Yearbook 2007
China. The year was marked by complaints from other
countries about piracy and dangerous goods: toothpaste
which, instead of glycerine, contained the toxic substance
diethylene glycol, dog and cat food laced with melamine, and
toys painted with lead paint led to extensive withdrawals of
goods in North America and the EU. According to
CountryAAH, EU Trade Commissioner
Peter Mandelson warned China that the gifts could damage its
reputation. China's "iron lady", Deputy Prime Minister Wu Yi,
expressed "extreme dissatisfaction" with the comment. But
China
nevertheless took power against the cheat. Factories were
closed and a former director of the Food Agency, 62-year-old Zheng Xiaoyu, was executed for taking bribes in exchange for
approval of poisons.
 In April, the United States reported
China to the World
Trade Organization because of continued piracy of American
films, music and computer technology. Finland revealed
extensive piracy smuggling from China which would further south
in Europe.
An important event was the 17th Communist Party Congress
in October. Then two new stars rose in China's political sky:
54-year-old Xi Jinping and 52-year-old Li Keqiang were
elected to the Central Committee's standing committee. Three
members of this mighty nine-man circle fell for the age
bracket. The renewal meant increased power for the president
and party leader Hu Jintao, who has worked with Li Keqiang
for a long time.
Hu Jintao said in his large congressional speech that
China
must continue to invest in bridging the gap between rich and
poor. However, it continued to increase. Although rural
income actually increased somewhat, the difference grew as
the rich became even richer. The fact that China's middle and
upper classes grew was noticed in the car sales. Of
Beijing's 15 million residents now have 2 million cars. Hu
Jintao said in his speech that the country's growth has cost
too much in environmental degradation and social divisions.
"Let's work hard to build a moderate and successful
society," he said.
The fear of Chinese leaders is overheating the economy.
GDP growth was very high during the year - over 11 per cent.
Inflation was also significant - 6.5 percent. Nevertheless,
the outcome for the year as a whole continued to be stable.
Some positive trends, however, are discerned: a series of
typhoons did cause major injuries, but only half as many
casualties as "normal" seasons - about 1,100 compared to
normally over 2,000..
However, the opposition was still heavy. A paradoxical
verdict was passed against civil rights activist Guo
Feixiong. He was given five years for writing a book on
corruption - the very social phenomenon that Hu Jintao
specifically wants to fight.
However, towards the end of the year, Hu Jintao opened a
dialogue with the eight small parties that were allowed to
have a thinning existence alongside the Communist Party.
Several influential businessmen and academics work in these
shining parties. Hu Jintao has repeatedly flagged for
discussions with various community groups about the
development.
The President visited Sweden in June. He traveled between
Stockholm, where the royal couple received, and Gothenburg,
where he visited the East Indies farmer Gothenburg. He
entered into an agreement on advice on environmental issues
and a giant contract with Ericsson worth SEK 7 billion.
The Swedish women's soccer team went to the World Cup in
September in September with high hopes. However, these came
to shame. "Swedish" star Marta played for her home country
Brazil and former team captain Marika Domanski Lyfors
coached K's team. There was no playoffs.
Popular protests also occurred in 2007, but not as
startling as before. The worst was after the accident that
claimed 172 lives in the Shandong mine. Relatives raged
about the authorities renouncing all responsibility and
described the accident as a natural disaster, as rain caused
a flood of coal mining.
In the city of Zhengzhou in eastern China, 20,000 residents
fought against police trying to drive people out of houses
that would be demolished for a road construction.
The Olympic Games were a major topic for all K
authorities. The International Olympic Committee expressed
its great satisfaction with the preparations and refrained
from interfering with human rights. China Beijing promised
stricter security checks for the Games August 8-24, 2008 -
implicit surveillance to prevent unwanted manifestations.
Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
objected to China's many executions and the persecution of
dissenters and journalists. Numerically, it is not about
many imprisoned journalists - only 35 - but the sentencing
is considered weak and the punishment long.
China has promised to re-examine every death sentence
before execution to avoid legal infringement. In May, trade
in organs for profit was also banned. Executed bodies should
now only be given to close relatives. This was a sign of
some increased respect for human rights.
On the other hand, China showed total indifference to abuse
in other countries. In January, Hu Jintao embarked on a tour
of nine African countries and was roundly assisted by
criticized regimes such as Sudan and Zimbabwe. The goal of
the courts is to procure oil for the energy-hungry China Now
African oil represents 30 percent of China's oil imports.
China has
exported weapons to both guerrilla groups and governments in
Africa. Nor was Burmajuntan's severe repression of the monk
demonstrations in September considered by China to give rise to
any punitive measure.
Environmental degradation was a problem before the
Olympics: the smog in most cities is so dense that it is
hazardous to health. Health care costs have risen and cancer
is now the most common cause of death in China. Some OS branches
are threatened because of the bad air. Nevertheless, China was
slow when it came to pledges to reduce emissions. According
to the Dutch Environmental Assessment Agency MNP, China has
gone about the United States in increasing greenhouse gas
emissions.
In January, China broke down his own weather satellite with
a well-aimed robot. This caused great concern in the US that
China could also smash American spy robots. China also managed to
get the moon satellite Chang'e- I, named after a moon
goddess.
Goddess was also Miss China, the Miss World jury thought
- she won the contest, held on the Chinese holiday island
Hainan in November - December.
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