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July 1, 2008: South Korean biotech company RNL Bio Ltd. and Tiantan Puhua Hospital in Beijing announce a collaboration to commercialize stem cell technology and research. July 8, 2008: President Lee Myung-bak meets President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the G8 summit in Toyako, Japan. July 23, 2008: The Korea Electric Power Corporation announces that it will build wind-power facilities worth $150 million in Neimeng and Gansu provinces in China. July 30, 2008: The Red Cross Society of China recognizes LG, Samsung, and SK for their contributions to help victims of the Sichuan earthquake in May. July 31, 2008: South Korean broadcaster SBS airs a two-minute clip that had been secretly recorded from a rehearsal of the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympic Games, stimulating sharp criticism in China. Aug. 4, 2008: The Korea Cosmetic Association announces that out of a total of $304 million in cosmetic exports from Korea, $157 million were sold in “greater China,” including China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Aug. 7-9, 2008: DPRK President Kim Young Nam visits China to attend the Beijing Olympic Games and meets senior Chinese officials including President Hu Jintao. Aug. 8-9, 2008: President Lee visits China to attend the Beijing Olympic Games opening ceremony and to hold a bilateral meeting with President Hu Jintao. Aug. 13, 2008: China’s Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi visits South Korea and meets his counterpart Yu Myung-hwan to discuss President Hu’s visit. Aug. 14, 2008: A Korea Times-Hankook Ilbo poll shows that 50.2 percent of respondents chose China as the country likely to have the biggest impact on South Korea, followed by the U.S. at 39.8 percent and Japan with 6.7 percent. ∗ Chronology compiled by Minha Choi China-Korea Relations 107 October 2008 Aug. 14, 2008: The Chinese Oceanic Information Network claims that a disputed rock (Ieodo in Korean, or Suyanjiao in Chinese) is Chinese territory. Aug. 15, 2008: The Chinese Oceanic Information Network deletes its territorial claim over the disputed rock that lies between China and South Korea to show that it is contested territory. Aug. 24, 2008: Yin You Can is cast as the lead actress in the production of a South Korean musical, “Failan.” Aug. 24, 2008: LG Electronics announces that it is considering selling equipment from its oldest plasma panel manufacturing line to China’s Sichuan Changhong Electric Company. Aug. 24, 2008: North Korean defectors in Seoul stage a rally to protest China’s repatriation of North Korean refugees on the occasion of President Hu’s arrival in South Korea. Aug. 24, 2008: South Korea files a formal protest over China’s use of the name “Sea of Japan” on a map displayed at the Beijing Olympic Games closing ceremonies. Aug. 24-26, 2008: Hu Jintao makes his second visit to Seoul as president of the PRC. Aug. 28, 2008: The Seoul Central Prosecutor’s Office announces the indictment of two executives of flat-panel display maker BOE-Hydis for passing key technology to a Chinese firm. Sept. 1, 2008: Japan’s Mainichi newspaper reports that China, Japan, and South Korea have agreed to set up a nuclear energy hotline to quickly inform neighboring countries in the event of a nuclear power plant accident. Sept. 16, 2008: South Korea’s Navy announces that the Chinese destroyer Harbin will take part in an international fleet review to be held in Busan in October. Sept. 17, 2008: Kangnam district in Seoul announces the reintroduction of a primary school curriculum that will require students to learn 900 Chinese characters prior to graduation. Sept. 18, 2008: South Korea’s Food and Drug Administration announces that it will begin inspections of butter imported from China in response to public concern over a scandal involving dairy products made in China. Sept. 20, 2008: Elliana Soleil Snyder is born. Sept. 22, 2008: South Korea’s National Police Agency requests South Korean mobile phone providers to have sender’s numbers displayed on the receiving device to counter voice phishing calls, which primarily originate from China. Sept. 24, 2008: China seeks agreement to appoint the PRC Ambassador to Malaysia Cheng Yonghua as its new ambassador to the ROK. China-Korea Relations 108 October 2008 Sept. 25, 2008: The Korea Food and Drug Administration orders a recall of all biscuit products of two snack companies and bans Chinese-made food products containing powdered milk after finding that the products contained melamine. Sept. 28, 2008: The Korean Coast Guard detains 11 Chinese fishermen who, while engaged in illegal fishing in Korean waters, allegedly killed a patrolling coast guard officer. Sept. 30, 2008: The Korea Food and Drug Administration expands its recall of snack products imported from China to include Ritz Bits Cracker Sandwiches Cheese and “gosohan ssalgwaja” (tasty rice snack) based on additional tests that revealed the presence of higher than normal concentrations of the chemical melamine. China