THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. Xi sets targets for China’s science, technology mastery – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping set the target of China becoming a leading power in science and technology (S&T) by the middle of this century as he addressed a major S&T conference on Monday. China should establish itself as one of the most innovative countries by 2020 and a leading innovator by 2030 before realizing the objective of becoming a world-leading S&T power by the centenary anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2049, Xi said. He made the remarks at an event conflating the national conference on S&T, the biennial conference of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and the national congress of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST). // 12 minute Monday CCTV Evening News report [视频]全国科技创新大会 两院院士大会 中国科协第九次全国代表大会在京召开
Related: Premier Li vows more freedom, support for science, technology – Xinhua Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has promised more freedom and financial support for the science and technology (S&T) sector as China seeks to boost development through innovation and establish itself as a world leader in this regard. Li made the remarks at a national conference on S&T innovation Monday afternoon. In his morning address at the conference, President Xi Jinping said that China should be one of the most innovative nations by 2020; a leading innovator by 2030; before finally establishing itself as a world-leading S&T power by the centenary anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 2049.
2. Full transcript: Secretary of Defense Ash Carter’s Naval Academy commencement address – Capital Gazette In sum, on the seas, in cyberspace, in the global economy, and elsewhere, China has benefited from the principles and systems that others have worked to establish and uphold, including us. But instead of helping sustain those very principles and systems that have served all of us so well, for so long, instead of working toward what… quote, called the “win-win cooperation” that Beijing publicly says it wants, China sometimes plays by its own rules…undercutting those principles. A model like that is out of step with where the region wants to go, and it’s counterproductive – it’s far from a “win-win.” The result is that China’s actions could erect a Great Wall of self-isolation, as countries across the region – allies, partners, and the unaligned – are voicing concerns publicly and privately, at the highest levels, in regional meetings, and global fora. Such a model reflects the region’s distant past, rather than the principled future we all want for the Asia-Pacific.
Related: China: US defense secretary Ash Carter living under ‘cold war’ mentality | The Guardian Foreign ministry spokesperson attacks ‘stereotypical US thinking and US hegemony’ as she says China uninterested in playing ‘Hollywood’ role
Related: Commentary: Harsh talk from U.S. military only undermines peace in Asia-Pacific – Xinhua Carter’s remarks, however, will significantly stir up the tension in the South China Sea as they reveal publicly Washington’s strategic intent to militarize the region and to contain a rising China. They also thoroughly manifest a sitting U.S. senior official’s Cold-War mentality against China and are considered by Chinese observers, particularly those in the military circle, to be widely representative of the U.S. strategy. Though claiming the U.S. rebalancing to Asia is not targeted at Beijing, Washington has been busy building a “Great Wall” of containment and encirclement against China by gathering allies and instigating conflicts between China and other Asian countries. In recent years, the United States has insisted on launching military operations across the South China Sea, with some senior U.S. officials making statements saying that such moves will be even more frequent in future.
3. Cooperation or Confrontation: U.S.-China Relations on the Eve of the Strategic & Economic Dialogue | Center for Strategic and International Studies video of excellent discussion last week // In advance of this year’s S&ED, CSIS will host a discussion with four leading experts on US-China relations, moderated by ChinaFile’s Susan Jakes. In an interactive conversation, the panelists will analyze various elements of the bilateral relationship, including economic & trade issues, security challenges, environmental cooperation, and human rights/civil society issues. Please join us as we assess US-China bilateral ties and explore possibilities for ongoing cooperation in the remaining months of the Obama administration and beyond.
Related: Yuan Set for Biggest Monthly Loss Since Devaluation as Fix Cut – Bloomberg The yuan declined 0.26 percent to a three-month low of 6.5823 at 4:37 p.m. in Shanghai, extending losses this month to 1.55 percent. The People’s Bank of China cut the fixing by 0.45 percent to 6.5784 per dollar, the weakest level since February 2011, after the greenback strengthened. The U.S. currency is poised for the biggest monthly gain since September 2014 as Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday higher interest rates in the coming months look “appropriate.” // nice timing on eve of the S&ED, no way a coincidence…
Related: China’s central bank condemns foreign media reports on yuan | Reuters The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement on its official Weibo account on Friday the reports “fabricated facts, misled readers, misled markets,” and that it reserves the right to take legal action. The statement referred to the headlines of two news articles published this week but did not name the news outlets. The two headlines referenced belong to articles published this week by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg.
Related: Chinese State-Run Bank Reveals Details of Yuan Fixing Mechanism – Bloomberg The 14 contributors, which must consider the previous day’s yuan closing price price, have to take into account movements in baskets of currencies and have the leeway to consider the effects of client supply and demand, said Sun Wei, deputy general manager of financial markets at China Citic Bank Corp., a unit of China’s largest state-run financial conglomerate. He added that the People’s Bank of China spoke with lenders in February before standardizing the system. The details provided by the state-backed bank come amid increased focus on the currency as a resurgent dollar pushes the yuan close to a five-year low. The PBOC said last week that it has increased the two-way flexibility of the exchange rate and maintains basic stability, following a Wall Street Journal report that said the monetary authority had scrapped its market-based mechanism.
Related: Goldman Sees End of Yuan ‘Sweet Spot’ Spurring Fund Outflows – Bloomberg “The government is likely to resort to what they did in the second half of last year and earlier this year, which is adding more curbs and stepping up regulation of fund flows,” Beijing-based Song said in a May 26 interview. “But this is very much like a game of a cat trying to catch the rats — whenever the government manages to block a hole through which capital leaks out, people can always dig another hole to bring the money out over time.”
Related: Ex-Citi Trader’s Bitcoin Exchange Skirts Currency Curbs – Bloomberg Ninety percent of the cryptocurrency’s exchange volume is in Chinese yuan, according to bitcoincharts. The country also accounts for a majority of bitcoin mining, the complex computing process for extracting new currency. // Bitcoin soaring as RMB drops against the USD, how much about getting money out of the country?
4. 中共中央政治局召开会议 研究部署规划建设北京城市副中心和进一步推动京津冀协同发展有关工作 中共中央总书记习近平主持会议_CCTV节目官网- 中共中央政治局5月27日召开会议，研究部署规划建设北京城市副中心和进一步推动京津冀协同发展有关工作。中共中央总书记习近平主持会议。 会议认为，在党中央、国务院领导下，北京、天津、河北三省市和有关部门密切配合，专家咨询委员会充分发挥作用，贯彻落实《京津冀协同发展规划纲要》，务实推进重点工作，交通、生态、产业3个重点领域率先突破取得重要进展，北京非首都功能疏解工作有力有序有效开展，京津冀良性互动取得成效，协同发展实现了良好开局。 // Politburo meeting last Friday, propaganda reports focused on discussion of the Beijing-Tian-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji aka 3Js) Integration plans, relocation of Beijing Municipal Government to Tongzhou. Word for a while has been that the 3J plan is a pet project of Xi, expect real progress on it, unlike in last administration when it was also mooted
Related: Beijing’s new sub-center must be people-oriented: Xi – Xinhua “Globally advanced energy-saving and environment protection technologies, standards, materials and craftsmanship must be extensively used to build a green city, a forest city, a spongy city and a smart city,” Xi said Friday at a conference of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The planning, design and construction of the sub-center must have global outlook and Chinese characters, use high standards, and stick to the concept of innovative, coordinated, green and inclusive development, said a statement issued after the meeting. “Planning must come before construction, the use of every inch of land must be considered carefully before construction begins, ” Xi said. He urged city planners and builders to bear in mind that they are creating history and making an art piece.
Related: Beijing’s new gov’t center controls population – Xinhua Since Friday, new rules have applied to those who are already registered in other parts of the capital and who desire a Tongzhou hukou. According to Tongzhou government, no more local hukou will be given for nonresidential properties and, those who own two or more homes in the city will be given a local hukou only after confirmation that their Tongzhou home is their main residence.
5. A Bad Year for China-Paper Republic The most recent drama began in March, when news began to spread that the CEO of Guangxi Normal University Press would be replaced, and divested of his stock. Guangxi Normal University Press was once as unexciting as its title, until it got a CEO named He Linxia (何林夏). Under He’s tenure, Guangxi Normal turned itself into a leading publisher of thought-provoking non-fiction and social criticism. It owns a publishing company called Beibeite (贝贝特), which itself has an imprint called Imaginist, and it’s principally Imaginist which is responsible for Guangxi Normal’s reputation as a bastion of enlightened liberal publishing…Liu and He together are largely responsible for Imaginist’s influence. And so they went down together. He was accused of accepting bribes, and was arrested. Formal charges were made last week. Liu Ruilin was forced to resign from her post as Editor-in-Chief of Guangxi Normal (though she is still CEO of Beibeite), and rumor has it was even required to leave Beijing (I’m not sure if this has been enforced or not). In her case, the transgression was publishing a collection of essays, speeches, and reviews by the historical scholar and writer Gao Hua (高华), who passed away in 2011. There wasn’t anything particularly wrong with that book, but more than a decade ago Gao Hua published a different book, called How the Red Sun Rose (《红太阳是怎样升起的》), about Mao’s rectification campaigns in Yan’an in the ’50s, and that was a Very Bad Book.
6. Vice Jiangsu governor probed for graft – Xinhua Li Yunfeng, a vice governor of east China’s Jiangsu Province, is under investigation for violating Communist Party of China (CPC) codes of conduct, the CPC’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) announced on Monday. Li, born in 1957, is also a member of the standing committee of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee. // Li Yuanchao’s secretary at one point, no? Is LYC worried yet?
Related: 江苏常务副省长李云峰被查 曾系江苏政坛“常青树”政经频道财新网 消息人士告诉财新记者，李云峰牵涉的直接问题，可能与江苏一家政府政务信息化公司有关联，该公司是江苏省多个核心政府部门的重要供应商。数个信源均称，该公司董事长与李云峰走得很近。
Related: 王岐山”淡出”媒体40天 中纪委6天打落两”虎”_网易新闻 今日，中纪委再次拿下一“虎”：江苏省委常委、副省长李云峰涉嫌严重违纪接受组织调查。 记者注意到，最近怎么媒体上很难见到“打虎队长”王岐山，仔细搜索发现，上次有他的详细报道要追溯到40天以前的“派驻纪检组组长副组长培训班”。 根据新华社的报道，中央纪委在北京举办派驻纪检组组长副组长培训班。4月20日，中共中央政治局常委、中央纪委书记王岐山出席开班式并讲话。
7. Domestic Rivals Take Bite off Apple’s Share in China-Caixin “China’s smartphone penetration rate has exceeded 90 percent,” said Liu Ruofei, an analyst at Beijing-based CCID Consulting Co. Ltd. “As product quality improves, devices are more durable and therefore users are slow to upgrade to a new model, resulting in weaker demand.”..One phone dealer said Apple still has great potential in second- and third-tier cities if it rolls out cheaper versions of its products. But Liu said the company has so far made no attempts to tap into the lower-end of the smartphone market afraid that it may dilute its brand image.
8. Special Report: Industry helps Chinese game their way into and through U.S. colleges | Reuters For dozens of Chinese nationals at the University of Iowa, the offers proved irresistible. “Test-taking services. Paper-writing. Take Online Courses for you,” says the social-messaging profile of one Chinese coaching outfit used by Iowa students, UI International Student Services. A pitch emailed from another business ended with this reassuring claim: “Your friends are all using us.” Today, the University of Iowa, one of the largest state universities in the American Midwest, says it is investigating at least 30 students suspected of cheating. Three sources familiar with the inquiry say the number under investigation may be two or three times higher…The Iowa cheating rings are the latest evidence of how a vibrant East Asian industry is corrupting the U.S. higher education system by gaming entrance exams, concocting college applications and completing college coursework on behalf of students. These nimble operators not only help students cheat their way into universities. They also help them cheat their way through.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China accuses US of hampering trade with steel duties-AP China accused the United States on Thursday of hampering trade after Washington imposed duties of up to 450 percent on Chinese steel in its latest response to a flood of low-priced imports. The Ministry of Commerce complained U.S. regulators discriminated against Chinese suppliers by using incorrect standards for deciding what production cost and market prices should have been. Beijing faces mounting criticism from the United States and Europe that it is exporting steel at unfairly low prices to clear a backlog in its glutted home market.
揭秘|超出你的想象：地下军团组建“刷单工厂”，组团给电商数据注水国内新京报网 在中国，刷单是电商行业不少卖家的“潜规则”。记者在调查中发现，依附一些网购平台，近几年形成不少规模庞大的刷单组织，人数少则几十数百人，多则数千人，他们隐身于各大语音平台，一些网店的好评和高销量依靠他们组建的刷单工厂完成，这些刷单工厂已形成完整产业链。 // The Beijing News looks at underground business ecosystem of “brushing” to pop up ecommerce site sales, including on Alibaba
E-commerce giant Alibaba maintains confidence in accounting practices amid US regulatory probe | South China Morning Post “We believe the SEC initiated this matter because of the public noise starting from last year created by a research firm used by short-sellers, Pacific Square Research, and short-sellers such as Jim Chanos,” Tsai said.
Terex-Zoomlion: Another Chinese Deal Bites the Dust – WSJ Terex responded earlier this month by canceling the Konecranes merger, and instead announcing a sale of only its port and industrial-crane segment to the Finns. That is the asset Konecranes wanted the most, and the one whose political sensitivity may have created the biggest headache for Zoomlion. // Isn’t that the asset Zoomlion also wanted the most?
New Third Board Tightens Rules for Private Equity Funds-Caixin The national market for the exchange of shares in non-publicly traded companies has tightened requirements for the listing of private equity funds, and the change will also affect funds that are already trading on it, according to a recent regulation.
Stock Exchanges Tighten Rules on Trading Halts Ahead of MSCI Review The two bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen announced rules restricting listed companies from temporarily halting trade with little warning to investors, a move that will increase the possibility of mainland stocks being included in an index compiled by MSCI Inc., a person close to the securities regulator said. // MSCI insane if they include PRC shares this year given the regulatory messes and increased policymaking opacity of the last year
Why Property Financing Drew Blood in Nanyang-Caixin Frustrated lenders who backed a now-subdued building boom included a retiree who mowed down schoolchildren to get attention
Government Debt Risk Under Control, Finance Ministry Says-Caixin Local governments’ ability to repay creditors has declined, but debt-to-GDP ratio was well below international warning levels, a statement said
China’s angry Fanya investors leap the Great Firewall—and are shocked by what they learn about Beijing — Quartz While their numbers are small, their actions are already inspiring other Chinese investors burned in a monumental number of recent scams, turning Twitter into a new venue for angry Chinese citizens to protest. And as they leap over the Great Firewall, some are coming to a new realization—the government has been cracking down on free speech and civil protests just like theirs for years. //will likely lead to more blocking of VPNs
Inside the Rebellion at China’s Largest Automotive Website – Bloomberg As Autohome Inc. Chief Executive Officer James Qin rang the bell of the New York Stock Exchange in late 2013, Telstra Corp. officials looked on with good reason to cheer. The initial public offering was a billion-dollar-plus windfall for the Australian company and the Chinese investment’s future looked bright under its Harvard-educated CEO. Today, that goodwill is gone. Qin, 43, is leading a revolt against his Australian benefactors over Telstra’s plans to sell a 48 percent stake to Ping An Insurance Group Co. for $1.6 billion
The Big Short Is Back in Chinese Stocks – Bloomberg While trading in the Shanghai Composite Index has become subdued this month amid suspected state intervention, pessimists are betting that equities face renewed selling amid a slumping yuan. The Chinese currency is heading for its biggest monthly loss since last year’s devaluation as the nation’s economic outlook worsens and the Federal Reserve prepares to raise borrowing costs, driving a rally in the dollar.
Snow White and Captain America make appearances at Wang Jianlin’s new park, Disney vows to sue: Shanghaiist China’s richest man Wang Jianlin began his attack on Shanghai Disneyland over the weekend with the opening of his new theme park that unlike Disneyland which is “fully built on American culture” would instead “place importance on local culture” — apparently Snow White and Captain America are now officially part of “local culture.” However, Disney would beg to disagree. After being notified that a couple of performers were spotted dressed rather shabbily as the Captain and Snow White at Wanda City, Dalian Wanda’s new theme park and entertainment complex in Nanchang, Mickey Mouse is prepared to take legal action.
Collusion keeps debt problems at bay in China’s private sector heartland – FT.com T he local government leans on local banks to keep the credit flowing in, companies are taking on ever-larger amounts of debt to service a growing loan burden, while the bankers reckon the real level of bad loans is as high as 30 per cent of total lending. Welcome to the manufacturing sector in Zhejiang, 2016.
Along the new Silk Road, a city built on sand is a monument to China’s problems – The Washington Post Lanzhou New Area, in Gansu province, embodies China’s twin dreams of catapulting its poorer western regions into the economic mainstream through an orgy of infrastructure spending and cementing its place at the heart of Asia through a revival of the ancient Silk Road.
Baosteel says it will brace for US legal battle – China Daily Baosteel Group, which owns Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd, China’s largest and most advanced integrated steel manufacturer, has said it will defend its legal rights in accordance with international regulations and laws in the case relating to United States Steel Corporation’s complaint against Baosteel. On April 26, US Steel Corp filed an application against Baosteel and other Chinese steel makers under Section 337 of the US Tariff Act of 1930, which seeks to bar import of Chinese carbon and alloy steel products.
习近平在中共中央政治局第三十二次集体学习时强调 党委领导政府主导社会参与全民行动 推动老龄事业全面协调可持续发展CCTV节目官网-CCTV-1央视网(cctv.com) 央视网消息(新闻联播)：中共中央政治局5月27日下午就我国人口老龄化的形势和对策举行第三十二次集体学习。中共中央总书记习近平在主持学习时强调，坚持党委领导、政府主导、社会参与、全民行动相结合，坚持应对人口老龄化和促进经济社会发展相结合，坚持满足老年人需求和解决人口老龄化问题相结合，努力挖掘人口老龄化给国家发展带来的活力和机遇，努力满足老年人日益增长的物质文化需求，推动老龄事业全面协调可持续发展。// Xi underscores challenge, opportunity of aging population-Xinhua
POLITICS AND LAW
China’s top discipline watchdog to compile book of confessions – People’s Daily Online would be better as an interactive app with videos of the crimes, arrests and confessions
做“四讲四有”合格党员（人民要论） He Yiting page 7 of the 5.27.16 People’s Daily on the “four stresses and four haves” every party member should have
Q. and A.: David Shambaugh on ‘China’s Future’ – The New York Times Q. Does this mean foreign countries needn’t worry too much about China’s rise? Perhaps all they need is a bit of military and foreign policy vigilance to prevent adventurism and the Chinese Communist Party system will do itself in in the long run? Photo David Shambaugh Credit David Shambaugh A. That’s correct. I argued in my last book [“China Goes Global”] that China is a “partial power” — lacking in many categories of national power. That book looked at China externally, whereas this new book looks at China primarily internally. When one carefully examines China’s sources of power, I find multiple weaknesses instead of strengths. As a result, I have been uncomfortable for some time with the “China rise” narrative, because I think it falsely exaggerates China’s strengths and underplays its weaknesses. // that would be dangerous advice for policy makers…could be right but I regularly argue that the assumption should be that the odds of Xi succeeding are greater than him failing, and preparations should be made for a range of outcomes between collapse and full success
Chinese gangster sent straight back to prison after ‘rampantly arrogant’ homecoming parade Chinese gangster Cheng Youze looked a picture of content on his release from prison as he marched through a guard of honour made up of 120 burly men as 20 Land Rovers, 30 Mercedes and six Hummers waited to take the entourage to a huge party at a five star hotel. But after pictures emerged online of his over-the-top homecoming, the seasoned criminal found himself back behind bars, as enraged authorities vowed to clampdown on the “rampant arrogance” of his gang. // with the video
郑州原书记吴天君二度出任河南政法委书记政经频道财新网 2011年12月至2012年2月就曾短暂出任该职；近五年来，河南省委政法委书记变动频繁，先后有四人次担任该职；年满60岁的刘满仓卸任河南政法委书记
光明日报刊文：每每遇到存疑事件，监控“故障”常常如期而至舆论场澎湃新闻-The Paper 监控设备具有客观中立性、不间断性、完整真实性等特点，在探究事实、认定责任等方面的作用不言而喻。但诡异的是，每每遇到存疑事件，公民需要了解客观事实真相、维护自身合法权益时，监控“故障”常常如期而至。监控设备选择性地“罢工”使其丧失了应有的证明作用，监控设备选择性地被使用更是对公民权利的漠视和公共权力的滥用。可以说，监控设备失控失去的不仅是公众对监控本身的信任，更是对公权力的信赖。 // Guangming Daily asks why surveillance cameras always seem to “break” around sensitive events, like the Lei Yang case
季羡林之子诉北大原物返还案开庭：标的1亿诉讼费高达54万一号专案澎湃新闻-The Paper 本次开庭的季承诉北大原物返还纠纷案还要追溯到数年前。2001年7月6日，季羡林与北京大学签订捐赠协议，约定将14类藏书、手稿、古今字画等珍贵文物分批捐赠。但季承说，这份捐赠协议中所涉及的文物都是父亲婚后收藏的，属于夫妻共同财产，父亲即便要捐赠也需要先析产，再捐出属于父亲自己个人那一部分。 “根据2009年1月13日清点的结果，北大所保管季羡林文物、字画共577件，其中207幅是古字画。后来，又清点出38类72件文物，所以，我要求归还的文物就变成了649件。”季承称。
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
G7 agrees need strong message on South China Sea; China says don’t ‘hype’ | Reuters Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying retorted in Beijing that the South China Sea issue had “nothing to do” with the G7 or any of its members. “China is resolutely opposed to individual countries hyping up the South China Sea for personal gain,” she said.
Pentagon says China aircraft intercept violated 2015 agreement | Reuters “The review of the Chinese intercept of one of our reconnaissance aircraft has assessed the intercept to have been unsafe based upon the Memorandum of Understanding with China and International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards,” U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban told Reuters. // if only there were clear video that would be released to the world
China Swaps Troupes for Troops – WSJ In February, Mr. Xi eliminated the PLA’s seven Military Regions, each with its own troupe, usually including a dance ensemble, chorus, orchestra, television arts center and acrobatic team. They were replaced with five new combat zones, leaving two regional troupes to be merged with the others. “As noncombat troops, all the performers are facing the question of whether they are staying or leaving,” the army website cited the leader of the “Advance Cultural Troupe” as saying recently. Mr. Xi also has banned surviving cultural troupes from charging fees, which had supplemented PLA performers’ salaries for years.
China to send nuclear-armed submarines into Pacific amid tensions with US | World news | The Guardian The Chinese military is poised to send submarines armed with nuclear missiles into the Pacific Ocean for the first time, arguing that new US weapons systems have so undermined Beijing’s existing deterrent force that it has been left with no alternative. Chinese military officials are not commenting on the timing of a maiden patrol, but insist the move is inevitable.
New satellite imagery shows Chinese drone on contested island | Fox News The newly obtained satellite images from ImageSat International (ISI) show a Chinese Harbin BZK-005 long range reconnaissance drone on Woody Island in the South China Sea. The drone can remain airborne for up to 40 hours. The Chinese drone did not appear armed in the satellite image taken last month. For the time being, the BZK-005 does not have the capability to fire missiles, unlike other drones in China’s inventory.
China faces headaches from warming Vietnam-U.S. ties | Reuters the move makes Hanoi a key player in Obama’s strategic pivot to East Asia. U.S. arms manufacturers will compete with Russia for big-ticket weapons sales to Vietnam. The U.S. Navy may get a long-held wish to use Cam Ranh Bay, the best natural harbor in the South China Sea, military sources say. Then there is the prospect of political cooperation and greater intelligence sharing over China’s assertiveness, according to diplomatic sources, even if Vietnam shuns any formal steps towards a military alliance. Such moves dovetail with the goals of Vietnam’s military strategists who have told Reuters they want to discreetly raise the costs on China’s rapidly modernizing forces from attacking Vietnam again.
China Blocks Press Freedom Group’s U.N. Accreditation – China Digital Times (CDT) On Thursday, China helped block an application for U.N. consultative status by the Committee to Protect Journalists after four years and repeated delays. The group was supported by Greece, Guinea, Israel, Mauritania, the U.S., and Uruguay, but opposed by China and Azerbaijan, Burundi, Cuba, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sudan, and Venezuela. India, Iran, and Turkey abstained. From the CPJ’s statement:
PLA general held after 37m yuan seized, but takedown hints at revenge plot against prominent brother | South China Morning Post Investigators raided three properties that Liao Xijun owns in Guiyang, and seized 37 million yuan (HK$43.8 million) in cash, along with gold and other items, the sources said. Provincial military officers were briefed on the matter on Friday last week.
军报：郭伯雄、徐才厚贪腐问题不是他们问题的要害新闻腾讯网 ]高级干部位高权重，出了问题就不是小问题，政治上出了问题危害更大。郭伯雄、徐才厚贪腐问题骇人听闻，但这还不是他们问题的要害，要害是他们触犯了政治底线。
Indonesia detains Chinese fishing trawler in Natuna, SE Asia News & Top Stories – The Straits Times An Indonesian warship was conducting patrols last Friday when it detected the Chinese trawler, Gui Bei Yu 27088, fishing illegally in the country’s “exclusive economic zone”, the navy’s Western Fleet Command spokesman, Major Budi Amin, told The Straits Times yesterday. “We strongly suspect they were poaching fish in our territory because we found fresh fish on the boat,” he said, adding that the type of fish caught is identical to those found in the waters there.
Chinese engineer and driver injured in Karachi separatist bombing | The Guardian The unusual targeting of a Chinese worker in the sprawling port city will alarm the government, which is betting heavily on the $46bn China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) to transform Pakistan’s moribund economy. The two men were injured when a roadside bomb exploded at about 8.30am on Monday as their minibus passed through one of Karachi’s industrial quarters. A piece of paper left at the scene was signed by the Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army, an obscure group seeking the independence of Sindh, one of Pakistan’s four regions.
CMC urges troops to study Xi’s remarks on military reform – Xinhua The Central Military Commission (CMC) has released a circular urging troops to carefully study CMC Chairman Xi Jinping’s remarks on deepening national defense and military reform. The remarks, selected from speeches on military issues made by Xi between November 2012 and November 2015, were compiled into a book by the group leading military reform under the CMC.
TECH AND MEDIA
Chinese users criticize Microsoft’s push for Windows 10 upgrade: Xinhua | Reuters Chinese users of Microsoft products are criticizing the software company’s push to get them to mandatorily upgrade their Windows operating systems, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday. Posts critical of Microsoft on microblog site Weibo relating to the Windows 10 upgrade, which Microsoft users must switch to, have grown to over 1.2 million in number, it said
Actor Suspended for Drug Use, Returns as Policeman | Sixth Tone Two months after the arrests of Ko and Jaycee Chan, son of star Jackie Chan, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film & Television (SAPPRFT), China’s media regulator, announced a suspension of unspecified duration on the careers of actors caught doing drugs. Ko’s speedy redemption suggests the industry has softened its stance towards actors with drug abuse histories.
China’s payment apps require real ID – or else-TechInAsia Both Alibaba’s Alipay and Tencent’s WeChat Pay have announced that accounts not bound to a real identity (either by inputting the info directly or by linking the account with a domestic bank card) must do so by July 1 or face having access to their funds limited. That means that a lot of people have some real-name information inputting to do, as reportedly only 51 percent of China’s domestic epayment accounts are currently linked to users’ real names.
China builds teaching, research base for socialist journalism – Xinhua The teaching and research base, a joint project between Tsinghua University and Fudan University, will facilitate the implementation of instructions on news reporting issued earlier this year by the central authorities, according to Deng Wei, deputy secretary of Tsinghua University’s Communist Party of China Committee. “We should develop journalism in China with a thorough understanding of the good aspects of journalism in other countries, so that wrong or harmful content can be identified,” said Tong Bing, a professor at Fudan University. // Bloomberg endowing a chair?
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Mao Badges — Red, Bright and Shiny (And Open to Every Form of Capitalist Speculation) » The LARB Blog I’m grateful to Dikötter for reminding readers of the importance of Mao badges and drawing attention to the economic activity associated with them. They are objects I’ve thought about a lot, especially since the early 2000s, when the British Museum was offered a donation of over 200 Mao badges (duplicates from a private collection in China) and my Head of Department, after agreeing to accept the gift, told me to write a catalogue. At the time, the most relevant English-language sources were Bill Bishop’s 1995 M.A. thesis “Badges of Chairman Mao Zedong (毛主席像章),” the first in-depth analysis of Mao badges ever written in English; and Melissa Schrift’s book, Biography of a Chairman Mao Badge(2001), an anthropological account of collecting Mao badges.
Why an American POW chose Mao’s China over home | South China Morning Post As an uneducated black man from Tennessee, Clarence Adam figured he was better off in China than the US after his release from a prisoner-of-war camp following the Korea conflict. In 1966 he walked into Hong Kong and a barrage of questions. His daughter, Della, tells Stuart Heaver what followed
China’s Florida | The Economist Fewer than 100,000 migrant pensioners live on the island year round, thinks Mr Huang. But there are signs that more are settling. Half of those he interviewed said they had bought property in Sanya. The number staying permanently started to soar in 2010 when the city’s retirement boom began. Hua Hong Investments, a local property company, is about to open the city’s first American-style residential care home, with medical services, an indoor golf driving-range and calligraphy classes. //Wanning becoming a popular destination. on the high speed rail line from Sanya
Attorney says Millbrae man, ex-girlfriend suspected in his death had bitter break-up | abc7news.com Police say a Millbrae man was killed by his ex-girlfriend, and she’s not the only one now under arrest for his murder. Tiffany Li, her current boyfriend Kaveh Bayat, and another man named Olivier Adella have all been charged…Li is the daughter from a powerful and wealthy family from China that’s now living in a mansion her mother bought in affluent Hillsborough.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Grids Show Little Interest in E-Car Charging-Caixin The government wants to build millions of electric car battery charging posts, but state-owned power grids are balking
Alibaba tells vendors to halt drug sales online, cites government rule change | Reuters Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has told vendors on its Tmall website to stop selling medicine, saying a local regulator has issued an “urgent” directive halting drug sales via third-party platforms. Alibaba, in a notice dated May 27 seen by Reuters, cited a circular from the Hebei province branch of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) on “urgent control measures relating to drug products”. It did not elaborate on reasons.
FOOD AND TRAVEL
China bets on duty-free paradise to keep luxury spenders at home | Reuters China’s efforts to lift local consumption, spur domestic tourism and keep within its borders citizens that splurge in Milan or Seoul have spawned a duty-free paradise on the southern island of Hainan that it hopes will satisfy a lust for luxury.
BEIJING
Leak of recycled Blamed for Beijing Water Shutoff-Caixin More than 10,000 people in northern Beijing went two days without tap water and an unknown number were sickened after the public water system was contaminated, according to a statement released by Beijing Waterworks Group late May 25. The state-owned water company said it was first alerted to the contamination, which was traced to a leak in pipelines sending treated waste water to homes and offices for flushing the toilets and watering plants , late May 23. Huilongguan-area residents called to report falling ill after washing with tap water.
Beijing takes lead from London, Singapore as it plans congestion charges to curb capital’s huge traffic jams | South China Morning Post Authorities in Beijing have completed draft plans to impose congestion charges on vehicles entering parts of the capital in a drive to ease congestion, according to state media. The initiative could be launched later this year, other media reports said.
Beijing’s Electric Bikes, the Wheels of E-Commerce, Face Traffic Backlash – The New York Times Electric bicycles have proliferated from a demand for deliveries of goods sold online. Beijing and several other Chinese cities have moved to rein in the bikes, with some considering outright bans. The steps have been welcomed by car drivers who fume at cyclists buzzing through red lights and riding against traffic, often while peeking at smartphones mounted on their handlebars. Pedestrians also complain that the bikes honk noisily and hog the sidewalks. // crackdown on these long overdue, chaos…one wonders how Beijing traffic would flow if the authorities applied the same zeal to traffic law enforcement as they do to internet censorship…
JOBS AND EVENTS
China Reality Check: SOE Reform | Center for Strategic and International Studies Wednesday, June 8, 2016 9:30 am – 11:00 am CSIS Headquarters, DC
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