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Geo-Strategic Trend - 172. page

Global Times: Fidel Castro Won the Confucius Peace Prize

Global Times recently reported that former Cuban leader Fidel Castro won the Fifth Confucius Peace Prize, which was announced in Beijing on December 9. A Cuban student in China accepted the Prize on Castro’s behalf. The Prize winner was selected after a three-phase process. The South Korean President as well as the UN Secretary General were also among the finalists. According to one of the founders of the Prize, Castro was honored for his contribution to world peace – he did not settle the hostile relationship between Cuba and the United States by force and war. Castro also made significant contributions to lower the risk of a nuclear war. Out of 12 judges on the final voting panel, nine voted for Castro. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Atta Annan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also been winners of this Confucius Peace Prize. [Editor’s note: None of the winners of the Prize actually accepted the Prize in person.]
Source: Global Times, December 12, 2014
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2014-12/5234571.html

China is Promoting the BeiDou System in Cambodia

Xinhua recently reported that the launch ceremony of a demo version of China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System was held in Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh. BeiDou, a multi-satellite global navigation system is already operational but more components are still under construction. BeiDou is a Chinese rival of the U.S. government-run Global Positioning System (GPS). Those who attended the ceremony from the Chinese side included Li Chuanrong (李传荣), an official from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xiong Wei (熊伟), the deputy head of Cambodian Office of the state giant China Electronic Technology Group (CETC, 中国电子科技集团). The Cambodian side had one official from the Cambodian Ministry Of Industry and Handicrafts and a senior manager from Khmer First Investment Holding Group Co.
According to Xinhua, “the promotion of BeiDou in Cambodia will help push forward the progress of Cambodia in the field of information technology.” The Cambodian government gave high praise to the Chinese government and CETC for their contributions and expressed the wish for further in-depth cooperation in satellite navigation and earth observation (remote sensing) technologies.
Source: Xinhua, December 12, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-12/12/c_127298982.htm

BBC Chinese: Kenyan Authorities Arrested 77 Chinese Suspects

BBC Chinese recently reported from Nairobi, Kenya that the police arrested 77 Chinese citizens for online criminal activities. The police expressed the belief that this criminal group hacked into bank accounts, mobile banking networks, and ATM equipment and networks. They also accused the group of attempting to break into Kenya’s national communications system. The suspects have admitted wrongdoing and turned in the plan they had to attack the national communications system. The prosecutors have sued the members of the group for illegal residence and illegal use of radio equipment without a permit. The Kenyan government contacted the Chinese Embassy to see if the Ambassador was aware of the group’s activities or not. The Chinese government promised to send investigators to assist in the Kenyan investigation. The Chinese Embassy in Kenya proposed that the Chinese government help find out the identities of these suspects. Based on the local reports, the criminal group was producing bank card chips and ran a “command center.”
Source: BBC Chinese, December 4, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/12/141204_kenya_chinese_crime

People’s Daily Accuses Britain of Having a “Colonialist Mentality”

China recently blocked a group of British MP’s from traveling to Hong Kong. While British Prime Minister David Cameron views China’s decision to block the politicians as “a mistaken one,” the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily hurled back criticism, accusing the U.K. of having a "colonialist mentality."
"Whether it is a democracy or not is not for the British to say. The British are interfering with the Hong Kong issue using the excuse of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom.’ When answering questions in parliament, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the Sino-British Joint Declaration provides the Hong Kong people with freedom of speech and  publication, the freedoms of assembly, association, travel, and strikes, while claiming that Britain should support the rights of Hong Kong people. … The problem is that no one can use the excuse of democracy and freedom to break the law. ‘Occupying Central’ disturbs the social order and impairs the overall interests of Hong Kong, but Britain turns a blind eye to it. The British government is more concerned about its own interests, rather than the true interests of the Hong Kong people."
"Frequently interfering with the internal affairs of other countries, forcing the Western values and ideology upon others, and behaving irresponsibly in bilateral relations are all practices that reflect the legacy of a ‘colonialist mentality.’"
Source: People’s Daily, December 4, 2014
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/1204/c1002-26146739.html  

China Completed the First Phase of Nigeria Railroad Using Chinese Standards

On December 3, China Daily published a report on railway construction in Nigeria stating that, on December 1, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) completed the first phase of a modern railroad project in Nigeria.

According to the report, the whole project will involve building a railroad that will span 1,315 km (821 miles) in Nigeria, from Lagos to Kano. The first phase is 186.5 km long with nine stations and a design speed of 150 km per hour. The total cost was US$850 million.

"The railroad design completely adopted China’s railroad standards. This is the first modern railroad in Africa that is based on China’s standards."

"Officials from the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria stated that, in May, when Premier Li Keqiang was attending the Summit of the World Economic Forum at Africa, he indicated that China will be willing to work with African countries to build a high-speed railroad network, a highway network, and a regional aviation network."

On November 19, CRCC signed another deal in the amount of US$12 billion with Nigeria to build a 1,402 km railway along Nigeria’s coast, linking Lagos and Calabar.

Sources:
[1] China Daily Online, December 3, 2014
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqcj/zxqxb/2014-12-03/content_12825693.html
[2] Business Insider, November 20, 2014
http://www.businessinsider.com/afp-china-firm-signs-12-bn-deal-to-build-nigerian-railway-2014-11

Huanqiu: The U.S. and South Korea Can’t Wait to See China and North Korea Become Enemies

On December 2, 2014, Huanqiu published an article commenting on the heated discussions that have been taking place on the issue of “Abandoning North Korea.” According to the article, abandoning North Korea will only harm China’s national interests.

First of all, the fact that North Korea owns nuclear weapons cannot be a reason to “abandon the DPRK. Without even considering that North Korea would then turn to a third country for help and behave even worse, this approach (abandoning North Korea) is too emotional and lacks strategic thinking from the perspective of denuclearization.” Second, from the perspective of the geo-strategic value of North Korea, “the geopolitical concept has not become obsolete in today’s international political ‘field.’ Otherwise, why would the U.S. use the US-ROK and the US-Japan alliances as a ‘return to Asia’ strategic fulcrum; why wouldn’t the US troops withdraw to Guam or to the United States?” The importance of China’s strategic position established through the Korean War is immeasurable. This strategic asset must not be let go. Third, If China and North Korea were to become irreconcilable enemies, it would be a loss for both sides. “Some think tank personnel from the United States and South Korea promote a China-DPRK separation and view “China-DPRK separation” as an important strategy to solve the peninsula’s problems. This is worth attention.”

“These absurd arguments such as North Korea is “a white-eye wolf (Chinese slang referring to a person who treats kindness with ingratitude)” “deserves to be poor,” and “seeks to collapse” apparently are made by those who lack a broad mind and an awareness of the overall big picture. These have nothing in common with the basic strategy of China’s foreign diplomacy.

Source: Huanqiu, December 2, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-12/5223275.html

Two Voices on Huanqiu: China Can’t Save North Korea vs. China Can’t Abandon North Korea

On December 1, 2014, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an article titled, “If North Korea Collapses, China Can’t Save it; China Will Not Go to War for North Korea.” The author of the article was Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of the Nanjing military region, People’s Liberation Army of China. Wang wrote the article in response to another article that Li Dunqiu, a research fellow at Zhejiang University, wrote and which Huanqiu published on November 27, 2014, titled, “(China) Can’t ‘Abandon’ North Korea, Its 65 Year Long Term Partner.” 

First, General Wang did not agree with Scholar Li that China and the DPRK are consistent in sharing fundamental interests. Second, Wang said that he does not think North Korean’s political system and ideology have anything to do with socialism or Marxism. China and North Korea are no longer comrades. Third, North Korea does not listen to China’s advice. If North Korea and South Korea (backed by the U.S.) get into a war, and China does not support it, it will not be because China has abandoned North Korea. Fourth, North Korea as China’s "strategic barrier" does not play a significant role in modern information warfare.

Finally, Wang concluded, “The collapse of a nation is not determined by external forces. If a government cannot get its people’s support, it will ‘collapse’ sooner or later.” He continued, "Now there is no more ‘socialist camp.’ It is not necessary for China’s younger generation to fight a war for another country,”  “China will neither court nor ‘abandon’ North Korea. This should be China’s basic attitude."

Source: Huanqiu, December 1, 2014 and November 27, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-12/5221706.html 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2014-11/5217365.html

Huanqiu: The UN Attempt to Bring Kim Jong Un to Justice Is Absurd

On November 21, 2014, Huanqiu published an editorial titled, “The UN Attempt to Bring Kim Jong Un to Justice Is Absurd.” The editorial stated that bringing the North Korean human rights problems to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and trying its leader is a very extreme approach. It would provide new excuses for North Korea to re-enforce its hostility toward the international community. Rather, the key may be to encourage it to open up to the world. To this end, “the United States, Japan, and others must change their posture of intimidation and endeavor to assure Pyongyang that it is safe.” The editorial expressed that, since he has less than three year in power, holding Kim Jong Un accountable for North Korea’s problems is not fair. 

Source: Huanqiu, November 21, 2014 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2014-11/5210224.html