Reparation for War Crimes

The Tokyo District Court rejected demands by a group of Chinese women and their relatives that a governmental apology and compensation for Japan's wartime military forcing them into sex slavery. The ruling reportedly failed to acknowledge the illegality of the Japanese attrocities.

See previous post.

Environment -- Wildlife Protection

Chinese officials said that China would strictly enforce China's s first regulation on the trade of endangered wild fauna and flora. The regulation covers wildlife listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which China joined in 1980.

Law of the Sea

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed the Japanese protest over a Chinese company's gas production in the Chunxiao field in the East China Sea. "China's oil and gas exploration on its own continental shelf in the East China Sea is a normal exploration activity," he said.

See previous post.

Outer Space

A senior Chinese official said that China seeks to expand its share of the international market for satellite launches and other space service. He said China had signed 16 pacts with 13 governments and organizations and would work towards the establishment of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization, which would be based in Beijing.

Environment -- International River

Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi told her Russian counterpart that China would report to Russian on the conditions of recently polluted rivers in the Jilin Province and would take measures to remove the polluting effects.

Hong Kong
Jurisdiction

The Chinese legislature deferred decision on a bill that would grant the Hong Kong SAR authority over part of the Shenzhen Bay port for immigration and customs control. Some legislators reportedly expressed concerns about the uncertainty on jurisdiction over illegal activities in the area.

Japanese War Reparation
Private International Law

In the first Chinese court judgment relating to the Nanking Massacre, a Nanjing court held two Japanese authors liable to pay 800,000 yuan each to a survivor of the Massacre for claiming that she fabricated her account of the atrocity. Chinese activists believe that the case set a precedent for civilians seeking war reparation against Japan in the Chinese domestic courts. The plaintiff's lawyers admitted that enforcement of the judgment would be difficult. The Japanese publishers, co-defendants in the case, rejected the judgment, calling it "a challenge to our country's freedom of speech in the guise of a trial." A Tokyo court will hear the dispute in September.

See previous post.

Hong Kong
International Tax

The Hong Kong SAR and mainland China signed the Arrangement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion. The Arrangement is expected to reduce the tax burden of Hong Kong companies doing business and investing on the mainland. But the provision for the exchange of information between the tax-collection authorities may be a source of concern, because many companies with mainland operations tended to tell "different stories to different tax authorities".

Taiwan

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that the proposals raised by Burkina Faso, Gambia and a few other countries for the so-called "Taiwan's representation in the United Nations" is doomed to failure. Since 1993, the General Committee of the UN General Assembly has rejected 13 straight times to include the proposals for the so-called "Taiwan's representation in the UN" into the Assembly's agenda.

Trade

A Chinese official said that crossborder trade between China and India through the Himalayan Nathu La Pass is running at a "low level" and was "not ideal". "India has unilaterally imposed restrictions on trade through Nathu La," he said.

See previous post.

Environment -- Air Pollution

A Chinese environmental official denied an AP report that 25% of the particulate matter in the skies above Los Angeles come from China. But he admitted that China is now the world's greatest emitter of sulphur oxide.

Environment
Hong Kong

Hong Kong and Guangdong agreed to launch a pilot cross-border emissions quota trading scheme later this year. The scheme will allow producers to buy and sell the rights to pollute in regard to three main types of pollutants emitted by the power plants.

United Nations
Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes

After the Security Council adopted a resolution that urged Iran to stop uranium enrichment activities by the end of August, the Chinese Deputy Representative to the UN said the Security Council cannot handle Iran's nuclear issue single-handedly. "Dialogue and negotiations are the only way out. The IAEA should always be the main mechanism for dealing with this issue. The solution requires all-round diplomatic efforts; any measures adopted by the Security Council should serve the purpose of diplomatic efforts," he said.

See previous post.