White wall news: China

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Thursday 2 October 2014

Nadal into Beijing quarters, Berdych boosts London hopes

(Reuters) - World number two Rafa Nadal sailed into the quarter-finals of the China Open, his first tournament in 13 weeks, with a 6-3 6-4 win over German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk on Thursday.

The Spaniard, returning from a wrist injury, won 85 per cent of his first service points against the German and took an hour and 45 minutes to seal victory and set up a last eight clash with Martin Klizan at the ATP 500 event.

Slovak Klizan was leading 6-2 3-0 when seventh seed Ernests Gulbis retired due to a right shoulder injury.

Third seed Tomas Berdych moved up a place to seventh in the race to the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London after his 6-3 6-4 victory against wild card Viktor Troicki despite a poor serving display.

The Czech only managed to make 32 percent of his first serves and now meets eighth seed and big server John Isner in the quarter-finals.

Elsewhere on Beijing's blue hard courts, Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov beat Spaniard Pablo Andujar 6-4 6-4 to set up a quarter-final clash with world number one Novak Djokovic, while sixth seed Andy Murray beat Pablo Cuevas 6-2 6-2.

In the women section, Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova upset seventh seed Angelique Kerber in three sets, while Petra Kvitova also reached the quarter-finals without hitting a ball after American Venus Williams withdrew with a viral illness.

Twice champion Kuznetsova dropped the first set but eventually prevailed 2-6 6-4 6-3 in the two-hour-and-eight minute battle that complicates her German opponent's hopes of qualifying for the season-ending WTA Finals in Singapore.

Kerber is ninth in the race for next month's event featuring the top eight players and could have improved her position with a better showing in China.

Second seed Simona Halep, one of the four players to have already secured a place in the Singapore event, battled past Andrea Petkovic of Germany with tie-breaks separating the pair in two of the three low quality sets.

The Romanian, who produced 91 errors, fought for more than two and half hours to tame Petkovic 7-6(4) 5-7 7-6(1) and reach the last eight where she will meet Ana Ivanovic, who downed Sabine Lisicki 6-3 7-5.

Italian Roberta Vinci prevailed in a three-setter, upstaging 12th seed Ekaterina Makarova 6-1 0-6 7-5.

Wednesday 1 October 2014

In 'Umbrella Revolution,' China confronts limits of its power

23:07 China , Hong Kong , Human rights , Politics , Umbrella Revolution No comments :

(Reuters) - In the heart of Mong Kok, one of the most densely populated districts on earth, an abandoned Hong Kong police van is enveloped in the student-led demonstrations paralyzing swathes of the city. Along with yellow ribbons and flowers, symbols of the city’s pro-democracy movement, protesters have taped a hand-written placard in Chinese and English to the side of the locked and undamaged vehicle.

“We can’t accept the Hong Kong police becoming the Gong An,” it reads - a reference to China’s feared Public Security Bureau, which enjoys virtually unfettered powers on the mainland.

The stranded police vehicle and the protesters’ warning encapsulate the dilemma that the mass protests pose for China’s rulers and the authorities in Hong Kong. They need to contain the campaign for democracy in one of Asia’s leading financial hubs without the tools employed on the mainland to suppress dissent, including sweeping powers of arrest, indefinite detention, compliant courts and a controlled media.

While People’s Liberation Army forces are stationed in Hong Kong, they have remained in their barracks. They will only be deployed on the streets if rioting and looting break out and the local police are unable to contain the violence, said two people with ties to the central government leadership.

“The mobilization of PLA troops in Hong Kong is a last resort and only if things got totally out of control," one of the people said.

As tens of thousands of protesters gather for a sixth day, their demand for the right to choose their leaders in fully democratic elections poses the biggest popular challenge to the ruling Communist Party since Chinese president Xi Jinping took power two years ago. The Umbrella Revolution, so called for the protesters’ use of umbrellas to shield against pepper spray, comes at an inopportune time for Xi. He is trying to steer a slowing economy while moving against powerful vested interests in one of the most wide-ranging purges and anti-corruption campaigns since the Communists came to power in 1949.

“It is a frontal challenge to their authority,” Regina Ip, a lawmaker and a top advisor to Hong Kong’s embattled political leader, chief executive Leung Chun-ying, says of the protests. “People have to understand how Beijing sees this... China feels threatened,” Ip told Reuters.

SKINNY 17-YEAR-OLD

At the forefront of this challenge is student leader Joshua Wong Chi-fung, a skinny 17-year-old with a mop of straight black hair framing his angular face.

Last Friday, after a week-long student boycott of classes, Wong was demonstrating with hundreds of secondary school students outside the Hong Kong government’s harbor-front offices. It was 10 p.m. and some of the students were beginning to drift off when Wong picked up the microphone.

“Please everybody, don’t go just yet,” he pleaded in his crisp, staccato Cantonese through the shrill feedback of the speaker. “Please give me some face and listen before leaving,” he joked. “Ok!” the students yelled back.

As Wong spoke, fellow student leaders Alex Chow and Lester Shum, followed by their colleagues, suddenly rushed the three-meter fence and gate protecting the government offices, shouting: “Charge, charge.”

Police arrested Wong immediately and took Chow and Shum into custody the next day. But legal limits on the power of the authorities soon frustrated their efforts to take the student leaders out of circulation.

In the High Court on Sunday evening, Justice Patrick Li Hon-leung ordered Wong’s immediate release, granting a writ of habeas corpus, one of the British-implemented protections that Hong Kong inherited from its former colonial master. Wong would have no such protection on the mainland where an equivalent right doesn’t exist and where protest leaders are often beaten and routinely detained for long periods without trial.

Wong’s lawyer, Michael Vidler, says Justice Li told the court that events might have taken a different course if Wong had not been detained for so long. In the two days Wong and his fellow student leaders were held without charge, tens of thousands of protesters had converged on the government offices and three other Hong Kong districts. About an hour before Justice Li ordered Wong’s release, riot police had fired volleys of tear gas in a bid to break up the demonstrations, the first time in decades that this riot control measure had been used against Hong Kong protesters.

Flanked by his lawyers, Wong pushed his right hand forward waist-high and flashed a defiant thumbs up as he walked free. His detention had provided the spark that galvanized the city’s pro-democracy movement and kick-started Occupy Central, a long-mooted plan to lock down the commercial heart of China’s most important financial center.

"DON'T REPEAT JUNE 4"

While leaders in Hong Kong consult with Beijing on how best to clear the streets, the student-dominated protests will be an unnerving reminder for Xi and other top party leaders of the Tiananmen Square demonstrations 25 years ago, in June 1989. That isn’t lost on the students. On Sogo Corner in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong’s neon-lit equivalent of New York’s Times Square, protesters have put up posters that carry the words “Don’t repeat June 4.”

Already, an image from the Hong Kong protests that draws a parallel with the iconic “tank man” photograph from the Tiananmen demonstrations has gone viral on social media. The image is drawn from a photograph of a protester holding two umbrellas aloft as he is enveloped in a cloud of tear gas.

The greatest fear for China’s leaders is that unrest could spread from Hong Kong to the mainland. While Chinese online censors have barred most discussion of the protests, during the first few days they failed to block searches for the Chinese expression for “umbrella revolution”. By Wednesday, they had caught up and the term had also been barred. For its part, the state-run media mostly limited its coverage of events in Hong Kong to official condemnations of the protests.

But there are signs that news of the demonstrations has penetrated the mainland firewall. Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a coalition of mainland and international human rights groups, said on Wednesday that dozens of mainland activists had been detained or intimidated for expressing support for Hong Kong’s protests. Reuters could not immediately confirm the detentions.

In Macau, the gambling hub that neighbors Hong Kong and where the mainland exerts more influence, several hundred protesters gathered in a central square Wednesday evening in support of the protests. Hong Kong has an independent judiciary and its citizens enjoy wide-ranging liberties, including freedom of speech and assembly, which is denied on the mainland.

NO EASY CHOICES

There are no easy choices for Xi or Leung, China’s handpicked man in Hong Kong. If they order a harsh crackdown, it could destroy Hong Kong’s reputation as a stable financial center, jeopardize investment in China and spark capital outflows from the mainland at a time when the Chinese economy is slowing markedly. China is aiming for economic growth of about 7.5 per cent this year. But a run of underwhelming data, including sagging industrial output and falling property prices, suggests expansion may fall short of that target.

A heavy-handed response could also fatally undermine the ‘one country two systems’ formula by which Hong Kong has been ruled since the 1997 handover and which China’s leaders have hoped would one day be extended to Taiwan. Already there have been protests in Taipei in solidarity with the Hong Kong students.

“One country, two systems has also been touted for Taiwan,” says Ken Kuo, a Taiwan exchange student living in Hong Kong. He joined the protests in the Admiralty district, where crowds have been largest. “But, as you can see, today’s Hong Kong will be tomorrow’s Taiwan if it is adopted.”

There is also no guarantee that greater force will end the protests. So far, the use of pepper spray and tear gas has only emboldened protesters. It has also won them greater sympathy from residents of the city who view these police tactics as excessive. Trucks from sympathetic businesses have delivered food and bottled water to the protest areas.

The demonstrators have also adopted tactics that make it difficult for the authorities to crack down. Despite the humidity, thunderstorms, crowding and limited facilities in Hong Kong this week, the crowds have been highly disciplined, avoiding violence and confrontation since after the early attempt by the small group of students to force their way into government headquarters.

TIDY REBELS

Teams of volunteers pick up rubbish and litter, even sorting it for recycling. Supplies of food and water are organized in neat stockpiles along the edges of the main traffic arteries in the center of Hong Kong. And the demonstrators, who are blocking key roads, obediently part for ambulances and emergency vehicles.

Protest leaders constantly remind the crowds that they must be peaceful and orderly. On Wednesday morning, when a small group of anti-Occupy Central protesters arrived in Admiralty district, pro-democracy demonstrators linked hands protectively around them to ensure there was no chance of a clash.

After the use of tear gas and pepper spray only succeeded in stoking the demonstrations, police beat a tactical retreat, distancing themselves from the main centers of protest. The hope is that the demonstrators will tire and melt away, said a senior police officer in Hong Kong. In what appears to be part of this plan, pro-mainland groups that routinely mount noisy counter-demonstrations to pro-democracy marches have been largely unseen on the streets.

But if the standoff worsens and Xi is seen to be unsuccessful in ending the protests, that could work against him, says Cheng Li, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington.

Xi and his supporters have launched a sweeping corruption crackdown across the mainland, partly designed to take down a dangerous rival, retired senior leader Zhou Yongkang, who used to head China’s pervasive security apparatus. The ongoing purge of Zhou and his sprawling network of relatives, political allies and business supporters has convulsed leadership politics in Beijing. A misstep from Xi that leads to ongoing instability in Hong Kong could provide ammunition for his rivals.

FISSURES IN BEIJING

For now, China’s leaders are united in their attitude toward Hong Kong, said Li. If the confrontation escalates, Xi could become vulnerable to attack from other leaders who might be unhappy over his corruption crackdown or economic policies, he said.

“They are on the same page largely,” Li said of the leadership. “But if some dramatic events start to happen, they might start to have a different view.”

Xi will not back down on China’s decision that only a handful of Beijing-vetted candidates can stand for the next elections for Hong Kong’s chief executive in 2017, says lawmaker Regina Ip.

“In their eyes, the Hong Kong chief executive is more powerful than a provincial Chinese leader,” says Ip, who held talks in Beijing last month with Zhang Dejiang, China’s third-ranked leader and the top official responsible for Hong Kong. “From their perspective, it is unthinkable that a future leader of Hong Kong is not patriotic or that Hong Kong was allowed to become a base for subversion.”

One China-based Western diplomat likened the showdown in Hong Kong to a game of chicken. “Two cars speed toward one another,” the diplomat said. “Beijing’s strategy is to throw away the steering wheel so the other party has to swerve away first. It’s like that with full democracy.”

Pro-democracy forces are also standing firm. Even if the protests unwind, the Hong Kong and mainland authorities will still face the fundamental question posed by the demonstrators: Why can't educated, moderate and law-abiding Chinese people choose their own leaders? As the swelling protests indicate, Xi has yet to provide an answer that would satisfy protesters in Hong Kong or for that matter Taiwan's voters who have grown accustomed to changing their government at the ballot box.

Much of the pressure now falls on Leung. He must find a way to end the protests that will satisfy Beijing without completely alienating the residents of Hong Kong.

"HANDS OFF"?

The leadership in Beijing appears to have shifted the onus to him. "The central government did not pressure Hong Kong to disperse the protesters,” said another source with ties to the leadership in Beijing. "The Hong Kong government was proactive because it did not want to be perceived by the central government to be weak."

A person close to Leung who spoke on condition of anonymity said Beijing was being “very hands off” in what he described as a “critical” moment for the current administration in Hong Kong. He also said that Leung has “never” considered acceding to the protesters’ demand that he resign.

In his National Day speech on Wednesday, Leung seemed to suggest that giving all the city’s five million eligible voters the right to cast a ballot for candidates that were vetted by Beijing was better than no elections at all. “It is understandable that different people may have different ideas about a desirable reform package,” he said. “But it is definitely better to have universal suffrage than not.”

Leung will also be wary of the power of Hong Kong protesters when they take to the streets in big numbers. A 500,000-strong protest on July 1, 2003, stunned the Hong Kong government and eventually forced Beijing's hand-picked leader, Tung Chee-hwa, to step down. It marked the first time since the founding of the People’s Republic of China that the Communist Party was forced to back down in the face of popular pressure and jettison a senior leader.

Leung and Tung, now an advisor to the mainland government, stood side-by-side in Hong Kong at the National Day flag-raising ceremony, which marks the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on October 1, 1949. The protest leaders didn’t disrupt the event. But as Leung, his top officials and dignitaries watched the raising of the Chinese national flag, shouts and chants could be clearly heard from the protesters in Admiralty district, a block behind them.

In an embarrassment to Leung, the protesters did force the Hong Kong authorities to cancel the traditional fireworks display, a centerpiece of the National Day celebrations that normally draws a huge crowd to the harbor front. And he had to travel by boat to the ceremony because the roads were blocked by the protests.

Taiwan throws support behind HK democracy demands

13:38 Asia , China , Democracy , Hong Kong , Politics No comments :

(AP) — Taiwan, an island that China's ruling Communist Party has long sought to bring into its fold under the same "one country, two systems" arrangement it has for Hong Kong, has thrown its support behind Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.

Taiwanese leaders also have urged Beijing to live up to its pledges of autonomy in the former British colony or risk further alienating the Taiwanese public.

"If Hong Kong can soon achieve universal suffrage, it would be a win-win for Hong Kong and the mainland, and it can greatly help narrow the mental gap between residents on both sides of (the Taiwan Strait) and allow for the relations to develop positively," Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said in a statement.

"Otherwise, it may deepen the antipathy of Taiwan's public and hurt the future of relations between the two sides," Ma said in the statement, dated Tuesday.

In August, Beijing rejected a proposal for open nominations of candidates for Hong Kong's first-ever leadership election, promised for 2017. Instead, all candidates must continue to be picked by a panel that is mostly aligned with Beijing.

In response, tens of thousands of people have rallied in Hong Kong's streets since late last week to press demands for genuine democratic reforms that are in line with "one country, two systems," the arrangement negotiated for the 1997 return of the city from British to Chinese rule.

That constitutional arrangement initially was formulated by China's late Communist leader Deng Xiaoping in an attempt to peacefully reunify with Taiwan, where the nationalist government of the Republic of China settled in 1949 as its last stronghold after losing a civil war to the Communists on the mainland.

The nationalist government's ambitions to reclaim the mainland later fizzled out, and the island became a self-governing democracy, although there has never been a formal declaration of independence.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward the "one country, two systems" arrangement for Taiwan again, only to see it openly rejected by both Ma and Taiwan's opposition party.

Speaking about the Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, Huang Di-ying, spokesman for Taiwan's opposition Democratic Progressive Party, said the city's residents had received "a birdcage election law that made a mockery of what the people of Hong Kong had come to expect."

On Tuesday, Taiwan's governmental Mainland Affairs Council issued a statement declaring its support for the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong and invoking its significance for all Chinese people.

"People of Hong Kong have long had high hopes for the implementation of universal suffrage, using it to test if the mainland has truly fulfilled its promises under 'once country, two systems,'" the statement said.

Should Hong Kong's democracy move forward, the council said, "it will not only ensure the long-term stability of Hong Kong, but also be of profound significance to the long-term development" of relations between China and Taiwan and "for the development of democracy and rule of law for the entire Chinese people."

Tuesday 30 September 2014

Lightning, rain fail to deter resolute Hong Kong protesters

21:48 Asia , China , Hong Kong , Human rights , Politics No comments :

(Reuters) - Thousands of pro-democracy protesters thronged the rain-soaked streets of Hong Kong early on Wednesday, ratcheting up pressure on the pro-Beijing government that has called the action illegal and vowed to press ahead with National Day celebrations.

On the sixth day of a determined mass campaign to occupy sections of the city and express fury at a Chinese decision to limit voters' choices in a 2017 leadership election, there was little sign of momentum flagging.

That was despite widespread fears that police may use force to move crowds who have brought large sections of the Asian financial hub to a standstill and affected businesses from banks to jewellers.

Thunder, lightning and heavy rain failed to dampen spirits as protesters sought shelter under covered walkways, while police in raincoats and hats looked on passively nearby.

At the weekend, riot police had used tear gas, pepper spray and baton charges to try to quell the unrest, but since then tensions have eased as both sides appeared prepared to wait it out, at least for now.

Protests spread to Tsim Sha Tsui, one of the city's most popular shopping areas for mainland Chinese that would normally do roaring trade during the annual holiday marking the Communist Party's foundation of the People's Republic of China in 1949.

But in the early morning hours, hundreds of demonstrators were milling around outside luxury stores and setting up makeshift barricades in anticipation of possible clashes. As in most parts of Hong Kong, the police presence was small.

M. Lau, a 56-year-old retiree, said he had taken to the streets of Hong Kong to protest in the 1980s, and wanted to do so again in a show of solidarity with a movement that has been led by students as well as more established activists.

"Later this morning I will come back," he said.

"I want to see more. Our parents and grandparents came to Hong Kong for freedom and the rule of law. This (protest) is to maintain our 160-year-old legal system for the next generation."

China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula that accords the former British colony a degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, with universal suffrage set as an eventual goal.

But when Beijing ruled a month ago that it would vet candidates wishing to run for Hong Kong's leadership, protesters reacted angrily and called for Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying to step down.

Student leaders had given Leung an ultimatum to come out and address the crowds before midnight on Tuesday, threatening to occupy more government facilities, buildings and public roads if he failed to do so.

Leung did not comply, but has said that Beijing would not back down in the face of protests. He also said Hong Kong police would be able to maintain security without help from People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops from the mainland.

AGGRESSIVE CENSORSHIP

Communist Party leaders in Beijing worry that calls for democracy could spread to the mainland, and have been aggressively censoring news and social media comments about the Hong Kong demonstrations.

Mainland Chinese visiting Hong Kong had differing views on the demonstrations, being staged under the "Occupy" banner.

"For the first time in my life I feel close to politics," said a Chinese tourist from Beijing who gave only her surname, Yu. "This is a historic moment for Hong Kong. I believe something like this will happen in China one day," added the 29-year-old.

But a woman surnamed Lin, from the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, said the protesters' demands for a democratic election were "disrespectful to the mainland."

"Even though the government has brought a lot of development to Hong Kong, they don't acknowledge this," Lin said.

The protests are the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule in 1997. They also represent one of the biggest political challenges for Beijing since it violently crushed pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Cracking down too hard could shake confidence in market-driven Hong Kong, which has a separate legal system from the rest of China. Not reacting firmly enough, however, could embolden dissidents on the mainland.

The deputy director of China's National People's Congress Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee, Li Shenming, wrote in the People's Daily: "In today's China, engaging in an election system of one-man-one-vote is bound to quickly lead to turmoil, unrest and even a situation of civil war."

NERVOUSNESS AT SENSITIVE TIME

Underlining nervousness among some activists that provocation on National Day could spark violence, students from Hong Kong University made an online appeal for people not to disturb the flag-raising ceremony.

"However much you dislike a country, disturbing her flag-raising ceremony is total disrespect and goes against the nature of democracy," it said, reminding readers that the international media was watching.

The outside world has looked on warily.

In Britain's strongest interjection yet, finance chief George Osborne urged China to seek peace and said the former colony's prosperity depended on freedom. Washington urged Hong Kong authorities "to exercise restraint and for protesters to express their views peacefully".

The events have also been followed closely in Taiwan, which has full democracy but is considered by Beijing as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the mainland.

On the financial markets, Hong Kong shares fell to a three-month low on Tuesday, registering their biggest monthly fall since May 2012. Markets are closed on Wednesday and Thursday for the holidays.

The city's benchmark index has plunged 7.3 percent this month, and there were few indications that the protests are likely to end any time soon.

Over the last 24 hours, people have set up supply stations with water bottles, fruit, crackers, disposable raincoats, towels, goggles, face masks and tents, indicating they were in for the long haul.

"Even though I may get arrested, I will stay until the last minute," said 16-year-old John Choi. "We are fighting for our future."

Monday 29 September 2014

Serena and Cilic advance in China, Nadal loses on return

13:52 China , Sport No comments :

(Reuters) - U.S. Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafa Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.

Williams, who won her 18th grand slam singles title in New York earlier this month, started sluggishly and found herself 5-0 and 40-15 down to Spanish qualifier Silvia Soler Espinosa.

However, the world number one saved four set points in a brilliant fightback before taking the match 7-5 6-2 to set up a second round clash with another qualifier, Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova.

It was the American's first outing since retiring in the first set of her opening match against Alize Cornet at the Wuhan Open last week because of illness.

Also returning after an absence, albeit a longer one, was 14 times grand slam singles champion Nadal, who had been sidelined for over three months with a wrist injury.

The world number two teamed up with compatriot Pablo Andujar in the men's doubles but they lost 5-7 6-4 10-4 to Czech Tomas Berdych and American John Isner in his first match since losing in the last 16 at Wimbledon.

The Spaniard is the second seed in the men's singles draw and will face Richard Gasquet of France in first round action on the Beijing blue courts later in the week.

The 28-year-old has picked a tough tournament to mark his return with eight of the world's top 15 taking part in the ATP 500 outdoor hardcourt event with five spots still up for grabs at the season-ending World Tour Finals in November.

CILIC CRUISES

One of those hoping to join Nadal in London is Croatian Cilic, playing his first ATP tournament since winning a maiden grand slam at Flushing Meadows in early September, who brushed aside local wildcard Bai Yan 6-3 6-4 on Monday.

The Chinese world number 464 pushed the fourth seed for long periods on an empty stadium court but wasted his four break point opportunities on the Cilic serve.

By contrast, Cilic was able to capitalise on his unheralded opponent's mistakes with Bai's forehand faltering as the match progressed, allowing the Croatian to secure a break in each set to advance to the second round.

"It's important for me to keep focusing on the improvement of my game and try to recreate the game I was playing at the U.S. Open," Cilic said.

Serbia's Viktor Troicki also advance after beating Russia's Mikhail Youzhny 6-3 6-4 with either the third seeded Berdych or Spain's Feliciano Lopez awaiting him in the next round.

Troicki's compatriot, former world number one Ana Ivanovic, had a far easier day by swatting aside Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic 6-2 6-1 to advance to the second round of the women's draw.

Ivanovic currently holds the eighth and final spot on the WTA's Race to Singapore standings with four places still up for grabs for next month's season-ending event.

Hong Kong protesters defy Beijing with calls for democracy

13:36 Asia , China , Hong Kong , Human rights , Politics No comments :

(Reuters) - Hong Kong democracy protesters defied volleys of tear gas and police baton charges to stand firm in the centre of the global financial hub on Monday, one of the biggest political challenges for Beijing since the Tiananmen Square crackdown 25 years ago.

China wagged its finger at the student protesters, and warned against any foreign interference as they massed again in business and tourist districts of the city in the late afternoon.

"Hong Kong is China's Hong Kong," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying defiantly told a news briefing in Beijing.

The unrest, the worst in Hong Kong since China resumed its rule over the former British colony in 1997, sent white clouds of gas wafting among some of the world's most valuable office towers and shopping malls before riot police suddenly withdrew around lunchtime on Monday, after three nights of confrontation.

China rules Hong Kong under a "one country, two systems" formula that accords the territory limited democracy. Tens of thousands of mostly student protesters are demanding Beijing give them full democracy, with the freedom to nominate election candidates, but China recently announced that it would not go that far.

As riot police withdrew on Monday, weary protesters slept beside roads or sheltered from the sun beneath umbrellas, which have become a symbol of what some are calling the "Umbrella Revolution". In addition to protection from the elements, umbrellas have been used as flimsy shields against pepper spray.

Nicola Cheung, an 18-year-old student from Baptist University, said the protesters in central Admiralty district were assessing the situation and planning what to do next.

"Yes, it's going to get violent again because the Hong Kong government isn't going to stand for us occupying this area," she said. "We are fighting for our core values of democracy and freedom, and that is not something violence can scare us away from."

Organisers have said that as many as 80,000 people have thronged the streets after the protests flared on Friday night. No independent estimate of numbers was available.

The protests, with no single identifiable leader, bring together a mass movement of mostly tech-savvy students who have grown up with freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China. The movement represents one of the biggest threats for Beijing's Communist Party leadership since its bloody 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy student protests in and around Tiananmen Square.

Cracking down too hard could shake confidence in market-driven Hong Kong, while not reacting firmly enough could embolden dissidents on the mainland.

The protests are expected to escalate on Oct. 1, China's National Day holiday, with residents of the nearby former Portuguese enclave of Macau planning a rally. Pro-democracy supporters from other countries are also expected to protest, causing Beijing further embarrassment.

Such dissent would never be tolerated on the mainland, where the phrase "Occupy Central" was blocked on Sunday on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. The protests have received little coverage on the mainland, save for government condemnation.

Televised scenes of the chaos in Hong Kong over the weekend have already made a deep impression on many viewers outside Hong Kong. That was especially the case in Taiwan, which has full democracy but is considered by China as a renegade province that must one day be reunited with the Communist-run mainland.

"Taiwan people are watching this closely," Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

Britain said it was concerned about the situation in Hong Kong and called for the right of protest to be protected.

The U.S. Consulate General in Hong Kong issued a statement calling for all sides to "refrain from actions that would further escalate tensions".

China's Hua said Beijing noted statements expressed by countries such as the United States. "We hope that the relevant country will be cautious on this issue and not send the wrong signal," she said.

"We are resolutely opposed to any foreign country using any method to interfere in China's internal affairs. We are also resolutely opposed to any country, attempting in any way to support such illegal activities like 'Occupy Central'."

"We are fully confident in the long-term prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, because I believe this is in keeping with the interests of all the people in China, the region and the world," she said.

In 1989, Beijing's Tiananmen crackdown sent shockwaves through Hong Kong as people saw how far China's rulers would go to keep their grip on power.

SOME BANKS PULL DOWN SHUTTERS

Banks in Hong Kong, including HSBC (HSBA.L), Citigroup (C.N), Bank of China (601988.SS), Standard Chartered (STAN.L) and DBS (DBSM.SI), shut some branches and advised staff to work from home or go to secondary branches.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city's de facto central bank, said the city's interbank markets and Currency Board mechanism, which maintains the exchange rate, were not affected by the unrest. It said it stood ready to "inject liquidity into the banking system as and when necessary".

Hong Kong witnessed extraordinary scenes at the weekend as thousands of protesters, some armed with nothing more than umbrellas, blocked the main road into the city and police responded with pepper spray, tear gas and baton charges.

Markets more or less took the weekend's unrest in their stride, proof yet again of the pre-eminent place trade has always taken in Hong Kong. Hong Kong shares .HSI ended down 1.9 percent.

The protests have spooked tourists, with arrivals from China down sharply ahead of this week's National Day holidays. Hong Kong on Monday cancelled the city's fireworks display over the harbour, meant to mark the holiday. The United States, Australia and Singapore issued travel alerts.

SCUFFLES BREAK OUT

Some protesters erected barricades to block security forces early on Monday, although a relative calm descended after dawn. By mid-afternoon, hundreds of protesters were seen streaming again into downtown areas of Hong Kong island. A bus draped with a banner reading "Democracy" was parked across a main road.

People placed discarded umbrellas over students sleeping in the sun, while others distributed water and masks to guard against tear gas and pepper spray.

Hours earlier, police had baton-charged a crowd blocking a road into the main government district in defiance of official warnings that the demonstrations were illegal.

Protesters called on Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying to step down. Several scuffles broke out between police in helmets, gas masks and riot gear, and demonstrators.

"If today I don't stand up, I will hate myself in future," said taxi driver Edward Yeung, 55, as he swore at police. "Even if I get a criminal record it will be a glorious one."

Across Hong Kong's famed Victoria Harbour, smaller numbers of protesters, including some secondary school students, also gathered in the Mong Kok district of Kowloon.

About 200 workers at Swire Beverage, a unit of Hong Kong conglomerate Swire Pacific (0019.HK) and a major bottler for the Coca-Cola Company (KO.N), went on strike in support of the protesters, a union representative said. They also demanded the city's leader step down.

The "one country, two systems" formula guarantees Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China, with universal suffrage set as an eventual goal.

However, Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely choose the city's next leader, prompting threats from activists to shut down the Central business district.

China wants to limit 2017 elections to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing. Communist Party leaders worry that calls for democracy could spread to the mainland.

Sunday 28 September 2014

Alibaba pays $459 million for stake in Chinese hotel tech company

20:54 alibaba IPO , Asia , Business , China , Tech No comments :

(Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, in its first big investment since raising $25 billion in a record-breaking New York initial public offering, has bought 15 percent of Chinese hospitality technology provider Beijing Shiji Information Technology Co Ltd for 2.81 billion yuan ($458.66 million).

The investment is expected to allow the e-commerce giant to develop its Taobao travel business alongside Beijing Shiji, including back-office services, while helping to migrate hotel customers to Alibaba's e-commerce website.

Beijing Shiji provides IT consulting to hotels in China's fast-growing market. It sells everything from software that manages room reservations, purchasing, inventory, and point of sales systems, to broadband networks and billing systems.

The Shenzhen Stock Exchange-listed firm says almost 6,000 hotels in China use its products, including 90 percent of the country's five-star hotels, according to Sunday's filing. Its customers include Grant Hyatt Hotels, Marriott International Inc, Westin Hotels and Resorts and Sofitel Luxury Hotels.

Alibaba's Taobao (China) Software unit agreed to purchase 54.55 million shares of the company for 51.52 yuan per share, Beijing Shiji disclosed in a regulatory filing on Sunday. The deal should close early next month. An Alibaba spokesman declined to comment.

Alibaba initially partnered with Beijing Shiji in an agreement announced on March 28. Beijing Shiji's shares have gained more than 46 percent since then.

Microsoft boss Nadella promises cooperation in Chinese antitrust probe

20:52 Asia , China , Microsoft , Tech No comments :

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp chief executive Satya Nadella promised to cooperate fully with Chinese authorities in their antitrust investigation into his company during a meeting with a top regulator in Beijing, the Chinese government said.

Microsoft has been ensnared in an anti-monopoly investigation launched this summer by China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC), which has already seized evidence from multiple Microsoft offices across China and summoned high-level executives for questioning.

Nadella, who took the helm of the world's largest software company in February, met with SAIC chief Zhang Mao on Friday in what was portrayed as a conciliatory encounter by the SAIC, one of three antitrust agencies in China.

Microsoft will turn over information requested by investigators in a timely fashion, while the company is confident the government probe will be fair and transparent, Nadella told Zhang, according to an account published on the SAIC website.

Nadella also said the Chinese government's regulatory practices helped create beneficial conditions for the growth of Chinese and foreign companies, the SAIC said.

Zhang pledged a fair and transparent investigation and said his agency welcomed Microsoft's questions and suggestions about the investigation, according to the SAIC.

Microsoft declined to comment on the government meeting but said in a statement that it is "serious about complying with China's laws and committed to addressing SAIC's questions and concerns."

Nadella, whose planned visit was first reported by Reuters last month, swung through the Chinese capital as part of his first trip to Asia as CEO.

Nadella also spoke to students at Tsinghua University in Beijing, where he said extolled China as a source of human capital and a vibrant innovation culture, according to the official China Daily.

Nadella is the latest foreign tech executive to arrive in Beijing to diffuse tensions with regulatory authorities, whose muscular enforcement of a 2008 anti-monopoly law has unsettled Western companies.

Qualcomm Inc, which is facing a potentially record-breaking fine, sent president Derek Aberle to Beijing in August to meet with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the antitrust agency probing the San Diego-based chipmaker.

Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters defiant as police use tear gas

19:06 Asia , China , Democracy , Hong Kong , Human rights , Politics No comments :

(Reuters) - Hong Kong police fired volleys of tear gas to disperse pro-democracy protests on Sunday and baton-charged a crowd blocking a key road in the government district in defiance of official warnings against illegal demonstrations.

Chaos had engulfed the city's Admiralty district as chanting protesters converged on police barricades surrounding other demonstrators, who had earlier launched a "new era" of civil disobedience to pressure Beijing into granting full democracy.

Student and pro-democracy leaders late on Sunday urged supporters to retreat due to safety concerns amid speculation police could fire rubber bullets as tensions escalated.

Some supporters peeled away although thousands remained. Chan Kin-man, one of the co-founders of the Occupy Central movement, said its leaders would remain until they got arrested.

Police, in lines five deep in places and wearing helmets and gas masks, used pepper spray against activists and shot tear gas into the air. The crowds fled several hundred yards, scattering their umbrellas and hurling abuse at police "cowards".

The demonstrators regrouped and returned however, and by early evening tens of thousands of protesters were thronging streets, including outside the prominent Pacific Place shopping mall that leads towards the Central financial district.

"If today I don't stand out, I will hate myself in future," said taxi driver Edward Yeung, 55, as he swore at police on the frontline. "Even if I get a criminal record it will be a glorious one."

A former British colony, Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a formula known as "one country, two systems" that guaranteed a high degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China. Universal suffrage was set as an eventual goal.

But Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely choose the city's next leader, prompting threats from activists to shut down Central in what is being seen as the most tenacious civil disobedience action since Britain pulled out. China wants to limit elections to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing.

LEADER PLEDGES "RESOLUTE" ACTION

Police in full riot equipment later fired repeated rounds of tear gas to clear some of the roads in Admiralty and pushed the crowds towards Central. Health authorities said some 30 people needed treatment.

Police had not used tear gas in Hong Kong since breaking up protests by South Korean farmers against the World Trade Organization in 2005.

"We will fight until the end ... we will never give up," said Peter Poon, a protester in his 20s, adding that they may have to make a temporary retreat through the night.

Hong Kong leader Leung Chun-ying had earlier pledged "resolute" action against the protest movement, known as Occupy Central with Love and Peace.

"The police are determined to handle the situation appropriately in accordance with the law," Leung said, less than two hours before the police charge began.

A spokesperson for China's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office added that the central government fully supported Hong Kong's handling of the situation "in accordance with the law".

Communist Party leaders in Beijing are concerned about calls for democracy spreading to cities on the mainland, threatening their grip on power. Such dissent would never be tolerated on the mainland, where student protests in and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square calling for democracy were crushed with heavy loss of life on June 4, 1989.

On the mainland, the phrase "Occupy Central" was blocked on Sunday afternoon on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. It had been allowed earlier in the day.

Later, a Hong Kong government statement urged the Occupy organizers to bring an end to the "chaos" for the overall interest of Hong Kong. The government said some public transport may be disrupted on Monday due to the protests.

A tearful Occupy organizer Benny Tai said he was proud of people's determination to fight for "genuine" universal suffrage, but that the situation was getting out of control, RTHK reported. He said he believed he would face heavy punishment for initiating the movement.

Inside the cordon, thousands had huddled in plastic capes, masks and goggles as they braced for a fresh police attempt to clear the area before Hong Kong re-opens for business in the morning. The city's financial markets are expected to open as usual on Monday.

"WE WILL WIN WITH LOVE AND PEACE"

Publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, a key backer of the democracy movement, said he wanted as big a crowd of protesters as possible, after a week of student demonstrations, to thwart any crackdown.

"The more Hong Kong citizens come, the more unlikely the police can clear up the place," said Lai, also wearing a plastic cape and workmen's protective glasses. "Even if we get beaten up, we cannot fight back. We will win this war with love and peace."

Pro-democracy Hong Kong lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan said three fellow legislators were among a small group of activists detained by police, including democratic leaders Albert Ho and Emily Lau.

Organizers said as many as 80,000 people thronged the streets in Admiralty, galvanized by the arrests of student activists on Friday. No independent estimate of the crowd numbers was available.

A week of protests escalated into violence when student-led demonstrators broke through a cordon late on Friday and scaled a fence to invade the city's main government compound. Police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd. The Hong Kong Federation of Students extended class boycotts indefinitely.

Police have so far arrested 78 people, including Joshua Wong, the 17-year-old leader of student group Scholarism, who was dragged away after he called on the protesters to charge the government premises.

Wong was released from police detention without charge on Sunday evening, the South China Morning Post reported. He told reporters that he planned to return to the protest site after resting.

Thursday 25 September 2014

China, Spain Ink $4 Billion In Business Deals

14:34 Business , China , Politics , Spain No comments :

(AP) — China and Spain signed business deals worth $4 billion on Thursday as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy visited the Asian powerhouse to seek support for Spain's struggling economy.

Chinese premier Li Keqiang announced the deals just before holding talks with Rajoy in Beijing.

The state broadcaster China Central Television said the 10 deals included trade, finance, culture, telecommunications and energy.

Li said China hopes to see further cooperation with Spain in areas such as biology, medicine and aerospace.

Li said, "we hope to have more pragmatic cooperation with Spain, and look forward to expanding the number of people traveling between the two countries."

He asked the prime minister to help reduce the time for Chinese nationals to obtain visas to Spain.

Rajoy said the two countries have always enjoyed "friendly and effective" trade relations.

Two-way trade between China and Spain reached $24 billion last year.

Tuesday 23 September 2014

Microsoft Xbox One set to launch in China on September 29

13:31 China , Microsoft , Tech , Thechnology , Xbox No comments :

(Reuters) - Microsoft Corp has set Sept. 29 as the new launch date for its Xbox One game console in China, the U.S. software giant said on Tuesday, in the first launch since a 14-year ban on sales of foreign games consoles was lifted this year.

The world's biggest software company gave no reason for the delay in the launch which was originally scheduled for Sept. 23.

The delay is the latest in a series of setbacks for Microsoft in China, where it is under investigation for suspected anti-trust violations related to the Windows operating system and Microsoft Office.

"We take great care to ensure that we meet or exceed regulatory standards," said Microsoft in an e-mail to Reuters in response to the delayed console launch.

The Xbox One console will cost 3,699 yuan ($602.76) without the Kinect motion detection system and 4,299 yuan ($700.53) with Kinect, Microsoft said.

China is the world's third-biggest gaming market where revenues grew by more than a third from 2012 to nearly $14 billion last year.

Console games must also get approval from Shanghai's local culture department, which will ensure they do not harm China's national unity, territorial integrity or reputation - or promote racial hatred, obscenity, gambling, violence or drugs. This could stop some of video games' biggest franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, from being published in China.

"After receiving government approval for the first wave of games, we've decided to launch with digital copies of the first 10 games now and will continue our work to bring more blockbuster games and a broad offering of entertainment and app experiences to the platform in the months to come," Enwei Xie, Microsoft's general manager for Xbox China, said in a press release.

In May, Sony Corp) said it would set up a joint venture with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to bring the PlayStation games console to China.

Microsoft makes the Xbox One console with Chinese internet TV set-top box maker BesTV New Media Co Ltd.

China regulator says iPhone 6 in final review stages: Tencent

13:29 China , Iphone 6 , Mobile , Tech , Thechnology No comments :

(Reuters) - Apple Inc's iPhone 6 is in the final stages of review for approval, with results due shortly, a top Chinese government regulator said in an interview published on Tuesday by Tencent.

The status of the iPhone 6 in China has been a mystery since Apple unveiled the device this month without releasing a launch date for the world's largest smartphone market.

The delay has led to widespread speculation the iPhone has run into difficulty securing regulatory approval from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), with some reports suggesting the launch could be delayed until 2015.

"The iPhone 6 has entered the final stage of the approval process, now it's just a matter of time," MIIT chief Miao Wei told Tencent in an exclusive interview in Beijing. "Netizens, please wait patiently."

Miao declined to offer a time frame for completion of the review, saying only that he expected a result "very soon".

The ministry could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday.

Monday 22 September 2014

Alibaba IPO ranks as world's biggest after additional shares sold

13:32 alibaba IPO , Business , China , Tech , Thechnology No comments :

(Reuters) - Alibaba's initial public offering now ranks as the world's biggest at $25 billion, netting underwriters of the sale a more than $300 million windfall after the e-commerce giant and some shareholders parted with additional shares.

The fees are equivalent to 1.2 percent of the total deal, with Alibaba paying $121.8 million in commissions. Selling shareholders are set to pay another $178.6 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.

Overwhelming demand saw the IPO initially raise $21.8 billion, and then sent Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's stock surging 38 percent in its debut on Friday. That prompted underwriters to exercise an option to sell an additional 48 million shares, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said.

That means the IPO has surpassed a previous global record set by Agricultural Bank of China Ltd in 2010, when the lender raised $22.1 billion.

According to its prospectus, Alibaba had agreed to sell 26.1 million additional shares under the option, and Yahoo Inc an additional 18.3 million, netting the two companies an extra $1.8 billion and $1.2 billion respectively.

Alibaba's Jack Ma had agreed under the same option to sell an extra 2.7 million shares and company co-founder Joe Tsai agreed to 902,782 additional shares.

The source declined to be identified as the details of the additional sale have yet to be made official.

Alibaba declined to comment.

Citigroup Inc, Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Morgan Stanley acted as joint bookrunners of the IPO.

Rothschild was hired as Alibaba's independent financial advisor on the deal.

Sunday 21 September 2014

SoftBank estimates $4.6 billion gain from Alibaba listing

19:36 Business , China , Japan , Tech , Thechnology No comments :

(Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp said it expected a gain of about 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) from Alibaba Group Holding's share listing in New York, where the Chinese e-commerce leader surged 38 percent on its first day of trade.

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son also told CNBC that he would want to own more of Alibaba, although he reiterated that the Japanese mobile carrier and Internet media company was happy with the current 32 percent stake, which made it the Chinese company's biggest shareholder.

Asked if he would like more of Alibaba, Son told CNBC on Friday: "Of course."

Pressed on the likelihood of buying more shares, Son added: "Anything is possible but we are happy the way it is."

He said SoftBank considered Alibaba a core holding and he was upbeat about the Chinese company's future.

"My point of view is that this is the true beginning of Alibaba," he said. "I'm very, very optimistic."

SoftBank said in a statement on Saturday that it would book the estimated 500 billion yen gain in the half-year to end-September and would announce a precise figure at a later time. The gain was recorded to reflect Alibaba's increased asset value with the issuance of new shares and the conversion of preference shares to common stock in conjunction with the listing.

The Chinese e-commerce leader's shares surged in their Friday debut on the New York Stock Exchange as investors jumped at what is likely to rank as the largest IPO in history, betting on Chinese growth and a company that accounts for 80 percent of that country's online sales.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi, Teppei Kasai and Yoshiyasu Shida; Writing by Edmund Klamann; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

Microsoft delays launch of its Xbox One console in China

18:59 China , Media , Microsoft , Tech , Thechnology No comments :

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) has delayed the launch of its Xbox One game console in China, which had been set for release on Tuesday, but the world's biggest software company said it would be released by the end of the year.

Microsoft did not give a reason for the delay in a statement on Sunday.

The Chinese government lifted a 2000 ban on gaming consoles earlier this year. Microsoft had reached a deal with Chinese internet TV set-top box maker BesTV New Media Co Ltd (600637.SS) to form a joint venture to manufacture the consoles in Shanghai's Free Trade Zone a year ago.

The Xbox One console will cost 3,699 yuan ($602.37) without the Kinect motion detection system and 4,299 yuan ($700) with Kinect, Microsoft said in July.

China is the world's third-biggest gaming market, where revenues grew by more than a third from 2012 to nearly $14 billion last year.

However, piracy and the dominance of PC and mobile gaming may leave little room for legitimate console and game sales.

In May, Sony Corp (6758.T) said it would set up a joint venture with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group (600832.SS) to bring the PlayStation games console to China.

WITH ALIBABA'S BIG DEBUT, 10 THINGS TO KNOW

01:42 Business , China , Tech , Thechnology , US , USA No comments :

(AP) — China's e-commerce giant Alibaba began trading its shares Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. Here are ten things to know about Alibaba, and why its initial public offering made history:

THE BIGGEST: Alibaba raised $21.8 billion in its debut, making it the biggest U.S.-listed IPO in history after the IPO of credit card processing company Visa in 2008. If Alibaba's investment banks were to exercise their option to sell an additional 48 million shares, it could make Alibaba's IPO the biggest in the world, beating out the $22 billion IPO of Agricultural Bank of China in 2010.

DON'T FORGET YAHOO: It may have been a big day for Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma, but Yahoo's investors are feeling pretty good after Alibaba's IPO. Yahoo was an early investor in Alibaba, paying $1 billion for a stake in the company in 2005. Yahoo likely made $8.3 billion to $9.5 billion in Alibaba's IPO, and will still own a 16 percent stake in the company worth $37.7 billion.

ALIBABA ECLIPISES SILICON VALLEY: Alibaba now has a market capitalization of roughly $219.8 billion, according to FactSet. That makes the company bigger than some of the U.S. technology industry's most successful names, such as Facebook, eBay, and even Amazon.com.

ALL IN ONE: Investors are interested in Alibaba because the company dominates many businesses in China that, here in the U.S., are run by individual companies. Alibaba owns the websites Tmall and Taobao, which are similar to Amazon.com and eBay, respectively. The company also earns money from transaction fees related to its various businesses through Alipay, which is like PayPal. That's just three of Alibaba's many subsidiaries.

BIG PROFITS: Unlike the U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon, Alibaba has been consistently profitable. The company had $8.5 billion in sales in its latest fiscal year ending in March, with net income of $3.8 billion. The year prior, Alibaba had $5.4 billion in sales and $1.4 billion in profits. In comparison, Amazon sold $74.4 billion in goods in 2013, but made only $274 million in profits that year. In 2012, Amazon reported a net loss of $39 million.

RISKS: If Alibaba does well for investors, it will be the exception to what has been the trend for Chinese companies. When Chinese companies have listed stocks on American markets, their shares have lost an average 1 percent a year for the next three years, compared with an average 7 percent annual gain for other U.S. IPOs, according to research by Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida.

SECOND TIME AROUND: This isn't Alibaba's first time going public. Alibaba took its online shopping portal Alibaba.com public in 2007 in Hong Kong. Alibaba.com was a publicly traded company only for a few years. Alibaba took Alibaba.com private in 2012.

SOLID GOLD: Jack Ma, who started Alibaba in 1999 in his apartment in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, is now among the richest people in the world. Ma's ownership in the company is worth roughly $18.2 billion, based on Alibaba's closing share price Friday. That doesn't include the shares he sold in the IPO, which are worth another $867 million, and his other investments. Bloomberg put his entire net worth at $21.9 billion, making him the 34th richest person in the world.

BIG WIN FOR NYSE: Alibaba chose to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, making it the second A-list technology company to go public on the Big Board in less than a year. The NYSE handled Twitter's IPO last year. NYSE's competitor, the Nasdaq Stock Market, has struggled to win the business of big tech companies since Facebook's IPO in 2012, which was plagued with technical problems.

LIFE IS LIKE A BOX OF...: Jack Ma biggest hero is the fictional character Forrest Gump. "I really like that guy," Ma said, in an interview with business channel CNBC on Friday. "Every time I'm frustrated, I watch the movie. (The movie tells) me that no matter whatever changed, you are you."

China to stick to targeted easing in monetary policy: Premier

01:28 Business , China No comments :

(Reuters) - China will continue leading a prudent monetary policy with focus on targeted easing measures, Premier Li Keqiang said, according to a statement published on a central government website.

Addressing the State Council, China's cabinet, Li said China over the past year had avoided stimulating its economy through quantitative easing.

"In the current complex economic situation and the downward pressure, we still have to maintain concentration and adhere to a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy to stabilize market expectations," Li said.

He added he was hopeful China's massive urbanization drive would help fuel future economic growth.

The statement came as state-owned news agency Xinhua on Friday quoted the chairman of the China Construction Bank saying the central bank has issued 500 billion yuan ($81.4 billion) worth of three-month loans to China's five biggest banks.

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