CSG news update -- 2007-10-12

[China Study Group <chinastudygroup@gmail.com>]

China Study Group news update

Rise in biofuel production in China and India may cause shortages of water
http://www.finfacts.com/irelandbusinessnews/publish/article_1011463.shtml
Finfacts Ireland | 2007-10-12
Finfacts Team
China's and India's plans to produce more biofuels may cause shortages of water, which is needed for crops to feed their growing populations, according to a water study published on Thursday.  The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) study, Biofuels and implications for agricult...

China surplus bolsters currency critics
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1bc43bac-7882-11dc-aaf2-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
FT | 2007-10-12
Reuters
China chalked up a trade surplus of $23.91bn in September, the fourth-largest on record, giving more ammunition to foreign critics who say Beijing has an unfair edge in world markets by keeping the yuan undervalued.  The surplus was down from $25.0bn in August but up from $15.3bn in September 2006...

Giant China Dam Forcing More Relocations
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6990809,00.html
Guardian | 2007-10-12
AP
BEIJING (AP) - Some 4 million more people will be forced to relocate over the next 10-15 years because of a giant dam project in China that has stirred environmental concerns, state media reported Thursday.  About 1.4 million people have already been uprooted to make way for the Three Gorges Dam, ...

A workers' manifesto for China
http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9944703
Economist | 2007-10-11
CHINA will soon boast seven of the world's ten biggest shopping malls. Yet Chinese households are hardly the most eager shoppers. Consumer spending has fallen from 47% of GDP in the early 1990s to only 36% in 2006, the lowest proportion in any large economy (see left-hand chart). At the other ex...

Missing the barefoot doctors
http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9944734
Economist | 2007-10-11
THE county of Luochuan, on the loess plateau of northern Shaanxi Province, used to be one of China's poorest places. Today it looks relatively prosperous. The main street of the county seat is lined with hotels and restaurants, and the reddening orchards of this apple-growing district stretch be...

The rich lives of coal bosses
http://www.danwei.org/business/its_a_good_time_to_be_a_coal_b.php
Danwei | 2007-10-11
Joel Martinsen
The Top Essence luxury goods show was held in Beijing over three days at the end of September. Borrison, the organizer of this and similar luxury expos in Shanghai and Guangzhou, invited guests from Beijing and surrounding areas.  According to a report in the Mirror, many of the guests were not wh...

China Has 106 Billionaires, Up From 15 Last Year
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=a_TDRFAAr7.k&refer=germany
Bloomberg | 2007-10-10
Allen T. Cheng and Dune Lawrence
 Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- China has 106 billionaires, up from 15 last year, as surging stocks boost the wealth of the nation's richest people, according to the Shanghai-based Hurun Report.  Yang Huiyan, the 26-year-old daughter of a property developer, is the nation's wealthiest person with ...

Censor's grip tightening on Internet in China
http://www.i4u.com/article12054.html
I4U News | 2007-10-10
Luigi Lugmayr
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Internet censors in China are becoming more systematic and sophisticated in how they monitor the Web and eradicate content deemed sensitive, according to a Chinese technician working for an Internet firm.  In a report published on Wednesday by Reporters Without Borders and th...