have already completed the harrowing journey. In the past Beijing has allowed high-profile defectors to leave for South Korea, reports the Korea Times.