China Readings for March 3rd

"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner

If you like this free daily roundup you can subscribe to it either through RSS or email. See the links to either option at the top right of the page. And if you really like it feel free to donate through the button on the top right.

  • The Jamestown Foundation: Hu Jintao Draws Blood with the Wang Lijun Scandal– by willy lam. take with pound of salt//The theoretical possibility exists that the dominant CYL Faction might seek the help of these remnant liberals in consolidating their grip on post-18th Congress elite politics. It is, however, instructive to note that the powers that be in Zhongnanhai have a long tradition of using radical reformists and genuine liberals as pawns in political intrigues – and then abandoning them once the power struggle is over. A classic example is what took place in 1979 and 1980, when Deng Xiaoping encouraged dissidents such as Wei Jingsheng to attack the party’s unrepentant followers of Chairman Mao. Once he has been ensconced in power, however, Deng closed down the Democracy Wall and threw Wei and a number of his close comrades into jail. Irrespective of the outcome of the on-going contention between the CYL Faction and the Gang of Princelings, the chances that the tattered threads of political liberalization may be picked up again seem abysmally low.
  • 港媒曝内地汽油含硫量高于香港35到50倍_产经_产业新闻_新浪财经_新浪网 – china gasoline has 30-50x sulfur content of hong kong’s? no wonder pollution a problem
  • 中国移动副总经理鲁向东涉嫌经济问题被调查_通讯与电讯_科技时代_新浪网 – another senior china mobile executive under investigation for corruption. lu xiaodong
  • Learning How to Argue: An Interview with Ran Yunfei by Ian Johnson | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books– One of China’s most outspoken public intellectuals, Ran Yunfei was detained last year after calls went out for China to emulate the “Jasmine Revolution” protests sweeping North Africa. He was held without trial for six months until last August. Interestingly, prosecutors turned down police requests for Ran to be formally charged, sending the case back to police with requests for more evidence. When police failed to come up with more evidence, he was then held under house arrest until early February. Ran works for the government-run Sichuan Literature, where he writes often about classical Chinese.