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Tag: China

  • History Of Searches For Missing Malaysia Airlines Airliner

    History Of Searches For Missing Malaysia Airlines Airliner

    A look at the progressive searches for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which are the most challenging and expensive undertaken in aviation history.

    FIRST SEARCH: On March 8, 2014, an air and sea search begins in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea on the assumption that the plane crashed on its way from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. Malaysia reveals two weeks later that its military radar had tracked the plane flying far off course to the west.

    SECOND SEARCH: Analysis of satellite signals emitted by the plane in its final hours suggests that it crashed west of Australia. A sonar search appears to detect the ‘ping’ of the jet’s black box near the end of its monthlong battery life. But after 850 square kilometers (330 square miles) of seabed is searched, authorities conclude that they must have been mistaken.

    THIRD SEARCH: Further analysis of satellite data defined a more remote search zone 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) off Australia’s southwest coast in the Indian Ocean. The 60,000-square-kilometer (23,000-square-mile) search area was later doubled. In July, officials agreed the search would be suspended once crews finish scouring the area, unless new evidence emerges pinpointing a specific location of the aircraft.

    POSSIBLE FOURTH SEARCH?: In December, international investigators released a report based on a fresh analysis of the data concluding that the plane is highly unlikely to be in the current search zone, and suggesting that the aircraft may instead have crashed in an area farther north. The investigators said a new search should be launched of the 25,000-square kilometer (9,700-square mile) area immediately to the north of the current search zone. But Australian officials said that was unlikely, as the report failed to identify a specific location of the plane.

    CHALLENGES: The search zone is so remote that the sonar ships spend half their monthlong shifts transiting to and from their Australian port. The ocean ranges from 600 meters (2,000 feet) to 6.5 kilometers (4 miles) deep, with the average depth being 4 kilometers (2.5 miles). The seabed has jutting ridges and volcanoes and deep, sharp crevasses.

    COST: Australia has agreed to pay US$60 million and China $20 million for the current search. Malaysia has paid $80 million and has agreed to pay the balance of the final search cost.

     

    Source: The Jakarta Post

  • Lee Hsien Loong And South China Sea – “Roared Like A Tiger, But Now Quiet As A Mouse”

    Lee Hsien Loong And South China Sea – “Roared Like A Tiger, But Now Quiet As A Mouse”

    By: Tan Jee Say

    1. In July 2016, when the Hague tribunal ruled in favour of the Philippines but against some of China’s claims in the South China Sea, PM Lee loudly and vehemently urged China to abide by the ruling, adding that only when countries respect international rules, will small nations have a chance to survive in a global world.

    2. Many events have happened in the months following the Hague tribunal. US President-elect Trump had spoken on the SCS. China had flown a nuclear bomber over the SCS. But PM Lee has remained silent.

    3. Staying quiet or making neutral remarks softly, is the right thing to do for a small nation who is not a claimant in the disputed territories. Otherwise we may provoke hostile reactions from parties directly involved in the dispute.

    4. But after roaring on the scene like a tiger and then suddenly turning quiet as a mouse 5 months later, what does this episode tell us about the leadership of PM Lee who has said ad infinitum that Singapore requires exceptional leadership to survive. What has PM Lee shown us about his tiger-turned-mouse leadership? This reminds me of the famous line in the popular beer advertisement, “Give that man a Tiger”. Yes we want a tiger, a real tiger, not a paper tiger.

    5. This tiger-turned-mouse analogy is inspired by PM Lee’s castigation of WP’s performance , “You voted for a tiger in the chamber and you got a mouse in the House” (1 September 2015). Colourful imagery, PM. Now look at yourself in the mirror.

     

    Source: https://thesgdaily.com

  • No Influx Of Chinese Nationals In Johor

    No Influx Of Chinese Nationals In Johor

    JOHOR BARU • Investments from China into Johor are part of a global trend and it does not make sense to say that there will soon be 700,000 Chinese nationals living in the southern state, said Johor Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

    He made the remarks to rebut a claim by former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad that housing projects in Johor such as Forest City township will result in an influx of Chinese nationals into the state.

    Datuk Seri Khaled said China has become an economic powerhouse with a large middle class that has a strong appetite for property all over the globe, the Malay Mail Online news website quoted him as saying on Thursday.

    And Dr Mahathir, who was prime minister for 22 years, should understand the importance of foreign investments as he had flown all over the world to ask investors to put money in the country.

    “This is a global phenomenon and it behoves all parties, particularly the private sector, to attract investment from China and, specifically, to Johor. More so when Johor is just next to Singapore,” Mr Khaled said in a statement.

    “But it is wildly inaccurate to state that property… is only for the Chinese. What more when developers in Johor do not target only Chinese as their prospects.”

    Dr Mahathir, who now leads an opposition party, claimed in a speech late last month that a “gigantic city” being built in Johor would be peopled by Chinese nationals.

    He further claimed that he had heard that they would be given Malaysian identity cards to vote for Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling coalition.

    “This is the frightening story I heard, that there is an attempt to issue ICs to foreigners to support Najib in the next general election,” he said in a speech at an opposition rally last week, as quoted by the Malaysian Digest news site.

    “Johoreans, Malays or even local Chinese and Indians can’t fill up this gigantic city that can hold 700,000 people. Foreigners will be imported to fill these houses being funded by Chinese developers, to settle them into our community,” Dr Mahathir said.

    Rebutting the claim, Mr Khaled said the 1,386ha Forest City project, which is being built on four man-made islands, is a project lasting 30 years.

    “Marketing for residential properties in Forest City is not concentrated only in China but also in Australia, Middle East and other countries, and it is only offering 10,000 units,” he said, as quoted by Bernama news agency.

    “After 30 years, maybe there will be 700,000 foreigners in Johor but it is unlikely all of them will be Chinese nationals.”

    He added: “We, in Johor, do not want to be the backyard of Singapore. We want to develop on our own efforts, our capability, strength and on the position of Johor itself.”

     

    Source: www.straitstimes.com

  • Chee Soon Juan: Lee Hsien Loong’s Unstatesman-Like Behaviour Ruining Relations With China

    Chee Soon Juan: Lee Hsien Loong’s Unstatesman-Like Behaviour Ruining Relations With China

    It is clear that Singapore’s relations with China has deteriorated in recent years and LHL’s utterances have not helped. The couple of wisecracks he made – saying that all the Chinese people need to do was to turn on the tap if they wanted pork soup after pig carcasses were found in the rivers or get free smokes simply by opening windows because of the smog – were, to put it mildly, eyebrow-raising.

    Such humour, while one might expect from a stand-up comic, has to be off limits to a head of government. Does this even need to be pointed out?

    To make matters worse, Lee made these injudicious remarks in front of an American audience, a country that China sees as its intense rival, and drew much laughter. How do you think we would react if another country’s leader made some jokes about Singapore?

    And when matters came to a head regarding the South China Sea, Lee presumed to lecture China on the rule of law, forgetting his own abuse of the rule of law in Singapore. And when frustrated over the demise of the TPP, he lashed out that China was no more the middle kingdom. The tone-deafness defied belief.

    Would not such views have been better expressed behind the scenes? Did the jokes contribute to an already aggravated atmosphere?

    No one determines who we trade and build alliances with. Singaporeans will not be dictated to by any foreign power and we will meet any such challenge with united resoluteness.

    But when our prime minister deprecates other countries, he must be called out. To remain silent or, worse, call for unintelligent loyalty to him on such occasions is to endanger our country’s interests and jeopardise our people’s well-being.

    As PM, Lee must realise that what he says on the international stage impacts greatly on ordinary Singaporeans. Unstatesman-like remarks that harm our country’s international relations must stop.

     

    Source: Chee Soon Juan 徐顺全

  • Visitor Numbers Soar After Suzhou Nursing Home Offers Cash Incentives To Children Who Visit Parents

    Visitor Numbers Soar After Suzhou Nursing Home Offers Cash Incentives To Children Who Visit Parents

    A nursing home in Suzhou in China’s Jiangsu province has seen a boom in visitorship, after it started a scheme offering cash incentives to children who visit their parents there.

    The rewards increase with the number of visits, according to the South China Morning Post.

    Children who visit at least 10 times in two months get 50 yuan (S$10) to spend on goods or services at the home, followed by 100 yuan for at least 20 visits, and 200 yuan for at least 30 visits.

    Nurses have been recording and keeping track of each resident’s visitors since the scheme started in September, South China Morning Post reported.

    The home has at least 500 residents. Less than 10 per cent of them had regular visits before the scheme began, with most children dropping by less than twice monthly, and some only annually.

    However, now over half the residents are visited frequently enough to qualify for the incentives. Family members said they are dropping by not due to the money, but from the shame of not having taken care of their parents before.

    Staff said that the health of the residents, who average over 80 years old, has improved with the introduction of the scheme.

    The nursing home’s managers expressed a concern that more elderly people will be left in such homes, as the country’s population ages.

     

    Source: The Straits Times