"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
- Crocodile in the Yangtze-Facebook Page –
- Alibaba: From Start-up to Billion-Dollar Company | Inc.com – A new documentary, Crocodile in the Yangtze, opens with a dreamlike sequence: Packed into Hangzhou's Yellow Dragon Stadium in the fall of 2009, 16,000 Alibaba employees wave glow sticks in the darkness, singing and chanting their employer's mantra (Ali-Ali-baba!, Ali-Ali-baba!). A massive dragon dance passes through the crowd. It's a raucous environment not unlike a Premiership soccer match—only the soundtrack of The Lion King is blaring. Suddenly, Jack Ma, the company's founder and CEO, emerges from a trap door in the gigantic stage, guitar in hand, belting out the first few verses of Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."
"People outside the company assumed he was crazy," intones the film's narrator and director, Porter Erisman, in the film. "But those of us inside the company knew better."
- China’s Assertive Behavior—Part Four: The Role of the Military in Foreign Crises – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – The previous essay in this series on China‘s assertive behavior examined the general role of the Chinese military in the PRC foreign policy process, focusing on leadership and organizational issues. This China Leadership Monitor (CLM) essay builds directly on that essay by focusing in particular on the military‘s role in leadership decision making and lower-level implementation with regard to political-military crises with foreign powers.
- Inside the Army’s Secret Cold War Ice Base | Defense Tech – No, this picture doesn’t show a black and white image of the rebel base on the ice planet Hoth. It’s part of a secret, nuclear-powered U.S. Army base that was built under the Greenland ice cap only 800 miles from the North Pole. The base was officially built to conduct scientific research but the real reason was apparently to test out the feasibility of burying nuclear missiles below the ice under an effort known as Project Iceworm. Remember, Greenland is way closer to Russia than the ICBM fields located in the continental U.S. Rumor has it that the Danish government had no idea that the U.S. was considering installing nuclear missiles on Greenland.
The 200-man base was massive , described by some as an underground city, and consisted of 21 steel-arch covered trenches; the longest of which was 1,100-feet long, 26-feet wide and 26-feet high. These tunnels contained numerous prefabricated buildings that were up to 76-feet long. The base was powered by a portable PM-2A nuclear reactor that produced two megawatts of power for the facility.。。
The base operated from 1959 to 1966 when shifting icecap made living there impossible. Today, it’s buried and crushed beneath the Arctic snows. - Chinese Accounts Frozen in SEC Zhongpin Insider-Trade Suit – Bloomberg – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission won a court order freezing assets of six Chinese citizens and a British Virgin Islands entity in an insider- trading case involving China-based pork processor Zhongpin Inc. (HOGS)
U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly in Chicago issued the restraining order requested by the SEC on April 4, without prior notice to those whose assets were frozen, according to an April 5 court filing.
The individual defendants and the offshore Prestige Trade Investments Ltd. made more than $9.2 million in profits on “eerily well-timed” purchases of call options and stock in Zhongpin, in the days and weeks before the company’s chairman announced a proposal to take the Nasdaq-listed company private, according to a court filing by the SEC. - 茅台批发价因“禁用公款买高档酒”指令降三成_新闻_腾讯网 – 导读：投机炒家割肉离场，茅台批发价下跌超过3成，但茅台股价依然坚挺。茅台酒是否仍然有投资价值？为什么越来越多的日常消费品会变身为投资品？怎样才能让日常消费品价格免受投资炒作的影响？
- 汪洋：路线原则要立场坚定 不被谣言杂音所干扰_新闻_腾讯网 –
- Panda Sex Attempt Fails, End Up ‘Wrestling’ Lustily Instead –
- 岭南改革再出发_杂志频道_财新网 – 力促改革深化已是高层明确释放的信号，广东的探索则表明，顶层设计与地方试验相互促进，是推动改革的有效途径
- 改革才能反腐败_杂志频道_财新网 – 战胜这种抵制，只能依靠建立在人民觉醒和支持基础上的政治体制改革。政治体制改革需仔细规划。可以采取渐进而有力的措施，在法治化、制度化的基础上，重新界定党政权力，落实“让人民起来监督政府”的承诺，启动民主化改革进程。毋庸讳言，这一过程将是复杂的和充满风险的，一些人视之为畏途。但是，30余年改革开放带来的社会、经济、文化和政治上的变化，为以增量改革的方式推进政治体制改革，创造了条件。以反腐败为突破口，全面启动政治体制改革的机会窗口已经打开。
今年是本届政府任期的最后一年。中共十八大将在今秋召开。值此新的领导集体即将诞生的关键时刻，温总理这番峻急而恳切的讲话，不仅表明本届政府尚在为未竞的政治使命负轭前行，也可以视作本届政府的一项政治嘱托。 - Report: U.S. trained terror group – Salon.com – If this report is true, it means the U.S. Government actively trained a group that the U.S. Government itself legally categorizes as a “foreign terrorist organization,” a clear felony under U.S. law:
Whoever knowingly provides material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization, or attempts or conspires to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both, and, if the death of any person results, shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
That alone compels serious DOJ and Congressional investigations into these claims. Worse, this reportedly happened at the very same time that the U.S. aggressively prosecuted and imprisoned numerous Muslims for providing material support for groups on that list even though many of those prosecuted provided support that was far, far less than what the U.S. Government itself was providing to MEK. Meanwhile, right at this moment, America’s closest ally — Israel — is clearly a state sponsor of this designated Terrorist organization, providing training, funding and arms to it, and the U.S. may very well be as well (independent of all else, given that Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid, the U.S., at the very least, is financing a state sponsor of Terror).
At the same time, a glittering bipartisan cast of former Washington officials is receiving large payments from this designated Terrorist group, meeting with its leaders, and then advocating on its behalf — again, providing far more material support than many powerless, marginalized Muslims who have been and continue to be prosecuted under this law. All of this appears to be clearly criminal regardless of whether MEK belongs on the list — once a group is placed by the State Department on the list, whether justifiably or not, it is a felony to provide material support to it..
I know that, in light of recent American history, it’s easy to forget this, but U.S. government officials — whether current or former — are no more entitled to commit felonies and violate U.S. statutes than any other citizens are. - 中国选举与治理网 – 本网站在一定时期内进行技术维护，请网友谅解。
欢迎继续投稿至：chinaelections@163.com。中国选举与治理网
2012年4月6日 - 为改革呐喊的老人 – FT中文网 –
- China tells military to ignore rumors, shuts pro-Bo website | Reuters – China's top military newspaper told troops on Friday to ignore online rumors and authorities shut a left-wing website that has decried the ousting of populist official Bo Xilai, as the ruling Communist Party fought jitters over a leadership transition.
The Liberation Army Daily did not mention outlandish rumors of a foiled coup in Beijing that spread on the Internet in past weeks, after the abrupt ousting of Bo, an ambitious contender for a spot in the new central leadership to be unveiled at a party congress later this year.A commentary in the newspaper, however, left no doubt the party leadership wants to inoculate People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops against rumors about coups or political divisions that could erode the authority of President Hu Jintao, who is also head of the party and chairman of the Central Military Commission which commands the PLA.
- 作家维权联盟拟再起诉百度搜索_政经频道_财新网 – “作家维权联盟”执行人贝志诚表示，将组织律师对《著作权法》修改草案进行加紧研究，并于近日再次起诉百度搜索
- 北京将增建3所儿童医院 – 头版 -新京报电子报 – 年内建儿童医疗网，重症患儿可会诊或转诊；无偿献血者用血可实时报销..
本报讯 （记者温薷）北京今年将会有约20万“龙宝宝”降生，比去年增10%，超过“奥运宝宝”和“金猪宝宝”。
针对现已凸显的儿童就诊问题，市卫生局局长方来英昨天透露，北京拟增建3所儿童医院，年内还将依托儿童医院、首儿所建立“儿童保健医疗网”，重症患儿可会诊或直接转诊。
新生儿数量8年翻倍 - 翻模上锈 烟涧村假青铜化身“真古董” – 新京报网 –
- The End of the Expat Package? – Curious where your "fat expat package" has gone? This week on Sinica, Kaiser Kuo and Jeremy Goldkorn welcome Will Moss of Imagethief and David Wolf of Wolf Group Asia for a dissection of the expat job market: what sort of jobs are available in China these days and what it takes to get on what we lovingly call the FEP. We put everything on the table this week, including some numbers that will either impress or horrify you. And for good measure, we also look at Sina Weibo's slap-on-the-wrist for its involvement spreading coup rumors two weeks ago, a retaliatory strike that turned China's biggest social network into a marginally better version of Twitter for a horrifying three days.
- 网易成立投资公司 20亿人民币投早期互联网-搜狐IT – ）根据网易发布的招聘信息显示，网易已成立风险投资公司“网易资本”，资金总规模大约为二十亿人民币。基金主要投资中早期的互联网企业。
- Lead Underwriter Prices People’s Daily Online IPO at CNY17.2-19.2-Caijing – Based on the price range given by Citic, People's Daily online could raise as much as 1.189 -1.327 billion yuan via the IPO
- China hints at links of Xinjiang militants with Pakistan – The Times of India – China has given rare details of what it says are the links between militant groups in its restive far western region of Xinjiang and neighbouring countries, most likely close ally Pakistan, as it unveiled a list of six wanted suspects.
The Ministry of Public Security published the names of the suspects, all apparently ethnic Uighurs, on its website (www.mps.gov.cn) late on Thursday, along with their photographs and an outline of their alleged crimes.
All six had spent time in what the ministry called "a certain south Asian country" – a likely reference to Pakistan – where they were trained to carry out terror attacks and incited militants in China to carry out suicide bombings and knife attacks.
- The Associated Press: China shuts Maoist website amid political scandal – Chinese authorities ordered a leading pro-Maoist website shut down for one month starting Friday because of critical essays posted on it, the site's founder said, amid the country's worst high-level political crisis in years.
The move comes after the firing of a once high-flying official who promoted Mao Zedong-era songs and stories.
Han Deqiang, founder of the leftist website Utopia, said police ordered that it be shut down because of content that criticized the Communist Party, its leaders and an upcoming party congress.
"I expected this to happen. If they want to shut us down, it is their right. We exercise our right to express ourselves, they exercise their right," Han said in a telephone interview. - 中央军委批准成立全军审计领导小组_新闻_腾讯网 – 中国军网记者频道北京4月6日电（佟力 记者 范炬炜）全军审计工作领导小组今天成立并召开第一次会议，中央军委委员、全军审计工作领导小组组长、总后勤部部长廖锡龙在讲话中强调，要充分认清成立领导小组的重要意义，准确把握推进审计工作的任务要求，切实形成管审、建审、用审的整体合力，更好地发挥军队审计维护军事经济安全、规范军事经济秩序、提高军事经济效益、促进军队反腐倡廉建设的监督服务作用。
- 解放军报：不为流言所惑 坚决听从胡主席指挥_新闻_腾讯网 –
- 徐明失踪调查 疑涉足坛扫黑及土地内幕交易_资讯频道_凤凰网 – 有多个渠道指出，徐明的失踪实为“被调查”。事由之一是徐明掌控的“实德系”在足协打黑的进一步行动中被列为重点调查对象，当年一些关键场次的假球将被一一过堂。
事由之二则涉及“经济问题”，有信源指向了2009年徐明以18亿高价在哈尔滨拍下的新区地王。
根据记者的初步查询，这幅地王的所有者是“重庆盛和置地公司”，注册于拍地前两个月。投资方中，中方一栏为空白，外方则是高登国际（香港）投资有限公司（以下简称“高登国际”），投资总额为8000万美元。
- Utopia, Maoist discussion forum, shut down for a month | Danwei – This morning, the Ninth Bureau of the State Council Information Office, the Beijing Municipal Network Management Office, and the Beijing Municipal PSB Network Security Corps told our website maintainers that the Utopia website had published articles that violated the constitution, maliciously attacked state leaders, and speculatated wildly about the 18th Party Congress. Acting jointly, the three agencies requested that the website shut down for a self-inspection beginning from noon on April 6, 2012, to be brought back online after an examination was passed. Our maintainers asked for a list of articles that went against the constitution and said we would cooperate to deal with them. They did not have any specific articles or evidence. In the end, the conversation terminated.
- Neil Heywood may have been banging Bo Xilai’s wife: some guy | China Daily Show – “It’s obvious, innit?” said an Englishman who claimed to have met Heywood briefly in a hotel bar but who refused to give his name, for possible fear that he may be in danger. “He was givin’ ’er one. Then the ’usband found out and… I mean, why else would you ask for ’im to divorce? Stands to reason. Yeah.”
Armed with this stunning revelation, we returned to Beijing. But as Heywood’s family continues to tearfully protest that he died of natural causes from a congenital heart condition, the suspicious environment on the streets of the capital tell a different story.
A smoggy cloud covers up the spring sky and a chill wind of fear runs through its narrow hutong avenues – an Englishman died somewhere in these strange lands and we can only speculate and conjecture as to why and how. And that is what we will continue to do, until something else comes along.
Follow top China rumours at @chinadailyshow on Twitter - China is deeply flawed. Its dominance is not inevitable | Jonathan Fenby | Comment is free | The Guardian – The country's success will continue only if its elites initiate the political and economic reforms it desperately needs..
Despite all these fault lines, China is not going to collapse; it is far too resilient for that. Its growth has made more people materially better off in a shorter space of time than ever before in human history and this breeds loyalty to a system. But two things are clear. It does not provide a model for the rest of the world as its admirers might wish, and the danger now is that, unless Xi Jinping and his colleagues in the new politburo undertake serious reform, China will be stuck in an increasingly outdated groove, out of tune with its needs and aspirations. - China’s Hawaii to Face Hotel Slump as Supply Triples – Bloomberg – China’s resort city of Sanya is expected to face a “huge correction” in its hotel market in the next two years as the supply of luxury accommodation triples by early 2013, the head of its tourism association said.
The average hotel occupancy rate in Sanya, located on the tropical island known as China’s Hawaii, will drop about 10 percentage points from last year’s 65 to 70 percent, Michel Goget, Ritz-Carlton Sanya’s general manager and chairman of the city’s Tourism Association, said in an interview yesterday. - JPMorgan Trader Iksil’s Heft Said to Distort Credit Indexes – Bloomberg – A JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) trader of derivatives linked to the financial health of corporations has amassed positions so large that he’s driving price moves in the $10 trillion market, traders outside the firm said.
The trader is London-based Bruno Iksil, according to five counterparts at hedge funds and rival banks who requested anonymity because they’re not authorized to discuss the transactions. He specializes in credit-derivative indexes, a market that during the past decade has overtaken corporate bonds to become the biggest forum for investors betting on the likelihood of company defaults. - JPMorgan Trader Accused Of "Breaking" CDS Index Market With Massive Prop Position | ZeroHedge – And that, for those confused, is how JPMorgan operates: they lie about everything, fully aware they have perpetual immunity because they are more powerful than the Fed (just recall Jamie Dimon's symbolic spitting in the face of Ben Bernanke), they are a tri-party repo dealer thus in the center of the entire shadow banking system, and have the biggest single-bank derivative exposure in the world, at $70 trillion as of December 31.
JPMorgan is modern finance.
And because of they they can and will get away with everything, lying on prime time TV most certainly included.
- Letter from China: Tibetan Self-Immolations: The View from China : The New Yorker –
- Child Rivalry Reigns Among Educated Parents – Highly educated parents who push their youngsters to excel in primary school by encouraging rivalries with other students have a detrimental effect on their children's development, China Youth Daily reports.
The report cited a six-year-old girl named Bao'er who threatened to kill one of her kindergarten classmates and told her teacher to go to hell. Although the teacher expressed surprise at the vicious words, the child's mother, a PhD degree holder, responded with great calm, saying it was only natural for the strong to survive and the rest to be left behind. She also said her daughter was the cleverest student in the class.
- Insight – Young Chinese workers seek end to eating bitterness | Reuters – In the eight years since Zhang Shuxiang first left her village in the poor interior of central China, she worked in 20 factories before coming to the assembly line of a Foxconn plant making products for tech firms including Apple. She wants it to be her last.
- Sy Hersh–News Desk: Our Men in Iran? : The New Yorker – From the air, the terrain of the Department of Energy’s Nevada National Security Site, with its arid high plains and remote mountain peaks, has the look of northwest Iran. The site, some sixty-five miles northwest of Las Vegas, was once used for nuclear testing, and now includes a counterintelligence training facility and a private airport capable of handling Boeing 737 aircraft. It’s a restricted area, and inhospitable—in certain sections, the curious are warned that the site’s security personnel are authorized to use deadly force, if necessary, against intruders.
It was here that the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) conducted training, beginning in 2005, for members of the Mujahideen-e-Khalq, a dissident Iranian opposition group known in the West as the M.E.K. The M.E.K. had its beginnings as a Marxist-Islamist student-led group and, in the nineteen-seventies, it was linked to the assassination of six American citizens. It was initially part of the broad-based revolution that led to the 1979 overthrow of the Shah of Iran. But, within a few years, the group was waging a bloody internal war with the ruling clerics, and, in 1997, it was listed as a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department.
- China details overseas links for Xinjiang militants | DAWN.COM – BEIJING: China has given rare details of what is says are the links between militant groups in its restive far western region of Xinjiang and neighbouring countries, most likely close ally Pakistan, as it unveiled a list of six wanted suspects.
The Ministry of Public Security published the names of the suspects, all apparently ethnic Uighurs, on its website (www.mps.gov.cn) late on Thursday, along with their photographs and an outline of their alleged crimes.
All six had spent time in what the ministry called “a certain south Asian country” – a likely reference to Pakistan – where they were trained to carry out terror attacks and incited militants in China to carry out suicide bombings and knife attacks.