SHANGHAI, Jan. 24 — Chinese officials announced Wednesday that President Hu Jintao would visit Sudan in early February and would seek a diplomatic solution to the conflict in the country’s western Darfur region, which the United States has described as genocide.

Mr. Hu’s visit to Sudan will be part of an eight-country tour of Africa, the latest of a string of high-level visits to the continent by Chinese officials.

In recent months, China has faced widespread criticism for its economic engagement with Sudan at a time when government-allied militias known as the janjaweed have carried out frequent attacks on civilian populations in western Darfur. At least 200,000 people have died in the conflict since early 2003, and many thousands have been forced to flee their homes.

China has played a leading role in building a thriving oil industry in Sudan amid the violence in Darfur, and now imports more than 64 percent of Sudan’s oil exports, accounting for nearly 5 percent of China’s petroleum imports.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said that China would use its diplomatic influence to encourage a settlement of the Darfur crisis, but that China would not publicly pressure Sudan or threaten it with sanctions.

“The Sudan issue should be resolved like any other — through peaceful negotiation,” Assistant Foreign Minister Zhai Jun said at a news conference in Beijing. “Using pressure and imposing sanctions is not practical and will not help settle the issue.”

Mr. Zhai acknowledged China’s prominent role as a leading trading partner of Sudan’s and said China would sign new economic agreements with the country during Mr. Hu’s visit. “With Sudan, we have cooperation in many aspects, including military cooperation,” he said. “In this, we have nothing to hide.”

China’s intense engagement with the continent has brought increasing scrutiny, and very often criticism, from Western governments and from international human rights groups and others who say China ignores questions of governance and of rights as it pursues business opportunities in Africa.

Despite the vow not to pressure the Sudanese government, Chinese diplomatic analysts said the announcement of a diplomatic initiative with Sudan was a turning point in China’s foreign policy and in its relations with Africa in particular.

“This is a remarkable change,” said Shi Yinhong, an expert in international relations at People’s University in Beijing. “It would boost China’s image in the West, and would be welcomed in Africa, too.”

Mr. Shi said that during the recent China-Africa summit meeting in Beijing, Mr. Hu had pushed the Sudanese president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, in private to cooperate with the United Nations.

“China has begun to follow a different pattern on this issue,” Mr. Shi said, adding, “When the world talks about China’s rise, naturally that places demands and pressure on China to take on more responsibility.”

An expert in African affairs, however, expressed more caution. “China now is showing slightly different tactics, paying more attention,” said He Wenping, director of African studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in Beijing. “Hu’s visit at least gives a clear signal that China thinks the Sudan issue is important and China wants to play a role. But China’s strategy remains the same, and as always, it uses quiet diplomacy to keep a constructive engagement, rather than waving a stick.”

In the last two years, Africa has been the focus of a huge push by Chinese diplomats and companies to expand China’s influence abroad. Africa’s many countries offer China a rich source of support in United Nations votes and help in securing petroleum and other natural resources needed by China’s booming economy.

Africa is also a stage of China’s bitter diplomatic contest with Taiwan, with China offering large amounts of foreign aid and investment to countries in order to keep them from recognizing Taiwan, which this country regards as a breakaway province.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr. Zhai, acknowledged that there had been problems in certain countries, like Zambia, where there were riots last year at a Chinese-controlled copper mine after a labor dispute over working conditions. “We are also trying to educate Chinese businesses who have interests in Africa and investments there to respect social conventions and observe local laws and regulations,” he said.

Fan Wenxin contributed reporting.

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This is truly shameful and appalling…..   ~YG

 

OUTRAGEOUS INJUSTICE

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Here is a video from one of my favorite bands.. 🙂

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4JDNYZEjZo]

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People are always asking me about cameras… So, I reached out to my boy Simon Frederick in Lisboa, Portugal (a.k.a Lisbon) for advice and recommendations. Simon is a Jedi Master in my Foto Crew & a wonderful photographer. Visit his website if you want to see his work:

www.simonfrederick.com

Check out what Simon had to say….

~Enjoy,

YG

———————————————————————————

Young Global,

I know you are a Nikon Fiend but my loyalty is to what equipment does what for me.

Eos350

Eos 400D     EOS 30D

I think that right now on the SLR front at entry level you can’t go wrong with Canon.

Great colors, resolution and sharpness. Not to mention excellent prices.

If SLR’s are not your thing and you want a point and shoot. I have shot an Erykah Badu concert with this camera and there was no difference in quality between this and an SLR.

Ricoh Caplio R5

Caplio R5 features 7.24 million pixels, 2.5″ high angle LCD screen and a 7.1x optical wide zoom lens (28–200 mm in 35 mm camera format). Combining the Caplio R5’s Ricoh-original CCD-shift vibration correction method and brand new image processing engine greatly expands the range of shooting in low light areas producing high quality images at even higher ISO settings with low noise.

• High image quality CCD with effective 7.24 million pixels
• Reduced noise through the new Smooth Imaging Engine II image processing engine
• 7.1x wide-angle zoom lens
• Further improvements to stress-free response
• Large, high-resolution high angle shooting LCD screen
• Long-life rechargeable battery for approx. 380 shots (standard accessory)
• Powerful macro function
• Your favourite settings in scene modes
• Enhanced Skew Correction function

Peace,

Simon

 

 

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All of us have a network of friends and business contacts, but very few of us know how to use it to our best advantage. Perhaps it is a fear of reaching out or a sense of apathy, but many of us don’t make the effort to find people who can assist us as much as we should.

Any young professional can benefit from the help of others, so it is imperative to start reaching out for assistance early in your career. These contacts may help you find a job or provide valuable advice.

Start by seeking out who knows whom and devising the proper way to approach each person. To help you on your way, I have put together a guide to making and keeping a healthy network of contacts.

Making Contacts

One of the greatest impediments to making new contacts is the fear that there is no way you can reciprocate. After all, you are likely reaching out to someone above you in stature and success, and you might think that there is nothing they could ever want from you. While this may be true initially, it might not always be the case. Making contacts involves going past the normal comfort zone and placing yourself in a position where you can help someone or be helped by another.

There is one instance in which I reached out for advice, and after many years of nurturing the relationship, I found that my success and work ethic were proving inspirational to my contact’s children. But even if it seems like there is no way to reciprocate, remember that making contacts is part of human nature and that many people might not even expect something in return.

Begin before you need something

Everybody likes to feel valued for their advice, but no one like to be used because they are in a high position or have a golden rolodex of contacts. Talk to your friends and family, and anytime someone interesting comes up in a conversation, take the opportunity to learn about them, then try to meet them.

The point of this exercise is to establish relationships with your contacts before you are in a position where you require their assistance. Being sociable and interested in what others do is a good trait, but coming off an opportunist is not.

Do it in person

It is always best to start a new relationship with a face-to-face meeting. The number of people we talk to on a daily basis only highlights the need to make this interaction special. Set up a time to meet with the person and make sure you are punctual. The worst thing you can do is appear disrespectful of their time.

Go prepared

Ask yourself: What do I want to get out of a relationship? Is it to meet other people, to find out about a topic of interest or just to establish this person as a friend and confidante?

Decide what the purpose of your initial meeting is and formulate a plan ahead of time to steer you to that outcome. Get the contact ball rolling by asking the person if he knows of anyone who could provide further assistance.

Show your appreciation

Show your appreciation by being respectful of people’s time. To establish someone firmly as a contact, you need to have a reason for contacting him again, but remember not to overstay your welcome. A short meeting is often better than a long one, especially when the other party is tired. If you wear out your welcome, it is unlikely that you will get a second meeting.

Show your appreciation, but be careful not to overdo it with lavish gifts. A thank-you card is often enough because you don’t want to come across as a brown-noser.

Remember who introduced you

Too often, we are so excited about meeting a contact that we forget to thank the person who put us in contact or, at the very least, to keep them in the loop. No one likes to be forgotten, so show your appreciation by including that person if you ever meet up with your contact in a social setting.

Sustaining Contacts

Maintaining a network of contacts is often harder than building one in the first place; the larger your network, the more time you have to take out of your day to keep it in order. We frequently procrastinate and put off making that phone call or writing that card because it is not on the list of priorities for the day. Then, slowly but surely, it slips our minds because it is not a priority for the next day either.

The best way to maintain a healthy network of contacts is to create some rules and guidelines on how you want to stay in touch with an individual. Put together your list of contacts with reminders for key dates, such as Christmas, birthdays or other important events.

Here are some tips to help you maintain your contacts.

Make use of electronic resources

Reminders are helpful. Programs like Microsoft Outlook have useful tools to help you stay current with your list of contacts. Put in any key dates you would like to remember as annual tasks. And if you ever change computers or need to create another list of contacts, the details can always be exported as a file that can be read by other computers running the same program.

There is also more powerful contact software — such as ACT or other customer relationship management programs — that can be used to provide an entire team of people with access to your contacts and their particulars.

Nurture the relationship

There are times when you should gather some of your contacts together. Invite them out and introduce them to one another. After all, if you can benefit from knowing some of these people, they may benefit from knowing one another as well. Some people prefer to have small get-togethers, but if you are pressed for time, one large event will have to suffice.

These get-togethers or events could be means of giving back or thanking those who helped you get where you are. Show them some recognition for all they have done for you. However, in the process of nurturing the relationship, you have to be careful about how personal an atmosphere you create. While it is always good to have more friends, in a business environment, there are some boundaries that should be upheld.

Schedule regular correspondence

There is no golden rule for how often you should stay in contact with someone, but a minimum of twice a year seems to be a good measure.

If you limit your correspondence to once a year, you will likely leave it for the holiday season when people are inundated with correspondence. That is why it is important to schedule at least one other time during the year to reach out and give the other party a call or pay them a visit.

Building Relationships

Networking takes time and effort, but there are enormous benefits. Many executives pay to be members of an exclusive club or association mainly for the advantages of meeting similarly successful people, so why not make use of the network that is free to you?

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