In This Edition

 

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda starts an official visit to China with a focus on advancing bilateral ties.

 

Turkey blasts France for passing a bill making it a crime to deny the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

 

Greece's conservatives hint they would drop the demand on holding elections in February, a move that could give Prime Minister Lucas Papademos more time to pass reforms in the debt ridden country.

 

Chinese shoppers prove to be a lucrative source of sales in Britain when others are spending less.

 

 

Hot Issue Reports

 

Japanese PM Visits China

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda starts an official visit to China on Sunday. It will be his first trip to the country since taking office last September.

 

During the two-day visit, Noda will hold bilateral talks with Chinese leaders, including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

 

The two sides will exchange views on Sino-Japanese ties, as well as international and regional issues of common concern.

 

In a written interview with Chinese media before his visit, Noda said the Japan-China relationship has enjoyed rapid development since the normalization of bilateral relations, with bilateral trade increasing from 1billion U.S. dollars to 300 billion dollars and people-to-people exchanges growing from 10,000 to nearly five and a half million.

 

Noda had said on various occasions that China's development means opportunity to Japan.

 

His visit will deal with preparations for commemorative events to mark next year's 40th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan diplomatic relations.

 

Uichiro Niwa, Japanese Ambassador to China comments.

 

"The year 2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The Japanese government is striving to rebuild the nation and hopes more Chinese tourists will travel in Japan so as to help revive the country's economy."

 

Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi announced early this week that Japan planned to buy tens of billions of dollars of renminbi bonds, a move believed to deepen the China-Japan strategic and mutually beneficial relationship.

 

Turkey Blasts France for Armenia Bill; Demonstration Continues

Turkey has blasted France for passing a bill making it a crime to deny the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

 

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the French leadership of playing a gimmick due to domestic politics.

 

"This is a clear example of how racism, discrimination and anti-Muslim sentiment have reached new heights in France and in Europe. French President Sarkozy's ambition is to win an election based on promoting animosity against Turks and Muslims."

 

Erdogan claimed French colonialists had committed genocide in Algeria.

 

Turkey rejects the term "genocide" for the World War I era mass killings of Armenians by the then-Ottoman Turkish Empire and says the issue is best left to historians.

 

However, most historians agree that the Ottoman killings of the Armenians constituted the first genocide of the 20th century.

 

The French bill still needs Senate approval, but since it passed the lower house, Erdogan halted bilateral political and economic contacts, suspended military cooperation and ordered the Turkish Ambassador to France return home for consultations.

 

Meanwhile, Turkish protesters took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul, they felt France's bill was so unjust.

 

Many of the demonstrators held placards with images of alleged French atrocities in Africa.

 

"Here's our response to France and Sarkozy who try to cast slander on our ancestors and history and make use of it for the elections: You are French on this matter!"

 

In Paris, some residents of Turkish descent believe the bill contradicted a fundamental French principle - freedom of expression.

 

Iraq Vice-President Says al-Maliki Waging a Campaign against Sunnis

The Sunni vice president wanted for allegedly running a hit squad in Iraq has accused Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of waging a campaign against Sunnis and pushing the country towards sectarian war.

 

Tariq al-Hashemi said al-Maliki wants to get rid of all political rivals and run Iraq like a "one-man-show."

 

"Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is pushing the things to a catastrophe. And I'm not sure what's going to happen after that. He doesn't believe in compromises. He doesn't believe in peaceful solutions to the problems. He's going to use the Iraqi army and the security for more repression."

 

The Iraqi government maintains al-Hashemi orchestrated a campaign of assassinations carried out by his bodyguards.

 

Earlier this week they aired televised confessions of the bodyguards detailing how al-Hashemi gave them money for the hits.

 

The confessions have aired repeatedly since then, including on state television when al-Hashemi earlier this week held a press conference defending himself.

 

Fears that the situation may spiral out of control are heightened by devastating bombings that tore through mostly Shiite neighbourhoods of Baghdad and killed at least 69 people.

 

Iranian Candidates Register for March Vote

Candidates have started registering in Tehran for Iran's parliamentary elections in March.

 

State radio said hopefuls started to sign up in more than 1,000 constituencies to run for the parliament with 290 seats.

 

State media, IRIB, journalist, Morteza Oroughi is one of the candidates.

 

"...the reason that I decided to participate in these is that I have been involved in news for 30 years. I have experience in many political turmoils and have participated in international issues, which can help me in achieving the targets that I have in the Islamic Parliament."

 

Registration will last one week; and then entrants will be screened for their political and Islamic qualifications by the hardline watchdog body, the guardian council.

 

Conservatives are expected to keep control of the next parliament, but the assembly will be more vocal in its criticism of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's economic management as it is expected to include more critical hardline members.

 

Greece's New Democracy Party to Give up Holding Elections

Greece's conservative New Democratic party has signaled it would drop its insistence on holding elections in February, a move that gives Prime Minister Lucas Papademos more time to pass reforms and secure a vital debt restructuring deal.

 

The political deadlock over the timing of an election tentatively scheduled for February 19th has complicated efforts to reach an accord on a 130 billion euro bailout plan that includes a crucial bond swap arrangement with private sector creditors.

 

Following a meeting between Papademos and New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, a party spokesman made no reference to an election date but said the government should be allowed to complete its reform commitments.

 

The coalition government's Socialists and the far right LAOS party have both said Papademos should be given more time and he himself has repeatedly said that he would not be tied to the February date.

 

LAOS leader George Karatzaferis comments.

 

"Those who did not choose or want Mr. Papademos to be prime minister must now decide if he should be allowed to govern. The government and cabinet meetings cannot be used as electoral springboards. The situation is extremely serious and I'm not sure if everyone realizes it. We will let the Greek people have a calm Christmas, but after the holidays, serious decisions need to be made."

 

The New Democratics had insisted on sticking to the February date agreed before Papademos was appointed to succeed Socialist George Papandreou in November.

 

Christians Descend on Bethlehem on the Eve of Jesus' Birth

Around one and a half million tourists have visited the West Bank city of Bethlehem so far, with thousands more expected to arrive in the coming days for Christmas celebrations.

 

The centrepiece of the holiday festivities is in Bethlehem, the place of Jesus Christ's birth.

 

Hundreds of thousands of tourists, including Palestinian Christians, began to arrive in the city early Saturday and gathered around the historic Church of Nativity to join the midnight mass.

 

Bethlehem city officials say this year had witnessed a slight increase of tourists who came to the city to celebrate Christmas.

 

This year's Christmas in the Holy Land comes after the Palestinians have been accepted as UNESCO's 195th member - a step officials hope will lead to eventual acceptance at the United Nations.

 

Here is Bethlehem's mayor, Victor Batarseh.

 

"This year's Christmas is a unique Christmas because it is a Christmas of hope for the Palestinian people. We are celebrating this Christmas hoping that in the near future we'll get our right to self-determination, our right to establish our own democratic, secular, Palestinian state on the Palestinian land. That is why this Christmas is unique. The door has been opened by accepting Palestine as a full member in the UNESCO and this door has been opened wide now for us, for Palestinians to be accepted as a full member in the United Nations."

 

Manger Square will host many tourists, as well as locals who will be treated to traditional Arab Christmas songs and performances.

 

Under the Western calendar, Christmas celebrations in the city would continue until Jan. 7, 2012.

 

British Store Staff Learn Mandarin to Serve Wealthy Chinese Shoppers

With Christmas shoppers cutting back on their spending this year, some stores in the United Kingdom are looking further afield to attract more customers.

 

Chinese shoppers are proving to be a lucrative source of sales when others are spending less.

 

One store in Manchester has even taught some sales staff Mandarin and given lessons on cultural and generational differences. Joe Cooper, a shop assistant at Selfridges store comments.

 

"We have a lot of Chinese people within the store and a lot of them didn't really feel as welcome as our British customers maybe would do, so we got the Chinese Institute in and they trained us on cultural differences and generation differences and basic language and it's really helped."

 

Sales figures illustrate why stores are paying attention to Asian customers. Some shops reported a rise of 60 percent in overseas customers coming through the doors with Chinese customers up by 62 percent.

 

Passenger Flow Reaches 200 Million in Between Chinese Mainland & Hong Kong During Christmas

The number of passengers entering and exiting Hong Kong via Shenzhen in southern China, has reached a record high of 200 million this year.

 

Shenzhen General Station of Immigration Inspection predicts an estimated 670,000 passengers will pass through major control points in Shenzhen every day between Christmas and the New Year.

 

The Shenzhen authorities have simplified immigration procedures and have also automatized immigration security checks to reduce waiting times down to 25 minutes. The Hong Kong Immigration Department is also planning to install fast-moving "e-channels" for frequent visitors.

 

Wu Zhaohui, leader of Security Team One at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point comments.

 

"We will arrange for more staff and security guards to be on duty. We have deployed two teams, one more than before, and are directing travelers through snake-shaped channels during busy hours to control waiting times."

 

Immigration departments from both sides have advised the public to use automated customs clearance channels and also to plan trips in advance.

 

More Chinese mainland tourists are taking shopping trips to Hong Kong, and Hong Kong residents traveling to the mainland via Shenzhen have also increased during the Christmas and New Year holidays.

 

Statistics show a total of 2.7 billion passengers have left or entered Shenzhen's control points since the return of Hong Kong to China in 1997.

 

Choosing a Christmas Without Presents

While awareness about Christmas traditions in China grows, why are some people choosing to forget about buying presents?

 

William Wang has more:

 

Back in 1957, Dr Seuss wrote How the Grinch Stole Chrismas, spurred on by his realization that a lot of people had lost the feeling about what Christmas was about. The Grinch slithers into Whoville and steals all the whole heap of the cute who's decorations and presents. Then he gets up early the next morning, goes out to watch the miserable whos, all upset. But the surprise comes on Christmas morning when all the whos are there and in fact they're not miserable at all. They're celebrating Christmas as joyously as ever, presents or none. And it is at that moment that the Grinch realizes that Christmas is not just just about Christmas. Maybe it's about something just a little bit more than that.

 

Fifty some years later, Dr Seuss's comment about the meaning of Christmas is more poignant than ever, particularly in China where people have skipped the holiday's religious background entirely and jumped headfirst into the waters of consumerism.

 

You have to! It's important to take good care of each other. People should give warmth to others.

 

Yes, you should. Today all of us students are all accustomed to giving presents at Christmas time.

 

I should send gifts, but not to everyone. The young people send gifts to everybody.

 

Of course, people across the world equate Christmas with presents. Well, particularly the kids. And this seems to suits China just fine as people bask in their newly found consuming power.

 

But why then are more and more people in the west choosing NOT to buy presents? More and more people feel that Christmas has become a holiday driven by businesses and advertisers.

 

For decades, people have been frustrated by toy and clothing companies who sell us the idea that personal happiness comes from buying things.

 

Ok, they may not say it out loud, but the idea is that if I buy it, I'll be happier, prettier, or more popular. Both business and governments have promoted these ideas, obviously to the benefit of the economy… but not necessarily to our personal well-being.

 

But not quite everybody follows the beat of that drum.

 

So there was a British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell stated,

 

"It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly." And you know, when you look around here at Wangfujing, a popular shopping street in Beijing, can I ask you what's your take on this?

 

Man: Well, I don't think there's anything wrong in principal with giving gifts to somebody else, but you know, if you look around in a place like this, it definitely seems like it's gone out of control.

 

The increased amount of shopping at Christmas draws the problems of consumerism into sharper focus. Constant purchasing may be great for the economy, but more and more people find that owning things just makes them want to own more, a vicious circle. Environmental impacts of consumerism are disturbingly well-documented.

 

Aiming for goals of simple living, living in ways. Trying to send more softly on the environment. And this all ties in with the No presents Christmas.

 

So people today are trying to focus less on gifts, and more on what really matters: time spent with friends and family. I asked some shoppers what they thought about this radical idea.

 

-it's ok. You can enjoy it. It's your holiday, not our holiday.

 

Sure, that's ok. Especially during the financial crisis!

 

That's the best way! Buying is irrelevant to a family's warmth.

 

Others take a softer approach, where… hey gifts are okay so long as you didn't buy them. Look, I made you this painting. Here, I baked some cookies for you. Anybody can throw a bit of cash down and buy something, but personally hand-made gifts really have a special feeling that comes with them. Definitely something that can't be purchased in the mall.

 

So this Christmas season, may you and your loved ones escape the cold, enjoy each others company and warmth, and consider what Christmas is, and isn't about.

 

For CRI, I'm William Wang.

 

China Daily: Change to Urban Identity

 

China's urbanization continues to race forward. According to the 2012 Blue Book on China's Society by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, for the first time in its history, China will have more urban dwellers than rural ones. As some scholars hail the transition as a milestone moment for the country, a commentator from China Daily brings up concerns about whether this demographic change is a real breakthrough.

 

The writer says the urban population defined in the blue book actually includes workers who are registered as rural residents but work in cities.

 

The author goes on to say that physically living and working in a city does not turn a person of rural origin into an urban resident under the rigid household residence registration regime.

 

The article continues that in most cases, those carrying the nong min gong, or migrant rural laborers label, are still treated as aliens no matter what they do or how long they live and work in cities.

 

What's more, the commentator says the majority of them are excluded from welfare which is available only to those officially registered as urban dwellers. Unofficial urban residents' children are denied access to education enjoyed by officially registered urban counterparts.

 

The article goes on to say that the blue book's account of urbanization cannot really be regarded as a sociological truth; there is an imperative need to review the obsolete rules sustaining the urban-rural divide given urbanization's essential significance for the nation's future prosperity.

 

To conclude his article, the writer hopes progress to be made at strategic levels with more cities working out sensible ways to deal with new urban residents.

 

***************************

 

People's Daily: Europe Should Make Greater Efforts to Save Itself

 

The recent EU summit, which was widely described as the "last chance to save the euro," made some breakthroughs in amending EU treaties, introducing an automatic penalty mechanism, and raising funds to pay off debt. But some media attention has been focused on the market reaction which still exists. The response of which was relatively lukewarm compared to previous bailout measures.

 

An editorial in China's People's Daily newspaper says in the short term, Europe needs to set aside sufficient funds to cope with a peak of debt maturity early next year, rising government bond yields, and high risk of further sovereign-credit downgrades across the continent.

 

Europe's governments have to repay more than 1.1 trillion euros of debt in 2012.

 

The article says objectively speaking, Europe is rich enough to repay its own debt. European governments are worried about a "European buy-out" by foreign capital, and are unwilling to issue Eurobonds or to let the European Central Bank play its role as a last resort lender. This will worsen the situation and further damage market confidence.

 

In the long run, growth is the fundamental way for Europe to break out of crisis. But Europe is doing little on this issue. The current implementation of fiscal austerity in Europe may help to cure "diseases of affluence", but reducing financial expenditure also inhibits growth and reducing revenue may make Europe enter a strange circumstance: more reducing, more debts.

 

In summary the editorial says that Europe needs to make more efforts on growth and come up with some effective solutions to enhance their internal growth and to narrow the North-South gap, eliminating "short boards" and preventing more trouble later.

 

The current situation in Europe is getting increasingly close to a critical juncture. Only by coming up with determination to overcorrect can Europe turn the tide.