THERE IS NO CHINA:

Teenagers Held for Pro-Independence Slogans (KEITH BRADSHER, 9/26/07, NY Times)

Eight boys ages 14 and 15 have been detained in the Tibetan town of Xiahe since Sept. 7 for writing graffiti and distributing pamphlets praising the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader, and for calling for independence from China, according to Human Rights in China, which called for their release.

Time for the Dalai Lama to return home.

MORE:
China makes contingency plans for junta's fall (David Lague, September 26, 2007, NY Times)

As China publicly calls for stability and reconciliation in Myanmar, it is also preparing for the possibility that the current protests could lead to the downfall of the military junta leading its resource-rich neighbor, political experts said on Wednesday.

Although China is Myanmar's most important trading partner, investor and strategic ally, Beijing has also maintained discreet links with opponents of its military rulers and tolerates the activity of some of exiled critics on Chinese soil, these experts said.

And as Myanmar's strongest international supporter, China wants to avoid any damage to its reputation from Myanmar's handling of political dissent, particularly with the approach of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The PRC needs to plan for its own fall, which could easily follow a Chinese Chernobyl, China warns of catastrophe from Three Gorges Dam (Reuters, 9/26/07)

China's huge Three Gorges Dam hydro-power project could spark "catastrophe" unless accumulating environmental threats are quickly defused, senior officials and experts have warned, according to state media.

The dam in southwest China, the world's biggest hydro-electric project, has begun generating electricity and has served as a barrier against seasonal flooding threatening lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Xinhua news agency reported late on Tuesday, citing a forum of experts and officials.

But even senior dam officials who have often defended the project as an engineering wonder and ecological boon now warned that areas around the dam were paying a heavy, potentially calamitous environmental cost.

Posted by Orrin Judd at September 26, 2007 6:41 AM