Blogs » Politics » CNN and Financial Times spin news of China topping U.S. in importing oil as shake up to geopolitics of natural resources

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• CNN and Financial Times spin news of China topping U.S. in importing oil as shake up to geopolitics of natural resources
• 45 Arrested in HK For Smuggling Baby Powder
• NPC May Establish Unified Food and Drug Agency
• Photo: 龙口桥 Dragon’s Mouth Bridge, China, 2013, by Chris Aston
• Defining Reform Under Xi Jinping (Updated)
• Chinese NPC Rep: “We Must Allow Chinese to Have a Second Child. We Cannot Wait Another Minute.”
• Ministry of Truth: Ten Points on Two Sessions
• China’s Real Estate Bubble, and Hopes for Democracy
• Choking to Death: Health Consequences of Air Pollution in China
• Shine Has Worn Off Wukan’s Early Triumphs
• How Can a Chinese Woman Born in 1990 Already Be ‘Too Old’ for Marriage?
• Villagers Protest Land Grab, Demand Democracy
• No Privacy Expectation Up In the Cloud
• Village Paper Dares to Challenge the Official Line

CNN and Financial Times spin news of China topping U.S. in importing oil as shake up to geopolitics of natural resources Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:38 PM PST CNN recently repeated an article from Financial Times on the news China has temporarily overtaken the United States as the world's largest net oil importer. In spinning this news, their narrative went as follows: "China has overtaken the US as the world's largest net importer of oil, in a generational shift that will shake up the geopolitics of natural resources." First of all, China offers a lesson to the world, and especially to the NATO countries. You can become the world's #1 net importer of oil without invading and occupying countries. You simply trade. China just did it. And, the last time I checked, it doesn't appear China is upsetting any geopolitics. Is China kicking out American bases anywhere for oil? Nope. America may withdraw some ships from the region because America is becoming less dependent on Middle East oil, but that is on America's own accord. So, all we have here is CNN and Financial Times agitating fear within the American public; corporate media and military industrial complex on display.

45 Arrested in HK For Smuggling Baby Powder Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:10 PM PST Hong Kong customs officials arrested 45 people late last week on charges of smuggling baby milk formula into mainland China, after a new emergency law took effect on March 1st which limits passengers to no more than two cans (1.8 kilograms) of the product. From the Los Angeles Times: The new Hong Kong law stipulates a penalty of up to $64,500 and two years in prison for anyone convicted of breaking the milk powder export limit. At Hong Kong's international airport, the public address system informed passengers that they were not permitted to carry out more than two cans of powdered milk formula. Mainland traders are known in Hong Kong as "locusts," for stripping store shelves of milk powder and other consumer goods for resale across the border. The booming milk powder trade in Hong Kong was fueled by fears on the mainland that domestically produced baby formula is tainted with industrial chemicals. Rowdy demonstrations by Hong Kong residents protesting the cross-border consumer-goods trade last year helped turn milk powder into a powder keg threatening relations between Hong Kong and the mainland. Hong Kong parents complain that they are unable to find baby formula for their own children. The accused included 26 Hong Kong residents, 18 mainlanders and one person with a foreign passport, according to the South China Morning Post. A number of tainted baby formula scandals have hit China in recent years – thousands of children fell ill with kidney problems in 2008 from milk powder tainted with the industrial chemical melamine – and mainland mothers have since turned to places such as Hong Kong and even Australia for their baby food. More recently, a cancer-causing element was found in samples of a mainland dairy company last year. China's health minister called the smuggling of infant formula a "temporary problem" in Beijing on Monday, according to the Financial Times. Checking in from the sidelines of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) on Sunday, the South China Morning Post noted a mixed bag of opinions on the issue among the members of China's top political consultative body: Wang Xudong, head of the School of Information Technology at Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, lashed out at Hong Kong's measures, calling them strict. "The Hong Kong government is way out of line…[It] only cares about Hong Kong's babies, not at all for the ones on the mainland. [It thinks] it isn't enough to only seize milk powder, but even imprison the carriers," Wang said. … Other CPPCC members called for a serious crackdown on food safety violators after an seemingly endless stream of scandals in China. They said food safety issues were at the core of the milk power controversy. Three-time CPPCC member Pan Qinglin from Tianjin urged heavier punishment on offenders. "I suggest imposing the death penalty to [foodmakers who put people in danger]… [Food fabrication] has damaged the image of the Chinese Communist Party," he said. © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: baby formula, children's health, CPPCC, dairy industry, food safety, food scandal, milk contamination, smuggling Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

NPC May Establish Unified Food and Drug Agency Posted: 04 Mar 2013 05:43 PM PST Among the most anticipated policy unveilings at the ongoing Two Sessions is the likely consolidation of some of China's 27 ministries and countless lower-level government bodies. The State Administration for Radio, Film and Television and General Administration of Press and Publication, for example, may be absorbed by the Ministry of Culture, while the Ministry of Transport is widely expected to swallow the colossal and scandal-wracked Ministry of Railways. Responsibility for food and possibly drug safety, currently scattered across 13 separate agencies, may also be unified in a single body in order to better combat the country's steady stream of public health scares. From Zhuang Pinghui at the South China Morning Post: The ministerial-level body, due to be approved within days at the annual session of the National People's Congress, will follow the example of the US Food and Drug Administration. It will integrate regulation and law enforcement in one agency. […] Despite numerous nationwide crackdowns, consumer confidence in the mainland's food and drug industry has been shattered. The current system is tangled in red tape, with up to 13 government agencies controlling food and drug regulation and supervision. The industrial and commerce authority, for example, is responsible for packaging, while the Ministry of Health handles food safety standards. The Ministry of Agriculture steps in if animals are involved. Academics and food safety watchdogs have long complained that the numerous agencies create blind spots and overlaps of power that contribute to the chaos. Super-sized ministries may not fulfill their promised efficiency gains, however, as The Economist (via CDT) recently explained. The structure of Chinese food production is also highly fragmented. Here, too, consolidation seems likely, as huge numbers of small-scale suppliers give way to a much smaller number of industrial-scale farms. While big agribusiness can bring its own problems, this trend is expected to greatly simplify food production chains and ease monitoring and enforcement of food safety. © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: drug safety, food safety, GAPP, ministries reorganization, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Health, National People's Congress, public health, SARFT, super-ministries, two sessions Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Photo: 龙口桥 Dragon’s Mouth Bridge, China, 2013, by Chris Aston Posted: 04 Mar 2013 03:20 PM PST 龙口桥 Dragons Mouth Bridge, China, 2013 © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Defining Reform Under Xi Jinping (Updated) Posted: 04 Mar 2013 03:01 PM PST With the annual session of the National People's Congress now underway, observers are waiting to see how Xi Jinping, who will be sworn in as president at the end of the session, will deal with a number of issues confronting the country. Global Times gives an overview of the meetings, which include gatherings of both the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and the National People's Congress: About 2,200 members of the 12th CPPCC National Committee will discuss major issues including the election of new leaders of the top advisory body and proposals for the coming National People's Congress (NPC) on Tuesday. They will also review government work reports and hear recommendations for improvement. "This year's two sessions have a distinct feature, which is to witness the transition of the top government leaders," Yun Jie, director of the administration research department at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Sunday, adding that a smooth leadership transition is crucial to China's future over at least the next five years. Chi Fulin, director of domestic reform think tank the China (Hainan) Institute for Reform and Development, expects the meetings to shed light on China's future reforms because NPC deputies and CPPCC members will make proposals to the government on issues concerning people's livelihoods and state affairs. Lü Xinhua, a CPPCC spokesman, said 840 proposals had been submitted by members as of Saturday noon. The Global Times found many of the proposals tackle issues including fighting corruption, institutional restructuring and environmental protection, particularly curbing air and water pollution. While last year's congress was held amid the breaking scandal involving former Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai, this year's congress aims to refocus public attention elsewhere. From the New York Times: Most analysts agree that the proceedings this year will ignore the plight of Mr. Bo, who is being detained awaiting prosecution on charges of corruption, abuse of power and obstruction of justice. This year, the party's new top leaders, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, have paved the way for the 13-day session with vows to end flagrant privileges and self-enrichment by officials and their families. They have also vowed to create a more efficient government, and reduce the acrid smog that has enveloped Beijing and other northern Chinese cities for weeks this winter. "They've already taken many steps that have raised hopes among ordinary people — now we're looking for signs that the hopes can be satisfied," said Deng Yuwen, an editor for The Study Times, a weekly newspaper published by the Central Party School in Beijing. "The congress won't have any breakthroughs, but it can indicate where and how fast the leaders want to take things." Yet the congress itself is widely viewed as a rubber stamp, with any debate or negotiations taking place behind the scenes. For the many journalists who attend the proceedings, it can be difficult to gain access to key players or to inside information about how proposals are introduced and debated. The Wall Street Journal's China Real Time reports: While delegates to the two meetings will get to discuss key plans for streamlining the government and even make recommendations, it's hard to conceive of this pageant as much more than a talk shop when there is only one full session a year. The quest for authoritative and objective reporting might be easier with a little less secrecy surrounding even the simplest information. A list of all delegates to the advisory body was released without explanation of what any of the more than 2,000 representatives did to get into this august body. Even the time of the CPPCC's opening session was kept under wraps until the last moment – and they were similarly coy with the closing date for the parliament session, which formally opens Tuesday. That presents a bit of a challenge for serious news coverage, leaving state media to occupy the role of stenographer. CPPCC chairman Jia Qinglin noted that over the last five years the advisory body had organized more than 500 in-depth studies, zeroing in on the economy, people's livelihood and regional development, state media reported. Xinhua revealed that a total of 28,930 proposals had been submitted by CPPCC members over the past five years, and 26,583 of these had been addressed. There were no details on which had actually made it into policy or law. For domestic media, reporting on the congress is tightly proscribed. CDT recently translated a list of ten topics that are off-limits for reporting during the session. One piece of data – the annual military budget – was not revealed at the press conference on the eve of the session's opening as expected [See update below]. As AP reports: The legislature's spokeswoman defended booming military spending Monday, saying the vast investment has contributed to global peace and stability, though she did not announce the coming year's percentage increase, as usually has been done on the eve of the legislature's opening. With China now the world's No. 2 military spender after the U.S., the amount of this year's increase will be a barometer of the complicated relationship between Xi and the politically influential military. A big boost would show Xi wants robust backing for the People's Liberation Army at a time when China has tense territorial disputes with neighbors and wants to reduce U.S. influence in the region. A smaller increase would show that Xi feels he already has strong military support without the need to pander to its recent demands for ever-larger outlays. Growth in the military budget should match or exceed last year's rate, if only to keep up with rising inflation, said Ni Lexiong, a military expert at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. Tensions with Japan and others, he said, should ensure a bigger voice for the military. Other changes that are expected to be announced during the congress include an administrative reorganization of government ministries. Notably, the scandal-plagued Ministry of Railways is expected to be demoted and broken into commercial and operational arms. From Reuters: "Part of the Ministry of Railways will be merged with a super-Ministry of Transport," said a second source who has leadership ties, requesting anonymity to avoid repercussions for speaking to foreign reporters. The source was referring to the operations of the railways. A state-owned enterprise will absorb the ministry's commercial arm, which has responsibility for passenger ticketing and freight operations, the sources added. The Railways Ministry has faced numerous problems over the past few years, including heavy debts from funding new high-speed lines, waste and fraud. The government has pledged to open the rail industry to private investment on an unprecedented scale. Individual delegates to the CPPCC and other activists have issued public calls for specific reforms at the NPC. As the New York Times reports, some delegates are calling for an end to re-education through labor, or laojiao, camps, following vague promises from the government on the issue: "The reeducation-through-labor system to a certain extent makes citizens live in fear," said Dai Zhongchuan, a delegate and law professor from Huaqiao University in Fujian Province, in a report by china.com.cn, the news portal of the State Council Information Office and the National Internet Information Office. "Not to go through the courts to decide on a crime is to deprive and limit personal freedoms. Not to take steps to restrict and monitor this can very easily lead to the abuse of power," said Mr. Dai. Human Rights Watch issued a letter to Xi Jinping calling for the abolition of laojiao and a number of other reforms. But as the New York Times article quoted above points out, deeper political reforms are unlikely to come to fruition at the current congress: The apparent scaling back of the plans for administrative changes reflects how difficult it will be for the leadership to deliver on promises to free up the economy from state-owned enterprises and fight corruption, while still preserving single-party rule, said Zheng Yongnian, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore. "In all these issues, there's the same basic problem of deep distrust between the people and the government," Mr. Zheng said. "Because there is so much distrust, the government is reluctant to make deep reforms. What they call reforms turns out be reassigning powers within government, not giving up powers to society. That's not real reform — and then people feel increasingly frustrated." UPDATE: Early Tuesday morning Beijing time, Xinhua released the military budget: China plans to raise its defense budget by 10.7 percent to 720.2 billion yuan (114.3 billion U.S. dollars) in 2013. — Xinhua News Agency (@XHNews) March 5, 2013 © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Bo Xilai, Li Keqiang, NPC 2013, political reform, re-education through labor, super-ministries, Xi Jinping Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Chinese NPC Rep: “We Must Allow Chinese to Have a Second Child. We Cannot Wait Another Minute.” Posted: 04 Mar 2013 11:56 AM PST Children perform morning exercises at an elementary school in Xi'an. (eviltomthai/Flickr) China's Two Sessions are in full swing, with lawmakers proposing a variety of new regulations addressing issues of concern to China's citizens. Perhaps one of the most welcomed of these proposals was Guangdong National People's Congress (NPC) representative He Youlin's call for an adjustment to China's One-child policy, which became the hottest topic in Weibo's My Two Sessions Proposals category, the hottest trending topic of conversation on the Twitter-like site. "Two years ago I raised this matter, and I raised it against last year. I will raise it again this year!" remarked He Youlin. "We must allow Chinese to have a second child. We cannot wait another minute." The top five comments on this Sina article, each receiving more than 500 "likes," expressed support for He's proposal. The One-child policy, which has restricted most Chinese to having a single child in order to curb population growth over the past three decades, is unpopular among most Chinese and has recently drawn harsh criticism from academics and scholars, who say the policy may lead to economic and societal disaster. As recently as January of this year, the head of China's National Family Planning Commission affirmed that the policy was in place for the long term. In response to the statement, NPC delegate He Youlin said, "That isn't right. You can't consider such matters from the perspective of your professional department. You should think about it from the perspective of a people's development, of the future strategic development of our country." Over 3,000 Weibo users commented on He Youlin's third attempt to make it possible for Chinese families to have two children. Most comments proclaimed support for He's persistence, as well as a desire for the policy to end, many citing statistics on China's slowing population growth and aging demographics. A not-insignificant group of commenters even said that economic realities would prevent most Chinese from having two children anyway, so the issue was moot. Still others decried the inhumanity of the policy, implementation of which has resulted in forced abortions and financial threats. While some Weibo users voiced support, many others sadly voiced their opinion that He's proposal would never gain broad support at the government level. Commented one user, "If they let people have two children, think of how much less money the government will make in fines [for having too many children]. This alone means the proposal will never pass." One economist estimates that the government has made over US$316 billion from such fines since the policy was first instituted. Another netizen wrote, "The One-child Policy is actually China's greatest social stability measure. If there aren't any young people at all, who will protest?" Many proposals raised at the NPC will never become law, so the raising of this measure does not signify a movement in the government towards an adjustment of the One-child policy. Debate continues, however, online and at the highest levels, with an increasing number of citizens calling for change.

Ministry of Truth: Ten Points on Two Sessions Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:30 AM PST The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Central Propaganda Department: Matters Needing Attention During the Two Sessions: (1) Without exception, do not report on officials' financial disclosure during the Two Sessions; do not comment; do not republish reports from foreign media. (2) During the Two Sessions, coverage of sudden incidents or mass incidents in Shaanxi Province must go through the Propaganda Department and then listen to planned reports. (3) For the time being, regional media must cease monitoring public opinion outside the borders of their jurisdiction. (4) Without exception, all information on the issue of anti-corruption which has not been verified by the discipline inspection commissions of your respective jurisdiction must not be reported. (5) Reduce the number of negative articles on home pages. The Internet Information Office [probably of the State Council Information Office] requests timely management of this task. Particularly ensure that social networking sites are taken care of. (6) Media personnel must not post information which is harmful to the government on their Weibo accounts. All weibos posted by media organizations, reporters, and editors must represent their respective work units. (7) Report less on interaction among the leadership. Do not report "shocking" news on representatives. Do not turn reporting on the Two Sessions into entertainment. Report more on the voices of grassroots representatives and committee members. (8) Reuse reports from authoritative media sources and complete coordinated reports [with these sources]. (9) Reports on learning from Lei Feng must not veer off course or have a negative influence. (10)  Coverage of congress amenities and work style and the Clean Plate Campaign must focus on new accomplishments, but reign in the scope [or reporting]. (March 3, 2013) 中 宣部：两会期间报道注意事项：1）涉及官员财产公示报道，两会期间一律不报道，不评论，不转发境外媒体报道。2）两会期间陕西突发事件及群体性事件，需报 经宣传部后，听从安排报道。3）各地媒体暂时停止跨地域舆论监督。4）所有未经各地党委纪律检查委员会证实的各类反腐信息，一律不要报道。5）减少首页负 面稿件数目，网络信息办公室要求处置的要及时处理，重点管理好社交网络。6）媒体从业人员微博不得发布对政治有害消息，媒体法人，记者，编辑微博所发内容 代表单位名义。7）少报道领导互动，不报道代表委员"雷人雷语"，不把两会报道娱乐化，多报道基层代表和委员声音。8）转发来源使用权威媒体报道，配合性 报道要做足。9）学雷锋报道不得偏离方向，出现负面影响。10）会风，作风，光盘行动报道重点在取得新的成就，但要把握好尺度。 Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as "Directives from the Ministry of Truth." CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation. Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date on CDT Chinese is noted after the directives; the date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: censorship, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Internet censorship, media censorship, Ministry of Truth, National People's Congress, NPC, NPC 2013, propaganda, two sessions Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

China’s Real Estate Bubble, and Hopes for Democracy Posted: 04 Mar 2013 10:24 AM PST For CBS' 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl visits China to investigate the "largest housing bubble in human history" and explore ghost cities, such as Ordos, Inner Mongolia, and housing and shopping developments that have been built and left empty around the country: Stahl interviews developer Wang Shi who acknowledges that the bubble is "dangerous" and on the verge of bursting. In an accompanying Internet feature, Stahl also interviews real estate mogul Zhang Xin — the "richest self-made billionaire woman in the world" — who made waves not for her comments on the real estate market in China, but on democracy, made in the last minute of this clip: 60 Minutes Overtime gives more background on Zhang's comments and discusses her activity on weibo: [The SOHO Sanlitun office and shopping area, developed by Zhang Xin and her husband Pan Shiyi. Photo by TonyV3112 / Shutterstock.com] © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: democracy, economic development, Ordos, pan shiyi, real estate bubble, zhang xin Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

Choking to Death: Health Consequences of Air Pollution in China Posted: 04 Mar 2013 09:39 AM PST In the past few months, I wrote about the food the Chinese eat, and, more recently, Liz Economy wrote about the water the Chinese drink. But the air that the Chinese breathe is now a major concern. As the nearly 3,000 delegates of the National People's Congress (NPC) arrive in Beijing to attend the yearly event to formally endorse nominees for key government leadership posts and important national policies, it would be hard for them to ignore the poor air quality in the country's capital. Last Thursday morning, readings near Tiananmen Square measured the concentration of PM2.5—fine particles in the air that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter and are considered dangerous because they tend to penetrate the gas exchange regions of the lungs—at 469 micrograms per cubic meter, which corresponds to a U.S. EPA Air Quality Index reading of 479 (the scale stops at 500). Anything above 301 is considered "hazardous" in that it can cause "serious aggravation of heart or lung disease and premature mortality in persons with cardiopulmonary disease and the elderly," and there is a "serious risk of respiratory effects in general population." The PM2.5 levels in other famously polluted cities pale in comparison to those in Beijing; for instance, the highest PM2.5 level in a 24-period recorded in Los Angeles was 43 micrograms per cubic meter. The poor air quality, according to a leading Chinese public health expert, is worse than SARS because nobody can escape it. Research suggests that air pollution can raise the risk of cardio-respiratory death by 2 to 3 percent for every increase of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of pollutants. Only 1 percent of China's 560 million urban residents breathe air considered safe by European Union, according to a 2007 World Bank study.  A report released by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection in November 2010 showed that about one-third of 113 cities failed to meet national air standards.The 2012 Cancer Registry Annual Report revealed that lung cancer is top among all types of cancer in terms of the number of cases and deaths in China. Indeed, the number of lung cancer-caused mortality in China has increased by 465 percent in the past three decades. In Beijing, the number of lung cancer patients has increased by 60 percent in the last ten years. The rising incidence rate of lung cancer coincides with drastic reduction in the incidence rates of stomach cancer and cervical cancer, which is thought to be a result of improvements in public health standards. For years, public health experts considered smoking the leading risk factor of lung cancer. Yet a recent report prepared by some prominent Chinese public health experts and economists did not find any significant change in China's overall smoking rate over the last decade. A group of scientists analyzed historical records of aerosol particles and lung cancer incidence in Guangzhou and found that a dramatic increase in the occurrence of air pollution from 1954 to 2006 was followed by a large increase in the lung cancer incidence rate despite the drop in the overall smoking rate. It was found that 750,000 Chinese die prematurely each year, primarily because of air pollution in large cities. According to more recent estimates by Greenpeace and Peking University's School of Public Health, exposure to PM2.5 contributed to more than 8,500 premature deaths in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Xi'an in 2012 alone. The thick haze served as a wake-up call for the government, which seems to become more transparent in discussing air pollution in China. As public awareness of the problem grew, pressure on the government to address the underlying causes also increased. To improve the air quality, the Beijing municipal government has taken some emergency measures, including temporarily shutting down more than 100 factories and ordering one-third of government vehicles off the streets. However, given that coal burning in neighboring provinces and cities is a major contributor of the PM2.5 concentration in Beijing, the effectiveness of these steps has been limited. Moreover, while emissions from motor vehicles and coal-burning operations are responsible for the worsening air pollution in China, economic growth requires increased energy use. Since the regime's legitimacy hinges upon delivering robust economic growth, governments at all levels continue to pursue growth at the expense of environment. We are going to see more NPC delegates pushing for better environmental protection measures, but don't expect any fundamental change until the government has shifted to a new legitimacy base and restructured the state-society relationship to allow for more effective participation of civil society groups in the public policy process. In the words of Chinese premier-to-be Li Keqiang, "It will be a long process to resolve environmental problems."

Shine Has Worn Off Wukan’s Early Triumphs Posted: 04 Mar 2013 07:39 AM PST While a disputed land sale has sparked protests and demands for democracy in the Guangdong village of Shangpu, Reuters reports that "spring is over" in the nearby village of Wukan, which made headlines last year for holding elections after ousting its own village leadership in late-2011 land grab protests: Reuters visited Wukan six times over the last year-and-a-half, chronicling the early protests, the uprising, its eventual triumph and now its disillusionment. The events in Wukan focused keen attention in Beijing over a problem the central government had long underplayed – rampant land seizures across China. The government is drafting revised land management legislation for the annual parliament session in March that would require farmers – an estimated 650 million of them in China – to be adequately compensated and relocated before officials can expropriate any land. But Wukan's failure to overcome entrenched corruption shows how difficult it is for grassroots protest to spur lasting change in China. Towering above Wukan is a vast local, regional and national edifice of Party control and vested interests. Indeed, even the Xi administration's push to overhaul the land seizure law faces opposition from developers, businesses and local governments that depend on property sales. "For Wukan, amongst all the villages in China, to be able to rise up and protect their interests, then to conduct a democratic election and to become a kind of experimental ground, is significant," said Peng Peng, a senior researcher with the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences. But the inexperience of the new leaders and their halting progress over the land issues has exposed the teething problems of nurturing village democracy in China, he added. "There can't just be democracy, there needs to be solid administration, too." Resentment has simmered among Wukan villagers at their leaders' inability to secure the return of their land, but the Financial Times reports that deputy village chief Yang Semao believes critical villagers "are not reasonable:" In its year in office, the committee has succeeded in returning 200 hectares of land sold off by the previous village chief, Mr Yang says. But many villagers are still determined to seize property for which the deeds were transferred to factory owners and businessmen several years ago. Confronted with persistent criticism – in painful contrast to the adulation they once enjoyed of a once remarkably united village – Mr Lin and many committee members have contemplated resigning. "I am afraid of seeing people, afraid of hearing my doorbell ring," Mr Lin told a Shanghai television station last month. "Why? Because whatever I do or say now, people are able to find a way to blame me." © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: democracy, land grabs, local politics, mass incidents, political reform, protests, Wukan Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

How Can a Chinese Woman Born in 1990 Already Be ‘Too Old’ for Marriage? Posted: 03 Mar 2013 11:06 PM PST A Chinese bride wears her wedding ring for the first time. (Amaotou/Flickr) This is a part of a Tea Leaf Nation series covering gender issues in today's China.  On February 22, a report released by Internet portal Sina made waves among China's youth. A post on Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, attracted heated discussion: "According to relevant regulations, the first marriage of males aged 25 or older and females aged 23 or older are considered 'late marriages.' A bit of simple math shows that 2013 is the first year that some post-80's (those born in 1980 or later) are turning 33, and the first year that some post-90's (those born in 1990 or later) are of 'late marriage' age." Over 400,000 web users discussed the topic on Weibo, and with print media covering it as well, the subject of "late marriage" has generated discussion on a variety of issues related to marriage, age, and gender roles in China. Surprised by the airing of a well-known but seldom-discussed tension, many Web users shared feelings of melancholy and loss. Wrote Weibo user @糖糖咖啡物语: "If the post-90's are already late to marriage, how can we un-married post-80's survive?" User @New-姜浩 wrote: "I always thought of the post-90's as little kids, and now I suddenly realize that post-90's girls are considered late to marry…I am old, old, old, old. Time is a butcher's knife!" Many users shared other concerns, hopes and the feelings about bearing the "post-90's" label. Some remained optimistic. Use @Grace-贞 wrote: "[Being one of the post-90's]…however old we are, we should never lose our ability to be patient in waiting for and loving someone. We are still young, we should do what we are supposed to – trust in love, find love and pursue love." User @资海小鱼 commented: "Marriage? No way. I just graduated from college, how can I afford to get married? Marriage is too far away and unrealistic for me. 'Post-90's' has never sounds like praise, the elderly always see us as extremely frivolous, and I don't understand why." But current regulations' classification of some "Post-90's" are "late" to marry collided with stereotypes surrounding the generation, whose members are seen as poor planners who lead lives that older Chinese might derisively describe as "non-mainstream." User @李芬尼 mocked both his own single status and the seemingly out-of-touch policy: "I have lived more than 20 years. Though I have not achieved anything big, I have made one single contribution – by practicing the national 'family planning' policy and 'late marriage, late childbearing' policy, I have sacrificed by precious youth for the sake of the national strategic plan." A young Chinese couple catches a private moment during their wedding. (Amaotou/Flickr) In fact, several decades ago, late marriage was not considered a problem according to China's so-called one-child policy. The concept of "late marriage" is addressed in the 1980 Marriage Law, in Chapter 2, Article 5: "Late marriage and late childbirth should be encouraged." Though the age for late marriage was not set in the law, 23 years of age for women and 25 years for men has been the assumed standard at local levels, and has been used in such documents as the Population and Family Planning Policy of Beijing (Chapter 3, Article 16), published in 2003. Although the original purpose of the Population and Family Planning Policy was to curb population growth by encouraging late marriage, policy-makers today have far different concerns. A recent letter signed by many prominent academics in China has also pointed out that China's population will begin to shrink in ten years, even if its one-child policy were to be scrapped immediately. Faced with an aging population that may begin shrinking very soon, China has a vested interest in hurrying its post-90's citizens into marriage. In 2012, the National Population and Family Planning Commission and Jiayuan.com, an online dating website, conducted a survey on marriage with approximately 80,000 participants. Results showed that while 52% of the women respondents believed owning a house to be a prerequisite for marriage, 41% of all respondents believed that men should be financially responsible for the majority of household expenses–another 40% believe the burden should fall on whoever is financially better off. Whether this schism is due to traditional ideas about gender roles or China's gender imbalance, the reality is that bachelors are under great pressure when it comes to buying a home. In fact, according to a CNN.com report based on a study by Columbia University Professor Shang-Jin Wei, 48% or (US$8 trillion worth) of the rise in property values across 35 major cities in China is linked to the country's gender imbalance. With pressure on men to buy property – and on women to help them – men are more than twice as likely to have legal sole or joint ownership of property as women, with two-thirds of men owning property compared to only one-third of women. Due to this imbalance in financial security, men have more leverage and more options in romance and relationships. China's gender imbalance means that more men than women between the ages of 25 and 29 are unmarried. But men in this group are not marrying women of their own age, instead searching for younger partners. Women aged 27 or older, according to the Chinese government and many media outlets, are "leftover," less likely to find matches than their younger counterparts. Becoming "leftover" has long been a source of anxiety among women from the post-80's generation, but the blogosphere has shown strong pushback against claims that post-90's are already late to the altar. Many saw through the buzzwords of 'late marriage' and 'leftover' to the heart of the matter. Weibo user @MaDingMaLittleTiger wrote: "If the post-90's are not in a hurry to get married, real estate won't sell, and then developers won't buy up property. The marriage industry will slow down, and lawyers will be afraid that with all these late marriages, people will be mature and less likely to divorce. All kinds of industries will cease to make money, and tax revenues will decrease. Without tax revenues, and unable to sell property, our leaders won't have the excellent results they want or a high GDP. Therefore, post-90's must be late for marriage, whether or not you're in a rush to do it. It's a serious social problem!" Media and the government continue to emphasize issues like "leftover women" and "late marriage," but critical discussion of the subjects by Internet users shows that Chinese are no longer taking these buzzwords at face value. "Sometimes," wrote Weibo user @jiuyue2010, "Our anxieties are the product of outside forces." As time goes on, the post-90's late marriage crisis, both real and imagined, will continue to shed light on China's larger issues.

Villagers Protest Land Grab, Demand Democracy Posted: 04 Mar 2013 06:56 AM PST Police have set up a blockade around the Guangdong village of Shangpu, just 100 kilometers away from Wukan, after residents clashed with thugs they claim were sent by the local communist party chief in connection with a disputed land deal. The villagers have demanded democratic elections, according to AFP, which has gained entry into Shangpu: At the main entrance of the village of 3,000 people, 40 police and officials stood guard, barring outside vehicles from entering. Not far away, a cloth banner read: "Strongly request legal, democratic elections." Shangpu's two-storey houses, typical of the region, and low-slung family-run workshops are surrounded by fields awaiting spring planting. But the main street is lined with the wrecks of cars damaged in the clash, with glass and metal littering the ground. Residents said they should have the right to vote both for the leader who represents them and on whether to approve a controversial proposal to transform rice fields into an industrial zone. "This should be decided by a vote by villagers," said one of the protest leaders, adding: "The village chief should represent our interests, but he doesn't." Residents told AFP that the village chief and party head fraudulently collected signatures to facilitate the transfer of farmland to a local businessman for industrial use, and they fear they will not be properly compensated. China's state-run Global Times reported on Monday that the county-level public security bureau arrested the village leader and eight others it claims were hired by the village leader to attack the Shangpu residents: County authorities said that on the morning of February 22, village committee director, Li Baoyu, called police to report he was attacked in his office and injured by six masked thugs. Less than an hour later, police say, Li hired his own thugs from other villages and ordered them to attack residents of Shangpu village, said the newspaper. According to county police the fight injured four residents and damaged at least 26 vehicles, two of which were burned. Police earlier arrested Li, and on Friday eight other assailants were detained. The police are still hunting for 10 other men. © Scott Greene for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: corruption, democracy, Guangdong, land grab protests, mass incidents, Shangpu, village elections, Wukan Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

No Privacy Expectation Up In the Cloud Posted: 03 Mar 2013 11:06 PM PST A ministry William Steven Albaugh at St. Joseph's Church in Fullerton, MD was arrested for processing of child pronography. Verizon detected the offensive files when Albaugh uploaded them to 'the cloud' (Verizon Online Backup and Sharing Account), and notified authorities. Albaugh admitted to collection child pronography since the 1970s. Some courts see files uploaded to the cloud invokes a third party doctrine, which nullifies any expectation of privacy. However, in order to decide whether to refer a case to external authorities, Verizon would have to had technical staffs to examine the materials which triggered the automatic software alarm and rely on these persons' judgement. In other words, someone at Verizon, a technology company, routinely reviews customer files before seeking explicit agreement. This practice was unseen before.

Village Paper Dares to Challenge the Official Line Posted: 03 Mar 2013 11:39 PM PST For the Telegraph, Malcolm Moore profiles a village newspaper near Shijiazhuang which has established itself as the opposition to the local official propaganda paper: "We wanted to rebuke the lies of the official newspaper," said He Jianguo, 44, a former pharmaceuticals salesman who has become one of the editors of the Voice of the People. "Because we have a saying here in China: if you repeat a lie 100 times, it becomes the truth." [...] "We want to tell the people that they have a voice. A paper is old-fashioned, but we are hoping the villagers who read it will then spread our information over the internet," said Ms He. The editors said the Communist party is aware of the paper, but so far has decided not to squash it. "The province's Propaganda department knows about us. They ask us not to publish at particularly sensitive times. But otherwise we are too small and we do not earn any money, so we are under their radar," said Mr He. The village chief has never acknowledged the existence of the Voice of the People. © Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: independent media, local media, propaganda Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

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