- Letter from China: China’s Culture Wars : The New Yorker – I spent time yesterday with a professor at China’s Central Party School, the training ground for senior Communist cadres, once headed by the incoming Chinese president Xi Jinping. When I asked the professor if his peers had paused much to take note of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union, his eyes widened. “Oh yes,” he said. “Everyone is talking about it.”
- Chinese workers and railway misery | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com – A heart-breaking letter from a Chinese factory worker has gone viral this week. It tells of an appalling level of incompetance at the Chinese railway ministry and illustrates powerfully the rising disillusionment among the nation’s massive army of migrant workers.
- Taiwan Election: KMT Taps Temple Networks – China Real Time Report – WSJ – The DPP is renowned for its ability to throw passionate rallies that would soften the heart of the most cynical political observer. But despite the crowds, many times in the past the KMT’s low-level work pays off when it comes time to count votes. It’s a reminder that as the vote nears and the parties continue to throw resources at massive rallies – the DPP’s Ms. Tsai has roughly 30 more to go in the last eight days – it’s not who throws the biggest party, but who is awake the next morning to vote.
- Chinese Group Set To Acquire Luxury Resort Chain Aman Resorts « Jing Daily : The Business of Luxury and Culture in China – The Chinese conglomerate HNA Group, which is involved in industries as diverse as airlines, hotels, airport management, real estate, retail and tourism, appears to be set to acquire the boutique luxury hotel group Aman Resorts (Amanresorts), which currently operates 25 properties in 15 countries
- China Will Boost Consumption Amid Global Slowdown, Commerce Minister Says – Bloomberg –
- Exclusive: China mulls new energy super ministry | Reuters – China is considering a proposal to create an energy "super-ministry" as part of a sweeping cabinet reshuffle in 2013, two independent sources said, a step that would help Beijing impose its will on an industry beset by bureaucratic infighting.
- Need for stability drives efforts to close wealth gap-global times – In December leaders within the Chinese government met to set the economic priorities for 2012, with the main priority being sustaining growth through fine-tuning policies.
This is intended "to accelerate the transformation of economic development and adjust the economic structure" and "to boost domestic demand and ensure stable and relatively fast economic growth while maintaining the stability of consumer prices," according to an announcement by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.
Though the government has not explicitly stated that addressing inequality is part of its drive to maintain growth, such an approach will prove incredibly beneficial in terms of "making progress while maintaining stability," the stated goal for 2012.
- Beijing Caves: Air-Pollution Measure to be Made Public This Month – China Real Time Report – WSJ –
- Beijing’s hazardous blue sky: first analysis of US embassy pollution Twitter data shows major failures in Chinese air quality assessments | chinadialogue – In the first analysis of US embassy “Twitter” data on pollution, Steven Q Andrews finds major failures in Chinese air quality assessments. Tighter standards are on their way, but will continue to fudge the health risks.
- China Forestry Auditor KPMG Resigns Citing Valuation Concerns – Businessweek –
- 秦刚接替马朝旭出任外交部新闻司司长(图/简历)–时政–人民网 –
- Cutting 1 trillion yuan in China taxes – Caixin Online – MarketWatch – Andy Xie-Cutting 1 trillion yuan in China taxes – Caixin Online – MarketWatch
- NetQin names Omar Khan, Former Samsung Mobile Chief Product and Technology Officer, as Co-Chief Executive Officer; Launches NQ Mobile Brand for International Markets and Plans Corporate Name Change – MarketWatch – NetQin names Omar Khan, x-Samsung Mobile Chief Product and Technology Officer,as Co-Chief Executive Officer interesting
- ryan fedoruk’s Page – Shanghai Fun Party – ryan fedoruk's Page – Shanghai Fun Party
- Canadian scammer sublets 30 apartments to 80 tenants, then flees with RMB300,000: Shanghaiist – This guy is probably the craftiest expat scammer we've encountered in our ten years here
- US-China Today: 2011 Year in Review – A look back at the biggest stories coming out of China in 2011
- Iran Mounts New Web Crackdown – WSJ.com – Iran is mounting new clampdowns on Internet expression, including rules that will impose layers of surveillance in the country's popular Internet cafes, as Tehran's political establishment comes under increasing strains from economic turmoil and threats of more international sanctions.
In the most sweeping move, Iran issued regulations giving Internet cafes 15 days to install security cameras, start collecting detailed personal information on customers and document users' online footprints.
- How China Stays Stable Despite 500 Protests Every Day – Max Fisher – International – The Atlantic – Though China's 2011 could have possibly seen more mass demonstrations than the entire Arab world, this is one reason that China probably remains far away from an Arab Spring-style revolutionary movement. Popular movements here seem to express relatively narrow complaints, want to work within the system rather than topple it, and treat the Communist Party as legitimate. Protests appear to be part of the system, not a challenge to it — a sort of release valve for popular anger that, if anything, could have actually strengthened the Party by giving them a way to address that anger while maintaining autocratic rule. In the absence of real democracy, this give-and-take between state and society could actually help maintain political stability in China — for now.
- Job: Asia Regional Lead For Citizen Journalism Startup | Sinocism – A friend is CEO of a stealth startup that is launching a citizen journalism platform. The well-funded company is based in New York and is looking for someone in Asia to oversee the buildout of a network of regional citizen journalists.
- Beijing’s ‘Culture War’ Isn’t About the U.S.—It’s About China’s Future – Damien Ma – International – The Atlantic – I have a bit of a different take on Hu's politically charged essay. I am of the view that the "politics" of it are predominantly aimed at the Communist Party itself rather than an abstract "external enemy," in this case the West or specifically the United States. It serves as a warning to both current party members and incoming leaders to remain vigilant, not simply because it is a political transition year but because of the existential fear that peaceful evolution (和平演变) may just be around the corner. Indeed, one of the longstanding fears for the party-state is not that it will go out with a bang but that it will fold quietly in a whimper of irrelevance.
- Nestle, Heinz Gain in China on Food Safety Fears – Bloomberg –
- Video: Robotic Confucius in Steel Cage Aims to Provoke Debate on Chinese Society | Asia Society –
- Chinese battle over internet video | News24 – what do you and tudou expect. they grew big on piracy, hard to care now that they are crying about people stealing from them
- Letter from China: China’s Culture Wars : The New Yorker – I spent time yesterday with a professor at China’s Central Party School, the training ground for senior Communist cadres, once headed by the incoming Chinese president Xi Jinping. When I asked the professor if his peers had paused much to take note of the twentieth anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union, his eyes widened. “Oh yes,” he said. “Everyone is talking about it.”
- Chinese workers and railway misery | beyondbrics | News and views on emerging markets from the Financial Times – FT.com – A heart-breaking letter from a Chinese factory worker has gone viral this week. It tells of an appalling level of incompetance at the Chinese railway ministry and illustrates powerfully the rising disillusionment among the nation’s massive army of migrant workers.
