Just links today, flying back to Beijing, should return to a normal schedule by the weekend:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

Fallen Chinese Official’s Son Is ‘Denied Contact’ With Parents – NYTimes.com Bo Guagua sends a statement to the New York Times, confirms he is going to Columbia Law School // “It has been 18 months since I have been denied contact with either my father or my mother,” Mr. Bo, 25, said in his statement. “I can only surmise the conditions of their clandestine detention and the adversity they each endure in solitude. I hope that in my father’s upcoming trial, he is granted the opportunity to answer his critics and defend himself without constraints of any kind.”…“However, if my well-being has been bartered for my father’s acquiescence or my mother’s further cooperation, then the verdict will clearly carry no moral weight,” he added.

Related: 薄案庭审首向媒体直播 审薄展示中共反腐决心_大公资讯_大公网 video and weibo live broadcasting of Bo’s trial? // 大公网讯 有消息人士向本报透露，薄熙来将于21日晚押解到济南西站，然后将关押在看守所，并于22日在济南市中级人民法院接受审判。此前有媒体报道，薄案庭审当天将在吉华大厦新闻中心开启庭审直播和微博直播。这在以往类似高官案件审理中从来没有先例，但是否利用济南中院微博直播，官方还没有确切消息。此外，负责审理薄案的审判长以及公诉人已经敲定。

Related: Despite Bo’s trial in China, no redress for victims of his crackdown | Reuters During Bo’s anti-crime drive, Chongqing police held thousands of suspects and prosecuted dozens of businessmen and women and officials accused of extortion, graft or running syndicates to protect rackets and prostitution. One of the reasons petitions for redress are blocked is that judges and prosecutors in Chongqing who have ruled on these allegedly wrongful convictions are still in office. The Chongqing government could not be reached for comment. “Several prosecutors who handled the wrongful convictions are still in their positions in court, so to ask that they correct their own mistakes, that’s somewhat difficult,” said Chen Youxi, a lawyer who is representing two clients who say they were wrongfully convicted.

Related: Divisions Emerge in Briton’s Family as Bo Trial Nears – WSJ.com In the statement issued to the Journal, Mr. Heywood’s mother urged Chinese authorities to help arrange compensation, especially for her son’s two children, saying there had been no meaningful response to repeated “discreet” approaches. He Zhengsheng, a Chinese lawyer who says he represented the Heywood family last year at the trial of Mr. Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, disputed both the content and the provenance of the statement on Monday. In a posting Monday on Sina Weibo—a microblogging service like Twitter—he said Ms. Heywood’s statement hadn’t been issued by Heywood family members and didn’t “conform to objective facts.”

Related: Echoes of Bo Xilai in Xi’s China Complicate Bid to Boost Party – Bloomberg  “Xi Jinping is not a conservative, he is a reformer,” said Zhang Qianfan, a professor of law at Peking University. “But his reforms have run into many obstacles. How does he overcome these obstacles? By using the examples of great history from the party, so that he can further encourage reform. He doesn’t want to give those who oppose reform an excuse.” //the hopeful view, that he appears to be veering left while really going right?…if you are left politically and right economically does that make you a centrist? Or a Deng Xiaoping 2.0?

China’s New Leadership Takes Hard Line in Secret Memo – NYTimes.com “Western forces hostile to China and dissidents within the country are still constantly infiltrating the ideological sphere,” says Document No. 9, the number given to it by the central party office that issued it in April. It has not been openly published, but a version was shown to The New York Times and was verified by four sources close to senior officials, including an editor with a party newspaper. Opponents of one-party rule, it says, “have stirred up trouble about disclosing officials’ assets, using the Internet to fight corruption, media controls and other sensitive topics, to provoke discontent with the party and government.” //Mingjing publishes what it says is the document: 明鏡新聞網: 《明鏡月刊》獨家全文刊發中共9號文件

Related: Political rebalancing: Tilting backwards | The Economist from June, though I believe the New York Times journalist is the first foreign reporter to actually get hold of a copy of the document // If this is Mr Xi’s thinking, it does not bode well for reform on any front. But optimists note that party newspapers such as the People’s Daily are heavily influenced by the thinking of the party’s propaganda apparatus, which is a notorious bastion of conservatism—so much so that Deng felt it necessary to travel about 2,000 km (1,200 miles) to southern China to relaunch his economic reform programme in 1992. Hope for political reform is fainter. Mr Xi’s fingerprints are more clearly visible on the recent ideological tightening. If he really intends to do battle in the economy, he might be shy of opening another front. But there is no sign he intends ever to become another Gorbachev.

Xi demands greater initiative, innovation in publicity work – Xinhua  “Publicity work is about the consolidation of the guiding role of Marxism on the ideological front, and the consolidation of the common ideological base for all Party members and all the people,” he said. Xi said that Party members and officials should be firm believers of Marxism and Communism, and apply a down-to-earth manner in all their work. Officials, especially those of high levels, should grasp the fundamental theories of Marxism and study Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development, according to Xi….Xi called for innovation in the publicity work, stressing new concepts and methods and a focus on grassroots work. He also stressed innovation in external publicity, in a bid to ensure “the stories of China are well told and voices of China well spread.” Meanwhile, Xi said “A significant mission in our publicity work is to guide people to comprehensively and objectively view a contemporary China as well as the exterior world.” Xi called for improved media reports on new things and situations of the world, as well as new ideas, notions and knowledge in foreign countries, in order to help the country benefit from the fruits of human civilization. Xi stressed positive publicity that upholds unity, stability and encouragement as a key guideline for the country’s publicity and ideology work.

Related: [视频]习近平在全国宣传思想工作会议上强调 胸怀大局把握大势着眼大事 努力把宣传思想工作做得更好_新闻频道_央视网 coverage of Xi’s speech at the ideological work conference gets the top 8 minutes of the Tuesday CCTV Evening News

Related: 习近平：讲好中国故事 传播好中国声音-高层动态-新华网 原标题：习近平在全国宣传思想工作会议上强调 胸怀大局把握大势着眼大事 努力把宣传思想工作做得更好 刘云山出席会议并讲话…新华网北京8月20日电（记者徐京跃华春雨）全国宣传思想工作会议19日至20日在北京召开。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平出席会议并发表重要讲话。他强调，宣传思想工作一定要把围绕中心、服务大局作为基本职责，胸怀大局、把握大势、着眼大事，找准工作切入点和着力点，做到因势而谋、应势而动、顺势而为。

China Won’t Barter Away Territorial Interest, Chang Says – Bloomberg China is prepared to defend its interests and won’t trade away its territorial claims in the Asia-Pacific region, General Chang Wanquan, the country’s Defense Minister, said during a visit to the Pentagon. While China prefers to solve disputes in the region through “dialogue and negotiation, no one should fantasize that China would barter away our core interests,” Chang said at a news conference yesterday in Washington alongside U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. “No one should underestimate our will and determination in defending our territorial sovereignty and maritime rights.”

Related: Commentary: Advance toward new type of China-U.S. mil-to-mil relations – Xinhua The agreements reached by Chang and Hagel were indicative of progress. Among others, the two sides agreed to carry out more high-level visits and more joint exercises and training programs, including China’s participation in the Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) in 2014. However, the journey toward a new type of China-U.S. military relations is not going to be easy. For starters, the United States’ rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, especially the military dimension of the strategy, is complicating the regional situation.

Related: Chinese fleet sets sail for joint drills[1]|chinadaily.com.cn Three Chinese naval vessels set sail for the United States, Australia and New Zealand on Tuesday to take part in a series of military drills involving more than a dozen countries. The Chinese fleet — comprising the Qingdao guided-missile destroyer, the Linyi missile frigate and the Hongzehu, a large supply ship — departed from Qingdao, Shandong province, for waters near Hawaii, where it will participate in a search-and-rescue drill with the US navy.

China Is Going To Embark On An Epic Attempt To Reduce Pollution, And The Business Opportunity Is Massive- Business Insider China is set to launch a program to tackle its air pollution problem. And this is expected to require an investment of 1.7 trillion yuan over the next five years, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). Morgan Stanley’s Simon H.Y. Lee and his team think there are huge investment opportunities

China oil imports to overtake U.S. by 2017: WoodMac | Reuters China will overtake the United States as the world’s biggest crude oil importer by 2017 as Chinese motorists drive domestic oil demand higher, consultancy Wood Mackenzie said on Tuesday. China is on track to spend $500 billion on crude oil imports by 2020, far outstripping the peak cost ever incurred by the United States on crude imports of $335 billion, Wood Mackenzie said in a report.

Related: Backing Egypt’s generals, Saudi Arabia promises to fill financial void – The Washington Post where is China in this? seems like a potential opportunity for Beijing, also a potential pitfall // On Monday, Saudi Arabia promised to compensate Egypt for any aid that Western countries might withdraw in response to the harsh tactics employed by Egypt’s leaders to quell protests by supporters of the country’s deposed president, in which nearly 1,000 people and more than 100 police officers are reported to have been killed.

北京查处一网络推手公司 2名网络红人被刑拘_网易新闻中心 Beijing investigates an online marketing/promotion company for spreading rumors, people detained for pushing rumors about the Wenzhou train crash, Lei Feng// 日前，北京警方打掉一个在互联网蓄意传播制造谣言的网络推手公司—北京尔玛互动营销策划公司（以下简称尔玛公司）。秦志晖（网名“秦火火”）、杨秀宇（网名“立二拆四”）及公司其他2名成员被警方抓获。北京警方介绍，两人已被刑拘。 据了解，公安部部署全国公安机关集中开展打击网络有组织造谣传谣等违法犯罪专项行动，严厉打击此类犯罪活动。这也是傅政华就任公安部副部长之后，开展的第一次重大专项活动… 为提高网络知名度和影响力，以便更好地非法牟取营利，秦、杨二人先后策划、制造了一系列网络热点事件，吸引粉丝，使自己迅速成为网络名人，如“7·23”动车事故发生后，故意编造、散布中国政府花2亿元天价赔偿外籍旅客的谣言，挑动民众对政府的不满情绪。二人还捏造了所谓雷锋生活中的奢侈情节、污称这一道德楷模的形象完全是由国家制造的；利用“郭美美炫富事件”蓄意炒作，恶意攻击中国的慈善救援制度。 两人还捏造全国残联主席张海迪拥有日本国籍，并将著名军事专家、资深媒体记者、社会名人和一些普通群众等作为攻击对象，无中生有编造故事，恶意造谣抹黑中伤。

Related: “秦火火”等网络红人被捕 诋毁雷锋形象被举报_新闻_腾讯网 two of those arrested apparently were responsible for online rumors slandering Lei Feng’s image, claiming the foreign victims of the wenzhou train crash got more compensation among others…comes one day after Beijing PSB head Fu Zhenghua became vice minister of the PSB…the plan to seize the commanding heights of social media is gaining ground// 铁道部已向在“7·23”动车事故中意大利遇难者茜茜协议赔偿3000万欧元（折合人民币接近两亿）、张海迪拥有日本国籍、李双江之子并非其亲生的……这些耸人听闻的“内幕消息”经过微博发出并且经“意见领袖”转载后，个个都成了网络热点话题。但是有谁会想到，这些说法全部来自网络红人“秦火火”、“立二拆四”等人的杜撰呢？昨天，全国公安机关集中打击网络有组织制造传播谣言等违法犯罪专项行动拉开序幕。将“谣言并非止于智者，而是止于下一个谣言”奉为圭臬的“秦火火”、“立二拆四”等人，因涉嫌寻衅滋事罪和非法经营罪被北京警方刑事拘留。傅政华履新公安部副部长之后，第一把火烧向了网络犯罪。

Thrown to the wolves: China’s children at the mercy of foreign predators | South China Morning Post American kindergarten teacher David McMahon had been arrested in Shanghai over allegations of child abuse in six cases, the news anchor said. A second, unnamed, foreign teacher was also mentioned in the report…By connecting the dots from information provided online, school newsletters, social media profiles and publicly available court documents, Straub identified the second man as 47-year-old Hector Hugo Orjuela Jnr from California, who previously taught English in Shanghai. Orjuela was extradited to the US in December and is now awaiting trial in Washington on two counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct in foreign places.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

New Chinese Agency to Increase Financial Coordination – NYTimes.com The new arrangement appears to be “more of a coordinating scheme rather than a decision-making agent,” Zhu Haibin, chief China economist at JPMorgan in Hong Kong, said in an e-mail. “However, given the member composition, it will have a very important advisory role on financial regulation.” The plans for better coordination also highlight Beijing’s acute awareness of the need to contain the risks that have built up within the country’s financial system amid a lending splurge that followed the global financial crisis in 2008. // 国务院关于同意建立金融监管协调部际联席会议制度的批复-财经频道-新华网

化解产能过剩政策将密集出台 新华社——经济参考网 Economic Information says “concentrated policies” to deal with overcapacity about to be released // 产能过剩问题正引起国家层面的高度重视。工信部产业政策司副司长辛仁周近日向《经济参考报》透露，为了进一步化解产能过剩，确保未来工业经济平稳运行，工信部和发改委联合制定了化解产能过剩总体方案(以下简称“方案”)，作为下一阶段化解过剩产能工作的指导方针。目前，方案已经完成了最后的修订工作，即将于近日出台。

Fraud Inquiry into Shanghai Insurance Firm Rattles Industry – Caixin …the source said Fanxin has been selling several kinds of wealth management products that it developed without the necessary authorization. Some of the products had above-average yields. “Customers thought they were buying the normal wealth management products like the ones offered by banks, but actually these products were made by Fanxin and funds were put into insurance products,” the source said. The source said Fanxin also persuaded customers to buy insurance contracts as investment instruments. “Many customers now hold insurance contracts with other people’s names on them,” he said.

Runaway executive in 500m yuan scandal escorted back to China | South China Morning Post A Chinese insurance executive who allegedly took 500 million yuan (HK$633 million) from her company and fled the country has been escorted back from Fiji by police, state media reported. Chinese police tracked down the former general manager of the Shanghai Fanxin Insurance Agency, Chen Yi, with the help of Interpol, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Work on Liberalizing Interest Rates for Deposits Continues, Zhou Xiaochuan Says – Caixin Central bank governor also optimistic about state of the economy, citing creation of 7 million jobs in first six months of year

Steadier China economy offers iron ore hope, but caution stays | Reuters A rally in iron ore prices to five-month highs has spurred optimism a stabilizing economy may help top buyer China absorb rising global supply, prompting some analysts and traders to raise their estimates for the second half of the year. But other forecasters stuck to their price projections, convinced the recent upturn would be short-lived and could quickly falter if Chinese steel demand fizzles out during an anticipated peak season that starts next month.

Banks Work Around China’s Lending Limits – WSJ.com The banks’ latest effort in their cat-and-mouse game with regulators involves making corporate loans appear on their balance sheets as less risky loans to banks. This allows banks to skirt limits on lending to customers but hides risks that they will be hit by big losses. Analysts estimate as much as 2 trillion yuan ($326 billion) could have been loaned under these transactions, which are often categorized as so-called trust beneficiary rights transfers because the income and risk from a loan is transferred between banks. The transactions are done mostly by small and midsized lenders, which were the target of the Chinese central bank’s credit squeeze in June.

Shunfeng Express attracts trio of investors |Companies |chinadaily.com.cn Shunfeng Express, one of China’s largest express delivery companies, has signed an investment agreement with Oriza Holdings, China Merchants Group and CITIC Capital, NetEase.com reported on Tuesday. The three will jointly hold less than 25 percent of Shunfeng Express and marks the first time Shunfeng has attracted outside investments. The value of the trio’s investments was not revealed.

Urban Rail Network Construction to Attract $100 Bln in Investment-Caijing China’s top economic planning agency is considering expanding urban rail network by 1000 kilometers in three years, a project that will promote 600-700 billion yuan ($98-114 billion) in investment. Nine cities, including Qingdao, Wuxi, Chagnzhou, Fuzhou, Dongguan, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Nanchang and Harbin, will have their first subway line before 2015 under the plans, the country’s central television said yesterday, citing an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.

Chinese premier stresses rail construction in west – Xinhua Railway construction in western China is important for transferring industry from the country’s eastern regions to western areas, which will boost employment, relieve poverty, and solve uneven regional development, Li said. Efforts should be made to ensure the quality of railway projects and construction workers’ safety, Li said during a tour to Gansu in northwest China from Aug. 17 to 19. China has vowed to invest a total of 660 billion yuan (106.45 billion U.S. dollars) in railway construction this year and plans to bring the country’s operating railway network to more than 100,000 kilometers by the end of the year.

江苏约十名支行行长被撤或被追责 祸起钢贸贷款_网易财经 around ten bank sub-branch heads in jiangsu have been fired/discplined for loans gone sour to steel traders // 本报新近获悉，截至目前，江苏全省因钢贸市场融资黑洞被撤职或被追究法律责任的支行行长多达十名左右。如此多的支行行长因经营中的同一种风险而断送前程，这在江苏金融发展历史上较为罕见. 2013年1-6月，江苏新增不良贷款182亿元，成为同期全国新增不良最多的省份，而钢贸市场则成为了这些不良贷款的主要集中领域。

Hiring the Well-Connected Isn’t Always a Scandal – NYTimes.com Under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a company is not allowed to provide a personal benefit to a decision maker in return for business. But hiring the sons and daughters of powerful executives and politicians is hardly just the province of banks doing business in China: it has been a time-tested practice here in the United States.

Everbright Bank says nepotism played no role in JPMorgan hire: report | Reuters The official China Securities Journal on Tuesday cited an unnamed “person in charge” at Everbright Bank saying the process of hiring JPMorgan was “open and transparent, and there was no so-called issue of passing favors”.

Soho China 1st-Half Core Profit Doubles on Property Sales – Bloomberg Chief Executive Officer Zhang Xin last year steered the company toward what it called a build-and-hold model from a build-and-sell model to take advantage of more stable and predictable rental income rather than sales proceeds. “The company’s earnings rose because it has sold more properties left over from last year to book in the period,” Alan Jin, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Mizuho Securities Asia Ltd., said before the results. “But a lot of uncertainty remains with this company because it will take at least four or five years for its new model to take effect and Soho doesn’t have a good track record for holding properties,” he said, rating the stock at underperform.

China July Home Prices Rise as Nation Seeks Long-Term Policy – Bloomberg “The new leadership seems to have a higher tolerance for rising home prices than the previous government,” Ding Shuang, a senior China economist at Citigroup Inc. in Hong Kong, said in an interview yesterday. “It’s unlikely that the government will issue nationwide curbs or ease policies. The government will likely aim at long-term policies by increasing more supply.”

BBC News – Ritz Carlton banks on China recovery It plans to double its number of hotels in China over the next three years. Herve Humler, the president of Ritz Carlton explained to the BBC’s Sharanjit Leyl why he is optimistic that the recent slowdown in China will be temporary.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

Graft amid low officials worse than graft by party elite | South China Morning Post “Compared to tigers, flies are huge in number, and can spread bacteria over a wider range. Therefore their damage is far more extensive,” the newspaper quoted the report on social crisis published jointly by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Shanghai Jiaotong University. Flies and tigers became a popular metaphor when the party’s general secretary, President Xi Jinping vowed in January to crack down on corruption at all levels.

Galaxy Earnings Top Estimates on Higher Gambler Spending – Bloomberg “The prospects for Macau and our company for the rest of this year and beyond are encouraging,” Chairman Lui Che Woo said in a press conference today. “Macau will benefit from the major infrastructure and transport improvement, and the VIP growth will remain robust.” //hard to square a successful corruption crackdown with robust VIP activity in Macau

邓小平诞辰109周年前夕 邓小平纪念网正式开通_大公资讯_大公网 commemorations of 109th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping’s birth, including launch of a new website http://www.dengxiaopingnet.com/ // [杨胜群]:各位来宾，各位朋友：在我们敬爱的小平同志诞辰109周年前夕，由人民网·中国共产党新闻网主办，中共广安市委协办的邓小平纪念网正式开通。[杨胜群]:邓小平纪念网的开通，为我们学习、研究和宣传邓小平同志的生平思想和品格风范，提供了一个新的宝贵的园地。

昆明查处“治癌神医”王学贵–社会–人民网 Kunming investigating “cancer curing miracle doctor” wang xuegui…//本报昆明8月20日电  （记者胡洪江）云南省昆明市五华区卫生局20日证实，当地相关职能部门已对日前广受关注的“治癌神医”王学贵进行联合查处，认定其非法行医。王学贵号称“用中草药治好了2000多名重症甚至绝症患者，早中期癌症不在话下，晚期癌症治愈率高达95%”。但经调查发现，王学贵本人无《医师资格证书》和《医师执业证书》，其执业场所也无《医疗机构执业许可证》。

“信念洼地”孳生“神功大师”（人民论坛）–观点–人民网 People’s Daily says a “belief depression” breeds “miraculous masters”, like Wang Lin // 以拙劣的江湖骗术，竟能让一干官员、名流趋附不疑。近期王林等具有“神异功能”的“大师”被媒体曝光，引来公众惊诧。让人们想不通的是，这些骗术并不高明，凭靠一定的识别与判断能力就能洞烛其奸，为何这些官员、名流不能辨明而甘受其蒙骗？

Food safety tops public’s concerns |Society  Illegal additives, poor hygiene and unsafe materials in the manufacturing process were the major concerns of the public in 2012, while private and multinational companies were the major sources of the worry, a new report says. The report on Chinese public opinion and crisis management studied 1,593 of the 5,000 major “public opinion events” last year in an effort to find the characteristics and trends of the events, government agencies’ response to them, and public feedback.

报告称近三成环境舆情事件严重“烂尾”–要闻–中国经济新闻网 《中国社会舆情与危机管理报告(2013)》由中国社科院社会科学文献出版社和上海交通大学舆情研究实验室联合发布。蓝皮书指出，2003年至2012年十年间我国舆情主体总体干预时效增强，干预能力提高。曝光后半天到一天进行干预的事件总体上升，2010年以来比值都在10.0%以上；曝光1个月以上干预的比重呈下降趋势。蓝皮书认为，在政府舆情应对方面，十年来，尽管鸵鸟战术、推诿塞责、阻断信源等应对模式等仍有一定的存在空间，并曾引爆重大舆情事件，但积极主动型干预模式正在成为舆情应对的主流。

任志强微博炮轰攀钢排污 掀起钛业环保风波–舆情频道–人民网 本周，任志强、王石、王健林等地产业界大佬出镜率较高，企业家对社会热点话题、政治经济环境的看法引发舆论聚焦。其中，任志强微博曝光攀钢钒钛旗下子公司环境污染，引发社会各界广泛关注，直接导致攀钢钒钛临时停牌，重庆市环保局介入调查，同时，钛业环保问题也因此受到关注。该事件凸显出企业家的舆论影响力，任志强微博“执法”，对社会各界监督钛业环保问题起到推动作用。

奢侈晚会官商合作内幕：政府出巨资 官员拿回扣_证券时报网 corruption the reason for the crackdown on expensive galas // “节俭令”新风之下，山东、厦门两大活动去奢从俭省下五六千万元；行业人士曝光既往“官商合作”演出食物链. 近几个月以来，刘兴(化名)没有往年那么忙碌，这名曾参与过亚运会、奥运会等诸多大赛开闭幕式的策划人对于这种“半休整”的状态非常享受，“这当然是好事，给市场一点时间，市场的终还是要归于市场的手段来调节。” 她所说的好事是指中宣部、财政部、文化部、审计署、国家新闻出版广电总局本月联合发出通知，要求制止豪华铺张、提倡节俭办晚会。

增强走中国特色社会主义政治发展道路的自觉自信–中央党校中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心 《 人民日报 》 世界各国政治发展道路正反两方面的经验告诉我们：民主政治的实现形式并非只有一种，发展民主政治的路径更是多种多样；民主政治不是书斋里的幻想，而是现实中走出来的大道；民主政治应该是由各国内部生成的，而不是由外力强加的；民主政治很重要，走出一条符合国情的具有本国特色的民主政治发展道路尤其重要。坚持走中国特色社会主义政治发展道路，应始终立足我国基本国情，使之越走越实；应积极稳妥推进政治体制改革，使之越走越宽；应善于吸收和借鉴人类政治文明有益成果，使之越走越活；应加强民主政治的制度化建设，使之越走越稳。在我们党的领导下，中国特色社会主义民主政治必将展现出更加旺盛的生命力，中国特色社会主义政治发展道路必将越走越宽广。

Chinese lawyers targeted as Xi Jinping tightens control – Telegraph Li Fangping, a prominent human rights lawyer in Beijing, pointed to a document issued by the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, China’s top prosecutors’ office, in June calling for the police to hunt down any “illegal assembly” or “crowd-gathering”. “Since March, when the new leaders were confirmed, they have strengthened their policy of maintaining stability and their monitoring of the public,” he said.

马跃案追踪：最高检称未授权王雪梅发表意见_网易新闻中心 more to the Wang Xuemei resignation than has been reported? // 前天，大学生马跃地铁内触电身亡一案在市一中院开庭审理，此前身为最高检检察技术信息研究中心副主任的王雪梅发表声明，称该案此前的鉴定荒谬，将退出中国法医学会。最高人民检察院检察技术信息研究中心于昨天对王雪梅的声明作出回应，称该中心原副主任王雪梅已从今年6月开始不再担任副主任这一职务。最高检透露，王雪梅已多年不从事法医鉴定的实际工作，该中心也从未授权王雪梅就某一具体个案的法医学鉴定发表意见。

深圳豪宅楼顶建空中庙宇 主人常做法事香灰不断|违建|顶楼违建|空中庙宇_新浪新闻 man builds a temple on roof of apartment building in Shenzhen…since the Beijing “discovery” suddenly there are lots of other illegal constructions coming to light…// 继北京张教授的“空中花园”遭到曝光后，深圳南山区一处千万元级的楼顶豪宅也被举报涉嫌违章搭建。19日，羊城晚报记者实地调查发现，涉事楼顶配有指纹密码锁，隔门可听到犬吠声。近距离观看，这处搭建物外观酷似庙宇。有邻居称，“空中庙宇”的住户烧纸不断，香灰时常飘落他家。南山区沙河街道执法队副队长刘民兴说，由于暂时无法破门，他们调查取证困难，但他表示，在楼顶加建获得 审批的可能性很小，“空中庙宇”几乎已可定性为违建。19日晚9时，沙河街道组织专项行动小组上门调查取证，但仍旧吃了闭门羹。

住房信息联网动了谁的奶酪 专家:全国联网还要两年-财经频道-新华网 2 more years to build nationwide housing information network? local officials won’t cooperate, ignored June 30 deadline…and some analysts still seem to think a nationwide property tax is  likely…not until the corruption issues are resolved, which means don’t hold your breath// 根据财政部财政科学研究所所长贾康的最新“预言”，由于地方政府和公众并不情愿接受联网，受到普遍关注的住房信息联网工作阻力不小，至少需要将近两年的时间完成。 温州人赵先生，最近正考虑去江西投资他的第三套房。之所以选择江西，就是因为当地和北京的住房信息尚未联网，而之前他在北京购买的两套房，也都没以他的名义办理贷款。所以，他并不担心触碰“限购”。

Taylor & Francis Online :: The Increasing Threat of Chinese Organised Crime – The RUSI Journal – Volume 158, Issue 4 With the growing global importance of China, Chinese organised crime has become a growing non-military threat to national and international security. Peng Wang focuses on the three dimensions of Chinese organised crime: the resurgence of the criminal underworld and rampant police corruption in mainland China; cross-border crime in Greater China; and Chinese organised crime overseas, including in the UK. The national, regional and international threats posed by ethnic-Chinese criminal groups require the law-enforcement agencies of both China and those countries hosting Chinese communities to improve their response strategies as a matter of urgency.

The Useless Tree: Han Feizi on why Xi Jinping must destroy Bo Xilai And that brings to mind Han Feizi (here is a nice pdf of an introduction to his thought), the man who helped invent the very notion of “rule by law.”   Han would very much agree that Bo should be punished “according to the law” and done so in a highly public manner, to serve as an example to all, politically high and law, that transgressions will be dealt with severely.  Indeed, the primary reason to establish a system of rule by law is precisely to obstruct the political potential of people like Bo and preserve the power of the current ruler.  That’s what makes Legalism so useful to Chinese rulers across the centuries: it speaks directly to their interest in maintaining power.

Respected Chinese Professor of Economics Fears Expulsion for Opinions from University — Committee of Concerned Scientists In a letter to the President of Peking University Wang Enge, CCS urged cancellation of an upcoming faculty vote to expel University Professor Xia Yeiling for his support of free speech and constitutional government. Xia, a respected authority on economics, is a visiting professor at Stanford, but said that he wants to return to China to continue teaching.

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

India Sends Draft Border Cooperation Agreement to China | Defense News  China has sent a draft of a border cooperation agreement to India, a document that is expected to be signed when Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Beijing in October, according to Indian Defence Ministry sources. Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony told the Lower House of Indian Parliament on Aug. 20 that a draft has been received.

China Is Not Investigating IBM, Oracle, EMC, Even as Tensions Increase – Arik Hesseldahl – News – AllThingsD After additional reporting, we have determined that our story was incorrect, and we apologize to readers for being lax in our efforts to determine if there was an investigation happening. Spokespeople for all three companies declined to comment for the record on the matter to AllThingsD, although sources inside all three said they were unaware of any investigations, whether formal or informal. Still, there is certainly increased concern inside at least two of the companies — and indeed many other U.S. companies — due to a noticeable escalation in tension between the U.S. and China on the cyber-security front.

[视频]监控丑闻曝光记者同性伴侣被拘事件_新闻频道_央视网 CCTV Evening News reports on the UK border detention of Glenn Greenwald’s spouse David Miranda

A Chinese cargo ship is sailing across the melting Arctic to Europe – Quartz The Yong Sheng, a 19,000-tonne (20,943 ton) ship operated by China’s state-owned Cosco Group, is sailing from Dalian in China’s northeast to Rotterdam via the Northeast Passage, a sea route above Russia that shaves off a little over a third of the time the journey normally takes.

China’s $5 billion deal with Kenya is a much bigger win for Beijing than Nairobi – Quartz The deal, agreed during Kenyatta’s first state visit to the Chinese capital, includes energy projects, wildlife protection and, crucially, a rail link from the port at Mombasa to neighboring Uganda. China already has a significant presence in Kenya, as its biggest source of foreign direct investment—$474 million in total—and its second-largest trade partner. But $5 billion is a big commitment, given that bilateral trade was only $2.84 billion last year.

China, Kenya to forge comprehensive, cooperative partnership – Xinhua  China will increase imports from Kenya to promote balanced growth of bilateral trade and foster cooperation in such fields as infrastructure, renewable energy, agriculture, environment, wild animal protection as well as joint combat against cross-border organized crimes, Xi said. He also encouraged the two nations to step up their collaboration on cultural, tourism, youth and human resource projects, expressing his hope that the two nations maintain close coordination to safeguard the legitimate rights of the developing countries. Echoing Xi’s views on bilateral relations, Kenyatta voiced his appreciation to China’s long-term support. He expressed his belief in the prospects of China’s future development and a bigger role played by China to promote peace, stability and prosperity of the world.

China’s Real and Present Danger | Foreign Affairs Much of the debate about China’s rise has focused on the potential dangers China could pose as a peer competitor bent on challenging the existing international order. But another issue is far more pressing. For at least the next decade, while China remains relatively weak compared to the United States, there is a real danger that Beijing and Washington will find themselves in a crisis that could quickly escalate to military conflict.–AVERY GOLDSTEIN is David M. Knott Professor of Global Politics and International Relations and Director of the Center for the Study of Contemporary China at the University of Pennsylvania. This essay is adapted from his article “First Things First: The Pressing Danger of Crisis Instability in U.S.-China Relations,” International Security, Spring 2013.

China in Focus #13: Undue Influence? – All Things Nuclear In response to my last blog post, an influential journalist sent an email requesting information about my family ties to China. He heard my wife, who is now a U.S. citizen, is “the daughter of a high-level CCP (Chinese Communist Party) official.” She isn’t. He also wanted to know if I have ever stayed at my father-in-law’s “official residence” and whether I thought our relationship affected my “credibility as a commentator on Chinese affairs.” I don’t know who started the rumor but this was not the first time it was raised in response to something I wrote. A colleague heard it mentioned during a Congressional staff briefing on China’s Underground Great Wall; a network of tunnels alleged to contain thousands of Chinese nuclear weapons. Since questions about my family ties are more prevalent than I imagined, I thought I should set the record straight.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

Supplier to Ship Two Apple iPhones in September – WSJ.com The shipping plans suggest that two new iPhone models could be launched as soon as next month, pointing to a strategy shift as Apple attempts to regain its momentum in the smartphone market. The company hasn’t previously announced different iPhone models around the same time. Apple’s suppliers in Asia started mass-producing components in June for both a standard iPhone featuring a metal casing and a lower-cost version, people who work at those companies said.

Alibaba Is in Talks With Hong Kong Stock Exchange Over Ownership Structure – WSJ.com The Hong Kong exchange—where Alibaba’s online trade platform, Alibaba.com, was listed until the group took it private last year—has always been an option, people familiar with the company have said. But the exchange doesn’t allow a dual-class structure—a structure commonly used in the U.S. that makes it possible for founders and other key shareholders to maintain enough voting rights to control a company even after it goes public. The New York Stock Exchange NYX +0.02% and the Nasdaq Stock Market NDAQ -0.03% allow companies to have such a structure.

Which Flavor of China’s Wildly Popular WeChat Will You Have? | TLN In January, news sites TechInAsia and NextWeb found through multiple tests that WeChat had been blocking users across the globe from sending messages that contain ‘sensitive words,’  such as “Southern Weekend,” a liberal publication constantly subjected to censorship, and “Falun Gong,” a spiritual movement that turned hostile toward Communist rule after being labeled as a cult and banned in China. It was a public relations crisis for WeChat. Tencent’s explanation? “Technological glitches.” Then Tencent came up with a pretty smart solution. It’s offering two versions for the app: a “sanitized” version for the mainland, and another, uncensored version for international download. WenXue City is apparently not in WeChat’s good graces. (Image via Jing Gao)

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Eight Questions: Li Yinhe, China’s ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ – China Real Time Report – WSJ Renowned Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe has a reputation as a keen analyst of the Middle Kingdom’s social mores, and is an outspoken advocate for lesbian and gay rights. At 61, Ms. Li has a battery of academic works and a distinguished career at the government’s Chinese Academy of Social Sciences behind her.

On China, Episode 11 transcript: Chinese women’s rights – CNN.com This episode’s guests include Joy Chen, author of “Do Not Marry Before 30”; Leta Hong Fincher, a scholar on Chinese women issues at Tsinghua University; and Wu Qing, a former People’s Deputy to the Haidian People’s Congress in Beijing.

Chinese women caught in ‘epic clash’ – CNN.com Editor’s note: Joy Chen, featured on this month’s episode of “On China,” is a former deputy mayor of Los Angeles and author of “Do Not Marry Before Age 30,” a best-selling book in China.

Command of written Chinese declines in digital era | South China Morning Post A popular spelling competition run on state broadcaster CCTV has reinforced fears Chinese are losing their grasp of their own written language – thanks, it appears, to computer and mobile device keyboards. Seventy per cent of adults in the audience of Chinese Characters Dictation Competition have been unable to write, by hand, the characters for the word “toad” correctly .

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

The Solar Industry’s New Dirty Secret | Mother Jones Davis blames the poor scores on a global glut of photovoltaic (PV) panels. Huge Chinese subsidies for solar companies have driven down global PV prices (and helped boost sales) but have forced many companies to cut costs. Some major European- and American-based manufacturers (and a few Chinese ones) that abide by strict environmental standards have lost market share or gone out of business and stopped responding to the surveys.