Why China can be a game-changer in the ME
By AVRUM EHRLICH

Several decades of US failure to bring peace to the region has not prompted the sages of Israeli diplomacy to consider other tracks.

At an Iran crisis simulation exercise held at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya (IDC) this week, a star-studded cast of ambassadors, former generals, experts and professors representing state and non-state actors played out the “responses” to a flare up between Iran and Israel. I was asked to play the Chinese position in such a scenario, affording a front-row view of some of the worryingly outdated attitudes of the Israeli (and American) participants. It was embarrassing to observe how out of touch the players were with the fast-changing geo-political and economic fault lines underscoring the tensions. It was also concerning that all seemed to misunderstand, did not care enough to understand, or chose to ignore Chinese interests and influence in Iran and the Middle East.

Consumed by an almost drug-induced US-centric psychosis and unshakeable faith in the infallibility of a US-led track, several decades of failure to bring about a Middle East game-changer has not prompted the sages of Israeli diplomacy to review its veracity or consider other options and tracks.

Despite the incredible energy Israelis spend on integrating with the American consensus – sending students to Harvard and MIT, scholarly hob knobbing and shoulder rubbing with policy institute doyens in Washington and political back scrubbing – no such efforts (or even signs of interest) are invested in developing relations with China.

Israel has become bound in the service of US conceptual frameworks, while not understanding the nuances of others and the fault lines of other geo-political and economic realities.

No alternative horizons or different models of thinking are proposed by the iconoclastic Israeli strategist. The prospect that a home-grown Asian entity, the emerging economic giant, a local resident to the continent, could actually play an important role in resolving a regional problem, has not occurred to the brilliant Israeli political adviser.

FOR THOSE who don’t have time to read more, suffice to internalize a short message. China’s role in resolving the Middle East stalemate is overlooked as if it didn’t exist. Perhaps so many political advisers have their careers built on the Israel-American relationship, they are loathe to kick a ball over to the Chinese court. China’s influence over Iran and the Arab world is many times greater than that of the US: It has massive, unprecedented investments, hundreds of thousands of workers, engineers and professionals on the ground. China consumes and underwrites a huge percentage of the ME and Iranian GDP.

Iranian and Arab world economies are dependent on China’s continued engagement. Impressive, regular and high-level exchanges between these countries are continuous. Thousands of students, delegations, trade and investment groups travel between countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Egypt and so on. China does not like to acknowledge the full extent of its influence in the region because of the obvious ramifications this would have on its international obligations if it were recognized as a Middle East game changer.

Furthermore, attention must be paid to how to steer China’s interest toward reconciling the problems in the region instead of benefiting from them, as it does at present.

I was asked by several parties at the simulation exercise to vote in favor of regional peace – something which, despite all good will, I could not do, because peace and stability in the region were designed to bring maximum benefit to the US and reduce those of other national players.

At present, China is cherry-picking the oil, gas and resource deals while selling its goods to a captive market.

Unless Israel understands Chinese interests and decides to design a situation where China can benefit from regional stability and cooperation, it cannot expect to bring the country over as a partner to its vision. This work must be done by Israel alone. It cannot expect the Americans to understand that Israel’s interests may lie elsewhere.

A short example of how Israel can work with China for regional stability is demonstrated in the recently reported expression of interest from Doha to reestablish diplomatic relations in return for rights to rebuild Gaza. Constructing a Chinese-Israeli-Arab understanding for large construction and infrastructure programs across the ME may be of sufficient interest to the Chinese for them to use their influence to halt tensions between the parties. The reconstruction of Gaza is an excellent opportunity to bring them in.

It is time for policy-makers to wake up to some conceptual game changes which have taken place in the world over the last decade. It’s time we turn our thoughts to carefully constructing Israeli policy towards China.
a JPost.com article

A federal judge has ruled that the government is liable for illegally wiretapping an Islamic charity without a valid search warrant.

US District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco said on Wednesday that attorneys for the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation, once based in Oregon, could pursue civil remedies for being subjected in 2004 to warrantless domestic surveillance under an anti-terrorism program put into place by the Bush administration after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.

The Court’s ruling reaffirmed an earlier decision that the warrantless wiretaps conducted on an Oregon-based Islamic non-profit organization were illegal.

The US has designated the Oregon-based al-Haramain Islamic Foundation as a terrorist organization.

The al-Haramain Islamic Foundation was a target of a Treasury Department program to track financing of terrorism activities, Walker’s ruling said.

Telephone conversations between people identified as foundation officials in Saudi Arabia and their lawyers in the US were tapped in 2004.

Source:Presstv

Iran has dismissed Western threats of sanctions, stressing that “the rights of independent states” should be accepted.

Speaking on Thursday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast rejected sanctions as an “incorrect method” sought by “certain states.”

His remarks were in response to what he called “anti-Iranian words of the Canadian Prime Minister during the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.”

At the March 30 meeting, Stephen Harper had urged “a heightened focus and a stronger coordinated action including sanctions if necessary on the Iranian regime.”

“Tehran must halt its nuclear enrichment activities and engage in peaceful dialogue,” he said.

However, Mehmanparast said Iran’s nuclear programs are entirely peaceful and that sanctions have proven to be useless over the past 30 years.

“Our advice to all countries has always been that, instead of resorting to incorrect methods such as sanctions and pressure, move towards restoring the rights of other independent countries in compliance with accepted rights of all states, especially within the framework of NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty], and take the [necessary] steps for the peaceful use of nuclear energy,” he said.

Certain Western governments, led by the US, have accused Iran of seeking nuclear weapons capability and have imposed sanctions in an effort to force Tehran to stop its enrichment activities.

However, Iran counters that, as a longstanding signatory to the NPT, it has the right to possess full nuclear fuel cycle, insisting that the production of nuclear weapons has no place in its policy.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has carried out intrusive inspections of Iranian nuclear facilities for years, and has announced that there is no evidence of diversion of nuclear material from civilian to military applications.

Source: Presstv

Shanghai: China has closed what it claims to be the largest hacker training website in the country and arrested three of its members, domestic media reported on Monday.
The “Black Hawk Safety Net” website taught hacking techniques and provided malicious software downloads for its 12,000 members in exchange for a fee, the Wuhan Evening News newspaper reported this weekend, citing police in Huanggang, just east of Wuhan.

Hacking from China has received international attention since Google Inc threatened to quit China last month after a serious hacking attempt originating from China, resulting in the theft of its intellectual property.

China has denied involvement in the hacking episode and said it does not condone hacking.
The website was shut in late November and three of its members arrested on suspicion of criminal activity, the newspaper reported, without saying why the news was only released now.

Wuhan happens to be home to the Communication Command Academy, which trains hackers, according to U.S. congressional testimony by cyber expert James Mulvenon in 2008.

The popularity of hacking in China, and hackers’ use of multiple addresses and servers, in Taiwan and elsewhere, makes it hard to prove how or by whom they are coordinated.

Would-be hackers in China do not have to look far to figure out how to do it, thanks to a healthy hacking industry and sites such as Black Hawk Safety Net (www.3800hk.com), which was unavailable on Monday.

Source: Reuters

Dubai: China may replace India in the proposed India-Pakistan-Iran (IPI) gas pipeline project as New Delhi has been dithering over the deal, a media report has said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki claimed that Tehran was ready to start anytime the IPI “peace pipeline” project, originally conceived to include Iran, Pakistan and India. China might replace India in the proposed project soon as India has been dithering over the deal, Mottaki is reported to have said. All the details between Pakistan and Iran in this regard have already been finalised, according to a report in Tehran Times newspaper.

India still needed some time but “we can even start the project without India”, Mottaki was quoted as saying by the daily.

The IPI project was conceived in 1995 and, after almost 13 years, India finally decided to quit the project in 2008. India walked out of the proposed 2,775-km project, mainly due to the hefty transit fee demanded by Pakistan.

Mootaki blamed the US for trying to sabotage the gas pipeline project, saying: “Growing relations between the US and India should not affect the relations of India with other countries of the region.”

Source: Business Standard

Beijing, China (CNN) — China has threatened to slap sanctions on American companies that sell arms to its rival Taiwan as part of a range of punitive actions Beijing is taking to protest the deal.

China also summoned U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman to express its anger over Washington’s announcement, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said, citing the Foreign Ministry.

Beijing also suspended plans for visits between the Chinese and U.S. militaries and postponed a high-level arms control meeting, it announced Saturday, following Washington’s $6.4-billion arms deal with Taiwan.

China’s Defense Ministry said the decision was made “in consideration of the serious harm and impacts on Sino-U.S. military relations” brought about by the arms deal, according to Xinhua.

“China will make further judgments as appropriate,” Xinhua reported.

China had already complained to the United States about the deal, announced Friday by the Obama administration.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei called it a “rude interference in China’s internal affairs, severely endangering China’s national security” and said China expressed its “strong indignation.”

The arms sale includes 60 Black Hawk helicopters, totaling $3.1 billion; 114 advanced Patriot air defense missiles; a pair of Osprey mine-hunting ships; and dozens of advanced communications systems.

The deal with Taiwan — which neither China nor the United States recognizes as an independent country — does not include F-16 fighter jets, which China has vehemently opposed.

The State Department described the latest round of arms sales to Taiwan as a way to guarantee security and stability, despite China’s objections.

“This is a clear demonstration of the commitment this administration has to provide Taiwan with defensive weapons it needs and as provided for in the Taiwan Relations Act,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Friday.

He said the action is consistent with Washington’s “one-China” policy and will help maintain security and stability across the Taiwan Strait.

The arms sales come as the United States is hoping to persuade China to sign on to harsher sanctions against Iran and just after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized China for its policies relating to the Internet.

Crowley would not speak directly about the timing of the announcement of the sales, and about the fact that the arms package does not include F-16s.

A senior U.S. official said later that the United States expected Chinese criticism of the arms deal, but does not expect permanent damage.

The official said he believed Clinton had discussed the sale in London with her Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of Thursday’s international conference on Afghanistan.

“This relationship between the United States and China is broad, it’s deep. There are a large number of issues. We don’t see eye to eye with them and we have to have and do have the ability to speak honestly,” the official said.

The arms deal is the latest chapter in a decades-long uneasy standoff. China claims Taiwan is its own territory and has threatened to invade if Taiwan ever declares independence. The United States has said it will defend Taiwan if China ever attacks.

The government in Taiwan began as the remnant of the government that ruled over mainland China until a Communist insurrection proved victorious in 1949. With the Communist takeover of mainland China, the losing faction fled to the island of Taiwan. Taiwan is formally known as the Republic of China, while Communist China’s official name is People’s Republic of China.

Many Western nations and the United Nations recognized Taiwan as the legitimate Chinese government until the 1970s.

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CNN News Article

A key meeting aimed at tackling Iran’s suspected nuclear arms programme has ended in failure after a low-level Chinese delegate blocked a new round of sanctions against the Islamic republic.

Political directors from the foreign offices of Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States met in New York on Saturday, with China sending only a junior diplomat from its UN mission.

The six-power group, known as the E3+3, agreed that Iran had given an inadequate response to its overtures by the year-end deadline set by President Obama. The UN has so far imposed three rounds of limited sanctions on Iran — in December 2006, March 2007 and March 2008 — to force it to stop enriching uranium in its suspected pursuit of nuclear weapons.

The Western powers want to proceed with a fourth round.

Article from :
www.timesonline.co.uk

Millions of Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province have been the victims of persecution and exile or execution simply because they demand a dignified recognition of their religious, cultural and ethnic rights and identity. In their unwavering resistance to government suppression, the Uighurs are only armed with their faith in their religion and heritage. They tenaciously cling to their Turkic ethnicity and use the Arabic script to write their language.

Exiled Rebiya Kadeer, a 60-year-old mother of 11, is in the forefront of the struggle of the downtrodden Uighurs. While admitting her Chinese nationality, Kadeer is not willing to give up her ethnic and religious identity for the dominant Han culture in China.

According to a statement by an official of Amnesty International last year, “Few people around the world would know what’s happening to the Uighurs if it weren’t for a 59-year-old mother of 11 children who served as a representative in the National People’s Congress, Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.”

This former member of the Political Consultative Congress and China’s delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women has become a big embarrassment to the Chinese government. She has exposed to the world the large-scale human rights violations practiced by the Chinese provincial and central governments.

Since the age of 14, despite poverty and poor health, she has been worried about the humiliating existence of the Uighurs and has worked to regain their lost freedom and dignity. She had to work as a laundress in order to feed her family as her husband’s work did not suffice for the family.

Although her first marriage eventually broke up, with hard work and determination she became a successful businesswoman and once she was even ranked as the seventh wealthiest business personality in China. She has also spent a lot of time doing charitable work in order to aid her people.

She hoped to work within the Chinese system and improve the downtrodden Uighurs. It was while looking for an ally in her service to the people that a likeminded Uighur activist, Saddiq Razi, was released from jail after nine years of punishment. She visited him and offered to marry him with a proposal to struggle jointly for the cause of Uighurs. Surprised by the wealthy woman’s proposal, he asked her why she wanted to marry an ex-convict like him, her reply was, “For the sake of Uighurs. I want us to be together in the struggle for Uighurs.”

Razi married her though his colleagues initially suspected her of being a government’s agent.

Impressed by Kadeer’s philanthropic efforts, the provincial and central governments nominated her to the Political Consultative Congress in 1992, and appointed her a member of China’s delegation to the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Such positions never distracted her from demanding a dignified life for her people.

Using her influence in Beijing, Kadeer tried to persuade high ranking Chinese officials to change their repressive policies against Uighurs. Her insistence on real autonomous authority for the people and especially her harsh criticism of the government’s human right violations during a National People’s Political Consultative Conference session in 1997 prompted the government to turn against her.

She was arrested in 1999 and then sentenced to eight years in jail.
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China in a woman’s grip

WESTERN countries are hypocritical and must sacrifice some luxuries before asking developing countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions, India’s climate change envoy has said.

The envoy received support from another key international player when China insisted that rich countries should commit to large cuts in emissions of greenhouse gases, but declined to put a ceiling on its own levels.

Four months before the Copenhagen conference, which aims to produce a successor to the Kyoto Treaty, China’s chief climate change negotiator confirmed that the world’s leading polluter was holding out for developed countries to reduce emissions by 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

“We have all along believed that due to the historical responsibility of the developed nations, they must continue to take the lead with large reductions beyond 2012,” said Yu Qingtai.

India’s envoy, Shyam Saran, said his country would not take any measures that could restrict its growth. Instead, he said, it would fund developments to reduce carbon emissions, increase green power generation and improve energy efficiency.

Any further measures demanded by developed countries would be taken only if full funding and technological support were provided, he said.

Mr Saran said his Government planned to bring electricity to remote villages by transforming agricultural waste into power. The Government would not yield to pressure from the “hypocritical” West, he said.

“No one is prepared to touch their living standards,” he said. “If you say, ‘You’re producing Tata Nanos [India's new car], what will that do to the world?’, but not talk about your two or three cars per family, it’s hypocritical.

“We can’t be ambitious if we all protect our turf. We need a collaborative response.”

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Sacrifice your luxuries, India tells West