China Reform Monitor: No. 985

August 15:

The Republic of China (ROC-Taiwan) “will never cooperate with mainland China to resolve the territorial dispute (with Japan) over the Tiaoyutais,” said an ROC government spokesman. Taipei will uphold its sovereignty over the islands (known as the Senkaku in Japan and the Diaoyudao in the PRC) and protect its fishing rights. In July, the ROC Coast Guard vessels escorted fishermen to the islands and would do so again, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reports. ROC President Ma Ying-jeou’s has called for a peaceful resolution to the dispute. A spokesman from the opposition Democratic Progressive Party said Ma’s approach is consistent with his party’s policy, which opposes cross-strait cooperation to resolve the Tiaoyutai dispute and any anti-Japanese alliance between Taipei and Beijing.

August 16:

The Yuxi-Mengzi Railway, part of the eastern line of China’s planned 4.5 billion yuan ($709.8 million) Pan-Asia Railway network, is complete, linking Yunnan with Southeast Asian countries. It is 141 km long, has a maximum speed of 120 km per hour, and crosses 35 tunnels and 61 bridges covering 55 percent of its length. The railway is an important link in a massive international railway project that includes central and western lines also now under construction. The eastern route starts in Kunming, Yunnan and will connect China with Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Singapore, helping to increase convenience and China’s trade with Southeast Asia. The new railway will replace the 100-year-old line that now links Kunming with Haiphone, Vietnam. Beijing has invested heavily in the project, which will become partially operational this year, the official China Daily reports.

August 17:

In response to a litany of cases of counterfeit or fake drugs and substandard medical equipment China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) will post a blacklist of unsafe medication and medical equipment manufacturers on its websites. New regulations also call for blacklisted companies to have their licenses revoked and suspend operations for 10-years. China has launched crackdowns on counterfeit drugs in recent years after the use of fake drugs caused deaths. The former SFDA director was executed in 2007 for “approving lethal counterfeit medicine in exchange for money,” the official People’s Daily reports.

August 18:

China and North Korea have agreed to develop the economic zones on their border during a meeting between Premier Wen Jiabao and a high level North Korean delegation, the official People’s Daily reports. The North Korean group is in China for the third meeting of the joint steering committee for developing and managing the Rason Economic and Trade Zone adjacent to Yanbian, Jilin and the Hwanggumphyong and Wihwa Islands Economic Zones. Wen said Beijing and Pyongyang would strengthen leadership and planning in the zones, improve laws and regulations, encourage coordination among regional authorities, and allow the market to raise land and tax revenues. He called for improved customs and quality inspection services for businesses investing in the zones.

August 19:

For two days anti-Japanese protesters marched in a dozen Chinese cities after Japanese activists landed on the disputed Diaoyu Islands and unfurled Japanese flags. The activists joined a group of conservative Japanese Parliamentarians and local politicians that sailed nearly two-dozen boats to the islands. Demonstrations took place from Harbin and Shenyang in the northeast to Guangzhou and Shenzhen in the southeast and although official media said the demonstrations involved fewer than 200 people photographs suggested that the crowds were far larger. In one image from Chengdu, there appeared to be tens of thousands of protesters, the New York Times reports. “Defend the Diaoyu Islands to the death,” one banner said. Another said, “Even if China is covered with graves, we must kill all Japanese.” Last week 14 activists from Hong Kong, Macau and China landed on the same island and displayed the flags of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Japan’s Coast Guard detained all 14 but released them without charge.