Growing breed of Chinese moguls Down Under [Straits Times] #RisingChina #OverseasChinese #Australia

Chinese moguls keeping a toe down under.

‘Australia has more links to China’s tycoons than any other country except the United States, according to the compiler of the Hurun list.’

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Growing breed of Chinese moguls Down Under
Based in China, they have big investments in Australia and some have political clout as well
By Jonathan Pearlman, In Sydney
Source – Straits Times, published April 28, 2013

Xu Rongmao. —
PHOTO: by APPLE DAILY

When a rare chance arose to buy a World Heritage-listed resort island in the Great Barrier Reef last year, Australian-Chinese media mogul William Han decided to invest in paradise.

“Aussie Bill”, as he is known, outbid 200 others for the 584ha Lindeman Island off the coast of Queensland from Club Med, shelling out A$12 million (S$15.3 million) for it. He now plans to spend another A$500 million at least to turn it into a high-end resort for Asian holidaymakers.

Mr Han is one of a growing breed of Chinese-Australian moguls, several of whom are on China’s top 1,000 rich list compiled by the Hurun Report magazine.

Shanghai-based property mogul Xu Rongmao was ranked No. 12 last year with an estimated worth of US$4.7 billion (S$5.8 billion). An Australian citizen, he has invested in properties in Sydney and Darwin and educated both his children in Australia.

Filed under: Australia, Beijing Consensus, Channel News Asia, Chinese Model, Chinese overseas, Economics, Finance, Greater China, Influence, International Relations, Overseas Chinese, Peaceful Development, Public Diplomacy, Social, Soft Power, Straits Times, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Australian, The Chinese Identity

#Chinese Migrant bus driver strike stuns #Singapore [The Australian/AAP]

The Australian: The first real strike in a quarter century involving 5% of critical transport services for an extremely population dense island-nation just over fifty years old, does seem to tell Singapore that leveraging on China’s rise may prove to be an increasingly delicate affair.

Contrary to opinion floating around, strikes are not illegal but rather, one must be extremely in the know and meet multiple conditions to pull one off.

This sure has angered many Chinese on the mainland and Singaporean Chinese too – it is a complex issue with a tremendous back story. It will however, surely do little positives for the projection of national image and public diplomacy between the only two independent Chinese-majority states with Chinese leadership at the helm in the world.

Indeed, Singapore has been a known transnational Chinese social sphere for the good part of three centuries. Sun Yat Sen organised his thoughts and finances in Singapore to trigger the Chinese revolution a century odd back – will this spawn a chapter between the Chinese of Singapore and China?

For more, check out Why Chinese drivers went on strike in Singapore at Xinhua, December 8, 2012. Also, for evidence the Chinese are keeping a pulse on their sojourning workforce and consequent international relations with the host country – see China hopes Singapore secure rights of arrested drivers: ministry at Xinhua on December 7, 2012. J

Just how these events unfolding will impact bilateral ties remains to be seen – more recently more workers went on strike at Singapore’s docks. More on that in a coming article.

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Migrant bus driver strike stuns Singapore
AAP Agency
Source – The Australian, published December 6, 2012

FOUR Chinese immigrant bus drivers accused of inciting Singapore’s first labour strike in 26 years have been granted bail in a case that highlighted growing social friction caused by an influx of foreign labour.

A fifth Chinese driver has already been sentenced to six weeks in prison even though prosecutors said he was not an instigator of the strike, which was called to demand equitable pay.

Walking off the job in protest is almost unheard of in Singapore, and the swift prosecution following the November 26-27 strike was a clear sign the government of this strictly-enforced country will not brook any disobedience from its work force.

Filed under: Australia, Beijing Consensus, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Domestic Growth, Finance, Government & Policy, Greater China, Influence, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Singapore, Social, Soft Power, Tao Guang Yang Hui (韬光养晦), The Australian, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Transport, Australia, China's Rise, Democracy, Education, History, Human rights, Identity, International Relations, Media, Nationalism, Politics, Propaganda, Public Diplomacy, Singapore, Transportation

Huawei calls US Congress report ‘China bashing’ [AFP/Sydney Morning Herald]

Agencies-AFP and digital soft power: US Congress report seen by world’s top and fourth ranked telecomms companies as ‘China Bashing‘ in a liminal space where network society vulnerabilities in the telecommunications supply chain are examined.

Click here for a PDF copy of the report, hosted by WSJ.

ZTE, formerly Zhongxing Telecommunication Equipment Corporation is a Shenzhen-based MNC telecomms equipment and systems maker is the world’s fourth largest mobile phone manufacturer by unit sales. Founded in 1985 by a group of SOEs with China’s Ministry of Aerospace, it can be hard to shake off the allusions manifesting in western critical discourse.

Indeed Huawei too, was founded by former military officer Ren Zhengfei (click for Forbes profile) having spent a decade in the PLA engineering corps.

These associations, though telling, must also factor in the fact that in pre-opening up China, the military was the most sure-fire way to get a strong-er foothold in socialist life then. It still remains an aspirant and express ticket to prosperity in the eyes of many Chinese contemporaries around my age.

The collective memory of a tried and tested path though SOE and the military still remain today. Perhaps I digress.

In a quick scan of dominant media, let us kick off with a response that is couched in a central theme of ‘fear‘ by the Global Times in the op-ed Why does US fear Chinese telecom giants? Washington is afraid that Chinese companies will bring competition and challenges to the US.  Its lack of self-confidence is astonishing. Out of fear, the US is becoming oversensitive to China and even suspects equipment makers such as Huawei and ZTE. (October 9, 2012)

The report comes at a time when Huawei is struggling to establish its credentials in the US Political rhetoric against Beijing is intensifying as the US presidential election nears and as China gains clout in global affairs. Huawei and ZTE refute US lawmakers’ claims, Cisco cancels ZTE order (The Australian, October 9, 2012)

Source – Wall Street Journal, 2012

Huawei, in a statement, denied the allegations made in the report. “Unfortunately, the Committee’s report not only ignored our proven track record of network security in the United States and globally, but also paid no attention to the large amount of facts that we have provided.” The company also expressed concerns about trade protectionism. “We have to suspect that the only purpose of such a report is to impede competition and obstruct Chinese ICT companies from entering the US market.” Report Threatens Huawei’s Growth Plans
(Wall Street Journal Online, October 8, 2012)

More on ZTE’s mobile phone/data devices, carrier network solutions and enterprise communication operations in Australia here.

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Huawei calls US Congress report ‘China bashing’
Source – Sydney Morning Herald, October 9, 2012

Chinese tech giant Huawei on Monday called a congressional report warning of security risks from its telecom equipment “an exercise in China-bashing” as US lawmakers held firm to their allegations.

A US spokesman for Huawei said the report by the House Intelligence Committee which warned of national security risks from equipment from Huawei and fellow Chinese firm ZTE was “utterly lacking in substance.”

“Huawei unequivocally denies the allegations in the report,” the spokesman, William Plummer, told reporters on a conference call.

Filed under: AFP, Beijing Consensus, Censorship, Charm Offensive, Chinese Model, Communications, Culture, Cyberattack, Democracy, Economics, Education, Government & Policy, Influence, Infrastructure, International Relations, Mapping Feelings, Media, Modernisation, Nationalism, Peaceful Development, Politics, Soft Power, Strategy, Technology, The Australian, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, U.S., China's Rise, Economics, International Relations, Media, Nationalism, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Strategy, U.S.

Shifting power balance sees China, Japan dig deep to save the West [the Australian]

Greetings, am still wandering through Europe getting a feel of the impact (sometimes, the lack of) of China in this region. Internet access has been intermittent as I travel through the countryside. More regular updates to come when I return. In the meantime…

A view from Australia: Shift in the global balance of power tilting east or will this be an Asian century of footing the bill for debts it did not ‘directly’ incur? The way this article is phrased suggests it also means footing the bills with little equivalent exchange in return. Will paying for someone else’s bad habits become the new norm in this new landscape of sharing a boat of interdependence and integration? Perhaps this shift is purely perceptual.

…in a sign that Europe is nearing the end of its tolerance for “helpful” suggestions from outsiders, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso told the G20 that the EU was not the cause of the current crisis and won’t be “lectured” by anyone.

“Frankly, we are not coming here to receive lessons in terms of democracy or in terms of how to handle the economy,” Barroso said.

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Shifting power balance sees China, Japan dig deep to save the West
BY: RICHARD GLUYAS
Source: The Australian, published June 20, 2012

THE arrival of the Asian century has been underscored with news that China will kick in $US43 billion ($42.4bn) to the International Monetary Fund’s global firewall.

China’s commitment, which is the third largest after Japan ($US60bn) and Germany ($US54.7bn), compares with a weighty contribution from the mighty US — zero.

The US is clearly wrestling with its own problems, and a donation to Europe’s begging bowl would be political poison in an election year. Even so, the latest commitments to the new $US430bn fund, which were announced during the G20 summit in Mexico, highlight the anomaly of the US and Europe controlling key global institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, when the centre of economic power is tilting east.

Filed under: Australia, Beijing Consensus, Chen Wenling, Chinese Model, Economics, Europe, European Union, Finance, Foreign aid, IMF, Influence, Peaceful Development, Politics, Public Diplomacy, Soft Power, The Australian, The Chinese Identity

Activist Yang Hengjun ‘free’ and planning to head home [The Australian]

So, this has been labelled a misunderstanding. From the horse’s mouth – this is the Twitter post in action. For more go to his Twitter account here. His Twitter account still does not provide any useful clue behind his disappearance. Did the Aussie media stir up the human interest story with any legitimacy? Now I am not sure.

posted 31 March –

我是杨恒均（此微博密码已改），由于个人原因，27日晚暂时失去与家人、朋友的联系达50多小时，引起轩然大波，本人深表歉意。在此敏感时期，此事牵动无数网友与朋友的心，我看到后，禁不住热泪盈眶。谢谢你们，我永远是你们的恒均！抗议：外交部发言人姜瑜，你真不知道杨恒均？这不是无知，而是无耻.

Translated –

I Yang Hengjun, due to personal reasons, lost contact with my family members and friends from the night of the 27th for close to 50 hours. It caused an uproar and I apologise. In this sensitive period, when i came across the well wishes of my friends from  the web, I was almost moved to tears. Thank you, I will be your Yang Henjun forever! A protest to the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Jiang Yu: Do you not know who Yang Hengjun is? That is not ignorance, it is a shame.

posted 2 April –

为了不辜负关心我的网友，只有更努力工作。但我可能要辜负全世界的媒体了，据确切消息，已经有多家外媒到香港与悉尼等我去“爆料”（到外面才说），我今天在广州接受了一家媒体的独家采访，同时请他传递口信：无料可爆，不想再接受更多采访：http://url.cn/0bXRPE （请翻译过来）

In order not to let down my friends from the web, I can only continue to work hard. However, I might have to let down the world’s media. According to accurate reports, foreign media have been arriving in Hong Kong and Sydney waiting for an explosive revealing of ‘everything’. I accepted an exclusive interview today in Guangzhou through which I passed on a message – I have nothing to reveal, and have no wish for further interviews: http://url.cn/0bXRPE – link points to interview with Australia’s Fairfax China correspondent – John Garnaut.

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Activist Yang Hengjun ‘free’ and planning to head home
AFP
Source – The Australian, published March 31, 2011

DEMOCRACY activist Yang Hengjun said today he is “free” and plans to head back to Australia in the next few days.

Dr Yang, an Australian writer and online commentator, disappeared in strange circumstances last weekend, sparking fears he was in police custody.

“I’m free now, I’m OK,” Dr Yang said in a brief telephone conversation during which he indicated he did not want to talk more, refusing to elaborate further.

Filed under: Beijing Consensus, Chinese Model, Chinese overseas, Democracy, Human Rights, Internet, Media, Nationalism, People, Politics, Population, Public Diplomacy, Reform, Social, The Australian, The Chinese Identity, The construction of Chinese and Non-Chinese identities, Yang Hengjun

China One was an old-fashioned roller-coaster but China Two is a much scarier ride [The Australian]

Great piece by the Australian depicting Australia’s cultural sensitivities on their own handling of rising China; I loved the imagery.

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China One was an old-fashioned roller-coaster but China Two is a much scarier ride
Terry McCrann
Source: The Australian March 13, 2010

FASTEN your seat belts. Heck, you probably need a full racing harness, as the second Chinese-driven resources boom of the 21st century promises to be the national economic and financial equivalent of the most extreme of amusement park rides.

Three big points flow from the metaphor, which mean this time it really will be different.

The new boom, what I call China Two, is picking up from not just where China One left off in 2008, but from close to its high water mark.

Filed under: Australia, Domestic Growth, Economics, Influence, International Relations, Resources, The Australian