Traffic Jam in China

Nothing is worse than sitting in traffic, right? How about sitting in traffic for nine days?

A 100-kilometer-long traffic jam in China's Heibei Province has left thousands of truck drivers stuck on the interstate heading towards Beijing since August 14. What's worse, officials are saying that the jam could continue for up to a month!

The original jam was caused by roadside construction work, but has been made worse by minor car accidents and breakdowns.

The traffic jam has sparked some entrepreneurial spirit for local residents, which has added to traffic-hostages' annoyance. One truck driver complained that vendors were selling instant noodles for “four times the original price while I wait in the congestion.”

Makes that twenty-minute wait for the bus seem a little better, eh?

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China urges peace, stability on Korean peninsula

 ” North Korean ally China on Tuesday called for restraint amid rising tensions on the Korean peninsula, but again declined to endorse Seoul’s claim that Pyongyang sunk one of its warships.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Beijing shares responsibility for ensuring peace on the Korean peninsula and opposes any destabilizing actions.

“China hopes all parties will stay calm and exercise restraint ... to avoid escalation,” Mr. Jiang told reporters at a regularly scheduled news conference.

Mr. Jiang avoided any direct mention of the South’s claim that an international investigation has proved a North Korean torpedo split apart the navy ship Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.

The March 26 incident has drawn new attention to Beijing’s role as Pyongyang’s main source of economic aid and political support. China, which last month hosted North Korea’s reclusive leader Kim Jong Il on a rare foreign visit, is coming under increasing pressure from the U.S. and South Korea to use its influence with Pyongyang to help resolve the crisis.

Tensions on the peninsula soared on Tuesday as South Korea resumed propaganda broadcasts into the North, while the North’s leader reportedly has ordered troops to ready for combat.

As part of its retaliatory measures, Seoul has also severed most economic links to the North, which has steadfastly denied any role in the ship’s sinking. International investigators concluded last week that a torpedo from a North Korean submarine tore apart the Cheonan in South Korea’s worst military disaster since the 1950—53 Korean War.

The U.S. has strongly supported the South Korean response, which also includes bringing North Korea before the U.N. Security Council where China holds veto power.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton discussed the issue with Chinese officials in Beijing this week, while Beijing’s top nuclear envoy, Wu Dawei, was in South Korea for talks with officials there.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley on Monday said Chinese officials have said they want to see a “careful, scientific, fact—driven analysis of the sinking of the ship.”

“And we think that South Korea, supported by the international community, including the United States, have passed that test,” Mr. Crowley said.

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South Korea, World Look to China to Warn North Over Ship Sinking

Pressure is mounting on China to reprimand North Korea over the fatal sinking of the South navel vessel last month. South Korea and the United States are calling for stern international action against North Korea for torpedoing a South Korean warship.  But Beijing, a North Korean ally, has not joined them, despite pressure from Washington.

Seoul says it is freezing trade with North Korea and will seek U.N. action for the killing of 46 sailors in the March incident.  And U.S. Secretary Hillary Clinton, visiting Beijing this week, said she has been in intense discussions with the Chinese leadership on the issue.

But Daniel Pinkston, a North Korea expert with the International Crisis Group, believes many people overestimate Beijing's influence over North Korea and its leader Kim Jong Il.

"I certainly think they are not pleased with the incident but as far as taking any strong punitive measures against North Korea, it Is probably unlikely," said Pinkston. "I think the Chinese government will view that as counter productive, so I am not that hopeful for a strong U.N. Security Council resolution, or the introduction of any draft resolution, because China will try to water it down or veto it," Pinkston said.

China welcomed Kim Jong-il on a rare visit earlier this month but the substance of his talks with Chinese leaders was not revealed.  China is a major source of food and fuel for its impoverished neighbor.

For nearly seven years, the Chinese government has taken a leading role in multinational negotiations to end North Korea's nuclear arms programs.  But the talks have been stalled for more than a year and North Korea has tested two nuclear weapons.

Beijing has close economic ties with North Korea.  Moreover, many experts on northeast Asia relations say China is very concerned about a possible collapse of the Pyongyang government.  That could send a flood of refugees across its border with North Korea, and possibly lead to a united Korean peninsula dominated by a government that is friendly to the United States.

The tension over the Korean peninsula is affecting broad economic and security talks with the United States going on in Beijing this week.  U.S.-Sino relations remain fragile after Beijing and Washington clashed for months over a range of issues including Tibet and trade imbalances.

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