China confirmed on Wednesday that it sent ships to the Wufang Jiao, an atoll of the Nansha Islands, to tow a stranded Philippine ship to ensure navigation safety and protect the marine environment.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made the remarks at a daily press conference in response to a Philippine media report that said China's Wufang Jiao did not allow Philippine fishermen to approach it.
According to Hong, a foreign fishing boat was stranded near Wufang Jiao at the end of 2015. After several failed towing attempts, the shipowner abandoned the ship and removed all its major equipment.
To prevent the stranded ship from affecting navigation and damaging maritime environment, China's Ministry of Transportation sent salvage ships to tow the ship and dispose of it appropriately, Hong added.
During the process, China persuaded fishing boats in the operation waters to leave to ensure navigation safety and necessary operation conditions, Hong said, adding that the salvage ships had returned after the operation.
The spokesperson reaffirmed China's sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and its adjacent waters. China will implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) comprehensively and effectively with the members of ASEAN and jointly maintain the peace and stability of the South China Sea, Hong added.- Xinhua
No more ship-grounding tricks allowed in South China Sea
The Chinese foreign ministry confirmed Wednesday that China had towed away a foreign ship that was grounded on Wufang Jiao in the South China Sea. For safety concerns, China urged nearby fishing ships to leave.
However, Philippine media and some Western reports rendered a different picture of the same affair, saying several Chinese ships were sent to patrol the surrounding waters after a Philippine boat was grounded, and "blocked" the waterway.
In their reports, Wufang Jiao and the surrounding waters are the Philippines' "traditional fishing grounds." Due to the blockage of Chinese vessels, Philippine fishermen could not go fishing, feeling they were being bullied by China.
This is not the first time a Philippine vessel was grounded on South China Sea islands and reefs. In 1999, the Philippines sent a warship and grounded it on Renai Reef. Manila kept promising to China that it would tow it away as soon as possible, but 17 years have passed, and Manila shamelessly broke its promise, delivering provisions to the ship and reinforcing its structure, in an attempt to make it a permanent stronghold.
Philippines sent a warship and grounded it on Renai Reef
In recent years, China has taken countermeasures to prevent Philippine ships conveying construction materials to the ship, but out of humanitarian consideration, China allowed the Philippines to deliver provisions to the crew. Now the ship, a focal point of Sino-Philippine tension, is in bad condition and about to fall apart.
China will never allow Wufang Jiao to be a second Renai Reef. Towing away the grounded Philippine ship is a once-and-for-all measure to leave no troubles behind.
The Philippines is untrustworthy in the international community, often resorting to dirty tricks to deal with diplomatic issues. What it did on Renai Reef is a vivid reflection.
China has been exercising self-restraint amid fishing disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea. However, Manila has captured and sentenced Chinese fishermen several times, and even shot Taiwanese fishermen dead. Manila's barbarity finally triggered a standoff near Huangyan Island in 2012. Since then, China has been in full control of the island.
Now, Manila hopes it can bring US troops back, like a Mafia gangster asking their "godfather" for help. The Philippines, obviously aware that international arbitration has no jurisdiction over territorial disputes, filed a petition to an international court in Hague. China's non-participation in the arbitration is protected by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but the Philippines, with the support of the US, has used this chance to taint China's image internationally
All these shenanigans cannot twist the fact that it is the Philippines that breaks its promises and makes troubles over and over again. China's countermeasures are reasonable.
China has overwhelming advantages against the Philippines, but its disputes with the Philippines in the South China Sea are complicated due to the West's bias for Manila. China should be resolute in defending its legitimate rights, and be wise in dealing with the West's prejudice and US military and diplomatic interventions.
In recent years, China has gained major progress in stemming the encroachment of the Philippines in the South China Sea. Beijing is regaining strategic initiative in the region. The Philippines will have a new president this year, and Benigno Aquino III will step down. After the shift in leadership, Manila will be a spent arrow, and will have nothing left in its bag of tricks. - Global Times
REFERRING to "Ripples and rumbles in South China Sea" (see below) by K. Thanabalasingam, I wish to share a few more points vital to the issue.
Conventional knowledge is that China's claim to the islands is arbitrary and violates International Law. But what is left out is an impartial overview of the whole situation based on historical considerations and facts on the ground.
Claims made by Vietnam and China are mostly centred on history. The rest of the claimants are late comers after the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco and 1982 UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).
To avoid complicating the issue, knowledge of history has to be put in perspective. Since there are no "historical titles" to validate, then whatever historical facts, maps or records have to be considered as evidence. At least it sheds light to validate its case.
China has been consistent in her claims since 1279. Marker stones and light houses were on the islands but most were destroyed by Vietnam and the Philippines. Even early European records affirmed Chinese fishermen took annual sojourns on Spratly islands for part of the year.
One interesting event that happened in 1953 involved a Tomas Cloma, (director of the Maritime Institute of the Philippines) who threw away all the marker stones and made a unilateral claim on some Spratly islands and later in December 1974 was forced to sell to the government for 1 peso only, now known as Kalayaan.
All these facts are buried and often not revealed by the West.
The infamous Treaty of San Francisco, also known as Treaty of Peace with Japan, was drafted by US and Allied Powers to settle post-war issues affecting nations. Whatever the circumstances, China/Taiwan and Korea were not invited to attend the negotiations which deprived them of a fair chance and the right to present their cases. This also breached the Cairo/Potsdam declarations.
After the devastating long war, China got the raw end of the deal with unsettled lands and islands. Scholars and historians viewed this as a deliberate manoeuvre by Western Powers especially the US to create ambiguities to serve their covert interests.
I totally agree with Thanabalasingam on the recent statement by the US and Allies to pre-empt the tribunal's verdict in favour of the Philippines is an act of prima facie and undermines the whole proceedings of the court. That is why under Article 298 of UNCLOS, China declared that it does not accept compulsory arbitral procedures relating to sea boundary delimitation in 2006. Without guessing, one could easily decipher why the Philippine chose the arbitration court.
On the ground, it doesn't need a military expert to see what's happening in the region. It is a tussle between China and US with puppets (the Philippines, Australia, Japan, Vietnam) joining in the fray.
The US's sole interest is to maintain her status quo and dominance in the region. China, a rising power, is a direct competitor. When Obama announced the pivot to Asia in 2012, tensions started building up day by day with increasing deployment of military assets to frightening level.
More bases have been opened to the US in the Philippines, Japan, Australia, and some Asean nations, creating a "ring of fire" to contain China.
To harness support US raises up the heat and false alarms on China's threat to "Freedom of Navigation", etc. Do you expect China to remain docile and silent? Freedom of navigation was not an issue for decades. Deliberately intruding into sovereign territory with frigates, spy planes, etc are direct provocations.
Sad to see nations taking sides just to gain a little leverage to support their claims. As far as I can see, these islands are "bread crumbs" created to inflict tension and even wars among nations. Political issues deserve diplomatic solutions. Don't allow a Middle East or Ukraine crisis in Asia.
I trust my country will take the path of engagement and diplomacy.
By Ali Saw Kuala Lumpur The Sundaily
Ripples and rumbles in the South China Sea
AFTER the conclusion of the 27th Asean Summit and Related Summits chaired by Malaysia here in late November 2015, I felt optimistic the year 2016 might see a lessening of tensions in the South China Sea and perhaps even witness a Code of Conduct being signed between all the claimant states. I suppose this was hoping too much.
What we have seen instead is a rapid increase in tensions caused by China's actions in the South China Sea. Understandably, claimant Asean states are anxious and concerned over these latest developments.
Since the start of this year, China has conducted several test flights from its airfield in the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands Group. There was also news reports that China had moved an oil rig into disputed waters between China and Vietnam.
This brings to mind the January 1974 Chinese/Vietnamese clash over the Paracel Islands with Vietnam suffering heavy losses and being evicted from the Paracels.
More recently it has been reported and confirmed that China has installed long-range anti-aircraft missiles on Woody Island in the disputed Paracels chain.
This does not auger well for calm and confidence-building between the various Asean claimant states and the Republic of China.
In addition, the occasional reported intrusions of Chinese coastguard vessels into other nations' territorial waters is cause for concern.
The recent statement by the US and some European nations that China must abide by the decision to be made by the UN Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, hearing the Philippines request to invalidate China's claims, is rather premature in my humble opinion.
The US and other western nations' statement would have been better coming after the tribunal's verdict expected sometime near the middle of this year, if it turns out to be in Philippines favour. As it is, I feel the statement pre-empts the tribunal's verdict.
I had written an article on the South China Sea dispute and stated my personal views in June 2015. I am of the firm belief, based on International Law and UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea), that China's claim to virtually the whole of the South China Sea is arbitrary and unprecedented.
No country has ever claimed such a large expanse of international maritime waters before. There is no provision anywhere that I am aware of for a historical claim, especially when such a claim has never been exercised or enforced until more recent times. China is not only a party to UNCLOS but it has also ratified it. Therefore, China is bound by UNCLOS.
A point to bear in mind is that there are laws and rules to what constitutes an island. Under UNCLOS no shoal or reef can be reclaimed and turned into an island.
A reclaimed land is artificial and not natural. Hence the question of territorial waters or other claims for the artificial island does not arise.
The Code of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) signed by all members of Asean and the People's Republic of China on Nov 4, 2002 unfortunately has a number of setbacks. There is also a Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES). Although this is mainly to avoid any untoward sea incident between US Navy ships and Republic of China Navy (ROCN) ships. I feel that CUES should also be used more by Asean claimant states' naval ships and the ROCN ships.
Although I am disheartened by the latest developments in the South China Sea, I sincerely hope that these ripples and rumbles do not develop into a full blown hurricane or typhoon.
By Rear Admiral (Rtd) Tan Sri K. Thanabalasingam was the third chief of the Royal Malaysian Navy and the first Malaysian to be appointed to the post.Comments: letters@thesundaily.com
The U.S. should keep away from the South China Sea for regional peace
China is forced to deploy defensive facilities on islands in the South China Sea in response to early militarization action from other parties and to the U.S. close-up reconnaissance in this region, said a China's professor who specializes in international affairs.
Shen Dingli, a professor specializing in international affairs from Fudan University, wrote in a column that if the U.S. expects fewer disputes in the South China Sea, the country should not choose any side and not support those who infringe upon China's national interests. The U.S. should make those countries withdraw from the region.
Shen stated that the U.S. should reduce its close-up reconnaissance in the region so that China will not need to spare much time to deploy forces in the region.
According to Shen, statements of spokespersons from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense clearly show China's attitude towards this issue.
First of all, China deploys defensive facilities in order to cope with other countries' militarization in this area. Secondly, China benefits from freedom of navigation and China is willing to maintain this freedom within the international law in cooperation with ASEAN countries. Thirdly, China urges the U.S. to respect its legitimate interests when it comes to sovereign of artificial islands in the South China Sea.
Shen also said that if the U.S. really cares about China's deployment of radars and missiles on relevant islands, it should reduce the close-up reconnaissance by its missile destroyers and strategic bombers in this area. By Yuan Can (People's Daily Online)
US militarizing South China Sea
Compared with the progress Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State John Kerry seem to have achieved on sanctions against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, finding common ground to resolve their differences over the South China Sea has proved more difficult.
Just as Wang has stressed, the responsibility for non-militarization of the South China Sea is not China's alone. The United States should lend an attentive ear to China's stance.
On Tuesday, at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Admiral Harry Harris, head of the US Pacific Command, said China's deployment of missiles and new radars on its islands and reefs in the South China Sea and its building of airstrips are "changing the operational landscape" in the waters.
The media in the US also hyped up China sending Annihilates-11 fighters to the Xisha Islands. These voices may be a prelude to Washington escalating the flexing of its muscles in the South China Sea.
Yet as a non-regional country, it is irresponsible of the US to intervene in the South China Sea in disregard of the possibility that has emerged that China and the other parties to the disputes in the waters will be able to stabilize the situation rather than let it spiral out of control.
If those in the region were allowed to settle the disputes themselves, the South China Sea would be free from concerns and troubles within the foreseeable future.
It is the US' direct interventions in the South China Sea that are exacerbating tensions and adding uncertainty.
The US' provocative signals have seriously increased Chinese people's sense of urgency to strengthen the country's military capabilities. When US military vessels and warplanes intruded into the 12-nautical-mile territorial seas around China's islands and reefs, Chinese people have reasons to believe their country should not remain indifferent even if its military might is still inferior to that of the US.
On issues concerning national sovereignty, the Chinese military will follow the will of its people.- Global Times
Apr 24, 2012 ... Many people, including many journalists, in the world do not realize that historically, China's claim on South China Sea islands started in the ...
May 29, 2015 ... Washington is taking dangerous gamble in the South China Sea. ... Who owns the South China Sea islets in the eyes of the world? Apr 24 ...
China announces its second space laboratory, the 'TIANGONG 2,' will blast off into orbit later this autumn, but that's not it! Shortly afterwards, a manned spacecraft will also be sent to dock with the lab with two astronauts set to stay longer in space than any of their predecessors.
China is pressing ahead its ultimate space goal. Tiangong-2, or "Heavenly Palace-2," will be the country's second space lab to be deployed above earth.
"Tiangong-2 will launch in the third quarter of this year. It will carry out various space scientific and application experiments," said Wu Ping, Deputy Director of China Manned Space Program Office.
If the launch is successful, the Shenzhou-11 spacecraft will follow shortly carrying 2 astronauts, who'll spend 30 days in orbit- a new record for China.
China aims to build own space station by 2020
But that's only part of the bigger picture. China's greater goal is to build its very own space station by 20-20 and it looks to be on course, to do just this.
"It takes numerous launches and docks to finish the ultimate goal. We will organize a series of missions from the middle of this year to the first half of next year," said Wu.
Tiangong-2 is a prototype for a space station. Its predecessor Tiangong-1 has been in orbit for nearly five years. In 2012 and 2013, manned spacecraft successfully docked with the space lab.
"The difference is Tiangong-2 is a space station in a real sense. Technical adjustments have been made based on experience and data from Tiangong One- which will continue scientific missions," said Wu.
Preparations are also underway for China's FIRST cargo spaceship, which is set to launch next year and dock with Tiangong 2.
Wu also said:"It will test key technologies in the construction and operation of a space station, such as cargo transportation, and propellant supply in orbit."
The international space station is scheduled to retire by 2020, when China is on course to become the only country with a permanent presence in space.
World's most sensitive 'eye'- Chinese experts develop best rendezvous and docking CCD Sensor
BEIJING, June 22 2015 (Xinhua) -- Chinese space experts have developed the world's most sensitive "eye" that enables the autonomous rendezvous and docking of two spacecraft -- flying eight times faster than bullets -- more efficiently and safely.
The "eye" is China's newly developed third-generation rendezvous and docking CCD optical imaging sensor. It will be used on China's second orbiting space lab, Tiangong-2, the Chang'e-5 lunar probe and the permanent manned space station, according to China Academy of Space Technology (CAST).
China plans to launch Tiangong-2 in 2016, and send Chang'e-5 to collect samples from the moon and return to earth around 2017. It also aims to put a permanent manned space station into service around 2022.
"Good 'eyesight' is crucial for one spacecraft chasing another for hundreds of thousands of kilometers to achieve a perfect rendezvous and docking -- it's like threading the needle," says Gong Dezhu, a CAST designer who worked on the CCD optical imaging sensor.
"The last 150 meters between the two spacecraft is the most critical moment. A slight deviation during docking might lead to a disaster like the one caused by Mann, the main antagonist in the movie Interstellar," Gong says.
Compared with the CCD optical imaging sensor used in the docking of Tiangong-1 and the Shenzhou spacecraft, the new "eye" can see clearer under direct sunlight, which will greatly improve safety. The window period of the docking process will be twice the length, Gong says.
"And the reaction time between the 'eye' capturing the first sight of its target and recognizing it has been shortened from 10 seconds to less than one second," Gong says.
The sensor's weight and power consumption is only half that of comparable products internationally, says Gong.
Such "eyes" can also be used on mechanical arms, and for refueling and repairing of spacecraft, as well as aerial refueling and docking of underwater vehicles, experts say. - Xinhua
Jun 25, 2012 ...China's three astronauts boarded Tiangong through Shenzhou IX where they ... various scientific experiments on the space lab before heading returning. ... Posted by Richard Tan at 1:04 PM ... China has to develop her own space station due to USA .... China will launch three astronauts, including a wo.
Nov 5, 2011 ...Lab modules, a space station and 10 to 20 spaceships will be ... In the third stage , China plans to develop and launch multiple space .... Video still showing China's Shenzhou 8 spacecraft docked with the Tiangong 1 lab ...
Jun 24, 2012 ... The Shenzhou 9 crew made their first docking with Tiangong 1 June 18, marking ... Shenhzhou 9 astronauts celebrate manual docking with Tiangong 1 space lab. ... in Chinese) is a prototype for China's first manned space station, ... space and manned deep-sea dive causes," read a message sent by three ...
Penang has dislodged Kuala Lumpur's Golden Tringle as the top investment choice
GEORGE TOWN: Penang has now overtaken the Klang Valley as the most attractive place for property investment.
In its Malaysia Commercial Real Estate Investment Sentiment Survey 2016, global property consultancy Knight Frank Ma-laysia said the state had dis-lodged Kuala Lumpur’s Golden Triangle as the top investment choice.
Penang garnered 67% of the overall responses while the Golden Triangle slipped to fourth position with 49%, finishing behind KL Fringe/ Klang Valley (56%) and Johor/Iskandar (55%).
The survey took litmus test for insights and preferences of key players namely fund managers, developers and lenders in the commercial sector for the Year 2016.
It targeted 700 respondents in senior management levels across the property industry.
Half of them (55%) were deve-lopers while the rest were commercial lenders (24%) and fund or real estate investment trust managers (21%).
Last week, George Town was picked as the sixth ‘Best place to retire abroad in 2016’ by CNN Money.
Source: Knight Frank Malaysia/The Star
That’s Right, Penang Just Beat KL To Become The Top Choice For Investments
It appears that more people are keen to invest in Penang than in Kuala Lumpur, as a survey by Knight Frank Malaysia shows that Penang garnered over 67 percent of the overall response.
The survey also revealed that Kuala Lumpur Central Business District (CBD) (Golden Triangle), which was the top investment choice in 2015, was dethroned and dropped to the fourth ranking with 49 percent of the responses, coming after Kuala Lumpur Fringe/Klang Valley (56 percent) and Joh
Penang was also voted as the most attractive investment region for hotel or leisure and healthcare or institutional developments, possibly due to George Town being inscribed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites and the popularity of the state for medical tourism
Image via Travel2PenangGeorge Town is recognised as one of Unesco’s World Heritage Sites.
Penang garnered the highest vote from respondents by getting 86 percent of the votes for most attractive investment region for hotel or leisure and 79 percent of votes for healthcare or institutional developments.
Kota Kinabalu came in second for the most attractive investment region for hotel or leisure with 67 percent while Johor clinched the third spot with 59 percent.
As for the healthcare or institutional developments, Klang Valley and Johor gained 72 percent and 69 percent of votes respectively to be the second and third most popular region.
These results came from the Malaysia Commercial Real Estate Investment Sentiment Survey 2016, which was conducted by global property consultancy Knight Frank Malaysia
The Malaysia Commercial Real Estate Investment Sentiment Survey 2016 was conducted using an e-survey mechanism distributed throughout Knight Frank’s vast database as well as in-depth interviews with key players in the local commercial sector.
There were some 700 respondents in senior management levels this year, with 55 percent of them being developers, 21 percent fund or real estate investment trust (REIT) managers and 24 percent lenders.
Home of a UNESCO heritage site, Penang's landscape is the perfect blend of old and new. Take a look at how the city has beautifully transformed over the years!
A global survey gauging trust in society finds that people of a feather really do flock together.
THE person you see in the mirror is the most trusted.”
No, that is not a self-help mantra or nostalgia for Michael Jackson’s old hit Man in the Mirror.
Rather, as the 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer reveals, that is a common belief in the world when it comes to trust.
People now are increasingly reliant on a “person like yourself” (rising 6% in trust) more than the “leaders” of society like CEOs, government officials, technical experts or even academic experts, according to global communications firm Edelman’s annual survey that measures trust levels in the world.
Says Edelman Malaysia managing director Robert Kay, it reflects the way people in Malaysia are increasingly sharing and weighing information and opinions online.
“When it comes to information on social networking sites, content sharing sites and online-only information, Malaysians trust friends and families more at 74% compared to a company CEO at 57% or elected officials at 53%,” shares Kay at the launch of the Barometer in Kuala Lumpur last Tuesday.
For its fifth survey in Malaysia, Edelman polled 1,350 Malaysians online from October to November last year.
What some might find surprising is that in today’s celebrity-obsessed world, online personalities rake in only 45% “believers”, while celebrities rank last in their trustworthiness at 30%.
Interestingly, Malaysians’ overall trust in online content, specifically that shared on social media has dipped seven points to 42%.
Kay points to the rampant sharing of misinformation online in the past year as the main reason.
Consequently, search engines hold their lead as the most trusted source for information at 66%, he adds, as people feel they have more control over what they read and see.
The rise in peer-to-peer trust inevitably coincides with the decline in public faith in public institutions and the business world.
Faith in the press among the “informed public”, however, has jumped 13% – from 46% last year to 59% this year.
Asked how much they trust the media – on a scale of zero to nine – to do the right thing, Malaysian citizens say they have a lot more faith in the press than before.
This, says Edelman, puts Malaysia’s more informed citizens’ trust in media at the same level as the elite of the United States.
“Malaysia has one of the biggest rises in media trust among the informed public globally, possibly due to the constant coverage of alleged corruption at 1MDB,” Kay notes, stressing that it is crucial for the media to continue pursuing rigorous, balanced and transparent reporting to maintain credibility.
While the survey did not distinguish between trust in local and international media, the trust in the media in Asia highlights the perceived role of the media in this region, Edelman Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa CEO David Brain reportedly said in Mumbrella Asia, a discussion site on the region’s media.
“The media – through Western eyes – is expected to keep politicians to account, but in Asian countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, there is ‘a social contract that the role of the media is about nation building’, and less about revealing the truth,” Brain had explained.
In a panel discussion on the Barometer results, The Malaysian Insider CEO Jahabar Sadiq points out that even as trust in business captains and political leaders fell, those who are perceived to be critical and caring of society and are vocal on social media, such as CIMB group chairman Datuk Seri Nazir Razak and former Cabinet minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, are deemed as “trustworthy”.
Comparing Malaysia to Britain and the United States, Umno Youth exco member Shahril Hamdan suggests the dip in public trust towards the government is a natural development as the nation matures.
“As democracy matures, the cynicism level of people toward the government increases.
“Regardless of how the government communicates or performs, people will put less trust in the government and its leaders.”
Maxis Malaysia Head of Consumer Business Dushyanthan Vathiyanathan believes that it is time for public institutions and the business sector to transform and engage more with people.
“People now are interested in knowing what is happening and not in what you tell them.
By Hariati Azizan The Star/Asia News Network
“You have to be transparent with them and inform them of anything and everything. That’s because now they have information and do their checks.”
Related:
Panel Discussion of the 2016 Edelman Trust Barometer for Malaysia
Night view of Central Business District with the new CCTV Tower, right, and other skyscrapers and high-rise office buildings in Beijing. Beijing is home to the world's most billionaires, pushing New York City out of the top slot. [Photo/IC]
Story Highlights:
--Beijing is home to 100 billionaires
--Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda is the richest Chinese
--China overtakes the US with the most billionaires
Beijing is home to the world's most billionaires, pushing New York City out of the top slot it had held for years, according to a Shanghai-based research and media outlet that keeps track of the world's wealthiest.
Despite a slowing economy, the Chinese capital added 32 billionaires, bringing its total to 100 and New York added four, giving it 95 billionaires, according to the Hurun Global Rich List 2016.
Moscow came in third with 66, and Hong Kong and Shanghai came in fourth and fifth with 64 and 50, respectively, Hurun said in its ranking of US dollar billionaires as of Jan 15.
Wang Jianlin of Dalian Wanda, one of China's top real estate developers, was the wealthiest Beijing resident with a net worth of $26 billion.
New York's top billionaires were businessman David Koch and Michael Bloomberg, the city's former mayor and media company owner. His wealth increased $16 billion to $37 billion, according to Hurun. Another city resident whose wealth increased is Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump. He added $5 billion to go to $6.5 billion.
While China has passed the US with the most billionaires, the Hurun report noted that none of the richest billionaires are from China. Eight of the world's 11 wealthiest, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, the world's wealthiest with $80 billion, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, Amazon's Jeff Bezos and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg are from the US.
And the combined net worth of US billionaires is still nearly double that of Chinese billionaires, for a total of $2.4 trillion, just a little less than the GDP of France, according to the report.
Rupert Hoogewerf, the founder of Hurun, said initial public offerings are behind the rapid expansion of Chinese wealth.
In October, China overtook the US for the first time as the country with the most billionaires within its borders. About 568 billionaires now live in China and 535 in the US.
Hoogewerf said the number of billionaires for the rest of the world was held back by a slowdown in the global economy, the strengthening of the US dollar and the drop in oil prices. - China Daily/Asia News Network
Jan 24, 2016 ...Don't blame China for global economic jitters; China contributed >25% .... China's economy posted a 6.9 percent GDP growth in 2015, which is ...
The Malaysian Education Ministry should review the way English is taught and find ways and means to improve it, rather than rehashing the failed PPSMI in the guise of the DLP
SINCE my name was mentioned in the letter “A common medium” (The Star, Feb 18) by Datin Noor Azimah on the Dual Language Programme (DLP), I would like to respond to some of the issues raised by her on why we should continue the DLP.
First of all, I beg to differ with Noor Azimah’s notion that English is the only language of science. All her arguments about the dominance of English in scientific communications merely show that English has become the de facto communication language of science but not the only language in which established science could be taught and new science could be discovered.
Major scientific discoveries of the 20th century such as the Relativity Theory of Einstein that has enhanced our understanding of the huge expanse of space in the universe and the Quantum Theory of Heisenberg and Bohr that let us understand properties of the very tiny nanoscale structures and of atoms, were discovered in German, the language of the discoverers and not in English.
Both theories underlie almost all subsequent scientific discoveries including the very recent discovery of gravitational waves by LIGO that vindicated Einstein’s Relativity.
According to the Princeton historian of science, Prof Michael Godin in his new book, Scientific Babel, English became the dominant language of scientific communication only recently, in the last 60 years, at the expense of the previous triumvirate of scientific communication languages, English, French and German.
The Anglicization of scientific communication started much earlier by the boycott of German scientists by Western European and American scientists who published in French and English in between the World Wars. German science was further decimated by the defeat in the Second World War and many German scientists were brought over to work for America and to use English in their work.
The dominance of the United Kingdom and American publishers in scientific publications after the War squeezed out French as a scientific communication language and literally forced the English language down the throat of the scientific community, who otherwise would have continued to publish in either German, French or English as was the practice before the War. As a world-ranked scientist at the top of my own field as attested by Thomson Reuters’ World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2016, and as a professor in chemical engineering for 36 years at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), I have taught many generations of Malaysian chemical engineers in Bahasa Melayu and have supervised successfully many MSc and PhD students, who used Bahasa Melayu in the practice of world class science in UKM’s labs and in the reporting of the scientific results in their thesis.
External examiners from other universities in Malaysia were amazed and surprised but enthusiastic that world class science could be done and reported in Bahasa Melayu very well. The students then rewrote their research results in English for publication in world renowned journals.
Hence, English does not contribute anything to the science but merely as translations or rewrites of it. Since the MSc and PhD students are among the brightest of the lot, they have no problem in communicating their scientific results in Bahasa Melayu or English at international conferences with confidence because their scientific works are world class.
Renowned scientists look for the science not the language in their presentations and papers because scientific talent is rare and far between whereas the language of communication can be easily learned on the job.
Their scientific education in Bahasa Melayu at UKM did not prevent many of my students from going on to become successful professional engineers in industry and excellent lecturers and world class scientists with many of them becoming professors and world leaders in their fields of research.
One of them in particular, Prof Dr Siti Kartom Kamarudin, a true blue alumnus of UKM who graduated from UKM with BEng, MSc and PhD all in Bahasa Melayu, is also sharing the same accolade with me as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds 2016.
The Malaysian PhD candidate at Glasgow University from the International Islamic University Malaysia, Hafizah Noor Isa who was involved in the seminal detection of gravitational waves recently, was taught science in Bahasa Melayu in primary and secondary school. Her Bahasa Melayu background does not impair her ability to do world class science at all.
I am sure this is also true for many science and mathematics teachers and professors all over the country, who have taught tens of thousands of students, science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu before PPSMI, and whose students have become very successful in their chosen fields.
The fact that we have produced so many successful professors, engineers, medical doctors and scientists varying in age from 25 to 55 years old, who were taught science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu before the PPSMI speaks volumes for itself. The logic that if only one is taught science and mathematics in English then one would be more successful in later life is a fallacy.
If this were to be true, then no Japanese, Korean and now Chinese technopreneurs would have succeeded as they apparently had with world-class brands without learning science and mathematics in English in their schools and universities.
Learning English through science and mathematics, I am sure every educator worth his salt agrees, is not the most appropriate way of learning a language. There is no evidence whatsoever that English proficiency is increased if English is used to teach science and mathematics.
On the other hand, there is abundant evidence to the contrary. The disastrous PISA and TIMMS results of 2012 where Malaysian students were behind other non-English speaking countries clearly demonstrated the failure of PPSMI because the Malaysian students who took the test were taught science and mathematics in English under the PPSMI (See more on related posts below).
Vietnamese students who were weaker in English fared a lot better than Malaysian students who were better in English. Why do we want to resurrect a programme that has clearly failed spectacularly? If the objective is to be proficient in English, then the right way to achieve it is to strengthen the teaching of the language by having better ways of teaching it in schools.
The Education Ministry should review the way English is taught and find ways and means to improve it, rather than rehashing the failed PPSMI in the guise of the DLP.
I think many people like Noor Azimah who wrote passionately about the DLP issue neglect to tell us or probably do not know the kind of science and mathematics learnt by our children in schools all over the world. Science and mathematics taught in schools are established scientific and mathematical knowledge that have been accepted by consensus of most scientists and mathematicians at that point of history. It should not be confused with new cutting-edge science and technology that a scientist and a professor like me has to deal with every day in my scientific work.
Established science and mathematics change very slowly because new scientific discoveries that would become established knowledge is rare and far between.
On the other hand, cutting-edge science changes rapidly as new theories are being postulated to explain newly discovered phenomena, which are accepted or discarded after undergoing rigorous scrutiny by the scientific community. There is no need for our children in schools to learn cutting-edge science because understanding it requires the scientific knowledge of a professor.
Not many people know that established science and mathematics have already been translated into Bahasa Melayu in numerous textbooks for primary and secondary schools as well as for universities published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) and the premier universities, Universiti Malaya, UKM, Universiti Sains Malaysia,Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia over the past 40 years.
All scientific terms in all fields are already available at the Persuratan Melayu web page of the DBP. Our children can easily gain scientific knowledge by reading them.
Even fewer know that the discovery of new cutting-edge science and mathematics in Bahasa Melayu is growing at the international level over the last few years with the indexing of bi-lingual Bahasa Melayu-English scientific journals such as Sains Malaysiana by major international scientific journal indexing services such as the ISI and SCOPUS! Now scientists from all over the world can access cutting-edge scientific knowledge in Bahasa Melayu.
The whole idea of learning science and mathematics in the mother tongue is not only simply about language patriotism as has been alleged by Noor Azimah elsewhere. The central issue lies deeper than mere patriotism. It is more about being able to create new scientific knowledge from a deeper understanding of science and mathematics, which can only be achieved by learning it in the mother tongue.
I am sure we are all familiar with the history of how both the great Islamic and the European civilisations first translated and then independently created scientific and mathematical knowledge of their own in their own languages.
No country in the world that is ahead in science and technology ever teaches its children science and technology in a foreign language.
By PROF DATUK IR DR WAN RAMLI WAN DAUD President
Former Founder Director & Principal Research Fellow Fuel Cell Institute, UKM
May 17, 2014 ... In the first rankings list in 2012, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) ... in the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) 2009+.
Dec 5, 2013 ... The results achieved in the latest survey showed Malaysia was below the global ..... Scribd: PISA 2012 Assessment and Analytical Framework.
May 20, 2015 ... As a result of participating in ASTI's Science Fair for Young Children, Tamil schools are scoring top grades for ... What is PISA? .... 2012 ( 724 ).
Dec 17, 2013 ... Still, Chinese educational experts say the results are at most partial and ... As a result of this and other factors, the PISA 2012 sample covers ...
KUALA LUMPUR: Former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam said Malaysia’s Vision 2020 objective was “falling apart” with “alarming speed”, and he blames Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for it.
In his keynote speech at an event to mark the sixth anniversary of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), Musa said this was because the former premier did not train leaders but instead chose to retain and train followers instead.
“It is ironic that Dr Mahathir’s vision is now certain to fail because of Dr Mahathir himself.
“Brilliant as he was, he forgot that in order to succeed he needed to train leaders at all levels, but most importantly, political leaders.
“But his personal leadership record shows that he did away with all potential leaders, and retained and trained followers,” Musa said in his speech.
He said in the last few years, the behaviour of certain people in government and politics seemed to be based on struggles which prioritised personal survival.
“By now, we should just be about ready to cross the line of definition from ‘developing’ to ‘developed’.
“Unfortunately, though, it seems to me that the 2020 dream is falling apart with alarming speed,” he said.
Musa was Dr Mahathir’s deputy from 1981 to 1986, when he resigned due to differences with the then Prime Minister.
He then joined forces with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who mounted a challenge to Dr Mahathir’s position as Umno president in 1987. Dr Mahathir retained his position with a narrow majority of 43 votes at the Umno election.
Ideas chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan, in his speech said that the institute’s mission has been the same throughout its six years.
“It is to improve the level of understanding and acceptance of public policy based on the principles of rule of law, limited government, free markets and individual liberty”.
Ideas was set up on Feb 8 to coincide with the birth date of Tunku Abdul Rahman, who died on Dec 6, 1990 at the age of 87.
Musa Hitam: Dr M is creator and destroyer of Vision 2020
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was both the creator and destroyer of Vision 2020, according to Tun Musa Hitam (pic).
Musa, who was the deputy prime minister from 1981 to 1986, said his ex-boss had undone the dream when he chose to remove potential leaders and train followers instead.
"Those followers ended up taking over the leadership of the country after he left office," he added.
"It is ironic that Dr Mahathir's vision is now certain to fail because of Dr Mahathir himself.
"Brilliant as he was, he forgot that in order to succeed, he needed to train leaders at all levels, but most importantly, political leaders.
"His personal leadership record shows that he did away with all potential leaders and retained and trained followers! It is mostly these trained followers that had taken over the leadership of the country," Musa said on Saturday.
He was speaking at a special function commemorating the 113th birthday of the nation's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, organised by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas).
Musa said Malaysia was in its current state because of the failure of leadership, adding that the followers Dr Mahathir had groomed in his 22-year tenure were not coordinated in administering the country.
"These trained followers are dedicated and loyal to whoever sits at the very top. They need to be, in order to survive.
"It seems to me that the 2020 dream is falling apart bit by bit but with alarming speed. The way it is, I am now certain that we will not reach our goal of Vision 2020," he said.
Vision 2020 was introduced by Dr Mahathir in 1991, ten years into his tenure as prime minister, as an objective for Malaysia to attain fully-developed nation status by 2020.
The goal has remained a key objective of his successors, including present Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Dr Mahathir, a fierce critic of Najib, however, claimed last year that the current administration would not succeed in achieving Vision 2020.
Japanese Occupation survivors recount their tales to the new generation
Most of Southeast Asia was occupied during most of World War II by the Japanese. The Japanese captured Southeast Asia very quickly but had not planned very well for occupying it. In many ways the Japanese ruled through violence and repression rather than reasonable and humane governing. Southeast Asians that might have welcomed them as liberators were quickly turned off by Japanese brutality
PETALING JAYA: It has been 70 years since Japan’s surrender after its occupation of Malaya during World War II, and with each passing year, more stories are being lost due to death and old age.
R.AGE, an online video documentary team, is hoping to change that with the launch of The Last Survivors (rage.com.my/lastsurvivors), an online video campaign to document the stories of Malaysia’s WWII survivors.
The first video will be released later today, the 70th anniversary of the final signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur confirming Japan’s surrender.
The video shows Omar Senik, 85, revisiting Pantai Sabak, Kelantan where he witnessed the start of WWII in Asia when the Japanese landed in Malaya – an hour before the bombing of Pearl Harbour.
Another WWII survivor featured in the series is Etheline Lee, who was 13 when the Japanese arrived in Kuantan.
Lee recalled how she was forced to watch the execution of locals accused by the Japanese of being “traitors”.
“They made them walk into this jungle and stand near a big hole they had dug, and shot them one by one so their bodies would drop into the hole,” said Lee.
According to her, the bodies were buried at the beach now known as Teluk Cempedak. Some were buried right beneath the beach’s popular fast-food outlets.
“It’s important to document stories like these,” said Chen Yih Wen, one of the R.AGE producers working on the series. “They really are the last survivors, and it isn’t enough to read about what they went through, you have to see it with your own eyes because these are places we walk by every day.”
The Last Survivors campaign also hopes to encourage young people to document WWII stories from their own communities, especially through the memories of survivors.
To participate, record a video interview with a WWII survivor, and e-mail it to alltherage@thestar.com.my.
The campaign website features an interactive map which will show the exact locations of all the survivors’ stories, so that anyone can visit them and add to the narrative.
To add a story, photo or video to the map, go to rage.com.my/lastsurvivorsor e-mail alltherage@thestar.com.my.
> Know any World War II survivors with interesting stories to share of the war in Malaya? E-mail the R.AGE team at alltherage@thestar.com.my .http://rage.com.my/lastsurvivors/
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