| 19 Sentenced to Prison Terms for Meikhtila Violence Posted: 11 Jul 2013 05:42 AM PDT  An intoxicated youth clenches a broken brick in late March as he surveys the smoldering remains of one of Meikhtila's Muslim neighborhoods, which was razed by rioters. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Meikthila courts sentenced 19 men to prison terms for their involvement in deadly inter-communal violence that occurred in the town in March. Nine of them will have to serve between seven years and life in prison, officials and state media said. Earlier this week, authorities also allowed the reopening of several Meikhtila mosques, offering the Muslim community a chance to worship during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which starts on Thursday in Burma. On Wednesday, the Meikhtila township and district courts in Mandalay Division handed down sentences to a group of men involved in the clashes between Buddhists and the town's Muslim minority. The violence left 40 people dead, 60 injured, and destroyed more than 2,000 homes. Htay Ko Ko Aung, a.ka. Joe Joe, received the heaviest punishment and was sentenced to life twice in two cases involving the murders of two university students, he was also charged with destroying public buildings and inciting unrest, a Meikhtila District official said. Maung Maung Myint, a.k.a A Ju, was twice sentenced to 10 years with hard labor for his role in the murder cases, according to the official, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak to the media. Lee Lee, a.ka. Han Lint, and Mali, a.ka. Aung Ko Latt, both received seven years imprisonment with hard labor for aiding and abetting a murder, destroying public property and inciting unrest, he said. State-owned newspaper The New Light of Myanmar reported that another 15 men had been sentenced on Wednesday for their involvement in the riots. Hein Min Zar, a.k.a. Wa Toke, received a prison sentence of seven years for voluntarily causing grievous hurt, destroying public property, attempted robbery and inciting unrest. Kyaw Htay, a.k.a. Kyaw Sein Win, received a five year and a ten year sentence on charges of murder and voluntarily causing grievous hurt. Hsin Pauk, a.k.a Pyai Phyo Zin, received 10 years for murder, as did convict Zaw Lin. Another man, Kyaw Zwa, a.k.a. Mohamed Ali, was sentenced to seven years with hard labor for voluntarily causing grievous hurt. Ten other defendants were sentenced to prison terms of between one and five years with hard labor for their involvement in the inter-communal violence. State media and the interviewed district official did not specify if the convicts were Muslims or Buddhists. It also remained unclear in which incidents of violence the men had been involved. The Associated Press reported that seven Buddhist men among the convicted were punished for their involvement in a massacre at an Islamic boarding school that left dozens of students and teachers dead. A local reporter said that only family members of the accused had been able to attend the trial, adding that the media had been told by court officials that most men had been sentenced for the destruction of a Muslim-owned gold shop in central Meikhtila. "We could not go inside and many police guarded the court compound," he said. State-owned media have previously reported that 120 people were detained following the violence. In recent weeks, six Buddhist and seven Muslim defendants have been convicted. Meikhtila authorities earlier this week allowed the town's Muslim community to reopen three mosques, one located in Nyein Chan Thar Quarter, another in Yadanar Marn Aung Quarter and a third mosque located near the highway just outside the town. "The mosques are permitted to reopen as the situation is stable now. And most of the refugees have already gone back to their homes," said Meikhtila District Administrator Tin Maung Soe. During the anti-Muslim violence in late March, 12 mosques were damaged and two were burned. Authorities have allowed three mosques to rebuild. Some 13,000 people, mostly Muslim, were displaced by the violence and many still live in temporary camps outside the town. The Meikhtila region remains under a state of emergency, but authorities decided this week to shorten the night curfew with two hours. The public is now required to stay in doors from 10 pm to 4 am. State security forces have been accused of supporting the Buddhist majority during the anti-Muslim attacks in Meikhtila and reportedly did little to end the violence. Authorities banned mosques in the town from being reopened after the violence because of security reasons. Aye Lwin, chief convener of the Islamic Centre of Myanmar, welcomed the relaxation of the restrictions this week, as it would offer Muslims an opportunity to worship during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Thursday in Burma. During Ramadan, Muslims are required to fast from dawn to sunset. Aye Lwin said however, that authorities should allow all mosques in Meikthila to be repaired and reopened, adding that in other towns affected by inter-communal violence, such as in Pegu Division, the religious buildings had already been reopened. "Twelve mosques were attacked. As far as I know, only two were wholly destroyed. The rest are not that badly damaged. They can resume functioning if permitted," he said. Yan Aung, a Muslim man who lives in the eastern quarter of Meikhtila, said that his family was struggling to properly mark Ramadan this year because of lingering tensions and government restrictions. Yan Aung said that if he would go worship at his old mosque he would get arrested, as it remains closed and guarded by armed policemen. "We just cannot go to say prayers during morning and evening sessions" at the mosque, he said, "Anyhow, we still pray five times a day at home. But, I don't think that Muslims in the camps can easily keep their fast." |
| Autonomy Coming for Burma’s Universities Posted: 11 Jul 2013 05:54 AM PDT  The locked gates of Rangoon University's closed city center campus. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) Autonomy for universities in Burma is likely to be granted soon, though the extent to which higher education will be allowed to operate free of state interference remains unclear in a country where students have long agitated against unpopular governments. Ahead of the education reform, which will be part of a national education bill drafted by the Ministry of Education, Parliament's Education Promotion Committee has been reviewing the draft legislation. "The details of how much freedom they can practice will not be known until it [the bill] is enacted," said Zaw Htay, director general of the ministry's Higher Education Department. He told The Irrawaddy recently that ministry officials "have been planning for the universities to be autonomous institutions [empowered to make decisions on university affairs]." A discussion on autonomy for higher education institutions was one of the main topics during an "Empowering Higher Education" policy workshop in Naypyidaw during a two-day conference organized by the British Council late last month. After the education bill becomes law, it will grant all 168 universities in Burma, including the once-prestigious Rangoon University and Mandalay University, autonomy over curricular and administrative decisions. Higher education institutions have lacked that freedom for more than half a century. Rangoon University, founded in 1920, and Mandalay University operated freely until their autonomy was revoked soon after the coup by the late Gen Ne Win in 1962. Still, these institutions served as flashpoints through much of Burma's turbulent political history. Rangoon University was a center of student activism during British colonial rule; student demonstrations in July 1962 against Nay Win, which saw the Student Union building dynamited by the government; the 8888 student uprising in August 1988; and student demonstration in 1996. In 1996, undergraduate classes were discontinued at the Rangoon University campus, and the ex-military regime opened numerous universities on the outskirts of the cities all over Burma. For 17 years, Rangoon University has been used by just a handful of master's and doctoral students. The campus was only renovated ahead of US President Barrack Obama's visit in November of last year. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged revitalization of Burma's universities late last year. The National League for Democracy (NLD) chairwoman and parliamentarian heads the legislature's Higher Education Law Reform Committee. This December, Rangoon University will reopen classes for 19 subjects in undergraduate studies for the first time since 1996, but only 15 "outstanding students" will be chosen for each subject. Education reform advocates and academics have pointed to autonomy as an issue that authorities have approached with caution. "The autonomy must be allowed, so that the scholars and education practitioners will be trained professionally in terms of curriculum," said Aye Aye Thin, an education consultant at an NGO focusing on the non-formal education sector and a former lecturer at the Institute of Education. "Universities will stand in dignity when there is no repression of the students or teachers, like at foreign universities," said Than Oo, chairman of the Myanmar Academy of Art and Science and a former education researcher. "We must prioritize gains to academic freedom." But not everyone is eager to see Burma's universities unconditionally unshackled. "There is much to think about whether the universities be given 100 percent autonomy or not. What's different between our universities and those in other nations is we have to focus much more on peaceful learning. We still have to worry about political influence at the university campuses and closures of the institutions," said Zaw Htay from the Ministry of Education. "Reform to grant autonomy should be in practice sooner," countered Ko Tar, a prominent writer and member of the National Network of Education Reform (NNER), a civil society body comprised of the NLD, 88 generation leaders, student activists, and Karen and Shan education committee members. The NNER also pushed their recommendations for educational freedom and improvement of academic quality at the policy workshops in Naypyidaw last month. "We focus on the improvement of academic quality, which a university should have. They must have trust in youth, fear will not change the current condition," Ko Tar added. Additional reporting by Yan Pai. |
| Parliamentary Committee to Be Formed on Constitutional Amendments Posted: 11 Jul 2013 03:56 AM PDT  Burma's Parliament building in Naypyidaw. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Parliament will form a committee to review the 2008 Constitution during the current legislative session, according to members of Parliament. The 105-member committee will be made up of MPs from the 20 political parties that currently hold seats in Parliament, as well as representatives from the military. Lawmakers said political parties were asked to submit nominations for the committee by July 4, with each party's committee representation to be based on the number of lawmakers representing the party in Parliament. The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), the ruling party and by far Parliament's biggest, will have 52 members on the committee. The National League for Democracy (NLD), the main opposition party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, will send seven representatives. NLD parliamentarian Win Myint said he did not want to reveal which constitutional provisions his party would push to amend because the NLD still has not taken a public position on the matter. The USDP also has not yet taken a stance on constitutional amendments, said Hla Swe, an MP from the party. "MPs are allowed to submit their opinions to the committee. For USDP, we still have no policy so far on which provisions in the Constitution should be fixed," he said. Even though Suu Kyi had publicly announced previously that her party would collaborate with the USDP to amend the Constitution, no formal discussions between Burma's two biggest parties have yet been convened. The military has been allocated 25 committee members, according to lawmakers. Other factions in Parliament, including ethnic political parties, will be allowed to join the committee. The 2008 Constitution was approved by the country's military dictatorship, led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, and has been criticized abroad and at home for some of the document's undemocratic provisions. It is widely expected that among other proposed changes, the NLD will push to amend a constitutional provision that bars Suu Kyi from running for president because her late husband and two sons are foreign nationals. |
| In Ngapali, Low Season Offers a Beach All One’s Own Posted: 11 Jul 2013 01:48 AM PDT  Ngapali Beach offers a quiet and peaceful getaway during the low season. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) NGAPALI, Arakan State — Ngapali Beach, a 10-kilometer stretch of stunning white sand on the shores of the Bay of Bengal in southern Arakan State, is without argument Burma's most well-known premier beachside holiday destination. During the dry season, Ngapali Beach transforms into a playground of resorts, from modest bungalow accommodation to luxurious health spas, offering everything from sailing, scuba diving, beach volleyball and visits to local attractions such as working elephants. In the monsoon season, it is a quiet, peaceful place. Few visitors venture here and flights from Rangoon are reduced from several times daily to just twice a week, but this does not mean the area is not still well worth a low-season visit. No matter the time of year, fresh seafood is a specialty of the numerous restaurants, offering succulent crab, prawn, squid and whole fish such as snapper and barracuda as regular menu items. Should holiday-goers be looking for a break from the sun and surf, nearby Thandwe, a 20-minute drive inland on a rather heavily potholed road, is a picturesque little township straddling the Thandwe River. Thandwe provides support services to the beachfront resorts of Ngapali and is also a great destination for day trippers from the shore to take in local culture and do a little shopping. The town is a bustling local commercial center with a modern central market and narrow streets, featuring a pleasant mix of Burmese architecture, numerous Buddhist pagodas and several beautiful mosques as ancient as the town itself. |
| No Plan to Repeal Two Repressive Junta-era Laws: Minister Posted: 10 Jul 2013 10:47 PM PDT  A prisoner's hand grips the bars on the window of a prison van as he leaves a court in Rangoon, where he was charged with inciting unrest by participating in a Nov. 26 2012 protest against a copper mine in northwest Burma. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — Burma's Deputy Home Affairs Minister has told Parliament that the government has no plans to abolish or amend two draconian laws that were frequently used to prosecute political activists during past decades of military rule. In a response to lawmakers' questions on Tuesday, National Police Chief and Home Affairs Deputy Minister Kyaw Kyaw Htun said there was no need to amend the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act and the 1975 State Protection Law. "Every country has these kinds of law to protect the security and stability of the nation as well as its citizens. Since these laws already have effective penalties, there's no way to abolish the acts, neither to reduce nor increase the penalties," he said. Kyaw Kyaw Thun added that the laws were not in contravention with the 2008 Constitution. Both laws contain articles that have frequently been used during past decades of military rule in Burma to jail writers, journalists and political activists. Many activists and former political prisoners have called for abolishing or amending the repressive laws. The Emergency Provisions Act's article 5j has broadly formulated charges that carry a prison sentence of up to seven years for anyone who prevents civil servants and army officers from carrying out their duties, or for anyone who spreads information among the public that opposes the government. The State Protection Law's article 10a and 10b gives the authorities sweeping powers to detain anyone who has committed or is about to commit an act that may be considered as an "infringement of the sovereignty and security of the Union of Burma," or as a "threat to the peace of the people." It allows authorities to detain suspects without trial for long periods of time. Opposition MPs on Tuesday questioned the government on why it had no plans to amend the draconian laws. "As our country is now much stable than before and as we have peace talks with ethnic groups now, and moreover, because we are moving on with reforms, I believe these laws are no longer needed," said Thein Nyunt of New National Democracy Party. Thein Nyunt took the initiative to submit his own draft amendments to change the junta-era laws. "Since 1950, the regime has used these laws to oppress the political movements and against those who they want to put in jail. I believe many would feel, like me, that such laws must be abolished or amended for the good of the country," he said. "I hope my draft laws will be brought up for discussions very soon. I think the police chief's words will not affect this discussion." Since President Thein Sein's reformist government took office in 2011 it has introduced a range of political reforms, such as lifting restrictions on media freedom, releasing hundreds of political prisoners and repealing a number of repressive laws, such as long-standing bans on public gatherings and speeches. However, during military rule the junta created a web of repressive laws to suppress dissent and many of these laws still remain in effect. Activists have been calling on the government to push ahead and repeal all such laws. De Nyein Linn, a former political prisoner who was once sentenced to 65 years in prison for attempting to form a students' union, said it was key for Burma's transition to a human rights-respecting democracy that the repressive laws were abolished or amended. "As they do not have plans to do so, we have to question, will there be political prisoners in the future and will the government still want to oppress the political movements?" he said. "If so, there will be many difficulties to move forward in national reconciliation." |
| UN Chief Tells Burma to Make Rohingyas Citizens Posted: 10 Jul 2013 10:38 PM PDT  Muslims pass the time at their house in Paik Thay, the site of recent violence between Muslim Rohingyas and Arakanese Buddhists. (Photo: Reuters) UNITED NATIONS — The UN chief on Wednesday warned Burma that it must end Buddhist attacks on minority Muslims in the Southeast Asian country if it wants to be seen as a credible nation. Sectarian violence against Rohingya Muslims in the predominantly Buddhist nation has killed hundreds in the past year, and uprooted about 140,000, in what some say presents a threat to Burma political reforms because it could encourage security forces to re-assert control. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday: "It is important for the Myanmar authorities to take necessary steps to address the legitimate grievances of minority communities, including the citizenship demands of the Muslim/Rohingya." He says failing to do so could risk "undermining the reform process and triggering negative regional repercussions." In 1982, Burma passed a citizenship law recognizing eight races and 130 minority groups—but omitted the nation's 800,000 Rohingyas, among Burma's 60 million people. ManyBuddhists in Burma view the Rohingyas as interlopers brought in by the British colonialists. Earlier this year, Burma passed a law limiting Rohingyas in two townships in the western state of Arakan, bordering Bangladesh, to having two children, a law that does not apply to Buddhists. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi criticized the law, and was widely denounced by Buddhists in Burma. Seen as likely to be elected president of Burma, she has had little else to say about Rohingya rights. Burma had been ostracized by most of the world for 50 years after a coup that instituted military rule. But in recent years the country has been cautiously welcomed after it freed many political prisoners and ended the house arrest of Suu Kyi and instituted reforms. President Barack Obama visited the country last year on an Asian tour, as a hallmark of Burma's rehabilitation. Muslim ambassadors on Wednesday said Burma cannot rejoin the community of democratic nations if it doesn't protect minority rights. "It is not enough to just have elections, you have to end the killings and persecutions," Saudi Arabian UN Ambassador Abdallah Yahya al-Mouallemi told reporters. He said the Rohingya are barred from citizenship, work, travel, religious practice, and even the proper burial of their dead. Djibouti's UN Ambassador Roble Olhaye, representing the Organization of the Islamic Conference, said that the Rohingya live in "permanent segregation in what amounts to ethnic cleansing." A call to the Burma UN Mission went unanswered on Wednesday evening. Ban spoke at a meeting of ambassadors from the "Group of Friends on Myanmar," consisting of Australia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Britain, the United States, Vietnam, and the country holding the presidency of the European Union, currently Lithuania. |
| Survey Lays Waste to Indonesia’s Fight Against Corruption Posted: 10 Jul 2013 10:30 PM PDT  Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono talks at a Reuters Newsmaker event in Singapore April 23, 2013, before his visit to Burma. (Photo: Reuters) A new survey of attitudes toward graft indicates Indonesia is losing the fight, with 71 percent of people believing corruption is more common than in 2011 and trust in the state's political parties, legislature, civil service, judiciary and police force almost entirely absent. Transparency International, a non-governmental organization that monitors corruption around the world, released its biennial "Global Corruption Barometer" report on Tuesday. The organization surveyed over 114,000 people in 107 countries in what it referred to as "the biggest-ever survey tracking world-wide public opinion on corruption," When asked "over the past two years, how has the level of corruption in this country changed?" 54 percent of Indonesians surveyed said it had "increased a lot" — up from 43 percent in 2010/11 — while 17 percent said it had "increased a little." With 71 percent of people believing graft was on the rise, Indonesia did not fare well compared to other countries. In Afghanistan, 40 percent of those polled believed the situation was worsening, while the figure in Egypt was 64 percent, Libya 48 percent, Russia 50 percent and South Sudan 38 percent. The survey indicated that the Indonesian public have close to zero faith in the country's key institutions. Some 91 percent of people said the police force was "corrupt" or "extremely corrupt." When compared with other countries, Indonesia's weighted average for perceptions of trust in the police was on a par with Bolivia, Egypt, Jamaica, Russia and Zimbabwe. Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Mexico, Nigeria and Yemen had worse views of their police forces. Other branches of the state did not fare much better. Some 86 percent said the country's political parties were corrupt — compared with 89 percent for the legislature, 86 percent for the judiciary and 79 percent for the civil service. Almost 50 percent of people thought health providers were either corrupt or extremely corrupt, while the media was regarded as a rose among thorns: only 19 percent of Indonesians surveyed believed the Fourth Estate was crooked. Another part of the data set that may be of cause for concern at the Presidential Palace was that 68 percent of people found the government had been ineffective in taming corruption. The police did not appear to put up a fight against the contents of the study. "If that's what the survey said, we apologize," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said on Wednesday. "The National Police is ready to improve itself, so all of our flaws and mistakes can be fixed. We also hope the survey founders give us recommendations and hints about which department the National Police needs to fix." Ronny emphasized that the National Police had more than 400,000 personnel across the country. "We have a lot of members," he said. "Therefore, we have to be the bigger person and listen to all input in order to make our institution better. Let's work on it together." From the high-profile driving simulator graft case involving Gen. Djoko Susilo, the former head of the police's traffic division, to the low-ranking Papua Police officer who was tied to a Rp 1.5 trillion fuel-smuggling and illegal-logging ring, Indonesia's police force is no stranger to bad headlines. Febri Diansyah, researcher with Indonesia Corruption Watch, said the public perception toward the police was getting worse because of their resistance to external efforts to tackle corruption within the institution, as displayed during their pitched battle with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) last year in connection with the driving-simulator graft case. "That's what has further tainted the police image: their resistance," Febri told the Jakarta Globe. "The police's resistance to the KPK's probe into the case made it sound like there was a competition [between police and KPK], when the case should have been handled by the KPK." In a separate study, TI ranked Indonesia 118th out of 176 countries polled in its 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index, down from 100th out of 183 the year before. Febri said that the increased coverage of high-profile graft cases may have contributed to a collective sense among the Indonesian public that graft was worsening. "That's because in spite of those big cases, there have also been stronger counter attacks against the KPK from those who oppose it," he said. Despite near unanimity that the branches of the state were bent, the respondents did not feel disenfranchised. Some 81 percent of those surveyed believed that "ordinary people" could make a difference in the fight against corruption and 41 percent said they would join a protest. |
| US-China Talks Cover Cyber Issues, Currency, Chinese Reform Posted: 10 Jul 2013 10:04 PM PDT  US President Barack Obama, right, meets with China's then Vice President Xi Jinping, second left, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Feb. 14, 2012. (Photo: Reuters ) WASHINGTON — US officials appealed to China’s self-interest on Wednesday with calls for deeper economic reforms including changes to the exchange rate policy and a halt to cyber theft of trade secrets – actions they said would benefit both nations. Vice President Joe Biden launched the annual US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue by stressing the shared stakes and responsibility to support the global economy. "The next steps that China needs to take for its own economy happen to be in the interests of the United States as well," he said as the two-day talks opened in Washington. "Your own plans call for the kinds of changes that have to take place, that are difficult, like here, but if they do, they will benefit us both, including free exchange rate, shifting to a consumption-led economy, enforcing intellectual property rights and renewing innovation," said Biden. But Biden did not mince words when he raised the hot-button issue of theft of intellectual property through hacking of computer networks, a conversation complicated by the fugitive spy agency contractor Edward Snowden’s revelations of US electronic surveillance around the world. "Outright cyber-enabling theft that US companies are experiencing now must be viewed as out of bounds and needs to stop," said Biden. US officials say all countries spy on each other, but China is unique in its theft of foreign technology. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are hosting a Chinese delegation led by State Councilor Yang Jiechi and Vice Premier Wang Yang for annual talks that cover both economics and wider geopolitical issues. Burns filled in for Secretary of State John Kerry, who left the meetings Wednesday to care for his ailing wife. The talks were launched in 2008 with aim of managing an increasingly complex US-China relationship and avoiding competition between the world’s two largest economies from turning into destabilizing conflict. US SEEKS LEVEL PLAYING FIELD Wang’s remarks to open the forum highlighted China’s desire – voiced by Chinese President Xi Jinping last month in a summit with President Barack Obama – to forge a new relationship. "Our job in this round … is to turn the important agreements between the two presidents into tangible outcomes, and add substance to this new model of major country relationship," he said. Lew welcomed reform plans circulating in China under the new administration of Xi, who took office in March. However, Lew also aired a list of American complaints about Chinese policies that a watchful US Congress has pressed the Obama administration to tackle. The United States seeks "an economic relationship where our firms and workers operate on a level playing field and where the rights of those who participate in the global economy – including innovators and the holders of intellectual property – are preserved and protected from government-sponsored cyber intrusion," said Lew. China denies being behind the hacking and insists it is a major victim of cyber attacks, including from the United States – an argument that Beijing sees as strengthened by Snowden’s revelations. The two countries held talks focused on cyber issues on Monday and discussed the issue again on Tuesday and Wednesday. "We were exceptionally clear … that there is a vast distinction between intelligence-gathering activities that all countries do and the theft of intellectual property for the benefit of businesses," said a senior US official. "We were very frank with them that you cannot mix apples and oranges in this case," added a second official. US businesses also complain about policies that require foreigners to transfer technology to China to gain access to the market, barriers to farm goods, and financial and regulatory favoritism to China’s state-owned companies. When the meeting split into separate strategic and economic talks, Lew again stressed the importance of reforms – including to the exchange rate – to shift China’s economy from reliance on investment and exports to growth driven by consumption. "Exchange rate reform is an essential part of this process because it will boost the purchasing power of Chinese households," he told senior US and Chinese officials. "The transition will not be easy. But as long as it is delayed, risks in the system continue to build," added Lew. In response, Wang said, "I think it will take us at least 5 years to resolve those issues and reach consensus." Wang said China had learned much from listening to other views as it modernized its economy since the 1970s. But there were limits to China’s tolerance of criticism, he said. "Like the United States, we will never accept views, however presented, that undermine our basic system or national interests," Wang said. China was expected to air concerns of its own about US policy, including Beijing’s demand that Washington ease Cold War-era controls on high technology exports and clarify the approval process for Chinese acquisitions of American companies. Across the US capital lawmakers showed their ambivalence about Chinese investment, questioning the head of Smithfield Foods over the proposed sale of the Virginia ham maker to China’s largest pork producer. |
| Japan: Radioactive Water Likely Leaking to Pacific Posted: 10 Jul 2013 09:55 PM PDT  Workers wait for transportation to the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant at J-Village near the plant in Fukushima Prefecture. (Photo: Reuters) TOKYO — Japan's nuclear regulator says radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima power plant is probably leaking into the Pacific Ocean, a problem long suspected by experts but denied by the plant's operator. Officials from the Nuclear Regulation Authority said a leak is "strongly suspected" and urged plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. to determine where the water may be leaking from and assess the environmental and other risks, including the impact on the food chain. The watchdog said Wednesday it would form a panel of experts to look into ways to contain the problem. The watchdog's findings underscore TEPCO's delayed response in dealing with a problem that experts have long said existed. On Wednesday, the company continued to raise doubts about whether a leak exists. TEPCO spokesman Noriyuki Imaizumi said the increase in cesium levels in monitoring well water samples does not necessarily mean contaminated water from the plant is leaking to the ocean. TEPCO was running another test on water samples and suspects earlier spikes might have been caused by cesium-laced dust slipping into the samples, he said. But he said TEPCO is open to the watchdog's suggestions to take safety steps. The Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was ravaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and TEPCO has used massive amounts of water to cool the damaged reactors since then. Repeated leaks of the contaminated water stored on site have hampered decommissioning efforts. Marine biologists have warned that the radioactive water may be leaking continuously into the sea from underground, citing high radioactivity in fish samples taken near the plant. Since May, TEPCO has reported spikes in cesium levels in underground water collected from a coastal observation pit, while the water-soluble element strontium showed high levels in seawater samples taken in areas just off the coast of the plant. The company says most of the contamination has been there since the 2011 accident. TEPCO has said it has detected "no significant impact" on the environment. It says cesium tends to be absorbed in the soil, and denies water contaminated with that element reached the sea. But the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday that samples from both the pit water and coastal seawater indicated that contaminated underground water likely had reached the sea. Watchdog chairman Shunichi Tanaka said he thinks that the seawater contamination has been happening since the accident, but that it was worst early in the crisis. "What's most important is to minimize the leak to the outside and reduce the impact on the human society," he said. Most fish and seafood from along the Fukushima coast are barred from the domestic market and from being exported. Seafood caught north and south of Fukushima are regularly tested for radiation to make sure they are safe for consumption. In the wider ocean, the contaminated water becomes too diluted to be harmful. The safety of fish and other foods from around Fukushima remains a concern among ordinary Japanese, who are among the world's highest per capita consumers of seafood. TEPCO says it has taken steps to prevent seawater contamination but that it is impossible to completely prevent the contamination from spreading. Atsunao Marui, underground water expert at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said there is a possibility of new leaks from reactor buildings. He said TEPCO will have to expand its seawater sampling and its investigation of the underground water system to assess the extent of possible contamination. "It is important to apply several layers of protection," he told NHK television. The plant still runs on jury-rigged systems to cool the reactors, and managing the contaminated water and its storage has been a chronic headache. "When something unexpected happens, we can only take stopgap measures, which shows how unstable Fukushima Dai-ichi still is," Tanaka said. "Given the situation, we can only use the best of our wisdom and do what we can." |
