This improvement in cross-strait relations was due in large part to President Ma Ying-jeou's victory in Taiwan's March presidential election. Hu also invited Wu to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics which Wu accepted.
Beijing may allow Japanese military C130 military transport planes to deliver much needed aid to the millions of displaced victims of the Sichuan earthquake. This would be a major diplomatic breakthrough in Sino-Japanese relations as it would be the first time since World War II that Japanese military aircraft & personnel would be allowed into China.
Analysis/Implications/Remarks/Comments: While Sino-Taiwanese ties are on the right track, Sino-Japanese ties are dicey at best, but although China is nothing like Myanmar, the hesitation in allowing potential aid to millions of people who are suffering from hunger & lack of shelter again doesn't do anything for China's international image.
Chief Executive Donald Tsang has suffered a major setback when two proposed exemptions from the food labeling law were blocked by democrats. The exemptions would have included health foods sold in small quantities. Retailers warn that 15000 food items would have to be taken off store shelves because of their low sales volumes that would not be worth the cost of repackaging.
Analysis/Implications/Remarks/Comments: This should be a wake-up call for Donald Tsang that he can't ignore. If he wants to finish with a high popularity rating in 2012 or 2017, he must show compassion for the Hong Kong people which is one of his biggest weaknesses and this issue is very important because people need to know what they are buying as their health or maybe even lives are at stake
Dab VICE-CHAIRMAN Greg So will give up his Canadian passport, the first official to do so amid the passport dispute among government officials. According to a government source, “An undersecretary giving up his foreign nationality doesn't mean (that) the others have to follow suit. If Mr. So is to give up his (Canadian) passport, it would be his own decision”.
Analysis/Implications/Remarks/Comments: Once again, people's loyalty is being questioned. In the past, democrats have been denied home return permits if they wanted to go to the mainland. Now, Greg So of the DAB is giving up his foreign passport. Hmm. And government officials are saying that he did it with no external pressure?
NBA games are “too entertaining” for a quake-reeling China, according to Jiang Heping, director of CCTV5, which showed game 1 of the western conference finals between the Lakers & the Spurs, but no games after that.
Analysis/Implications/Remarks/Comments: This may sound like a broken record, but this report is biased as usual. Chinese officials are only saying this because their national basketball icon, Yao Ming & the Houston Rockets have now been eliminated from the playoffs. If Yao & the Houston Rockets were in the western conference finals, then, surely, we wouldn't be reading this story
