OFFBEAT MAIL

Had the Chinese government taken the initiative or done enough to immediately contain the novel Coronavirus from spreading waywardly into other areas, this pandemic wouldn't have gone too far to pester other countries like Italy, the United States and the Philippines whose governments had declared a lockdowns thus causing extreme fears among the people, not to mention the derailments of some economies worldwide. But the provincial government, where Wuhan is an integral part of, acted too late to lockdown the place. The local government in Wuhan should have prevented residents from getting out, especially those who were infected by the virus. Sorry to say this, but the Wuhan government officials were lackadaisical in their approach to the health dilemma, thinking that the problem was just an ordinary matter which didn't require much attention. Until the problem got worse resulting to some deaths in the area had they known of Covid-19's serious impacts on the health of innoce...

Exotic Chinese food (Credit: Flickr) Had the Chinese government taken the initiative or done enough to immediately contain the novel Coronavirus from spreading waywardly into other areas, this pandemic wouldn't have gone too far to pester other countries like Italy and the Philippines whose governments had declared a lockdowns thus causing extreme fears among the people, not to mention the derailments of some economies worldwide. But the provincial government, where Wuhan is an integral part of, acted too late to lockdown the place. The local government in Wuhan should have prevented residents from getting out, especially those who were infected by the virus. Sorry to say this, but the Wuhan government officials were lackadaisical in their approach to the health dilemma, thinking that the problem was just an ordinary matter which didn't require much attention. Until the problem got worse resulting to some deaths in the area. I was wondering if they had underestimate...

Online gaming The latest apprehensions made by Philippine immigration agents on at least 277 illegal Chinese nationals working at an online gaming company in the Ortigas, Pasig City was a pr oof that Chinese tourists are taking advantage of President Duterte's soft diplomacy with Beijing. And, regardless on whether the Philippines generated an estimated $200 million in revenues from online gaming, it is not a sure guarantee that the windfall will continue unabated by ignoring established immigration laws in the country. The arrest came after the Chinese Embassy in Makati City tipped the BID about the presence of Chinese  individuals who were wanted by the Chinese police, a newspaper report said. Since it is illegal in China to operate online gaming activities, some Chinese entrepreneurs have made it their bread and butter to dupe young and tech-savvy Chinese citizens to come to Manila in droves on the promise that they could work even without proper work permits. It...

Rare earth minerals in powder form. Just as big demands for rare earth elements (REES) soared by leaps and bounds over the years, the People’s Republic of China (PROC), which controls about 90 percent of the world’s supply, has slowly tightened its grip on the flow of supply into the open markets. Consequently, this put many high-tech companies worldwide wondering as to whether they could still meet their current production quotas or not? What was the motive behind China’s move? Based on reports, China has stopped further explorations of these metals when it found out that some of its local miners were engaged in illegal mining activities. Consequently, the flow of raw materials to the open markets was affected, thus hindering many hi-tech companies to meet their production targets. And no matter how optimistic they may seem, they felt that import demands may be hampered. Blame it on China’s self-imposed totalitarian rule to restrict the flow of rare earth metals to the in...

Syrian refugees flooding to Hungary. It’s nothing else but good future and security for their children that attract thousands of refugees to Europe. But streaming into Europe have cost them so much sufferings, battling with police and border guards to escape tyranny in Middle East countries where the Islamic militants are sowing terror and chaos. Robust enough to carry their dreams and determination to survive, at least, they have succeeded in breaking the barriers to the welcoming arms of the host countries like Austria and Germany, among the Euro-member countries that now provide sanctuary to these hapless migrants. But the mass exodus isn't over yet. As days roll on, thousands more are coming to Hungary's border. With the latest government's decision to seal its border, many of  these refugees, including children and women, have to find another route to get into the heart of Europe. This time, they landed in Croatia and Serbia, which eventually  allowed ...

That's a big question that plays in the minds of most democratic-loving people worldwide. Map shows location of Paracel Islands and Spratly Islands.  According to the China's foreign ministry, the Philippines' filing of a complaint before ITLOS was tantamount to stealing its territories. If China is really the legitimate owner of some, if not all, the islands in the South China Sea, how come it didn't raise a howl when the UNCLOS was created? Wasn't China aware of the consequences as soon as the UNCLOS was created? In fact, it was clear from the beginning that a particular country has the right to own up islands that are within its 250 EEZ limits. Yet, China has kept mum on the issue until the Philippines decided to put a demarcation which eventually created the West Philippine Sea. Even as this article is being written, Chinese Coast Guards had been intimidating smaller Philippine ships that went to Ayungin Shoal to bring food rations to some soldiers who w...

China has again used its naval might to bully Filipino fishermen who were taking shelter due to bad weather 40 yards off the shore of the Bajo de Masinloc, which is inside  the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Philippines. An exclusive economic zone (EEZ) is a seazone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.[1] It stretches from the baseline out to 200 nautical miles from its coast. In colloquial usage, the term may include the continental shelf. The term does not include either the territorial sea or the continental shelf beyond the 200 n.m.limit. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exclusive_Economic_Zone) The incident took place a few days when the Chinese Coast Guard deliberately bombarded two Filipino fishing vessels with a water cannon as a means to drive them away from the area. Although Philippine Foreign Affairs spo...

The Economist Intelligence Unit released in its latest survey of the world's GDP growth forecast for 2013 vis-a-vis the countries' per capita income. In the Asia-Pacific Countries, China is the leader of the pack with a growth forecast of 8.6% for 2013. Due to its large population, however,  its per capita income remains at $6,890. Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) comes second with 6.8%, with a per capita of $3,150. Others include Uzbekistan--6.7% ($1,920) ; India--6.5%($1,770); Afghanistan--6.5%($668); Indonesia--6.3% ($,3,890); Bangladesh--6.1% ($695); Philippines--6.0% ($2,650); Vietnam--6.0%  ($1,800); Kazakstan--5.1% ($12,210); Thailand--4.7%  ($5,800); Malaysia--4.6% ($11,580); Singapore--4.0% ($53,370); Hong Kong--2.4% ($35,610); Japan--1.2%  ($45,680); South Korea--3.7% ($24,590); Taiwan--3.6% ($22,020); Pakistan--3.3% ($1,410); New Zealand--2.3%  ($33,160); and Australia--3.0% with a per capita pegged at $66,950, the highest in the region so far. ...

Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile The heated exchange of harsh words between the younger Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and the octagenarian Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile at the plenary session in the Philippine Senate on Wednesday , came as a surprise to their colleagues in the chamber, and to the millions of Filipinos around the world. This is the first time in the history of Philippine politics that a younger legislator has to stand up and engaged a Senate President in a word-war. Many people are asking as to what triggered the exchange of heated words between the two legislators? Did Trillanes by-pass his boss at the Senate? Media reports and other sources said the verbal tussles stemmed from the sensitive issue of deliberating on a bill that would split Camarines Sur into two and the backdoor negotiations initiated by Senator Trillanes with China over the Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Seas. Sen. A. Trillanes IV Trillanes, a graduate of the Philippine M...

It's frustrating to know that nothing really happened after foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations failed to approve a substantial communique that would, once and for all, resolve the controversy that now hounds the contested territories in the South China Sea. Consequently, claimant countries like the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia have expressed apprehensions as to the way the Chinese government behaves in so far as China's muscle-flexing in the disputed territories is concerned. What I learned is that Cambodia seemed unwilling to cooperate with what the other Asean members wanted in the first place--to form a European-style economic block by 2015. The intention was to show China what the Asean block could do to level the playing field in the northeast part of the South China Sea. While the controversy remains unresolved, "intense nationalist feelings around the region" are believed to be making it more difficult fo...

HONG KONG-- The number of Chinese travellers making international trips was up by a strong 22 per cent[1] in 2011, compared to 2010, and experts predict China is on track to overtake Germany and the US as the world's largest outbound tourism market in the next few years[2]. Launched today, the inaugural Chinese International Travel Monitor[3](CITM) from Hotels.com [http://www.hotels.com ](R), one of the world's leading online hotel booking websites, gives an insight into how the rise of the Chinese traveller is changing the dynamics of the global hotel market. Johan Svanstrom, Managing Director of Hotels.com Asia Pacific, commented: "The Chinese made a staggering 70 million[4] international trips in 2011 and, while many of these were to Hong Kong and Macau, the number going further afield is growing significantly. Implementing strategies to cater specifically to this burgeoning source market is moving from a nice-to-have to a competitive necessity." Surveying mo...

American property developer Donald Trump has accused China of "ripping off the United States." His negative comment came at a time when China's President Hu Jintao visited Washington D.C. as an official guest of President Obama recently. His negative comment was considered timely. Or was it meant to drum up his political plans where Trump was reported to be planning to join the presidential race comes 2012? The issue that Trump was trying to play up was immediately snatched by the media considering his popularity in the international and domestic business communities. But many people, particularly the pundits, are asking as to his intention of poking his ire against China. And who wouldn't? China's trade surplus with United States is now estimated to have totaled $236 billion. Until now, the Obama administration is left with no choice but to use its diplomatic and economic initiatives to convince China to devalue its currency to no avail. In the CNN news poll, 61 ...