Cambodia police have arrested French architect Patrick Henri Devillers, an associate of Bo Xilai’s Wife Gu Kailai. AFP reports that “Cambodian police said the arrest of Patrick Devillers was carried out with the cooperation of Beijing, which is seeking his extradition.” Anyone who thinks Cambodia is safe from the lengthening arm of Chinese law is not thinking clearly. The best case for Devillers may be that Beijing just wants him as a material witness?

The erratic Boxun claims that the Bo Xilai verdict is due before the end of June. So within ten days we should either know the resolution of Bo’s case or have further proof that Boxun will print just about anything.

Now that China has forced the Philippines to back down over Huangyan Island, perhaps Vietnam is next? Xinhua reports in China dissatisfied over Vietnam’s island patrols that:

A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed strong dissatisfaction over Vietnamese fighters’ recent patrolling and reconnaissance on Nansha Islands in the South China Sea…Speaking at a regular press briefing in response to a journalist’s question on the subject, Hong Lei said, “China has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha Islands and their adjacent waters. Vietnam’s recent action is a serious violation of China’s sovereignty.”

Vietnam is unlikely to bend as the Philippines just did.

WantChinaTimes writes that Kweichow Moutai outshines Apple in rewarding shareholders. In China at least they are both excellent plays on corruption, though it is unfortunate that foreigners can not buy Moutai A shares. I recently discussed Moutai’s business and its 2012 lucky brand in Xi Jiu, A Baijiu Bet on Xi Jinping.

A new report predicts that in 2015, At Least 40% of Smartphones in China Will Be Priced Below $200. I wrote about the coming tsunami of cheap Chinese smartphones a couple of weeks ago, writing that a big concern for Beijing will be the likely exponential growth in the censorship load. Some filtering can be done with software, but as we have seen with Weibo much still has to be done with humans. I am no cyber-utopian, but the proliferation of cheap, 3G smartphones throughout China, and not just 1st and 2nd tier cities, could have profound implications for the political system.

Speaking of censorship, Pando Daily’s Hamish McKenzie writes that Internet Censorship Isn’t Just for China and PCWorld reports in Chinese Operators Hope to Standardize a Segmented Internet that Chinese researchers have submitted a draft proposal to the Internet Engineering Task Force that “describes how the Internet could be split into several parts using the Domain Name System and in the process give countries more control over their own segment of the network.” One world, two Internets.

Xinhua tells us that Infrastructure investment is vital for China’s continual growth, writing that:

…besides investment plans, China this time has initiated a slew of other structural reforms, including taxation reductions and opening the floodgates for private investments, to target long-term sustainable growth. But these policies will take time to have an effect on the economy, and in the short term, infrastructure investment will shield the economy from a hard landing.

Danwei is out with the Danwei Model Worker Awards 2012, a list of the best specialist websites, blogs and online sources of information about China. It is the premier list of English-language China resources and I am honored to be included. Thanks @Danwei.

The best way to read this blog is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. The email signup page is here, outside the GFW. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. Comments/tips/suggestions/donations are welcome, and feel free to forward to recommend to friends. Thanks for reading.

• Chinese Operators Hope to Standardize a Segmented Internet | PCWorld
• Over 20% of Chinese see homes to cost more-Shanghai Daily
  higher % than last quarter, expectations have been cut but if rising again worrisome for government//
  MORE than a fifth of Chinese residents surveyed by the central bank expect home prices to rise in the third quarter of this year, the People’s Bank of China said yesterday.
• Central Bank Survey Finds More Dissatisfaction with Prices Levels-Caijing
  inflation, not deflation, still the real worry//
  The percentage of respondents who think the current price levels are “too high” rose to 65.7 percent, up 2.8 percent from the previous quarter.
• China to Offer $43Bln for IMF: Media-Caijing
  China will contribute 43 billion U.S. dollars to boost the International Monetary Policy’s war chest for tackling euro crisis
• Drug counterfeiters caught again in Guangzhou  – Morning Whistle
  Almost a third of herbal medicine makers in Guangzhou with a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) have had their licences to produce herbal pieces revoked in a crackdown on drug counterfeiters, local media reported.
• “官德”说贯穿地方党代会 十八大后再掀吏治风暴？_多维新闻网
  CCP in big push for “official morality”. Still no western reports on this, and the release of the books on official morality through the ages?
• Jing Daily: Aussies & Kiwis, Indie Roasters Race To Tap China’s Booming Coffee Market
  Currently, though the tea-loving Chinese population consumes less than five cups of coffee per capita per year — compared to more than 400 in the US and 300 in Japan — the likes of Starbucks, UCC and Dunkin’ Donuts are investing heavily in expansion in the country
• 京东挑起的电商大战：6·18胜负手|6·18|胜负|京东商城_21世纪网
  great time to buy electronics online in china. on the battle between 360buy and its competition, including taobao/tmall and gome
• 原广东省政研中心主任谢鹏飞被调查_政经频道_财新网
  another guangdong official under investigation for corruption
• Former Shanghai Urban Planning Official on Trial for Graft – Caixin Online
  Prosecutors say a former Shanghai urban planning official received 7 million yuan in kickbacks in exchange for project approvals
• Regulator Fine Print Curbs Media Fund-Raisers – Caixin Online
  Only a few companies have fulfilled an industry-wide dream by raising money on the stock market
• The Affordable African Smartphone Battle Begins-Huawei vs Samsung
• Bite Your Tongue: Internet Censorship Isn’t Just for China | PandoDaily
• Firms Are Paying Academics To Promote Corporate Interest – Business Insider
  in case you thought academic corruption was just a China issue
• 录取公平：一流名校的“地域歧视”|录取|公平|高考_21世纪网
  why is it so much easier for kids from beijing and eastern china tier 1 cities to test into china’s elite universities?//
  不仅仅是河南，山东、安徽、湖北这样的高考大省，考生进入国内一流名校的机会远远低于京津沪等东部沿海一线城市的考生
• The curious case of a man arrested for downloading porn and its link with a local police-marfia scandal | Offbeat China
• South American Soy Plantings Seen at Record by Oil World – Bloomberg
  Brazil and Argentina may plant record amounts of soybeans next season as improving profit prospects spur farmers to switch fields to the oilseed and away from grains, Oil World said.
• U.S. Navy Bets $42 Billion on Carriers in China’s Sights – Bloomberg
  The U.S. Navy is betting $42 billion on a new class of aircraft carriers, the world’s biggest and costliest warships ever, even as the Pentagon budget shrinks and China and Iran arm themselves with weapons to disable or destroy the behemoths.
• House panel probes Chinese telecoms – Eliza Krigman – POLITICO.com
  But the probe also pushes the administration, in particular, to come up with security standards, according to one tech lobbyist.
  “It is putting political pressure on this administration in this space to develop a policy on how to deal with the political and economic threats associated with [telecommunications] equipment from Chinese companies,” the lobbyist said.
• Infrastructure investment vital for China’s continual growth – Xinhua | English.news.cn
• China dissatisfied over Vietnam’s island patrols: spokesman – Xinhua | English.news.cn
• Africans protest in China as man dies in police custody | Reuters
  More than 100 Africans protested on Tuesday outside a police station in China’s southern Guangdong province after an African man died in police custody, state news agency Xinhua said, citing local authorities.
• Africans block traffic in Guangzhou after foreigner dies in police custody | Nanfang Insider
• The Problem with Political Showmanship in China – China Real Time Report – WSJ
  According to the latest issue of the Chinese current affairs magazine People’s Tribune, political showmanship is already prevalent enough to have created a backlash: More than 90 percent of the 20,000 respondents in a recent online poll said they detested or disliked officials “putting on shows,” the magazine reports, while more than 80 percent said they believed such behavior would become increasingly common in the future.
• In 2015, At Least 40% of Smartphones in China Will Be Priced Below $200 » M.I.C. Gadget
  we also noticed the governments are urging local telecom companies to build more WiFi hotspot across the states, especially Beijing and Shanghai. It would be very interesting to see what China is going to look like when every Chinese netizens are engaged with the technology.
• Asia Sentinel – Journalistic ethics questioned at SCMP
  A decision by the South China Morning Post’s new editor in chief, Wang Xiangwei, to reduce a major breaking story on the suspicious death of Tiananmen dissident Li Wangyang in a Hunan hospital to a brief has kicked off a new controversy at the paper.
• China Leads Nations Boosting IMF’s Firewall to $456 Billion – Bloomberg
• Baidu Denies Report of Buying into UCweb-Caijing
  Baidu has denied foreign reports that it would buy 49 percent of UCweb, a successful mobile browser startup, for 400 million U.S. dollars, calling them “nothing but hearsay.”
• The Inevitability Of US-China Conflict | ZeroHedge
  The question of whether conflict between US and China is inevitable is among the most important for the world as the US-China relationship, as JPMorgan’s Michael Cembalest notes, is likely to be one of the most important issues of the 21st century.
• Siri Really Does Speak Chinese — Just Don’t Ask Her About Tiananmen – China Real Time Report – WSJ
  not clear if censored by apple, where servers hosted
• French architect with ties to Bo Xilai arrested in Cambodia | World news | guardian.co.uk
  material witness?//
  Patrick Henri Devillers held in Pnom Penh after being wanted by Chinese police over scandal involving deposed politician
• Tencent Takes Stake in Epic Games, Makers of Unreal Engine
• [toread] Model Workers 2012 | Danwei
  Today we present the Danwei Model Worker Awards 2012, a list of the best specialist websites, blogs and online sources of information about China.
• 陪胡出访见日财相 王岐山活跃政坛引关注_多维新闻网
  noteworthy that wang qishan travelling with hu jintao? duowei thinks so
• 军报炮轰“亚忠诚” 剑指敌对势力加大渗透力度_多维新闻网
  more on resisting hostile forces, this time from liberation daily//
  【多维新闻】“坚决抵制各种小道消息、政治谣言和负面言论，坚决制止各种乱猜测、乱打听、乱议论的错误行为。”《解放军报》6月17日刊文称，今年将召开十八大，境内外敌对势力加大渗透破坏的力度，制造各种事端和谣言。文章强调，部队军官要避免“亚忠诚”，在任何时候都听党话跟党走。
• U.N. Investigator Decries U.S. Use of Killer Drones – NYTimes.com
  Christof Heyns, U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, urged Washington to clarify the basis under international law of the policy, in a report issued overnight to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The 47-member Geneva forum is to hold a debate later on Tuesday.
• US House passes resolution apologizing for Chinese Exclusion Act-Global Times
  US House of Representatives on Monday unanimously passed a resolution apologizing for discriminating laws targeting Chinese immigrants at the turn of the 20th century.
• China’s Reluctant Young Entrepreneurs – China Real Time Report – WSJ
  Xue Manzi, a prominent Chinese angel capital investor, said in a business competition this February that China’s entrepreneur environment is second only to that of the U.S. However, he said, innovation remains a problem.
  “Capital is not the issue, but a good project. Some start-up programs by Chinese students are simply copycats,” he said.
• Caijing Cover Story-Huawei’s Phantom Stock Plan in Trouble
• 新浪微博收费 九成网友“绝不掏钱”-搜狐IT
  90% of users surveyed say they will absolutely not pay for sina weibo’s new VIP service
• Kweichow Moutai outshines Apple in rewarding shareholders｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
• Asians Top of the Immigration Class – WSJ.com
  Asians are the fastest-growing, most educated and highest-earning population in the U.S., according to a new report that paints the majority-immigrant group as a boon to an economy that has come to rely increasingly on skilled workers.
  The number of Asians in the U.S. quadrupled between 1980 and 2010 to about 18 million, or 6% of the total population, according to “The Rise of Asian Americans,” a study released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. The bulk of Asians in the U.S. trace their roots to six countries: China, India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam.
• Tsang’s Exit in Hong Kong Is Marred by Scandal – WSJ.com
  Donald Tsang is preparing to leave office after seven years as Hong Kong’s leader mired in scandal and record-low approval ratings, tainting a legacy that until just a few months ago would remember him for his market acumen and decades of loyal government service.
• Bo Xilai verdict due before end of June: Boxun｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
  11 days. easy to see if Boxun has a clue or not
• Stranger danger – Globaltimes.cn
  In a Beijing suburb, former commandos are preparing for the cities and jungles of Africa. The Alfa-Angel (Beijing) Co., a security consultancy, is training 130 security officers, mostly retired soldiers, to prepare to work overseas…According to Alfa-Angel’s website, it is the first such firm in China to cooperate with security experts from Israel, among the world’s finest. Adi Talmor, a former paratrooper with the Israeli Defense Forces, is one of them.
• Tyrannosaurus Bones Must Return to Mongolia, U.S. Says – Bloomberg
  The U.S. is seeking to return a Tyrannosaurus bataar to Mongolia after officials there said the dinosaur bones were smuggled into the U.S.
  The skeleton, which spans 24 feet in length and is eight feet tall, had been shipped to the U.S. from the U.K. via Florida and then to Texas before arriving in New York in 2010. It was auctioned by Texas-based Heritage Auctions Inc. in New York in May for more than $1 million.
• CaliBurger – About CaliBurger
  CaliBurger is now open in Shanghai
• Chen Guangcheng Is Safe in New York, but Thinks of China – NYTimes.com
  Sounding more defiant than he did right after his arrival on May 19, he threatened to embarrass the Chinese government severely if they did not act soon.
  “If they don’t open an investigation in a timely manner, I will quickly make my next step,” he said. “Then the central government will not have an opportunity to be the good guy.”
• Sexual abuse of children ‘left behind’ by migrant worker parents on rise – Globaltimes.cn
  They are the innocent and often silent victims of a crime that too often goes unreported in rural parts of China due to children’s shame and the social stigma attached to sexual abuse. Child sex abuse is often rampant in villages where parents are often thousands of kilometers away laboring as migrant workers, unable to keep a watchful eye on their children.

The best way to read this blog is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. The email signup page is here, outside the GFW. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. Comments/tips/suggestions/donations are welcome, and feel free to forward to recommend to friends. Thanks for reading.

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