08/24/2010 Source: Xinhua

More important than criminalizing such widely denounced behavior as drunk driving are the proposed amendments to the Criminal Law, including the cancellation of the death penalty for some non-violent crimes.

Unlike the proposed new crimes, which are aimed at deterring new threats to the public’s sense of security, the 13 crimes that are to be exempted from capital punishment are mostly violations of ownership. Under the present Criminal Law, trafficking in cultural relics, precious metals, rare animals, and even common commodities may qualify for the death penalty.

Crimes of such nature can cause tremendous financial losses, to the State or individual citizens, and are thus worth severe penalties. Yet they hardly justify the depriving of life.

In reality, in spite of the intimidating validity of capital punishment, over the years, few have been sentenced to death for these crimes.

Revoking capital punishment, which is increasingly rarely applied for these crimes, will not result in major differences in the courts’ decisions in dealing with such cases. But, once it passes legislative scrutiny, it will represent great progress in Chinese jurisprudence.

We understand the legislative authorities’ justification of the need for the death sentence in our criminal code – some of the most dangerous threats to public well-being call for the harshest of penalties as the ultimate deterrent. On the other hand, there is the widening consensus that the scope of its application must be strictly controlled.

Removing the death sentence from such crimes will honor the authorities’ promise to gradually reduce the use of the capital penalty.

8/17/10 Source: Xinhua

Hong Kong Monetary Authority ( HKMA) welcomed on Tuesday the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) ‘s approval of Renminbi Clearing Bank and other eligible institutions outside the Chinese mainland to invest in the mainland’s interbank bond market.

The PBoC promulgated Tuesday a notice on a pilot scheme for the Renminbi (RMB) Clearing Bank and other eligible institutions outside the Chinese mainland to make use of their RMB funds to invest in the mainland’s interbank bond market.

Under the pilot scheme, the Clearing Bank and Participating Banks of RMB Business in Hong Kong can conduct trading in the mainland’s interbank bond market upon approval by the PBoC.

The Chief Executive of the HKMA Norman Chan said the HKMA will liaise closely with the PBoC on the implementation of the scheme, and will issue a circular to authorized institutions on this matter.

“The launch of the scheme has opened up a channel for RMB funds and financial institutions in Hong Kong to invest in the mainland. This will further promote the development of RMB trade settlement in Hong Kong, and enhance the attractiveness of RMB offshore business in Hong Kong,” said Chan.

Furthermore, under the scheme, central banks and monetary authorities outside the mainland can also invest in the mainland’s interbank bond market.

In this regard, Chan said the HKMA welcomes the new arrangement and will follow up with the PBoC accordingly.

8/17/10 Source: Xinhua

China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC) has urged more efforts to clear the backlog of cases as a campaign to complete long-delayed verdicts had seen positive results.

Various local departments were urged to be “fully aware” of the importance of the speedy execution of court orders and tackling the backlog of cases, said a statement released Tuesday after a meeting on backlogged cases.

The meeting was jointly held by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the SPC.

Statistics cited in the statement show that since a campaign on clearing backlogged cases started in November 2008, long-delayed verdicts for more than 333,000 property cases had been completed.

In addition, more than 3 million cases not involving properties had also been cleared.

The two organizations urged police, banks, financial administrative departments, tax departments and other units that might be involved in case execution to fully support and coordinate the enforcement of court orders.

The statement also called for harsher punishments and restrictions in real estate, credit rating and other fields for defendants who refused to follow court orders.

“The campaign is in accordance with the people’s interests… and will have positive effects on promoting social harmony and stability,” said Wang Lequan, deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, at the meeting.

08/10/2010 Source: People’s Daily

Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp (BAIC), Daimler AG and Hyundai Motor’s partner in China, recently announced plans to expand its presence at the opposite end of the market – by producing and selling more minivans.

A recent agreement between BAIC and motorcycle maker Chongqing Yinxiang Group outlined plans for a minivan plant in Hechuan district of Chongqing with a first-phase investment of 1.5 billion yuan. It will have an initial capacity to make 300,000 minivans annually.

It is not the first time BAIC, China’s fifth-largest automaker by sales, entered the minivan business. It has an existing plant that can make 200,000 minivans yearly in central China’s Hunan province.

“Driven by great demand in China’s medium and small-sized cities and in rural areas, the minivan market has bright prospects,” said a public relations official for BAIC. “Developing the minivan market is now top of the agenda at BAIC,” he said.

Shining performance

Statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufactures show that first-half sales of crossover passenger vehicles including minivans this year surpassed 1.3 million units, nearly 43 percent growth over the first six moths of 2009.

Minivan models have already shown what great influence they have on the overall market.

Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) ranked first in sales last year largely due to the performance of its minivan unit SAIC-GM-Wuling.

The nation’s sixth-largest automaker Guangzhou Automobile Group Co joined the fray in April with its joint venture Guangqi Gonow to produce minibuses.

Among the top six Chinese automakers, BAIC is the last to enter the minivan market.

Auto analysts said BAIC could fall from the top five if it doesn’t move into the minivan segment.

Overcapacity risks

Among the 1.95 million minivans sold last year, more than half were made by SAIC-GM-Wuling, which produced more than 1 million units.

Next was Chang’an Automobile Group with minivan sales of 700,000 units. The two companies now account for almost 80 percent of the entire market.

First Auto Works – also one of the largest domestic automakers – announced in June that it will build a minivan plant with a yearly capacity of 400,000 units in Jilin province.

Even though the rush is on, some experts warn that overheated competition in the segment could lead to the big becoming bigger, while smaller producers could end up with nothing.

Xu Changming, director of the economy consultation center of the State Information Center, said the minivan market is already at risk of overcapacity.

Another researcher, Zhu Yanhui with Aijian Securities, said overcapacity is not likely to be a problem in the short term because present production is far short of demand.

Yet he said over the long term the problem will become obvious.

As well, minivans compete with other light vehicles like pickups. As farmers’ incomes rise, they have options for more models and minivans are not the first choice for many.

In 2009, minivans sales in rural areas surged, partly due to central government stimulus policies. The incentives will expire this year, making prospects even tougher for newcomers.

08/09/2010 Source: Xinhua

Police have turned over a man who allegedly killed three children in a kindergarten attack Tuesday in Zibo City, east China’s Shandong Province, to judiciary for prosecution, a statement from the city government said Sunday.

Fang Jiantang, a 26-year-old self-employed man, was detained within hours of the attack. Three children died at the scene, while three other children and four teachers were injured and taken to hospital.

An initial investigation showed that in the summer of 2009, Fang was slightly hit by a car and thus had a fight with the driver. The driver went missing since then, but Fang had been searching for opportunities to revenge, the statement said.

The statement, citing Fang’s confession, said Fang, who worked at his parents’ restaurant, had been “spoiled” since childhood and had a bad temper.

Fang said he had used a 60-centimeter long knife in the attack and police had found the murder weapon.

The investigation is continuing.

07/29/2010 Source: People’s Daily

China’s work safety authorities will investigate and crack down on manufacturers operating illegally in the coming three months, the Work Safety Committee Office under the State Council, China’s Cabinet, said Wednesday.

Accidents in manufacturing plants have dropped this year, but illegal operations still pose a grave threat to workplace safety, accounting for about 55 percent of the accidents above “relatively major” level, said a statement from the office.

An accident above “relatively major” level referred to a case in which three or more deaths are involved, ten or more are seriously injured or an economic loss above 10 million yuan (1.48 million U.S. dollars) is caused.

The crackdown beginning from Aug. 1 will focus sectors including mines, transportation, construction sites, manufacturers of dangerous chemicals, fireworks plants and smelting sector, said the statement.

Illegal operations mainly refer to manufacturers that run without permits or run with insufficient or overdue permits and against safety production laws and codes.

07/29/2010 Source: Xinhua

China’s foreign exchange regulator said Thursday that it will increase punishments for illegal foreign exchange activities.

The move aims to help curb the hot money inflows and promote sound development of the foreign exchange management, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), the regulator, said in a statement.

During the inspections in the past two years, SAFE found that some banks had relaxed approval regulations in a bid to quickly expand its foreign exchange business, though its statement does not list the names of the erring banks.

The regulator said it will intensify the scope and frequency of investigations into banks’ foreign exchange activities.

Starting from February this year, investigations into speculative hot money, which have entered the country, betting on an appreciation of the Chinese currency, and a hike in asset prices, have found 190 cases, or 7.35 billion U.S. dollars, of hot money inflows, the SAFE said earlier this month.

Capital flows into and out of China for purposes other than import – export payments are strictly controlled by the SAFE, which manages China’s 2.45 trillion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange reserves.