The Sinocism China Newsletter 04.24.14

A long overdue issue, perhaps some of you have forgotten about the newsletter.

I want to bring it back and and need tech help to build a streamlined process for creating the newsletter (see the post Looking For A WordPress Plugin Developer To Help Bring Back The Sinocism China Newsletter for details.) The sooner I can get this done the sooner publishing will return to a more normal schedule.

Uncertainty and frustration seem to be the prevailing sentiments in Beijing, Uncertainty about who is next to fall in the corruption crackdown and what the new rules are, and frustration that it is increasingly hard to make money anywhere, and especially in stocks, real estate and venality. Uncertainty is bad for any economy, and especially one that is already struggling.

Today’s Links:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

Exclusive: Full text of Yomiuri Q&A with President Barack Obama – The Japan News The policy of the United States is clear—the Senkaku Islands are administered by Japan and therefore fall within the scope of Article 5 of the U.S.-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. And we oppose any unilateral attempts to undermine Japan’s administration of these islands.

Related: Beijing angered by Obama’s stance on disputed Diaoyu Islands | South China Morning Post China was quick to hit back. “The so-called security alliance between the US and Japan is a bilateral arrangement made during the cold war period, and it should not be used to damage China’s sovereignty and legitimate interest,” foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. “We resolutely oppose applying the Diaoyu Islands to the Japan-US security treaty.”

Related: Negotiating Asia’s Troubled Waters – NYTimes.com — Michael Green OpEd All of the parties have an interest in avoiding an accidental conflict in the East China Sea. But the worst thing Washington could do is push Tokyo to compromise with Beijing in the face of Chinese pressure. The Obama administration did just that with Manila two years ago, and the results were a setback for Washington.

Related: America Should Step Back from the East China Sea Dispute – NYTimes Wu Xinbo is director of the Center for American Studies, Fudan University, China. //Not only did Washington create the problem in 1971 by arbitrarily returning the administrative rights of the islands to Japan, but America’s claim that its security alliance with Japan applies to the tiny islands has emboldened Tokyo to take a more aggressive stance toward Beijing.

孙立平:既得利益集团对改革的挑战还没有真正到来(1)_改革探索 _光明网 long essay by Prof. Sun Liping on reform, corruption and special interests…Sun reiterated again last week that reports that he was Xi Jinping’s dissertation adviser are incorrect  清华教授孙立平否认是习近平论文导师

Related: 【舒立观察】反腐为改革清障_杂志频道_财新网 Hu Shuli on the importance of the anti-corruption campaign for overall reform effort // 公生明,廉生威”,坚持反腐、持续反腐,可使下一步全面深化改革获得更大的正当性、更强的公众支持

北京中小学明年就近入学 个别学区房每平近30万-教育频道-新华网  significant reforms to school enrollment in Beijing announced, not all new, will be difficult to implement, but overall trend is for schools to take in much higher percentage of kids who live nearby, which would affect corrupt administrators ability to take bribes for enrollment and hurt employees at large SOEs and government agencies whose employers have secured a certain number of slots through the “gong jian” system. getting your kid into a top Beijing primary school harder than getting into a good Manhattan one // 同一时间备受网民关注的另一条媒体报道无意间为这条微博做出傍注。据报道,日前教育部要求,北京等19个重点城市义务教育在2015年实行免试就近入学政策。受此影响,北京某小学学区房价格被炒到了每平方米近30万元,一个不足10平方米的单间,税后要价达到了300万元。 对此,有网民指出“就近入学”正在演变为“拼钱择校”。天价学区房折射出教育资源不均等的现状,只有转变教育理念,加强政策引导,实现教育资源的均衡化,才能让天价学区房“退烧”

Related: 北京晚报:“共建”实质是化公为私–观点--人民网 comments on the mooted reforms to school enrollment in Beijing. getting rid of “gong jian” a big deal that hits entrenched interests. 共建 allows SOEs and govt agencies to use public money to ensure their employees’ kids a certain number of spots at beijing primary schools//《京华时报》4月19日题为《取消“共建”向特权校开刀》评论:“……鉴于共建的机构大多是部委、共建的学校都是优质学校,共建校某种程度成为特权校,这显然是与教育公平相背离的。共建机构所出的共建费,也来源于财政拨款,换言之,是用国家财政为少数特权阶层人士服务。” 取消“共建生”,取消“特权”,在我看来,其实质是一个反腐败的行动,是从根本上改变化公为私的腐败行为。

Related:  北京后择校时代:优质教育资源均衡化路径之辩 – 21世纪经济报道 所谓学区房,是指因义务教育阶段实行“免试就近入学”,当地教育部门会结合学生家庭的户籍、房产所在地来分配学校学位,很多家长为了让孩子可以读名校,不惜花费重金购置一处属于名校学区的房产。 在北京,对于很多中产家庭而言,他们没有“过硬”的关系可以让孩子成为“条子生”;也不就职于“中”字打头的要害政府部门或企业,无法通过“共建”方式把孩子送入名校。//the new Beijing school enrollment policies causing housing prices to soar around the top schools

Related:  北京黄牛30万叫卖幼升小指标 自曝卖指标潜规则_网易新闻中心 Beijing Youth Daily on middleman selling slots on good Beijing primary schools for tens or hundreds of thousands of RMB. Beijing officials say these people are scammers. But if this does not happen why do parents think it does? Because of course it does… And this is the kind of corruption that is far more upsetting to people than the kind the tigers benefit from. // 导读:海淀重点小学30万,西城重点小学19万,东城重点小学16万……今年幼升小即将开始,一个隐蔽的群体蠢蠢欲动,他们就是“择校黄牛”,号称交钱就能上名校,要价从几万到几十万不等。记者暗访发现,“择校黄牛”承诺提供的服务也是五花八门,包括跨区择校、本区内跨片择校、异地户口办齐五证、学生信息采集撤更……不一而足。 不过,被涉及的区县教委坚决否认,并奉劝家长不要上当受骗。

China: Building the dream | The Economist Special Report on China urbanization // By 2030 Chinese cities will be home to about 1 billion people. Getting urban China to work properly is vital to the country’s economic and political future, says James Miles

China Said to Plan Capital Market Access for Military – Bloomberg The plan would allow military research institutes to be incorporated into state-owned enterprises, said the two people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the plans publicly. The policies, being drafted by the Ministry of Finance and other agencies, could be released as soon as next month, they said. // dawn of a new and very profitable era for China’s military industrial complex

Related: China Army Targets Students for Officers to Match Modern Weapons – Bloomberg China is following the example of the U.S. Reserve Officers’ Training Corps by increasing incentives for bright minds to serve in the armed forces. President Xi Jinping, the head of the Central Military Commission, has made an army that’s better prepared for combat a priority as China becomes more assertive in regional territorial disputes. China plans to fold developers of military hardware into listed state-owned companies, people familiar with the matter said this week, giving them access to capital markets as it prioritizes high-technology defense capability.

四川政商震荡_专题频道_财新网 导读:从李春城、李崇禧、郭永祥等省级政要,到何燕、邓鸿、刘汉等商界大佬,再到背景深厚的周滨及其白手套,这张上连魏阙、下结江湖的巨型关系网,正在被连根拔起。//Caixin special report on the Zhou Yongkang investigation…reads almost like Hu Shuli et al have access to the CCDI case files…some fascinating detail..also reads like a summary of something that is about to be announced

Related: Severing a Family’s Ties, China’s President Signals a Change – NYTimes.com But another school of thought is that Mr. Xi considers the enormous agglomeration of wealth by spouses, children and siblings of top-ranking officials a threat to China’s stability by encouraging mercenary corruption and harming the party’s public standing. Those people say he has pushed the Zhou investigation beyond traditional bounds to signal that the rules have changed and that top leaders will be held responsible for their family’s business activities, even though Mr. Xi’s own family members have been among those who have grown rich

Related: Investigated by China’s Leaders, Powerful Family Has a Defender: Its Hometown – NYTimes.com So many came annually on Tomb Sweeping Day, when Chinese visit their ancestors’ graves, that the local government added a small parking lot in 2009, the investigative news outlet Caixin reported. The township helped plant camphor trees and enlarge the Zhou grave site in the 1990s, Caixin said, after a face-reading monk advised Mr. Zhou — known for his tough-guy sneer — that sprucing up the site would improve his career prospects.

Related: Graft Inquiry at CNPC Uncovers Shady Deal Involving Productive Oil Block – Caixin In the 1990s, Cao gained fame for purportedly having unusual abilities that were widely reported in state media. An article published by the official People’s Daily in October 1994 said Cao could treat incurable diseases and tell people’s fortunes, abilities that helped him garner a circle of followers that included celebrities and officials.//石油窝案牵出“大师” 曹永正敛金术曝光_公司频道_财新网

How Telecom Graft in China Tripped Up Telstra – Caixin In 2011, authorities leveled bribery charges against Ye Bing, who was then general manager of China Mobile’s data business department; Ma Li, who worked under Ye as the department’s deputy general manager…The saga ended in early this year when Ma and Ye were convicted by a court in Ya’an, in the southwestern province of Sichuan. Ye received the death penalty and Ma was handed a lighter sentence – life in prison – because he confessed and helped authorities convict Ye. //remarkable tale of corruption at world’s largest mobile operator…the original Chinese article has much more detail 致命的幕后交易_杂志频道_财新网 

Chinese Football: My Season with the Chongqing Dockers | New Republic hands down the most enjoyable china story I have read in years, and Sony has bought the rights– Sony Buys New Republic Article For Movie About China’s First Football Champion

 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE

Xinhua Insight: China taps corporate investment to fuel growth The country will grant companies greater autonomy in investment and allow private capital to fund some infrastructure and energy projects that were previously dominated by the government and state-owned enterprises, said a statement after a State Council executive meeting on Wednesday presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.// China Offers 80 Projects in State-Run Sectors to Private Capital – Bloomberg 

China rules out strong economic stimulus – Xinhua | China will not roll out short-term economic stimulus measures because of an economic slowdown, the country’s top economic planning body said on Wednesday. “If China’s economic growth and employment do not break the bottom line and inflation growth does not exceed the upper limit, our macro-control policies will not change,” said Li Pumin, secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Qualcomm faces China bribery allegations from U.S. regulator | Reuters In its own investigation, Qualcomm said it found instances in which “special hiring consideration, gifts or other benefits were provided to several individuals associated with Chinese state-owned companies or agencies.” The chipmaker believes the total value of the benefits was less than $250,000.

China’s new breed of whistleblowers takes on big business | Reuters Chinese lawyer Hao Junbo wants to make you rich if you’re a whistleblower after a bounty. For big business in China he’s a headache, part of a small but fast-growing industry built around exposing corporate wrongdoing. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission received a tip-off a week from China last year, double the year before and five times more than in 2011.

Closer Look: Regulator Takes Hard Look at Jack Ma-Hundsun Deal – Caixin Although Rongxin has no share ownership ties with Alibaba, there is little doubt that the two could find a way to share information if Ma wanted. This is the main concern of financial institutions’ managers. Many say that they fear a close relation between Hundsun Technology and Ma would expose their business data to Alibaba and its allies.

Xi’s Corruption Crackdown Hits China’s Restaurants – Businessweek Dirty officials aren’t the only ones getting slammed as Xi Jinping continues his crackdown on corruption and waste. China’s restaurant industry grew 9 percent, to 2.56 trillion yuan ($411 billion), last year, its slowest growth in more than two decades, according to a report released by the China Cuisine Association on April 19.

News Analysis: China’s land registration to help regulate home market – Xinhua The Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR) said on Monday that China is scheduled to establish a registration system for fixed property nationwide in around three years, and expected a platform for information sharing and queries by 2018…The registry will include land, houses and any other fixed property, as well as property rights, such as those that cover exploration and exploitation.

新版负面清单缩减至少两成 新华社——经济参考网 new shanghai FTZ negative list to be 20% shorter. still not short

Chinese firms turn to foreign investors to borrow – MarketWatch China’s foreign-exchange regulator puts the country’s total foreign debt outstanding at $863.2 billion as of the end of 2013, representing about 9% of the country’s gross domestic product. That figure understates China’s indebtedness to the rest of the world, because it doesn’t include certain debt incurred by overseas subsidiaries of Chinese companies–which often are used by mainland-based firms to borrow funds outside China.

银监会非银部主任李建华突发心梗离世 _金融频道_财新网 CBRC official Li Jianhua dies at 49, reportedly of heart attack //4月23日,银监会非银部主任李建华因心梗发作辞世,尚不足49岁。按计划,李建华今天上午要出席一个重要的业内会议。据接近银监会的几位人士透露,李建华4月22日改稿到深夜12点。不料今晨6时左右,其夫人发现他已离世,系突发心肌梗塞所致。银监会内外均对此表示悲痛和惋惜。

房地产主业央企五年赚2000亿 四万亿后狂飙突进_证券时报网 from 2009-2013 Central SOEs made 200B RMB in profits from real estate // “目前78家非主业央企何时能清退房地产业务,已并非关注的焦点,现在需要引起注意的是,房地产主业央企在市场中居于强势地位,行业集中度也越来越高。”国务院发展研究中心一位分析人士对《华夏时报》记者表示。 记者根据年报数据不完全统计,2009年至2013年这5年间,主业为房地产的央企,在房地产行业赚取的净利润达2000多亿元。

王健林家族成员首曝光 4兄弟持万达影院1200万股_网易财经 details about Wang Jianlin’s family members divulged in IPO filing for Wanda Theaters // 昨日在万达院线披露招股说明书后,王健林家族其他成员也首次曝光。招股说明书显示,2010年王建忠、王建可、王建春、王建川4人曾获得万达影院的股权转让,而转让总价格则均为1元,原因便是上述4人与王建林为兄弟关系。

杭州开发商“比赛”降价 发改委出面按下“暂停键”_财经频道_一财网 Hangzhou real estate developers pressured by government to not engage in price cutting wars

Mark Schwartz: Reason to Be Optimistic on China’s Economy – Caixin Goldman Sachs depends on the China market. As the vice chairman of Goldman Sachs Group and the chairman of Goldman Sachs Asia Pacific, I’m the most senior partner Goldman Sachs has ever posted in China and also the most senior executive of Wall Street firms in China. My love for China is the same as Goldman Sachs’ love for China. Goldman Sachs is committed to China, and our investment in China dates back to 20 years ago. Since then, we’ve learned a lot and made progress each year. We’ll continue focusing on our long-term business development in China.

国务院发展研究中心原副主任:房地产泡沫不敢捅破_新闻_腾讯网 DRC official Hou Yunchun says Beijing doesn’t dare pop the real estate bubble // 我国经过这么多年发展,房地产泡沫肯定存在。现在,既不能继续“吹大”房地产泡沫,城镇化过程中的住房需要也要根据“刚需”适度增加。 同时,房地产泡沫也不敢捅破,那样对经济带来的震动更大。房地产行业如果是下行,最好是逐步消化。 总体来说,在深化住房体制改革、完善住房体系的基础上,房地产业应该稳步、有序、健康地发展。

 

POLITICS AND LAW

我国下月起越级上访不受理 信访60日内办结_新闻_腾讯网 new rules for petitioning go into effect May 1 // 昨日,国家信访局发布《关于进一步规范信访事项受理办理程序引导来访人依法逐级走访的办法》。据介绍,这是国家信访局针对类似问题首次出台系统化的专门文件。今年5月1日起,将实施。

媒体曝核电领域高层落马原因:或涉泄露核电机密_网易新闻中心 本报从多方有关权威渠道获知,郝卫平及其妻子目前都被边控。15日傍晚,其妻打算从首都机场出境被发现,随即有关部门到郝家带走郝卫平。 如果不是这样,郝卫平一定出现在4月15日至18日的中国国际核工业展览会上,并发表一些有关核电的说辞。但他终究还是错过这一次核电盛宴。//interesting discussion of corruption cases in the nuclear power sector…the head of the nuclear energy section of the State Energy Administration was just detained last week, after his wife was stopped at Beijing airport immigration trying to leave the country…now nearly impossible for officials to leave the country, looks like spouses at least also on some kind of watch list 

Communist Party Fires Song Lin, Chairman of China Resources, Holdings as Corruption Fight Expands – WSJ.com “This is not only about anticorruption, but also involves power struggle,” said Zhao Xiao, an economics professor at Beijing University of Science and Technology who formerly ran a research arm of the government agency that manages China Resources and the other 112 business groups, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.

China Resources chairman in probe as anti-corruption net widens – FT.com “Until recently the anti-corruption authorities have been too busy with the Zhou Yongkang case but that is now coming to an end,” said Li Jianjun, an anti-corruption activist and former journalist who fled to Hong Kong last year after publicly accusing Mr Song of corruption. “By investigating Song Lin it looks like the leadership has decided to go after He Guoqiang.” // really? Beijing rumor mill is churning I have heard three different senior retired officials named as Song’s “patron”…Xi and Wang Qishan have created so much uncertainty that any name is believable as the next target 

《打铁记》第15章:山西“西山会”_真话 Luo Changping wrote in his 2013 acocunt of the takedown of Liu Tienan about the Shanxi group of officials…a group now getting pulled apart in corruption probes //不晚于2007年,一个名叫“西山会”的高官圈子悄然成型,由进入或候补进入中委的晋籍官员组成。除了官员,只有个别获得身份认可的同籍商人,才能拥有埋单的资格,刘铁男身后的温商倪日涛不在其列…一名大内管家成为他们名副其实的“党鞭”,正是通过他,郭静华为自己的丈夫刘铁男获得了那张门票。

金道铭申维辰宋林均与山西巨商张新明有牵连_网易新闻中心 jin daoming, shen weichen, song lin all connected to shanxi magnate zhang xinming

Focus of graft investigation moves to coal-rich Shanxi | South China Morning Post The corruption investigation into Shen Weichen, the former head of the China Association for Science and Technology, suggests the top leadership’s anti-graft campaign is targeting officials with connections to the coal-producing province of Shanxi, according to analysts and political observers.

消息称国安委等三大顶配机构人员就绪 开始运转_网易新闻中心 与深改组公开人事任命的方式极为类似,4月11日,来自中国科学院网站的消息称,中央网络安全和信息化领导小组办公室主任鲁炜到中科院调研。 这是媒体首次公开网信组办公室主任的出任者身份。现年54岁的鲁炜同时也是国家互联网信息办公室主任。鲁炜早前曾长期在新华社工作,在到国信办之前曾在北京市委宣传部部长任上两年

Mysterious spate of official suicides in China sparks debate, censorship – The Washington Post But perhaps the most sensational death of all was that of Li Wufeng, a 56-year-old known as China’s top Internet cop, who was reportedly involved in maintaining a system of online censorship known as the Great Firewall of China. He was said to have jumped to his death from the sixth floor of his office building on March 24 after constantly being in a “bad mood,” local media reported. He attended the Senior Executive Education Program at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2007

Top China internet regulator under graft probe after chief’s suicide | South China Morning Post Authorities said on Wednesday they were looking into the affairs of Gao Jianyun, a deputy director of the fifth bureau of the International Communication Office of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. The ICO is also called the State Information Office, and the fifth bureau handles internet censorship, regulation and expanding the government’s voice on the Web.//中央对外宣传办公室五局副局长高剑云被立案调查-财经网 What does the 5th Bureau do? Official site: 五局负责人: 组织协调网上新闻工作,指导新闻网站的规划和建设,承担互联网新闻国际交流与合作有关工作;perhaps the Internet cleansing campaign does not just apply to websites

Corruption Case Cracks Door on China’s Internet Police – China Real Time Report – WSJ Haikou is the capital of the southern island province of Hainan, which is where two of the country’s most popular Web forums, Tianya and Kaidi, are registered. Both are well-known as breeding grounds for rumors and leaks, sometimes involving officials and businesses, and both fell within Mr. Wei’s censorship purview.

Detective Work by Group in ‘Black Jail’ Claim Leads to Trial – Caixin A recent one-day trial in the northern province of Hebei involving China’s “black jail” industry came about because people who say they were illegally detained did some detective work to find their former prison and then took the matter to the media and police. The one-day trial was held on April 2 in Gu’an County, in the province that surrounds that capital.// original Chinese 访民“破案”记

Closer Look: Farmer’s Death Shows Problem with Land Seizures, Lack of Checks on Power – Caixin  Shandong villagers have complained to higher authorities, and solutions to their problems lie in improving property rights and rule of law

Just How Corrupt Are These People?-Foreign Policy–A somewhat tongue-in-cheek analysis published by the liberal state-owned newspaper Beijing News on April 16, which has been republished by multiple Chinese media outlets since, attempts to decipher the disciplinary commission’s code, focusing specifically on parsing the meaning of the four charges listed above. If all of them seemed to cover the same misconduct of extramarital sex, asked the newspaper, “What truly is the difference?”

广州纪委书记王晓玲被实名举报 目前仍在工作–时政–人民网 Guangzhou discipline inspection secretary wang xiaoling publicly accused of improprieties //昨天上午,一则广州市纪委书记被实名举报的消息,迅速生成当日焦点。有媒体报道,《广州日报》原社长戴玉庆的妻子,已于2013年年底举报广州市委常委、纪委书记王晓玲涉嫌粤传媒内幕交易,短短数月获利7000余万。据称,中央巡视组已经接到戴妻杨兰凌的相关举报,正在核实。

意识形态工作要紧紧抓在手上 _ 2014/07 _求是理论网—— 作者: 秋 石 lead essay in April 1 “Seeking Truth” by “Autumn Stone” about importance of ideological work…excerpted section is about the Internet, relevance to this year’s Internet cleansing campaign and overall evolution of policies towards Internet management // 现在,互联网的影响越来越大。让互联网有一个相对开放自由的舆论环境,作为对主流舆论阵地的一种补充,本该是有益的、建设性的。但网络谣言大行其道、网络侵权乱象纷呈、网上负面炒作甚嚣尘上,使网络空间变得污浊混乱,严重损害了这种建设性,不管行吗?依法治理网络乱象,让网络空间清朗起来,关系意识形态领域斗争,关系巩固壮大主流思想舆论,关系国家改革发展稳定大局,是一件必须办好的大事。

任仲平:标注现代化的新高度–评论-人民网 long piece on reform goals by “Ren Zhongping” on p1 and 2 of Monday April 14 People’s Daily // ——论准确把握全面深化改革总目标 2014年04月14日07:24   来源:人民日报

任仲平半年来首度发声:2022制度定型 -言论-东方早报网  Xu Danei on the meaning of that 4.14.14 “Ren Zhongping” commentary// 《人民日报》昨天头版刊发“任仲平”署名文章《标注现代化的新高度——论准确把握全面深化改革总目标》。 这是《人民日报》近半年来首度刊发署名“任仲平”的文章,也是十八届三中全会以来的第一次。上次动用如此高规格的笔名,还是2013年10月14日的《守护人民政党的生命线》。

实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的正确指引(深入学习贯彻习近平同志系列重要讲话精神)–时政–人民网 本文系作者在人民日报社学习贯彻习近平总书记系列重要讲话精神集中培训班上所作的辅导报告摘要)

江泽民现身上海 精神矍铄[图集]_中国_多维新闻网 Jiang Zemin looking good in these pictures of his recent appearances

实处着力,知行合一_网易新闻中心 seem to be hearing lots more these days about “core system of socialist values”..this from page 1 People’s Daily April 18//古人云,“君子以行言,小人以舌言”。实干直行,是做人之本,也是弘扬社会主义核心价值观最响亮的语言。坚持以知行合一为原则,坚持以真章实效为目标,坚持用制度强化约束,核心价值观一定能挺立起支撑伟大事业、引领社会风尚的精神脊梁。

Infographic: China’s government think tanks – Xinhua

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

Deal Could Reduce Chance of Conflict in Contested Pacific Seas – NYTimes.com A naval code of conduct approved by more than 20 nations around the Pacific, including China, Japan and the United States, could reduce the risk of accidental encounters spiraling into conflict, experts said. But Beijing’s firm rejection Wednesday of President Obama’s comments about islands claimed by both China and Japan underscored the maritime tensions that continue to trouble Asia. The Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea was endorsed Tuesday// if non-binding rules respected

Chinese Strategists Reflect on the First Sino-Japanese War | The Diplomat To commemorate the 120th anniversary of the war, Xinhua published a special supplement to its Reference News newspaper. The supplement consisted of 30 articles by members of the People’s Liberation Army “analyzing what China can learn from its defeat” in the Sino-Japanese war.

China Not Full of Raging Nationalists–National Interest  Are China’s leaders really being pushed around by a nationalistic, rowdy public? On March 25 at the Jamestown Foundation’s annual conference on Chinese defense and security issues, Australian analyst Andrew Chubb made a provocative presentation that challenged the official narrative that they are. Chubb presented survey results from five Chinese cities on how ordinary citizens view the territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. Startlingly, in an era of social media and mobile Internet access, most people still get their news from CCTV—not the fiery commercial news outlets—and agree in principle that the government should seek compromise over China’s maritime territorial disputes.

China Has Begun Listening for American Submarines — War is Boring — Medium China has begin installing sensitive hydrophones on the floor of the China Seas in an effort to detect and track submarines belonging to the U.S. and its allies. Lyle Goldstein and Shannon Knight, both highly-respected naval analysts, described the new listening system as “startling” in a recent article in Proceedings, a naval professional journal.

Chinese spies at Sydney University–John Garnaut Chinese intelligence officials have confirmed to Fairfax Media that they are building networks to monitor the ethnic Chinese community to protect Beijing’s “core interests”.

China Court Releases Japanese Ship After Unprecedented Seizure – Bloomberg The Tokyo-based company paid a 2.9 billion yen ($28 million) as judgment and 2.4 million yuan ($384,585) in court fees, according to a statement posted on the microblog of the Supreme People’s Court. Tetsutaro Kozai, a spokesman at Mitsui O.S.K. declined to comment on any payment.

China activist reveals key role in ship seizure | The Japan Times Tong Zeng, chairman of the Chinese Association for Claiming Compensation from Japan, is also heavily involved in lawsuits filed by Chinese who were forced to work in Japan during the war.

Marubeni says Chinese authorities detain three staff at grain unit | Reuters Three employees at one of Marubeni Corp’s grain trading units in China have been detained by authorities, the Japanese trading house said on Thursday, a move sources told Reuters was prompted by allegations the unit evaded taxes on soy bean imports.

China calls on Russia, central Asia allies to tighten Internet controls | Reuters Chinese Public Security Minister Guo Shengkun’s remarks at a meeting with counterparts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) could lead to fears of further restrictions by states that critics say already try to silence dissent…”External forces are using the social-economic contradictions and problems … to overthrow the authorities and are trying to provoke a new wave of colour revolutions,” Guo said, according to a Russian translation of his remarks

How China and Russia are trying to undermine the Internet, again-Washington Post–The last time the world got together to talk about how the Internet should work, China and Russia proposed making it easier for individual governments to control what their citizens can see on the Web. Now they’re at it again, this time at a major international conference in Brazil.

New Edition of Ronald O’Rourke’s Congressional Research Service (CRS) Report: “China Naval Modernization: Implications for U.S. Navy Capabilities—Background and Issues for Congress” | Andrew S. Erickson

China says probing reports Chinese chlorine used in Syria attack | Reuters In the rebel-held village of Kfar Zeita in the central province of Hama, 125 miles north of Damascus, opposition activists uploaded video of people choking and being fed oxygen following what they said were bombs dropped from helicopters on April 11 and 12. Further footage showed a partially exploded canister with the chemical symbol for chlorine along with the name of Chinese arms manufacturer Norinco.

China military says faces ‘complex’ task keeping secrets | Reuters PLA personnel allowed to use Apple devices? //  The newspaper did not give specific examples or mention any recent lapses that may have caused the new order to be issued. A separate commentary in the same newspaper said military secrecy is vital to the army’s survival, development and the outcome of any battles it may fight

China’s ‘maritime Silk Road’ to focus on infrastructure – The Hindu In the first official details of the plan, a report in the China Securities Journal said a “priority” of the initiative was “port construction” and free trade zones. “The plan is expected to focus on infrastructure construction of countries along the route, including ports of Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” the report said. China is already involved in port projects in the three countries, in Gwadar, Hambantota and Chittagong.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

China Mobile Falls on Profit Drop as IPhone Boosts Costs – Bloomberg The decline reflected “continued accelerating substitution effect” from instant messaging applications, Xi said in the statement. Tencent Holdings Ltd. (700)’s free WeChat application allows users to send voice and text greetings, which many subscribers use in place of traditional calls or texts.

Lucrative Stardom in China, Using a Webcam and a Voice – NYTimes.com “I’ve spent more than $15,000 in each of the past two years,” says Mi Tian, a 29-year-old architect from Shangdong Province. “I’ve given virtual gifts to basically every performer I’ve watched.” The leader in China in this industry is a fast-growing start-up called YY.com. It has 92 million monthly active users and more than a million channels.

Tencent: The Secretive, Chinese Tech Giant That Can Rival Facebook and Amazon | Fast Company A tech war has raged in China, and a winner seems ready to emerge. It’s Tencent–a controversial, $139 billion company with nearly a billion users, which functions like Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and Uber all rolled into one. Now it’s gunning for global expansion.

Forex controls and VIEs | China Accounting Blog | Paul Gillis Apparently Chukong and its auditors have applied the going concern test at the group level. But is that appropriate when currency restrictions make it impossible to freely move money around the group?…Since most of the business is in the VIE, I don’t think Chukong is a going concern if the VIE is not also a going concern. Presumably Chukong intends to continue to have the WFOE loan money to the VIE, despite the fact they have said it would be illegal to do so. Investors deserve a straight answer to this.

WeChat To Launch Self-Serve Advertising System In Weeks — China Internet Watch

Crazy for WeChat – Mark – YouTube WeChat ad in South Africa mocks mark Zuckerberg

China developing Linux-based OS after Windows XP shutdown – Xinhua | Zhang Feng, chief engineer of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said “the ministry will beef up support for the development of such an OS.”

Chinese Conglomerate Fosun Starts $100 Million Venture Arm In Silicon Valley – Digits – WSJ  the arm will target investments related to smartphones and the mobile Internet, with an eye toward financing startups that are looking to expand in China. The money will be invested through Kinzon Capital, a venture firm in which Fosun is the sole limited partner

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

China After Tiananmen: Money, Yes; Ideas, No by Perry Link | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books “Materialism” may not be exactly the right word for this new elite subculture, because it need not involve actual material. “Appearance-ism” might be a better term. The final aim of a person’s activity is not a Luis Vuitton bag but the display of a such a genuine bag (not fake, like many back home). If the display works, the bag was but its vehicle. What counts is the surface. Hope for China is visible in the fact that, as this subculture has spread, so has satire of it. An effusion of oral and online jokes in recent years has focused on fakes: fake milk, fake liquor, fake antiques, fake photos, fake history, fake singing at Olympics ceremonies, and much more—even a fake lion in a zoo (a big dog in disguise). The Chinese fiction writer Yu Hua has quipped that the only thing you can know to be real is a fake fake.

分享网易新闻「天津蓝印户口催生”高考移民”」天津市政府4月18日发布信息,自2014年5月31日起,停止外省市户籍人员办理蓝印户口。自今年年初积分落户制度在天津实施后,蓝印户口将取消的传闻终于靴子落地。//Tianjin ending policy of granting Hukou to those who purchase property in the city. Woman who runs DVD shop in our compound moved her hukou to Tianjin by buying a place, with the goal of allowing her son, who she got into a top Beijing high school, to take the Gaokao from Tianjin rather than his home village

Language Log » Laowai: the old furriner Lǎowài 老外 (lit., “old foreign”) is a ubiquitous term for a certain type of person from abroad in China, and dictionaries almost invariably gloss it as “foreigner”.  Yet the subtleties and nuances of the term seem almost endless, and they can sometimes lead to misunderstandings and hurt feelings.  To try to get a handle on this colloquial expression, I asked a number of laowai who have had long experience in China what they thought of this appellation // I go with “whitey” and find it a very annoying term

‘Uncultured’ multi-billionaire is China’s biggest fine-art collector | South China Morning Post Liu Yiqian alway bids for the top lots, and has amassed a collection on a par with mainland’s best

Hongqi L5 limousine debuts on the Beijing Auto Show | CarNewsChina.com – China Auto News The Hongqi L5 is China’s answer to the Bentley Mulsanne and Rolls-Royce Phantom. Around-around we heard that the first car has been sold to a very wealthy Chinese businessman for 4.9 million yuan or 800.000 USD.

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

China’s Arsenic-Laced Soil Harming Food, Health, Survey Shows – Bloomberg The government initially refused to publish results from the survey, which it called a state secret, said Wu Yixiu, head of Greenpeace East Asia’s toxics campaign. The release marks the first time soil pollution data has become available on a nationwide scale, she said.

China says more than half of its groundwater is polluted-Guardian “According to China’s underground water standards, water of relatively poor quality can only be used for drinking after proper treatment. Water of very poor quality cannot be used as source of drinking water,” said an article in the official newswire Xinhua, which reported the figures on Tuesday.

Environmental law amendment ready for vote: lawmakers – Xinhua The draft, lawmakers said, has properly handled the relations between environmental protection and economic development.

 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

第一集脚步超清版:汗水中的苦辣酸甜 – 高清在线观看 – 腾讯视频 second season of hit CCTV series “Taste of China” has started

 

BEIJING

《经济半小时》 20140331 北京楼市:需求旺 消化难_经济半小时_视频_央视网  Good CCTV program on the Beijing property market // 本期节目主要内容: 3月份以来,各地对于楼盘的价格走势关注度越来越高,而看法和分歧也是越来越大。作为一线城市的北京曾被认为楼市价格不会用松动,但最近北京楼市出现了下降的现象,不少楼盘都出现开盘当日几小时售罄的情况,而同一时期的二手房成交量却遭遇寒流。多数专家分析称北京由于其特殊性,房价会趋于平稳,不会出现大起大落的现象。 (《经济半小时》 20140331 北京楼市:需求旺 消化难)

[视频]【全面深化改革进行时】京津冀打造交通大格局_新闻频道_央视网(cctv.com) 央视网消息(新闻联播):打通断头路,完善交通网,今年,北京、天津、河北三地加快构建一体化大交通,为京津冀协同发展注入新动力。 由于过去的规划工期和施工标准不统一,北京周边的京昆、京台、京秦等六条高速公路、八条国省干线一直都是断头路。

 

BOOKS AND LITERATURE

贾平凹:农村题材的作品或许会慢慢消失- 中国日报网 贾平凹:现在农民的生活,和上世纪50、60、70、80、90年代都是不一样的,温饱问题基本上都解决了。农村的危机就是没有人,年轻人都不回去了,这是最大的危机。记者:这种冲击会对您创作农村题材的作品有影响?贾平凹:肯定啦,很可能多年后,农村题材会越来越少。现在的农村题材作品,80后、70后跟我们50后写的就不一样了,农村已经在发生变化了。欧洲如今的乡土文学就是田园文学,或许多年后我们现在的农村题材作品也会慢慢消退消失了。//Jia Pingwa (Ao) says rural settings for fiction will slowly disappear as China continues to urbanize

 

JOBS AND EVENTS

Jobs at J Cap – J Capital Research J Capital is looking for a salesperson to work on our weekly macroeconomic publication developing the subscriber base, building a community of interest by organizing meetings and seminars, and assisting the Managing Editor with production.

 

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