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Today’s must reads are the definitive princeling bombshells from Bloomberg–Immortals Beget China Capitalism From Citic to Godfather of Golf, Chinese in Ann Arbor Voted Obama in Elite Family of Mao’s Rulers and China’s Eight Immortals Beget New Elite of Princelings: Graphic.

No wonder China seems to be trying to cut off access to the global Internet.

Beijing blocked Bloomberg.com after the June 30 story on Xi Jinping’s family and six months later the site is still inaccessible in China. Terminal sales also dried up though there have been no reports of Bloomberg Professional access problems in China. Blocking the Bloomberg Professional network would be a very significant move given both the importance of Bloomberg machines to participation in global financial markets and the elite nature of terminal subscribers..

If any Western media organization is going to win a prize for its 2012 China reporting, Bloomberg has to be at the top of the list. But it certainly will not win the Confucius Prize.

Today’s Links:

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Shanghai land plot is mainland’s costliest — Shanghai Daily– Land next to the north Bund area in Shanghai’s Hongkou District became the most expensive plot on China’s mainland this year when it sold at auction for 5.68 billion yuan (US$908.8 million) yesterday.The buyers for the plot, along Haimen Road, designated for offices and retail were Shanghai International Port (Group) Co and affiliate Wei Wang Property Development Co.

China Mulls Risk Warning Mechanism for Local Govnt Debt-Caijing – The Ministry of Finance is mulling a risk warning mechanism to raise awareness of risks in local government debt default, Chinese media reported. The minister Xie Xuren said last week that new local government borrowing should be strictly watched to protect it from morphing into a financial crisis.

China Construction Bank Accused of Misselling Fund, Daily Says- Bloomberg  The savers, from Baicheng city in northeastern Jilin province, filed a complaint with the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the newspaper reported, citing one of the petitioners. The investors said they were misled by Construction Bank’s local staff into buying a fund known as Northeast Securities No.3, which required a minimum investment of 100,000 yuan, the newspaper said.

China May Expand Services for Migrant Workers, Securities Says – Bloomberg – as expected, Beijing likely to be exempt// A new Chinese urbanization plan will grant city residency to more migrant workers, according to the official Shanghai Securities News, potentially expanding basic rights to hundreds of millions of people. The plan will give migrants access to the household- registration system in cities where they live, giving them and their children access to services such as education, health care and pensions, according to the newspaper. “Mega-cities” such as Beijing and Shanghai may be exempt from the new policies, the newspaper said, citing unidentified government officials.

China consumers driving economic rebound: survey | Reuters – China’s consumers are leading an uneven recovery in the world’s second biggest economy that has retailers expecting stronger sales in six months, early results of a national survey showed on Wednesday. The China Beige Book survey of more than 2,000 executives revealed that the retail sector had the strongest revenue growth and business expectations in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Credit makes inroads on China forecourts – FT.com – In China, cash is still king at the car dealership. But many younger car buyers in the world’s largest auto market are rapidly taking on western habits – including using credit to buy a more expensive car than they could otherwise afford. Carmakers, both foreign and Chinese, are keen to encourage a more profligate attitude in a country whose financial conservatism sets it apart. Some have recently set up finance companies in the hope that credit will play the role in China that it plays in Europe and the US: boosting demand for their products.

China announces measures to cut logistics costs – Xinhua | English.news.cn– could help with food inflation, but how to break the local gangs that control much of the distribution chain?// The State Council, or China’s cabinet, on Wednesday announced a range of measures intended to cut logistics costs and improve efficiency.The measures include cheaper electricity and water use for those in the agricultural products’ processing and circulation sectors and lower administration fees at farm produce markets.

Quanzhou becomes pilot zone|Economy|chinadaily.com.cn – The city of Quanzhou in Fujian province has been approved as the third pilot financial reform zone in China, and will form a diversified and dynamic financial system to support the development of local enterprises over the next five years. According to the plan jointly released by 12 ministries on Tuesday, the pilot project aims to diversify local financial institutions, explore more innovation in financial products and provide capital backup for small businesses.

China rail: high speed from Beijing to Guangzhou opens | beyondbrics– The latest addition brings the total up to 9,300km according to Chinese state media. There’s a long way to go then, but the achievements thus far are impressive for their speed, reminiscent of the railway boom in Britain in the mid 19th century. The Chinese government approved plans for high speed rail only in 2004, with the first high speed line opening only in August 2008.Much like the British railway boom though, the danger is that haste to get the trains on the tracks comes ahead of safety measures to keep them there.

After an IPO Rush, a Factory Town’s Hangover – Caixin –who buys these crap IPOs, and which banks shovel them out?//  It seemed the right thing to do in 2001 when officials in the factory city of Jinjiang opened a special office that actively encouraged local companies to list on stock markets. Jinjiang, population 2 million, is an important manufacturing base on the Fujian Province coast. Its economy relies on a diverse mix of garment and shoe factories, including several profitable makers of sportswear. City government policies promoted fund-raising on stock markets, both domestic and foreign. And over the past decade, dozens of companies responded. At last count, shares in at least 30 local companies were trading on bourses from Singapore to Frankfurt. Yet in pursuit of IPOs some companies sacrificed fiduciary integrity. Cash raised on stock markets spurred expansions that choked local industries with overcapacity. And some city officials gave more attention to boosting tax receipts than sustainable development.

El Reg man: Too bad, China – I was RIGHT about hoarding rare earths • The Register  So this is where El Reg’s rare earths spiv gets to do the victory dance. That would be me then, bopping around the dance floor as only a middle aged white man can. For I’ve been saying for years now that this “China will control all the rare earths” thing is nonsense and so it has turned out to be: nonsense. Not that it hasn’t tried to control it all, mind, it’s just that it has failed. Failed for the reason we’d expect from communist state: its officials don’t understand free market economics. Specifically, it’s possible to successfully exercise monopoly power only if that monopoly is not contestable.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

孟建柱兼任中央政法委书记 周永康不再担任_网易新闻中心 – Meng Jianzhu is now chairman of the politics and law committee, replacing Zhou Yongkang

Guo Shengkun seen being named public security minister in March | South China Morning Post – Former Guangxi Communist Party secretary Guo Shengkun chaired a security teleconference on Monday as party chief of the Ministry of Public Security, China News Service reported yesterday, providing further evidence that he was set to be named public security minister in March.

新华社连发政治局常委特稿 基层经历成最大亮点–时政–人民网 –original Chinese of profiles of new PBSC members

Profile: Liu Yunshan: Down-to-earth journalist joins CPC top leadership – Xinhua | English.news.cn –

Profile: Wang Qishan: Rise of a troubleshooter – Xinhua | English.news.cn –

Profile: Zhang Gaoli: From “poor boy” to political figure – Xinhua | English.news.cn –

习近平:毛主席关于历史周期律谈话仍是警示【3】–新疆频道–人民网 – Xi references Mao Zedong and his warning about historical cycles in a talk with one of the non-Communist Parties// 民建中央主席陈昌智说，总书记对民建的历史非常了解，谈到了毛主席和黄炎培在延安窑洞关于历史周期律的一段对话，至今对中国共产党都是很好的鞭策和警示。

China bans forced confessions in investigations – Xinhua | English.news.cn– China has reiterated its ban on corporal punishment and forced self-incrimination in police investigations in a revised regulation on the handling of criminal cases.The revised regulation, released on Wednesday by the Ministry of Public Security, is aimed at helping courts adapt to the newly amended Criminal Procedure Law, which stresses “respecting and protecting human rights.”

长沙官员驾车撞死中学生找人顶包被免职_网易新闻中心 – another official brought down by Internet expose, this one in Changsha// 人民网长沙12月26日电  记者从长沙市岳麓区有关部门获悉，网络曝出12月17日“官员醉驾肇事顶包”案中的岳麓区招商合作局局长夏伟辉职务被免。

原包头中级人民法院院长挪用公款1.5亿 明码标价受贿卖官_新浪地产网 – Senior legal official in Baotou goes down for corruption, including selling official positions, and relations with female subordinates..corruption and specifically office selling has a long history in China// 近来，贪污受贿、包养情妇的贪腐官员相继落马，可谓大快人心，不过随着反腐的推进，这一根线似乎牵出的腐官越来越多，因为有新政策新领导人的支撑，曾受压迫的人开始站出来举报这些贪腐官员的恶行，从李春城到梁道行，单增德到雷政富无一漏网。近日，原包头中级人民法院院长张民滥用职权受贿、卖官敛财与属下多名女公务员暧昧信息也被曝光。据悉，张民涉嫌挪用1.5亿公款、滥用职权、敛财受贿、买官卖官、包养多名情妇等诸多腐败事迹。

铁道部贪腐案中间人罗金宝起落记_核心报道_新京报电子报 – Beijing news with some details of the corruption case of Ministry of Railways official Luo JInbao, whose trial started 12.24

China Scholars Demand Ruling Party Relax Its Grip on Government- Bloomberg   A group of Chinese intellectuals wrote a letter demanding the Communist Party end Internet censorship and ease its grip on the courts, according to a copy posted on the blog of one of the signatories. The letter, signed by 71 people and posted on the blog of Peking University law professor Zhang Qianfan, calls for the party to end its oversight of government personnel decisions, leave court decisions to judges and lawyers, and allow people to speak and assemble freely. Zhang, who helped draft the letter, confirmed in a brief phone call that the letter was genuine.

改革共识倡议书 _共识网 –original of the petition// 改革三十多年来，中国经济获得了巨大发展，但是中国社会也出现了诸多问题。尤其是由于政治改革未能同步进行，官僚腐败、公权滥用、贫富差距拉大等现象日趋严重，引发了强烈的社会不满。人心思变，民众对改革的要求和期待越来越高，但是改革的步伐却受制于既得利益集团的阻挠，远远不能让人民满意。更为根本的是，人民自己虽然痛恨种种社会不公，但是对于如何改革造成不公的制度却并未达成共识，以至民间推动改革的力量受到分化和削弱。体制外没有改革的压力，体制内就没有改革的动力。如果中国社会亟需的体制改革一再受挫、停滞不前，公权腐败、社会不满将积聚到危险的临界点，中国将再次错失和平改良的机会，陷入暴力革命的动荡和混乱之中。

珍贵旧照记录毛泽东生活点滴 -财经网 – Caijing slideshow of rare photos of Mao Zedong, on the 199th anniversary of his birth

重庆事件三主角结局各不同 薄处置结果待出_新浪网 –good stuff about Chongqing and the Bo case 

Facts about the self-immolations in Tibetan Areas of Ngapa – YouTube – CCTV documentary

CCTV releases documentary on Tibetan self-immolation- China.org.cn  The documentary, titled “Facts About Self-Immolation in Tibetan Areas of Ngapa (Aba),” discloses the truth about self-immolations that have occurred in Aba, a Tibetan and Qiang autonomous prefecture in southwest China’s Sichuan Province.

Courtroom participants forbidden to broadcast trials in ChinaWantChinaTimes.com   Participants or bystanders in legal proceedings cannot record or videotape trials, nor can they broadcast the court’s activities live via e-mail, microblog or other forms of media, China’s top court said Monday.

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

China calls on Japan’s Abe to meet ‘half way’ to fix ties | South China Morning Post– China called on new Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday to meet Beijing “halfway” to try and improve relations that have been hurt by a debilitating territorial dispute.“We hope the new Japanese administration will meet the Chinese side halfway and make concrete efforts to overcome difficulties in bilateral relations,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters. She added such efforts were needed “so as to push bilateral relations back on to the normal track of development”.

Kazuhiko Togo: Help Beijing Step Back From Hegemonism – WSJ.com   The past year was a turning point in Sino-Japanese relations: Japan suffered a total defeat. Beijing realized practically all its diplomatic objectives, whereas Tokyo could not achieve any of them. But this victory may prove self-defeating for China.

Caught in a bind that threatens an Asian war nobody wants-Hugh White in Sydney Morning Herald– THIS is how wars usually start: with a steadily escalating stand-off over something intrinsically worthless. So don’t be too surprised if the US and Japan go to war with China next year over the uninhabited rocks that Japan calls the Senkakus and China calls the Diaoyu islands. And don’t assume the war would be contained and short.Of course we should all hope that common sense prevails.

人民日报-令人心碎的小镇（第一现场） – People’s daily sends a reporter to Webster, NY (site of firefighter shooting) to write about a “small town that breaks your heart”, and remind readers America has a lot of guns…top read story on People’s Daily Online right now...

US lambasts China for breaches of trade rules – Telegraph – China is still flouting World Trade Organisation rules 11 years after it first joined, misusing the complaints machinery for tit-for-tat retaliation, said US Trade Repesentative Ron Kirk. “China’s trade policies and practices in several specific areas cause particular concern for the United States,” said Mr Kirk in his year-end report to Congress.

Foreign IT giants pose security threat – Globaltimes.cn– During wartime, manipulation of a city’s network information system can cause disastrous consequences such as frequent traffic accidents, uncontrolled urban sewage, power breakdown, gas explosions and failure of medical systems.In recent years, Western countries have built up defenses to prevent Chinese IT enterprises from entering their domestic markets. In contrast, since reform and opening-up, China’s door seems open to every foreign IT enterprise who wants to enter. If we turn a blind eye to foreign IT enterprises such as IBM’s expansion, these firms may occupy most of our market by virtue of their advanced technology and monopolistic advantages.

钟 声 《 人民日报 》（ 2012年12月27日   03 版） 深化投资合作，需要平等开放的环境，而平等开放不是一条单行道 – Zhong Sheng says US needs investment, playing national security card (ie CFIUS) won’t help the US economy

Pentagon Preps Stealth Strike Force to Counter China | Danger Room | Wired.com– The U.S. military has begun a staged, five-year process that will see each of its three main stealth warplane types deployed to bases near China. When the deployments are complete in 2017, Air Force F-22s and B-2s and Marine Corps F-35s could all be within striking range of America’s biggest economic rival at the same time. With Beijing now testing its own radar-evading jet fighters — two different models, to be exact — the clock is counting down to a stealth warplane showdown over the Western Pacific.The gradual creation of the U.S. stealth strike force is an extension of the Pentagon’s much-touted “strategic pivot” to the Pacific region, and echoes the much faster formation, earlier this year, of a similar (but only partially stealthy) aerial armada in the Persian Gulf. That team of F-22s, non-stealthy F-15s and specialized “Bacon” radio-translator planes was clearly meant to deter a belligerent Iran, although the Pentagon denied it.

Will the US Pivot Trigger a New Regional Arms Race?– Some who fear that the US rebalancing toward Asia will stoke US-China rivalry also worry that it could lead to an arms race among countries in the region.But military expert Richard A. Bitzinger points out that Asian nations have been on a binge of arms buying, especially of highly advanced arms, for more than a decade. What remains to be seen is whether that trend will accelerate in worrisome and potentially destabilizing ways with America’s pivot…Certainly, Beijing could interpret US actions as an effort to contain China and to frustrate its national interests; that would only further accelerate the already rapid recent buildup of Chinese military power. Conversely, the need on the part of US friends and allies to hedge militarily against China will only grow in return. If such tit-for-tat arms acquisitions increase in quantity and, especially, quality, the end result could be very disquieting indeed.

Web China: Military liquor ban drops shares, cheered by netizens – Xinhua | English.news.cn– how much of the 2013 CCTV upfront was bought by liquor firms?// Many netizens have applauded the ban, as they believe it is a necessary step in cracking down on extravagant official expenditures. About 30,000 people have voiced support for the regulations on Sohu.com, a popular Chinese Internet portal.x “Besides the military officers, all government officials should be prohibited from drinking liquor during receptions and meetings,” said a netizen using the screenname “Wu Qiujun.”Some netizens believe the ban also challenges traditions, as the coming Spring Festival holiday is the peak season for liquor consumption and official receptions. Some have suggested that more regulations, such as disclosing reception expenses and banning TV ads for liquor, should be issued in order to break the extravagant reception tradition.

The Coming Collapse of China: 2012 Edition- By Gordon G. Chang | Foreign Policy– 12.29.2011. 4 days left, otherwise Chang wrong again…but will any pundit ever be held accountable for being wrong? and does anyone, other than bookers at Bloomberg TV and the Lehrer report, still listen to him?// And as for the existence of an opposition, the Soviet Union fell without much of one. In our substantially more volatile age, the Chinese government could dissolve like the autocracies in Tunisia and Egypt. As evident in this month’s “open revolt” in the village of Wukan in Guangdong province, people can organize themselves quickly — as they have so many times since the end of the 1980s. In any event, a well-oiled machine is no longer needed to bring down a regime in this age of leaderless revolution.Not long ago, everything was going well for the mandarins in Beijing. Now, nothing is. So, yes, my prediction was wrong. Instead of 2011, the mighty Communist Party of China will fall in 2012. Bet on it.

 

HONG KONG AND TAIWAN

J. Michael Cole: Taiwan’s Youth Fight for Democracy, Again – WSJ.com  If the purchase is—as expected—approved by regulators, Mr. Tsai will control more than 45% of Taiwan’s newspaper market. Next year Mr. Tsai will also reportedly launch a new magazine, Media Plus, in cooperation with the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Fujian Daily Group. Critics argue the Next Media deal puts too much power into one man’s hands. What’s more, Mr. Tsai’s co-investors all have major business interests in the mainland. This again raises the specter of self-censorship. Often accused of being politically apathetic, Taiwan’s youth were energized by the deal. Using social media with dazzling skill and originality, student groups, operating under the “Alliance Against Media Monsters,” launched two protests in late November that brought together 500 students from 37 universities nationwide.

“Horrible disaster” brewing in Taiwanese media sector – Index on Censorship  During a event held for the Formosa Plastic Group’s employees, journalists asked William Wang about the takeover. He candidly responded that he believed China’s government would appreciate their acquisition of Next Media’s Taiwan operations. When seniors editors at Apple Daily — part of Next Media — asked in a joint conference with the future new owners of the group whether they would censor content in order to avoid irritating China, Koo and Wang said they would respect journalists’ professional judgment. But Tsai warned them: “You two shareholders [referring to Koo and Wang] should give it a second thought, because you’re going to do business in China. It’s hard to say what will happen. If something happens to you, don’t blame me for not warning you.” [The quote comes a report of the event published by United Daily News, in Chinese].

Want Want monopoly threatens democracy – Taipei Times   the takeover of China Network Systems’ cable TV network by the Want Want China Times Group in September and — even more ominously — the purchase of the Next Media Group, which includes the Apple Daily, by the same Want Want group controlled by chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明). This takeover would be alright if Tsai was a pro-democracy media magnate who respected the freedom of the press and journalistic and editorial independence. However, Tsai has not hesitated to display his support for the repressive rulers in Beijing and has time and again interfered in reporting and editing in the media under his control. The Committee to Protect Journalists and numerous other respected organizations have voiced concerns over the takeover. The problem is, that with these new purchases, the Want Want group controls about 50 percent of all printed and electronic media in Taiwan — a serious situation under even normal circumstances.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

人民日报- 虚拟空间离不开“现实规则”（今日谈） 江柳依 – another page 1 people’s daily on need for internet regulation

WeChat App Implicated at Trial of Pedophile in China–TechInAsia – The trial of a sexual predator in Guangdong province in southern China has implicated the smash-hit messaging app WeChat as the way that the man lured in underage boys. The accused, Li Jun, a former official at a Civil Affairs Bureau in the province, is said to have used WeChat – known in China as Weixin – to befriend and ‘groom’ 160 boys, some aged under 13, who were living nearby.

China Mobile, Tencent Spar Over WeChat 中国移动与腾讯就微信展开口水战 – It seems that Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) Weibo isn’t the only company worried about the rapid rise of WeChat, the wildly popular mobile social networking service (SNS) operated by leading Internet company Tencent (HKEx: 700). That’s my interpretation of the situation, following a recent war of words that has broken out between Tencent and China Mobile (HKEx: 941; NYSE: CHL), China’s dominant mobile carrier. But in this new tussle, Tencent needs to move very carefully since China Mobile is not only a competitor but is also in the powerful position of being able to limit or even completely cut off its more than 700 million mobile subscribers from access to WeChat, more commonly known by its Chinese name of Weixin.

中移动与腾讯再度“交火” 双方矛盾未来难避免 | 新华网重庆频道 – 针对中国移动总裁李跃抛出的“腾讯威胁论”，腾讯CEO马化腾上周末在广东互联网大会上称，腾讯与运营商关系是上下产业链承载关系，不是外界所说的对立和并行的关系。早在几年前，腾讯和中移动就曾因“QQ以极低代价吞噬GSM网络流量”而爆发冲突，业界分析双方矛盾未来不可避免。

China’s Smartphone Sales Grow 189 million Units in 2012 » M.I.C. Gadget – Android smartphone market share in China has increased steadily, and is likely to reach 50.8 million units or 86 percent of total smartphones sales in the fourth quarter of 2012. In light of the growing importance of China’s smartphone market, Lenovo is expected to rank as one of the top-10 smartphone vendors globally in 2012, in addition to Huawei and ZTE.

Amid Tensions Between China and Vietnam, Video Games Get Territorial – The multiplayer online RPG game, Chinh Do 2.0 (ZT Online 2, in English), made by China’s Giant Interactive (NYSE:GA), has been distributed by VNG since 2008. Over the years, the game was updated many times – but the latest update on December 16th revealed an update that irked many users, which eventually lead to the game being taken down. VNG has since discontinued the game and cut ties with Giant Interactive. The website that once hosted Chinh Do 2.0 now has an announcement from VNG about the discontinuation and a statement that VNG, as a Vietnamese company, will faithfully uphold Vietnamese sovereignty.

How Does Douban Make Money?–Technode – valuation in last round extremely high, so high high in fact that have heard it is one of the deals that has caused Trustbridge some heartburn// Willingly or not, Douban, the interest-based social network, disclosed some metrics that it would rather not to, if news didn’t break out that several core engineers left in September. It turned out those employees were off to start up their own business, but the seeming public relations crisis forced Douban management to project a number for revenues in 2012, to quiet the media. 80 million yuan ($13mn) doesn’t sound a big number but a OK one since people always doubted Douban could make any money at all.

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Richard Baum, 72, Dies – Presided Over Chinapol – NYTimes.com – Richard Baum, who presided over Chinapol, an online discussion group about China that has become an essential forum for many experts, diplomats and journalists, died Dec. 14 at his home in Los Angeles. He was 72.

精神病女烧死侵扰醉汉 “旁观”拾荒女被判3年_网易新闻中心– some crazy stuff happens in china// 辩护律师称拾荒女属正当防卫，法官认为其未加制止应承担刑事责任新快报讯 夜半，栖居旧棚遭醉汉硬闯，拾荒女持木棒防卫。同住的精神病犯起身帮忙，将醉汉打倒后焚烧死亡。近日，拾荒女因旁观“焚尸”未加阻止，被中院判处有期徒刑3年。

Mainland welcomes cross-Strait baseball league proposal – Xinhua | English.news.cn– imagine the new betting scandals that would arise// Fan Liqing, spokeswoman for the State Council’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said the mainland is willing to increase cooperation and exchanges on athletics with Taiwan, where baseball has a longer development history.Fan made the remarks at a regular press conference, when she was invited to comment on the proposal put forward by people from Taiwan’s sports circle.

LSE Review of Books Podcast: China: Home and Away (Episode 6)  We take a walk through London’s Chinatown with Rosemary Sales and Xia Lin, Researchers at Middlesex University, to discuss the complex of identities in the area and meanings of home for Chinese immigrants. John Gittings, Research Associate at the School of Oriental and African, talks about China’s early peace philosophers and the importance of engaging the country in diplomacy. Ting Xu, Research Fellow at LSE’s economic history department, speaks about growing up in China in the wake of the Cultural Revolution and how her parent’s boundless passion for books was a source of inspiration.

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

Sinopec, CONOCO to Cooperate in Shale Gas Research in China’s Sichuan-Caijing – A subsidiary of China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation, or Sinopec Corp, has inked a deal with oil giant Conoco’s China unit on research of a shale gas block in Sichuan Basin, a lowland region in southwestern China, for future exploration and production, according to a statement published on Sinopec’s website. The Qijiang block, located in the southeastern region of Sichuan province, was about 4,000 square kilometers. Exploration in the block faces difficulties including remarkable depth of the buried layer and geological complexity, the statement said.

 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

China: loving the Bordeaux | beyondbrics– Demand for Bordeaux in China is going through the roof, and makes up for slacking demand at home. Indeed, France, sales decreased by 2 per cent this year. But for every bottle Chinese consumers bought ten years ago, they buy 100 today.“It’s an extraordinary development,” Georges Haussalter, the president of the trade associatied CIVB said. One out of every four export bottles of Bordeaux is now sold to the Chinese and Hong Kong consumers – an astonishing number.

Christmas Eve in Beijing 北京平安之夜 | The China Story– The announcement is similar to a Xinhua report about traffic on Christmas eve in Beijing that was widely republished by news portals and in newspapers:Some areas in Beijing may experience peak-hour traffic conditions up until midnight. Commercial districts, bar streets, places with a concentration of entertainment and dining venues and areas around some churches may experience traffic jams. The Beijing Public Secruity Bureau announced forecast peak-traffic conditions from 4pm on 24 December. Such conditions may last a a long time, as late as 11pm in areas with concentrations of bars and restaurants. (Source: 北京圣诞交通晚高峰将明显延长.) Normal levels of evening congestion were expected for Boxing Day, 26 December, Mao Zedong’s birthday.

 

JOBS AND EVENTS

Jan. 10th 2013-FCC Shanghai-‘The Rise and Fall of the House of Bo’    John Garnaut, China Correspondent and Author －an excellent book