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                                            http://www.kbcradio.eu/

RSID:  <<2015-01-31T12:30Z MFSK-64 @ 6095000+1500>>

From Bernd in Germany, the dial of his Yaesu FT-857D, which looks
good in the dark, is tuned to KBC's famous 6095 kHz.

He lives so close to the transmitter that the attenuator is ON
...

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                                                                    http://voaradiogram.net/

NO RSID:  <<2015-01-31T16:01Z MFSK-32 @ 17860000+1500>>
 

Welcome to program 96 of VOA Radiogram from the Voice of America.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Washington.

Here is the lineup for today's program -- all in MFSK32 except where noted:

  2:11 Program preview (now)
  3:16 Greece reconsiders sale of port to Chinese company*
  7:09 US firms concerned about Chinese cyber regulation*
13:11 Fake products on Chinese online sales sites*
19:15 Freedom in the World 2015 report*
27:04 Closing announcements
28:27 CW: Bonus mode of the week


Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

And visit voaradiogram.net.

Twitter: @VOARadiogram

 

China Focuses on Greece Policy After Port Sale Halted

Reuters via voanews.com
January 29, 2015

BEIJING - China is closely monitoring the policies of the new
Greek government after Athens said this week it will stop the
sale of a majority stake in Greece's biggest port, China's trade
ministry said on Thursday.

The Greek government last year had shortlisted China's Cosco
Group as a potential buyer of a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port
Authority.

But Greece stopped the sale this week, saying it would be put on
hold as newly elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras halted
privatization plans agreed under Greece's bailout deal.

"We are paying a great deal of attention," Shen Danyang, the
spokesman for China's Ministry of Commerce, said when asked about
the suspended deal.

"We urge the Greek government to protect the legitimate interests
of Chinese companies in Greece, including those of Cosco," he
said.

Greece's reversal of the privatization deals struck under its
bailout has pummeled its financial markets, with Greek bank
stocks plunging more than 26 percent on Wednesday.

http://www.voanews.com/content/china-focuses-on-greece-policy-after-port-sale-halted/2618237.html

Image: Scene at the Port of of Piraeus ...


Sending Pic:233x143C;

This is VOA Radiogram from the Voice of America.

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

VOA NEWS

US Firms Concerned About China's New Cyber Regulations

William Ide
January 29, 2015

BEIJING - U.S. business groups have sent a letter to China's top
security policy body, calling for "urgent discussions" and
"dialogue" over new cybersecurity regulations that would force
them to hand over technology secrets in order to keep doing
business in China.

Details of the letter's contents that were leaked to the media
say the new regulations would require technology companies doing
business in the financial sector to hand over their source code
and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms.

"The domestic purchasing and related requirements proposed
recently for China's banking sector would unnecessarily restrict
the ability of Chinese entities to source the most reliable and
secure technologies, which are developed in the global supply
chain," the letter said.

More than a dozen U.S. business groups, including the American
Chamber of Commerce, issued the letter.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing confirmed that it was
a signatory, but was unwilling to comment further. The group
noted that those who signed the letter, agreed to not make it
public.

Exact intent of new regulations unclear

According to The New York Times, China's Central Leading Small
Group for Cyberspace Affairs - which is headed by President Xi
Jinping - approved a 22-page document late last year that
contains the more stringent technology regulations for vendors.

The letter is the latest in a growing battle here between foreign
technology firms and the Chinese government amid heightened
concerns over cybersecurity. In the wake of disclosures about
U.S. cyberactivities by former National Security Agency
contractor Edward Snowden, China has been taking steps to limit
its reliance on foreign technologies.

Some analysts say it is unclear whether China is just trying to
give local companies, which still hold a smaller share in the
financial sector, an added boost, or force foreign companies out
of the market all together.

Harder to do business in China

What is clear, is that it has become increasingly difficult for
foreign technology companies to operate in China over the past
few years.

Last year, China banned Microsoft Windows 8 from government
computers and launched an anti-monopoly investigation into the
company. And Microsoft is not alone, other companies such as IBM,
Oracle and others have been targeted as well.

Just days before Apple announced earlier this week that its
iPhone sales set a new global record - boosted by sales in China
- state media here were reporting about how the company had
agreed to security checks.

An article in the nationalistic and Communist Party-backed
tabloid, the Global Times said the country's cyber watchdog, the
Cyberspace Administration of China, had approached several U.S.
technology firms, such as Google and Facebook, with the same
demand. "These firms have had to leave the Chinese market
because of their refusal to comply," the article said.

http://www.voanews.com/content/us-firms-concerned-about-chinas-new-cyber-regulations/2618229.html

Image: American Chamber of Commerce in China logo ...


Sending Pic:233x64C;

This is VOA Radiogram from the Voice of America.

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

 

VOA NEWS

China Lifts Lid on Sale of Fake Goods Online

Saibal Dasgupta
January 28, 2015

BEIJING - A newly released Chinese government industry survey has
found that nearly half of the products sold by online stores in
China are fakes. The survey said that Taobao.com, which is owned
by Alibaba, is leading the way.

The survey, which was commissioned by China's State
Administration for Industry and Commerce and carried out by the
China Consumers Association, found that only 19 of 51 items
bought from Taobao were genuine. In other words, nearly 60
percent are fake.

In samplings taken between August and October, the China
Consumers Association found that 54 out of 92 items purchased
from online shopping sites such as Taobao.com, JD.com, 360buy and
others were authentic.

The official Xinhua news agency quoted the State Administration's
survey to say that six out of seven items from Tmall.com; 18 of
20 from JD.com and 9 of 10 from Yhd.com have proved genuine.

Tabao.com quickly took issue with the findings, publishing a
rebuttal letter online. In it, the company argued that the survey
only selected 51 of the more than a billion products on sale on
the website. The letter also raised questions about why the
survey results were released before giving online shop owners a
chance to appeal.

E-commerce analysts say Alibaba's Taobao and TMall online
shopping sites control about 50 percent of the market in China.

But it is clear the government is preparing the ground for a
crackdown on the e-commerce industry because of rising complaints
from consumers.

Big losses

Online sales in China is a multi-billion dollar industry. Late
last year, on Singles Day, Alibaba raked in more than $9 billion
in just one day. Singles Day, a one day online sale, is similar
to Cyber Monday in the United States.

But even as e-commerce expands in China, the survey's release
comes amid growing concerns about a range of practices online
that have resulted in huge losses. The China Electronic Commerce
Association recently said that losses suffered by consumers
buying fake and defective goods from online stores amounted to
$4.7 billion in 2014.

"There are serious questions of ethics in the manner in which
Taobao and other ecommerce platforms are run in China. Second
runs and counterfeit products are on offer. Taobao also has
rejects from factories. These things would be illegal in other
countries," said Jacob Cooke, CEO of the consulting firm
Web-Presence-in-China.

Even so, the market continues to grow. But, at the same time,
China's image has become increasingly important, especially in
the wake of Alibaba's record debut at the New York Stock Exchange
last year. Meanwhile, other Chinese e-commerce companies are
looking to follow in its footsteps.


http://www.voanews.com/content/china-lifts-lid-on-sale-of-fake-goods-online/2616450.html

Image: Taobao.com logo ...

Sending Pic:219x98C;

This is VOA Radiogram from the Voice of America.

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.

 

From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

Report Warns Of 'Disturbing' Decline In Global Freedom

By RFE/RL
January 28, 2015

A leading democracy watchdog says global freedom suffered a
"disturbing" decline in 2014, with Syria ranking as the world's
least free country and Russia's "invasion" of Ukraine dealing a
bad blow to democracy.

In an annual report, U.S.-based Freedom House found that an
upsurge in terrorist attacks and increasingly aggressive tactics
used by authoritarian regimes had contributed to "a growing
disdain for democratic standards" in nearly all regions of the
world in 2014.

"Acceptance of democracy as the world's dominant form of
government -- and of an international system built on democratic
ideals -- is under greater threat than at any other point in the
last 25 years," said Arch Puddington, vice president for research
at Freedom House.

The Freedom in the World 2015 report, published on January 28,
assessed the level of freedom in 195 countries. Its subtitle is
Discarding Democracy: Return to the Iron Fist.

Despite advances in countries such as Cuba and Tunisia, it said
nearly twice as many countries suffered democratic declines as
gains in 2014.

It pointed to terrorism as a leading factor, saying Islamist
militants in many regions of the world "massacred security forces
and civilians alike, took foreigners hostage, and killed or
enslaved religious minorities, including Muslims they deemed
apostates."

Freedom House said terrorism had a "devastating" impact on
countries including Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

In Iraq, the report said last year was marked by "the Islamic
State's attempts to destroy Christian, Shiite,Yazidi, and other
communities under its control, as well as attacks on Sunnis by
state-sponsored Shiite militias."

In Iran, Freedom House said hardliners were preventing the
passage of any potential reforms to increase civil liberties or
decrease government interference in the lives of Iranians.

Afghanistan suffered "increased violence against journalists and
civilians amid the withdrawal of international combat troops." It
also noted an increase in violence against women there.

The report said freedom also receded in a "troubling number" of
large, economically powerful countries including Russia,
Azerbaijan, Egypt, Mexico, or Turkey. ...

[Among the] "worst of the worst" countries and territories were
the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, North
Korea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tibet, and Western
Sahara.

The report singled out Kyrgyzstan as enjoying the highest levels
of freedom in Central Asia despite "increased government
restrictions on freedom of assembly and civil society groups."

Kyrgyzstan, rated as "partly free," was the only Central Asian
country that didn't receive a "not free" rating.

While Europe was found to have suffered limited democratic
setbacks in 2014, the report highlighted the wave of protests
sparked in the United States by the police killings of unarmed
African Americans and denounced "the repeated failure of
prosecutors to secure indictments of the officers responsible."

It also cited the CIA's reported "torture and mistreatment of
terrorism suspects" in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on
the United States.

Of the 195 countries assessed in the report, 89 were rated
"free," 55 "partly free," and 51 "not free."

http://www.rferl.org/content/human-rights-freedom-house/26817217.html

See also:
http://www.voanews.com/media/video/worldwide-freedom-on-decline-report-says/2617857.html

https://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2015#.VMpgwC4sNR8

Image: Countries with a decline in freedom (red line) outnumbered
those with gains (blue line), 2005-2014. The vertical axis is the
number of countries from 30 to 80. ...

Sending Pic:242x126C;

Please send reception reports to radiogram@voanews.com.
 

And visit voaradiogram.net.

Twitter: @VOARadiogram
 

Thanks to colleagues at the Edward R. Murrow shortwave
transmitting station in North Carolina.

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next VOA Radiogram.

This is VOA, the Voice of America.

 

 <<2015-01-31T16:29Z CW @ 17860000+1500>>

KIM IS 5XIII ON 3 FEB

KIM IS LXIII ON 3 FEB

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