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Thanks for reading. The best way to see this daily post is to subscribe by email, especially if you are in China, as Sinocism is still blocked here. You can also follow me on @niubi or Sina Weibo @billbishop. And if you really like it feel free to donate through the button on the top right.

No commentary today, just a housekeeping note. Sometime this week I will switch email service providers. You currently receive this email from sinocismblog at gmail dot com and after the switch you will receive it from admin at sinocism dot com. In the event that you do not receive the email one day please check your spam folder and make sure your email service/client knows that messages from sinocism.com are not spam. If it is also not in your spam folder please contact me.

As several of you noted, yesterday’s email had the wrong link for Photojournalist Ed Giles explores the new Burma – in pictures. Apologies.

Today’s links:

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Authorities deny remarks relating to fatal bridge collapse – Xinhua | English.news.cn – Authorities in Harbin have denied that officals had previously said no contractors could be found to take possible responsiblity for a fatal bridge collapse.

哈尔滨断桥混凝土内有木棍及编织袋_网易新闻中心 sticks and bags discovered in the concrete of the collapsed harbin bridge section

“桥脆脆”质量堪忧：13年发生大桥坍塌事故23例_21世纪网-21cbh.com  23 large bridge collapses in 13 years

Central bank department criticises property curbs – China Confidential – A department at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) has said home purchase restrictions (HPR) are hurting genuine property demand and unnecessarily increasing the pain of economic tightening. We think the criticism, which came in a research report by the PBoC’s statistics department, reveals that official opinions on the HPR are diverging, raising the chances of a softening in restrictions over time.

TECH AND MEDIA

Time for ‘Action!’ on co-produced films |Society |chinadaily.com.cn so much for that backdoor. Hollywood will not be pleased, China looking for ways to protect its film industry//The Chinese film industry’s top regulator will strictly implement the regulations for international co-productions, a senior official has said. Zhang Pimin, deputy head of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, said the administration has noticed a tendency in international co-productions that may harm the local film industry. “A complete American story with a small Chinese element and a Chinese actor, and they call it a co-production.”

广电总局将严查中美合拍片 称威胁国产片市场_新闻_腾讯网 – SARFT to strictly investigate US China film co-productions

Austin Jobs – Apple Fraud Prevention Specialist – Mandarin in Austin, Texas, United States Job description *** NOTE: You MUST be fluent in Mandarin and English to be considered for this position ***Apple Online Store Order Administration is partnering with the iTunes Store for iTunes fraud prevention. We are seeking an iTunes Fraud Prevention Specialist with excellent analytical skills and extensive knowledge of best practices for account services.

China Implications of Apple’s US Patent Victory Over Samsung | China Hearsay One last area of concern involves other Android device makers in China that sell, or hope to sell, in the U.S. market. You know, the Huaweis, ZTEs and the Xiaomis, those types of guys. This verdict certainly calls into question the strategies of companies that have built Android devices “inspired” by the iPhone. Although we don’t know at this point whether Apple intends to go after other Android competitors, given the Samsung verdict and the whopping 1.05 billion dollar damage award, it wouldn’t surprise me.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Turkistan Islamic Party leader thought killed in US drone strike – The Long War Journal A Uighur wanted by China// Emeti Yakuf has been involved with the Turkistan Islamic Party, which is also known as the Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM), since 1996, according to a fact sheet released by China’s Ministry of Public Security in October 2008. The description of his activities and capabilities matches that of Karachi Islam, the jihadist magazine that first reported he took control of operations and training in the tribal areas, as well as the description provided to The Long War Journal by US intelligence officials.

U.S. Missile-Defense Move Seen Feeding China’s Fears – WSJ.com – security analysts say the strategy risks further antagonizing Chinese leaders, who are already under pressure from vocal nationalists to defend the country’s strategic interests…”China will make a meal of this politically. To them it underscores their propaganda points about the pivot to Asia revealing America’s Cold War mentality, that its purpose is to contain China,” said Carl Thayer, an Asian security expert at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra.

China calls for new-type military relationship with US|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn – A visiting high-ranking Chinese Army officer on Friday stressed the importance of developing a new type of military-to-military relationship with the United States, so to boost pragmatic cooperation in various spheres. In an interview with Chinese media based in Washington, Cai Yingting, deputy chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said that the two countries need to strive to implement the important consensus reached between Chinese President Hu Jintao and his US counterpart Barack Obama on constructing a new type of relationship between big powers, on the basis of mutual respect, equality, inclusiveness and win-win.

Cold War over, but vigilance still necessary – Globaltimes.cn– Have the US and the West gone too far in guarding against China and formed a kind of military and political containment of China? There are clear signs that suggest so. The actions may not be a result of deep deliberation, but rather natural reaction to China’s rise. And such a reaction is shared by both the officials and the public in the West, complementing each other…A few people among the Chinese elites are advocating universal interests. These idealistic slogans, ignorant of world realities, can only delude the Chinese public….China’s guarding against the West is defensive, to protect its rights of peaceful development. This is a minimum level of vigilance. If the West cannot even accept this and intensifies containment against China, the consequences have to be shared by both sides, or the entire world.

外媒：解放军战斧不是为东亚或东南亚准备的_军事_环球网 –

SOCIETY

Digital China–Call for Submissions Political Contestation in Chinese Digital Spaces Examining these questions will not only illuminate the politics of the internet, but also the changing forms of power, identity, and political expression in Chinese society more broadly. On the twentieth anniversary of the birth of a public Chinese internet, China Information will dedicate a special issue to these questions. We invite submissions of original research articles from scholars in diverse academic fields. Papers should critically engage one or more of the following topics:

Foreigners in China: To flee or not to flee? | The Economist  There are plenty of “old China hands”—myself included—who are content to hang on in spite of the hardships, the challenges, and our inability to become Chinese. Joining us are many younger ones. They are drawn by the sort of excitement and opportunity that can be found in a place that is changing fast and undoubtedly poised to become ever more important to the rest of the world….Wherever China goes from here, it remains a fascinating thing to watch and to be a part of—even if one must remain contented with “permanent observer” status.

BOOKS

Amazon.com: Scattered Sand: The Story of China’s Rural Migrants: Hsiao-Hung Pai, Gregor Benton–

Scattered Sand: The Story of China’s Rural Migrants by Hsiao-Hung Pai – review | Books | The Observer – The images in Taiwan-born, British-based journalist Hsiao-Hung Pai’s Scattered Sand are descriptive rather than photographic, but in every other way her book is a worthy successor to A Seventh Man. It focuses on contemporary China, where the scale of rural migration – over 130 million men and women have left their home provinces in search of work – makes the demographic debates about modern-day Europe seem parochial and hysterical. It pays tribute to a class of people that, although exalted under Mao as a revolutionary vanguard, has constantly to face the threat of pauperisation. It amplifies sounds – plaintive chants, desperate petitions, exhausted prayers, sceptical curses – that are often drowned out by the stentorian boosterism of the state loudspeaker.

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