News » Society » Viewpoint: The power of China's strolling eco-warriors
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- Viewpoint: The power of China's strolling eco-warriors
- Zhuangzi doesn't do debates
- No Spain release for dealer
- A Spanish judge has ordered a Chinese businessman and art dealer be kept in jail on suspicion of leading a gang that laundered hundreds of thousands of euros a year, a judicial source said.
- Baseball Yi Jing Wisdom
- Snow shuts northern expressway
- Public now keeps eye on officials via Internet
- Song-era china-making revived
- More of China's literature needs translation
- Festival today honors seniors
- Party scrutinizes official owning 22 properties
- Court orders release of records of lax dairy rule
- Students rapped for mahjong
- Have You Heard…
- Canton Fair foretells grim trade outlook, economic rebalancing
- Crash Puts New Focus on China Leaders
- Communist Party of China to amend Party Constitution
- Guangzhou official with 21 houses detained
- Overweight truck crushes bridge, driver on the run
- Leftists oppose Bo Xilai removal
| Viewpoint: The power of China's strolling eco-warriors Posted: 22 Oct 2012 07:12 PM PDT Prominent environmental campaigner Ma Jun considers what might happen if China does not take heed of environmental concerns. |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 05:12 PM PDT He sees right through the rhetorical posturing (Hinton translation): Suppose you and I have an argument. Suppose you win and I lose. Does that mean you're really right and I'm wrong? Suppose I win and you lose. Does that mean I'm really right and you're wrong? Is one of us right and the other wrong? Are we both right and both wrong? If we can't figure it out ourselves, others must be totally in the dark, so who could we get to settle it? We could get someone who agrees with you, but if they agree with you how could they decide who's right and wrong? We could get someone who agrees with me, but if they agree with me how could they decide? We could get someone who disagrees with both of us, but if they disagree with both of us how could they decide? We could get someone who agree with both of us, but if they agree with both of us how could they decide? Not I nor you nor anyone else can know who is right and who wrong. So what do we do? Wait for someone else to come along and decide? What is meant by an "accord reaching to the very limits of heaven"? I'd say: right isn't merely right; so isn't merely so. If right is truly right, then not-right is so far from being right that there's no argument. And if so is truly so, not-so is so far from being so that there's no argument. When voices in transformation wait for each other to decide, it's like waiting for nothing. "An according reaching to the very limits of heaven:" because it's endless, we live clear through all the years. Forget the years, forget Duty: move in the boundless, and the boundless becomes your home. ...既使我與若辯矣，若勝我，我不若勝，若果是也？我果非也邪？我勝若，若不吾勝，我果是也？而果非也邪？其或是也，其或非也邪？其俱是也，其俱非也邪？我與 若不能相知也，則人固受其黮闇。吾誰使正之？使同乎若者正之，既與若同矣，惡能正之！使同乎我者正之，既同乎我矣，惡能正之！使異乎我與若者正之，既異乎 我與若矣，惡能正之！使同乎我與若者正之，既同乎我與若矣，惡能正之！然則我與若與人俱不能相知也，而待彼也邪？何化聲之相待，若其不相待。和之以天倪，因之以曼衍，所以窮年也。1謂和之以天倪？曰：是不是，然不然。是若果是也，則是之異乎不是也亦無辯；然若果然也，則然之異乎不然也亦無辯。2忘年忘義，振於無竟，故寓諸無竟 |
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| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 11:33 AM PDT On Friday night I had the pleasure of talking with Jim Bouton, a former pitcher for the New York Yankees. Regular readers will remember that I am a Yankees fan, a Daoist Yankees fan at that. So, it was quite fun to be able to sit and talk with a guy who played with Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris and had some very successful years in his own right (he went 21-7 in 1963 and won two World Series games in 1964). I should add that Bouton was in town for the Williamstown Film Festival, which screened the new movie, "Knuckleball," that Bouton discussed for the crowd afterward. It was a fun night (thanks Sandra!). I had to think a bit about what questions to ask Bouton. Fawning queries about what it was like to play with Mantle seemed rather juvenile. So I did a bit of research and, when the chance emerged, asked him: what happened to the Yankees in 1965? Baseball fans know that the Yanks were a powerful team in the 1950s-early 1960s. From 1950-1959 they played in eight of the ten World Series, winning six of them. From 1960-1964, they played in all five World Series, winning two, in 1961 and 1962. But then it all came to a crashing end in 1965. That yes, their regular season record fell to 77-85 for a lowly sixth place in the American League. A disaster. Bouton joined the team in 1962, just in time for what would turn out to be their last World Series victory for fifteen years (1977 was the next). For several years, he was a stalwart of the regular rotation. He was arguably the best pitcher in the 1964 Series (his ERA was 1.56; Bob Gibson's was 3.00). And then he was there for the 1965 meltdown. His answer to my question - what happened to team in 1965; why did they fall so far? - was simple and direct: We all got old at the same time. There is an obvious truth there - both in general and in particular. In partiuclar, the 1965 Yankees were plagued by injuries. Mantle and Maris and Howard were all out for prolonged periods. Whitey Ford, and Bouton himself, had arm problems. There were other issues as well. After the 1964 season they fired the manager, Yogi Berra, and the team ownership changed hands. But Bouton did not explicitly raise these particulars, things he knows so well. What he said, of course, is a much larger statement: we are all getting older simultaneously always. That is what time and age are all about. We often don't notice the gradual transformations that accompany the ineluctable movement of time. Yet there are moments when the accumlated changes suddenly add up to a qualitative shift: we are not now what we were then. It is at moments like those that it is also good to remember that what we are now is not what we will be. 1965 was one of those moments for the New York Yankees. They had been a dominant team, a team for the ages, but then, all of a sudden, but not really, they were something else again. It is reminiscent of the Yi Jing, hexagram 55, "Abundance," the Judgment of which is: Abudnace has success. The King attains abudance. Be not sad. Be like the sun at midday. It is describing a moment of accomplishment and power, of fullness, rather like the 1964 Yankees. But then is says: "Be not sad." Why would one be sad at the very moment of maximum gain? Because it cannot last. It must decline, like the sun at midday. One of the commentaries on this hexgram goes on: When the sun stands at midday, it begins to set; when the moon is full, it begins to wane. The fullness and emptiness of heaven and earth wane and wax in the course of time. How much truer is this of men, or of spirits and gods! Jonathan Spence quotes this passage in a discussion of the great Chinese emperor Qianlong (101-102). And it seems to capture what Bouton experienced in 1965. We all get old at the same time and, before you know it, the moment of our greatest triumph has slipped away. I wonder if Bouton has ever consulted the Yi Jing? |
| Snow shuts northern expressway Posted: 22 Oct 2012 10:05 AM PDT Workers check a snow-clearing vehicle yesterday on an expressway in Mudanjiang in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. Sections of the expressway linking Mudanjiang with the provincial capital of Harbin were suspended amid a yellow-level snowfall alert, with many parts of the region bracing for a sweeping cold front. Shanghai's temperatures in the mornings should drop to a low of 15 degrees Celsius. The sky should turn cloudy and overcast again tomorrow and the high should climb back to 24. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Public now keeps eye on officials via Internet Posted: 22 Oct 2012 10:05 AM PDT A DEPUTY provincial governor in central China has met fierce criticism from netizens after pictures of him walking on a red carpet during a construction site inspection were posted on the Internet. The idea of a high-ranking official behaving like a pop star, complete with expensive clothing and a large entourage, upset many Internet users. The official would not have been embarrassed if the pictures hadn't been published, of course. But evading public scrutiny has become more and more difficult with the increasing popularity of the Internet. In 2009, Zhou Jiugeng, a former real estate management official in east China's city of Nanjing, was sentenced to 11 years in jail for bribery following an investigation that was triggered by photos published online showing him smoking cigarettes valued at 150 yuan (US$23.8) a pack. Last month, Yang Dacai, a senior work safety official in north China's Shaanxi Province, was sacked due to a corruption scandal exposed after photos online showing him wearing 11 expensive wristwatches on different occasions. People's rights protected These cases indicate that the public is more conscious of its ability to supervise officials. A government work report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao in March stated that people's rights to stay informed about, participate in, express views on and oversee government affairs will be protected. The report also said China will strengthen administrative and democratic oversight, resolutely investigate and prosecute violations of the law or discipline and severely punish corrupt officials The Zhengzhou municipal government, which invested in the water project inspected by the deputy provincial governor, said it entrusted the ceremony for the project to a local advertising company, adding that the company laid the red carpet down. Due to rising criticism from the public, the Zhengzhou municipal government apologized on Saturday for not correcting the advertising company's arrangements. "We sincerely apologize to Internet users and members of the public," the city government said. Officials who feel at ease when walking on the red carpet should instead be on high alert as a result of citizen vigilance on the Internet. |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 10:04 AM PDT CERAMISTS said yesterday that they have produced 3,000 porcelain items using a replica of an ancient kiln in east China's "porcelain capital" of Jingdezhen. The move is part of the city's efforts to revive historic porcelain-making techniques. "The firing (of the ceramics) proved successful," said Lai Dequan, a Beijing-based Master of Fine Arts, adding that the color and sheen of the porcelain ware matched artifacts made 700 years ago in the same type of kiln. The "dragon kiln," which gets its name from its dragon-like shape, was widely used in the Song Dynasty (960-1279) to produce greenish-white porcelain, a landmark achievement in China's porcelain-making history. Ceramic archeologists and antique experts from Jingdezhen and China's Palace Museum, known as the Forbidden City, checked items after firing. "It is amazing to recall the splendid times of China's porcelain by looking at this 'reborn' china," said Lai. He said that the wares have a gentle and mild glaze, marking the successful return of dragon kiln craftsmanship after its centuries-long disappearance. To protect and continue the legacy of Jingdezhen's ceramic craftsmanship, the local government started the dragon kiln reproduction project in June. Top ceramists conducted an investigation of ancient kilns from the Song Dynasty before creating the new dragon kiln. "With the development of the porcelain industry and improvements to the shape of kilns, the Song Dynasty witnessed the peak period for building dragon kilns," said Zhou Ronglin, director of the Jingdezhen Municipal Ceramic Cultural Heritage Research and Protection Center. The replica kiln was built on a hill near Jingdezhen, a city in Jiangxi Province that has a 1,700-year history of producing porcelain. "With the reopening of the kiln, we can study how ancient people loaded the kiln, how they controlled the temperature and duration of the firing and how they handled the airflow in the kilns to affect the appearance of the finished wares," Zhou said. |
| More of China's literature needs translation Posted: 22 Oct 2012 10:00 AM PDT SWEDISH Academy member Goran Malmqvist said yesterday that the existence of few translations is the main reason that Chinese literature is marginalized in the world. Malmqvist, one of 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature, said China already has many world-class writers. "What is world literature? World literature is translation," he added, quoting the former permanent secretary of Swedish Academy. Malmqvist, 88, a Swedish linguist and sinologist, made the remarks when promoting a collection of works by Chinese novelist Cao Naiqian. Cao, a police officer-turned novelist, is one of Malmqvist's favorite Chinese writers, which include the latest Nobel laureate in literature, Mo Yan. "So Mo's winning of the Nobel Prize in Literature will help attach more importance to Chinese literature in the context of world literature," he said yesterday. He also is promoting his latest translation of works of Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer. Today's the third day of his short visit to Shanghai. He'll give a lecture in Fudan University this evening about translation. During his visit, Malmqvist has emphasized Mo's winning the Nobel Prize in Literature "has nothing to do with politics." Malmqvist, the only Nobel judge fluent in Chinese, said he was very irritated by "some biased media" who questioned Mo's award. Some Western journalists have questioned the recognition after the Chinese writer was announced as the Nobel laureate on October 11. Criticism that Mo is not qualified was based on his being a member of the Communist Party of China and vice president of the China Writers Association. Malmqvist described the accusation as "quite unfair" to Mo. "Those who criticized Mo Yan haven't even read a single one of his books," Malmqvist told reporters on Sunday. "They know nothing about the quality of Mo's literature. They should not have 'opened fire' on him," Malmqvist said, adding that the only standard used to decide whether or not to give a writer the prize is the quality of his or her literature. "We do not care about politics," he said. "Mo Yan is an excellent storyteller. Among today's Chinese writers, no one equals him in the courage to talk about the darkness and unjustness" in Chinese society, he said. He personally prefers Mo's short fiction to longer work, saying the writer "has an excellent control of words." Malmqvist said the decision was made through "heated discussions" and the number of nominees was narrowed from 250 to the final five. Malmqvist explained that Mo was elected for the prize based on a final consensus. "However, the Nobel prize is not a world champion," the scholar said. "We just awarded the prize to a good writer. There could be 1,000 good writers ... but the winner is just one." He said the choice "is completely subjective." The acclaimed sinologist, who reads extensively in Chinese and has made profound studies about Chinese characters and literature, has devoted years to introducing Chinese literature to the world. According to Malmqvist, Mo's works have been translated into the greatest number of foreign languages among the current Chinese writers. |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:56 AM PDT CALLS for visiting parents and the elderly during the Seniors' Day holiday have reverberated in Chinese media recently. Seniors' Day, also known as the Double Ninth Festival, falls today, the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival, which dates back more than 2,000 years, is traditionally an occasion for eating symbolic cakes and appreciating chrysanthemums. In 1989, the Chinese government turned the day into Seniors' Day to promote filial respect. However, it is often neglected by people who are occupied with work and other obligations. Many elderly Chinese have complained about their apathetic children. A China Central Television news program that aired on Sunday featured an interview with an 80-year-old woman who said that her children seldom visit her. The program led some viewers to launch an online campaign encouraging more people to visit their parents during the holiday. The graying of China's population has accelerated in recent years. The country had about 185 million people above the age of 60 as of the end of last year. The figure is expected to surge to 221 million in 2015, including 51 million "empty nesters," or elderly people whose children no longer live with them. Some argue that younger people still want to visit their parents, but heavy work pressure and tight schedules have kept them at home. Spending time chatting with parents has become a luxury. However, a phone call or a gift sent through the mail would probably suffice. An aging society needs filial piety. The love shown by one's own children is irreplaceable. It can enrich elderly people's spiritual lives and dispel loneliness, experts say. A community-based elderly care system would suit the country's current situation and help support older people. Elderly people ought to be given more access to community-based psychological consultation services as well. Giving a day off for employees on Seniors' Day would also show China's emphasis on traditional virtues and be in line with the Communist Party of China's call for promoting socialist culture. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Party scrutinizes official owning 22 properties Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:24 AM PDT AN urban management official in south China's Guangdong Province whose ownership stake in 22 properties was confirmed is under Party investigation due to "economic problems." Cai Bin, a senior official with the Panyu District division of the Guangzhou Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau, severely violated Party discipline by taking bribes and illegally opening a business, the Guangzhou Party discipline watchdog announced yesterday. The 56-year-old Cai is facing a further investigation, Nanfang Daily reported. He also has been sacked from his position. The scandal emerged after cyberspace whistle-blowers revealed on Sina Weibo, one of China's biggest Twitter-like microblogging sites, that Cai and his family owned 21 houses. An earlier investigation showed the online information was "basically true," said Guo Xuanyu, a spokesman for the Panyu District Party Disciplinary Committee. The online post revealed that Cai's 21 houses totaled 7,200 square meters and are valued at about 40 million yuan (US$6.4 million). Of the 21 houses, 19 are under the name of his wife Shi Liying and his son. One is jointly owned by Cai and Shi and the other is under the name of Cai. The latest investigation showed Cai also owned one additional house. The number is much greater than Cai previously declared to higher authorities. He told authorities last year and again this year that his family had only two houses. He also denied the extent of his property ownership in an earlier interview with Xinhua news agency. The district government said Cai earned 10,000 yuan per month and his wife, now retired, earned less. Local authorities confirmed that Cai's son has emigrated to Australia. In dealing with corruption tips on the Internet, Panyu government's speedy response has won applause. "The action taken by the inspection authorities was quick and powerful," said a blogger. |
| Court orders release of records of lax dairy rule Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:24 AM PDT A BEIJING court has ordered the Ministry of Health to publicize the notes of meetings at which the country's controversial new dairy product standards were written. The move at Beijing No.1 Intermediate People's Court came after a lawsuit against the ministry amidst accusations that the standards were hijacked by dairy manufacturers and made more lax, a newspaper reported yesterday. The standards, expected to impose stricter limits on the amount of bacteria in raw milk, raised the maximum to two million cells per milliliter from 500,000 adopted in the old standard. The new maximum safety limit for bacteria in raw milk was 20 times higher than that in Europe and the United States. The ministry also lowered the minimum protein content to 2.8 grams per 100 grams of milk from 2.9 grams. In Europe, the protein content should be no less than 3 grams per 100 grams in dairy products. Zhao Zhengjun, a man from Zhengzhou, capital of central Henan Province, filed a lawsuit against the health authority in February, requesting the ministry to respond to the "hijacked standards" accusation by making all drafts documents public, the Dahe Newspaper reported yesterday. He filed an application with the ministry in writing in December but was rejected. The ministry said the information cannot be made public because it may "affect social stability and add burdens to administrative management work." Wang Dingmian, director of the Guangdong Provincial Dairy Association, called the standard "a shame on the whole industry." One expert said the standards were drafted by some domestic dairy manufacturers. "China Mengniu Dairy Co Ltd drafted the standard for pasteurized milk, the Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd drafted the standard for raw milk, while the Bright Dairy did that for yogurt," Zeng Shouying said. |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 09:24 AM PDT A TEAM of students from China's top universities, including Tsinghua University and Peking University, will compete in the 2012 World Mahjong Championship, which has stirred debate nationwide. More than 30 university students took part in the competitive qualifier and four players from Beijing and Tianjin stand out, West China Metropolis Daily reported. This year's championship will be held in Chongqing on October 26. Mahjong, a game played with clinking tiles, is a favorite pastime in China and a gambler's game as well. The controversial student team has drawn criticism on the Internet from some saying that university students shouldn't waste their time on folk games. "Students should spend more time on their academic studies," said one commentator, Meng Mu Er Zi. "Mahjong is a bad custom that will distract students from studies." Some supported the students and praised them for promoting Chinese culture. "Why couldn't students play mahjong as long as they don't play it in the dorm, disturb the residents or gamble with it?" an Internet user asked. The organizer told the newspaper that the tournament didn't offer any cash reward and students should be encouraged for their interest in traditional culture. The universities said that they had no idea of their students' participation, according to the newspaper. University officials said students should have the freedom to take part in their own pastimes as long as they do not affect their studies. |
| Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:33 AM PDT Have You Heard…   |
| Canton Fair foretells grim trade outlook, economic rebalancing Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:37 AM PDT  Source: Xinhua GUANGZHOU, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) — With the world economy mired in a chronic slowdown since the 2008 financial crisis, China's largest trade fair offers a glimpse into the country's foreign trade situation as well as the economic outlook. Statistics from the fair's organizer show that the number of overseas buyers to the fair — a barometer of China's export situation — declined considerably, indicating weak global demand amid a sluggish recovery, compounded by a more recent eurozone debt crisis. The fair registered a total of 93,529 overseas buyers as of Thursday, a decline of 11.4 percent over the same period in the spring session. At a time when the entire world is tightening its belt, global buyers are more cautious and hesitant in clinching orders. "We are feeling much pressure, as the number of European and U.S. buyers visiting our booth dropped by more than half during the fair, and those who did visit seemed in a low mood to order," said Chen Dong, vice manager of Guangdong Machinery Imp. & Exp. Co., Ltd. Chen said his company had already witnessed a sales decline of 5 percent in the first half of this year. China's foreign trade in the first three quarters of the year rose a mere 6.2 percent to 2.84 trillion U.S. dollars, sharply contrasting the 20.3-percent growth registered during the same period in 2011, according to the General Administration of Customs. Despite a brisk export surge of 9.9 percent to a monthly record-high export volume in September, and a 2.4 percent recovery in imports after consecutive falls in previous months, the trade outlook in the last quarter as well as that for all of 2012 remains gloomy, and experts say a rebound is unlikely in the foreseeable future. The grim foreign trade outlook is further dampened by a disheartening overall economic situation. In the third quarter, China's economy expanded 7.4 percent year on year, slowing from 7.6 percent in the second quarter and 8.1 percent in the first, according to figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday, indicating that the country's economic growth has been on a descending trajectory. Enterprise representatives interviewed at the fair say the persisting eurozone debt crisis is hindering the recovery of global demand. Chinese machinery and electronics exports to the European market dropped 23.1 percent during the fair, in great contrast with a 7.5-percent decline to the American market and a slight dip of 0.3 percent to Africa, said Liu Chun, secretary-general of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import & Export of Machinery and Electronics Products. Machinery and electronics products account for about 60 percent of China's total exports. "The sagging economy in Europe is mainly to blame for the cooling down of global trade," Liu said. ECONOMIC REBLANCING: A WAY OUT The recovery of trade will restore vitality to the global economy, and this is a necessary step in realizing global economic rebalancing, experts say. Mao Huimin, vice president of Zhejiang-based Andeli Group, said company sales this year are expected to rise 20 percent despite the economic hardship. Mao attributed the success mainly to the company broadening its market beyond Europe and the United States. Andeli is a leading producer in the country's machinery and electric industry, with products ranging from circuit breakers and current transformers, to distribution boxes and welding and cutter machines. While sales to Europe have dropped since last year, the company has managed to expand in other markets such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, South Africa and Latin America, Mao said. "Though the European and U.S. markets remain dominant in our trade, developing countries are catching up from behind, and their shares on the world market will further rise," Mao said. Stringent overseas demand has also forced Chinese manufacturers to reconsider the domestic market, and experts say this will bring fundamental changes to the global market as well as the industrial scenario. China has experienced a relatively high growth of over 20 percent in its foreign trade over the past decade, partly thanks to the country's ascension to the World Trade Organization in 2011. With rising pressure from overseas markets, the Chinese government is encouraging export-oriented companies to take another look at the domestic market. Ruan Moteng, a marketing manager with Yingli Green Energy, one of the country's largest solar panel makers, said the Chinese market has accounted for about one-third of the company's shares, although the majority was taken by the European and U.S. Markets. But with trade protectionism escalating in these two major markets, many Chinese solar energy companies like Yingli Green Energy are trying to expand their businesses at home and in other emerging markets. Experts say the global economic rebalancing is speeding up, characterized by a transfer of Chinese labor-intensive industries such as garment manufacturing to neighboring countries like Vietnam and Indonesia, though a massive industrial drain is not likely for a long period of time. Statistics from Guangdong authorities show that a total of 41 investment projects have moved out of the province to seven other countries within the year. Among the projects, which were mainly focused on garment and shoe manufacturing, 15 went to Malaysia and 13 moved to Vietnam. |
| Crash Puts New Focus on China Leaders Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:47 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal by Jeremy Page BEIJING—As a Chinese court prepares to expose the alleged crimes of former Communist Party highflier Bo Xilai, censors and security officials have been trying to bury a separate scandal that has emboldened critics of President Hu Jintao and could complicate efforts to restore the party's tarnished image. Ling Gu died on the spot, according to party insiders, Chinese reporters and others whose accounts offer new insights into the hushed-up incident. Two ethnic Tibetan women squeezed into the vehicle were badly hurt, and one later died. All details of the crash, including the name of the driver, were quickly suppressed. Ling Jihua, the father and Chinese official who is close to President Hu, was spared public censure over the lifestyle of his son. Instead, he was quietly transferred months later to a less powerful, but still important, party post. The difference in how the party handled the Bo and Ling matters speaks volumes about the challenge it faces as it tries to conclude its most destabilizing political crisis in decades ahead of a sweeping leadership change beginning at the 18th Party Congress, which starts Nov. 8. The leadership has tried to portray Mr. Bo—now accused of offenses including bribe-taking, sexual impropriety and abuse of power in a murder investigation of his wife—as an anomaly. Broader-than-expected allegations announced last month appeared designed to restore the party's damaged credibility in the eyes of a public grown increasingly angry over the issues of official abuse that Mr. Bo embodies. Mr. Bo has disappeared from public view and is believed to be in detention pending his trial. But the Ferrari crash and its aftermath encapsulate some of the same issues, such as children of the elite enjoying expensive luxuries—demonstrating how limited the party's taste is for policing its own upper ranks except when politically expedient. The contrasting fates of Mr. Bo and Ling Jihua also reflect feuding and deal-making behind the scenes as outgoing leaders and former ones have tried to elevate protégés to conserve their interests and political influence. Within hours of the early-morning Ferrari crash March 18, Chinese social media buzzed with talk that the driver was a senior leader's son and with questions of how he could afford such a car. Worse, rumors spread that those in the car had been naked or half-naked. The crash and the cover-up added to a sense of public disquiet surrounding the downfall of Mr. Bo, who had a base of support within the military and security forces. Over the next two days, Twitter-like sites noted abnormal activities by security forces in Beijing. Some users circulated unsubstantiated rumors of a military coup attempt. But even as the Bo scandal played out in public, the party suppressed all information surrounding the crashed car's driver, whose father, as head of the party's powerful General Office, supervised top leaders' scheduling, document flow and security. Emergency workers and reporters were silenced. News of the crash and the driver's identity were scrubbed from the Internet. The badly hurt surviving passenger went into hiding. And at Peking University, classmates of Ling Gu, who was enrolled there under the alias Wang Ziyun, were told he had "gone overseas." "We didn't believe that," said one classmate. "We knew something serious had happened. He couldn't have just disappeared." Party insiders and Chinese reporters familiar with the matter said that the father, Ling Jihua, tried to cover up the crash with the help of the Central Guard Bureau, an agency his General Office oversaw. "He was criticized for that—it should have been a police matter," said a person with connections in the Central Guard Bureau, an office responsible for the security of top leaders. The only official sign of Ling Jihua's personal and political ordeal came almost six months later when it was announced, without explanation, that he had been shifted to a lesser job heading the United Front Work Department, in which he handles ties with nonparty entities. Ling Jihua, like Mr. Bo, had previously been considered a front-runner for promotion in this fall's once-a-decade party leadership change. "This was damaging not just for Ling but for Hu Jintao as well, because they are known to be so close," said a Chinese academic who advises and meets regularly with party leaders. "It complicated the discussions over Bo and the new leadership." The dead youth, Ling Gu, graduated from Peking University's School of International Studies last year and enrolled at the university's Graduate School of Education, according to fellow students. He kept a relatively low profile at first, telling only a few of his background, though classmates soon realized he came from privilege. He wore designer clothes, lived in a private residence rather than the dormitory, and often arrived late at classes or left early, students say. He once boasted he had substantial income from an investment fund run by a friend of his father's, according to a person familiar with the conversation. "He was not a playboy. He was a good guy. But he did seem to have money and a lot of elite friends," one classmate said. Several of his friends thought it was unlikely Ling Gu or his parents owned the Ferrari he crashed. But he had been seen driving a BMW and was known to have several friends from powerful business and political families who drove fast, expensive cars. Such families' children, known in Chinese as "fuerdai," or "second-generation rich," often lend each other luxury cars or borrow them from dealerships, said people with friends in that circle. Ling Gu started a club at the university loosely modeled on Skull and Bones, the Yale secret society, say students who recall him discussing it. He invited other well-connected students or ones with top grades to join, but, knowing that Chinese authorities didn't tolerate secret societies, he gave the club an official-sounding name: the Strategic and International Studies Council. Classmates are unsure who the women in the Ferrari might have been. They said Mr. Ling had dated two women but neither was Tibetan. A friend of the woman who survived the crash said she is in her 20s and is the daughter of a Tibetan government official. The friend quoted the survivor as saying she had met Mr. Ling before the night of the crash but didn't know him well, and knew him only by his adopted surname of Wang. She recalled him saying he was in the investment business. The woman who died was described as closer to Mr. Ling. Severely burned, she died in July or August, according to the friend of the survivor. The survivor needed at least one operation to stop internal bleeding, according to the friend. Initially, "they told us…she might not survive," the friend said. According to the friend, the injured woman said the cause was simply driving too fast in slick conditions. It had started to snow. The friend was too embarrassed to ask the survivor about the reports of nudity but doubted their veracity, describing the injured woman as "not a play-around type person." Police and firefighters who responded at first struggled to identify Mr. Ling because he had a fake name on his license, said party insiders and Chinese reporters familiar with the matter. Behind closed doors, insiders say, the incident soon played into the intense debate about the coming party leadership change and what to do about Mr. Bo. It was just weeks after Mr. Bo's former police chief had fled to a U.S. consulate with a tale of the murder of a British businessman by Mr. Bo's wife, a crime for which she would later be convicted. Within the Communist Party, Mr. Bo had been allied with a faction centered on former Chinese president and party chief Jiang Zemin, who insiders say has been trying to secure the promotion of protégés to the new leadership. Party insiders said a rival faction led by current President Hu and Premier Wen Jiabao, many of whose members rose through the Communist Youth League, pushed hard to strip Mr. Bo of all of his party posts. But the crash in mid-March meant that a leading figure in Mr. Hu's faction now was embroiled in a scandal that left Ling Jihua open to criticism from other party leaders. "Former Chinese President Jiang Zemin is probably the most immediate beneficiary," wrote Chris Johnson, a former Central Intelligence Agency China analyst now at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, in a blog post. Mr. Jiang's "early support for Bo Xilai risked putting him on his back foot in the succession sweepstakes. But Jiang seems to have seized on the Ling affair to come roaring back," Mr. Johnson wrote. Although the catalyst for Mr. Bo's downfall was the flight of his former police chief, Mr. Bo had also caused controversy with a Maoist revival movement and apparent tolerance for an expensive lifestyle by his son at Oxford and Harvard universities. Ling Jihua is a far less controversial figure than Mr. Bo but is important because of his close tie to the president, Mr. Hu. Mr. Ling held positions in the Communist Youth League when Mr. Hu led that body in the 1980s, according to Alice Miller, an expert on Chinese politics at the Hoover Institution. Mr. Ling moved to the General Office in 1995 and had the job of preparing reading materials for Mr. Hu, according to Bo Zhiyue, a China expert at the National University of Singapore. Mr. Ling has since been considered the president's closest adviser and has often accompanied him abroad. In 2007, Mr. Hu secured Mr. Ling's appointment as a full member of the Central Committee, the party's top 370 leaders, and as director of the General Office. Before the Ferrari crash, Mr. Hu was thought to be trying to engineer Mr. Ling's promotion to the Politburo, China's top 25 leaders. And Mr. Ling, 56 this month, was spoken of as one likely to move up to the Politburo's elite Standing Committee in 2017 or 2022. He may still make it onto the Politburo this fall, but his chances of rising further have been diminished, say party insiders, diplomats and political analysts. News of the early-morning Ferrari crash was first reported in a brief article later that day in the Beijing Evening News, which didn't name the victims. It showed a photo of the wrecked car, which had been split in two. A fire-service official who wrote the article and took the photo thought at first it was a routine accident, but was later reprimanded and had his camera and computer confiscated by police, according to a person familiar with the matter. A person at the Beijing Evening News said the paper had been ordered by the central propaganda department not to disseminate the photograph. The police, the fire service and several local hospitals all declined to comment. The article was soon deleted from the Beijing Evening News website. As rumors began to spread online, searches for terms including "Ferrari" and "Ferrari crash" were blocked. The next day, the Global Times newspaper, a nationalistic tabloid connected to the People's Daily, the main party mouthpiece, reported that almost all online information about the crash had been deleted overnight, "triggering suspicions as to the identity of the deceased driver." That story, too, was soon blocked. The journalist who wrote it declined to comment.   |
| Communist Party of China to amend Party Constitution Posted: 22 Oct 2012 08:42 AM PDT  Source: Xinhua The Communist Party of China (CPC) is going to amend the Party Constitution at its upcoming 18th National Congress scheduled for Nov. 8, according to a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday. Monday's meeting, presided over by Hu Jintao, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, also discussed a draft report to the 18th CPC National Congress, and decided to table it with the 7th Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee for further review. The meeting heard two reports, respectively on the suggestions collected from CPC members to the draft amendment to the CPC Constitution and the suggestions solicited from CPC members and non-Party personages to the draft report to the 18th CPC National Congress. The meeting will modify the two draft amendments based on Monday's discussion before submitting these documents to the 7th Plenum of the 17th CPC Central Committee for deliberation. The Party will make a draft report to the 18th CPC national congress that complies with the common aspirations of the CPC and people of all ethnic backgrounds, meets the development needs of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and adapts to "new situations" and "new tasks," according to an official statement issued after Monday's meeting. The meeting stressed the importance of making a draft amendment to the CPC Constitution that conforms to the needs of the CPC's theoretic innovation, practice and development and will also promote the CPC's work and strengthen its construction, the statement said. The 18th CPC National Congress is a very important conference to be held at a critical time when China is building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, deepening reform and opening up and accelerating the transformation of economic development pattern in difficult areas, it said. The congress carries high significance in inspiring CPC members and people of all ethnic groups to continue to forge ahead with the building of a moderately prosperous society, the modernization drive, as well as the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The whole Party should hold high the banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, be guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thoughts of the "Three Represents," and thoroughly carry out the Scientific Outlook on Development, according to the statement. "(The Party should) emancipate the mind, continue reform and opening up, gather strength, overcome difficulties, forge ahead along the socialist path of Chinese characteristics unswervingly and strive for the full establishment of a moderately prosperous society," reads the statement. The Party should thoroughly examine the general situation concerning the development of the world and contemporary China and fully understand the new requirements for the country's development and new expectations from the people. It should deeply summarize the lively experiences the Party has gained in leading the people to advance reform, opening up and the socialist modernization drive, the statement said. The Party should make best use of the key period of strategic opportunities facing China's development, advance innovation in theoretical terms, among others, and draw out the guidelines and policies that respond to the call of the times and the people, it said. The congress will make strategic plans for China's reform and development, with focuses on the outstanding problems that are emerging during the country's development at its current stage and the issues that concern people's interests in the most immediate and realistic manner. The congress will further socialist development in economic, political, culture, and social terms as well as in conservation culture, according to the statement. It will carry forward Party building, scientific development and promote social harmony, and continue to improve people's livelihood and well-being, it said. |
| Guangzhou official with 21 houses detained Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:04 AM PDT A government official in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province, has been confirmed of taking bribes and illegally running businesses after a whistle-blower alleged that he owned 21 houses, local Party discipline authorities said today. Cai Bin, an official with the Panyu District branch of the Guangzhou Urban Management and Law Enforcement Bureau, has been placed under "shuanggui," a Chinese term for detention of officials suspected of corruption. The scandal hit the headlines after someone posted a photocopy of Cai's property ownership document on Weibo, China's largest microblogging site. Preliminary investigation showed Cai, 56, owned 18 houses in Panyu District and three others in Nansha District, totaling 7,200 square meters and valued at about 40 million yuan (US$6.37 million). But Cai's monthly pay is just around 10,000 yuan. He has been sacked from his position. |
| Overweight truck crushes bridge, driver on the run Posted: 22 Oct 2012 03:02 AM PDT A concrete bridge collapsed yesterday in a town in Jiangsu Province, plunging a truck and a motorcycle into the water. The truck driver managed to kick the door open in water and then saved the woman cyclist from the river. The accident happened around 2pm yesterday when the truck loaded with stones fell with the bridge, followed by the motorcycle in Houxiang Town of Danyang City. Another woman cyclist who was also traveling on the bridge fell on the river bank and was slightly injured, according to China News Service. The truck was lifted from the water last night but the truck driver later disappeared. The overweight truck, about 10 tons beyond the bridge weight limit, caused the 40-meter-long span to collapse, according to a town official surnamed Hu. Official investigation is still ongoing. Police said they are looking for the truck driver who left after the accident. A water pipe was also damaged in the collapse, leaving more than 500 homes without water. |
| Leftists oppose Bo Xilai removal Posted: 22 Oct 2012 07:04 AM PDT A group of Chinese leftists ask parliament in an open letter not to expel disgraced leader Bo Xilai, saying the move is politically motivated. |
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