Keywords: US media rings alarm over speculations of China's anti-satellite tests, Govt blamed for orphan deaths in blaze

US media rings alarm over speculations of China's anti-satellite tests

A US-based news portal reported on January 4 that China may be gearing up to launch an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon this month that may threaten the US Global Positioning System (GPS) navigational satellites. 

Chinese ASAT tests to develop its satellite-striking technology could likely occur on January 11, the same date China performed similar operations in 2007 and 2010, Gregory Kulacki of the Union of Concerned Scientists was quoted by the US news portal space.com as saying.

Rumors have already been circulating among US defense and intelligence communities for months, according to Kulacki, adding that a successful ASAT launch could "theoretically put the constellation of US GPS navigational satellites at risk."

With US media rife with speculation on the launch, Chinese media offered their analysis of the impact of such space weaponry.

Global Times ran an editorial on Sunday, saying that China should continue substantive research on striking satellites even if it is still unclear whether China will launch new an?ti-satellite test.
"In the foreseeable future, gap be?tween China and the US cannot be eliminated by China's development of space weapons. The US advantage is overwhelming," the editorial said.

Before strategic un?certainties between China and the US can disappear, China urgently needs to have an "outer space trump card", the article added.

US is changing modern warfare by advancing the militarized space race, which is now almost as sensitive as nuclear weapons, an unnamed Canadian media outlet was quoted by the Global Times (Chinese version) as saying.

Similarly, Song Xiaojun, a Chinese military expert, also told the Global Times that a nation's ability to destruct satellites could be "as much of a deterrent as its nuclear weapons."

Gao Zhiyang, a Taiwanese writer on military affairs told Shenzhen Satellite TV on Sunday that China has to conduct ASAT tests to foster its space power, as China's current technology still lags far behind the US.

"All of China's ASAT bases are on land while the US could launch missiles from a warship, effectively blocking the enemy's satellites on any oceans across the world. The US is also equipped with space shuttles that could be reused to carry weapons and missiles, which means they could easily paralyze an enemy's entire satellite network."

Gao believes a series of tests need to be conducted because the technology required to deploy an ASAT weapon and put it in orbit must be tested first before targeting enemy satellites.

"But whether China needs to actually destroy satellites in order to develop such technology remains to be seen," said Gao.

Govt blamed for orphan deaths in blaze

Local government officials in Lankao, Henan Province, acknowledged responsibility Saturday for failing to supervise the adoption of orphans in the wake of a fatal fire that killed seven children at a foster home by a local woman.

The fire, which broke out on Friday, immediately put 47-year old Yuan Lihai, who has adopted mover than 100 children over the past 26 years, in the public spotlight. The local government has also been criticized over the tragedy.

Wu Changsheng, deputy head of the county, told reporters Saturday that local civil affairs departments didn't properly supervise Yuan's adoptions, and that they bore "unshirkable responsibilities" for the tragedy.

Heated opinions over the local government's lax management of adoptions and the current Adoption Law became the focus of discussions in Chinese media.

The Xinhua News Agency commented in an opinion piece on Saturday that the government should support more family adoptions rather than orphanages by quoting Wang Zhenyao, an expert on public welfare from the Beijing Normal University.

Reports that some orphans were not willing to leave Yuan's home after officers from Lankao civil affairs departments went to pick up them proves Wang's point, said the commentary.

Southern Metropolis Daily also commented that the Lankao government was partially responsible for the tragedy, as it turned a blind eye to Yuan's adoption of so many orphans living in unacceptable conditions, in an editorial on Sunday.

Besides lax management, the government should also be blamed for shirking their duty to help out the orphans themselves, read the editorial.

"Babies were abandoned by their parents, but they shouldn't be abandoned by society," added the editorial.

Increased government attention to the plight of orphans would further encourage households who are both willing and could offer a good environment to adopt.

"Compared with the care orphans receive at welfare centers, family adoption could better raise orphans," read the editorial.

Requirements and supervision for adoption in China should be improved, the Beijing Times said in an opinion piece on Sunday.

"The current Adoption Law, which allows people to adopt more than one orphan, better engages the public and helps ease the government's burden. But such legislation lacks practical oversight and results in the fact that unqualified people can also adopt," said the paper.

"The Lankao government should have either stopped Yuan in the beginning when they found her incapable of adopting so many children, or given official approval for her to open a care center and provided financial aid and supervision to ensure safety," Yu Shaoxiang, an associate researcher on law with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was quoted by the Global Times as saying.

People's Daily also quoted Wu Changsheng, deputy head of Lankao county, in a report on Sunday, urging to crack down on illegal adoptions and set up orphanages in Lankao this year.