The China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly

Clinton warns China on Iran sanctions Friday, 29 January 2010 00:00 Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned China on Friday that it would face economic insecurity and diplomatic isolation if it did not sign on to tough new sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program, seeking to raise the pressure on Beijing to fall in line with an American-led campaign. Mrs. Clinton — in a flurry of meetings this week in Europe, including one with the Chinese foreign minister — has tried to build momentum for new measures against Iran. Britain, France and Germany back the effort, and Russia, which has often blocked previous efforts, now seems ready to act. American officials have been making this argument privately to the Chinese for weeks, as the United States tries to win them over for new sanctions. But this is the first time Mrs. Clinton has publicly made the link between China’s energy security and the alarm over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. In case Beijing missed the urgency of her appeal, Mrs. Clinton remarked that a nuclear-armed Iran would risk setting off an arms race in the Persian Gulf, and that it could provoke a military strike from Israel, which she said would regard a nuclear Iran as an “existential threat.” Mrs. Clinton met Thursday with the Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, who was attending the Afghanistan conference. A senior administration official said Mr. Yang listened to the American arguments but reiterated his government’s preference to stick with negotiations. (The New York Times)

Kyrgyzstan activists on hungerstrike Wednesday, 27 January 2010 00:00

Opposition activists in Kyrgyzstan have been holding a hunger strike protest for two weeks. The group is calling for an end political repression in the country following the jailing of the former defence minister turned opposition leader Ismail Isakov. The European Union recently expressed deep concern over increasing attacks and acts of intimidation towards opposition figures and independent journalists in Kyrgyzstan. Once described as an island of democracy in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan was recently downgraded by the Washington-based rights watchdog Freedom House to "not free". (BBC News)

China facing growing sex imbalance Monday, 11 January 2010 00:00

According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences more than 24 million Chinese men of marrying age could find themselves without spouses by 2020. The gender imbalance among newborns, for every 100 girls born in China 119 boys are born, is the most serious demographic problem for the Chinese population. A major factor is the gender selection abortions, where the traditional bias toward male children has created a society with a surplus of men. Chinese authorities fear that the growing imbalance will lead to forced prostitution and human trafficking. (BBC News)