China Aviation Law

15May/112

China’s UAV Helicopter – 中国的无人直升机

China tested an unmanned helicopter this last week. It is claimed to be the largest unmanned helicopter in production. It debuted at the Hainan airshow earlier this year, but this is the first test flight.

On Saturday, the largest unmanned helicopter built in China to date made its first flight in Weifang City of east China’s Shandong Province. With a max take-off weight of 757kg, it flew from the flight-test center of Weifang Tianxiang Aerospace Industry Co.Ltd, hovering for ten minutes, before performing a few manoeuvres before concluding with a stable landing.

Source: http://www.helihub.com/2011/05/09/largest-chinese-unmanned-helicopter-makes-first-flight/

As a private pilot in the US, I have always had a lingering fear of unmanned aircraft. I don't know how effective the UAVs are at seeing other aircraft the sky. Often I am flying in areas where there is neither radar nor ATC coverage. The only thing that is keeping me separated from other aircraft are my two eyeballs. I hope that unmanned operators are staying as vigilant as I am at scanning for traffic, but I think they inherently will be less vigilant.

This thing looks small, but it has the wingspan of a 737. My Cessna 140's wingspan wouldn't even cover half of its length.

First, there is a limited visibility on a UAV. Second, the operator's life is not on the line if he crashes, the operator cannot feel the aircraft and does not gain the heightened awareness that comes from being in the aircraft in lower visibility conditions. Finally, when the link is cut the aircraft there is no way to avoid a collision. UAVs are designed with a failsafe that puts them in a holding patter if their link is cut, however, they still do not have the technology to avoid an aircraft in a failsafe condition.

Fortunately, UAV trials in the United States have been very limited and restricted to areas with little to no aircraft activity. The FAA has been very conservative in allowing trials of UAVs. Nevertheless, there have been instances of state and local police agencies using UAVs without FAA approval.
Near Miss over Kabul

Look at this amazing near miss between a military UAV and a commercial airliner in Afghanistan.

Without the general aviation traffic in China that we see in the united states, there is not nearly as large a risk of collision. But, I hope that the CAAC will limit these trials until the technology has been better tested and tried.

Tagged as: CAAC, Global Hawk, Helicopter, UVA 2 Comments

22Mar/110

The Chinese Reaction to the Sendai Earthquake

On March 11, 2011, a record-breaking earthquake struck Japan. While damage from the earthquake itself was relatively minor, the north coast of the country was devastated a tsunami that was triggered by the earthquake. Initial estimates peg the damage from the earthquake to be in the thousands of lives and the billions of dollars.

Immediately after the quake, the international community responded by flying relief workers and aid into the country. While most of the international response has been positive, some have used the tragedy to dredge up previous wrongs committed by the Japanese government. Americans on social media sites, like Facebook and Twitter, have expressed comments that the earthquake was karmic payback for Pearl Harbor. However, the most complex, vocal and negative reactions to the quake have come from the Chinese community.

Immediately after the earthquake, the Chinese web-boards lit up with commentary on the disaster. Predictably, there were two themes of commentary on the quake. One group of commentators expressed sympathy for the victims of the earthquake. Another group expressed a negative and celebratory tone about the Japanese earthquake with comments like, “[w]armly welcome the Japanese earthquake.”

Chinese government censors have worked overtime to present the earthquake in the best light to the people. First, when the negative comments were picked up by western blogs in China, these blogs immediately hit with DDOS attacks from within the country. Second, certain positive comments that contrast the resilience and quick response of the Japanese government have been censored. As one comment, which was quickly removed wrote, “[t]he casualties from an 8.9 event in China would be hundreds of times higher than in Japan." Chinese government censors have had a similar schizophrenic response in the wake other recent nation and international tragedies – media coverage of the Chilean miners’ success was downplayed and the Chinese media very quickly buried news of the Yichuan air crash.

Finally, the Chinese government has been slow to offer aid to Japan. During the Wen Jiabao’s annual news conference, 4 days after the quake, he did not comment on the Japanese disaster until 2 ½ hours into his presentation. The Chinese have pledged $167,000 in aid and sent a 15 member search and rescue team to Japan. This number has been overshadowed by a $3.3 million pledge by the Taiwanese government and it less than the donations of surrounding countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea and Mongolia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanitarian_response_to_the_2011_T%C5%8Dhoku_earthquake_and_tsunami

Given the sorted history between the two countries, it is not surprising to see this response from the populace. Those who grew up in China have poignant memories of stories about the Japanese occupation, which are reinforced by annual visits by Japanese Prime Minister to the Yasukuni Shrine war shrine. Additionally, the Japan is in no hurry to accept help from its former enemy as one commentator and Japanese lawyer put it, “we welcome the assistance of the United States but not China.”

Source: http://shanghaiscrap.com/?p=6468

Source: http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/11/schadenfreude_and_sympathy_in_shanghai

Source:http://www.chinalawblog.com/2011/03/chinas_reaction_to_japans_earthquake.html

Tagged as: China, Earthquake, Netizen, Sendai, Taiwan No Comments

8Mar/110

China’s Shrinking Rice Bowl – Agricultural Degradation, Land Use Policy, and Administrative Enforcement in China

****This is the second draft of my Seattle Journal for Environmental Law article. I would REALLY like to have some comments on it. As it is a draft, and I am law student, I would recommend you go do your own research before you use my work.****

China's Shrinking Rice Bowl ^¹

Casey DuBose, Seattle Journal of Environmental Law, Draft 2, 3 Mar. 2011

“Solving the problem of feeding around one billion people must be continually designated as a high priority in running the country well and maintaining peace.” State Council, 2009.

In 2007, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) capped 30 years of economic liberalization with a revolutionary land law. ^² This law, the Property Law of the People’s Republic of China, granted the private acquisition of land-use to both foreign and domestic private parties. ^³ Starting in 2008, agricultural collectives, which traditionally had limited ability to transfer land use from agricultural to urban or industrial, began to contract with non-agricultural developers, under a similarly revolutionary policy statement - Decision on Certain Issues Concerning the Advancement of Rural Reform and Development. ^⁴ ^⁵ These laws had the aim to help flatten the economic disparity between the increasing rich urban population and the increasingly marginalized peasant agricultural class. Their goal was to spur the development of modern agriculture and promote the construction of a “new socialist countryside.”^⁶

Unfortunately, the last 30 years of economic growth has taken a hard environmental and social toll on that countryside. Spurred by a great flood of cheap, migratory labor leaving the agricultural areas, and years of industrial development, agricultural land has been converted to residential, commercial, and industrial land at an unprecedented rate.

This conversion, which has been accomplished through both legal and illegal means, has also affected China's grain security, contributed to increased agricultural pollution, and created large groups of landless migratory workers. Existing laws have provided a framework to limit the conversion of agricultural land, but their language and enforcement is inadequate. Indeed, changes such as the 2008 Decision have inadvertently exacerbated a growing problem of agricultural land destruction. With available arable land at an all-time low and an ever-increased rate of conversion, the Chinese government must make the conservation and regulation of agricultural land a high priority.

FULL TEXT AFTER THE JUMP

Tagged as: BYD, Draft 2, Gobi Desert, Ningxia Desert, Rice Fields, Seattle Journal of Environmental Law, SJEL Continue reading

15Feb/110

China opens up General Aviation Test Airspace over Hainan – 海口飞行管制分区低空空域管理改革试飞活动

One of the biggest hurdles to the civil aviation in China has been the military's tight control on the airspace. The vast majority of delays for commercial aircraft are from the ATC. Commercial pilots expect a long wait to get their clearance to push back from the gate. Once airborne, pilots can expect any number of odd holds and approach procedures to adjust for military traffic.

Fly the beautiful grey skies of Haikou

For example, while in cruise on one my flights between Shenzhen and Beijing, we had three separate holds. On approach into Beijing, we dropped down to about 10,000 feet very quickly and spent the last 120 miles so at slow speed and low altitude.

The tight control over the airspace has created problems for general aviation. There are no VFR flights. Instead, all flights must be on a flight plan and pre-approved by the governing agency.

However, this week, the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority (CAAC) took steps toward greater freedom in general aviation. It has opened test general aviation airspace over Hainan island below 1,000 meters. The flights will be conducted by four helicopters flying without the need to seek permission prior to each flight.

Over the next five years, similar test areas will be rolled out over other provinces. Aircraft flying above 1,000 meters and below 4,000 meters will still be required to file a flight plan but, if the tests go well, they will not need to seek approval from authorities.

Hainan is a tourist island for the Chinese. These initial flights will be local sightseeing tours. However, Hainan is within GA tank-of-gas range from the cities in the pearl river delta and I hope that we will soon see GA traffic between Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Haikou.

Landing at Hainan on a better day.

For Chinese coverage of the story see:http://www.hainan.gov.cn/data/news/2011/01/122266/ ; http://zs.hainan.gov.cn/ASPX/ArticleShowContent.aspx?Seq=2006013484

For English coverage of the story see: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/02/03/352678/prviate-helicopter-flights-take-off-in-hainan.html

Full Text of the Hainan Government Press release in English after the break.

Tagged as: General Aviation in China, Haikou, Hainan, Helicopter Tourist Flights, 直升机， Continue reading

30Jan/111

China evacuates oppressed Egyptian Chinese – 国航派包机赴开罗执行紧急撤侨任务

There are over 500 Chinese stuck in the Cairo airport. In response, the Chinese Government has sent an Air China A320 to rescue some of them.

The A320 which holds 265 people is staffed by a crew of 6 pilots, 10 stewardesses, and a compliment of security and maintenance crews.

This begs the question: Is it really a rescue mission if you are evacuated to a country where the populace has fewer rights?

Regardless, it is an unprecedented move by the Chinese government. Air China does not fly to Cairo. They have had to arrange new airspace agreements and fly into an unknown airport all in a short period of time.

Source: http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/s/2011-01-31/1029630874.html

Full Text in Chinese after the break.

Tagged as: A320, Air China, China, Egypt Evacuation Continue reading

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About the Author

Casey DuBose is 3L at Seattle University School of Law. Upon graduation he hopes to practice aviation law. For now, he is an owner/instructor at the Du Family Chinese School in Seattle, Washington and a FAA certified flight instructor. He may be contacted via email, or twitter.

This blog is intended to present news and original research on the growing aviation market in China. For those interested in general articles about China, please see my other blog The Du Family Blog, which is co-authored by my wonderful wife.

我是西雅图大学法律系三年级的学生。毕业后，我想执业于航空法律。我目前在华盛顿州的布雷默顿当飞行教师，并且在西雅图教授初级中文。我的写作专长在与中国、航空、和法律相关的议题。请浏览我的个人博客 dufamily.com 及专业博客 duchineselaw.com.