Haba Snow Mountain, Lijiang, Shangrila, Yunnan, China

This is a youtube video fro Dr Kevin Soh of Singapore. A beautiful recording of his trip to Haba Snow Mountain, Shangrila, Yunnan, China.



Watching it, is just like travel with them to Haba Snow Mountain during Christmas day.

Winter in Yunnan, China

Just come back from Yunnan, China. An early winter at Shangrila, it snow the first day we arrived. Beautiful journey crossing the Yunnan and Guangxi Province, but missed the Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdung Province. Just happen to see the video at youtube. Beautiful winter isn't it?



Hope you enjoy it....

Merry Christmas 2010

Merry Christmas to all Christian friends round the world

Peace be with you, wherever you are.



Hayyo Ya Mhuyumne, or Come All Ye Faithful, sung in Chaldean Neo-Aramaic. A traditional Christmas hymn. Aramaic is an ancient language spoken during Jesus's time, hearing song in Aramaic in Christmas day will be more meaningful to remember the birth of Jesus Christ. Aramaic was the language spoken by Jesus Christ. In several countries in the Middle East (Iraq, Syria, Armenia) the Catholic faith is practiced by, amongst others, the Chaldean Church and the language they use is Aramaic.

Christmas day is the day to remember the birth of Jesus Christ, is not like an ordinary birthday, it is not Santa Claus day, it is not Christmas tree, it is not Christmas Song, it is not Christmas Turkey dinner, it is not Christmas drama, it is not Christmas gifts; it is just a day to remember Jesus Christ. He is the focus, every second, every hour and the day of Christmas. Many celebrate Christmas,it is a public holiday, but fall short of the knowing what is the meaning of the day. This year, my Christmas is merely walking back to the time when Jesus said in Aramaic language....the time Jesus walk and talk to many...and many come to know him....do you know HIM?....

The Lord's Prayer in Aramaic



The language of Aramaic still remain....



Have a merry Christmas and blessing year for 2011.

Xiao yan(肖 燕)

The female singer of Guangxi, Xiao-yan is from Yizhou(宜州), Guangxi, China. Yizhou is the hometown of Liu Sanjie((刘三姐),the famous legendary Song Dynasty folk singer of China. Liu Sanjie((刘三姐)is literally means Third Sister Liu, renowned for her beautiful singing voice. Xiao yan is born in the city of Yizhou, today she is a famous singer in China.



女儿香

呵 最是动人女儿香

夜风吹得风铃叮当叮叮当
谁的歌声唱得让人心头慌
夜色入茫漫过寂寞的纱窗
月色入水谁的眼睛泪汪汪

咦耶 亲亲可爱的人儿哟
站在我思念的水上
年轻 像闪闪的波光 荡漾
咦耶 远远吹来的风儿哟
吹来那迷人的芬芳 嗨哟
那美丽的衣裳 咦耶
心驰神往 那美丽姑娘 秀发飘飘
女儿香 女儿香

夜风吹得风铃叮当叮叮当
谁的歌声唱得让人心头慌
夜色入茫漫过寂寞的纱窗
月色入水谁的眼睛泪汪汪


咦耶 远远吹来的风儿哟
吹来那迷人的芬芳 嗨哟
那美丽的衣裳 咦耶
心驰神往 那美丽姑娘 秀发飘飘
女儿香 女儿香

夜风吹得风铃叮当叮叮当
谁的歌声唱得让人心头慌
夜色入茫漫过寂寞的纱窗
月色入水谁的眼睛泪汪汪

咦耶 咦耶 呵 咦耶

Yanshoa Light Show 印象刘三姐

Impression, Liu Sanjie, which opened in August 2003 at the Li River, Guangxi province; was directed by Zhang Yimou(张艺谋), born November 14, 1950 or 1951, who is a Chinese film director, producer, writer and actor, and former cinematographer. Zhang Yimou was chosen to direct the Beijing portion of the closing ceremonies of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, alongside co-director and choreographer Zhang Jigang.

Zhang has won numerous awards and recognitions, with Best Foreign Film nominations for Ju Dou in 1990 and Raise the Red Lantern in 1991, Silver Lion and Golden Lion prizes at the Venice Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival

In 1998, he directed an acclaimed version of Puccini's opera Turandot, firstly in Florence and then later at the Forbidden City, Beijing, with Zubin Mehta conducting.[32] He reprised his version of Turandot in October 2009, at the Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing, and plans to tour with the production in Europe, Asia and Australia in 2010.

In May 24, 2010, Zhang was awarded a Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Yale University, and was described as "a genius with camera and choreography."

Impression, Liu Sanjie,is one of the outdoor folk musicals Impression series directed by Zhang Yimou. Impression Lijiang, in June 2006 at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in Lijiang, Yunnan province; Impression West Lake, in late 2007 at the West Lake in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province; Impression Hainan in late 2009, set in Hainan province; and Impression Dahongpao set on Mount Wuyi, in Fujian province. All five performances were co-directed by Wang Chaoge and Fan Yue.

Impression Liu Sanjie(印象刘三姐)is a popular extravaganza performed outdoors in a river and mountain setting with a cast of 600 singers and dancers, performed at Li River, Yangshuo, Guangxi near Guilin. Liu Sanjie, literally means the 3rd sister of Liu family, was a famous legendary Song Dynasty folk singer of China, famous for her beautiful voice in singing San Ge(山歌).

In the 1960s, a musical movie was made of her story in music. Liu San Jie (刘三姐) was a hit, and the legendary singer became popular and famous in Asia, among the Chinese community.

Liu San Jie (刘三姐) is famous for the San Ge or Mountain songs(山歌), a type of folk song sing in the mountain.

Liu San Jie was reported born in Yizhou(宜州). Yizhou is a county level city located in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in the southern part of the People's Republic of China. It formerly was known as "Yishan" (宜山).Yizhou is located in the northwest of Guangxi province on the Long Jiang in an area noted for its magificant karst formations. The limestone karst formations dot the city and surrounding country and beautiful rivers cut through the landscape. The city of Yizhou has several hundred thousand inhabitants. The surrounding country side is home to a number of ethnic Zhuang villages. The economy is centered on sugar production. Located near Yizhou is a British-Chinese jointly run sugar processing plant. The country side surrounding Yizhou is similar in appearance to the tourist Mecca Yangshuo, located in the east of Guangxi province.

The people of Yizhou believe that Liu San Jie was born there and a statue of her is in the city center. The home of Liu Sanjie(刘三姐故居) is located at Chengzhong East Road(城中东路), Yizhou(宜州), Hechi(河池市),Guangxi(广西壮族自治区).

Liu San Jie is not of Hakka people, as some believed; the Hakka are famous for mountain folk song(客家山歌). But she is of Zhuang people(壮族).

Yizhou even have Song festival for Liu San Jie, the first festival(2010广西宜州首届刘三姐文化旅游节)was held from 10th September to 13th September 2010.



Related article/website

1.http://www.lsjlyj.com/

Freedom to Aung San Suu Kyi

Freedom to Aung San Suu Ky

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate makes a brief appearance before a cheering crowd and promises to speak at greater length on Sunday(today). Her future is uncertain in the repressive nation. Aung San Suu Kyi had served her term as political prisoner until 13-11-2010.

Congratulation to Aung San Suu Kyi, we are happy for her.

Will Burma be free?.....

How about the Panglong Agreement?....

How about the Shan, Chin, Mon, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin....and others; will they be free?

We are happy for the release of Aung San Suu Ky; but remember Burma is not only Aung San Suu Ky, there are much more people in Burma who faced tougher future than Aung San Suu Ky, as they have no global political support, no mass media attention...

There are more than one Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, they are still political prisoners, we request that all of them to be released....the world is not only with the satisfaction of one release, we request that all political prisoners to be released.....

There are more than one Aung San Suu Ky in Burma, we pray for them..... Aung San Suu Ky is only one person, a representative of the people for freedom from military rule, she is only one of the Burma, a symbol for hope for Burma, while we remember Aung San Suu Kyi, we must remember who she represented, the people behind her. The ordinary Burmese people who silently support her behind all mass media attention, behind all global political attention. We remember these people who are behind the mass media attention.

We remember many who died not even their names being mentioned and known by the world....

They include Shan, Chin, Mon, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin....and others....

We remember you, the Burmese....

The Friendly Visit or A lecture?

THE OBAMA administration has focused much of its foreign policy on what Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton likes to call the "three D's:" diplomacy, development and defense. A fourth D, democracy, is missing from that formula - and too often it has been absent from President Obama's strategy.

So it has been encouraging to see the emphasis the president has placed on democratic countries and democratic values during his ongoing tour of Asia. In a region where the shadow and the example of autocratic China are formidable, Mr. Obama is visiting four free countries, and in his speeches he is making a strong case for why they are more likely to succeed in the long run.

On Wednesday in Indonesia, the president offered an important addendum to Ms. Clinton's slogan. "Development," he said, "is inseparable from the role of democracy. . . . Prosperity without freedom is just another form of poverty." He went on to explain why: "It takes a free press and an independent justice system to root out abuses and excess. and to insist on accountability. It takes open society and active citizens to reject inequality and injustice."

(source: The Washington Post; http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/10/AR2010111006206.html)

It seems like the visit is to lecture the host countries on diplomacy(power control), democracy( democracy defined by the powerful), human right(human right in other countries), development(prosperity by borrowing and printing US currency), defence(by selling arms and hate your neighbor). Suddenly I see Obama in different image, unlike when he was elected as President, when we anticipated that there will be changed, in Asian relationship,and bring a new trend in global politic. But it did not happen. Obama is like all President in USA, he is not of level of Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, or Mandela, who dare to change, and because of their change, Obama was able to become President of USA. He still move with the tempo of USA politic .... the old perception of Asia, supremacy of USA, democracy, human right and environment protection, defense strategy of cold world. He still remained in the mentality of the cold world, I wonder how he was awarded Nobel Peace Prize?... the issues have been repeated all over again......but never a time when the country who once said IN God We Trust was the foundation of the nation, Obama is not able to humbly said a word that, love thy neighbors is the foundation of the national foreign policy. USA has lost the spirit of her founding father, in religion, in democracy, in human right.....the wild wild west has long lost...the great country is no more....

Every steps he take, every steps Hillary Clinton took, is the reflection of the country; of power,of strong military power....I will protect you if you....for what? to buy the arms from USA, otherwise the perceived enemy is at your doors. It is not friendly visit, it is a visit of desperation, declining economic power.... a sour grape diplomacy to tell that if you did not complied with my terms, that is what you see.

Sour grape diplomacy...at the time when we need cooperation for global issues; and yet the mentality is still in the cold world. With the attitude, the terrorist problem will persist...

Democracy is ability to say No, to say no to USA, to say no to China, to say no to Japan, and and to say No to external undue political pressure from outside. The ability or liberty to say No to controlling power. Democracy is to listen to the minority views, to listen to the differences.... and human right is to listen to the sound from the people of the world, not the global politician of the world, when the world suffered under them.....The world not only need democracy and human right within national boundary; as we are now in the borderless world of IT, but also need democracy and human right in global prospective, where even a small nation has its democracy(the right to take its own political system), human right(the right of the people in the country), and not to be controlled by the superpowers. Today we talk so much of democracy within the nation, but there is no democracy in global politic, where superpower control the world. "The right of choice" in global politic should be respect, and each nation should allow the space and liberty to do their own way under peaceful environment, for their national interest, and not under undue influence from the stronger power to comply with their hidden agenda. The world need Global human right, a National Human Right represented the human right of respective countries in global perspective(national right of people in the respective country), where even the small nation's right to rule and independence is respected by the stronger countries. Diplomacy is the respect of the right of other nation, a respect of their people, their democracy of choice in political system, their human right, their independence.......it is not looking inward with the mentality"You Shall Follow my Style". The Global Democracy, is the right of choice not to follow any superpower and comply with their definition of democracy and human right, or they way they do things......the right to say " NO" to the superpower that I want my own way for the interest of my people, we do not accept any undue influence from other nations. That is democracy in global perspective, and global cooperation will be facilitated if the individual right of a nation is respected, we are equal in the world..... that is global democracy.

The world is not the platform for politician to play their games....not the platform for only the superpowers....it is the platform for all human being, the world citizen....

Cormorant fishing in Guilin, Guangxi, China

Cormorant fishing is done on the Li River around Guilin and Yangshuo, Guangxi Province, China. A harmony of the owner or "fisherman" and the cormorant, the bird. This is an ancient way of fishing for thousand years. But sad to say, the way of fishing is a dying trade, a living heritage going to lost in time. They are now doing this for tourists....

A Friendly Asian Visit by Hillary Clinton?

Is the Hillary Clinton's visit to the Asian countries a friendly visit or a provocation to the neighbor of her host countries? or is it a pre- President election tour to boost her image?

The provocation to the host country's neighbor is not part of the Asian culture, any Asian visited their host will not like to talk about an issue which will offense their neighbor openly. By providing sweets to the host to create confrontation or conflicts with the neighbor, is never the culture of a visitor in Asia. This is an insult to the host especially when the host is having good relationship with the neighbor. It is never a Asian culture, the said act is a non respect to Asian culture.

The following is extract from The Wall Street Journal, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704141104575587910123633380.html

PHNOM PENH—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed Cambodia to remain independent of China on economic and environmental issues, as she continued a pan-Asian tour aimed at expanding Washington's diplomatic influence in the region.

Mrs. Clinton told Cambodian officials Monday that the Obama administration is willing to explore new mechanisms through which to retire nearly $450 million in debt accrued by Phnom Penh's Vietnam War-era government.

Mrs. Clinton also told Prime Minister Hun Sen's government that she will seek to raise more funding for a United Nations-backed tribunal set to try leaders of the Khmer Rouge government that committed genocide in Cambodia during its 1975-1979 reign.

Cambodia marks the third country stop on the Mrs. Clinton's seven-nation Asia-Pacific tour, which is aimed at enhancing the nation's presence in a region increasingly under the influence of China's economy and military.

On Saturday, Mrs. Clinton attended a regional conference in Vietnam that was dominated by China's festering maritime disputes with Japan and a number of Southeast Asian countries. The U.S.'s top diplomat urged the attendees of the East Asia Summit to establish an international legal process through which to mediate these disputes, drawing the ire of Beijing, which views all of the South China Sea as sovereign Chinese territory.

U.S. officials privately worry that Cambodia is one of the Southeast Asian nations most under Beijing's sway. China is among Phnom Penh's largest single aid donors, and Chinese firms dominate Cambodia's infrastructure sector. Prime Minister Hun Sen has often sided with Beijing on key regional security issues.
On Monday, Mrs. Clinton attended a town-hall meeting with Cambodian students in Phnom Penh and was asked her view on the Hun Sen government's relationship with China. She said the U.S. encouraged strong relations between Phnom Penh and Beijing but believed Cambodia should hew to an independent foreign policy.

"It's up to your government and your people to determine your own relationships with other countries," Mrs. Clinton told the gathering of 700 students and representatives of nongovernmental organizations. "But I think it's smart for Cambodia to be friends with many countries. Look for balance. You don't want to become too dependent on any one country."
Mrs. Clinton also said Phnom Penh should hold discussions with Beijing to address concerns that Chinese policies are disrupting Cambodia's economic development and harming its environment. She specifically cited China's damming of the upper Mekong River and its impact on Cambodian agriculture.

Mr. Hor Namhong, the Cambodian foreign minister, declined to comment on China-Cambodia relations during the news conference.

(source: The wall street journal)

The discussion should be issue centered and not pointing finger to a specific country when USA is equally to be blamed for the global environmental problems, also as one of the greatest polluter in the world. The United States. Though Americans make up just 4 percent of the world's population, we produce 25 percent of the carbon dioxide pollution from fossil-fuel burning -- by far the largest share of any country. In fact, the United States emits more carbon dioxide than China, India and Japan, combined. Clearly America ought to take a leadership role in solving the problem(source: http://www.nrdc.org). Air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification(source:http://www.nationmaster.com/country/us-united-states/env-environment). Environment problem is a global problem, USA is the largest polluter, China is the late comer, and imported pollution due to the industrialization of its low cost production for the developed countries included USA. China suffered due to low public awareness of environment issues, and their priority of economic development over environment protection. A real advocate of environment protection will share their experience in environment protection,to help the other less experienced countries to manage the problem. Not upright attack on the country, without considering the implication. Global pollution problem is a shared responsibility.

The blame of the global financial problem is on the financial products from the Wall Street, New York; and the crisis from USA's home financing. It is not the culture of Asian to blame own problem to the neighbors without concrete basis. The spilling effect of US financial crisis has adversely affected other countries, the worst hit is Iceland, but did Iceland and other countries blame the problem to USA, the world considered it a global crisis.....

Hillary Clinton need to be thankful that the financial crisis did not worsen, and thanks the world for it.....be thankful, the world is not an island.....not owned by any superpower...

The Asian visit may be the strategy to improve the image for the future President election, but please do not use other country for that purpose. Let your own problem remained as domestic affair. Your domestic problem is not a global affairs, you need to solve your own problems within the country. There are appropriate platform for international issues. But if you need the help of the external party you need to ask for their help, and do not force other party to accept whatever terms you want. You are asking others to help to solve your own domestic problem.....

A friendly visit is bilateral, not international, to discuss issues, and not to involve the third party, unless the visitor's purpose is malicious and hostile visit.....to provote the third party....

I just do not expect a global leader to be ill manner, without respect of the host, and their culture.....

Human right, also include the right to respect another human being , and not to be arrogant to disrespect the culture of the other people....... to respect the independence of the nation, the dignity of the people....

What is the purpose of provocation in Asia, where it is far away from USA? to create another cold world era, to create another perceived enemy? or to create conflict so that to sell arms ?..... I just do not understand.....you have created so many platforms for discussion, and yet failed to communicate and negotiate.....

Even you failed, you have to take it gracefully.....the wild wild west has long being lost.....it is time for global cooperation to tackle the world problem, the time for cold world is over, the time for global political game will be limited, please do not revise it....

Related articles

1. Gibbs threatens to pull Obama from India talks after press dispute, http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_upshot/20101108/pl_yblog_upshot/gibbs-threatens-to-pull-obama-after-press-dispute
2. The USA Versus the Environment - Oil, Pollution and Kyoto, http://www.vexen.co.uk/USA/pollution.html

U Win Tin

Win Tin or U Win Tin , born March 12, 1929) is a politician and former political prisoner in Insein Prison, Rangoon,Burma. Arrested in July 1989 because of his senior position in the National League for Democracy (NLD) and for his writings, he spent 19 years in prison.

Win Tin was serving a 20 year sentence on charges including "anti-government propaganda." One of the reasons for his detention is his attempt to inform the United Nations of ongoing human rights violations in Burmese prisons. At 81 years of age, he is in a poor state of health, exacerbated by his treatment in prison, which has included torture, inadequate access to medical treatment, being held in a cell designed for military dogs, without bedding, and being deprived of food and water for long periods of time. He has suffered from multiple ailments including asthma, a hernia and a heart attack.

Since the start of 2006 he had not been able to receive visits from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

In 2001, Win Tin was awarded the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize for his efforts to defend and promote and right to freedom of expression. That year, he was also awarded the World Association of Newspapers' Golden Pen of Freedom Award.

He was freed on 23 September 2008, after serving 19 years imprisonment; somewhat of a positive coincidence for human rights activists, as they were also seeking a stay of execution in the Troy Davis case, which was granted on the same day as Win Tin's release (this stay, however, was subsequently revoked on 14 October, after a denial of a writ of certiorari by the U.S. Supreme Court, and the acquisition of a execution warrant for the 27 October).

After his release from prison Win Tin made efforts to reorganize the NLD. He relaunched the weekly meetings of the party's Central Executive Committee which had been irregularly held since 2003. He also resumed a regular round table called "Youth and Future" which Aung San Suu Kyi has participated in the past. Win Tin visited family members of political prisoners to offer moral support.

(source: wikipedia)

Aung San Suu Kyi is the hero of Burma; U Win Tin is the heart of Burma.....



Related article

1. A conversation with U Win Tin , http://www.mizzima.com/edop/interview/3405-a-conversation-with-u-win-tin.html

Burma's election

Today will be Burma's first election in 20 years. The multi-party general elections are scheduled to be held in Burma (officially Myanmar) on 7 November 2010, in accordance with the new constitution which was approved in a referendum held in May 2008. The general election forms the fifth step of the seven-step "road map to democracy" proposed by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 2003, the sixth and seventh steps being the convening of elected representatives and the building of a modern, democratic nation, respectively. The date of the election, 7 November, was announced by the SPDC on 13 August, 2010.

The voting begins despite the criticism of unfair election,the ruling military is expected to emerge as the winner. The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) is contesting in 1,112 out of 1,159 seats. They are able to contest all seats, why not all? The seats uncontested by them, is their strategy to allow for some pro-government opposition seats, to form an image that there is still democracy in Burma, and there is opposition voice. The Junta will still rule Burma after election. But many Burmese still hope that some change toward democratic reform might nonetheless follow. That is their hope....

Some 40,000 polling stations across the Southeast Asian country opened on Sunday shortly after 6am local time (23.30 GMT) and were to close 10 hours later. The time of announcement of election results not make known to the public, the regime has not said when results would be announced, this will provide comfort zone for them to make political move on the election results. But it was almost certain that the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) would emerge as the victor despite widespread popular opposition to 48 years of military rule.

The USDP is fielding 1,112 candidates for the 1,159 seats in the two-house national parliament and 14 regional parliaments. Its closest rival, the National Unity Party with 995 candidates, is backed by supporters of Burma's previous military ruler. The largest opposition party, the National Democratic Force, is contesting just 164 spots. On the number seats contested, the opposition is not able to form any government even they have won all the seats. The opposition candidates have had to abandon campaigns because they could not afford the $500 registration fee, several months' wages for most Burmese. Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of Aung San, the general who won Burma its independence and the country's greatest hero, is prohibited from contesting this election under new electoral laws, because she is serving a custodial sentence. She is due to be released six days after the poll. A tactical move by the Junta.

The last election held in 1990, was comprehensively won by the National League for Democracy, led by the country's most famous democracy champion, Aung San Suu Kyi. But the NLD was never allowed to take power. Today Suu Kyi is under house arrest, the NLD is a banned organization, and millions of Burmese will boycott the poll at her suggestion.

Veteran dissident, U Win Tin however pleads with young people in Burma not to vote in poll. U Win Tin is the prominent former political prisoner, insists jail is no deterrent in battle to oust the military regime. U Win Tin is the most prominent campaigner for democracy in Burma, which is controlled by a military regime, and spent 19 years behind bars. In an impassioned call to his people ahead of an election on Sunday that has already been decried as a sham by international observers, U Win Tin called for a boycott of the vote.

"It is the only thing left to us: there is no hope to come from voting for this party or that party. This government aims to win, and it is so detested that it is impossible for us to do anything but boycott," he said. "Of course it is not safe to stay at home and not go to the polling stations and people will be worried that they will be punished, but the military junta wants to claim this election as free and fair and so we have to reduce the legitimacy of that claim by not taking part at all."

The authorities were closing down phone lines in some townships across Burma on Saturday while cyber net attacks, closing down internet access, have been reported. Other ballot rigging has been already seen, with reports of villages and barracks being called out to "pre-vote" for the government-backed Union and Solidarity Development Party.

But some are still taking the chance to participate in the election, as they said it may be the first move to democracy, and even the space is small it is a good start for the country.

Another question is, is the Junta the legitimate government to allow the election? National League for Democracy, led by Aung San Suu Kyi won the election in 1990. National League for Democracy is the legitimate government under democracy, their government in exile should be the legitimate government, if there is any. The party that won the election(elected by the people) was not given the power to rule the country by the Junta. They are still the legitimate government, not the Junta, so Junta has no power to call for a election, as they are not the legitimate government, and the election is illegal. Legally the election results will not be legitimate. If there is no government in exile, I wonder why the international community did not support one, which should be waiting to take over the power when the Junta collapse. Is the international community really care? The so called global superpowers are more concern in East Asia, Middle East; than the small country like Burma..... where there is petrol or strategic interests now....

Will the Junta really return the power to the people?, the answer is slim, but it is hope that it is an initial step to democracy for Burma..... or is it another "legitimate mandate" for the Junta to rule after the election, and the international community will have the "legitimate reason" to accept them?...... just hope that it is not another part of global political games of superpowers....



Personally I am more concern for the minority; and the Panglong Agreement; will the democracy return to the spirit of Panglong or a new agreement be negotiated for the new Burma? Democracy without peace is demon go crazy ......without peace after democracy, there is always platform for military power...

We remember you, Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, especially Shan, Chin, Mon, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin....We pray for Aung San Suu Kyi to be released on 13-11-2010, the world is waiting for the release, and to see the real changes in Burma......

Related articles

1. Burmese general election, 2010; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_general_election,_2010
2. Burma election 2010; http://www.burmaelection2010.com/

Life of Malaysian Chinese

This is a simple story of Malaysian Chinese; the story is common to every Chinese family in Malaysia. Their life is not easy, but they are able to overcome all the difficulties to built a good life for the family members and their future.....



The story still go on....

The Senkaku Islands - 钓鱼台群岛 or 尖閣諸島?

The Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島), also known as the Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands (钓鱼台群岛;釣魚台群島) or the Pinnacle Islands, are a group of disputed uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. They are located roughly northeast of Taiwan, due west of Okinawa, and due north of the southwestern end of the Ryukyu Islands.

Japan controlled these islands from 1895 until her surrender at the end of World War II. The United States administered them as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945 until 1972, when they were reverted to Japan. Since 1971, they have been claimed by both the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the People's Republic of China. China has claimed discovery and administration between 16th century or earlier until 1895.

The islands are a major issue in foreign relations between Japan and the PRC and between Japan and the ROC. Despite the complexity of relations between the two states, both the governments of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and People's Republic of China agree that the islands are part of Taiwan as part of Toucheng Township in Yilan County. The Japanese government regards these islands as a part of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture.

(source: wikipedia)

Chinese views on Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands (钓鱼台群岛)

The first recorded name of the islands, Diaoyu, used in books such as Voyage with a Tail Wind ( 顺风相送; 順風相送) and Record of the Imperial Envoy's Visit to Ryūkyū (使琉球录;使琉球錄) date to 1403 and 1534, respectively. Adopted by the Chinese Imperial Map of the Ming Dynasty, both the Chinese name for the island group (Diaoyu) and the Japanese name for the main island (Uotsuri) both literally mean "angling".

According to China, Chinese historical records detailing the discovery and geographical feature of these islands date back to the year 1403. For several centuries they have been administered as part of Taiwan and have always been used exclusively by Chinese fishermen as an operational base. In 1874, Japan took Liu Chiu Islands from China by force. Diaoyutai, however, remained under the administration Taiwan, a part of China. Taiwan (including Diaoyutai) was ceded to Japan in 1895 after the first Sino-Japanese War. Originally, during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, the Diaoyutai Archipelago came under the jurisdiction of Taipei Prefecture. After the close of the Second World War, when U.S. troops were stationed on the Ryukyu and Diaoyutai Archipelagoes, the KMT government which had received Taiwan did not immediately demand that that the US give them sovereignty. Diaoyutai was returned to China at the end of World War II in 1945 based upon the 1943 agreement of the Big Three in Cairo. Diaoyutai was part of Taiwan hence was included in that package.

China argues that Okinotorishima island, the southernmost island in the Japanese archipelago, is merely a rock, not an island, in an attempt to nullify Japan's claim of an exclusive economic zone around the small island, which is under Tokyo jurisdiction. The Chinese said they had "differences of opinion," citing Okinotorishima and the Senkaku Islands. While Beijing acknowledges that Okinotorishima belongs to Japan, it stressed that it did not fall under the classification of an island as defined by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, but is instead a rock, which cannot be used to designate an exclusive economic zone, as the Japanese government has done.

(source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/senkaku.htm)





Japan's view on The Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島)

In the 1880’s, Japan conducted surveys of the Senkaku Islands and determined that they were uninhabited and officially claimed by no nation. They were formally annexed in 1895. The above photo shows a small katsuobushi factory that was built on on one of the islands and used from 1895 to 1940. During that period, a small number of Japanese lived and worked in the Senkakus.

Japan claims the islands as official Japanese territory in 1895. From 1885 on, surveys of the Senkaku Islands had been thoroughly made by the Government of Japan through the agencies of Okinawa Prefecture and by way of other methods. Through these surveys, it was confirmed that the Senkaku Islands had been uninhabited and showed no trace of having been under the control of China. Based on this confirmation, the Government of Japan made a Cabinet Decision on 14 January 1895 to erect a marker on the Islands to formally incorporate the Senkaku Islands into the territory of Japan. Since then, the Senkaku Islands have continuously remained as an integral part of the Nansei Shoto Islands which are the territory of Japan. These islands were neither part of Taiwan nor part of the Pescadores Islands which were ceded to Japan from the Qing Dynasty of China in accordance with Article II of the Treaty of Shimonoseki which came into effect in May of 1895. Accordingly, the Senkaku Islands are not included in the territory which Japan renounced under Article II of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. They came under US control after World War II. The United States kept that group of small islets for occasional bombing practice targets, largely for its Liu Chiu based Air Force. Japan claimed that the Diaoyutai Islands are part of Liu Chiu. The Senkaku Islands have been placed under the administration of the United States of America as part of the Nansei Shoto Islands, in accordance with Article III of the said treaty, and are included in the area, the administrative rights over which were reverted to Japan in accordance with the Agreement Between Japan and the United States of America Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and the Daito Islands signed on 17 June 1971. The facts outlined herein clearly indicate the status of the Senkaku Islands being part of the territory of Japan. According to Japan, the fact that China expressed no objection to the status of the Islands being under the administration of the United States under Article III of the San Francisco Peace Treaty clearly indicates that China did not consider the Senkaku Islands as part of Taiwan. It was not until the latter half of 1970, when the question of the development of petroleum resources on the continental shelf of the East China Sea came to the surface, that the Government of China and Taiwan authorities began to raise questions regarding the Senkaku Islands.

(source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/senkaku.htm)

In 1900, when Tsune Kuroiwa, a teacher at the Okinawa Prefecture Normal School, visited the islands, he adopted the name Senkaku Retto (尖阁列岛; 尖閣列島;), literally Pinnacle Islands, to refer the whole island group, based on the British name. The first official document recording the name Senkaku Retto was by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nihon Gaiko Monjo (日本外交文書, Documents on Japanese Foreign Relations) in the 1950s. In Japanese, Sentō Shosho (尖頭諸嶼?) and Senkaku Shosho (尖閣諸嶼?) were translations used for these "Pinnacle Islands" by various Japanese sources. Subsequently, the entire island group (including Uotsuri Jima/Diaoyu Dao and all the others) came to be called Senkaku Rettō, which later evolved into Senkaku Shotō.

In 1920, a Chinese boat was shipwrecked in the area. They were rescued and returned to China by the Japanese. In an official letter from the Chinese government’s Nagasaki consulate thanking the Japanese, the islands are referred to as “the Senkaku Islands, Yaeyama district, Okinawa Prefecture, in the Empire of Japan.” The letter uses the official Japanese name for the islands directly states that they are Japanese territory.



A dispute on Senkakus Islands between China and Japan; what do you think? Is it Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands(钓鱼台群岛)owned by China/Taiwan? or Senkaku Islands (尖閣諸島) owned by Japan? It was an uninhabited island, but why now there is a dispute?

In 1969, a report by the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) indicated the possibility of large reserves of oil in the vicinity of the Diaoyutai Archipelago. This report set off a political dispute between Taiwan, China and Japan which has been going on now for over thirty years.

In 1969, when the Okinawa Reversion Treaty was signed between the US and Japan, it included the Diaoyutai Islands. Since then Japan insists repeatedly that the islet group is part of Japan's territory. The Senkaku Islands have been under the administrative control of the Government of Japan since, having been returned as part of the reversion of Okinawa. On April 9, 1971, the U.S. State Department issued a statement that President Nixon and Japanese Prime Minister Sato Eisaku had reached an agreement, by which the US would return Okinawa and the "South-western islands" which included the Senkaku, to Japan, in 1972.

Japan has objected to Chinese development of natural gas resources in the East China Sea in an area where the two countries Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) claims overlap. Japan claims a division of the EEZ on the median line between the countries' coastlines. About 40,000 square kilometers of EEZ are in dispute. China and Japan both claim 200 nautical miles EEZ rights, but the East China Sea width is only 360 nautical miles. China claims an EEZ extending to the eastern end of the Chinese continental shelf which goes deep into the Japanese EEZ beyond the median line.

According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea the stipulation, should act according to the fair principle development negotiations, seeks means which both sides both can accept. When there is disagreement on the demarcation of EEZs between any countries, the law stipulates that the parties concerned should avoid anything that could undermine an eventual agreement. China's gas field drilling near the median line between the two countries is regarded by Japan as an obvious infringement of the spirit of this law. Tokyo's proposal, which has not been accepted by Beijing, has been to divide the sea equally between the two countries, which would put China's Chunxiao claim only three miles from Japanese territory. China's offers to jointly develop the oil field have been rebuffed.

The specific development in dispute is China's drilling in the Chunxiao field, which is three miles west of the median line, but which Japan contends may be tapping natural gas reserves which extend past the median line. The Chunxiao gas field in Xihu Sag in the East China Sea is estimated to hold reserves of more than 1.6 tcf of natural gas and is expected to become a major producer in the next ten years. Commercial operation was expected to begin in mid-2005 at a production rate of 70 bcf per year, rising to 282 bcf by 2010. Sinopec Star has reserves of 7 tcf of gas, 1.9 tcf of which is held in the Chunxiao area. China has proven reserves of natural gas of about 53.3 trillion cubic feet (tcf). Most of China's gas fields are in the the western and north-central parts of the country, though offshore basins are becoming increasingly important.

(source: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/senkaku.htm)

Another question, if The Senkaku Islands is part of Ryukyu Kingdom; did Japan has legal ownership on Ryukyu Kingdom, an independent kingdom, which was only a vassal state of both Japan and China. Is the return of Ryukyu Islands(now Okinawa) and Senkaku islands by USA, which ruled the islands as trustee or custodian for Ryukyu people or international communities after the WW2, is the return legally correct? Why Japan controlled these islands "only from 1895" until her surrender at the end of World War II, what happen before 1895?...Before 1895, Japan was not the owner of Ryukyu and Sekaku Islands?.... In 1879 Japan replaces the Ryūkyū han with Okinawa Prefecture, formally annexing the islands. King Shō Tai (尚泰?) is given the title of marquis (侯爵?) and removed to Tokyo. Before 1879, Ryukyu Islands was owned by Ryukyu Kingdom,a political independent country which was a tributary of Imperial China's Qing Dynasty.If Senkaku Islands were part of Ryukyu Kingdom, it cannot be part of Japan before 1879, otherwise the King Sho Tai of Ryukyu Kingdom cannot be imprisoned in Tokyo,Japan..... if Senkaku islands is owned by Ryukyu kingdom, it is not owned by Japan. Then historian need to check on ancient documents, did Senkaku Islands owned by Ryukyu kingdom to find the clue.....

If it is part of Taiwan, it is owned by China(either Republic of China or People Republic of China). Japan had sought to control Taiwan since 1592, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi began extending Japanese influence overseas. The Qing Dynasty was defeated in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and Taiwan and Penghu were ceded in full sovereignty to the Empire of Japan. Inhabitants wishing to remain Qing subjects were given a two-year grace period to sell their property and move to mainland China. Japan ocupied Taiwan and Sekaku Islands from the victory of First Sino-Japanese War, this reflected that Taiwan and Sekaku was part of territories of Qing Dynasty, otherwise there was no necessity for Japan to sent military forces since 1592 to conquer Taiwan and Sekaku Islands......In 1616, Murayama Toan led an unsuccessful invasion of the island. Historian will tell us what is the meaning of "invasion"?

"An invasion is a military offensive consisting of all, or large parts of the armed forces of one geopolitical entity aggressively entering territory controlled by "another such entity", generally with the objective of either conquering, liberating or re-establishing control or authority over a territory, forcing the partition of a country, altering the established government or gaining concessions from said government, or a combination thereof".

Then who owned the Taiwan and Senkaku Islands, another such entity, another geopolitical entity called Qing Kingdom, or Imperial China......

The Treaty of Shimonoseki (下関条約, "Shimonoseki Jōyaku"), known as the Treaty of Maguan ( 马关条约;馬關條約) in China, was signed at the Shunpanrō hall on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing Empire of China, ending the First Sino-Japanese War. The peace conference took place from March 20 to April 17, 1895.Japanese Soldiers Entering Taipei City in 1895 after the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and began the era of Japanese occupation of Taiwan. The Cairo Conference from 22 to 26 November 1943 in Cairo, Egypt was held to address the Allied position against Japan during World War II, and to make decisions about postwar Asia. One of the three main clauses of the Cairo Declaration was that "all the territories Japan has stolen from China, including Manchuria, Taiwan and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China'. On 25 October 1945, the US Navy ferried ROC troops to Taiwan in order to accept the formal surrender of Japanese military forces in Taipei (then called Taihoku). General Rikichi Andō, governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed the instrument of surrender and handed it over to General Chen Yi of the RoC military to complete the official turnover. Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be "Retrocession Day of Taiwan".

If Senkaku Islands is part of Taiwan, it is legally owned by China(Republic of China/People Republic of China).

Can Japan be rightful owner that USA(not the owner and had no legal right to act unilaterally) need to return the islands under their trustee to them???? Did the islands include Senkaku Islands?...The United States administered them as part of the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands from 1945, it was the agreement after WW2 of all victor nations, which included China, which represented the world institution or international communities. USA was only an agent or trustee or custodian. Did USA consulted with the world institution or international community on the action as she was only an agent/trustee for the principal(is it Ryukyu people or the former owner of the islands before 1895?) under the act or agreement?; where is the human right of Ryukyu people? only international law expert will provide the answer. Obviously, there is no logic.....

Some critic was argued on the wording of the surrender declaration or written order,or General Order No. 1, issued on of Sept. 2, 1945, or whatever written documents. Being an English speaking nation, when the Surrender of Japanese was taken place in 1945, whatever agreement, treaty, articles, orders or any written documents were all in English, like an experienced lawyer the wordings can be used for intended hidden political agenda of the interest party who know English well; any party not aware of the actual wordings will suffered from later legal complication, and in international law. The document must be drafted by USA within a short span of time, where there was no chance for deep study by other countries. But under the law of equity, Taiwan was part of China, it was forcefully occupied by Japan under the unfair treaty after the war, an act of military invasion of territory, as evidenced by The Treaty of Shimonoseki, rightfully the territory should be returned to the rightful owner, not to the agent or any party, whatsoever was written or silence in the surrender agreement or treaty.....If Senkaku Islands is part of Taiwan, it is part of China. It is a undeniable historical fact.

The worst argument is some claimed that Taiwan's "territorial sovereignty is held by the US Military Government" because the US, as Japan's "conqueror" in World War II, was the "principal occupying power" of Taiwan. That may be the ultimate hidden agenda of some party.....Based on this argument, Senkaku Islands is USA's post war territory?.... what a joke...

The ultimate reason, of course is because of oil discovery, and the territories of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).....otherwise an win-win agreement can easily reached by both parties for a deserted islets.

Finally, historically who was having past records of aggressors, occupiers and frequently having wars to acquire other geopolitical entity until WW2, and specifically so for land far from the home ....not only neighboring countries. There was a strategic war plan to expand their territories. Ironically, Japan is also having territory dispute with Korea(The Liancourt Rocks, called Dokdo), Russia(The Kuril Islands dispute),not only China and Taiwan.

The issue is further complicated by the involvement of outside party. What is USA to do with the dispute, a country far away?......there is a military pact with Japan, a country far from her door....an interest party who return Ryukyu Islands to Japan, the country which is still having air force base at Okinawa...USA is far from Japan and China, what is the role she played in the dispute, historically and politically after WW2 and during the cold war?....????....Are we still in the cold war era?...that is still the perception of the USA. The current domestic political situation in the USA will further activate the foreign policy and military strategy of the US in East Asia, and Senkaku Islands issue. Ironically, the issue of Taiwan would have been settled as domestic affairs like Germany, Vietnam; if there is no external party involvement during the cold war and even today. The new cold war era may have developed by USA as their perception strategy....

Senkaku Island issue is not a simple territorial issue, it involves history, economy, politic, militarism, armament industry, petrol money, global military and political power, and image of a nation.

Where is Ryukyu Kingdom(琉球国)?

In ancient time,between China and Japan, there was a country called Ryukyu Kingdom. What happen to Ryukyu Kingdom today, we no longer hear the name of this kingdom in modern world. The kingdom had disappeared from the earth, without anyone really concern about it. This make me remember all the small nations or kingdoms, which had been lost and occupied by stronger neighboring countries. It is just like the history of East Timor, where nobody was concern in the day the small country was occupied by their neighboring country, because it was a small country, with no political interest to the world....



Today Ryukyu Kingdom has disappeared, their citizen had become the citizen of another nation. The younger generation of the people of Ryukyu Kingdom, may have brainwashed to accept the dominion over their motherland. This was a sad chapter of the world history. Another vassal state of Japan, Korea was able to become an independent nation, but not Ryukyu Kingdom. Unlike the other small states in the world, like East Timor, Nagaland, the people of Ryukyu quietly accepted their fate. That was the end of the Ryukyu Kingdom, the sound become silence, the past of the kingdom only restricted to Tourism history....

In Okinawa, Japan and for many Okinawan descendants living abroad, the term “uchinanchu” refers to any person of Okinawan ancestry, there is a small voices still calling, Ryukyu people.....



Map of Ryukyu Kingdom(today Okinawa Prefecture of Japan)


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Ryūkyū Kingdom

The Ryūkyū Kingdom (琉球國 Rūchū kuku or Lewchew, or Luchu) was an independent kingdom which ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th century to the 19th century. The Kings of Ryūkyū unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan. Despite its small size, the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East and Southeast Asia.

In the 14th century, small domains scattered on Okinawa Island were unified into three principalities: Hokuzan (北山, Northern Mountain), Chūzan (中山, Central Mountain) and Nanzan (南山, Southern Mountain). This was known as the Three Kingdoms or Sanzan (三山, Three Mountains) period. Hokuzan, which constituted much of the northern half of the island, was the largest in terms of land area, and strong militarily, but was economically the weakest of the three. Nanzan comprised the southern portion of the island. Chūzan lay in the center of the island, and was the strongest economically. Its political capital at Shuri, neighbored the major trade port of Naha and center of traditional Chinese learning, Kumemura. These sites, and Chūzan as a whole, would continue to form the center of the Ryūkyū Kingdom until its abolition by Japan.

Once the independent kingdom of Ryūkyū (琉球), which was a tributary state of imperial China, the islands were first invaded and brought under the control of Satsuma (modern-day Kagoshima) in 1609, who continued to use them as a conduit for trade with China, to the profit of all three parties

The first mention of the word Ryukyu was written in the Book of Sui. This Ryukyu might refer to Taiwan, not the Ryukyu islands.[citation needed] Okinawa was the Japanese word depicting the islands, first seen in the biography of Jianzhen, written in 779. Agricultural societies begun in the 8th century slowly developed until the 12th century. Since the islands are located in the center of the East China Sea relatively close to Japan, China and South-East Asia, the Ryūkyū Kingdom became a prosperous trading nation. Also during this period, many Gusukus, similar to castles, were constructed. The Ryūkyū Kingdom had a tributary relationship with the Chinese Empire beginning in the 15th century.

In 1609 the Satsuma clan, which controlled the region that is now Kagoshima Prefecture, invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom. The Ryūkyū Kingdom was obliged to agree to form a tributary relationship with the Satsuma and the Tokugawa shogunate, while maintaining its previous tributary relationship with China; Ryukyuan sovereignty was maintained since complete annexation would have created a conflict with China. The Satsuma clan earned considerable profits from trades with China during a period in which foreign trade was heavily restricted by the shogunate.

Though Satsuma maintained strong influence over the islands, the Ryūkyū Kingdom maintained a considerable degree of domestic political freedom for over two hundred years. Four years after the 1868 Meiji Restoration, the Japanese government, through military incursions, officially annexed the kingdom and renamed it Ryukyu han. At the time, the Qing Dynasty of China asserted sovereignty over the islands of the Ryūkyū Kingdom, since the Ryūkyū Kingdom was also a tributary nation of China.

Ryukyu han became Okinawa Prefecture of Japan in 1879, even though all other hans had become prefectures of Japan in 1872. In 1912, Okinawans first obtained the right to vote to send representatives to the national Diet which had been established in 1890.



The timeline of lost kingdom- Ryukyu Kingdom

1372 - The first Ming dynasty envoy visits Okinawa, which had been divided into three kingdoms, during the Sanzan period. Formal tributary relations with the Chinese Empire begin.
1416 - Chūzan, led by Shō Hashi, occupies Nakijin gusuku, capital of Hokuzan.
1429 - Chūzan occupies Shimajiri Osato gusuku, capital of Nanzan, unifying Okinawa Island. Shō Hashi establishes the Kingdom of Ryūkyū, ruling as king with his capital at Shuri (now part of modern-day Naha).
1470 - Shō En (Kanemaru) establishes the Second Shō Dynasty.
1477 - The third king, Shō Shin, ascends to the throne. Golden age of the kingdom.
1609 (April 5)- daimyō (Lord) of Satsuma in southern Kyūshū conquers the kingdom. King of Ryūkyū becomes a Japanese vassal.
1624 - Lord of Satsuma annexes the Amami Islands.
1846 - Dr. Bernard Jean Bettelheim (d. 1870), a British Protestant missionary, arrives in Ryūkyū Kingdom. He establishes the first foreign hospital on the island at the Naminoue Gokoku-ji Temple.
1853 - Commodore Matthew Perry of the US Navy visits the kingdom. Betteleheim leaves with Perry.
1866 - The last official mission from the Qing Empire visits the kingdom.
1872 - The Japanese government unilaterally abolished the Ryukyu Kingdom, and declared the islands to be the Ryukyu Han (Ryukyu fief), with Shō Tai (尚泰) as the head of the fief 藩王 (Han'ō).
1874 - The last tributary envoy to China is dispatched from Naha.
1879 - Japan replaces the Ryūkyū han with Okinawa Prefecture, formally annexing the islands. King Shō Tai (尚泰) is given the title of marquis (侯爵) and removed to Tokyo for easy control by Japan.

Following the Battle of Okinawa and the end of World War II in 1945, Okinawa was under United States administration for 27 years. During the trusteeship rule the United States Air Force established numerous military bases on the Ryukyu islands. During the Korean War, B-29 Superfortresses flew bombing missions from Kadena AFB over Korea and China.

In 1972, the U.S. government returned the islands to Japanese administration. Under the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, the United States Forces Japan (USFJ) have maintained a large military presence. 27,000 personnel, including 15,000 Marines, contingents from the Navy, Army and Air Force, and their 22,000 family members are stationed in Okinawa. Since 1960, the U.S. and Japan have maintained an agreement that allows the U.S. to secretly bring nuclear weapons into Japan. Both tactical and strategic weapons have been maintained in Okinawa. 18% of the main island was occupied by U.S. military bases and 75% of all USFJ bases are located in Okinawa prefecture.

Despite strong appeals for some form of Okinawan independence, Japanese government officials ignored this perspective, and negotiated with the United States around the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. Despite popular rioting and protests around the issue of reversion in both Okinawa and mainland Japan, with many people arguing against a position of reversion, the leadership of Japan worked out a reversion agreement with the United States that placed Okinawa back under the control of Japan, but maintained the U.S. military forces on the islands. On June 17, 1971, the Japanese government signed the treaty with the United States that authorized the reversion of Okinawa to Japan. In protest, over 100,000 people marched and rallied throughout Japan, in dissatisfaction with the Reversion. Many protesters resorted to violent tactics in protest, and in November 1971 over 300 people were arrested in the Hibiya district in Tokyo, in the riots and protests that followed. Despite these protests, however, the Japanese National Diet eventually ratified the Reversion treaty on November 24, 1971. Despite the Reversion, however, the issues that provided the main impetus for the Reversion - mainly, the U. S. military bases, and the problems that they caused - still remain. (source: http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_reversion.htm)



I wonder was there consent from international community and from stake holders like China or Taiwan, prior to returning Ryukyu to Japan? USA was not the owner of the islands, but only a custodian or trustee of the islands after WW2, did USA has the capacity or authority to unilaterally act in the way? or did USA did it as political agenda of cold war to protect her interest in the region? I hope international law academician will do a research on it. But from the later political development in the region, it was clear that a strategic move by USA was for her political and military interest in the region. Where is the legal right and human right of the Ryukyu people, at least their views should be taken into consideration for the decision to return the Ryukyu islands to Japan. At least International Court or world bodies like United Nation may be consulted for the proper action to be taken, not unilateral action. This left a political time bomb in the region, where USA can play a role in future. A smart political move by USA to circle China, their perceptive enemy in cold war, and rival in global economy......

Ryūkyū independence movement

The nihongo|Ryūkyū independence movement|琉球独立運動|Ryūkyū Dokuritsu Undō is a movement for the independence of Okinawa and the surrounding islands (Ryukyu Islands), from Japan. The movement re-merged in 1945, after the end of the Pacific War. Some Ryukyuan people felt, as the Allied Occupation began, that the Ryukyus (Okinawa) should eventually become an independent state, instead of being returned to Japan. The majority pushed for unification with the mainland, hoping that this would hasten the end of the Allied Occupation there. The US-Japan Security Treaty was signed in 1951 as re-unification occurred, and providing for the continuation of the American military presence. This set the stage for renewed political movement for Ryukyu independence.

Historical context

The Ryūkyū Kingdom was conquered by the Japanese feudal domain of Satsuma in 1609, and held as a semi-independent state until it was formally annexed and transformed into Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. It is likely that there were various proponents of independence from Satsuma/Japan during this period, and from China as well, to which Ryūkyū was a tributary state. However, no significant popular movement arose during this time.

Similarly, there may have been significant movements for Okinawan independence following its annexation, in the period prior to and during World War II. Following the war, the United States Occupation government took over control of Okinawa, retaining control until 1972, twenty years after the formal occupation of the rest of Japan had ended. There was pressure in 1945, immediately following the war, for the creation of a fully independent Ryūkyūan state, while later in the Occupation period there arose a strong movement not for independence but for a return to Japanese sovereignty.

Since 1972, and the return of Okinawa to Japanese control, voices turned once again towards the aim of a fully independent Ryūkyūan state.

Motives & Ideology

Among those who sought a return to Japanese sovereignty, there was a basic belief that the people of Okinawa were a part of the Japanese people, whether ethnically, culturally, or politically. During the Meiji period, when the Ryūkyū Kingdom was formally abolished and annexed, there was a strong push for assimilation; the Meiji government, and other cultural and intellectual agents, sought to make the people of the new prefecture see themselves as "Japanese." Ryūkūans were given Japanese citizenship, names, passports, and other official representations of their status as part of the Japanese people. They were also incorporated into the newly-founded national public education system. Through this education system and other methods, both governmental and independent, Ryukuans, along with minorities from all parts of the country, were gradually integrated into the Japanese people. There was a significant reimagining of the histories of Ryūkyū and of Hokkaidō, which was annexed at the same time, and an insistence that the Ainu of Hokkaidō and the Ryūkyūan people were "Japanese", ethnically and culturally, going back many centuries, despite originally having significantly different cultures. With time these reimagined identities took hold in the younger generations. They were born in Okinawa Prefecture, as Japanese citizens, and saw themselves as belonging there.

This does not mean that the independent identities have been completely lost. Many Ryukyuan people see themselves as a separate Ryukyuan race, ethnically different, with a unique and separate cultural heritage. They see a great difference between themselves and the "mainland" Japanese, and many feel a strong connection to Ryukyuan traditional culture and the pre-1609 history of independence. There is strong criticism of the Meiji government's assimilation policies and ideological agenda.
(source: wikipedia)

Ryukyuan languages which are incomprehensible to Japanese speakers. Ryukyuan languages as different languages from Japanese. Okinawa also has its own religious beliefs, generally characterized by ancestor worship and the respecting of relationships between the living, the dead, and the gods and spirits of the natural world.

Recent events

Though there are pressures in the US and Japan, as well as in Okinawa, for the removal of US troops and military bases from Okinawa, there have thus far been only partial and gradual movements in that direction.

In 1995, a decision to remove troops from Okinawa was reversed, and there was a renewed surge in the Ryukyu Independence Movement. In 2005,Chinese Lim John Chuan-tiong (林泉忠) , a University of Ryukyu associate professor executed a telephone poll of Okinawans over 18. He obtained useful replies from 1029 people. Asked whether they considered themselves Okinawan (沖縄人), Japanese (日本人), or both, the answers were 40.6, 21.3, and 36.5 respectively. When asked whether Okinawa should become independent if the Japanese government allowed (or did not allow) Okinawa to freely decide its future, 24.9% replied Okinawa should become independent with permission, and 20.5% in case of no permission from the Japanese government. Those who believed Okinawa should not declare independence were 58.7% and 57.4% respectively. [ [http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/i/a-001/anketo.html Okinawa Times, January 1, 2006. The scan is from the Okinawa Independent Party website.] ] [ [http://questionnaire.blog16.fc2.com/blog-entry-416.html "Survey on Okinawan resident identities", From the Latest Questionnaires] ]

Kariyushi Club (かりゆしクラブ, Kariyushi Kurabu), formerly called Ryūkyū Independent Party (琉球独立党, Ryūkyū Dokuritsutō), is the local party in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, seeking an independent Ryukyu, the Republic of Ryukyu (琉球共和国, Ryūkyū Kyōwakoku). The current party leader is Chōsuke Yara (屋良朝助, Yara Chōsuke). Kariyushi is Okinawan for "happy" or "harmony with nature".

Okinawans are "Uchinanchu."..... are Ryukyu people....

In global politic, a small nation suffered....Ryukyu Kingdom is less important than The Senkaku Islands ; Qing emperor has no time for them as they are having their own internal problem, despite the Ryukyu king repeatedly asking for help. The USA never look at them, when Commodore Matthew Perry visited them. Only Japan see the potential in the kingdom, and annexed Ryukyu Kingdom into their empire, without anyone paying attention to the tiny small Ryukyu Kingdom. Ryukyu Kingdom has no strategic importance to the world, but strategic and military importance to Japanese military expansion plan..... The Ryukyuan or Lewchewan people(琉球民族, Ryūkyū minzoku),the indigenous peoples of the Ryukyu Islands become Japanese. That is the end of Ryukyu Kingdom.... .......



Related articles

1.Ryūkyū Kingdom, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%ABky%C5%AB_Kingdom
2.Early History of The Ryukyu Kingdom and its Relationship with China and Japan, http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_okinawan_nation.htm
3. Welcome to Ryukyu Kingdom, http://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/003/mo_e/01_e/01.html
4. Kariyushi Club official website, http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/i/a-001/(in Japanese)
5. Kariyushi Club, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kariyushi_Club
6. Ryūkyū independence movement, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%ABky%C5%AB_independence_movement
7. Okinawa Peace Network of Los Angeles, featuring information about Ryukyuan culture worldwide; http://www.uchinanchu.org/uchinanchu/history_cultural.htm
8. Worldwide Uchinanchu Network, http://www.uchinanchu.net/
9. Okinawan diaspora(2002), by Ronald Y. Nakasone, University of Hawaii Press.

The Old Summer Palace(圓明園)

We went out, and, after pillaging it, burned the whole place, destroying in a vandal-like manner most valuable property which [could] not be replaced for four millions. We got upward of £48 apiece prize money...I have done well. The [local] people are very civil, but I think the grandees hate us, as they must after what we did the Palace. You can scarcely imagine the beauty and magnificence of the places we burnt. It made one’s heart sore to burn them; in fact, these places were so large, and we were so pressed for time, that we could not plunder them carefully. Quantities of gold ornaments were burnt, considered as brass. It was wretchedly demoralizing work for an army.

—Charles George Gordon, a 27-year-old captain in the Royal Engineers

The old Summer Palace or Yuanmingyuan(圓明園)was an extremely large complex of palaces and gardens 8 km (5 miles) northwest of the old city wall of Beijing (that is, 8km from XiZhiMen subway). It was also called Imperial Garden(御园). Yuanmingyuan in Chinese mean the bright round garden, yuan(圓) means round, circle, complete or reunion, ming(明)means bright,clear and yuan(園) means garden. It was built in the 18th and early 19th century. It was at Yuanmingyuan that the emperors of the Qing Dynasty resided and handled government affairs, the Forbidden City was used only for formal ceremonies at that time. It was the apex of Qing's imperial government.

Note: Ironically, Ming was the name of Ming Dynasty(明朝),yuan- ming(圓明) may have meaning of reunion with the Ming dynasty, the dynasty that Qing overthrown? a return from Qing rule to Ming rule?. Ming Dynasty was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic Hans, and Manchu overthrown the Ming Dynasty to establish Qing Dynasty(清朝)...what a coincident?....I wonder who named the garden?....the hidden political meaning that Qing emperor did not realized?...may be that was the omen for the downfall of Qing dynasty. After the opium wars, the Qing kingdom had been weaken, and the destruction of the Yuanmingyuan provided the hint that the kingdom had no longer able to defend the country from the foreigners. The building of the Yuanmingyuan also had utilized much financial resources of the imperial China, and with the large import of opium, the financial position had declined. The building of Yuanmingyuan was a burden to the Chinese people. The desire for the downfall of Qing kingdom had surfaced.

In 1860, during the Second Opium War, British and French expeditionary forces, having marched inland from the coast, reached Beijing (then known as Peking). On the night of October 6 French units diverted from the main attack force towards the Old Summer Palace, extensive looting, took place...

On October 18, 1860, the British High Commissioner to China Lord Elgin, in retaliation for the torture and execution of almost twenty European and Indian prisoners (including two British envoys and a journalist for The Times), ordered the destruction of the palace....

In the history of China, two historical events were the most humiliating to them, first the Japanese War during the World War 2 and Sino-Japanese Wars, the next was the Opium Wars 1839-1860(or Anglo-Chinese Wars), where the Old Summer Palace was destroyed and the unfair treaty ports and Hong Kong was ceded to Britain and other countries including Japan. That was the time, the humiliation of China during the Opium Wars, the Chinese failed to understand the West, at the time when there were sign of adopting and adapting to some western ideals and sciences,the act of the west had destroyed all the good things that they had on the western civilization. The human right that the west talk so much; the religion that the Christian missionaries talk so much; the perception and respect go down deep to the floor...... until today. The Chinese just cannot understand the western type of human right. The China as a nation. was tormented, and had suffered mentally and psychologically until recently when they are able to stand up economically. But politically, the issue of Taiwan(Friction between China and Japan arose from Japan's control over the Ryukyu Islands from 1870, annexation of Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese war of 1894. China was almost forced to cede more territory in Manchuria but was saved by Russian intervention. Despite this, China still paid a huge indemnity and relinquished Taiwan), China-Japan relationship, the issue of Senkaku Islands(尖閣諸島) which rightfully should be Diaoyu Islands or Diaoyutai Islands(釣魚台群島); are the leftover from the Opium Wars era. Few Chinese are able to understand human right and democracy promoted by the west, and strongly criticized China on their records; but forgot the historical event of Yuanmingyuan done by them, that destroy the confidence of Chinese on the western type of human right and democracy. The historical scar is too hurting to Chinese...

The Chinese government decided to keep the The Old Summer Palace or Yuanmingyuan ruined site as is to teach future generations about the consequences of being dominated by foreign powers.








Victor Hugo, disapproved of the action; in his "Expédition de Chine", Hugo described the looting as, "'Two robbers breaking into a museum, devastating, looting and burning, leaving laughing hand-in-hand with their bags full of treasures; one of the robbers is called France and the other Britain." In his letter Hugo hoped that one day France would feel guilty and return what it had plundered from China. Victor Hugo had spoken out from the heart of a person who understand the real meaning of human right..... so legally a daylight robbery had taken place....

To this day many relics which were taken from the gardens remain in foreign museums and private collections. Although the Chinese government has tried to recover them, only a few statuettes from The Eternal Spring garden of the Yongzheng Emperor(雍正帝)have actually been returned; these are displayed in the Beijing National Museum. It is high time the historical relics be returned to China, the countries which believed in human right and legal right should not keep anything that was unlawfully taken. Some of the owner of the historical relics are the world famous museums.

Will the West make things right and heel the wounds....

1. Official website of Yuanmingyuan; http://www.yuanmingyuanpark.com/
2. Senkaku Islands(钓鱼台群岛), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands#Territorial_dispute
3. People's Republic of China – Japan relations; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_China_%E2%80%93_Japan_relations
4. 圓明園, http://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-tw/圓明園
5. Old Summer Palace, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Summer_Palace

Three Rivers Running Parallel (三江并流)

The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the watershed areas of the upper reaches of the Yangtze (Jinsha,金沙江), Mekong (Lancang, 澜沧江) and Salween (Nujiang, 怒江) rivers, in the Yunnanese section of the Hengduan Mountains(横断山脉).

The protected areas extend over 15 core areas, totaling 939,441.4 ha, and buffer areas, totaling 758,977.8 ha across a region of 180 km by 310 km. Here, for a distance of over 300 km, three of Asia's great rivers run roughly parallel to one another though separated by high mountain ranges with peaks over 6,000 meters. After this area of near confluence, the rivers greatly diverge: the Nujiang(怒江) empties out at Moulmein, Burma, in to the Indian Ocean, the Mekong south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in to the South China Sea and the Yangtse flows in to the East China Sea at Shanghai. Selected nature reserves and places of scenic beauty in this unique region were collectively awarded World Heritage Site status in 2003 for their very rich biodiversity and outstanding topographical diversity.

In its description, UNESCO mentions: "(It) may be the most biologically diverse temperate region on earth" and "An exceptional range of topographical features - from gorges to karst to glaciated peaks -- is associated with the site being at a 'collision point' of tectonic plates".

Due to its topography and geographical location, the Three Parallel Rivers region contains many climate types. Average annual precipitation ranges from 4,600mm in the Dulongjian area in the west of Gongshan county(贡山县) to 300mm in the upper valleys of the Yangtse river(长江). The protected areas are home to around 6,000 species of plants, many of which are endemic to the region. The fauna found in the areas includes 173 species of mammals, of which 81 are endemic, and 417 species of birds, of which 22 are endemic.

Although this region has been acknowledged as a natural World Heritage Site, its demographic make-up also is highly interesting as it contains many of the twenty-five minorities found in Yunnan province including the Derung(独龙族), the smallest of all of China's minority groups. Some of the other minorities found in this region are the Tibetan people(藏族), the Nu people(怒族), Lisu(傈僳族), Bai(白族), Pumi(普米族) and Naxi(纳西族). Many of these minorities still use traditional costumes as their normal daily attire.

In the same region as the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas lies the Old Town of Lijiang(丽江), which is also a world heritage site in its own right.

三江并流是指金沙江、澜沧江和怒江这三条发源于青藏高原的大江在云南省境内自北向南并行奔流170多公里， 穿越担当力卡山、高黎贡山、怒山和云岭等崇山峻岭之间，形成世界上罕见的“江水并流而不交汇”的奇特自然地理景观。其间澜沧江与金沙江最短直线距离为66 公里， 澜沧江与怒江的最短直线距离不到19公里。

三江并流自然景观由怒江、澜沧江、金沙江及其流域内的山脉组成，涵盖范围达170万公顷，它包括位于云南省丽江市、迪庆藏族自治州、怒江傈僳族自治州的9个自然保护区和10个风景名胜区。它地处东亚、南亚和青藏高原三大地理区域的交汇处，是世界上罕见的高山地貌及其演化的代表地区，也是世界上生物物种最丰富的地区之一。景区跨越丽江地区、迪庆藏族自治州、怒江傈僳族自治州三个地州。
三江并流地区是世界上蕴藏最丰富的地质地貌博物馆。4000万年前，印度次大陆板块与欧亚大陆板块大碰撞，引发了横断山脉的急剧挤压、隆升、切割，高山与大江交替展布，形成世界上独有的三江并行奔流170千米的自然奇观。

(source: wikipedia)

Kunming-Bangkok Expressway

Take a ride down the newly-completed Route 3 Highway through Lao PDR, funded by ADB, linking Kunming and Bangkok.



Kunming-Bangkok Expressway is the first international expressway from China. It starts at Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan province in southwestern China, and ends at Bangkok, the capital of Thailand.

The expressway is approximately 1,900 km in length, about 730 km is in China and about 250 km is in Laos. It is jointly funded by China, Laos, Thailand and the Asian Development Bank. It stretches south from Kunming to Xiaomenyang (16 km from Jinghong) and cross the Lao border at Mohan. It traverses through jungle and highlands in southern Yunnan and Laos before entering Thailand at Chiang Khong. It continues southward, mostly as Thailand Highway 1 (named Phahonyothin Road), until it reaches Bangkok. A possible parallel alternative route, via Keng Tung in Burma, is also considered.

The route from Kunming to Chiang Rai will be Asian Highway route 3 (AH3).

As key part of Asian road network, the project is an important infrastructural facility for construction of the China-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) free trade zone and the Lancang-Mekong River subregional economic cooperation. The 4,000-km Mekong River, also called Lancang River in China, begins in the Tibet plateau and flows through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Experts estimate the full opening of the highway will realize cargo transport worth 400 billion U.S. dollars each year.


[Kunming-Bangkok Highway]
The Kunming-Bangkok Highway is an important trunk road in the Asian Highway Network. It is also an important passageway serving the economic co-operation among the Mekong riparian countries.

The China section: Kunming to Yuxi, Yuan jiang, Mohei,Simao, Xiaomenyang and Mohan/Boten

Laos section: Mohan/Boten - Luang Namtha - Houayxay/Chiang Khong

Thailand section: Chiang Khong - Chiang Rai -Tak Bangkok


The section of Kunming-Bangkok Highway in Yunnan starts in Kunming and ends at the Mohan Land Port between China and Laos. From there, the Highway will cut across the provinces of Luangnamtha and Bokeo and enter Chiang Kong in Thailand from Houayxay. In Thailand, the Highway will lead to the capital city of Bangkok through Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai. The Kunming-Bangkok Highway will stretch over a total length of 1,855 kilometers and it will be an expressway ( high-grade road ) according to design. It will be connected to the road network in Singapore and Malaysia. Yunnan Province has invested more than 12 billion yuan in the construction of the Highway. At present, most subsections in Yunnan have been either newly built or upgraded to meet the standard. Most part of the section in Thailand has also been completed. A joint working team led by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and consisting of experts from China, Laos, and Thailand will be responsible for the construction of the section in Laos, which is 247 kilometers long. Construction work will be done by the three countries and completed by year 2006. With the aid from the Chinese government, a sub-section of the Kunming-Bangkok Highway in Laos has started construction on April 26, 2004.

Connect to disconnect

Some said hand phone is a necessity in the modern world

Some said hand phone is an evil tools from Satan....

Some said hand phone is the modern technology that connect the world...

and the Telco said, hand phones are easy money to become richest in the world, the income come with time, just a finger away....every second the money transfer from the user's pocket to Telco's pockets...

Hand phone is a nightmare for sociologists; and a boon for psychologists...



Said no to hand phone; said no to technology that connected?....

Connected with wire, but disconnect with interpersonal relationship....

More communication with wire, more communication gaps with people....

Lucky, I choose no hand phone.....