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- A Chronical of The Education Revolution
- Fifty Years On, Sino-Indian Border Still Unsettled
- China: Campaign to End the Unconstitutional Re-education Through Labour System
- Power Brokers Agree on Leadership? (Updated)
- Stumbling at the First Hurdle
- Spotted on Weibo: Birkin Bag with Chinese Characteristics
- What We Need to Hear From the Candidates on China
- Brown University’s Chinese Students Hear Dalai Lama’s Words and Say, “Meh”
- Sensitive Words: Luzhou Riots, Liao Yiwu and More
- The Daily Twit – 10/19/12: U.S. and China Steel Fighting
- Ai Weiwei: “China Must Recognize Itself”
- Beating a Dead Horse: Chinese Investment and the U.S. National Security Excuse
| A Chronical of The Education Revolution Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:40 PM PDT
Well, all taking place while youth in China, India, Korean and Japan are studying 120 hours a week, and asking for more.  |
| Fifty Years On, Sino-Indian Border Still Unsettled Posted: 19 Oct 2012 09:56 PM PDT Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the start of the 1962 Sino-Indian War on Saturday, The Economist visited the disputed region of Arunachal Pradesh over which it was fought. The area, sometimes known in China as "South Tibet", is considered a candidate for the birthplace of the next Dalai Lama. With the territorial dispute still looming, India has been reluctant to invest in developing the area, apart from improving roads to carry troops to the border.
The Economist's Banyan blog includes an account of the two-day journey to Tawang, and explains how the 1962 conflict came about:
Newly unearthed official documents shed additional light on the start of the war. From The Hindu's Ananth Krishnan:
At TIME, discussing Tibet's place in Sino-Indian relations, Nilanjana Bhowmick argues that a repeat of the 1962 war is now unlikely:
But a recent Pew survey previously covered on CDT shows a deepening mutual wariness between the Chinese and Indian publics, reports Tom Wright at India Real Time:
Meanwhile, writes Rajat Pandit at The Times of India, Indian military officers eye China with suspicion, claiming that lessons have been learned from 1962, and that "we can punch back now":
This latter arena, complicated by energy supplies and trade routes, may play a more central role in future than the two countries' Himalayan border. From Rajeev Sharma at China's Global Times:
© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us  |
| China: Campaign to End the Unconstitutional Re-education Through Labour System Posted: 19 Oct 2012 06:54 PM PDT The injustice faced by 25-year-old Ren Jianyu, a village official in Pang Shui county, Chongqing province, who was sentenced to two years labour education for blogging has brought the Re-education Through Labour System into public spotlight. Currently, in October 2012, there are more than 60 thousand people detained in labour education camps all over the country and opinion leaders are calling for an end to the unconstitutional system. 2 years re-education labour for blogging Ren Jianyu, a graduate from Chongqing Wenli College started his career as a village teacher in Pang Shui County in 2008. Later, in 2009, he decided to apply for the position of village official and began to blog about the frustration he faced in handling village affairs under the pseudo name Xiao Ben. In 2011, he started commenting on current issues on social media platforms and some of his micro-blogs such as "this society is so full of evil people while good people have bad luck. The mission of our generation is to eradicate the evil system and protect goodness", have become evidence of "state sedition". (via report from infzm.com [zh])  Ren Jianyu's photo. Public domain photo. On 18 of August 2011, he was arrested by Pang Shui Police. Even though the police reported that "there was no evidence that Ren had committed state sedition" and the People's Procuratorate of Chongqing city decided to drop the charge, the Chongqing Re-education Through Labour Committee decided to sentence Ren to two years labour re-education on 23 of September 2011. The so-called evidence of "state sedition" presented by the committee was Ren's micro-blog comments. Ren tried to file for appeal but no lawyers dared to take up the case until June 2012. Three months after former Chongqing CCP leader Bo Xilai stepped down, Beijing lawyer Pu Zhiqiang approached Ren and took up the appeal case. As the details of the case were exposed, major CCP mouthpieces, including Global Times and the People's Daily also published commentaries to criticize the Chongqing Committee's decision and call for more freedom of expression. More than 60 thousands still detained in Re-education Labour Camps Ren is only one of the 60 thousand plus victims of the Re-education through Labour System who are punished directly by the police authorities rather than through the judicial system. According to the report on ND Daily [zh], currently more than 60 thousand people are detained in Re-education labour camps all over the country and the Central Legal Reform Committee admitted in October 9, 2012 that the System has some procedure defects and should be reformed. While some are pondering whether or not the progressive gesture is a by-product of the power struggle before the up-coming 18th CCP Congress, online opinion leaders, in particular those from the legal field, are pushing for an end to the system rather than reform. 21ccom.net posted an opinion piece [zh] written by Feng Yuxiong:  Protest against the Re-education Through Labour System. Photo from Human Rights Campaign in China.
An end to the unconstitutional system Feng's opinion has a lot of echoes in social media. Below are my picks of the discussion [zh]:
Written by Oiwan Lam · comments (0) |
| Power Brokers Agree on Leadership? (Updated) Posted: 19 Oct 2012 03:25 PM PDT For months, Zhongnanhai watchers have speculated over who will take over the powerful Politburo Standing Committee in the upcoming once-a-decade leadership transition, and whether the current nine members will be reduced to seven. The scandal surrounding disgraced Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai has thrown a wrench in the succession plans, as he was widely expected to take a place on the Standing Committee. Reuters is now reporting that the decision about the makeup of the Standing Committee has already been made, quoting three sources close to the top leadership, ahead of the November 8 start of the 18th Party Congress:
Read more about the 5th generation of Party leaders and the 18th Party Congress, via CDT. Updated at 21:20 PST: The New York Times' Keith Bradsher reports that Wang Qishan may land in a nominally superior but less powerful role than the executive vice premiership for which he has previously been tipped:
© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us  |
| Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:48 PM PDT In a flashback to the London Olympics, one netizen compared track star Liu Xiang's Olympic defeat to China's 20th century history:
Hurdler Liu Xiang has long been China's most famous athlete and Olympic hopeful, but injury has kept him from finishing events at both the Beijing and London Olympics. Weeks after a dramatic fall at this year's 100-meter hurdle event, the Nanjing newspaper Oriental Guardian revealed that Liu and CCTV knew he was likely to re-injure his long-suffering Achilles tendon. CCTV approved four scripts in preparation, eventually using the "choked up" version on air. Willingly or not, mainland China failed in its first attempt at democracy. Will it pick itself and try again? If it does, will it clear the hurdle? Via AmazeNews. Translation by Irene Hsiao. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us  |
| Spotted on Weibo: Birkin Bag with Chinese Characteristics Posted: 19 Oct 2012 09:52 AM PDT
The tweet has been retweeted more than 15,000 times in less than four hours. Ms. Mao has clearly never considered the irony of printing a flag symbolizing the struggles of the have-nots on a bag worth tens of thousands of dollars, and she has never met the thoughtful "Mr. Mussard," who is actually a woman, the heiress of the Hermes dynasty. Ms. Mao and her long-time partner, Mr. Zhou Zhengyi, are legendary for their rags-to-riches story, making their fortunes through shadowy dealings in Shanghai's real estate and securities market that ultimately led to some jail time. It is perhaps the collective memory of grinding poverty lurking in the background that endows China's nouveau riche (or at least nouveau middle-class) with such ardor for the once-unthinkable levels of bling now found in many parts of the country. It's also likely what blinded Ms. Mao to the poignant irony of her new acquisition–in moving beyond her hardscrabble past so successfully, she has forgotten it too completely. Footnotes (? returns to text)
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| What We Need to Hear From the Candidates on China Posted: 19 Oct 2012 09:36 AM PDT  A few weeks back I explored the quality of the China debate in the Presidential campaign and found it sadly lacking. The campaigns have targeted China as a critical issue, but not in a way that elevates the discourse. China-bashing television ads and debate over whose pension fund has Chinese companies in its portfolio are not going to help the American people understand who would better manage U.S.-China relations and China's rise. As a result, I raised a number of potential issues I thought might help answer this question. Now with the foreign policy debate just a few days away, I see that the moderator Bob Schieffer has selected "The rise of China and tomorrow's world" as one of the five central topics for the debate. The somewhat awkward-sounding but bold title has reinforced my sense that the candidates need to be pushed out of their comfort zones to address the more strategic challenges that China is likely to present. Here are four questions I think might help force a bigger picture debate:
Frankly, I am glad that unlike the Middle East, China is not reeling from one crisis to another, while the United States struggles to find effective policy tools. China does not provide safe haven for terrorists and it did not trigger the global financial crisis. For the purposes of the presidential debate on foreign policy, that makes China appear a second tier issue. Still, China may well pose a far more serious strategic challenge to the United States and the global system. Chinese officials have called for the world to move away from the dollar as its reserve currency, challenged U.S. notions of good governance throughout the world, and blocked U.S. initiatives to address crises in Syria and Iran. All of this makes China an issue of paramount importance for the presidential debate. Let's hope that Mr. Schieffer can push the candidates to take the issue and the American people seriously enough to aim for profound rather than petty. |
| Brown University’s Chinese Students Hear Dalai Lama’s Words and Say, “Meh” Posted: 19 Oct 2012 08:43 AM PDT  His Holiness the Dalai Lama ingratiated himself to Brunonians by sporting a bit of Brown swag. (Mike Cohea/Brown University) We Brunonians have been anticipating the Dalai Lama's arrival for weeks, and on Wednesday, October 17 the day finally came when His Holiness delivered Brown University's Stephen A. Ogden Jr. '60 Memorial Lecture on International Affairs here in Providence, Rhode Island. A friend on Facebook said that he waited in line in front of the Rhode Island Convention Center for an hour and fell asleep during the lecture. Sad story. But what's probably even more sad is that he didn't miss that much–except probably the moment when His Holiness put on a Brown baseball cap to sport some hometown swag. And when he told his audience to either share his thought with others, if they found it interesting, or just to "forget" it, the stenographer transcribed it as "fuck it." The Huffington Post then wrote a short piece called "At Dalai Lama Brown University Speech, Profanity 'F**k it' Mistakenly Attributed toBuddhist Leader," with other national news media also reporting similar stories. Oh well. Guess that's what we really care about. The Dalai Lama talked about how he has long lived in a violent world and how the younger generation should open their minds to a new way of thinking in this century of dialogue and compassion. Taking care of others is important for one's own happiness, and happiness is where peace stems from, said His Holiness. And he didn't say a lot more than that. I was disappointed because I expected him to speak a bit about the fraught Tibet-China relationship, or at least say something about politics. Instead, all he talked about was happiness, peace, respect, and religion.  In his lecture, His Holiness stuck to themes of spirituality and steered clear of politics. (Frank Mullin/Brown University) Trevor Manuel, Finance Minister of South Africa, once told the press that "to say anything against the Dalai Lama is in some quarters, equivalent to trying to shoot Bambi." I wonder what he meant by calling Dalai Lama "Bambi": Is it because the Lama supports human right, animal welfare and world peace, and he is concerned about environmental problems? Or is it because he is "innocent," "harmless" and even "vulnerable" like Bambi? Before the lecture, I talked to a reporter sitting right next to me about our general impression of the Lama. She said that most Americans see him as a religious leader and a symbol of peace and non-violence. The Dalai Lama is often compared with a Buddha, and many people here think of him as a Gandhi-esque character. Meanwhile, in China, the Dalai Lama is almost never covered in the news. And when he is, he is mentioned as a political figure who fights for Tibet's independence against the Communist Party. I asked my Chinese friends at Brown about their opinions of the Dalai Lama's lecture. A Chinese student in the class of 2014 calls him Tibet's "Mr. puppet." My friend doesn't necessarily mean that the spiritual leader is heavily manipulated by Western society in order to control Tibet's foreign policy, as often explained in Chinese newspapers; rather, he compares the Dalai Lama with American politicians, seeing him as a spokesperson of an ideology. Kelly Wang, a junior studying computer science, doesn't share such opinions. She thought the Dalai Lama's lecture was pretty interesting. "The whole point is to bring such peaceful attitudes to more and more people," Kelly said. She was also impressed by the Dalai Lama's demeanor: Gentle, humorous, and radiating goodness. Some others were just as disappointed as I was, but they just didn't want to make it too obvious. I asked on Facebook whether I was the only one who was not impressed by the lecture, and a friend commented: "I didn't like the lecture at all but at the same time I didn't want to post on [Facebook] as if I really disliked it." He explained that the lecture was too general and the Lama is limited by his English. "We just expected much more."  The Dalai Lama got a rapturous reception at the Rhode Island Convention Center. (Frank Mullin/Brown University) Yizhi Xiao, a graduate student in comparative literature, made a little joke about the Lama's speech, saying that it reminds him of "sixties hippie stuff." "I can totally see John Lennon giving this whole lecture–if not singing it aloud." His comment reminds me of a conversation I overheard between two excited undergraduate students on their way to the Rhode Island Convention Center. They were talking about famous people they have seen at Brown: "When was the last time someone important came to Brown? " "Hmm, I remember it was my first year here. Justin Bieber came." "Did you go to his concert?!"
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| Sensitive Words: Luzhou Riots, Liao Yiwu and More Posted: 19 Oct 2012 08:02 AM PDT As of October 19, the following search terms are blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the "search for user" function): Rioting in Luzhou, Sichuan Province: Crowds jammed the streets and overturned police vehicles after a truck was reportedly beaten to death by police. - Luzhou traffic police (泸州交警) Liao Yiwu: In his acceptance speech for the German Book Trade Peace Prize, the writer in exile stated of China that "this empire must break apart." - Liao Yiwu (廖亦武): retested Other: - defend Sibada (保卫斯巴达): 斯巴达 Sībādá sounds like 十八大 Shíbā Dà, an abbreviation for the 18th Party Congress Note: All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results. CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese's latest sensitive words post. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us  |
| The Daily Twit – 10/19/12: U.S. and China Steel Fighting Posted: 19 Oct 2012 02:57 AM PDT Seems like all I do these days is write about the U.S.-China relationship. Things could be a lot better, but bilateral relations aren't as bad as the rhetoric might suggest. I blame the election/leadership change and expect that things will quiet down later this year. The latest trade issue in the news is the end of the WTO Grain Oriented Flat-rolled Electrical Steel (aka GOES) case, which the U.S. won back in June. China appealed on a few items and the appellate body sided with the U.S. I might write a post about the dispute over the next few days, but if I do, it will be limited to the issue of transparency. If you want to read up on the case: USTR: United States Prevails in Steel Dispute with China (U.S. government press release) Financial Times: WTO bans Chinese tariffs on US steel — Odd headline. This was a narrow anti-dumping decision that applies to a specific type of product. BBC News: China tariffs on US steel: WTO rejects Beijing's appeal Reuters: WTO hands Obama victory in U.S.-China steel case Xinhua: WTO rejects China's appeal in US steel dispute — This is just straight news. I looked around for the usual "China regrets the decision of the WTO" but couldn't find anything. I expect the Ministry of Commerce had something to say, but I haven't seen it yet. Here are a few more items for your weekend reading: Guardian: China's economy slows down – threatening western bottom lines – Some skepticism about China's GDP numbers, with a look at MNCs and their forecasting as another measure of where things are in terms of growth. New York Times: China's Post-Cheesecake Economy — A quirky look at some of the imagery and metaphors used to talk about the Chinese economy. Refreshing. Reuters: China January-September FDI down 3.8 percent on year to $83.4 billion Foreign Policy: To Renminbi Or Not to Renminbi? - Why China's currency isn't taking over the world — Excellent article by Victor Shih and Susan Shirk about RMB internationalization and what needs to happen before it becomes a reality. Wall Street Journal: The Mechanics of Moving Cash Out of China — I always found this topic kind of fun, even going back to the days when folks were taking suitcases of cash down south with them. Still an important issue, particularly with the recent capital flight. Andrew Sullivan: Is China A Cheater? — This is the subject I talked about yesterday, although instead of trade, I was mostly discussing IP. Financial Times: Chinese group in insider trade settlement — Looks like we're not going to see any litigation over the CNOOC-Nexen insider trading, but at least the bad guys had to pay something. These days in the financial services sector, that's (unfortunately) a big win. Global Times: Injury lawsuits rise among seniors — Not as boring as it sounds. This is one of those strange effects, apparently, of economic development in China. Seniors are getting out more, traveling, living longer, and have better access to heath care. Result: more injuries and lawsuits. Stanley Lubman: Vital Task for China's Next Leaders: Fix Environmental Protection — Law prof Lubman on the huge enviro challenge facing China after the leadership change. Indeed. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Ai Weiwei: “China Must Recognize Itself” Posted: 19 Oct 2012 01:10 AM PDT Dissident artist Ai Weiwei served as guest editor and appears on cover of the latest issue of British magazine New Statesman, in which he leads with a challenge for China to re-evaluate and recognize its position in the world as it seeks answers to the many problems it faces:
Ai, who placed third in ArtReview's 2012 ranking of the most powerful figures in the art world, becomes the eighth guest to edit the New Statesman. The magazine's features editor, Sophie Elmhirst, details the story behind Ai Weiwei's role:
New Statesman also produced a digital PDF version of this week's issue in Chinese, which it uploaded to file-sharing sites in order to circumvent a censorship regime that has "tried to obliterate the existence of Ai Weiwei from the internet". From an essay about censorship by former newspaper editor and secret detainment victim Cheng Yizhong, to an interview Ai conducted with a paid internet troll charged with disrupting netizen debates, deputy editor Helen Lewis promises Chinese readers they will find "a story very different from the one they are told by the state-controlled press". See also previous CDT coverage of Ai Weiwei, including an interview he gave to German magazine Der Spiegel earlier this month. © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us  |
| Beating a Dead Horse: Chinese Investment and the U.S. National Security Excuse Posted: 18 Oct 2012 11:15 PM PDT
Is there any connection between the Ralls rejection and the Huawei/ZTE investigations? Here's a statement from Xinhua today that says yes:
Yes, both of these items involved Chinese companies and perceived national security risks. But if the results were not a coincidence, what does that mean? I assume that we are supposed to believe that there is a China bashing conspiracy going on here, that Huawei, ZTE and Ralls have all been treated unfairly for some reason (China bashing or protectionism – not sure which one Xinhua was going for this time). Of course, if you're going to posit that this was all coordinated, it might help to explain why. Aside from these being Chinese companies and the problems being related to national security, I'm not sure what the common thread here is. As I've written many times now, I have problems with the Ralls decision. I find it difficult to believe the national security objections, particularly since Ralls had already complied with a U.S. Navy mitigation plan. That's why with respect to this deal, I question whether China bashing or some sort of protectionism might be involved. With Huawei and ZTE, I take the other position. The fears of future security problems seem reasonable, and certainly not so far fetched that, in the absence of clear evidence to the contrary, I would entertain the possibility of local protectionism or good old fashioned China bashing. So I'm not buying any attempt at dumping these items in one category and calling it a trend. Moreover, let's make sure we stick with the facts. The above quote notes that these Chinese companies have been "blocked" from investing in the U.S. Not exactly true. Ralls had one project blocked, but I don't see any reason why it cannot continue with other U.S. deals. For Huawei and ZTE, their future in the U.S. looks much dimmer, although neither the House report nor the White House investigation blocked anything, but were more akin to supervisory opinions. The result might very well be that future deals involving Huawei and ZTE will indeed be blocked as a result of these investigations, but technically neither the House committee nor the White House are the ones doing the blocking. I am also confused by Xinhua's use of the term "backfired." Exactly what has backfired for the U.S.? That's very odd language. For something to backfire, there needs to be an unwanted effect. The U.S. has made life difficult for Ralls, Huawei, and ZTE, and it has angered Beijing. In the future, U.S. companies may very well run into some problems in China because, you know, reciprocity is a bitch. By the way, China has its own national security review process, albeit a relatively new one. You think it might start using it? You bet your ass. But this is all speculation, and for the U.S. government, so what? Nothing has backfired, at least not yet. Finally, a quick comment on the Sany/Ralls lawsuit, which I've also mentioned before. Sany's chairman has been quite vocal about how he intends to take this "all the way." Unfortunately, the U.S. statute that authorizes CFIUS and the president to make these investment decisions does not allow for judicial review of presidential orders. Sorry, but that seems rather clear, and the Ralls "appeal" appears to be a sure loser, unless someone comes up with a creative angle. It probably doesn't need to be said, but just because you sue someone, that doesn't mean that you are supporting the rule of law:
Oh, please. I don't like the result in the Ralls case either, but the president undoubtedly has the authority to make that decision. I'm glad to hear that Sany trusts the U.S. legal system so much; too bad it doesn't trust its U.S. legal counsel more, as I expect that person is probably advising that the suit should be dropped. I tend to get annoyed when an entire legal system is disparaged because someone doesn't like a specific case, particularly when the critic is an interested party! I remember when everyone in the U.S. condemned the judicial system there because of the infamous McDonald's "hot coffee" litigation. The whole thing was remarkable in its stupidity. Similar things are said about China's legal system whenever there is a high profile criminal case involving a government official. No, says I, those are individual cases and shouldn't be used to condemn the entire system. The Ralls decision might have been unfair, and you may not like the treatment of Huawei and ZTE, but I think it's time to move on. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us |
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