Obituary: Luke Kanyomeka, 1960 – 2011

Professor Luke Kanyomeka, an agronomist, was a Zambian national, but taught and researched at the University of Namibia, where he was the deputy dean of the faculty agriculture and natural resources at Ogongo. He was best known for his leading role in a project to grow rice in in Kalimbeza, Caprivi, Namibia, a region which borders both on Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Production in Kalimbeza reached commercial stage in 2008/2009, and is hoped to make Namibia less dependent on, if not independent of, rice imports, from countries like South Africa. Much of the project was modeled after Indonesian rice production.

Kanyomeka was Zambia’s Movement for Multi-Party Democracy (MMD) National Assembly candidate in elections scheduled for September 20 this year, for Nangoma Constituency in Zambia’s Central Province.

He died on July 22, in a hospital in Windhoek.

Taiwan Survey: 50.5 Per Cent Expect Peace Agreement with China, if Ma is Reelected

32.3 per cent of respondents to a regular Global Views Research Center (GVRC) survey , published on July 20, approve of Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou, while 55.1 per cent disapprove.
Public trust was at 40.2 per cent, while 43.5 per cent gave a negative evaluation.

Compared to the June 20 data, Ma’s approval rating has gone down by 2.0 per cent, and public trust by 0.6 per cent. In June, Ma’s approval rate had risen by o.4 per cent, and public trust in him had gone down by 1.2 per cent.

More worryingly for the Ma administration, the July numbers seem to suggest that more people than in June have made up their mind now, and mostly to Ma’s disadvantage. His support rate fell from 41.2 per cent (June) to 37.3 per cent (July), only 0.1 per cent ahead of DPP presidential nominee Tsai Ing-wen, whose support rate rose from 36.3 (June) to 37.2 per cent (July). Both the ruling and opposition camps have been plagued by negative developments over the past several months, Focus Taiwan quotes the GVRC’s director Tai Li-An, with controversy surrounding the DPP’s legislators-at-large roster and factional strife [..] also posing challenges to Tsai’s presidential bid, and recent farmers’ protests over the Ma administration’s land expropriation policy and glut-driven slumps in some farm produce prices, as well as squabbles between the KMT and its allies such as the People First Party and the New Party affecting Ma’s support rate.

In terms of foreign policy, the most striking issue quoted by Focus Taiwan is that 50.5 per cent of respondents believe that Ma would sign a peace agreement with China, while only 35.6 per cent expected the two sides to move toward unification. Numbers like these, which seem to expect peace and a continuing status quo at the same time, would suggest that Ma is expected to deliver almost ideal results in cross-straits relations. But then, domestic issues are apparently the correspondents’ main concerns.

Tsai Ing-wen was campaigning in Taichung on Thursday.

____________

Related

Ma, Tsai neck and neck, Taipei Times, July 22, 2011
“No Agricultural Development”, Taipei Times, July 22, 2011

____________

Pig Prices drive Inflation, despite Strategic Pork Reserve

Kungfu, Bremen-Hemelingen

On July 12, Wen Jiabao presided over a regular state council meeting which explored, decided and advanced political measures for sustained and healthy development of pork meat production. Wen had previously made inquiries about pork sales in Benxi (本溪), Liaoning province, on July 3; visited farms and supermarkets in Xianyang (咸阳市), Shaanxi province on July 9 for pork production research, and the July 12 state council meeting was therefore the third time within a fortnight that Wen had shown concern for the people’s livelihood in this regard, reports China National Radio (CNR).

According to the Financial Times, pork prices rose by 57 per cent in the past year.

Given the prominent role pork meat plays in the Chinese diet, the Chinese government established a strategic frozen pork reserve after Chinese farmers had to slaughter millions of pigs in 2008, after an outbreak of “blue-ear pig” disease which drove China’s inflation rate to its highest level in a decade, according to an NPR report in April.

____________

Related
» You name the Problem, the CCP solves it, February 15, 2011

____________

Press Review: National Bureau of Statistics Press Conference

On a national bureau of statistics press conference on Wednesday morning, bureau spokesman and national economy statistics division director Sheng Laiyun (盛来运) described the economy’s development of the first half year of 2011, and answered reporters’ questions. During the first half year, facing a complicated and volatile situation internationally, and new situations and new problems domestically, the party center and state council actively implemented financial policies and moderating (稳健) monetary policies, and continuously strengthened macro-economic control. The general economic situation was fine, and generally moving into the desired direction.

According to preliminary estimates, GDP grew by 20,446 bn Yuan RMB, which would be 9.6 per cent at comparable prices, with growth at 9.7 per cent during the first quarter, and 9.5 per cent during the second quarter. By sectors, the primary sector grew by 1,570 bn Yuan RMB or 3.2 per cent; the secondary sector grew by 10,217 bn Yuan or 11 per cent; the service sector grew by  8,658 bn Yuan or 2.2 per cent.

People’s Daily, July 13, 2011, 2.08 GMT

On Wednesday morning, bureau spokesman and national economy statistics division director Sheng Laiyun (盛来运) described the economy’s development of the first half year of 2011, and answered reporters’ questions. He said that during the first half year, the consumer price index (CPI, 居民消费价格总水平) rose by 5.4 per cent; and the producer price index (PPP, 工业生产出厂价格) rose by 7.0 per cent.

According to national bureau of statistics numbers, food prices rose by 11.8 per cent during the first half of the year, while non-food prices rose by 2.7 per cent. The consumer price index rose by 5.2 per cent in the urban, and by 5.9 per cent in rural areas.

By categories, housing prices rose by 6.3 per cent; healthcare costs and convenience goods by 3.2 per cent, alcoholic beverages and tobacco products by 2.3 per cent, household appliances and products and repair services costs by 2.0 per cent, clothing by 1 per cent, pasttime and educational products and services by 0.6 per cent, and transport and communication costs by 0.3 per cent.

People’s Daily, July 13, 3.16 GMT

[...] The growth figures underlined the resilience of the world’s second-largest economy, thanks to the country’s rapid urbanization, and could soothe investor concerns about an abrupt slowdown that would dent demand for global commodities. [...]

Reuters, July 13, 2011, 4.37 GMT

[...] Sheng Laiyun said that during the first half of this year, real estate investment grew rather fast, with investment at  2,625 bn Yuan RMB, or an increase by 32,9 per cent. [...]

People’s Daily, July 13, 2.08 GMT

[...] Raising the interest rates is conducive to correcting the state of negative interest rates. China’s economy entered a sustained state of negative interest rates along with the rising CPI since February 2010. Household savings have withdrawn from the banking system because it is difficult for household savings to keep value and rise in value. This has further increased inflationary pressures. [...]

People’s Daily (English), July 9, 2011 (referring to interest rates raised by the central bank, earlier that week)

____________

Related
» Land Use Supervision, July 12, 2011
» Quarterly GDP Growth Rates (Explanation), ECB

____________

Summer Observations

bluebottles et al

Days are growing shorter, and it’s mostly dry again. An old neighboring couple with a lot of patience is bringing up a young swallow which fell from the nest, with lots of flies (we’ve contributed some, too), and some meat, cut into small pieces. Just like many other birds, swallows ornery take a few steps back, before shitting on the table, or on someone’s neck.

It’s going to be full moon, soon.

German television can’t be put on par with the internet. The internet can’t be put on par with nature. Just a bottle of beer and one schnapps can make you dizzy if you haven’t had any for weeks.

Womens’ soccer can’t be put on par with mens’ soccer. The combine harvesters have taken to the fields, to get started with winter barley.

Once in a while, I won’t know the day of the week right away. The summer vacations are here.

Land Use Supervision: General Situation Good, no Cause for Optimism

China has recorded 9,832 cases of illegal land use in this year’s first quarter, up 3.7 percent from the same period last year, reports China Radio International (CRI), quoting the ministry of land and resources (国土资源部).

China Daily quoted the ministry’s law enforcement and supervision department (执法监察局) director Li Jianqin (李建勤) as saying several days earlier (probably on Thursday or Friday) as saying that 73 officials from 31 cities and counties had been punished for various infractions connected to the illegal use of land. Referring to a list published last Thursday, Li had said that [I]n all these cities and counties, 15 percent of new land development was illegal, according to 2009 satellite images and the management of the market for land transfers has been disorderly.

The following is a rough translation of an article by People’s Daily, of July 12.

On a press conference on Monday morning, 10 a.m., Li Jianqin said that while the general  situation tended to be good, increasing contradictions (矛盾) between supply and demand had led to pressures of illegal behavior (违法违规反弹的压力很大). Local governments managed the use of land, awareness in the management of mining had been strengthened, the authorities were making active use of satellite image in their supervision work, and the degree to which law enforcement, prevention and rectification were conducted had increased.

One factor was the momentum of illegal activity due to the lack of development of areas lacking develoment, compared to eastern and central Chinese areas. Secondly,  when local government drummed up investment, illegal land use by enterprises featured more prominently. Thirdly, illegal land use was constantly a problem around infrastructure projects such as road, railway, airport, and water conservancy projects. Illegal “land leasing in lieu of acquisition”^*) (以租代征) of collectively-used rural land, high expectations of further increases in the value of land because of continuing urbanization (城乡一体化), and the resulting belief that “cultivation isn’t as good as construction” (种地不如种房), many places were showing a trend of “de-agriculturalization” (非农化). Land was illegally occupied by estate development, illegal building of golf courses, “small property rights” (小产权房), industrial parks, etc.. The fifth factor was that illegal mineral mining was usually done on a small scale, and in a scattered way (违法开采矿产资源呈现散而小的特征).

Given the pace of development and the combined efforts for industrialization, urbanization, agricultural modernization in accordance with the 12th five-year plan (十二五, starting this year), with the corresponding fast rise in demand for resources and the constraints on their supply, the state of affairs concerning illegal land use gave no cause for optimism (国土资源领域违法违规形势不容乐观).

____________

Note

^*) Also known as land renting for land acquisition. A notice of the state council on promoting the land saving and intensive use, officially effective since March 1, 2008, states that it is strictly prohibited to illegally change agricultural land into construction land, or do so through “land renting for land acquisition”.

高度重视农村集体建设用地的规划管理。要按照统筹城乡发展、节约集约用地的原则，指导、督促编制好乡(镇)土地利用总体规划和镇规划、乡规划、村庄规划，划定村镇发展和撤并复垦范围。利用农民集体所有土地进行非农建设， 必须符合规划，纳入年度计划，并依法审批。严格禁止擅自将农用地转为建设用地，严格禁止‘以租代征’将农用地转为非农业用地。

____________

Related
» Land Certificates: Urbanize, and Stay where You are, July 10, 2011
» Tossing the Mountain around, November 8, 2010
» “Golf Courses out of Bounds”, China Daily, March 5, 2007

____________

The Politics of Nature: “Oriental Despotism”

The Chinese press continuously carries news about droughts – rarely right in the headlines, but further down the pages on an almost daily basis. Some of the news finds its ways into China-Daily-related English-language publications, too, but given that it doesn’t seem to have close connections to China’s political system, or obvious political implicatons (which would probably secure it more prominent coverage in international media, too), it is rarely discussed on the English-language blogosphere.

King Tubby‘s post of Thursday offers some thoughts to fill the gap -

Oriental Despotism, the Sino Engineering Mentality and Environmental Lunacy.

If you find commenting elsewhere dull at the moment as it seems you do – even the blogs with the traditionally longest threads seem to be hibernating -, why not trying there? It’s an “underlying”, but relevant topic, and should be a comparatively fresh one, too.

Advice: if you comment there, make sure that you keep a copy of what you wrote, before you post it – it may get lost as you push the submit-button, and you may have to try again.

Observations along the Way

Today is Friday, the 13th.

Water is becoming a scarce commodity.

But this blog’s commenting rules are among the top-five reads today. That’s good.