Just links today:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

Japan’s Unnecessary Nationalism – NYTimes.com  New York Times Editorial Page takes Japan to task…wonder when Chinese state media will pick this up//  Japan and China both need to work on a peaceful solution to their territorial issues. But it seems especially foolhardy for Japan to inflame hostilities with China and South Korea when all countries need to be working cooperatively to resolve the problems with North Korea and its nuclear program.  Instead of exacerbating historical wounds, Mr. Abe should focus on writing Japan’s future, with an emphasis on improving its long-stagnant economy and enhancing its role as a leading democracy in Asia and beyond.

Abe war comment roils S. Korean media – The Japan Times Tokyo has again been forced into damage control over issues of history as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remarks on Japan’s wartime aggression Tuesday triggered big headlines in South Korea.“Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe denied the fact of aggression itself in answering a question in the Upper House on April 23,” read a translated article posted Wednesday on the Japanese-language website of the major South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo. // S. Korea ‘misunderstood’ Abe’s invasion remark – The Japan News Two major South Korean newspapers on Wednesday failed to deliver the true intent of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s remark the previous day on Japan’s wartime invasions of Asian countries, including South Korea, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said. In the front pages of Wednesday’s editions, the Chosun Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo dailies put headlines reading that Abe denied Japan had invaded its Asian neighbors during World War II. // INSIGHT: Abe returns to hard-line approach in response to Beijing, Seoul – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun After keeping a low diplomatic profile since taking office, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has begun to show his true colors as a nationalist, threatening to further exacerbate Japan’s difficulties with China and South Korea. Abe intensified his criticism of China’s intrusions into Japanese territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku Islands at an Upper House Budget Committee meeting on April 23. Earlier that day, eight Haijian vessels from China’s State Oceanic Administration entered the territorial waters, marking the largest single incursion since the territorial row between the two nations flared up in September.

U.S. Making Cybertheft Focus of Talks With China, Donilon Says – Bloomberg The U.S. has taken a hard line and insisted cybersecurity be central to any economic dialogue with China, given the scale of attacks waged against U.S. companies, White House National Security Adviser Thomas Donilon said. “The only way to deal with this was to bring it to the center of the relationship and to present the proposition that any economic discussion with the United States — given the threat to the United States, the degree of theft that is going on — was going to involve cyber,” Donilon said today at Columbia University in New York. // Mandiant: No Drop in Chinese Hacking Despite Talk – China Real Time Report – WSJ More than two months after computer-security firm Mandiant Corp. accused the Chinese military of using cyberattacks to target U.S. companies, a company official said there has been no change in the large number of Chinese attacks on U.S. companies it has observed. “It’s all the same, nothing has changed,” said Mandiant’s Chief Security Officer Richard Bejtlich in an interview with China Real Time on Tuesday.

人民日报-网络反腐回到正轨上来（新论） 李永忠 vice dean of The China Academy of Supervision and Discipline Inspection writing in People’s Daily on the online informant pages for citizens to report corruption that were launched Friday..all part of the strategy to regain control over the Internet exposes, as I discussed Monday in my Dealbook column // 为群众多提供一些参与平台、多拓宽一些支持渠道，让群众成为反腐的主要力量，日益显出其重要. 4月19日，国内各重点网站同步推出网络“举报监督专区”，鼓励广大网民依法如实举报违纪违法行为。中纪委监察部、中组部、最高法、最高检以及国土资源部的举报中心，则主动与各大主要新闻网站“架桥”。这从一个侧面表明，网络反腐正逐步纳入到制度反腐体系之中，成为现行权力监督制约体制的有力补充。 // 高档酒店推出上门服务应对八项规定 新华社——经济参考网  Economic Information reports on high end restaurants in Shanxi offering catering services to government offices as a way to get around Xi’s 8 rules…imagine the internal reports media must be writing..they appear to have near carte blanche to investigate (though not necessarily publish) flouting of the 8 rules//   记者近日在山西各地采访时发现，随着厉行勤俭节约、反对铺张浪费在全社会悄然成风，集团和公务消费大幅回落，高端餐饮住宿业遭遇寒流，呈现负增长；与此同时，一些隐藏于高档写字楼、居民小区和公园里的私密会所悄然兴起，以隐秘、高档、会员制为卖点，成为新的高消费场所。

21 Dead in Clash with ‘Gangsters’ in Western China – NYTimes.com Six of those killed were identified as gangsters, and eight more people in the gang were detained during the violence, according to accounts from the bureau and a report Wednesday on a regional news Web site, Tianshan. The other 15 fatalities were police officers and community watch workers or volunteers who died after the large gang herded them at sword point into a house and set the building on fire, said the propaganda spokeswoman, who gave only her surname, Hou. // 新疆巴楚县发生一起严重暴力恐怖案件 – 新疆天山网  天山网讯（记者田山报道）4月23日13时30分，新疆喀什巴楚县色力布亚镇3名社区工作人员到居民家中走访，在一居民家中发现多名可疑人员和管制刀具，遂用电话向上级报告，之后被藏匿于屋内的暴徒控制。接报后，镇派出所民警和社区干部分头前往处置，先后遭屋内外暴徒袭杀。此前被控人员也被杀害，暴徒点燃房屋焚烧。随后赶到的民警击毙继续暴力对抗的暴徒，控制现场事态。该暴力恐怖案件，造成民警、社区工作人员15人死亡（维吾尔族10人，汉族3人，蒙古族2人），受伤2人（维吾尔族）。处置过程中击毙暴徒6人，抓获8人。初步查明这是一个预谋进行暴力恐怖活动的团伙，案件正在进一步侦破中。

China cuts, transfers 71 administrative approval items – Xinhua | English.news.cn The Chinese government decided Wednesday to cut or unleash the first 71 administrative approval items amid efforts to transfer government functions. The items mainly focused on investment as well production and operation, said a statement after a meeting of the State Council, or the cabinet, without giving details. The meeting was presided over by Premier Li Keqiang. // 国务院决定取消和下放71项行政审批项目_财经频道_一财网 为落实《国务院机构改革和职能转变方案》，昨日召开的国务院常务会议决定，第一批先行取消和下放71项行政审批项目等事项。这表明，在机构调整的基础上，国务院职能转变已进入具体实施阶段。

Cracking Down on Bond Market’s Knotty Traders – Caixin The push to prosecute rogue bond dealers had come from the top, several sources told Caixin. They said Vice Premier Wang Qishan, head of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, had personally ordered the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and other agencies to thoroughly investigate bond fraud and punish every perpetrator. In each case opened so far, authorities have focused on individual traders. Neither banks nor any other financial institutions have been cited for violating bond market regulations. Moreover, authorities have yet to clearly spell out the charges facing those taken into custody. Police have been working closely with bond regulators for more than a year. Concerned regulators include not only the CSRC but also the central bank and the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII), a self-regulatory organization of the inter-bank market.// 央行释放维稳信号 债市审计风暴软着陆_财经频道_一财网 据记者多方证实，在这次会议上，央行要求商业银行实施内部自查，防范债券交易风险，同时表态将规范代持业务，对丙类户要逐步取消或升级。// China Probe Focuses on Trading of Bonds – WSJ.com The bond-market investigation, led by China’s central bank and top securities regulator, focuses on a kind of transaction that could magnify trading risks for Chinese banks and brokerage firms, the people said. In some cases, the deals also unfairly allow for personal gains by individual traders or cause bond-price distortions, they said. On Wednesday, the People’s Bank of China, the central bank, held a meeting with senior executives from China’s big commercial banks—the major underwriters and buyers of Chinese bonds—to discuss how to enhance banks’ internal risk controls in bond trading, according to the people. // 中证网专题 – 债市监管风暴来袭 下一“硕鼠”是谁? China Securities Journal has a micro-site on the bond trading investigation

Latest military technologies help China’s quake rescue china daily The latest development of military technologies, including a satellite navigation system and drones, has helped China carry out efficient rescue and relief efforts after Saturday’s strong earthquake. At the field headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) set up for quake rescue and relief, many important decisions have been made based on latest pictures of the quake-hit areas taken by satellites, drones and reconnaissance aircrafts. // 成都大量蛤蟆排长队游街 地震局：过几天就散了_资讯频道_凤凰网 masses of frogs hit the streets in chengdu…earthquake bureau says nothing to see here, move along… //  China’s Red Cross Announces New Round of Probe into Guo Meimei Case -Caijing The new round of investigation was announced days following the recent Ya’an earthquake which again witnessed worsening images of the Red Cross among the public amid lingering influence of the incident two years ago //  China Quake Diary: A Long Journey With a Surprising End – WSJHitchhiking our way out of Tianquan, a small town about a 30-minute driven from Lushan – the hardscrabble county in southwestern Sichuan that was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Saturday  — we were picked up by a white Volkswagen heading in that direction. Yang Qi, a man in his early thirties, was taking food and water to the fire fighters in Lushan where he had a friend working in the relief effort – and he was in a hurry.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Chinese Provinces Reported Dubious,Higher Q1 Growth-Caijing 20 of 31 Chinese local provinces have reported GDP growth rate in the first quarter so far,with all of them higher than 7.7 percent.

China Announces Fuel Prices Cut Starting Thursday -Caijing China’s top planner announced the largest cut in the country’s fuel prices starting Thursday, under the new pricing mechanism, Chinese media reported.

China Economic Watch | China Rebalancing Update—Q1 2013 Overall: The outlook for Chinese economic rebalancing continues to worsen relative to the first half of 2012. The drop in urban disposable income and the boom in residential real estate investment are problematic and cut sharply against the progress we have seen over the past few quarters. One should not put too much stock in the data from any one quarter, but it is hard to make the argument that the Chinese economy is rebalancing quickly. This slow progress on rebalancing coincided with above-trend credit growth and below-trend GDP growth in the first quarter. Combined, these factors are pointing to an increasingly negative economic picture. Overall Grade = D (16/25).

China’s growing debt, and Magnus on where it might be headed | FT Alphaville In otherwords, China’s rising levels of credit growth, and slowing GDP growth, don’t necessarily foreshadow a crisis. But they do provide another signal that the economy’s growth level will decelerate, one way or another, and more quickly than many are expecting. This time, growth opportunities through past mechanisms of cheap labour, exports, and investment are all increasingly tapped out.

AmCham China – 2013 American Business in China White Paper The 15th edition of AmCham China’s American Business in China White Paper (White Paper) synthesizes the collective views of AmCham China’s member companies on trade and commercial issues that affect the US business community in China.

State Asset Regulator Sets 10% Profit Target for SOEs – Caixin China’s state-owned asset regulator announced growth targets for centrally-administered state companies after a weaker-than-expected first quarter performance was reported. Jiang Jiemin, the newly appointed chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), said at a recent conference that securing stable growth is at the top of the central government’s agenda this year. Jiang required central government-owned enterprises to achieve 8 percent value added growth this year, with a profit target of 10 percent.

Risk Education Needed in Shadow Banking, Says Think Tank – Caixin A top government think tank urged financial regulators to establish an institutional mechanism that allows orderly defaults in the shadow banking system and properly educates investors of the risk. Bonds issued by local government financing platforms are a major component of the shadow banking system and their conditions determine to a large extent the health of the economy, says a research report recently published by the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Property loans accelerate, industrial lending slows in China – Xinhua | English.news.cn China saw outstanding real estate loans accelerate as of the end of March from three months earlier while industrial lending slowed, official data showed Wednesday. By the end of last month, financial institutions in China had lent 12.98 trillion yuan (2.08 trillion U.S. dollars) to the property sector, up 16.4 percent year on year, according to statistics from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the country’s central bank. The growth was 3.6 percentage points faster than that recorded at the end of last year, the PBOC said

SOHO中国的土地焦虑：时隔两年重启拿地模式 | 每经网 SOHO China changing land acquisition model again, now buying land directly, mostly in shanghai, going to be very expensive// “一改过去借收购来获得项目的做法，主动拿地，对于专注上海市场的SOHO中国来说，激进型的拿地策略锋芒毕露，这其中自然会面临各种挑战。”上海易居房地产研究院研究员严跃进表示。

SOHO stake in Bund plot ruled invalid — Shanghai Daily The Shanghai No.1 intermediate People’s Court ruling said the agreement between SOHO and the sellers breached the rights of Fosun Group, the other major stakeholder of the plot, causing “direct harm” to Fosun’s interest. Fosun, headed by billionaire Guo Guangchang, filed a lawsuit in May 2012 against SOHO, a major commercial real estate developer based in Beijing, and fellow developers Zendai and Greentown.

社科院报告：投资中国楼市不如去美国买房地产_新闻_腾讯网 CASS “Investment Blue Book” says US real estate a better investment than Chinese real estate…

ZX’s “Libyan Rebel Model” Debuts as China Automakers Scramble to Impress Shanghai  The Shanghai Auto Show is well on its way, with exciting announcements and reveals rolling in, but already it’s hard to imagine any attendee out-crazying China’s Hebei Zhongxing Automobile Co. Ltd or “ZX Auto.” For starters, the automaker presented a “Libyan Model” of its Grand Tiger truck, complete with rear heavy weapons mount, Arabic stenciling and an accompanying photo gallery showing the model in action against Muammar Gaddafi. That was just the beginning.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

China’s austerity drive: official pays high price for lavish dinner party | beyondbrics  There was no doubting the anger of the locals. “Look at all these high-end dishes, liquors, cigarettes. At least Rmb10,000 for each table,” Jia Hongwei, a 37-year-old forum administrator, told beyondbrics. Jia was one of the first people to film the event and post photos and footage online. Jia gave credit to the internet for spreading the news: “I didn’t expect my video clip would be so influential and widespread. Now I even receive a phone call from the FT. Without technology or the internet, like 20 or 30 years ago, we wouldn’t have achieved this. Nowadays, people use the internet to crack down corruption.”

重庆证实外地出差人员饮酒身亡 接待官员停职|合川|蒋永华|重庆_新浪新闻 Visiting official (possibly from Beijing) dies from drinking in chongqing, official who was hosting him suspended // 中新网重庆4月24日电(章莹 郭虹) 近日，一则“京城处长醉死重庆合川”的传言在网络上持续发酵。中新网记者24日从合川区委宣传部证实，确有外地来合川出差人员在接待宴中因酒后身体不适致死，有关情况已在当地官方微博中作通报。

Will we all be “dreamed away”? – China Media Project  At a forum held in Beijing on April 16, the All-China Journalists Association and representatives from 25 official state media did their best to infuse Xi Jinping’s notion of the “China Dream” (中国梦) with the imperative of press control. The ACJA and the Party press are reminding us all that Xi’s vision of prosperity and “national rejuvenation” can only come through the continued restriction of information freedoms. (The English release, for foreign audiences, emphasises “truth” and “credibility”). At the April 16 meeting, state media and the ACJA issued a formal pledge, or changyishu (倡议书), called “Applying Positive Energy with a Fierce Sense of Social Responsibility to Realize the China Dream” (以强烈社会责任感为实现中国梦传递正能量). The document makes it clear that “social responsibility” equals the media’s responsibility to the Chinese Communist Party.

Xi Jinping must show that he can deliver the ‘China Dream’ – FT.com – David Pilling One reason to bet that Mr Xi will eventually embrace radical economic reform is that he probably has to. Mr Hu had the luxury of driving the existing economic model forward. Now almost everyone, both inside and outside China, agrees that the economy needs to change fundamentally. Even if Mr Xi does embrace an economic overhaul, though, don’t expect political reform to follow. The whole point of repairing China’s economic juggernaut is to save the Communist party, not to bury it.

中国人民大学重阳金融研究院 interesting new think tank at People’s University, executive dean is Wang Wen, formerly chief commentator for The Global Times// 2013年1月19日下午2时，中国人民大学重阳投资教育基金理事会第一次会议在文化大厦6层正式召开。中国人民大学校长陈雨露、副校长查显民、财政金融学院院长郭庆旺、上海重阳投资管理有限公司董事长裘国根、CEO莫泰山、中国银监会主席助理阎庆民、中国证监会主席助理张育军、上海虹口区区长吴清、上海证券交易所总经理黄红元等理事参加了会议。 会议宣读了校方成立中国人民大学重阳金融研究院的批复，聘任陈雨露、裘国根为研究院理事会联席理事长，同时诸位理事就重阳金融研究院的规划、战略、选题、研究方法、团队建设、工作计划等若干问题纷纷献计献策

Chinese Officials Order Questioning of Chen Guangcheng’s Relatives – NYTimes.com While Mr. Chen is safe abroad, he has said that Chinese officials and thugs have subjected his relatives in Shandong to retaliation and harassment, including recently throwing rocks and dead poultry at one brother’s home. His nephew Chen Kegui was sentenced to three years and three months in jail in November for assaulting and injuring one of the officials who stormed into his home in April searching for the escaped Mr. Chen. Now, a year later, Chen Kegui’s mother and an uncle face more interrogation over the episode.

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

China Plans to Build New Generation of Bigger Aircraft Carriers – Bloomberg This only adds publicly to what many believed to be the case: that the Liaoning is a training or ‘starter’ carrier and eventually China would build larger and more capable ones,” Taylor Fravel, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who focuses on China’s relations with its neighbors, said by e-mail. “It suggests that today’s PLA is much more confident than in the past regarding its willingness to talk about future military programs.”

海军与北京大学签署战略合作框架协议——国防部网站 PLAN and Peking University sign a cooperation agreement, school will offer courses, training, policy work about “maritime, law of the sea, naval” topics// 中国军网据解放军报北京4月24日电 特约记者莫小亮、记者王凌硕报道： 今天下午，海军与北京大学在京签署军民融合创新发展战略合作框架协议，双方商定以“海洋、海权、海军”为主题，在科研项目、人才培养、政策技术咨询、文化软实力建设等领域加强合作，携手推进海军与北京大学军民融合创新发展。中央军委委员、海军司令员吴胜利出席签字仪式。

U.S. Hopeful After Talks With China – NYTimes.com Contrary to suggestions by some in the United States that China is not interested in solving the North Korean problem, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the “Chinese leadership is as concerned as we are with North Korea’s march toward nuclearization and ballistic missile technology.” “And they have given us an assurance that they are working on it, as we are.” He added, “But I didn’t gain any insights into particularly how they would do that.” // Risk of Miscalculation Over North Korea Has Grown, Dempsey Says – Bloomberg The risk of a miscalculation in the dispute over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs has increased, and China takes the tensions “very seriously,” the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said yesterday. North Korea is “in a period of prolonged provocation rather than cyclical provocation,” Martin Dempsey told reporters yesterday after arriving in Beijing April 21 and meeting officials including President Xi Jinping. // The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition): Daily News from Korea – China ‘Won’t Accept N.Korean Nuclear Armament’ Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday assured South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se that Beijing will not tolerate North Korea’s nuclear arms, according to a diplomatic source.//nice pictures of Gen Dempsey visiting PLA facilities

AFP: Tokyo says open to dialogue with China despite tensions We have the window of dialogue with China certainly open through diplomatic channels,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, the government’s top spokesman, told a regular press briefing. He also confirmed the two sides were trying to arrange talks, following a report in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper which said the Asian giants were planning a defence meeting later this month, even as they remain locked in a tense stand-off over a group of Tokyo-controlled islands in the East China Sea.

China calls Japan-U.S. island drill provocative | Reuters China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying, said “foreign pressure” could not sway China from protecting its territorial sovereignty in the East China Sea. “For any related provocative actions, the Chinese government will maintain a resolute response,” Hua told reporters at a regular news briefing when asked about the drills.

Xi meets former US heavyweights|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn Kissinger, Paulson arrive in Bejing seeking to further strengthen ties Cabinet members, governors and top military officers are among the guests from the United States who have met with President Xi Jinping just weeks after he was elected China’s top leader. The guest list got longer on Wednesday, with the addition of two former US politicians who are now heavyweight think-tank figures — Henry Kissinger and Henry Paulson. 人民日报-习近平分别会见基辛格和保尔森 Xi’s meetings with Henry Paulson and Henry Kissinger get top billing in People’s Daily // [视频]习近平会见美国前国务卿基辛格 前财长鲍尔森_新闻频道_央视网 Xi Jinping meets with both Kissinger and Henry Paulson, 2nd item on Tuesday CCTV Evening News.

Paul Godwin & Alice Miller–China’s Forbearance Has Limits:Chinese Threat and retaliation signaling and its Implications for a Sino-American Military Confrontation pdf very interesting paper

OVERNIGHT DEFENSE: Pentagon, Congress square off over base closures – The Hill’s DEFCON Hill Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), who is chairman of the Sea Power subpanel of the House Armed Services Committee, said his goal in the 2014 budget deliberations is to rebuild the Navy’s fleet, not just preserve it. “We are entering the decade of sea power … [so] what is the risk to the United States” if naval power continues to fall by the wayside, Forbes asked during a hearing. The Navy’s shipbuilding strategy would have the fleet top out at 300 warships over the next three decades, but that number could drop if anticipated funding levels set by Congress fall off track.

China May Have Helped Pakistan Nuclear Weapons Design, Newly Declassified Intelligence Indicates China was exporting nuclear materials to Third World countries without safeguards beginning in the early 1980s, and may have given Pakistan weapons design information in the early years of its clandestine program, according to recently declassified CIA records. The formerly Top Secret reports, published today by the National Security Archive and the Nuclear Proliferation International History Project, are the CIA’s first-ever declassifications of allegations that Beijing supported Islamabad’s nuclear ambitions.

White House formally notifies Congress of Japan free-trade talks | Reuters The participation of Japan, a major U.S. trading partner as well as close ally, further increases the economic significance of a TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) Agreement,” acting U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis said in a letter to congressional leaders.

Don’t get China wrong – The Hindu The Chinese are at it again. Or so we are told by the Indian media, which have worked themselves into a lather over the recent Chinese “incursion” in Ladakh. The latest move is held up as yet another example of China’s longstanding strategy to keep India off-balance. Faced with such a strategy, India apparently has no credible response and is desperately floundering. These arguments are not new. In fact, they have become something of a catechism which is uttered every time reports of Chinese “incursions” hit the headlines. They are wrong all the same…Never mind the latest frenzy over Chinese “incursions”. There is a lot more in play in India’s relationship with China.

Canada to return illegal assets |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn China and Canada will sign an agreement to share assets that Chinese fugitives illegally transfer to Canada, the North American country’s top envoy in Beijing said. Negotiations are in advanced stages and an agreement should be reached in the next few months, Canadian Ambassador Guy Saint-Jacques said in an exclusive interview.

 

HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN

China Doesn’t Trust Hong Kong to Pick Leader, Anson Chan Says – Bloomberg Anson Chan, the former chief secretary of Hong Kong, said China doesn’t trust residents in the former British colony to vote for a chief executive that will back Beijing’s rule. Chan said today she has formed a group called “Hong Kong 2020” that will reach out to Beijing and different communities for proposals on constitutional reforms needed for the 2017 introduction of universal suffrage in the city.

Li Ka-Shing Seen Winning Hong Kong Strike as Ships Move Faster – Bloomberg Billionaire Li Ka-shing’s Hong Kong port operator cut the amount of time ships wait to berth in the city, undermining the effectiveness of the four-week strike against Asia’s richest man. The waiting time is an average 20 to 25 hours, compared with about 60 hours when the strike started last month, Hongkong International Terminals Ltd. said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Li’s terminals are operating at as much as 90 percent of their capacity as some of the 450 workers returned to their posts, and more than 30 new stevedores were hired by contractors.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

百度“进攻”视频业 或收PPS入囊_财经频道_一财网 First Financial says deal basically done, baidu 2 acquire video service PPS for $350-400m. will it be announced friday along with baidu earnings? Baidu doubling down on video, Youku-Tudou are big but in no way have the won the market here as Youtube has done in other markets// 有消息人士对《第一财经日报》表示，尽管此前PPS对外一再否认，但事实上爱奇艺通过百度收购PPS一事已经基本落定，收购金额在3.5亿~4亿美元之间。

Back to the Future: Xiaomi’s ROM Machine | Buy Buy China By all accounts, Xiaomi had a good 2012: 7 million handsets sold with over RMB 12.5 billion in revenue (full report from Caixin here). In a cutthroat market, Xiaomi could feel very pleased with their results after only three years in operation. Instead, CEO Lei Jun used April’s recent Xiaomi Fest (an annual event for fans and media) to shift attention back to Xiaomi’s very first product: MIUI. Released in 2010, MIUI is a 3rd-party Android ROM integrating Xiaomi’s other offerings, including the Xiaomi app store, gaming center, Miliao messenger and Mi Drive cloud storage.

Apple to Double Retail Outlets in China as Growth Slows – Bloomberg “Doubling stores over two years is simply not enough,” said Shaun Rein, managing director of China Market Research Group in Shanghai. “Their sales growth is really collapsing.” Apple is facing “serious political headwinds” that may make it more difficult to get permits to open new stores, Rein said. Cook’s plan is well off the pace set by former head of retail operations Ron Johnson, who set a target of 25 stores by February 2012.

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Doolittle Raiders hold final public reunion – The Japan Times Cole, Thatcher and Saylor — three of the four surviving crew members from the history-making bombing run — are at Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle for a final public reunion of the Doolittle Raiders. They decided to meet at Eglin because it is where they trained for their top-secret mission in the winter of 1942, just weeks after the Japanese devastated the American fleet at Pearl Harbor.

40 Years in China: From Stranded Activist to International Journalist — Positively Filipino  Weeks later the Marcos administration released in the newspapers a “wanted list,” which included some members of our tour group. The political uncertainty at home was enough to put our return on hold, at least for some time, as our families and lawyers feared that we would be arrested upon our return.  Ten of our fellow tourists were able to leave China for home after three months’ wait, but five of us ended up staying put. “Wait until further notice,” our lawyers advised. A year later, however, in September 1972, Marcos declared martial law—followed by another wave of arrests. Another year later, our Philippine passports expired. We found ourselves stranded in China. Our three-week tour had turned into an open-ended period of exile.

Zhou Chunya ranked best-selling Chinese artist |Society |chinadaily.com.cn Oil painter Zhou Chunya topped the Hurun Art List with sales of his auctioned works hitting 75 million US dollars in 2012, according to the Hurun Report released Wednesday in Beijing. Zhou, 58, is the youngest artist ever to top the list.

Rejecting the ‘Leftover Women’ Label – NYTimes.com The redefining of shengnu has been abetted by a television series, started last July, that translates as “The Price of Being a Victorious Woman.” It’s an exploration of the romantic life and career of the fictitious, unmarried Lin Xiaojie, played by the Taiwanese actress Chen Qiao En. In the series, the quirky, pretty Ms. Lin has troubled romantic encounters with attractive men. But along the way she builds a successful career. While some consider the series overly sappy, it has had the effect of spreading the concept of “victorious women” as a morale-boosting alternative to “leftover women,” and delivering unmarried Chinese women more self-respect.

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

Bird Flu Strain Spreads as Taiwan Reports First Infection – Bloomberg A 53-year-old Taiwanese man tested positive for the latest strain of avian flu after a business trip to the eastern city of Suzhou and returning to Taiwan via Shanghai, Minister of Health Chiu Wen-ta said at a briefing today. The patient, who is in critical condition in an isolation room, didn’t come into contact with birds and poultry, Chiu said. // WHO says new bird strain is one of most lethal flu viruses | ReutersA new bird flu strain that has killed 22 people in China is “one of the most lethal” of its kind and transmits more easily to humans than another strain that has killed hundreds since 2003, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said on Wednesday.

Japanese Scientist Blames China for Yakushima’s Dying Trees – NYTimes.com YAKUSHIMA, Japan — A mysterious pestilence has befallen this island’s primeval forests, leaving behind the bleached, skeletal remains of dead trees that now dot the dark green mountainsides. Osamu Nagafuchi, an environmental engineer with a passion for the island and its rugged terrain, believes he knows the culprit: airborne pollutants from smog-belching China, hundreds of miles upwind.

Overcrowding on farms behind mystery of China’s floating pigs | Reuters Overcrowding on farms around Shanghai was the underlying factor that led to 16,000 dead pigs floating down the Huangpu river into China’s affluent financial centre, according to an analysis of official documents and interviews with farmers in the region.

Influx of Chinese goldminers sparks tensions in Ghana | Global development | guardian.co.uk The authorities admit that the influx of Chinese miners and their wealthy backers is causing environmental destruction and social conflict on an unprecedented scale. The Chinese have invested millions of dollars in excavators and industrial equipment.

 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

Cecilia Chiang, the Queen of Chinese Cuisine – WSJ.com Ms. Chiang, 93 years old, is today celebrated as the Julia Child of Chinese cuisine. Her high-end restaurant Mandarin, which was a fixture in Polk Street and later Ghirardelli Square neighborhoods through the early 1990s, focused on the classic northern Chinese and Shanghainese dishes she ate growing up in a wealthy Beijing family. Those dishes, including red-cooked pork and pot stickers, were largely unknown at the time in America.

More Chinese travel overseas, study reveals |Society |chinadaily.com.cn Thanks to the country’s rapid economic development, residents of second- and third-tier cities have plans and are able to go overseas for their holidays, according to the China Outbound Tourism Development 2013 report, released by the China Tourism Academy. “Outbound tourism is no longer a privilege of the rich,” said academy researcher Jiang Yiyi. “Lower-tier cities have and will continue to contribute substantially to its development.”

 

BEIJING

Former Beijing-Based Expat Schoolteacher Suspected of Rape in UK | Beijingkids Blog | Beijing News | Apr 24, 2013 | beijing-kids.com When contacted for comment, Robinson’s former employer, Beijing World Youth Academy (BWYA), confirmed he worked at the school for three years and left abruptly of his own accord in May 2012. The last anyone at the school heard from him was in June of last year when he sent them an email stating he was in the UK renewing his passport. A school spokesperson stated that while Robinson worked there, there were no formal or informal complaints made against him.  Since this story came to the school’s attention a little over a month ago, BWYA states that it has addressed concerns from staff who worked with Robinson as well his former students and their parents. The school also immediately alerted the Chinese authorities about their connection with Robinson, and has been in touch with the Surrey police.

北京出租车新规：每日需执行2单电话业务_网易新闻中心 核心提示：6月起，北京将建统一特服号码调度平台，提供24小时电话约车、网络约车、手机约车等电召服务。出租汽车经营者和电召中心承诺保障乘客早7时至晚7时城六区以内、晚7时至次日7时四环以内提前4小时预约出租汽车的用车服务。出租车司机应确保每车每日执行2单电话业务。

 

BOOKS AND LITERATURE

Monika Gaenssbauer on Contemporary Chinese Essayists – Asymptote Today one can find a large number of translated novels and short story collections by Chinese authors on the shelves of bookstores in English- and German-speaking countries. It is not uncommon to find translated fiction by Wang Anyi, Xu Zechen, Yan Lianke, and Mo Yan, among others. Outside China, however, it is not often known that many of these writers have also authored numerous essays, highly popular among domestic Chinese readers. Essay collections of significant writers such as Jia Pingwa appear in print runs of up to 60,000. Why is it, then, that Chinese essays are only rarely translated (at least in the English- and German-speaking world)?

 

JOBS AND EVENTS

Educational Consultant at Elite Scholars of China in Beijing City, China – Job | LinkedIn Elite Scholars of China (ESC) is looking for an Educational Consultant to join our team. ESC helps China’s brightest and most promising high school students apply to America’s most prestigious colleges.  As an Educational Consultant, you will serve as a mentor for top high school students, guiding them through the American college application process. You will work one-on-one with Chinese students to brainstorm essay ideas, develop their writing skills, navigate their educational options, and help them to achieve their educational aspirations.

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