Links » Crème » Mid-Week Links, Part 2: Retired CCP members ask for Zhou Yongkang and Liu Yunshan to resign, Salman Rushdie on censorship, and “anti-cult month”

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• Mid-Week Links, Part 2: Retired CCP members ask for Zhou Yongkang and Liu Yunshan to resign, Salman Rushdie on censorship, and “anti-cult month”
• Top Ten Search List (May 16)
• Mid-Week Links, Part 1: Gary Locke still endearing himself, adventures with baijiu, and actually uplifting stories from China
• Midnight In Peking, Murder In Beijing
• Today’s China Readings May 16, 2012
• Today’s China Readings May 11, 2012
• Top 10 Search List (May 10)
• Today’s China Readings May 10, 2012
• Mid-Week Links: CGC, Huntsman, Melissa Chan, and Chinese lawyer sues makers of Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days

Mid-Week Links, Part 2: Retired CCP members ask for Zhou Yongkang and Liu Yunshan to resign, Salman Rushdie on censorship, and “anti-cult month” Posted: 16 May 2012 09:35 AM PDT Via the Beijinger It was the 46th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution yesterday. With that in mind, Part 2 of the Mid-Week links. Big news of the moment: "In a rare sign of open opposition against two of China's most powerful leaders, a group of retired Communist Party members have called for the resignation of the country's security boss, Zhou Yongkang, and a top propaganda official, Liu Yunshan." [NY Times] Salman Rushdie on censorship. "The Ministry of Truth in present-day China has successfully persuaded a very large part of the Chinese public that the heroes of Tiananmen Square were actually villains bent on the destruction of the nation. This is the final victory of the censor: When people, even people who know they are routinely lied to, cease to be able to imagine what is really the case." [The New Yorker] About that anniversary. "Lest we forget, today, May 16, is the 46th anniversary of the kickoff of the Cultural Revolution. On his Sina Weibo this morning, renowned scholar and social justice activist Yu Jianrong called for May 16 to be designated a day of reflection. My first exposure to anything about the Cultural revolution came during third year Chinese at the Middlebury summer program in 1988 (yes, that old), when we were reading the May 16 Notice aloud and after a classmate made a mistake the teacher, a Beijinger, corrected him and then proceeded to recite the next three pages, all while writing something else on the blackboard." [Sinocism] The Atlantic is running an ongoing series called "China Takes Off," with enough content to compile into a book. Also, James Fallows remains pretty awesome. [The Atlantic] Some perspective on the China-Philippines kerfuffle. "Alas, Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher who coined the term politika, or politics, would undoubtedly have reacted with a decisive face-palm upon hearing of such infantile political brawls. The 'I saw it first' mentality is not only foolish and untenable, but also potentially catastrophic if adopted by superpowers such as China." [Daniele Pestilli, Tea Leaf Nation] In the "who knew?" department: this month is anti-cult month in Beijing. "Beijing will focus work on promoting the 'families say no to cults' campaign in the city's 'anti-cult educational month,' according to a press release-like article in yesterday's Beijing Evening News." [Global Times, via China Hearsay] China's wasting its time. "At an official Hong Kong banquet in 2007, Chinese President Hu Jintao called for a renewed push to teach children in the city about the 'great tradition of loving the motherland.' // Such a national education plan, later backed by Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang, was immediately decried by many who worry about the mainland exerting growing influence over the former British colony that returned to Chinese sovereignty in 1997 under 'one country, two systems.'" [Wall Street Journal] "100 Flowers Campaign": "'The officers will then scrutinize the complete documents for some time, before announcing that there is a big problem,' promised Beijing public security spokesman Wen Ping. 'Tt'll be just like you're authentically Chinese.'" [China Daily Show] Rapping in Beijing: S.T.I.C.S. featuring PJ interlude: Finally… Caixin's photo slideshow of foreigners had to include a family of black people being scoped by cops, eh? [Caixin, via Reddit] Another Ferrari dust-up, this time in Singapore, involving a Chinese driver. [Shanghaiist]

Top Ten Search List (May 16) Posted: 16 May 2012 05:45 AM PDT Judging by his face, Justice Bao is too busy for this top 10 real-time search list, recorded today at 2:53PM. 1. 缴费缴到老死 jiǎofèi jiǎo dào lǎosǐ – Widespread concern has set in over a new health insurance scheme recently issued by the Shenzhen municipal government, which includes the following provision regarding endowment insurance: "Senior citizens can enjoy insured medical benefits without paying social security fees…only after a minimum of 25 years of retirement." Though Shenzhen's Social Security Administration has publicly addressed the ensuing uproar, calling it all a misunderstanding, "social security payments until death" has nevertheless clung tenaciously to its number one spot on the search list. Here's the story in Chinese. 2. 360用户特供手机 360 yònghù tègōng shǒujī – All of the Chinese Internet giants are making their way into the smartphone business, and Chinese anti-virus software developer Qihoo 360 has just joined the race. Here's the story in Chinese, and here's a story in English. 3. 敌敌畏储存生姜 dídíwèi chǔcún shēngjiāng – The recent unpleasant surprise (?) over formaldehyde-tainted Chinese cabbage in Qingzhou, Shandong province is apparently just the beginning of a series of food-safety violations in the area, known as one of China's major "vegetable centers." A reporter visiting the region this weekend discovered that some farmers have been preserving their ginger crops by spraying them with Dichlorvos, or "DDVP," a highly volatile organophosphate widely used as an insecticide to control household pests. Here's the story in Chinese. 4. 孔菁萍 Kǒng Jīngpíng – At Taiwanese socialite Kong Chingping's fortieth birthday party, she and Taiwanese television hostess and actress Alyssa Chia announced in front of a large crowd of celebrity friends that since Chia's divorce from ex-husband Sun Zhihao in 2010, the two women have been in a serious romantic relationship. The "scandal" has been catching readers' eyes all day; the headline of a related article, which reads, "Was Alyssa Chia Just Drunk? Kong Chingping 'The Man' Disappoints Fans" is in itself a disappointment. Here's the story in Chinese. 5. 李小璐助理打记者 Lǐ Xiǎolù zhùlǐ dǎ jìzhě – At a press conference yesterday for the popular Chinese TV drama "The Happy Life of the Golden Wolf," Song Dandan and Li Xiaolu, who play a mother daughter pair on the show, were discussing their sisterly relationship off set, and brought up one episode of "Golden Wolf" in which the boyfriend of Li Xiaolu's character addresses Song Dangdang's character as "Mom" the first time he meets her in person. When one reporter at the press conference posed a benignly cheeky question—namely, "Did Li's real-life fiancé, actor Jia Nailiang, do the same thing when he met her real-life mother?"—Li's female assistant went inexplicably berserk and physically attacked the unsuspecting journalist, apparently to defend the honor of her mistress? Following the scuffle, Li Xiaolu posted a public apology on her Sina Weibo microblog. Here's the story in Chinese. 6. 人没死不能算工伤 rén méi sǐ bùnéng suàn gōngshāng – "If they don't die, it's not a work injury": Migrant worker Liu Gan was sent by Zhongxing Labor Company to Weinan, Shaanxi to work on a construction site, where only a few days into the job a defunct cement mixer threw him into the air, leaving him severely crippled and in dire need of surgery. Though Liu did get some treatment, he left the hospital still unable to walk, and continued to struggle with Zhongxing over proper compensation. One morning after Liu and his wife had spent the night camped outside of the Zhongxing offices, a group of four unidentified men dragged Liu, left temporarily unattended, and left him in a pile of garbage behind the Weinan Public Security Bureau. When reporters finally got a hold of Zhongxing, a spokesperson denied the company's connection to the four men, and claimed that compensation had been dealt with fairly. When asked if Zhongxing had ever signed a formal labor contract with Liu, the reply was that the labor contractor and the worker were from the same hometown, so it "wasn't necessary." Here's the story in Chinese. 7. 包大人很忙 bāo dàrén hěn máng – "Justice Bao is Very Busy": for some background, earlier this spring, "Du Fu is Very Busy" was one of the top ten trending topics on Sina Weibo for a long stretch. Du Fu, a prominent Tang dynasty Poet, is a household name for anyone who has attended primary school in China, and on the eve of his 1300th birthday one image of him reading a book inspired a memetic photo-shopping frenzy: netizens began to manipulate a classic portrait of the poet, donning him in the clothes of Pirates-of-the-Carribbean era Johnny Depp, or replacing his head with that of Premier Wen Jiabao's, and supplementing their creations with stories of the "busy schedule" of each alternate universe Du Fu. Now, the same ègǎo (used to describe Internet parody) blueprint has struck again, this time in the form of a meme based on the legendary Song Dynasty official Bao Qingtian, a symbol of justice in China and the protagonist of several Chinese TV dramas over the years (i.e: a gold mine of farce-worthy video stills). In all of his TV incarnations, Justice Bao has been portrayed as having dark skin, which is a detail that many of the jokes seem to be fixating on… definitely a discussion in itself, for another time. Here's the story in Chinese. 8. 幼师体罚男童 yòushī tǐfá nántóng – On the afternoon of May 14th, after a video documenting a kindergarten teacher beating one of her male students was posted on Sina Weibo, netizens initiated a "human flesh search" (rénròusōusuǒ) and successfully tracked down the teacher and school where she works in Jinan, Shandong. In the 24 hours since the video first began to circulate, the school has already admitted to the incident and fired the teacher from her post. Here's the story in Chinese. 9. 巧家强行征地 qiǎojiā qiángxíng zhēngdì – Five days ago a deadly explosion went off in a local government building in Qiaojia, Yunnan, where land expropriation disputes between locals and government officials are becoming increasingly tense. Though police have blamed the explosion on a farmer named Zhao Dengyong, who died in the blast, netizens and journalists are starting to think he may be a scapegoat, as only three media outlets released related videos and no persuasive evidence has been presented publicly, other than materials intended to highlight Zhao's "pessimistic worldview" and his "desire to take out his revenge on society." Here's the story in Chinese. 10. 朱育英 Zhū Yùyīng - Zhu Yuying, deputy director of the Municipal People's Congress of Maoming, Guangdong province, was tried yesterday in an intermediate court for accepting over 13 million RMB in bribes over the course of his term in office in return for various cadre promotions and appointments, construction projects, and other "favors." Here's the story in Chinese. READ MORE

Mid-Week Links, Part 1: Gary Locke still endearing himself, adventures with baijiu, and actually uplifting stories from China Posted: 16 May 2012 04:04 AM PDT Via China Media Project, featuring a cute essay by third-grader Yang Zhimei about the above photo. There were so many reads from the past two days that these Mid-Week Links will be presented in two parts. In this first part: Monday night to Tuesday afternoon (mostly) links. Beijing Daily has not had a good week. "Responding yesterday to a Weibo post suggesting Gary Locke is among America's super-rich and that his common-man antics in Beijing are just a 'show,' Beijing Daily wrote on its official Sina Weibo account: 'Won't Gary Locke please disclose his personal assets. 请骆家辉公布财产.' // Oops. // Chinese users pounced on this post this morning, pointing out with no small measure of schadenfreude that U.S. politicians all had to disclose their personal assets, and that these figures were publicly available on the internet for the convenience of all citizens." [China Media Project] [Tea Leaf Nation] A man who has taken it upon himself to drink baijiu as an experiment miraculously remains alive. "In regards to toxicity, I can anecdotally confirm the surprising findings of the mouse hangover experiment ­– I have rarely had hangovers on nights when I drink nothing but water and baijiu, and neither my travel companion nor I had a single hangover on our trip around China until we hit huangjiu country in east China…. Since starting my experiment, the only time I've ever vomited while drinking baijiu was while consuming fake Maotai, and I don't boot without a fight." [300 Shots at Greatness] This is nice. Please don't let there be an "other shoe" that reveals this to be a publicity stunt. "On May 11, a post from netizen 一Buddy一 calling for help mobilized Weibo users from around the world. The SOS message goes: 'I need to ask all of you for a favor. My grandpa is severely ill and, according to the doctors, doesn't have much time to live. He hasn't been to many places in his life, nor does he have much time to do so now. I painted a portrayal of him. If you could, please print it out or show it on computer screens and take it out to shoot a picture with it at where you are.'" [Offbeat China] Corollary, from above link: "Story of my father driving a taxi:Yesterday afternoon, a blind man got into my father's taxi from Meijing (a big residential district in Tianjin). When he got off, the fare totaled 11.4 yuan. My father helped him into the building and told him: 'I won't charge you for your ride because I earn money a bit easier than you do.' When my father walked out of the community, another middle-aged man got in and wanted to go to Zhongshan Gate. His fare was 14.5. My father and he had very pleasant chats on the way. When the man got off, he handed over 30 yuan to my father and said: 'I'm not a great man, either, but like you said, I earn money a bit easier than you do. Hope you keep doing good.'" Review of CT501, China's first home video game console. "Exceeding all of my wildest expectations by just working, the CT510 is a very impressive first for a no name Chinese company trying to make a name for themselves. Unfortunately for eedoo its 3,799 RMB (600 USD) price tag really kills it." [Kotaku] Physicists at Shanghai's University of Science and Technology of China claim to have "teleported" a photon more than 60 miles (97 km). "Quantum teleportation, which has been around since 1997, is a little different than what you see in sci-fi movies. Considered "one of the holy grails of practical quantum communication," as the scientists write in their abstract, teleportation is the ability to essentially move one object from one place to another without traversing the space in between. But as Forbes explains, the actual object is not moving from point A to point B. Rather, the distant photon mirrors the information contained by the original photon, essentially becoming an identical twin." [Time] Three illegals: "The police have announced they will go after foreign nationals who are 1) in the country illegally, 2) remaining illegally, or 3) working illegally. They call such foreigners 'san fei' foreigners, or 三非外国人, meaning 'three illegals.'" [Tea Leaf Nation] Party > law. Questions? "In considering the possibility that Chinese criminal law might be invoked to punish misconduct in either case, it would a mistake to think of China's legal institutions as a 'legal system.' Legal institutions in China, especially the criminal law, are part of a political system that ultimately directs their application and their use. They are essentially grounded on the dominant notion that law is to be used to keep the Party in power." [Stanley Lubman, Wall Street Journal] Your biking through Shanghai interlude: [Sinostand] Finally… Dalai Lama wins Templeton prize. [Christian-Science Monitor] A boobs-less recap of the Beijing Auto Show. [ChinaBizGov] Chen Guangcheng's supporters still in trouble. [China Digital Times]

Midnight In Peking, Murder In Beijing Posted: 16 May 2012 01:53 AM PDT I highly recommend Paul French's book "Midnight In Peking" about the 1937 murder of a young British woman. There have been far too many reviews for me to have anything interesting to add so I will just recommend this one from USA Today. "Midnight In Peking" has made the New York Times bestseller list and the production company behind Spooks has bought the TV rights. So what is the book about? From the blurb: Peking in 1937 is a heady mix of privilege and scandal, opulence and opium dens, rumors and superstition. The Japanese are encircling the city, and the discovery of Pamela Werner's body sends a shiver through already nervous Peking. Is it the work of a madman? One of the ruthless Japanese soldiers now surrounding the city? Or perhaps the dreaded fox spirits? With the suspect list growing and clues sparse, two detectives—one British and one Chinese—race against the clock to solve the crime before the Japanese invade and Peking as they know it is gone forever. Can they find the killer in time, before the Japanese invade? Historian and China expert Paul French at last uncovers the truth behind this notorious murder, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking. While I was reading "Midnight In Peking" I vaguely remembered reading about the 2006 murder of a beautiful young Italian woman in Beijing. Paola Sandri, a 28 year old graduate student on a short-term teaching assignment in Beijing, was brutally killed just south of Chaoyang Park, near the gate of the Beijing Art Academy (北京画院; Map), in the early morning hours of July 25. There were rumors of darker forces involved in the crime, and at least one Chinese Internet post claims Chinese men driving a Mercedes may have been involved. The Beijing police have not solved the case and it appears that her parents have been unable to pursue justice, unlike Pamela Werner's father. Perhaps Paul French wants to write a sequel and can turn his prodigious investigative skills to the Sandri case and help bring closure to this tragedy? In the meantime, "Midnight In Peking" is well worth a read.

Today’s China Readings May 16, 2012 Posted: 15 May 2012 05:49 PM PDT The rhetoric may have cooled slightly but there is still no resolution of the China-Philippines dispute over Huangyan Island/Scarborough Shoal. The New York Times has a good look Inside the China-Philippines Fight in the South China Sea, the Heritage Foundation examines US treaty obligations to the Philippines in South China Sea Dispute between China and the Philippines: Safeguarding America's Interests and concludes that we are at low risk of having to join an armed conflict to assist the Philippines, and the Wall Street Journal looks at the impact of and response to the fishing bans both sides have declaread in the surrounding areas in China and the Philippines Play the Green Card in Sea Dispute. The New York Times tells us that China's Political Turmoil Won't Delay New Leadership and seems to refute the Reuters report suggesting a delay in the 18th Party Congress. Hong Kong's Ming Pao ran a piece yesterday that argues the FT report on the effective downfall of Zhou Yongkang is wrong–中國評論﹕政法委書記的仕途. So who is right? I wish I knew. Reporting on Chinese elite politics is incredibly hard and I hope readers do not think I am being too critical of the journalists who are doing their best to report on this extremely important issue. In grad school in 94/95 I took a China Politics class with Alice Miller, my MA advisor, in which we spent hours critiquing Western and Hong Kong media reporting on Chinese politics. Nearly 20 years later there is a lot more information in the public domain about what is going on but it may be even more difficult to sift through the noise to find the truth. I highly encourage you to read what Geoff Dyer, former FT Beijing bureau chief, recently had to say about reporting on China politics–Shanghaied: Why you shouldn't believe everything you read about China. Chen Guangcheng is still in Beijing, AP tells us that yesterday he spoke by phone to Congress and said his family back in Shandong is in trouble. The New York Times bureau chief Michael Wines went to Chen's hometown, ran into a wall of security, and detailed his experience in China's Obsession With Stability Can Come at the Cost of Laws. Food safety is still a problem. Chinese media tells us that Formaldehyde cabbage in Shandong is just the tip of the iceberg (蔬菜保鲜剂滥用现象调查:甲醛白菜仅是冰山一角) and Jiangxi now has fake stewed pig ears that pose health risks. I guess that if this toxin-enhanced food doesn't kill you it makes you stronger, and in fact could hasten the development of the pollution-resistant Chinese borg? Official Chinese media keeps kicking own goals. In Beijing Daily…Media potshot on U.S. ambassador backfires the always excellent China Media Project examines the hilarious reaction to a call by the Beijing Daily for US Ambassador Locke to disclose his assets, and Kaifu Lee sent out a Weibo to his millions of followers with a screenshot of US officials' asset disclosures as well as a link to the website where anyone can look up asset disclosures. As a prominent US China specialist said, it is almost like the Beijing Daily is doing this intentionally to make the Party look bad. China has a new good samaritan hero. Zhang Lili, a middle school teacher in Jiamusi, lept in front of a school bus and saved two kids. She was struck, apparently lost both legs, and has just awoken from a 58 hour coma. Her story is on the front page of today's People's Daily. In this case at least, she deserves whatever accolades the state wants to give her. Lest we forget, today, May 16, is the 46th anniversary of the kickoff of the Cultural Revolution. On his Sina Weibo this morning, renowned scholar and social justice activist Yu Jianrong called for May 16 to be designated a day of reflection. My first exposure to anything about the Cultural revolution came during third year Chinese at the Middlebury summer program in 1988 (yes, that old), when we were reading the May 16 Notice aloud and after a classmate made a mistake the teacher, a Beijinger, corrected him and then proceeded to recite the next three pages, all while writing something else on the blackboard. I wrote a paper in grad school on Mao Badges and the Cultural Revolution, and highly recommend Tania Branigan's recent piece China's Cultural Revolution: portraits of accuser and accused, and not just because one of the interviewees is my partner. Apologies, this summary today is a bit too long. Thanks for reading, and remember the best way to see this daily post is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. China Adds Treasuries for Second Month on Reserve Growth – Bloomberg Cultural Revolution – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Today, May 16, is the 46 anniversary of the kickoff of the Cultural Revolution Anti-Chinese sentiment in Singapore up following Ferrari crash caused by Sichuan man: Shanghaiist tragic three-vehicle accident in Singapore caused by a speeding Ferrari driven by a young, good-looking and fabulously rich mainland Chinese immigrant killed three people, including himself. The Ferrari collided into a Hyundai Sonata taxi, which subsequently hit a motorcycle. 31-year-old Sichuan native Ma Chi died on the spot while a local taxi driver and his female Japanese passenger succumbed to their injuries later at the hospital. The Price Of A Swift Pigeon: Try $328,000 : NPR Chinese buyers are driving up the prices of racing pigeons to astronomical levels. One buyer paid $328,000 for a single bird earlier this year. Belgium, however, remains the center of pigeon-breeding. Here, Yi Minna, the chief operating officer at the Pipa pigeon auction house, is shown in Knesselare, Belgium, last year. Blogger Shines Light on U.S. Shadow War in East Africa-Wired 人民日报-张丽莉英雄事迹引起广泛关注 HEROIC TEACHER ZHANG LILI MAKES PAGE 1 OF PEOPLE'S DAILY. I BELIEVE SHE LOST BOTH LEGS SAVING THE 2 KIDS FROM THE ONCOMING BUS// 李长春等中央领导同志委托黑龙江省委书记看望张丽莉及亲属 经58小时大抢救，张丽莉目前生命体征平稳 China to increase residential land supplies this year – Xinhua | English.news.cn FISCAL FILLIP FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS?// China will increase residential land supplies by more than 20 percent this year in order to further restrain property prices, according to a plan released by land resource authorities Tuesday. The Ministry of Land and Resources said in a statement that the government plans to provide a total of 172,600 hectares of residential land this year, up 21.3 percent from 2011. The amount of land to be doled out is double the annual average of 87,300 hectares supplied over the last five years, the ministry said. Challenges of 90% home ownership — Shanghai Daily | 上海日报 — English Window to China New T appears a miracle – as well as a challenge – that nearly 90 percent of Chinese families own their homes. The People's Bank of China and the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics released a joint report on Sunday on China's family finance, which found that 89.68 percent of Chinese families own at least one home, compared to the world's average rate of about 60 percent China News Headlines | Hong Kong's premier newspaper online | SCMP.com Gu Wangjiang , the sister-in-law of Bo Xilai , has Shenzhen and Singapore business holdings with links to Shandong – adding to the web of assets owned by the scandal-ridden family. Under her Cantonese name Kuk Mong Kong, Gu is a director of two Singapore firms, Lobb Heng and Tian Yuan Holdings, according to corporate documents filed in Singapore. China News Headlines | Hong Kong's premier newspaper online | SCMP.com The announcement in mid-March that Bo Xilai had been stripped of his political posts has exposed the former high-flying Chongqing party chief to the glare of publicity, shining attention on his family's links to a web of foreign companies. These assets have been traced to Hong Kong and elsewhere, and to large mainland state-owned firms and leading foreign businessmen, raising questions about the scale of Bo's alleged corruption and the complicity of his family, particularly his wife, Gu Kailai . 我国拟规定吸毒赌博酗酒者不得聘为涉密人员|涉密|吸毒|赌博_新浪新闻 China planning regulation banning gamblers, drug users and heavy drinkers from working in jobs that require security clearances 北大限定名额排查"网瘾学生"_网易新闻中心 Peking U auditing students for internet addiction, has quota to fill, a la political campaigns of years past? China Kicks U.S. Private Equity Aside as Local Funds Rise – Bloomberg Blackstone Group LP (BX) and TPG Capital are among global firms being kicked aside as preferred investors in China, the world's second-biggest private-equity market. Investments by Chinese firms rose to $7.8 billion last year, exceeding for the first time the $7.4 billion poured in by U.S. and other foreign funds, according to the Asian Venture Capital Journal, which tracks the industry… "There are still attractive deals for foreign investors in China," Pantheon's Meads said. "They have to work a lot harder than they have in the past to get them." CUZ THEY USED TO BE SO EASY TO FIND? Xinhua Insight: Beijing starts crackdown on illegal aliens – Xinhua | English.news.cn The National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee reviewed a draft law last December that combines two separate current laws regulating entry and exit procedures for Chinese nationals and foreigners, respectively. The NPC dispatched four survey teams to Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Beijing to investigate the illegal entry and residence of foreigners in February and March. The teams found that the country's current laws give fewer options for law enforcement agencies, while police lack a nationwide database to help them coordinate related efforts. If the new law is approved by the top legislature, police will have more power and options to directly handle illegal entry and related cases. China and Japan Fall Out Over Uighurs – WSJ.com Signs of tension are returning to relations between Japan and China, casting shadows over accelerating efforts between the two East Asian powers to strengthen their economic ties. In the latest sign of renewed strain, China has harshly condemned Japan for allowing a group of exiled Uighur activists to hold a major conference in Tokyo this week. China considers the group, the World Uyghur Congress, an "anti-China separatist organization." Calling it a private group, Tokyo says it won't interfere with its activities. Little people live in SW China's 'Lilliput'[1]|chinadaily.com.cn "Lilliput's" king and princess walk through their "kingdom" in a forest park in Kunming last month. Nearly 100 dwarfs live in their "Lilliput" inside a forest park in Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan province. People who come and live in the park are all shorter than 1.3 meters. Heroic teacher wakes from coma|Society|chinadaily.com.cn Zhang Lili, a teacher who nearly died saving two students, lies in an ICU ward in the First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University in Northeast China's Hei Longjiang province on May 12. After 58 hours of emergency medical attention, she finally regained consciousness, the hospital announced on May 15. China summons UK ambassador over Dalai Lama meeting with Cameron | Reuters China's Vice Foreign Minister Song Tao summoned the British ambassador in Beijing on Tuesday to protest British Prime Minister David Cameron's meeting with the Dalai Lama, saying the meeting "seriously interfered" with China's internal affairs. US attack submarine docks at Subic | ABS-CBN News MANILA, Philippines – A US Navy attack submarine has arrived in Subic Bay, Zambales, about 124 nautical miles away from the disputed Scarborough shoal (Panatag Shoal). Authorities said the USS North Carolina is docked at Subic Freeport for "routine ship replenishment," amid a standoff between Philippine and Chinese ships near the area. Philippine Navy spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Omar Tonsay clarified that the US submarine's arrival last Sunday "has nothing to do with that matter." Tonsay said the USS North Carolina is due to leave Subic on Saturday. The Associated Press: Blind China activist speaks by phone to Congress WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time in less than two weeks, Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has spoken by phone to a U.S. congressional hearing and alleged persecution of his relatives. Chen complained Tuesday that his elder brother and nephew had both been beaten by Chinese authorities since Chen fled house arrest in late April. Chen said a charge of homicide brought against his nephew was "trumped up" as he was acting in self-defense after being subjected to a three-hour beating that left him bleedin China reacts to US nuclear amendment|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn Beijing urged more effort from parties concerned with contributing to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as a response to Washington's recent consideration over redeploying nuclear weapons in the Republic of Korea, according to a news release from the Foreign Ministry on Tuesday. Insight: French architect could be pivotal figure in China scandal | Reuters An elusive French architect is emerging as a key figure in China's biggest political scandal in two decades, with evidence suggesting he shared both an affectionate and close business relationship with the Chinese woman at the heart of the scandal. Patrick Henri Devillers, 52, is one of two Westerners in China known to have had close business ties to the family of deposed Chinese politician Bo Xilai, specifically with Bo's wife who is accused of murdering the other expatriate, Neil Heywood. China military paper warns officers to toe party line | Reuters hina's top military newspaper warned officers on Tuesday to remain the ruling Communist Party's "most loyal" defenders in the face of what it called Western plotting, describing recent cases of ill-discipline and corruption as a "profound warning". 军报：解放军部分干部立场摇摆 须认清阴谋_新闻_腾讯网 [导读]个别党员干部出现信仰意识淡化、党性观念模糊和原则立场摇摆等问题，根子都在理论根底浅薄上。经常约束配偶子女和身边工作人员，自觉摒弃"从众""侥幸""麻痹"心理，防止出格越线。 Beware the new Beijing-Berlin bond – FT.com When Chancellor Angela Merkel visited China in February – after the European summit and right before the EU-China summit – she appeared to speak for Europe, which reinforced the impression that Berlin had replaced Brussels in Beijing. Germany must not give up on a European approach to China. But the rest of Europe must also urgently find ways to help Germany be a good European in its relationship with China – or risk being cut out of the loop as Germany's bilateral relationship with China replaces Europe's embryonic "strategic partnership" with China. Oil, Nationalism and Bananas in the South China Sea – NYTimes.com Fish, oil and bananas all play a role in the latest round of the high-stakes sovereignty dispute in the South China Sea, a problem that may rival Europe's own 19th-century "Schleswig-Holstein Question." That long-simmering territorial dispute, between Denmark and Germany, led the British politician Lord Palmerston to quip that only three people had ever understood it: a dead prince, a German professor who went mad, "and I, who have forgotten all about it." South China Sea Dispute between China and the Philippines: Safeguarding America's Interest–Heritage Foundation What this series of statements means in the current context is that if any Philippine "public vessel" comes under Chinese fire, such an act will result in the U.S. invoking the treaty. Invoking the treaty does not mean automatic armed response, but by invoking it, the U.S. formally recognizes the attack as "dangerous to its own peace and safety and declares that it (will) act to meet the common dangers." The attack triggers formal bilateral consultations under the treaty to determine an appropriate course of action. (There is nothing uniquely tentative about the U.S.–Philippines MDT in this regard. All of America's security treaties in the region contain similar diplomatic nuance and consultation mechanisms.) Formally invoking the treaty would require a response that could range from diplomatic censure to armed defense of Philippine vessels. The decision over what specific response to choose would be a political one and dependent on the circumstances of the conflict. Declaring Chinese activity in the South China Sea "dangerous to peace and security," however, would have powerful effects in and of itself. With such a declaration on the table, it is difficult to imagine life as usual in the U.S.–China relationship. China's Tight-Rope Walk: Balancing the Contradictions in Chinese Growth – Max Fisher – International – The Atlantic Many economic problems that we face are actually political problems in disguise, such as the nature of the economy, the nature of the ownership system in the country and groups of vested interests," Beijing political scientist Zhang Ming told the New York Times. "The problems are so serious that they have to be solved now and can no longer be put off." As Walter Russell Mead put it, "Authoritarian modernization always works until it quite suddenly doesn't."Still, this is not China's first apparently insurmountable economic challenge, and Beijing has amazed the world before. China-watcher Bill Bishop wrote in response to the news of China's economic deceleration, "Things have always been messy here, they always will be, and [I suspect] that the economy, and the government, are more likely to muddle through than to either collapse or take over the world. But the Coming Muddle-Through of China will never sell as a book." That's a play off of Gordon G. Chang's famously China-skeptic book, The Coming Collapse of China, which came out in 2001, more than 10 Chinese-collapse-free years ago. 蔬菜保鲜剂滥用现象调查:甲醛白菜仅是冰山一角|甲醛|白菜|蔬菜_新浪新闻 Formaldehyde-sprayed cabbage just tip of iceberg of misuse of preservatives on vegetables Misunderstanding China Popular Western illusions debunked Good CLSA Report Nexon Expects 'Robust' Demand for Online Games in China – Bloomberg Nexon Co. (3659), which developed China's second-biggest online game for Tencent Holdings Ltd. (700), forecast "robust" demand from players in the world's biggest Internet market, contrasting with analysts' predictions of weaker growth. Baidu Unveils Low Cost Smartphone with Voice Recognition and 100GB of Cloud Storage | Tech in Asia HOW WILL THE CENSORS KEEP UP WITH THE COMING TIDAL WAVE OF CHEAP, CONNECTED SMARTPHONES WITH GOOD CAMERAS?// search giant Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) announced that it too is launching its own low-cost handset, the Changhong H5018, which is manufactured by Foxconn and will be soon be available across the country in cooperation with China Unicom. The phone will be priced at under 1000 RMB (which converts to about $158). 明報電子報 – 中國評論﹕政法委書記的仕途／文﹕孫嘉業 HONG KONG'S MING PAO CALLS BS ON THE FT'S ZHOU YONGKANG STORY. SO WHO IS RIGHT?// 英國傳媒引述消息人士稱，受薄熙來事件影響，中央政治局常委、政法委書記周永康已經把實權交給國務委員、公安部長、政法委副書記孟建柱，並失去為十八大挑選繼任人的資格。這則新聞有違多項中共政治常識 China Foreign Investment Falls 0.7% in Sixth Monthly Drop – Bloomberg Foreign direct investment in China fell for a sixth month in April, as faltering global growth and renewed turmoil in financial markets dented company spending in Asia's biggest economy. Inbound investment dropped 0.7 percent from a year earlier to $8.4 billion, the Ministry of Commerce said today in Beijing. That compares with a 6.1 percent drop in March and extends the longest stretch of declines since the global financial crisis. Media potshot on U.S. ambassador backfires – China Media Project The Beijing Daily, the official mouthpiece of Beijing's top city-level Party leaders, shamed itself earlier this month in the eyes of many Chinese on social media when it led a campaign of propaganda against the United States, criticizing its involvement in the Chen Guangcheng case. The reaction against the paper was so strong that "Beijing Daily" was within hours defined as a sensitive search keyword on Sina Weibo, one of China's most popular microblog platforms. Today, just as "Beijing Daily" is again searchable on Sina Weibo, the newspaper has stepped right back into the spotlight of mockery by dragging its favorite whipping boy, U.S. Ambassador Gary Locke, into one of China's most sensitive ongoing debates — the intransigent issue of the disclosure of the personal finances of Party and government leader Asia House of the Day: A Jungle Retreat in Bali, Indonesia- Photos – WSJ.com I WISH// $3,500,000 People's Daily hails political reforms, rejects Western model People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), ran a full page of articles Monday hailing steady progress in the country's political reform, and vowing that China "will never copy Western political models." Led by an article titled "China's political reform makes significant progress" on the front page, the newspaper ran a total of eight articles on an inside page, listing examples such as respecting and protecting human rights being written into the Constitution in 2004, a democratic election system being introduced to village governments, and rural residents beginning to enjoy equal representation in the People's Congress. .. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said at a press conference in March that "suspension of reform and retreat would only lead to a blind alley." But due to ideological barriers such as blind confidence resulting from rapid economic growth in recent years and difficulties in taking power away from leaders with vested interests, the reform still needs time, experts said. China's Political Turmoil Won't Delay New Leadership – NYTimes.com REFUTES REUTERS REPORT OF A DELAY IN THE 18TH PARTY CONGRESS// But if these reports of rifts and divisions are overblown, important policy issues remain unresolved. Recent evidence of an economic slowdown point to the need for China to move away from its heavy dependence on exports and business investment to encourage more consumer-driven growth.Yet except for loosening money supply this past weekend, few changes seem in the offing. And despite repeated reports of political change — most recently in Monday's People's Daily — these seem to involve bureaucratic tweaks to the existing structure rather than any fundamental overhaul."The real challenge isn't the political maneuvers, but the desire to reform," said a senior editor at a party newspaper. "It's the content that's the problem." Heard on the Street: Going Nuclear on China's Slowdown – WSJ.com With business not stepping up to the plate, the government will have to find another means to channel its stimulus. The obvious solution is to ramp up public investment, both through higher fiscal spending and potentially more loans to local government financing vehicles.The National Development and Reform Commission's plan for 2012 calls for major investment in nuclear power and water, for instance. Despite concerns after Japan's Fukushima disaster, China plans to add 10.7 billion kilowatt hours to its nuclear power capacity in 2012, the equivalent of 12% of 2011 output.Water is a perennial problem in China, where water resources per capita are equivalent to some African and Middle Eastern countries. The NDRC's plan for 2012 includes investment in sewage treatment, improving irrigation in the agricultural sector, and pushing for more efficient use of water in industry. Digest powered by RSS Digest No related posts.

Today’s China Readings May 11, 2012 Posted: 10 May 2012 05:37 PM PDT Thanks for reading, feel free to recommend to friends or donate on the site… We hear a lot about Weibo and censorship. Baidu, which failed in its own attempt to run a microblogging service, has in some ways benefited from the rise of Sina and Tencent Weibo, as so much of the regulatory focus, pressure and costs have shifted from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, and specifically microblogging. (塞翁失马焉知非福？) But the regulators have not forgotten about Baidu and yesterday they forced Baidu to shut the Chongqing and Liaoning Baidu PostBar message boards for 48 hours due "illegal and harmful information"-近期，在重庆吧发现违法有害信息，需要作集中清理。为此，本网站决定，自5月10日上午10:00–5月12日上午10:00暂时关闭重庆吧。由此给您带来的不便，敬请谅解。No word on exactly what the illegal and harmful information was, but given the geographies we can probably guess. Today is anti-China protest day in the Philippines. Let's hope it is a non-violent non-event. China has made some calming noises, including noting that China, Philippines resume Huangyan Island diplomatic contact. China is also making clear there will be economic costs to the Philippines, by canceling tours to the country as well as stepping up inspections/quarantines of Philippine fruit imports, among other actions. Perhaps cooler heads will prevail, as the Global Times urges-Cool heads must prevail in Huangyan spat. If you have not seen this yet do check out Bizarre Sea Monster Captured On Deep-Sea Drilling Camera. No word on how much this would sell for in Guangdong. Today's links: Facebook IPO Said to Get Weaker-Than-Expected Demand – Bloomberg HEAR THEY MAY BE MARKETING DEAL IN CHINA TO A STRATEGIC INVESTOR Jamie Dimon Misrepresented "London Whale" Risks, Admits to $2+ Billion Loss Plus Risk Management Black Eye « naked capitalism Dimon consistently misrepresented the seriousness of the exposures as soon as the press was onto it. Both Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal were digging, and Dimon was dismissive, calling the concerns a "tempest in a teapot". JPM shares are down over 5% in aftermarket trading. The CEO misled investors, but no one seems to care much about niceties like accurate and timely disclosure these days. Cool heads must prevail in Huangyan spat-Global Times The month-long Huangyan crisis has cost Chinese society quite a few resources. Besides the public's emotion and diplomatic maneuvers, the military might also have made plans for the use of force. But in the South China Sea region, the future may be rife with similar incidents. Shanghaied – By Geoff Dyer | Foreign Policy DYER IS DEAD ON, I MADE THE SAME POINT LAST WEEK Why you shouldn't believe everything you read about China. Hint: not even the journalists really know what's going on… Political stories in China can be like quicksand. White House reporters might not get to talk too often to the president, but they can speak to people who were in the room with him when he makes a decision. In China, foreign reporters have to rely on more removed sources: advisors, Chinese journalists, foreigners who have recently met senior leaders, and lower-level bureaucrats. All sources have an agenda, but the more tenuous their link to power, the harder it can be to decode their bias — or assess their credibility. Even with reporting on Bo's fall, stories about his phone-tapping antics and links to the death of Heywood depended heavily on anonymous sources. Trying to gauge the political machinations of a group of a few dozen standing committee members, kingmakers, and PLA generals is at best an imperfect task when much of the information is coming third-hand… for the Beijing press corps, which finally has an eager audience, the biggest temptation is to turn the Bo saga into a broader political morality play between the hardliners who have stifled political reform since the 1989 Tiananmen protests and the liberal reformers, if there indeed are any China has banished Bo but not the 'bad emperor' problem – FT－－Fukuyama weighs in informal rules observed by a small clique of insiders cannot really substitute for a formal rule of law. As we can see today, modern liberal democracies constrained by law and elections often produce mediocre or weak leaders. Sometimes democracies elect monsters, such as Adolf Hitler. But at least the formal procedures constraining power through law and elections put big roadblocks in the path of a really bad emperor. Despite having beaten back Mr Bo's challenge in the short run, the Chinese system has not solved this institutional problem yet. It now has a real opportunity to do so, which I hope the new leadership coming into power will take up. Heard on the Street: China's Equity Markets: The Party You Can Never Leave – WSJ.com China's equity markets are like the Hotel California. Checking in is getting easier. Getting out is still tricky. 51Job Down Most in 2012 as Growth Sours: China Overnight – Bloomberg Concern over China's slowing economy is "clearly casting a shadow over enterprises in their hiring activities," said Chief Executive Officer Rick Yan on a conference call with analysts after the earnings were released. 人民日报-出国夏令营不得以营利为目的 government issues notice about kids going abroad for summer camp. not a bad thing if they start regulating, esp the sketchy agents/brokers 人民日报- "新闻敲诈"败坏了什么？ brief article on "news blackmail" i.e pay me or i will write something bad about you, makes page 1 of people's daily 人民日报-对进口菲律宾水果加强检验检疫 china to increase inspections of philippine fruit. people's daily p 4 China Confidence Unshaken by Bo Crisis in Global Poll – Bloomberg China's deepest political turmoil since 1989 has failed to shake confidence in the strength of its economy and allure of its markets, a Bloomberg poll indicated. Chinese teen sentenced to 12-year jail term for assault|Society|chinadaily.com.cn A teenager convicted of setting fire to a girl who turned down his romantic advances received a first-instance verdict of 12 years and one month in jail on Thursday in an east China court. Suspect in fishermen killing handed over to China[1]|chinadaily.com.cn Naw Kham (C), head of an armed drug gang, kneels during a transferring at Laos' Vientiane Wattay International airport, May 10, 2012. Naw Kham, a drug lord suspected of masterminding the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year was transferred to Chinese police here on Thursday. China, Philippines resumes Huangyan Island diplomatic contact|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn China has reaffirmed its stance to the Philippine side and requested the country respect China's sovereignty over Huangyan Island, he said, urging the Philippines to refrain from actions that will escalate and complicate the tensions. Can Long Ding, A Kicker Who Grew Up In China, Make An NFL Team? | Keeping Score | TIME.com Long Ding is trying to be the first China-born player to suit up in the NF More spies in U.S. than ever, says ex-CIA officer – CBS News As the chief of the CIA's National Resources Division, the highly-sensitive, secret domestic operation, he conducted counter-intelligence within the U.S. "If you look at the threat that is imposed upon our nation every day, some of the major nation states — China in particular — [have] very sophisticated intelligence operations, very aggressive operations against the U.S.," says Crumpton. "I would hazard to guess there are more foreign intelligence officers inside the U.S. working against U.S. interests now than even at the height of the Cold War," Exclusive: potential China link to cyberattacks on gas pipeline companies – CSMonitor.com Those analyzing the cyberspies who are trying to infiltrate natural-gas pipeline companies have found similarities with an attack on a cybersecurity firm a year ago. At least one US government official has blamed China for that earlier attack. JPMorgan Loses $2 Billion in Chief Investment Office – Bloomberg JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the firm lost about $2 billion on synthetic credit securities after an "egregious'" failure in its chief investment office, which the bank says focuses on hedging. Wall Street's immunity – Glenn Greenwald – Salon.com Of all the ignominious actions of the Obama administration, the steadfast, systematic shielding of Wall Street from criminal liability is probably the most corrupt in the traditional sense of that word. In Newsweek this week, Peter Boyer and Peter Schweizer have an excellent examination of what happened and why, tying together crucial threads. First they lay out the basic facts, including the core deceit of the President's campaigning for re-election like he's some sort of populist crusader Scott Kennedy: Beijing Can't Outgrow Corruption – WSJ.com GOOD ESSAY, BUT DOES ANYONE IN POWER REALLT WANT TO GET ALL THE GRAFT OUT?//Trying to get graft out of the Chinese system is like trying to take the sugar out of an already baked cake. U.S. Tries to Press China Sea Rights With Pact – WSJ.com Chinese media warns of war with Philippines – Telegraph British tourist arrested in China 'for sexual assault' – Telegraph A British tourist has been arrested after allegedly sexually assaulting a local woman in Beijing. Why Can't Obama Bring Wall Street to Justice? – The Daily Beast Despite his populist posturing, the president has failed to pin a single top finance exec on criminal charges since the economic collapse. Are the banks too big to jail—or is Washington's revolving door at to blame? Peter J. Boyer and Peter Schweizer investigate: China's Chen says officials launch crazed reprisals on family – Yahoo! News Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng and a family lawyer have accused local officials of detaining two of his relatives and hounding and harassing others in revenge for his recent escape from house arrest and for sparking an international furor. Emerging Advisors Group – Home Jonathan Anderson is the former Global Emerging Market Economist at UBS Investment Bank 中国船员在泰国遭劫杀_腾讯新闻_腾讯网 alleged Mekong river killer extradited to beijing 记录点点滴滴 | 印象笔记 Evernote's Chinese service Evernote Launches Separate Chinese Service | Evernote Blogcast Today, Evernote unveiled its new, completely separate, Chinese service called Yinxiang Biji (印象笔记) to give our users in China a great Evernote experience. The name means Memory Notes or Impression Notes. As a happy coincidence, the second character, 象, means elephant. The previously existing Evernote service is not affected and will continue to run separately. China stays open-minded in coping with new media A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said here Wednesday that the CPC and Chinese government insist on an open-minded and inclusive attitude in coping with new media. Efforts have been made by the CPC and Chinese government to guide officials to treat new media in a scientific and correct way, help them better harness new media and strengthen guidance of public opinion in the network, Li said. Li Yuanchao, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Organizational Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks when addressing the third China-Singapore Forum on Leadership. Restoring sanity to Lin's story－Global Times Seeing a crowd of people gathered around the tomb and reading poems, Hu Jie could not hide his surprise. This group had come together from across the country to honor the memory of Lin Zhao, an outspoken female student who was labeled as a "rightist" for criticizing Chairman Mao Zedong and executed in 1968. The mourners, ranging from college students to retirees, read poems that Lin had written in blood during eight years in prison. They all took notice and pointed at the surveillance camera set up near the tomb to show they are not afraid. China restructures local operations of Big Four auditors | Reuters China released new rules for the world's top four auditing firms on Thursday that include a requirement for their local operations to be led by Chinese citizens within three years. Jiang putting himself in limelight with calligraphySCMP.com Former president Jiang Zemin is back in the limelight after creating high-profile calligraphy for an airport in his hometown, a gesture one analyst said shows he is still capable of wielding some influence in the leadership reshuffling later this year. Jiang (pictured) drew the six-character name for the Yangzhou Taizhou Airport, which opened on Tuesday, and large red characters transposed from his writing now sit atop the airport roof. 中国军网-休想抢走中国半寸领土 中国外交部已经明确表态，中方做好了应对菲方扩大事态的各种准备。其中含义不言自明。我们要说的是，任何人妄图抢夺黄岩岛主权，不仅中国政府不答应，中国人民不答应，中国军队更不会答应。 Distracting the public « Jeremy Goldkorn The Global Times English and Chinese versions have published an editorial headlined Peace will be a miracle if provocation lasts. State and commercial media, newspapers large and small, and all the news and social media websites (e.g. QQ, Sina, Netease) are reporting on the standoff. Jingoism by no means limited to the usual pro-government newspapers and media commentators. A browse through the comments on Sina Weibo or any other Internet forum you choose shows overwhelming public support for a war.On my own Weibo account, I posted the question "Would ordinary people support a war with the Philippines?" Usually the comments on my posts tend be very critical of the government and cynical about China and its place in the world, but the answer to this question was a rather bloodthirsty yes. Chan case not a sign of growing tensions with journalists China refused to extend the press credentials and visa of Melissa Chan, English correspondent of the Arabic-language news network Al-Jazeera in Beijing, and hasn't allowed the channel to find someone to replace her. The news network said that its Beijing bureau was "forced out of China." Foreign media claimed that Melissa Chan was the first accredited foreign journalist to be expelled from China since 1998.In the past 14 years, there has been a lot of friction between China and other countries. China has seen many occasions when foreign media discredited the country with a biased perspective. But the Chinese government takes a restrained attitude toward them, as most Chinese officials acknowledge that it only makes things worse for a country's image if they take a confrontational position with foreign journalists. 解放军报发表署名文章：休想抢走中国半寸领土_频道_凤凰网 中菲黄岩岛事件持续至今刚好满月。菲律宾政府显然没有认识到他们正在犯严重错误：变本加厉不断扩大事态，继续派公务船在黄岩岛泻湖内活动，不断发表错误言论，误导国内和国际公众，煽动民众情绪，严重损害双边关系氛围。形势不容乐观。 Chinese Travel Agencies Suspend Trips to Philippines – NYTimes.com SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Chinese travel agencies have suspended tourist packages to the Philippines and promised refunds to customers who have booked trips, Chinese state media reported Thursday, as tensions over disputed islands in the South China Sea escalated. Digest powered by RSS Digest No related posts.

Top 10 Search List (May 10) Posted: 10 May 2012 03:28 AM PDT Here's today's top 10 real-time search list, recorded at 1:30PM. 1. 俄罗斯客机失踪 éluósī kèjī shīzōng – The wreckage of Sukhoi's new Superjet 100 was discovered today on Mount Salak with no signs of survivors. The Russian-made passenger plane departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta yesterday afternoon with 47 passengers on board for its second demonstration flight. Authorities have yet to discover why the plane dropped off the radar not long after its departure. Here's the report in English. 2. 今年油价首次下调 jīnnián yóujià shǒucì xiàtiáo - Yesterday the National Development and Reform Commission announced drops in oil prices for the first time this year. Here's the story in Chinese. 3. 老外强奸 lǎowài qiángjiān - A video of a Caucasian man attempting to rape a Chinese woman in public and getting beaten by strangers is being passed around in a frenzy online (see photo). The incident supposedly happened on the streets of Beijing's southwestern district Xuanwumen, right in front of the Sogo shopping center. While most netizens are beyond furious upon seeing this video, some are wondering if the whole thing was staged to get a rise out of the public. Click here to see the video. 4. 日本售辱华游戏 Rìběn shòu rǔhuá yóuxì – A user posted news on online forums about a Japanese computer game called"Kane &Lynch 2: Dog Days" that involves an assassin and a psycho going on assigned missions to kill residents of Shanghai. News about this game struck a nerve with many of the netizens, inciting a large wave of angry comments online. Here's the story in Chinese. 5. 朱丽倩 Zhū Lìqiàn - Well-known Hong Kong entertainer Andy Lau's wife gave birth to a healthy baby girl just recently. Here's the story in Chinese. 6. 林文栋 Lín Wéndòng - A man named Lin Wendong was given the death sentence yesterday along with two of his accomplices for robbing two judges and stabbing one to death in Guizhou. Here's the story in Chinese. 7. 朱丹辞职 朱丹浙江卫视 Zhū Dān cízhí – Rumors are going around that popular TV host Zhu Dan is quitting ZJSTV and taking up a hosting position with BTV. Here's the story in Chinese. 8. 火爆男怒斥金星 huǒbàonán nùchì Jīn Xīng – A contestant on the Tianjin TV talent show lost control of himself while talking about his dreams of imitating Michael Jackson and ignoring his mother for the past 3 years due to her lack of support. The young man ended up personally insulting one of the judges on the show for criticizing his less than filial behavior. Needless to say, all the drama and tension from this episode did wonders for viewer ratings. Here's the story in Chinese. 9. 菲律宾是中国固有领土 Fēilǜbīn shì Zhōngguó gùyǒu lǐngtǔ – Philippines' nationally circulated newspaper Manila Standard Today published an article arguing with strong support from historic documentation references that the Scarborough Shoal does indeed belong to China and not the Philippines. The article titled "It belongs to China" has received widespread attention in the Philippines, and is now translated into Chinese for online users to gain access. Click here to read the original article in English. 10. 昆明连环失踪 Kūnmíng liánhuán shīzōng – In the past year 8 youths have disappeared in Kunming, Yunnan. The families of these youths have reported disappearances but were met with cold indifference from the local police. It was not until recently when the families got attention from the media that the police began active investigations into these cases. Here's the story in Chinese. READ MORE

Today’s China Readings May 10, 2012 Posted: 09 May 2012 05:27 PM PDT Apologies for the short commentary today, have a breakfast to get to. Tensions are rising between China and the Philippines over Huangyan Island/Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. Anti-China demonstrations are planned for Friday in the Philippines, the PRC embassy in Manila has issued a warning to its citizens, Chinese state media is ratcheting up warnings to the Philippines and "Chinese Warships Approach Philippine Territory" has been the number 1 topic on Sina Weibo since Wednesday afternoon. A topic does not reach number one and stay there on Sina Weibo unless the government approves, and the sentiment on Weibo is overwhelmingly in favor of force if necessary to get the Philippines to back down. Beijing may be painting itself into a corner, as given everything that has been going on in China over the last few months the government can not be seen as weak in the face of what most Chinese believe is an assault on their sovereignty. Unless Manila gives China a clear "victory" we may see a skirmish. No word on how popular the movie "Wag The Dog" is in Zhongnanhai… Europeans hoping for a Chinese white knight to rescue them from their financial crisis will be disappointed by CIC sovereign wealth fund head Gao Xiqing's statement that CIC Stops Buying Europe Government Debt on Crisis Concern. The Chinese, at least when it comes to Europe, are not dumb money.. Still hoping for feedback on the commentary, and as always welcome tips, comments and suggested links. Thanks for reading. Today's links: Short Seller Drops Muddy Waters Model for SEC – Bloomberg Short seller Jon Carnes [alfredlittle.com] made millions of dollars publishing anonymous reports accusing Chinese companies of fraud. Now settled in Vancouver after fleeing threats of violence in China, he's trying another business model: providing tips to the U.S. government. The 38-year-old says he's applied to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for whistle-blower status in connection with lawsuits filed by the regulator accusing two executives at China's Puda Coal Inc. (PUDA) of fraud. The SEC program, established following the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, gives informants a share of proceeds if their information leads to more than $1 million in penalties… In total, Carnes says he and the contributors to what he calls his investment partnership have made about $10 million from shorting Chinese companies. Carnes says the reason he published anonymous research was for protection from the companies he targeted. Despite being "obsessive" about security, Carnes says his associates faced threats after they were identified as being part of the alfredlittle.com operation. Chinese Clarify Rules to Challenge Monopolies – WSJ.com China's biggest state-run companies could face more antimonopoly challenges from consumers and rivals under new rules that could put further pressure on the government-controlled behemoths that dominate the economy. Hong Kong Plans Tougher Rules for IPO Sponsors – WSJ.com GREAT IDEA, COULD NEVER PASS IN US//Hong Kong's securities regulator on Wednesday proposed tough new rules on the city's IPO market, the world's biggest for the past three years, that could lead to banks being criminally liable if the companies they sponsor lie to investors and could dramatically cut the number of banks involved in stock offerings. Rumors say China's chief internet censor replaced｜WantChinaTimes.com ASTUTE SINOCISM READERS MAY HAVE NOTICED LINKS TO VENUSTECH RELATED CONTENT IN THE APRIL 30 READINGS//A report late last month by Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun said that Fang Binxing, the president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications who is known as the Father of China's Great Firewall, had been detained for investigation in connection with the disgraced politician Bo Xilai. Fang has refuted the report but implied that he is no longer in charge of China's internet censorship system and online rumors say Yan Wangjia, CEO of Beijing Venustech, has replaced Fang as the top controller of the internet in the country. 人民日报-菲律宾当有自知之明 People's Daily Page 3 warning to the Philippines Obama taps 'Hollywood ATM' – FT.com–China deals helping Mr Obama's criticism of a bill backed by the entertainment industry to protect intellectual property infuriated many in Hollywood. "He didn't just throw us under the bus … he ran us down, reversed the bus and ran over us again," said one senior film executive. But such grumblings will be largely forgotten on Thursday night when the love-in between Hollywood and Mr Obama resumes, thanks partly to his administration's work to ease restrictions that prevent US-made movies from being screened in China. Toddlers face early lesson in harsh realities of life|Cover Story|chinadaily.com.cn the teacher wasn't in the least upset or surprised at the indifference shown by her students. Wu does not expect too much from her students, because most of them can't speak and some can't even stand on their own. What do you expect to find in a student's bag? Books, homework notes, pens perhaps. But Wu's students carry none of the above. Instead they have nursing bottles, milk powder, water, cookies, snacks, handkerchiefs and diapers. They are China's youngest students, all of them younger than 3 years old. Momo can be classified as an "old student" at the preschool institute. She's been "studying" for more than six months, even though she's only 11 months old and needs to be held by her mother. Chinese LED Firm Raises $30m, Press Talks About Al Gore Instead | PandoDaily Very quietly, as least going by the deafening silence in the blogosphere, Chinese LED lighting company SunSun Lighting announced yesterday that it has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round led by Oak Investment Partners and GSR Ventures.The Jiangsu-based startup specializes in affordable and efficient LED lighting and offers what it says are the world's first LED lamps, which are low-cost but high-in-light output and strong-in-color rendering Chris Smith: Administration silent on Chen's cause | The Cable Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng's best friend in Congress, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), told The Cable on Tuesday that the Obama administration has failed to stand up for Chen's cause, the abuse of women under China's one-child policy. Chinese warned to stay off the streets — Shanghai Daily CHINA warned its citizens in Manila to stay off the streets and take precautions during anti-Chinese protests planned for tomorrow, a sign of mounting tensions during a standoff in the South China Sea. 中菲黄岩岛局势升级 China Securities News special section on the impact an escalation of the dispute with Philippines might have on stock market 人民日报-周永康在中国政法大学考察时强调 认真学习贯彻胡锦涛总书记五四重要讲话 努力成为社会主义法治国家的积极建设者 Page 1 People's Daily, Zhou Yongkang visits Politics & Law University, tells studentsto study Hu Jintao's important May 4 speech 四川简阳2.4亿建住院楼 内设VIP病房_网易新闻 impressive VIP hospital room in Jianyang, Sichuan. Pics Xinhua Insight: True story behind Huangyan Island dispute in South China Sea (Part 1) – Xinhua | English.news.cn Xinhua Insight: True story behind Huangyan Island dispute in South China Sea (Part 2) – Xinhua | English.news.cn 中方：菲鼓动反华示威引发中国民众强烈反应_新闻_腾讯网 China charges Philippines government with stirring up anti-China sentiment. Anti-China marches planned for Friday, could get ugly. If Chinese are beten or shops attacked, should we expect retribution against filipinos in China? 扬州政策出台始末 – 房市 – 21世纪网 Yangzhou has announced a tax incentive program for purchases of some housing starting July 1, not clear Beijing will not smack it down as it has stopped other recent municipal attempts to boost housing market Never test China's will to defend sovereignty|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn No matter how the standoff over Huangyan Island develops, China will not change its friendly foreign policy to its neighbors, nor switch its will to forge peace and stability, equality and mutual benefit, and cooperation. Meanwhile, China's resolve and strong will to safeguard its inherent territorial sovereignty will never swerve under any conditions. In the past month, China has stood on just grounds and exercised restraint in the face of provocative actions from the Philippines. China's tolerance should not be taken advantage of nor be misjudged. Currently, the urgent task of the Philippines government is to stop detrimental moves, keep a solemn mind and return to the right path as soon as possible. Xisha may open to tourists soon | China Daily Located 330 kilometers southeast of South China's Hainan province, the Xisha Islands are one of four big island groups in the South China Sea, together with the Dongsha, Nansha and Zhongsha islands. Tourists will be able to visit the islands mainly on cruise ships while some can travel by air, Feng Wenhai, an official in charge of the Zhongsha, Nansha and Xisha islands' affairs under Hainan provincial government, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying. Deep-sea drilling a key step in protecting waters|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn A vow to boost oil and gas exploration in the South China Sea accompanied the launch of the country's first domestically manufactured deepwater drilling rig. The semi-submersible Haiyangshiyou 981, with an operating water depth of 3,000 meters, drilled its first well on Wednesday. Multipolar world on the horizon|Last Word|chinadaily.com.cn Foreign policy expert believes that as US power wanes, several nations will pick up the baton Shi Yinhong, one of China's foremost foreign policy experts, believes we could be moving into an era where the world is dominated by three or four powers and not just the United States. The 60-year-old professor of international relations and director of the Center for American Studies at Renmin University of China, is convinced the writing is on the wall for American hegemony. "I think if the US continues to borrow so much money and at the same time interfere so widely in this world, it will meet with a typical empire's fate and reach a tipping point. Everything has its end." //YES, EVERYTHING DOES HAVE ITS END PROF SHI… BBC News – Ferrari sorry after car damages Nanjing city wall NO REASON TO BELIEVE BO GUAGUA WAS DRIVING// Italian sports car maker Ferrari has apologised after one of its cars drove on an ancient Chinese monument, prior to a publicity event, causing damage. Ferrari suggested the incident was the fault of a local dealership employee. The car was filmed wheel-spinning on top of a 600-year-old Ming-dynasty era wall in the city of Nanjing. Footage of the screeching vehicle has infuriated China's online community, hitting a nerve in a society where such cars are a symbol of privilege. Fed Approves Chinese Bank Expansion in U.S. – American Banker wonder if they have to turn over to the US government all information re us passport/green card holders with accounts with them in China?// The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it approved the expansion of the U.S. operations of three of China's largest banks, including the first acquisition of a U.S. bank by a Chinese bank. The Fed said it had approved applications from the Bank of China and Agricultural Bank of China to establish new branches. The central bank also approved an application by China's largest bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, to become a bank holding company through the acquisition of up to 80% of the U.S. operations of Bank of East Asia. CIC Stops Buying Europe Government Debt on Crisis Concern – Bloomberg China Investment Corp. has stopped buying European government debt because of an economic crisis on the continent, though it continues to look for new investments there, said CIC President Gao Xiqing. "What is happening in Europe right now is of course of concern," Gao said yesterday in an interview in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the World Economic Forum on Africa. "We still have our people looking at opportunities in Europe, even though we don't want to buy any government bonds." 新京报社长被任命为北京市管正局级干部|新京报|社长|任免_新浪新闻 Director of Beijing News Mr. Dai Zigeng now has official Beijing municipal government bureau-level rank 徐明因薄熙来受审 传供出惊天大案_多维新闻网 duowei says xu ming has given some interesting information to investigators, including a lot related to current Dongbei officials and football corruption// 多维新闻】传因受薄熙来牵连而正在接受调查的大连实德董事长徐明，在审问期间，吐出了一系列惊天大案，其中包括对现任辽宁省委副书记夏德仁，大连两个副市长，以及辽宁和大连的其它官员和富商涉及腐败的指控。 SEC Charges Deloitte & Touche in Shanghai with Violating U.S. Securities Laws in Refusal to Produce Documents Sina Weibo Introduces "User Contract" -Caijing China's web giant Sina, operator of Weibo.com, has created a "user contract" for this most popular twitter-like microblog service, shortly after it admitted it hasn't enforced rules requested by the government China Cuts Retail Fuel Prices for First Time in Seven Months – Bloomberg China will cut retail gasoline and diesel prices tomorrow for the first time since October after international crude costs fell to a government threshold for adjusting fuel rates. The maximum price at which gasoline can be sold to motorists will be reduced by 330 yuan ($52) a metric ton and diesel by 310 yuan, the National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement on its website today. That is a reduction of as much as 3.5 percent, according to Bloomberg calculations. The cost and limitations of control – China Media Project But while China's leaders have shown a renewed determination — desperation? — to employ press controls to maintain a white-fisted grip on the agenda, they have unwittingly exposed the cost and limitations of control in the face of a networked public with a keen interest in social, economic and political affairs.This was patently clear last Friday, as the Beijing editorials were widely criticized on Sina Weibo, so that by day's end China's censors had to turn on their own propaganda. 中国军舰接近菲律宾本土 | 新浪微博-随时随地分享身边的新鲜事儿 #1 sina weibo topic: Chinese warships approach the Philippines. government painting itself into a corner Sina Leads Index to Month Low on Growth Concern: China Overnight – Bloomberg Sina (SINA) Corp., the Chinese Internet operator trading at six times the valuations of Nasdaq Composite Index companies, led declines among the nation's stocks traded in the U.S. as concern rose that global growth will stall. A Luxury Slowdown in China? Don't Hold Your Breath – Scene Asia – WSJ 20％ SOUNDS LOW//A third potential roadblock: a corruption probe widespread enough to dissuade Chinese from gift-giving, a popular practice among businesspeople that accounts for as much as 20% of luxury goods purchases among Chinese consumers. 山东青州部分商贩使用甲醛浸泡山药等蔬菜-财经网 now yams sprayed with formaldehyde in shandong// 醛，也就是福尔马林。用甲醛给食品"保鲜"，出处实际上是根据人的尸体保存。用在食品上非但没有必要，而且对人体非常有害的 Behind Twists of Diplomacy in Case of Chen Guangcheng – NYTimes.com INTERESTING ACCOUNT OF CHEN CASE, DC BYLINE, APPEARS TO BE SOURCES DOING DAMAGE CONTROL, SOME VERY FISHY THINGS IN HERE, INCLUDING DESCRIPTION OF ALLEGED MSS-MOFA ARGUMENT WITNESSED BY US OFFICIAL. MAKES IT CLEAR CUI TIANKAI DOES NOT LIKE KURT CAMPBELL, SO REPORTS THAT SOMETHING HAPPENED DOWN ON CAMPBELL'S FARM MAY BE CORRECT. IF ANYONE KNOWS THE DETAILS PLEASE EMAIL ME OR COMMENT ON THE SITE.// They learned of it only when He Peirong, a rights advocate, called the embassy three days later and told officials there that he was in hiding on the outskirts of Beijing, his foot broken from a fall during the escape.After a late-night meeting at the State Department on April 25, Mrs. Clinton approved a plan to spirit him into the embassy, an operation that involved hustling him from one car to another twice. "Everyone understood the magnitude of the decision, how unpredictable it was, and that there would be consequences," the senior official said. Regulator Predicts U.S. Will Soon Take Part in Chinese Inspections of Auditors – NYTimes.com "We ought to be able to observe the inspections they conduct in the late summer or fall, and certainly by the end of the year," said James R. Doty, the chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, in an interview after he returned from China. From Beijing With Love – NYTimes.com Our consistent support of dissidents during the cold war played a key role in the collapse of Communism, and American officials must keep this history and our values in mind as they struggle with each case. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton got it right when she sought a solution to the Chen incident "that reflected his choices and our values." That must never change.Jeffrey H. Smith is a former assistant legal adviser to the State Department and was general counsel for the C.I.A. from 1995 to 1996. China fully prepared to respond to anything Philippines does – Xinhua | English.news.cn BEIJING, May 9 (Xinhuanet) — China has issued a strong warning to the Philippines not to escalate the tension. Vice-Foreign Minister Fu Ying said China is fully prepared to respond to anything the Philippine side does on the issue. The statement comes as the stand-off over Huangyan Island enters its third week.The stalemate is about to be a break. China's tone, for first the time, was not optimistic. Chen's tackling of rural conflicts exploited by outside forces-Global Times As a disabled man, Chen hasn't received a higher education. He has a very unusual way to deal with his conflicts in rural society. You can say this is paranoid or impulsive. External forces would like to use this to politicize and universalize some of China's social conflicts. But Chen didn't realize he was being used and his case being hyped into a national political issue.This has made him vulnerable to manipulation from people who have their own hidden agendas China's Sina Weibo to Introduce Contract for Microbloggers Stealing Attention: A Chinese Thief on Social Media Isn't What He Seems – China Real Time Report – WSJ what at first appeared to the social media diary of an oddly attention-hungry thief turns out to have been a hoax dreamed up by a Shanghai-based advertising company in an effort to promote a Chinese smartphone brand.After the account was shut down by Sina Corp, the advertising company, Avazu, admitted on its official Sina Weibo feed that the whole thing had been dreamed up by an employee and that mobile phones and wallets appearing in photos this month belonged to staff members, "so users mistakenly believed that it was a real thief." The aim of the account? To gain attention for Green Orange smartphones, which were among the items Shanghai Hooligan claimed to have stolen. (At one point, the Shanghai Hooligan uploaded a photo of a Green Orange smartphone, calling it his favorite.) U.S. Millionaires Told Go Away as Tax Evasion Rule Looms – Bloomberg Go away, American millionaires. That's what some of the world's largest wealth-management firms are saying ahead of Washington's implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca, which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts. HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of Singapore Ltd. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. (DBS) all say they have turned away business. 人民日报国际论坛：中国对黄岩岛的领土主权拥有充分法理依据–观点–人民网 The Hindu : News / International : China crafts a carrot-and-stick response to immolations Kumbum has remained relatively stable through the troubles over the past year, which saw more than 30 Tibetan monks and nuns setting themselves on fire in monastery towns across the Tibetan plateau.The response from officials here, monks said in interviews, was a combination of carrots and sticks: a slew of welfare measures — renovating prayer halls, increasing stipends and improving living conditions — coupled with tight security policies that bear no tolerance for dissent. The Asian Arms Race That Wasn't – By M. Taylor Fravel and Vipin Narang | Foreign Policy India and Pakistan are firing off missiles left and right. So why aren't the Chinese nervous? No Roads Are Straight Here – NYTimes.com Murong Xuecun on corruption in China. unlike many countries, stuff gets built. mostly CHINASCOPE – Xinhua: Fighting Internet Rumors is an All Encompassing Battle (1) The government should introduce systematic and routine Internet monitoring procedures and prosecute those who distribute rumors. (2) The use of cutting-edge technologies should be increased. For example, advanced data mining technology can be employed to analyze Internet user's behavior and distribution models like the U.S. researchers did to analyze high volume Twitter traffic. (3) Traditional media should adjust to the era of new technology to provide better guidance in the formation of public opinion. CHINASCOPE – China Economy: China should Attack the Philippines Militarily Zhou Erquan, an associate professor at the College of the Air Force Command, recently wrote an article that was published in China Economy. Zhou called for a military attack against the Philippines, "Otherwise they will not awaken." He suggested that the Philippines is still trying to make the situation in the South China Sea worse. "They figure that the United States is a country they can count on to be reliable." The article expressed the belief that the United States will not engage militarily. Instead, the U.S. is only interested in muddying the waters and playing the role of judge. The author also suggested that China's relationship with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will not be damaged by a small military conflict because most of the ASEAN countries would continue doing business with China. Zhou concluded that too much "peace talk" would send the wrong message, namely, that China lacks confidence. He recommended the strategy of "attack early, attack quickly, and attack heavily." Suicide Mission Volunteer Was Double Agent, Officials Say – NYTimes.com awesome, if this account is true

Mid-Week Links: CGC, Huntsman, Melissa Chan, and Chinese lawyer sues makers of Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days Posted: 09 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT At a carwash in Shanghai [Netease via Ministry of Tofu] Have you voted in the BJC Bar and Club Awards yet? If no, why not? While you self-flagellate for your offense, here're links. So now we know diplomats can act like children. "'I don't want to talk to him anymore,' Cui Tiankai, the vice foreign minister, erupted after Mrs. Clinton intervened, gesturing toward Kurt M. Campbell, an assistant secretary of state and a crucial negotiator. // The confrontation was a pivotal moment in a diplomatic drama replete with unanticipated twists, threats and counterthreats, and at times comical intrigue. Mr. Campbell, for example, took to sneaking out of his hotel in Beijing through an entrance by the garbage bins to avoid public attention. // The Chinese security apparatus, meanwhile, aggressively tapped and blocked phone calls by embassy officials, with an agent at one point brazenly dialing into a conversation between Mr. Chen and his wife on the cellphone of the deputy chief of mission, Robert S. Wang. The Americans, fearing that the Chinese would restrict access to Mr. Chen's hospital, even considered disguising an employee as a nurse to gain entry." [New York Times] A bit of good news. "China's granting permission for blind dissident lawyer Chen Guangcheng to exit the country to study law at New York University, plus other developments, indicate that Beijing may now be committed to improving relations with the United States. At least in the short term." [Christian Science Monitor] Except this one. Jon Huntsman is good. In his words: "In crafting an effective approach to the U.S.-China relationship, we need to understand China and all of its complexities—not engage in hyperbole or wishful thinking…. // There is no other relationship in the world that, if mismanaged, carries greater long-term negative consequences for the U.S., the Asia-Pacific region, and the world. By contrast, wise stewardship of the relationship will make us and our allies safer, wealthier and more confident about global stability in the future." [WSJ (paywall), full text via Reddit] Corollary: That Ministry of Foreign Affairs Al-Jazeera briefing in full. [China Daily Show] Still thinking about doing business here? "In today's China, business deals are hardly ever carried out fairly. Mostly it's a matter of who you know, or who you pay off, and then the proceeds are divvied up and down the chain of corruption…. // I will never forget something Mr. Zhao said to me: There's not a single straight road in China; they were all built with kickbacks. // No one stays clean when traveling along these sparkling, yet tainted roads. Corruption is the norm, it has become the unwritten law, an article of faith. It is everywhere. You don't have to engage corruption, corruption engages you. It follows you, no matter where you go. No one can stay clean." [Murong Xuecun, NY Times] Meet Melissa Chan as martyr. "Every journalist in China – and not just the foreign press corps – is watching to see what happens next." [Globe and Mail] This lawyer sets a new low for lawyers by suing makers of 2010 video game, Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days. "The game is set in Shanghai, and depicts the city as a slum with shabby and sordid streets. Chinese people in the game are characterized as cowardly and timid, and a player's objective is to kill them. // 'As a Chinese lawyer, I have the obligation to protect the rights of all Chinese,' Liu noted." [Global Times] Chen Guangcheng: not very famous here, making him the reverse Dashan. "Mentioned one minute, gone the next, Chen's case is a textbook study in how the authoritarian government manages information in the global Internet era. Unable to block all mention of Chen, censors try to minimize it while occassionally releasing editorials to purvey the government line." [Huffington Post] To answer this writer's rhetorical question: unlikely. "Nowadays Chinese leaders seem too busy putting out fires to think about their regime's long-term survival…. When rulers of one of the most powerful countries in the world have to worry about the defiant acts of a blind man, it's high time for them to think the unthinkable: Is the Communist Party's time up?" [Minxin Pei, WSJ] Corollary: However… "China's ruling Communist Party is seriously considering a delay in its upcoming five-yearly congress by a few months amid internal debate over the size and makeup of its top decision-making body, sources said, as the party struggles to finalize a once-in-a-decade leadership change." [Reuters] Breaking! Chinese students good at taking tests! "China's results in international education tests – which have never been published – are 'remarkable', says Andreas Schleicher, responsible for the highly-influential Pisa tests." [BBC] Corollary: And bad eyesight because of that, maybe. [The Week] Damn Ferraris! "Tourism officials in China came under heavy criticism after allowing a Ferrari sports car to drive across an ancient Chinese landmark as part of a publicity stunt, leaving tire tracks and perhaps even permanently damaging the centuries-old site, Xinhua reported Wednesday." [Newscore via NY Post] Really, is there anything we consume that doesn't contain formaldehyde? (Don't answer.) "Vegetable sellers in China have been caught spraying cabbages with a formaldehyde solution to keep them fresh in transit, the state news agency Xinhua has reported." [BBC] This looks wonderful: "In Bad Panda, a new play produced by theater group Monster Down!, it's the panda apocalypse and Gwo Gwo is caught between his attraction to Chester the gay crocodile and his mating partner, Marion." [the Beijinger] Your Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days interlude: Finally… What is the Chinese dream? Adapted from James Fallows's new book. [James Fallows, The Atlantic] China to hear Ai Weiwei case. [Reuters] China's Olympic basketball roster update. [NiuBball] Some Chinese Olympic athletes forced to give up meat. [Global Times] Evan Osnos's new New Yorker feature on Chinese dating. [Evan Osnos, New Yorker]