| Weekend Reading: New York Times Foxconn Follow-up Posted: 28 Dec 2012 06:28 PM PST The New York Times has run a follow-up story to their earlier excellent coverage of Foxconn/Apple China labor problems and mitigation efforts. The article ran early in the week, but I was only able to get to it this morning because of VPN (i.e., technical) issues. The basic take away from "Signs of Changes Taking Hold in Electronics Factories in China" is that there has been a great deal of work done both within the factories themselves as well as inside the Foxconn and Apple executive offices. The suggestion is that a fundamental shift in thinking has occurred with respect to the treatment of workers. I suppose we'll have to wait and see whether that is a sustainable reality, but taken at face value, it's certainly welcome news.
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Post tags: apple, foxconn, labor
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| Defying Mao, Rich Chinese Crash the Communist Party Posted: 28 Dec 2012 03:26 PM PST The Wall Street Journal's James T. Areddy explores the intersection of wealth and power in today's China: China has been grappling of late with political and social tension over its murky policy-making process and its growing income disparity. The party has been especially sensitive this year during the leadership change about revelations about fortunes amassed by the offspring of political leaders, known as "princelings," by leaders of state businesses and by other politically connected people. Many ordinary Chinese blame high prices, poor quality food and pollution on guanshang guojie—meaning, roughly, officials in bed with businessmen. […] It is difficult to pinpoint precisely how holding political positions advances the business interests of the wealthy, if at all. They may do better because of their political positions, or, conversely, they may owe their positions to their business success. There are a multitude of reasons for Chinese companies to be on good terms with political leaders. Chinese companies routinely do business with the government, borrow money from state banks, even negotiate their tax bills with local authorities. The web of political power and business interests is mapped in a dense and extensive infographic accompanying the report. Areddy also points to an illustrative series of deals involving former Chongqing Party boss Bo Xilai and Wen Jiabao's son Wen Yunsong. The transactions began when officials in Chongqing's government who answered to Mr. Bo sold shares of a state-run grocery and electronics chain to an investment group led by New Horizon Capital LP, a firm founded by Premier Wen's son, Wen Yunsong. After first buying 25% of the chain-store business, the New Horizon-led group increased its holdings to 39%, according to regulatory filings and government reports. The investment group effectively became a partner of the Chongqing government in the retail business. In October 2009, Chongqing Department Store Co., 600729.SH -1.56% a bigger retailing group also controlled by the local government, bought the chain in a 3.921 billion yuan ($574 million) all-stock merger. That deal valued the private-equity group's initial 25% stake at 980 million yuan, almost 2.8 times what it had paid 18 months earlier. The Wall Street Journal report coincided with a major Bloomberg investigation, also published on Boxing Day. At Bloomberg View, William Pesek discussed the implications of the Bloomberg report, and of David Barboza's October exposé of Wen's family's wealth at The New York Times. When you peruse many of the reader responses to foreign press reports about Chinese graft, conspiracy theories abound: The western media want to undermine China's rise and is doing the bidding of officials in Washington and Tokyo. That, of course, is silly. Only a fool would hope for a crash in the world's No. 2 economy and for 1.3 billion people to struggle to find enough to eat. Global economics isn't a zero-sum game. When hundreds of millions of people get rich, that will benefit all of us, whether you work for Rolex, Nike Inc. or Toyota Motor Corp. […] The sad truth is that hundreds of millions of Chinese aren't rolling in yuan the way Deng might have hoped. It's getting harder to hide that reality from China's masses, and that poses a growing threat to the Communist Party. Closing international-media websites, as China does at the sight of an unflattering article, can't hide the internal decay as wealth becomes more and more concentrated. […] No industrializing economy has ever avoided a crash, and neither will China. Possible catalysts include pollution and surging living costs. Yet the one that China's leaders are probably most loath to confront is the sight of Communist Party officials becoming modern-day Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. It surely never occurred to Deng that finding wealth would be China's undoing. When you follow the money, it's hard to conclude otherwise.
© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bo Xilai, communist party, National People's Congress, rich list, wealth, wealth gap, Wen Jiabao, Wen Yunsong
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| Chinese Scientists Measure Speed of Gravity Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:54 PM PST Chinese scientists announced this week that they have conducted the most precise measurement yet of the speed of gravity. Their finding that gravity's influence propagates at the speed of light supports both earlier, less precise measurements and the predictions of general relativity. By conducting six observations of total and annular solar eclipses, as well as Earth tides, a team headed by Tang Keyun, a researcher with the Institute of Geology and Geophysics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), found that the Newtonian Earth tide formula includes a factor related to the propagation of gravity. "Earth tide" refers to a small change in the Earth's surface caused by the gravity of the moon and sun. Based on the data, the team, with the participation of the China Earthquake Administration and the University of the CAS, found that gravitational force released from the sun and gravitational force recorded at ground stations on Earth did not travel at the same speed, with the time difference exactly the same as the time it takes for light to travel from the sun to observation stations on Earth. […] By applying the new data to the propagation equation of gravity, the team found that the speed of gravity is about 0.93 to 1.05 times the speed of light with a relative error of about 5 percent, providing the first set of strong evidence showing that gravity travels at the speed of light. The first measurement of the speed of gravity was announced by Ed Fomalont and Sergei Kopeikin in 2003, but was considerably less precise and has since been disputed. From Hazel Muir's report on Fomalont and Kopeikin's experiment at New Scientist: John Baez, a physicist from the University of California at Riverside, comments: "Einstein wins yet again." He adds that any other result would have come as a shock. Isaac Newton thought the influence of gravity was instantaneous, but Einstein assumed it travelled at the speed of light and built this into his 1915 general theory of relativity. Light-speed gravity means that if the Sun suddenly disappeared from the centre of the Solar System, the Earth would remain in orbit for about 8.3 minutes – the time it takes light to travel from the Sun to the Earth. Then, suddenly feeling no gravity, Earth would shoot off into space in a straight line. But the assumption of light-speed gravity has come under pressure from brane world theories, which suggest there are extra spatial dimensions rolled up very small. Gravity could take a short cut through these extra dimensions and so appear to travel faster than the speed of light – without violating the equations of general relativity.
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Post tags: physics, science
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| Photo: Mao Music, by Michael Steverson Posted: 28 Dec 2012 01:20 PM PST |
| Sensitive Words: Photoshop Strikes Again Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:08 PM PST  Pictionary Curse: Fish (鱼 yú) plus veggie chicken (素鸡 sùjī) plus 7-Up (七喜 Qīxǐ) may sound like it equals a delicious meal, but in Shanghai-accented Mandarin, it spells "Go die, Secretary Yu." This and many images like it have been pulled off the Internet. As of December 25, the following search terms are blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the "search for user" function): Studies in Leadership: Xinhua launched a profile series of China's new central leadership this Sunday, showcasing the human side of incoming president Xi Jinping and Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) members Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, and Yu Zhengsheng. Netizens are going after the egregious Photoshopping of Li Keqiang, glaring omissions from Yu Zhengsheng's story, and an outlandish statement attributed to Zhang. - Li Keqiang + PS (李克强+PS): "PS" can mean "Photoshop" or "to Photoshop." A 2004 image of Li accompanying his profile is clearly Photoshopped.
- Xinhua + PS (新华社+PS)
- Yu Zhengsheng + older brother (俞正声+哥哥): Yu Qiangsheng's defection to the United States in 1986 has become a hot topic following the release of the Yu Zhengsheng profile.
- Yu Zhengsheng + family (俞正声+家族)
- Veggie chicken (素鸡): "Fish Veggie Chicken" emerged as a nickname for Yu Zhengsheng during his tenure as Party secretary of Shanghai. The nickname alludes to "Secretary Yu" (俞书记) pronounced in a Shanghai accent. "Fish Veggie Chicken" was first blocked in early September, when word that Yu could be nominated to the PSC began to circulate.
- Zhang Dejiang + power car (张德江+动车): Power cars are used in high-speed trains. The Xinhua profile of Zhang states that after the July 2011 high-speed rail crash in Wenzhou, Zhang "gave a clear instruction that no one should bury the wreckage." Church of Almighty God: Authorities continue the crackdown on this cult, which saw a resurgence of activity around Mayan "Doomsday" predictions.
- Almighty God (全能神)
- Real God (实际神)
- Eastern Lightening (东方闪电) Other:
- seven Standing Committee members (七常委)
- often atrophy (常萎 cháng wěi): Sounds the same as "Standing Committee members" (常委)
- long atophy (长萎): Same as above.
- elders (长老): Refers to the PSC.
- River Elegy (河殇): The groundbreaking 1988 CCTV documentary about the decline of Chinese civilization. All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results. CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese's latest sensitive words post. You can see all of CDT's collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.
© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blocked words, censored words, censorship, church of almighty god, filtered words, high-speed rail crash, Internet censorship, leadership transition, Li Keqiang, Ministry of Truth, Photoshop, Politburo Standing Committee, River Elegy, sensitive words, sina weibo, weibo, Xinhua, Yu Qiangsheng, Yu Zhengsheng, zhang dejiang
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| Chinese Scholars Test the New Leadership's Will to Political Reform Posted: 28 Dec 2012 07:25 AM PST More than 70 Chinese scholars and legal experts co-signed a petition urging the new Chinese Communist Party leaders to reform according to the existing Chinese Constitution. Many believe that the moderate reform gesture is to test the CCP new leadership's will to political reform. The petition, titled An Initiative on Reform Consensus (《改革共识倡议书》), was released on December 25, 2012 by prominent legal expert, Zhang Qianfan, who drafted the document, via his micro-blog at Sina. However, it was deleted after retweeting more than 2000 times. Proposals presented in the petition [zh] include: Petition for reform according to the Constitution  The Constitution of the People Republic of China. Public Domain Image. 1. rule according to the constitution that provides a framework for the separation of the power between party legislators and party leaders, intra-party democracy, balance of power and transparency.
2. bottom up democratic election for people's representatives
3. protect freedom of expression, press, assembly and demonstration.
4. deepen market reform, establish a fair wealth redistribution mechanism and prevent forced land acquisition.
5. judiciary independence and rule of law and prevent party committee members from intervening in the judicial process. Testing the new leadership's reform attitude In Sina Weibo, the biggest but most heavily censored micro-blogging platform, the majority of the responses to the petition are quite positive [zh]: 左志坚：看了那份改革共识倡议书，内容非常平和，也有可操作性，当然内容也并不新颖。但这个东西最大的价值不是内容，而是签名和公开呼吁这一行动。从这个角度，我认为这些公知的努力是有价值的。价值的大小与公众的呼应成正比。
左志坚: Upon reading the petition on reform consensus, I find the content very moderate and it is operational. Of course it is not innovative. The value of it is not in its content, but in the collective action of making a public call. From such perspective, the public intellectuals' initiative is valuable. The public support will give it more value.
黎勇02: 这是一份非常温和、理性的改良建议，可就是这份倡议书，别说被高层接受，连在网络上发出来都被一删再删。改良派终有一天也会失去耐性，对改良完全失望。
黎勇02: This is a very moderate, rational and reformative recommendation document. But the censorship machine keeps deleting it, it is very unlikely that the high level leaders will accept the suggestions. The moderate reformers may lose their patience one day and give up the approach of reform from within.
武汉茶山刘：这…这…这…这是微薄上书么？这篇文章值得一读，多了理性，少了激进，很好！江平老先生都出动了，我觉得要是把姜明安教授也拉上就更好了，懂？
武汉茶山刘：This is petition [to the emperor] via Weibo? The article is worth reading. More rational, less radical. Good. Even old scholar like Jiang Ping [the former principal of Chinese University of Political Science and Law] has signed the petition. Should get [Beijing University] Law Professor Jiang Mingan involved, know what I mean?
物必先腐而后虫生2012: 内容很好很理性，俺朝大人听得进？中山上书李鸿章，后被逼疯去买枪！！！！
物必先腐而后虫生2012: The content is very rational. Wonder if the officials of the current dynasty will listen. Sun Yat-sen [Father of the Republic of China] once wrote a petition to Li Hongzhang [top official in Qing Dynasty], he got crazy [his proposal was rejected] and decided to buy guns instead [lead the Chinese Revolution].
Bow to one party dictatorship? On Twitter, a blocked social media platform where dissent voices prevail, many believe that the petition is too mild. A number of the 72 initiators have also co-signed the Charter 08 drafted by Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo that calls for constitutional reform to end the one-party dictatorship. Many Chinese dissidents are not happy about their positional change: Beijing intellectual Su Yutong [zh] recalled an incident back in 2008: 2008年秋，贺卫方在三味书屋演讲，过道都是粉丝和拥趸者，台上神采飞扬，台下喝彩声一片。刘晓波在快结束时出现，与贺会合。王仲夏后来说这可能是商量《零八宪章》联署一事。四年多过去，刘晓波失去自由也四年多了，贺师从站姿到跪姿，成为"改革共识倡议书"主要联名人之一，狱中刘晓波情何以堪。
In 2008 autumn time, He Weifang had a talk at San Wei Bookstore. Many fans and followers were present. He was talking with high emotion and people were cheering down the stage. Liu Xiaobo appeared near the end of his talk and joined He. Wang Zhongxia later explained that it was the occasion when they discussed the 08 Charter. Four years have passed and Liu has lost his freedom for four years. Teacher He has changed his position from standing to kneeling in co-signing An Initiative on Reform Consensus. I wonder how Liu Xiaobo feels in prison.
Independent scholar Mo Zhixu is disappointed with the initiators' bowing gesture: 看到一份改革共识倡议书，醉眼朦胧中，从字缝中看出几个字：我不是反贼。。。。
With a sense of drunkenness, between the lines of the reform consensus petition, I see some words: I am not anti [CCP] bandits.
WuyouLan echoed Mo Zhixu: 《零八宪章》有很大毛病，但不失一个民间的、革命的东西。而《改革共识倡议书》是搞笑版的、反面的零八宪章。它完全是跪求中共改良，丧失人伦底线。
Charter 08 has some problems, but it is initiated by the civil society and its proposal is revolutionary. An Initiative on Reform Consensus is a mockery of Charter 08. It bows to the CCP, begging for reform. It has no moral baseline.
Ptog on the other hand believes that the moderate position is a calculated strategy: 2012年的《改革共识倡议书》相对于《08宪章》而言，把握住了中共最高领导权交接，新领导层向外部释放善意的有利时机，克制了表达冲动，将内容完全限制在82宪法框架之内，并未冲击中共的宪法当中的执政地位，并且参与的人员都是在公共领域有话语空间的知识份子，与异议特征明显的人群刻意切割。
When compared with Charter 08, the 2012 An Initiative on Reform Consensus is taking the opportunity of the transition of CCP's leadership, a time for the new leaders to show their openness to their alliances. That's why the initiators of the petition have restrained their reform suggestions within the framework of the 1982 revised constitution and do not challenge the ruling status of the CCP. The initiators are leading intellectuals in the public sphere, they intentionally detached themselves from the dissidents.
Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0)
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| What Lies Ahead for China in 2013? Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:33 AM PST |
| Photo: Jiuzhaigou Valley, by Jeriff Cheng Posted: 28 Dec 2012 12:18 AM PST |
| Changes and Challenges for China in 2013 Posted: 27 Dec 2012 11:56 PM PST In the wake of a leadership transition and at the end of an erratic year – full of scandalous political plummets, diplomacy-testing activist escapes and enflamed nationalism, one can only wonder what will come in 2013. Time will tell, but informed analysts can offer us clues as we wait. As 2012 winds to an end, fellows from the Council on Foreign Relations predict the changes and challenges to come in 2013: This October, China's Eighteenth National Congress ushered in a new generation of leaders that will set the agenda for the second-largest economy in the world, provoking myriad questions about what we'll see out of the country in the coming year. CFR's Adam Segal predicts continued international concern for China's cyber policy, while CFR's Elizabeth C. Economy weighs its challenges of keeping "foreign policy front and center" against a heavy list of domestic concerns. Claremont McKenna's Minxin Pei adds that China will be forced to respond to calls for greater political openness, facing a delicate balancing act. CFR's Yanzhong Huang points out that despite China's highly publicized health-care achievements, reform hasn't fundamentally solved the problem of access and affordability.
Since Xi Jinping took the reins as CCP general secretary, domestic policy has been front and center: we have seen a symbolic trip to the south emphasize the leader's commitment to economic reform, and have heard the powerful princeling identify the eradication of party corruption as a major policy goal. Also in question are the prospects for political reform – potentially divisive as the influence of previous party leadership lingers. A reform-minded new leader and an anti-corruption campaign both made Sinocism curator Bill Bishop's list of "8 Trends to Keep an Eye On" in 2013, published at the NY Times' Dealbook blog: NEW LEADER Xi Jinping has moved quickly in his first three weeks to project an image of change. The government faces a growing expectations gap with its citizens and needs to rebuild public confidence. Mr. Xi is talking a lot about the Chinese dream and the "great renewal of the Chinese nation" — nationalist concepts with significant appeal. Mr. Xi's choice of Shenzhen for his first domestic inspection trip is a symbolic tribute to Deng Xiaoping's 1992 southern tour that restarted reforms after 1989. Mr. Xi's visit is most likely a signal that he is serious about pushing forward with changes. Expect renewed energy around overhauls, primarily economic and administrative but possibly some political ones. CRACKDOWN ON CORRUPTION The new leadership has begun a public crackdown on corruption. One relatively senior official and several minor officials have already fallen. Internet exposés brought down the minor officials, but there are reports that the Communist Party's central disciplinary inspection commission has started new investigations into money laundering through Macau. Expect this antigraft campaign to ensnare more senior officials and to be the most effective in recent memory, yet ultimately stop short of addressing the systemic issues that have allowed corruption to flourish.
There are those, including CFR's Elizabeth C. Economy and Bill Bishop above, who stress the importance of China's foreign policy in the year to come. CNBC talked to Daniel Franklin, editor of The Economist's "The World in 2013": The relationship between China's new leader Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama "is absolutely the crucial one now for global politics," Franklin tells The Daily Ticker. Franklin says both men need to keep U.S.-China trade flowing. China is the second largest trading partner of the U.S. Last year $503 billion worth of goods were exchanged between the two countries. 80% of those items were U.S. imports from China. Franklin says both countries also need to work on resolving disputes between China and other countries over ownership of islands in the South China Sea. Many of those countries, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines, are allies of the U.S. "This is something that has to be handled, adjusted to, and it will be awkward, no doubt about it," says Franklin.
China's English-language press also offers us a forecast into the Year of the Water Snake. Xinhua describes rural development efforts to be expected in 2013, and the Global Times cites World Bank data predicting that GDP growth, which fell in 2012, will rebound: The World Bank raised its 2013 economic growth forecast for China Wednesday, citing the government's fiscal stimulus plans and faster approval of large investment projects. China's growth is projected to recover in 2013 to 8.4 percent due to the combination of monetary easing, local government fiscal stimulus, accelerated approval of investment projects and an upswing in the business cycle, the World Bank said in its East Asia and Pacific Economic Update published Wednesday. The bank also forecast that growth will reach 7.9 percent for 2012, significantly down from 9.3 percent in 2011.
For more on the economic front, Bloomberg reports that China plans to increase its budget deficit by 50 percent in 2013, which could help to boost urbanization and consumer demand. Next year may also bring further changes to China's role in the global economy. While foreign firms invested 3.6 percent less in China compared to last year, Chinese firms invested 25 percent more abroad. Chinese FDI has long landed primarily in the developing world, but firms are also beginning to invest seriously in developed countries. Forbes predicts that this trend will continue, and identifies 13 Chinese companies that will "go global" in 2013: Chinese foreign direct investment has long been characterized as focusing on securing raw materials in emerging markets like Africa and Latin America. But as the list of the top 13 Chinese companies going global below demonstrates, this is no longer the case. Chinese investment continues in strategic natural resources like oil and gas; however, companies in industries ranging from consumer electronics, entertainment, athletic apparel and even luxury boating are all pushing beyond the borders of the Middle Kingdom. Through expansion overseas, they aim to gain access to new distribution channels, international managers, brand recognition and technological expertise in global markets. While some of the names appearing on the top 13 for 2013 are well on their way to becoming househould names, a few of the others may come as a surprise…
© josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 18th party congress, 2013, economic growth, economic reform, Internet regulation, leadership transition, political reform, predictions, technology, Xi Jinping, year end lists 2012
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| Tocqueville French Revolution Classic on China's Bestsellers List Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:42 PM PST Thanks to China's top officials, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville's "The Old Regime and the Revolution", a 19th-century classic about the French revolution, has become a best seller in China. According to a report on Business Week [zh], after Chinese Communist Party Vice Premier Wang Qishan highly recommended this book, it sold out in many bookstores in Beijing. Chong Ming, a history professor who studies Alexis de Tocqueville explained [zh]: Many civil servants read it just to follow leaders' interests. In China, officials have a big influence on the political culture.
Why did Chinese officials suggest this classic on the subject of revolution? Scholars started heated discussions on the Chinese social media and blogosphere.  French classic The Old Regime and the Revolution has become the best seller in China. A search of "The Old Regime and the Revolution" on Weibo yields 235,416 results, crackling with quotes from the book: Democracy extends the sphere of individual freedom, socialism restricts it. Democracy attaches all possible value to each man, socialism makes each man a mere agent, a mere number. Democracy and socialism have nothing in common but one word: equality. But notice the difference: while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint and servitude.
Great revolutions that have happened historically, such as violent revolutions, did not occur during a time of poverty. They occurred when economic situations brought polarization to society. This is because at times like these, conflict between social classes is incited. It is easy for those in the bottom classes of the society to turn the flames of their anger into flames of war.
Some scholars think that the social background at the time of French Revolution is very similar to the conditions in today's China. Chong Ming said [zh] Like then in France, China has been through a lot of wars and revolutions in the past, now China is experiencing a transitional period with a centralized power and booming economy. Perhaps this is why the book has touched the nerves of Chinese leaders. I think they are not recommending this book to express their opinions against the reform, because if they thought the book is just about the danger of reform, they would censor it. It is more likely that they try to make people realize the necessity of reform: it is not to be delayed, otherwise, we will face great danger. To some extent, reform is the best way to avoid revolution.
One netizen echoed on Weibo: 银幕街一号 : 想起《旧制度与大革命》一书，当中对大革命前法国的社会冲突及其发展过程的描写，有太多的地方，如果去掉"法国"两个字，活脱就是中国社会现实的高像素图片。甚至于，由于物质条件的提升和财富数量的增加，无知、自大、贪欲和荒淫、无耻、堕落，比起昔日大革命前的法国社会来说，简直有过之而无不及。
银幕街一号 : In the book "The Old Regime and the Revolution," the description of the social conflict in France before the revolution and its development is a lot similar to today's China. If they remove the word "France", it's like a high resolution picture of Chinese society. Due to the improvement of material life and increase in wealth, the amount of ignorance, arrogance, greediness, dissolution, shamelessness and depravity compared to the old days before the revolution in France is simply greater.
Some scholars think that the book foreshadows contemporary China. Prof. Chu Jianguo from Wu Han University said: 武汉大学教授储建国：其实托克维尔探讨的问题是为什么以自由为目的的革命让人们丧失了更多的自由？读这本书，我们要意识到行政集权制度对于优良治理的危险性，同时更要意识到腐败的行政集权制度会导致治理溃败。
Tocqueville discusses: why do people lose more freedom after a revolution that is meant to gain more freedom? The book reminds us of the danger of centralized power, it also reminds us that corruption will lead to failure.
Commentator Cao Yun wrote: 会不会是高层预感到近似玉石俱焚的法国大革命的大规模群体性事件随时都会爆发，借读书发出警示，让全社会早作防备，把托克维尔的《旧制度与大革命》当做一面镜子，防患于未然呢？即使是这个用意也不算坏，这表明在我们这个社会上下都是清醒的，并没有被所谓的"黄金十年"的幻象所迷惑。
Is it because the top officials predict that a similar large-scale incident like the French Revolution will break out in China anytime? So they use the book as a warning to the whole society? Perhaps Tocqueville's "The Old Regime and the Revolution" serves as a mirror? Even so, this is not a bad intention, as it suggests that the leaders are clear-headed and that they are not fooled by the illusion of the so-called "ten golden years" in the past decade.
Commentator Chen Hu explained: 告诫提示一方面是针对各级官员的，如果缺乏危机感，"中国式大革命"同样会在不经意中存在爆发可能性，其针革命的对象会是各级官员。因此，不让民众革官员的命，就必须统一思想，回到坚定推进市场化的经济改革和法治化。告诫提示另一方面是针对全社会的，对于自由和民主的追求，不能一蹴而就，法国大革命后雅各宾专政时期实行的"激进的人民民主"在中国的 "文化大革命"中已有过充分的表现。中国所要选择的民主，应是在中国共产党领导下逐步实行宪政民主。
On the one hand the warning is for officials at all levels: without a sense of crisis, "the Chinese Revolution" might take place. The only way to prevent this is to promote market-oriented economic reform and the rule of law. On the other hand, the warning is for the society as a whole: the pursuit of freedom and democracy can not be done overnight. After the French Revolution the Jacobin dictatorship of "radical people's democracy" can be found in China's "Cultural Revolution". China's democracy should be realized step by step under the Chinese Communist Party.
Another commentator Nan Manzi concludes [zh]: 其实，与其听其言，不如观其行。
It's better to watch what they actually do than to listen to what they say and try to guess what it means.
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| International Fast Food Chains Involved in China's Chicken Scandal Posted: 27 Dec 2012 08:41 PM PST State broadcaster China Central Television recently exposed that at least two chicken suppliers for American, Japanese and Taiwanese fast-food chains fed their chickens excessive hormones and 18 different types of antibiotics, to make "instant chickens" that grow from 30 grams to 3.5kg within 40 days. The fast-food chains involved in the food safety scandal are KFC and McDonalds from the USA, Yoshinoya from Japan and Yonghe King from Taiwan. Currently, China is the biggest market for the fast-food industry. KFC, a chain of the Yum! Brands, currently receives 44% of its annual revenue from China, and has become the main target in this drug-fed chicken scandal. According to the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration's report [zh], between 2010 and 2011, among the 19 food samples provided by the Yum! Brands, eight failed antibiotics safety tests.  Animal rights photo by flickr user, Shira Golding (CC: BY-NC) Since the Chinese people are used to all kinds of toxic food scandals, most of them just feel frustrated about the overall situation. Sarcastic remarks [zh] like the followings are rather common: 美丽人生2673263427：我很幸运，吃过瘦肉精，喝过三聚氰胺，皮鞋胶囊，假的药，人造鸡蛋，速生鸡，塑化酒，，，，，一般的毒我已习惯，望猛烈的产品结束我的幸运生涯
美丽人生2673263427：I am so lucky. I have tasted Ractopamine meat, Melamine milk, capsules made from wasted leather shoes, fake medicine, artificial eggs, fast-growing chicken, plasticizer wine… I am used to all things toxic. Looking forward to more poison to eventually end my luck.
库洪哈密瓜：以后生病了不用买药了，直接吃只鸡腿就行了。
库洪哈密瓜：In the future, when we are ill, we won't need to buy medicine, a chicken leg will do.
As the scandal involves foreign fast-food chains, which are considered more reliable in food safety control when compared with local restaurants, some nationalistic commentators took the opportunity to attack foreign brands. At the same time, there are also counter-arguments saying that local authorities should take the blame. Below is a selection of comments [zh] from an ifeng.com news thread: Weirdo_Hai：希望肯德基这种暴力黑企业能早日退出中国市场
Weirdo_Hai：I wish evil corporations like KFC would leave China's market immediately.
易租易购_以租代购_以租代售：还吃肯德基吗？事实证明洋快餐同样会为了利益入乡随俗，在监管不力违法成本低廉的地方，任何企业都有可能以身试法。
易租易购_以租代购_以租代售：Can we still eat at KFC? It is now proven that foreign fast-food chain also follow our customs. In a country where there is little monitor and the cost of unlawful behavior is so low, any corporation will test the legal line.
璐瑶谣：关闭这些洋拉圾店，多开北方大饼店，至少富一群下岗人。
璐瑶谣：Shut down all these foreign junk food stores. Open more local Chinese pizza shops, the fortune will then go to the unemployed.
g老三：毒鸡横行，相关部门到那里去了？肯德基是个企业，难道也要自己成立个食品检疫局？
g老三：Toxic chickens are everywhere, where are our monitoring authorities? KFC is just a corporation should it set up its own quality supervision, inspection and quarantine department?
木小兔向前冲：树大招风，不吃肯德基，其他餐饮业的鸡难道就能放心吃吗？？
木小兔向前冲：Big tree attracts wind. If we can't eat KFC, can we trust other restaurants?
秦大勇Y：市场上卖的鸡就安全？中国供应商也不是好东西，尤其是政府监管睁一只眼闭一只眼，你敢说他们不知道？
秦大勇Y：Are the chicken in the open market safe? The Chinese suppliers are the ones to blame. The government is not consistent in monitoring food safety, do you believe that the authorities are really ignorant of such practice?
Other netizens have developed conspiracy theories out of the scandal [zh]: 即墨雅泰侯屹：肯德基速生鸡的养殖方式至少在中国存在10年了，缘何今天才被央视报道？有人一语道破天机：广告！2013年肯德基不准备在央视做广告了。2011年以前双汇在央视一直投放广告多年，于是什么问题也没有发现，而当决定不投放广告了，结果就出事了。
即墨雅泰侯屹：The practice of KFC chicken farms has been existed in China for at least 10 years. Why has CCTV picked up the news today? Some revealed the answer: Advertisement. KFC plans to stop its advertisement on CCTV. Same thing happened to Shuanghui, before it stopped advertising on CCTV there was no news on the company's food safety problem. As soon as the company stopped advertising on [CCTV], the scandal broke out.
楚奇文kevin：我觉得吧，其实白羽鸡，速生鸡什么的都是多少年公开秘密了。全世界都是这么养殖的，曝光主要是针对白胜公司。针对美帝，因为美帝最近搞过我国企中石油啊，华为啊，中兴啊什么的。赤果果的报复！
楚奇文kevin：Actually, white feather chicken or the fast-growing chicken are open secrets for many years. Chickens are raised like that all over the world. The news is meant to scandalize the Yum! Brand and attack the US imperial power. Recently the US government has been giving Chinese companies a difficult time, look at the scandals around CNPC, Huawei, and ZTE Corporation. This is obviously revenge.
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