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Here's a lesson in cultural diplomacy.

Zheng Jie, a native of earthquake-ravaged Sichuan province in China, is the first Chinese tennis player to make a Grand Slam semifinal, and the most successful wild card competitor in Wimbledon's history. She's a towering figure in Chinese sports, and yet Western broadcasters can't even say her name properly. In fact, sometimes, they are inadvertently calling her a prostitute or a chicken.

I've been squirming on my couch for a few days listening to ESPN and NBC butcher the 24-year-old's name every 10 minutes. I don't expect your average American to get it right off the bat, but 2008 is the year of the Beijing Olympics, and the networks need to be on their game when it comes to China. Some Wimbledon commentators claim they've been to Beijing to prepare for the games. Yet even the Wimbledon court announcer said her name properly while the commentators -- who clearly need to attend remedial Chinese name pronunciation school -- stammered.

It would take an hour at most to grasp the pronunciation system, and then we could avoid reducing a language with thousands of years of history and more than a billion speakers to a bunch of garbled, quasi-French "j" sounds. Her name isn't Je je or Jeng jee. It's Jung ji-eh (with a hard "j" like "jump"). Jee or "ji" can mean "chicken," "prostitute," or even, ironically, "difficult to pronounce."

Zheng lost to Serena Williams today, meaning that the Williams sisters will go at it on Saturday in the final and I'll be spared -- for the time being -- hearing her name butchered. The Chinese star plans to donate much of her Wimbledon prize money to victims of the Sichuan earthquake, as she did with her French Open third-round proceeds. According to the Boston Herald, the rest of the money will go toward the Chinese Tennis Association.

Earthquake 

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Tangjiashan Lake, created by the May 12 earthquake, is dangerously close to spilling over as 250,000 people have been evacuated downstream and 1.3 million remain at risk. An engineering base of operations next to the dam houses personnel racing to avert a catastrophic failure (video). 

Police surrounded a protest against school-construction quality on Tuesday and dragged away parents and journalists.

Politics 

The Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee posted rules for foreigners during their visits to the games (translated). Big no-nos include trafficking of state secrets, sleeping in public, displaying insulting slogans or banners at events, carrying guns, or burning the Chinese flag. (original Chinese) 

Starting tomorrow, tourists will be able to see the eight giant pandas at the Beijing Zoo recently flown in from Chengdu. Meanwhile, China and Taiwan may enter emergency talks on their panda deal as political deadlock has the island’s promised pair approaching an age above which they'll be able to successfully adapt to a new environment.

Economy

The earthquake should have a minimal effect on the economy as only 1 percent of the population was affected and the area was mostly farmland. The quake did damage hydro plants, however, so power supplies may be tight this summer.

Fuel shortages are growing but raising China's artificially low prices could worsen inflation.

The manager of China's $200 billion sovereign wealth fund tried to quell the West's fears about politically motivated acquisitions, saying, "Our government has never been transparent for 5,000 years… Now we are told we need to be transparent and we are trying."

China is opening a pilot coal-to-liquid plant in Inner Mongolia that will turn coal into oil. If it takes off, Inner Mongolia will try and convert half of its coal output to liquid fuel by 2010.

In a possible sign of improved pharmaceutical-industry scrutiny, the government responded swiftly to the deaths of six hospital patients from possibly contaminated immunoglobulin in a Jiangxi province hospital by ordering all drugs from the same batch impounded for testing.

Taiwan

A group of representatives from over 30 Chinese travel companies will visit Taiwan later this month in preparation for opening up the Taiwan-mainland tourism market. The first group of tourists on weekend charter flights are slated to arrive July 4.

Upon returning from the mainland, KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung told Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou that China was unlikely to fire any missiles at Taiwan, but Ma's defense minister remains wary.

Faced with an organ shortfall, Taipei is offering free memorial services and public citations of praise to city residents who donate their heart, liver, kidney, and pancreas and may extend the measure to include skin, bones, and corneas.

Analysis

Reuters columnist Wei Gu, in "China's fuel subsidy costs the world," argues that China's fuel prices, about 61 percent of those in the United States, need to get in touch with reality.

In "The Family Way," Josh Kurlantzick calls for a phasing out of the one-child policy.

Earthquake

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An estimated 7,000 schoolrooms were destroyed in the Sichuan quake, prompting many Chinese to ask why other surrounding buildings are still standing. During construction of one devastated school, for instance, sand was allegedly substituted for concrete. Parents remain outraged, in some cases bringing local party bosses to their knees, begging for forgiveness. Reconstruction of the "tofu schools" and other earthquake retrofits and repairs could cost China $60 billion.

A 5.4 magnitude aftershock on Tuesday toppled 420,000 houses and injured 63 people in Qingchuan county in Sichuan province. 

Police and soldiers rushed to control a "quake lake" created by the landslides. Authorities fear the lake that could burst and wreak havoc on populated areas downstream. So far, 160,000 people have been evacuated downriver and that number could rise to one million.

Xixi, the giant panda, escaped into the wild after the quake but has been recovered by staff at the Wolong research center. A second panda is still missing.

Politics

British PM Gordon Brown met with the Dalai Lama Friday, drawing "strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition" from Beijing. The spiritual leader also expressed interest in attending the Olympics, which China brushed aside.

China will complete construction of its new Washington embassy, designed by renowned architect I.M. Pei's firm, in August. The 250,000 square-foot compound will be the largest embassy in the U.S. capital. The U.S. is also building a new 600,000 square-foot embassy in Beijing.

Economy

Shares of China Netcom and China Unicom soared Friday following the announcement of a merger between the two to compete with China Mobile. Analysts expect the introduction of 3G technology will bring big money into China's telecom sector.

A new law that takes effect Sunday will ban the production of ultra-thin plastic bags and forbid retailers from distributing bags for anything other than fresh produce and food.

Taiwan

KMT Chairman Wu Poh-hsiung arrived in mainland China Monday for a six day visit that will focus on expanding charter flights and tourism with Taiwan. Today, he held a live-televised meeting with President Hu Jintao. Wu incensed members of Taiwan's DPP opposition party when he referred to President Ma Ying-jeou as "Mr. Ma" without regard to his title as leader of a sovereign country.

There was a rush for the pumps and plenty of frustration (video) as Taiwan's government announced a price hike in gas and diesel would take effect five days ahead of schedule.

Analysis

AEI's Claude Barfield argues in "Taiwan's Time" for the New York Sun that it's time for the U.S. to enter a free trade agreement with Taiwan now that Ma and the KMT have come to power.

Edward Chen's piece for the Taipei Times, "Ma's peace talk just the beginning" examines Ma's inaugural speech and the future of U.S.-Taiwan relations.

Stephen Glain's article, "The Modern Silk Road," in Newsweek highlights the growing economic clout of Asia and the Middle East and draws a parallel to the old trade route.

China Moment

China Daily put up a reminder today to support the country with"patriotic cultural T-shirts," saying, "So why not show off your muscles and your love towards China this summer with a T-shirt?"

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It seems that Americans are finally getting the message: Driving's a financial drag. For the first time in six years, U.S. consumers said they would drive less this past Memorial Day weekend. The U.S. Department of Transportation also reported that March showed the steepest decrease in driving since 1942, when the government first started keeping tabs.

Angry voices are even rising in Europe, where consumers have long paid relatively high prices to fill their tanks.

British truck drivers blocked a highway today and are marching to Downing Street to demand a $1.85 discount on diesel that has now hit $9.00 per gallon. The truckers complain that the higher the gas prices, the greater the government's profits off the taxes. (U.S. consumers pay a flat 18.4 cent federal tax per gallon, but Britain adds about 50 pence onto each liter plus a 17.5 percent VAT on top of the total cost.)

In France, fishing boats blocked ports last week to prevent oil shipments to refineries. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is proposing a tax cut on fuel, though he says the measure should be EU-wide.

All this talk of fuel tax completely misses the point -- only an increase in supply will make a difference in the long run. Brazil has the right idea, announcing it will invest $5 billion in deep water fields, ships, and rigs. That's the kind of government intervention that matters.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008	Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Xinhua news agency Web site is back to normal after a subtle change you may have missed if you don't check it every day. The shift comes on the heels of China's official three day mourning period to remember the victims of last week's earthquake. In the real world, karaoke bars were closed, HBO service was suspended, and newspapers used black ink on their front pages.

Online entertainment and gaming sites were also shut down, web advertisements were taken off news sites, and black and white lettering and logos signaled a time of remembrance. Media outlets were reportedly told to give priority to stories about national mourning.

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Earthquake

Last Monday's Sichuan earthquake was the worst natural disaster in China in 30 years. An estimated 5 million people were left homeless from the quake and today marked the end of an official three day mourning period for those lost, now numbering above 40,000. Though reports are still coming in of some rescues, the end of the mourning period marks a shift of national priorities away from the rescue effort.

Rescue stories include one of western tourists being evacuated from a panda research center by heroic staff, and another of a Chinese couple trapped in rubble for 28 hours who were forced to take turns breathing, saying "It was more terrifying than facing the god of death."

Politics

The state is re-tightening the reins on the media after relatively open reporting on the disaster.  As for criticism of officials and building practices, a Shanghai newspaper editor said it’s still too early.

Private charity is on the rise in China to help the quake victims: “The public outpouring is so overwhelming that analysts are debating whether it will create political aftershocks and place pressure on China's authoritarian state to allow more space for civil society,” the International Herald Tribune reports.

Growing lore about Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's softspot for the common people includes an incident where he allegedly slammed the phone down on a general after commanding him to do whatever it takes to save quake victims. Technically he doesn't even command the military which is taken as evidence of a passion that is stirring more than a few to call him "Grandpa Wen." 

In an "unprecedented step," U.S. aid to China included the first-ever disclosure of satellite imagery to China by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. The imagery of Chinese infrastructure will allow China to better assess the state of its reservoirs, roads, and bridges. Japan also released satellite imagery (translated) that shows the dramatic devastation from the quake.

Ma Ying-jeou took power as Taiwan's president on Tuesday, saying Taiwan and China "can use this rare historical opportunity. Let's open a new page of peace and prosperity." As a first step, China has invited Ma's KMT party chairman Wu Poh-hsiung for a six day visit to the mainland starting on Monday during which he will meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

The pandas from Wolong and Chengdu appear to be fine, though two are still missing and some are still acting nervous. Eight pandas will make a trip to Beijing later this week to go on display at the Olympics.

Economy

Chinese government agencies have been asked to cut spending by 5% this year to create a $10 billion earthquake reconstruction fund. Ways to cut back include a freeze on approval of new government buildings, strict control of new car purchases on the part of officials, and less spending on dinners, according to Prime Minister Wen.

Total losses from the earthquake to Chinese companies are estimated at $9.5 billion, about $4.3 billion of which is state-owned. The Agricultural Bank of China, the leading rural lender, expects an increase in $850 million of bad loans, and PetroChina, China’s largest oil company in terms of assets, placed damages at $255 million. The government has ordered price freezes in the disaster zone, but inflationary pressure is being felt in surrounding provinces.

Quake reconstruction could lead to a shift toward investment and away from consumption. Analysts see some parallels in China’s ambitious plans to rebuild and the Kobe earthquake in Japan which likely contributed to a reversal in the structural decline of investment in the 1990s.

Analysis

NPR looks more at the “unprecedented” free media reporting environment in China surrounding the earthquake coverage including the increased professionalism of journalists.

The Carnegie Endowment’s China program director, Douglas H. Paal, talks to BBC about the political implications of the earthquake. On the tension between addressing public outcry and avoiding political fallout, Paal says “finding a balance point is going to be a very tough challenge for [the Chinese leadership] on such a highly emotional issue.”

Daniel Bell, a teacher of political theory at Tsinghua University, describes his experiences in the classroom after the earthquake in an op-ed for the New York Times.

What are the world's disaster hotspots? Arthur Lerner-Lam, who we spoke with in last week's Seven Questions about global disasters, set out with a team from Columbia University and the World Bank to answer this in "Natural Disaster Hotspots: A Global Risk Analysis." They divided the world up into sub-national swathes of land and analyzed population and disaster data going back about thirty years for six disaster types: drought, flooding, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides. For reasons of data accuracy and availability, the results are relative rather than absolute likelihoods that disasters will occur in various corners of the globe.

The study focuses on more significantly populated areas amounting to about half of the world's land area. It approaches loss as potential damage to that which is "valuable but vulnerable includ[ing] people, infrastructure, and environmentally important land uses." And what's more, based on data from a Brussels-based research center, the study hints that disaster frequency is increasing.

The following map shows mortality risk by disaster type. This isn't a comprehensive summary but rather a summary of the top at-risk areas. Those purple blips in central China sure have a lot more meaning in the aftermath of recent events.

www.ldeo.columbia.edu

This second map shows risk in terms of total economic loss based on disaster type.

www.ldeo.columbia.edu

And finally, the third map normalizes potential economic loss based on country GDP. Notice the migration of the top at-risk areas away from the more developed regions.

www.ldeo.columbia.edu

Rumors are flying in China about why officials couldn't predict the quake when apparent natural signs were there. Technically, seismologists the world over say they can't accurately predict location and timing of earthquakes, but some in China see it differently.

Eyewitnesses say they observed changes in water levels in the days leading up to the quake, and abnormal animal behavior just prior. Media reports ten days ahead of the quake suggest "several thousand cubic meters of water disappeared within an hour in Hubei [350 miles east of the epicenter], but the [seismological] bureau there dismissed it." Quake mispredictions aren't without precedent; in the 1970s in Tangshan, the seismologists dispatched to check out reports of mysteriously falling well water levels were killed by the very quake they wrote off, according to the AP.

A few days prior to this week's Sichuan quake, a torrent of toads overran Mianzhu city where thousands of people were later killed in the severe tremors. The local forestry bureau did a TV interview before the disaster claiming it was normal breeding behavior which has people particularly angry after the fact. (Video above.) In Wuhan, 600 miles from the epicenter, a newspaper reported zebras banging their heads against the door, elephants swinging their tusks wildly, and peacocks screeching just before the quake hit. The idea that animals can sense certain things before humans is not new, though it relies primarily on observational evidence. It was studied some in the 1970s by the U.S. Geological Survey to no avail. Similar reports of strange animal behavior preceded the 2004 tsunami.

Some articles are now talking about the mandate of heaven, on which Chinese imperial dynasties traditionally drew their legitimacy. Natural disasters or mass disorder typically signaled the eclipse of that dynasty's mandate and the time for a new one to step in. Obviously the modern age is a different story, but it's been a rough year for China. As Wang Yiyan, Chinese studies professor at University of Sydney puts it, "The government knows many Chinese will see the quake as a sign that things are out of balance."