"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. Beijing works on air defence zone in South China Sea | South China Morning Post China is preparing an air defence identification zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea, two years after it announced a similar one in the East China Sea, according to sources close to the People’s Liberation Army and a defence report. But one source said the timing of any declaration would depend on security conditions in the region, particularly the United States’ military presence and diplomatic ties with neighbouring countries. “If the US military keeps making provocative moves to challenge China’s sovereignty in the region, it will give Beijing a good opportunity to declare an ADIZ in the South China Sea,” the source said. // SCMP has an OK track record with breaking PLA news, big deal if this report is correct
Related: PLA admiral to make China’s case at security forum | South China Morning Post Admiral Sun Jianguo, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of the People’s Liberation Army, would lead the delegation at the Shangri-La Dialogue, which runs from Friday to Sunday, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. Sun would deliver a speech and take part in bilateral and multilateral meetings with representatives from other countries, it said. US Defence Secretary Ash Carter will also attend the gathering, according to William Choong, the forum’s senior fellow of Asia-Pacific security.
2. Previewing the Strategic and Economic Dialogue with China – YouTube Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine A. Novelli and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel brief the press on U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) followed by brief Q&A at the Department of State on May 31, 2016. // transcript
Related: A preview of the eighth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue | Brookings Institution On May 24, the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings hosted U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Nathan Sheets for a discussion on the U.S.-China economic relationship and engagement in preparation for the economic track of the upcoming eighth U.S.-China Strategic & Economic Dialogue (S&ED), to be held in Beijing in early June. Senior Fellow and Director of the Brookings China Center Cheng Li provided opening remarks and Senior Fellow David Dollar moderated the discussion.
Related: China to ‘pressure’ U.S. on maritime issues, paper says | Reuters “Beijing will pressure Washington over maritime issues during the upcoming Strategic and Economic Dialogue, as the United States’ increasing military presence in the South China Sea is among China’s major concerns,” the official China Daily said, citing unidentified officials.
3. Concern over China insurance rules ahead of talks with U.S. | Reuters Controversial cyber security regulations for China’s insurance industry, now before the World Trade Organization (WTO), could soon take effect despite efforts by foreign business groups to persuade Beijing to change tack. Those groups say the draft measures are vague and discriminatory, and industry experts say international insurers could be required to source substandard or insecure technology or software in order to do business in China, or use products incompatible with their global operations. // Anyone still think China has backed down on its goal to de-Americanize the country’s IT stack? If you do, I have a Beijing bridge for you, prime location, excellent deal, if you close quickly, in cash, payable offshore…
Related: Foreign Business Groups to Complain About Proposed Chinese Insurance Rules – WSJ Draft insurance rules are part of China’s broader push for control over technology suppliers
4. President Xi says China faces major science, technology “bottleneck” – Xinhua “The situation that our country is under others’ control in core technologies of key fields has not changed fundamentally, and the country’s S&T foundation remains weak,” Xi said at a Monday S&T conference. In his speech, which was made public in full on Tuesday, Xi set the target of China becoming a leading power in S&T by the middle of this century. “Currently, the state needs the strategic support of science and technology more urgently than any other time in the past,” said Xi.
Related: 为建设世界科技强国而奋斗–时政–人民网 ——在全国科技创新大会、两院院士大会、中国科协第九次全国代表大会上的讲话 （2016年5月30日） 习近平–full text of Xi’s science and technology speech
5. China releases new action plan to tackle soil pollution | Reuters The central government will set up a special fund to tackle soil pollution, as well as a separate fund to help upgrade technology and equipment in the heavy metal sector, the cabinet said in a statement on its website (www.gov.cn). // 国务院印发《土壤污染防治行动计划》going to need a lot of science and technology, in addition to political will, to clean up the soil pollution
Related: 解读“土十条”：亮点有哪些政经频道财新网 2016年5月31日，国务院印发《土壤污染防治行动计划》。这份环保界期待已久、简称为“土十条”的文件对今后一个时期中国土壤污染防治工作做出了全面战略部署。这是继水十条、大气十条后，中国在环境工作上新的行动指南。
Related: 盘前必读：土壤污染防治行动计划印发金融频道财新网 行动计划要求，到2020年，受污染耕地安全利用率达到90%左右
6. What to Make of the Newly Established CyberSecurity Association of China | Center for Strategic and International Studies With all these changes, the creation of the CyberSecurity Association of China (CSAC; 中国网络空间安全协会 ) on March 25 has received far less attention. Yet the CSAC is important, not only as a prominent example of President Xi and his chief cybersecurity deputy Lu Wei’s quest to align government, industry, and academia around a shared set of cyber-governance objectives, but also as a force for shaping both the present and future of Chinese cybersecurity policy and the PRC’s engagement with international stakeholders on cyber issues. This commentary contextualizes the creation of the CSAC within China’s broader drive to strengthen cyber governance and explores the purpose of the CSAC by looking at its mandate and stakeholders. We then assess early indications of its intentions and identify coming signposts to watch in order to gauge the impact of its establishment.
7. Donald Trump Soured on a Deal, and Hong Kong Partners Became Litigants – The New York Times Mr. Lo and Mr. Cheng invited Mr. Trump to dinner at the home of Mr. Cheng’s father, an uncommon honor in Chinese culture. But the evening was a trying experience for Mr. Trump. “He didn’t like the food, and couldn’t use chopsticks,” recalled Mr. Wallach, who was there. “The first course was a whole fish, with the head still on. You could see the face of the fish and the teeth, which really looked grotesque. The servant put the fish in front of Donald. Donald said, ‘The honor belongs to Abe.’ I took my chopsticks and began to pick at it.”
8. What Xi Jinping really said about Deng Xiaoping and Mao Zedong | Andrew Batson’s Blog I do not see much daylight between Xi Jinping and Deng Xiaoping in terms of their positions on Mao Zedong and Communist Party history. Xi is very much following in Deng’s footsteps here, though he may be departing from Deng’s legacy in other ways.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
Perfect Storm Brews in China as Fed Worry Meets June Cash Crunch – Bloomberg A perfect storm may be brewing in Shanghai’s money market as a credit-fueled economic recovery coincides with the prospect of higher U.S. interest rates in June, a month that has historically seen funding crunches in China.
China rebuts currency criticism as renminbi takes big fall – FT.comWhile the Chinese currency would probably have fallen even more sharply absent ongoing intervention, the renminbi’s monthly decline in May was its second-biggest on record, undercutting claims that the PBoC is narrowly focused on stability. Indeed, the central bank’s statement on Friday clearly reflected its pragmatic approach to exchange rate reform. After emphasising its commitment to liberalisation, the PBoC added that it was likewise committed to “maintaining basic stability of the renminbi exchange rate at a reasonable, balanced level”.
China Buying Sparks Bitcoin Surge – WSJ industry participants also say a number of China-specific factors are also in play. Stories of scams in peer-to-peer financing have sent Chinese investors familiar with the most innovative forms of investing to bitcoin specifically, says Huobi’s Mr. Du. The bitcoin network, composed of traders around the globe accessing virtual platforms via their computers and the Internet, also allows a discreet way for a Chinese to move money beyond the country’s tightly-controlled borders. Bitcoin currently trades at a 7.2% premium when priced in Chinese yuan on mainland bitcoin exchanges compared with counterparts pricing the currency in U.S. dollars, according to industry tracker Bitcoinity.org.
Wal-Mart needs to grow overseas, and China’s the big prize-AP China, the world’s most-populous country, is the ultimate prize. Right now, it represents just 3 percent of Wal-Mart’s global sales of $478.6 billion, according to estimates from IBISWorld, a research firm. And the company has just over 400 stores in China, compared with more than 5,000 in the U.S. But the Chinese grocery market, already the world’s largest at $1.1 trillion a year, is expected to grow to nearly $1.5 trillion in just the next four years, says IGD, a global consumer products research firm. “China remains a strategic market for our future,” Doug McMillon, CEO of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recently told investors. Getting the food business right is critical for Wal-Mart
习近平：不能把供给侧结构性改革看成是西方供给学派的翻版新闻频道央视网(cctv.com) 在研究中国经济问题时，总有些人习惯于从西方经济理论中寻找依据，部分学者甚至信守“无西不经”（不是西方模式，就不是市场经济；不是西方的经济理论，就不是经济理论或不是可用理论）的崇“西”教条。供给侧结构改革提出后，一些人马上提出，改革的理论基础来自于西方的供给学派。对此，习近平指出：“我们讲的供给侧结构性改革，同西方经济学的供给学派不是一回事，不能把供给侧结构性改革看成是西方供给学派的翻版，更要防止有些人用他们的解释来宣扬‘新自由主义’，借机制造负面舆论。”请随“学习中国”小编一起学习。
下一个雷区：ABS ？财新周刊频道财新网 快速发展的资产证券化市场被寄予厚望；但企业ABS基本成为变相发债，而以企业贷款为主的信贷资产证券化沦为银行表内资产转表外的工具，资产证券化市场面临调整
China property developers face setbacks in ambitious foreign push – FT.com last week Wang Jianlin, China’s richest man and chairman of Dalian Wanda Group, confirmed he was planning to sell the Edificio España building in Madrid, which the group bought for €265m in 2014 and had planned to redevelop. In an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television, Mr Wang complained about the treatment he had received from the newly elected Spanish government. “This is the negative effect I have experienced from democratic institutions,” he said. “After the election, the government that sold me the building and signed an agreement with me, left office. So the opposition party took over, and they say ‘It doesn’t work, you can’t do it’.”
SoftBank Will Sell at Least $7.9 Billion of Alibaba Stake – Bloomberg SoftBank has established a new trust with the intention of divesting $5 billion in Alibaba’s American depositary receipts in a private placement “to qualified institutional buyers,” the Japanese company said in a statement Tuesday. SoftBank will also sell $2 billion in shares back to Alibaba, $400 million to members of the Alibaba Partnership and $500 million “to a major sovereign wealth fund.”
PBOC Shines Light on New Risks in $8 Trillion Shadow Loan Market – Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China has started collecting data from the murky world of online financing, in which firms make loans for everything from weddings to mining projects. It’s a growing part of a shadow banking market that ballooned 30 percent last year to 53 trillion yuan ($8.1 trillion), or four-fifths the size of the economy, Moody’s Investors Service data show. The PBOC also wants to make trading in some commercial loans transparent by building an exchange for transactions, according to local media reports.
China Futures Exchange Says Client’s Hedging Caused Flash Crash – Bloomberg An investor who used Chinese stock-index futures for hedging triggered a flash crash Tuesday, the China Financial Futures Exchange said. Contracts on the CSI 300 Index due in June dropped by the 10 percent daily limit at 10:42 a.m. local time before recovering almost all of their losses in the same minute. The sudden drop was triggered by the unidentified trader’s order for 398 contracts at current market prices. They were filled consecutively, which prompted the broader selloff, the futures exchange said in a statement.
Investing in Chinese Stocks—投资大中华地区股市: CREIS: New Home Prices Soar 1.7 pc in May New home prices climbed 1.70 percent in May (up from April’s 1.45 percent increase, down from March’s 1.90 percent) and are up 10.34 percent year on year. 74 out of 100 cities saw prices rise. Xiamen topped this list with a 5.85 percent increase in new home prices. Nearly all of the top cities were second-tier or near first-tier cities seeing overflow, such as Langfang near Beijing, up 3.66 percent.
China Manufacturing Gauge Signals Further Economic Stabilization – Bloomberg The manufacturing purchasing managers index stood at 50.1 in May, the nation’s statistics agency said Wednesday, matching April’s level and beating the median estimate of 50 in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. The non-manufacturing PMI was at 53.1 compared with 53.5 in April. Numbers above 50 indicate improving conditions.
Earnings fall betrays shaky state of China’s economy – FT.com Earnings data compiled by research company Dazhihui showed that the total net profit of mainland-listed Chinese companies fell 1.1 per cent to Rmb 2.47tn in 2015. This was the first contraction since 2008. At non-financial companies, aggregate net profit in 2015 declined 15.7 per cent. The big three oil companies, all state-owned, contributed significantly to the decline. Their combined net profit tumbled 60 per cent to Rmb88bn in 2015, wiping off over Rmb130bn from 2014.
China’s banks ramp up compliance as global push hits snags | Reuters China’s biggest banks are beefing up their risk management and compliance programmes, following a series of high-profile judicial investigations and regulatory probes in the United States and Europe. These legal and regulatory headaches are likely to be a drag on their aggressive overseas expansion until suitable anti money-laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) controls are in place, bankers and compliance experts say, but they are taking action.
POLITICS AND LAW
燕城监狱回应网上传言：芮成刚根本没在燕城监狱关押服刑 – 今日头条(TouTiao.com) 针对部分媒体近日刊载的有关芮成刚在燕城监狱意外死亡的消息，本网专门联系询问了燕城监狱。燕城监狱负责人表示，芮成刚根本没有在燕城监狱关押服刑，此消息纯属杜撰。希望有关媒体核实事实、客观报道。// official denial of rumor going around recently that former CCTV anchor, anti-Starbucks jingoist rabble rouser and alleged plaything to leadership wives Rui Chenggang choked to death on his food in prison. He was detained almost 24 months ago, the lack of any official announcement of his status does contribute to the rumor mill…
6个案例告诉你：关于”四种形态”，这样理解就偏了 运用“四种形态”，是不是意味着反腐败要抓小放大、减缓收兵？是不是纪委的责任减轻了、工作更好干了？是不是对违纪干部要高高举起、轻轻放下？ 其实，这些都是对“四种形态”的误读。把纪律和规矩挺在前面、实践好“四种形态”着眼于惩前毖后、治病救人，四个方面有机统一，相互关联，实践中必须全面把握，才能够达到良好效果。
江苏系坍塌 又见周永康式“剪裙边”？_中国-多维新闻网 有中国政坛观察人士指出，李云峰的“突然死亡”，如果从整个政坛格局来看，或许并不简单，其位于整个江苏系衰落坍塌的时间线内。在李云峰之前，季建业、杨卫泽、赵少麟这3名江苏省部级官员已相继落马，仇和、王珉等在江苏有长期工作经验的官员也先后落马。此外，南京白下区原区长李强、建邺区原区委书记冯亚军、溧水区原区委书记姜明也都已落马，南京六合区原区委书记娄学全则在家中自杀。
At least three activists detained in Beijing over Tiananmen Massacre commemoration | Hong Kong Free Press At least three activists have been detained in Beijing ahead of June 4 over a 1989 Tiananmen Massacre commemoration meeting that took place in Zhao Changqing’s home. Human rights activists Zhao Changqing, Zhang Baocheng, Xu Caihong were detained in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to Chinese human rights advocate Liu Xuehong, she was video chatting with Xu when police visited Xu’s home at 1:30am. Liu said that the call was cut and she could no longer contact Xu afterwards. Zhao and Zhang were arrested at around 7 am, according to Zhou Fengsuo, San Francisco-based co-founder of Humanitarian China.
住建部败诉后仍不改 又拒经租房主信息公开申请政经频道财新网 此前，住建部曾以涉密为由，拒绝公开关于经租房遗留问题处理的相关政策文件，后经法院判决败诉，并要求重新对公民申请作出答复。但在日前，住建部再次以相同理由，拒绝了经租房业主的信息公开申请，亦未提交论证有关信息涉密的证据
营造纯洁同志关系（思想纵横）–观点–人民网 同志关系不能“市场化”。全面深化改革，要让市场在资源配置中起决定性作用，但市场规则不适用于政治生活，不能取代党性原则。同志关系不是市场关系，不能搞利益交换，也不能讨价还价。资本是市场关系的纽带，不是同志关系的纽带；资本的力量不能主导党内关系，主导党内关系的只能是真理的力量、实践的力量、人格的力量。党内同志必须树立正确的利益观，不唯利是图、见利忘义，不嫌贫爱富、傍大款，也不借“礼尚往来”的名义开展“长线投资”和“期权交易”，不搞在职“播种”、退休“丰收”，或者自己“设租”、家人“收租”。
揭开美国最高法院的面纱-来源：《红旗文稿》2016/10 作者：田雷 2016年春节刚过，美国最高法院斯卡利亚大法官辞世的消息就刷爆了中国法律人的微信朋友圈。然而，斯卡利亚尸骨未寒，民主与共和两党就开始为填补他的席位展开激烈的政治交锋与争夺。由于联邦法官任期终身，斯卡利亚之死反而为奥巴马提供了留下政治遗产的最后机会。1986年，里根总统任命知天命之年的斯卡利亚出任大法官，意在用斯卡利亚的生花妙笔来推进保守派的司法革命。而现在斯卡利亚撒手人寰，那曾将他送到司法最高殿堂的保守派宪法运动也许走到了盛极而衰的历史拐点。斯卡利亚的去世及其激发起的政治纷扰，为我们检讨对美国最高法院的认知并追求重新反思提供了一次极好的机会。
警惕借供给侧结构性改革兜售西方理论–来源：《红旗文稿》2016/10 作者：周文 自从去年底中央经济工作会议提出“推进供给侧结构性改革”以来，社会上出现了对“供给侧”的各种解读。但是在解读“供给侧结构性改革”中，一些学者照搬美国“供给学派”的理论体系来解释中国的“供给侧结构性改革”。这不能不说是一种强加的生搬硬套，易于造成误读和误解。因此，正确认识供给侧结构性改革，对于深入贯彻和推进落实这一改革举措具有极为重要的意义。
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
坚决打赢深化国防和军队改革这场攻坚战 改革是决定当代中国命运的关键一招，也是决定我军发展壮大、制胜未来的关键一招。党的十八届三中全会对深化国防和军队改革作出部署，单独作为一个部分纳入全面深化改革的总盘子，上升为党的意志和国家行为。二一五年十一月二十四日，中央军委召开改革工作会议，习主席发出全面实施改革强军战略，坚定不移走中国特色强军之路的伟大号召，开启了我军历史上一场整体性、革命性变革。
China’s propaganda arms push soft power in Australian media deals-SMH In Australia, China’s propaganda machine may have identified a beachhead in its pursuit to alter global – and especially Western – perceptions. Advertisement Timed for the official visit of Liu Qibao, the head of the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department, a string of ‘cooperation agreements’ and memorandums of understanding were signed between Australian and Chinese media outlets in Sydney on Friday, with senior Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials in attendance.
Australian media deals are a victory for Chinese propaganda On 26 May, six agreements were signed between Chinese and Australian media outlets in Sydney. Liu Qibao, Head of the Central Propaganda Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), flew in to attend the signing. Gary Quinlan, Acting Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, joined him. Liu’s visit was noteworthy. A party official with no government title, Liu is one of the most powerful Party cadres outside the seven-strong Politburo Standing Committee. His arrival marked the first visit to Australia by a Party Propaganda Bureau chief. The scale and significance of the media agreements was newsworthy as well. And yet mainstream Australian media failed to report his visit or any of the deals associated with it.
军改后东部战区陆军正副司令员均为将门之后新闻腾讯网 据东部战区陆军官方微信公众号“人民前线”昨日披露，原南京军区副参谋长傅勇少将已经确认出任东部战区陆军副司令员。 观海内参记者注意到，至此，军改后东部战区陆军正副司令员均为将门之后。观海内参记者统计，截至目前，已有至少有四位将军出自将门，他们的父辈都参加过解放战争，战功赫赫。
Indonesian Navy Fires Shots, Seizes Chinese Fishing Boat – ABC News An Indonesian frigate intercepted the trawler on Friday near the Natuna islands in Indonesia’s exclusive economic zone, which overlaps with the southernmost reaches of the South China Sea, said navy western fleet command spokesman Maj. Budi Amin. Amin said the frigate fired shots which hit the stern of the fishing vessel, Gui Bei Yu-27088, after it ignored repeated warnings to stop. He said no one was injured. “This arrest was made to show the world that Indonesia will take firm action against ships that violate our territory,” Amin said.
As North Korean Missile Launch Fails, Pyongyang Official Visits Beijing – The New York Times The visiting official, Ri Su-yong, a former foreign minister who was recently promoted to the Politburo, came to discuss the recent congress in Pyongyang of the Workers’ Party, said a former senior Chinese official familiar with the visit as well as North Korea. The official declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.
Limits of law in the South China Sea | Brookings Institution The point of this essay is both simple and regretful: Although a rules-based and law-based approach in the international arena is an admirable aspiration, law will not solve the dangerous problems in the South China Sea. More specifically, the upcoming ruling in the case brought by the Philippines against China before an arbitration tribunal under the U.N. Convention the Law of the Seas will not solve the problems or even make a major headway in resolving them. An examination of the issues before the tribunal and its most likely decisions demonstrate that the tribunal and law can make only a very limited contribution to resolving the South China Sea crisis. Law will not save us from continuing to focus predominantly on negotiations and power politics.
Trapped in Thailand, Uyghurs Go On Hunger Strike in Appeal for Help-RFA More than 70 Uyghurs held in a Thai detention facility have gone on a hunger strike, telling RFA’s Uyghur Service in a hand-written letter that they would rather die in Thailand than go back to China. “If we were returned back to China, we will face physical and emotional torture, and be killed or sentenced to stay in prison for life,” wrote the group calling itself For Freedom. “Therefore, we announced a hunger strike and thought it would be better to die from a hunger strike while in here. We will continue our hunger strike until we are freed or relocated to a third country or till we die here.”
Philippines president-elect says won’t rely on United States | Reuters He has also called on China, which claims most of the sea, to respect the 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone granted to coastal states under international law. Asked by reporters if he would push for bilateral talks with China, Duterte replied: “We have this pact with the West, but I want everybody to know that we will be charting a course of our own. “It will not be dependent on America. And it will be a line that is not intended to please anybody but the Filipino interest.”
As Beijing flexes muscles in South China Sea, Malaysia eyes harder response | Reuters Spurred by the incident and the appearance of some 100 Chinese fishing vessels in the area around the time, some in Malaysia are hardening the nation’s previously muted responses toward their powerful neighbor China. One senior minister said Malaysia must now stand up against such maritime incursions as China flexes its muscles along dozens of disputed reefs and islands in the South China Sea.
CogitAsia Podcast | Center for Strategic and International Studies In this episode, we explore how to build an artificial island. Dr. John McManus of the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School gives a step by step guide to construction and describes the techniques the People’s Republic of China has used in building up reefs in the South China Sea. We discuss the costs and politics behind island building in Southeast Asia with Gregory Poling, director of the CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, and then Dr. McManus assesses the durability of these new islands and the impact of their construction on the environmental well-being of the ocean reefs and fisheries in the surrounding waters.Hosted by Colm Quinn. Audio edited by Lauren AbuAli. Written by Colm Quinn and Jeffrey Bean. Produced by Jeffrey Bean.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
今天新闻联播的主要内容是：习大大回信意在台湾，张高丽俄罗斯谈能源，党报社论讲科技春天 新闻联播没有说的是，大陈岛是国民党退守台湾后，在大陆临海控制的最后一座也是最重要的一座岛屿，一度被国军改造成要塞。1955年一江山岛登陆战后，大陈岛门户洞开，国民党被迫实行“金刚计划”，将全部军民从大陈岛上撤出。随后，大陆派共青团员上岛垦荒，这才有了这次提到的大陈岛垦荒队员后代。
[视频]习近平回信勉励大陈岛老垦荒队员的后代 继承和弘扬大陈岛垦荒精神 热爱祖国好好学习砥砺品格CCTV节目官网-CCTV-1央视网(cctv.com) 大陈岛位于浙江中部台州湾东南海域。1956年，浙江省467名青年志愿者奔赴大陈岛参与垦荒建设。2006年8月29日，时任浙江省委书记的习近平到大陈岛视察，看望岛上的老垦荒队员。2010年4月27日，时任中共中央政治局常委、国家副主席的习近平给大陈岛老垦荒队员回信。近日，台州市椒江区12名小学生以“大陈岛垦荒队员后代”的名义给习近平写信，表达了传承大陈岛垦荒精神，做爱学习、爱劳动、爱祖国好少年的决心。
TECH AND MEDIA
China’s Xiaomi Buys Microsoft Patents to Spur Global Expansion – Bloomberg The patents cover wireless communications, video, cloud and multimedia technologies, spokeswoman Kaylene Hong said without specifying the terms. The acquisition came as part of a broader agreement announced Wednesday with the U.S. software giant, under which Microsoft Office and Skype will come pre-installed on devices made by the Chinese smartphone maker. // never a good sign for a phone maker when they cut a deal with msft
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
How an ancient Chinese town survived the tumultuous Cultural Revolution – CSMonitor n an unexpected partnership, a strategic Red Guard leader and tireless preservationist helped save a walled town from likely destruction.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
The Village that AIDS Tore Apart | Sixth Tone A sign on the side of the road that leads to Wenlou Village from the Shangcai County seat in rural Henan province describes the thoroughfare as a “Model Civilized Road.” It’s an accolade bestowed upon the long stretch of asphalt by the local government — a transparent attempt to encourage safe driving. But the village has a much darker reputation than the sign indicates. In the 1980s, illegal blood donation stations moved into rural areas of Henan province in central China and offered to pay for blood. These operations extracted plasma, then sold it on to institutional buyers. For the peasants in villages like Wenlou, this was a quick and easy way to make money. But these illegal stations were often run with a negligent approach to hygiene and sterilization. The result was an AIDS epidemic that tore through the community and still lives on today.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ISSUES
Will China’s ‘Taobao Villages’ Spur a Rural Revolution? | ChinaFile E-retail giants such as Alibaba and JD.com have transformed the way people consume in China. The country now has over 500 million online shoppers, making it the biggest e-commerce market in the world, both in terms of number of consumers and total spending—and the market is still expanding. Recently, the state has introduced a number of policies that specifically favor the development of rural e-markets. Analysts predict that the next five years will be a “golden era” for rural e-commerce. According to Alibaba research, the rural e-commerce market may already be worth 460 billion yuan (U.S.$70 billion) in 2016.
FOOD AND TRAVEL
China to check halal food – Xinhua China will check and rectify the trend of over-generalization of halal food, Xinhua learned Tuesday. An official from the State Ethnic Affairs Commission told Xinhua that local departments will ban unlawful authentication of halal food in their jurisdictions. The commission will improve systems and mechanisms for the administration of halal food, and crackdown on fake halal food.
BEIJING
Tongzhou Tightens Household Permit Requirements-Caixin The new rules aim to prevent overcrowding and property speculation in the district tipped to become a center for government offices, a researcher said
你不知道的军区幼儿园，比家长军衔，司令部和政治部孩子见面就掐 – 今日头条(TouTiao.com) 王朔的“新京味儿小说”是一代人的记忆，那种北京人特有的痞和贫曾经风靡一时。这种性格似乎是北京大院子弟身上的一个烙印，或多或少都会有一些，而它们最初形成的地方就是军区幼儿园。这种条件优越的全寄宿制的幼儿园很多年来是部队孩子的特权，平民百姓的孩子是根本无法靠近的。
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