Links » Crème » Top-of-the-Week Links: Hu Xijin on CGC, James Fallows on Yang Rui, and the final piece in the Where Is Chen Guangcheng Right Now? series: New York
Links » Crème » Top-of-the-Week Links: Hu Xijin on CGC, James Fallows on Yang Rui, and the final piece in the Where Is Chen Guangcheng Right Now? series: New York |
- Top-of-the-Week Links: Hu Xijin on CGC, James Fallows on Yang Rui, and the final piece in the Where Is Chen Guangcheng Right Now? series: New York
- Top Ten Search List (May 21)
- Today’s China Readings May 21, 2012
| Posted: 21 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Usually these come on Monday, of course. Sometimes the top of the week gets delayed. Links. Hu Xijin and other state media bid Chen Guangcheng adieu. "Hu Xijin, the Global Times' editor, offered a slightly warmer message for Chen via Sina Weibo, China's Twitter-like microblog service, where he wrote that he wished Chen well. He added darkly that he hopes that in the U.S., Chen 'truly "studies abroad," in a place so far from the motherland calmly considers what has happened, and understands why he has had so many "lucky encounters."' He also expressed his 'Hope that in a place where it is so easy to be controlled, [Chen] can stand out.'" [Time] James Fallows weighs in on Yang Rui: "On his Sina Weibo account, Dialogue host Yang Rui let loose with an anti-foreigner rant so extreme that on first reading I was sure it had to be a parody. Only it wasn't. It's as if you heard a Stephen Colbert "in character" riff on his show — and then suddenly realized he wasn't kidding. To put it further in context, it's as if a well-known figure whose trademark was urbane earnestness — again let's say Ted Koppel, or Charlie Rose — let rip with a David Duke-style diatribe and evidently meant it." [The Atlantic] The economy. "Premier Wen Jiabao seems worried about the economy. Yesterday he urged efforts to maintain growth – Xinhua and his comments made the front page of Monday's People's Daily–把稳增长放在更加重要的位置. Some bears are skeptical of the government's ability to reinvigorate growth, believing that the government gas pedal may be connected through a fuel line with so much leakage that the gas will barely get to the engine now." [Sinocism] Wang Lijun to face charges of treason. "If the trial goes ahead as reported, it will serve as a good indication that the outcome of two other connected cases, those of Bo and of his wife Gu Kailai, a murder suspect in the mysterious death of a British businessman, will also be known shortly. // Analysts say the central leadership intends to wrap up the political scandal before an important party congress slated for later this year, as Bo's downfall has given rise to endless speculation on a split in the top echelon of the Communist Party." [SCMP via China Digital Times] What does Chen Guangcheng and Daoism founder Mo Tzu have in common? "As to Daoism, it is easy to see how Chen would be drawn to Zhuangzi and the Daodejing. Both texts value individuals at the margins of society: the weak, the poor, the disabled. They also put forth powerful critiques of the powerful and the rich." [The Useless Tree] Boyce's intro to his "Beijing Bar Hall of Fame" goes on like this for a while. "What if Frank Siegel never changed jobs and opened Frank's Place? What if Henry Li had never moved to Beijing and started spots such as Vogue and Neo Lounge? What if George Zhou and Echo Sun had not left First Cafe and stuck to quality cocktails, in a town then largely focused on quantity, when they opened Midnight Cafe and then Q Bar? What if Kris Ryan, Nick Ma and company had…" [Beijing Boyce] Edison Chen, who enjoys making sex tapes, involved in Sanlitun fight. "Hong Kong-based Canadian actor Edison Chen was involved in a confrontation Sunday morning in Sanlitun where his entourage allegedly assaulted a paparazzo, the Legal Mirror reported. // Chen, who has returned to show business after a sex scandal in 2008, was dining in a bar around midnight when his companions became embroiled with a photographer from tabloid agency FX. // Police questioned the assailants but did not detain Chen, who did not join the fight. Chen apologized later and paid the photographer 5,000 yuan ($790) in damages." [Global Times] Two Korean men beat up Chinese woman? Finally… Cops nab two suspects for USC shooting deaths. [AP via NYT] Forgers get death penalty. [China Whisper] Death sentence reprieve for Wu Ying. [WSJ] A job ad to be a censor? [WSJ] Yahoo to unload its 40 percent stake in Alibaba. [Forbes] Finally, finally…  The Beijinger's caption for this picture reads: "Special celebrity appearance by Bez of the Happy Mondays" |
| Posted: 21 May 2012 03:23 AM PDT
1. 孟非 摔落舞台 Mèng Fēi shuāiluò wǔtái – In an unlikely slip-up, Meng Fei, host of the popular dating show "You Are The One" (非诚勿扰), fractured his left hand this past weekend when he fell off of the stage during the recording of a new episode. The news first hit Sina Weibo in a flurry of re-tweets, after one fan seated at the filming posted "Urgent!…Papa Meng has fallen from the stage during recording…sent to the hospital…injury serious!" The news was later confirmed by the host's colleague, who explained that Meng fell backwards when he backed up to make way for the camera, which was zooming in for close-ups of the show's 24 female contestants. In spite of the injury, the beloved "Papa Meng" heroically persevered through the remainder of recording, before being rushed to the emergency room. Here's the story in Chinese. 2. 刘翔12秒97 Liú Xiáng 12 miǎo 97 - Yesterday in Shanghai at the 2012 Diamond League men's 110 meter hurdle event, Chinese Olympic gold medalist and world champion Liu Xiang clocked 12.97 seconds, his season's best. Liu has stated in interviews that he doesn't like the phrase "He's back!" in reference to his return to the track after the heart-breaking foot injury that forced him to withdraw from the 2008 Olympic 110 meter hurdles. So, journalists are now proudly brandishing the slogan "He never left!" Here's the story in Chinese. 3. 公积金贷款放宽 gōngjījīndàikuǎn fàngkuān – Recently in cities across Anhui, Jiangxi, and Hubei provinces, local governments have begun to implement new policies with regard to municipal housing provident funds, extending housing loans and raising loan price ceilings by tens of thousands of RMB. Netizens and experts alike are opining that the change may be a disguised form of de-regulation, with the potentially dangerous outcome of more rising house prices. Here's the story in Chinese. 4. 意大利地震 Yìdàlì dìzhèn – Search volume is high for news of the 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck northern Italy yesterday morning, killing at least seven people and injuring fifty. Here's the story in Chinese. 5. 抗强拆被拦腰砸死 kàng qiángchāi bèi lányāo zásǐ - On May 15th in Daqing, Heilongjiang province, an elderly pig farmer by the name of Li Baolin was crushed to death by the digging claw of an excavator as he attempted to put a stop to the forced demolition of his home, ordered by the city's "urban management" (城管). In the confusion of the accident, the driver of the excavator was also tragically killed when, leaning out of the front of machine to see what was going on, he was crushed to death between the rocker arm and the cab. Here's the story in Chinese. 6. 9岁女孩堕胎 9 suì nǚhái duòtāi – This weekend news broke that a nine year-old girl in Guangxi province, pregnant with the child of a thirteen year-old boy, recently underwent an abortion. The story has prompted widespread discussion among netizens regarding the need for sex ed in schools and the scary side-effects of change at breakneck speed. Here's the story in Chinese. 7. 李娜 决赛 Lǐ Nà juésài – Maria Sharapova defended her Italian Open title in Rome, beating China's Li Na in a close match on Sunday. After Li's loss, reports in the Chinese news media are still bullish about her performance in the upcoming French Open, highlighting her optimism as displayed by the knowing smiles she exchanged with Sharapova as they shook hands at the match's end. Here's the story in Chinese. 8. 吴思凡 Wú Sīfán – Netizens seem to be very protective when it comes to big-eyed, budding Beijing celebrity Wu Sifan. The twenty-year old rising star, known for her dance moves on a variety of variety shows, has apparently been receiving lascivious text messages from Hong Kong film actor, musician, and designer Edison Chen since the two met on the set of a micro-movie. Reports are now circulating that he has been "harassing" Wu via text, though his own spokesperson has vouched for him, saying that no legal action has been necessary and it is all already old news. Here's the story in Chinese. 9. 日环食 5月21日 rìhuánshí 5 yuè 21 rì – As a rare "ring of fire" eclipse crossed skies worldwide, a partial annular solar eclipse was seen over Beijing this morning. Here's the story in Chinese. 10. 国家发改委邹司长 Guójiā Fāgǎiwěi Zōu Sīzhǎng – It has recently come to light that Zou Binyong, a "deputy" from China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) who came to Hunan to "inspect" state-owned Hunan Grain Group in December of 2011, was actually an impostor with no real official ties. Zou, who arrived at Hunan Grain's factory by the introduction of a Changsha official, lavished the company's leaders with praise at a banquet held on his behalf and, after drinking excessive amounts of Moutai (a famous, top-tier Chinese liquor), began to dispense outlandish advice to his increasingly dumbfounded audience, blurting out doofus recommendations like, "You guys should definitely do an IPO, but you need to get ballsier first! And then you should do, like, three IPO'S!" and "I think you should sell your grain for more money!" After receiving a tip-off from an inside source, a reporter contacted Hunan Grain to ask whether or not anyone realized that the "inspection" had been a farce. Though several people at the company had indeed suspected that the man was a faker at the time, they did not want to risk opening their mouths (other than dropping their jaws), either because they feared that the emperor might in fact be wearing clothes or because saving face is imperative, at any cost. Here's the story in Chinese.        |
| Today’s China Readings May 21, 2012 Posted: 20 May 2012 05:58 PM PDT Thanks for reading, feel free to recommend to friends or donate… Premier Wen Jiabao seems worried about the economy. Yesterday he urged efforts to maintain growth – Xinhua and his comments made the front page of Monday's People's Daily–把稳增长放在更加重要的位置. Some bears are skeptical of the government's ability to reinvigorate growth, believing that the government gas pedal may be connected through a fuel line with so much leakage that the gas will barely get to the engine now. Recently I have heard from too many very smart people who were not always so bearish that they now believe the tail risk of a serious crisis in China, while still relatively small, has gotten much fatter in the last couple of months. Beijing appears to be trying to prop up the stock market. The latest attempted fillip can be seen with the news that China Will Speed Up Approvals for Qualified Foreign Investors. The costs of juicing the stock markets are relatively low in the short- to medium-term, a pop in share prices would be very positive for urban psychology during a time of increasing stress, and the government has levers that may still be fairly effective in artificially moving the market. The Sunday Washington Post published the interesting "tick-tock" Negotiations over dissident Chen Guangcheng offered rare glimpse into how China's leadership operates, U.S. officials say (See Politico's The art of the 'tick-tock' if you want to know about this form of journalism). The Post story follows the May 9 "tick-tock" in the New York Times in Behind Twists of Diplomacy in Case of Chen Guangcheng and presumably includes some details US officials witheld until Chen and family were safely in the US. While it is an interesting read, keep in mind that that the Post article makes extensive use of anonymous sources who clearly have an interest in spinning as positive a tale as possible. There also appears to be no input from the Chinese side. That does not mean much of it is not true, but read it with some skepticism. Saturday's Washington Post had a must read article about elite Chinese children studying in the US–Chinese communist leaders denounce U.S. values but send children to U.S. colleges. Hong Huang has the best quote in the story: Hong said she sees no contradiction between the desire for an Ivy League education and the current principles of the ruling party and its leaders: "What part of China is communist, and what part of Harvard is against elitist authoritarianism?" The Yang Rui "Foreign Trash Bitch-Gate" story has not gone away. Yang Rui announced on his Weibo that he retains the right to sue Charlie Custer, author of a Weibo and blog post calling for Yang's dismissal. In It's Not Just Yang Rui, Brendan O'Kane translates several of Yang's Weibo statements and helps put this mess in a bit more context. Influential people are calling on foreigners to avoid appearing on his show, and as Jim McGregor quipped on Twitter "If Yang Rui keeps up this anti-foreign nonsense they will have to change the show to "Monologue" as no foreigners will want to go near him." Toxic food du jour is back, now with video. Enterprising Chinese journalists are out with a report about ginger sprayed with banned pesticides. I guess my daily dose of fresh ginger juice may be doing more harm than good… If you are interested in arts and culture in China I highly recommend The Great Flourishing: China's Cultural Rise, Sheila Melvin and Jindong Cai's excellent blog about arts and culture in China. Today's suggested reading:
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