According to a senior official, China is set to push for the direct election of grassroots trade union leaders in a bid to better ensure the protection of workers’ rights. Most union leaders are currently appointed and paid by the companies whose workforce they represent. Guo Wencai of the All China Federation of Trade Unions [...]
Mao Xinyu, the only grandson of China’s former leader Mao Zedong, has been elevated to major general in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Reports have been circulating since last September that 39 year old Mao had become the youngest officer to reach major general rank, but officials have refused to confirm them – dodging suspicions [...]
Chimei Innolux, an affiliate of Foxconn Technology Group, which has been battered in the media for a spate of suicides at its factories, said a worker at its panel-module display plant may have committed suicide. The man was not a Chimei employee but rather a contractor, a company spokesperson said. Foxconn, the trade name of [...]
China’s State Council and Central Committee unveiled new anti-corruption measures on Monday that require officials and their families to report all personal wealth. The new rules, which apply to country-level officials and above, are designed to counter the increasingly common practice of corrupt officials concealing assets by assigning them to close family members, both domestically [...]
China’s population is expected to reach 1.39 billion by the end of 2015 with those over 60 years of age reaching 200 million, according to a senior government official. Li Bin, director of the National Population and Family Planning Commission, said the government estimates China’s urban population to top 700 million over the next five [...]
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates called on Beijing to reinstate military ties with Washington that lapsed earlier this year over arms sales to Taiwan. Gates was in Asia for the annual IISS Shangri-La Dialogue but the Chinese government didn’t extend an invitation to Beijing during his trip. The defense secretary warned there is a “real [...]
Foxconn has agreed to increase operator salaries as much as 30% after the recent string of suicides that left ten young employees dead. The firm initially pledged to increase pay by 20%. Basic assembly line workers will now receive RMB1,200 ($176) up from RMB900 ($132) per month. Honda has likewise agreed to increase workers’ salaries [...]
Japan and China have agreed to launch formal negotiations on a long-standing territorial dispute over gas field development in the East China Sea. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao also agreed to establish a diplomatic hotline between the countries. However, the two sides failed to agree on a common approach [...]
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Asia with a new focus on resolving the inflamed crisis over the sinking of a South Korean warship. While Clinton initially intended to come to Asia to participate with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in the Beijing Strategic and Economic Dialogue, attention has now shifted to the [...]
Beijing disclosed mass scale graft on Thursday related to its $586 billion stimulus plan. Thousands of Chinese government officials were accused of corruption that included taking bribes and embezzling government funds. Hao Mingjin, deputy minister of the Ministry of Supervision, revealed that a cumulative 3,058 Chinese officials received penalties up to life in prison for [...]
