The Sinocism China Newsletter 06.18.14

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

Today’s Links:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

As Chinese Leader Takes On Graft, Relatives Are Said to Shed Investments – NYTimes As President Xi Jinping of China prepares to tackle what may be the biggest cases of official corruption in more than six decades of Communist Party rule, new evidence suggests that he has been pushing his own family to sell hundreds of millions of dollars in investments, reducing his own political vulnerability.

Asia Unbound » Podcast: A Conversation with Evan Medeiros Asia Unbound is proud to announce a new podcast series. Our first guest is Special Advisor to the President and Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council Evan Medeiros.

China Sends Top Diplomat To Begin Talks With Vietnam – NYTimes.com The official, Yang Jiechi, will meet with Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh of Vietnam in the first high-level discussions between the two countries since early May, when sea vessels from the two sides rammed each other near the installation. Mr. Yang, a state councilor with a foreign policy portfolio, is known as a blunt promoter of China’s expansion in the South China Sea, and he is unlikely to offer concessions or a breakthrough in the tense situation, said diplomats here, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

RelatedChina, Trying to Bolster Its Claims, Plants Islands in Disputed Waters – NYTimes.com “It’s changing the status quo,” said Carlyle A. Thayer, an emeritus professor of politics at the University of New South Wales in Australia. “It can only raise tensions.” Since January, China has been building three or four islands, projected to be 20 to 40 acres each, one Western official said. He added that there appeared to be at least one installation intended for military use, and that the new islands could be used for resupplying ships, including Chinese maritime patrol vessels.

CCTV Executives May Have Crossed a Fuzzy Line – Caixin The blurry boundary that separates advertising offices and content production at China’s powerful broadcaster CCTV may have encouraged racketeering by a group of top executives. The racket of undisclosed proportions is now at the center of an anti-corruption investigation targeting several executives including Guo Zhenxi, director of the state-owned TV network’s finance and economics channel CCTV2, and Tan Liwu, one of the channel’s producers.

Related郭振玺朋友圈被指分红黑两系 任总监8年捞20亿-搜狐财经 [UPDATE–This article has been deleted from mainland sites, is still available here on Sina HK] more on the CCTV-Guo Zhenxi corruption case, including one report that he controlled several companies through which companies would pay “protection fees” to avoid being the subject of critical CCTV reports, and that Guo personally made at least 2B RMB from this protection racket…No way to confirm, but if even 1/10 true Tony Soprano would have been proud, and jealous  //  有报道称,郭振玺实际掌控着十几家公关公司。被拉黑的企业自然会向这些公司交“保护费”以及紧急公关费,而捧红的企业则会感恩戴德地主动交广告费及股权,郭振玺实现了个人财富和央视广告的双丰收。据称,郭振玺担任财经频道总监8年间,他个人至少捞了20亿。   ■ 出事前,郭振玺为自己辩解说:“你就算是焦裕禄,是雷锋,放在这个位子上,也会有一些非议的。”而无论是广告中心,还是财经频道,总是和“钱”有关,常在河边走,郭振玺又怎能不湿鞋?

RelatedDuowei on some of the rumors about the CCTV case// 传央视女主播欧阳智薇涉郭振玺案被带走_中国_多维新闻网 此外,王世杰被带走后,财经频道还有一位年轻女主持人和一位女编导也被带走。目前尚不清楚两人是被调查对象,还是被要求协助调查。外间风传,这两位协助调查的女士是央视年度经济人物评选活动总导演鄢闻余,以及出生于1987年的年轻女主持人欧阳智薇。

Chinese rights lawyers warn of crackdown after arrest of Pu Zhiqiang | World news | theguardian.com Chinese rights lawyers have warned that they are under mounting pressure, with the formal arrest of one of China’s best-known advocates, Pu Zhiqiang, and multiple detentions. One bleak joke doing the rounds is that “even lawyers’ lawyers need lawyers” these days. Advocate Liu Weiguo posted a poem online which begins: “If I am arrested one day/Friends, fellow lawyers/You must/Must/Go public, take a stand and make a fuss.”

RelatedMainland China code seeks to muzzle lawyers who publicise cases through social media | South China Morning Post Mainland lawyers are angry about a new code being drafted by the national bar association that restricts what they can say online. The code urges lawyers to exercise extreme caution when commenting about cases on the internet and bans them from revealing case information before court rulings. An association spokesman confirmed yesterday that such a draft was being considered but would not give details.

Concerns in China over alleged secret trial of Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti | World news | The Guardian Lawyer representing academic cites unconfirmed reports of ‘heavy’ sentencing after arrest and charges related to separatism // grim

Caixin-Qingdao Metals Trader Facing Probe over Collateral ‘Got 15 Bln Yuan in Loans’ – Several bank sources said the China Banking Regulatory Commission is collecting information about how much Dezheng Resources Holding Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries have borrowed. Its preliminary findings are that banks lent the company and its subsidiaries a total of 14.8 billion yuan. Banks were eager to lend to Dezheng Resources and its subsidiaries in recent years. “We all do business with Dezheng companies,” one employee of the finance department of a large bank’s Qingdao branch said. Banks are apparently worried that the borrowing total the CBRC arrived at may only be the beginning. “The figure only shows the loans in Qingdao, and banks are examining whether there are other loans to Dezheng Resources and its subsidiaries across the country,” an employee of another bank said.

RelatedCitic Resources Can’t Locate All Its Metals Held at Qingdao Port – Bloomberg Citic sought a court order to find its copper and alumina held at the port and the court was unable to locate about 123,446 metric tons of its alumina, Citic Resources said in statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company holds title documents to 223,270 metric tons of alumina and 7,486 metric tons of copper it has stored at the port, it said.

China’s Yuan Fixings Shift Seen as a Boon for Bulls – Bloomberg The most reliable emerging-market currency bet of the past nine years is making a comeback on signs China is finished engineering the sharpest-ever decline in the yuan.

 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE

China introduces ratings on local govt bonds-Caijing Credit ratings will be introduced to a local government bond-issuance pilot, in a move to enhance risk prevention, the Ministry of Finance announced on Friday. The ratings will come in nine levels, which are AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC and C. The AAA rating indicates an extremely low default risk, with C suggesting inability to repay debts, according to a document released by the ministry.

央行将创设基础货币投放工具PSL_财经频道_一财网 CBN says the PBoC to launch a new tool–Pledged Supplementary Lending // 据《第一财经日报》了解,为了更好地确定和引导中期政策利率,央行正在创设一种新的基础货币投放工具——抵押补充贷款(PSL,全称初译为Pledged Supplementary Lending)。从PSL的定义、期限来看,和再贷款非常类似,或将逐步取代再贷款。推出PSL的目标,是央行试图借PSL的利率水平,打造出一个中期政策利率。

多地“抢人救楼市” 户籍改革或为分类调控助力_财经频道_一财网 some cities starting to use hukou reform as way to save real estate market, by allowing non-locals a pathway to hukou through property ownership //  如 今楼市已进入一个“敏感期”,任何风吹草动都可能引起市场情绪波动。日前,广东、海南及武汉等地陆续推出户籍制度改革,逐步放松落户限制,引发社会关注。 不少市场人士认为,此举一方面意在增强城市对人口的集聚力,另一方面“抢人”也可能带来“曲线救市”,给限购的楼市增加大量的刚需购买力。

False Start for New Bonds as Regulators Fiddle – Caixin The central bank has put the brakes on a proposed credit securitization bond product that had been approved by the banking regulator and was poised to debut on a bourse. The decision by the People’s Bank of China to block the securitization bonds, at least temporarily, underscores friction among regulators over rules for the country’s emerging credit securitization market. The central bank jointly oversees the market, which is in a pilot phase, with the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), which had approved the asset securitization plan.

Pharmaceuticals in China: So long, easy money | The Economist MULTINATIONAL drug companies, now looking forward to a sustained boom in the Chinese market, should instead be bracing themselves for a collapse in profits over the next few years. So concludes a new report by Bain & Company, an American management consultant.

SeekPanda is Primed to Upend Traditional Interpretation in China | TechNode SeekPanda was originally conceived as a means of helping business travelers by taking care of many of their needs before they arrive in China. After realizing this was not a scalable business model, according to Kohn, the idea morphed into a marketplace where bilingual Chinese and English speakers could sell their services. “The inspiration of the idea was let’s just connect these two populations… the way Airbnb connects different populations with apartments,” Conger said.

China Blocks European Shipping Pact, Sending Maersk Tumbling – Bloomberg The Chinese Ministry of Commerce said on its website that the proposed P3 vessel-pooling accord, which also included Mediterranean Shipping Co. and CMA CGM SA, would “restrict competition” on the busiest Asia-Europe routes.

Citic Adds Investors Including Tencent, Och-Ziff to Share Sale – Bloomberg The company, which agreed last month to sell $5.1 billion of shares, will offer an additional $690 million of stock to ten investors, according to a Hong Kong exchange filing yesterday. Tencent, Asia’s largest Internet company, and Och-Ziff Capital Management Group are each purchasing $50 million of stock at HK$13.48 a share, according to the statement.

老赖曝光网创办者:网站能成为法律的补充_深度_新京报网 Ningbo businessman sets up website listing people who are not paying their debts  //  宁波慈溪的企业老板邱恒,建立了一家老赖曝光网站,以督促老赖还钱。有人质疑民间网站曝光老赖信息,侵犯个人隐私,涉嫌违法。创办者邱恒说,欠钱不还,走法律途径不仅费时,而且有时起不到实质帮助。网站曝光老赖信息希望是对法律程序的一个有益补充。

10省份公布今年工资指导线 多地涨幅下调_新闻_腾讯网 10 provinces release wage increase guidelines, many suggest lower increases than last year

China’s corporate debt: Big, but not the biggest | The Economist IT IS one of those superlatives that China could most certainly do without: the world’s biggest market for corporate debt. So concluded Standard & Poor’s, the global ratings agency, in a report published on Monday that garnered attention throughout major financial news media—the latest piece of evidence that China’s debt levels have scaled dangerous heights. But though the S&P report shines light on a murky problem, the headlines appear to have got ahead of the truth. A closer look at the data shows that Chinese companies, while on track to eventually take the crown as the world’s biggest debtors, are still a good distance shy of it for now. The report’s $14.2 trillion figure for Chinese corporate debt is an overestimate, perhaps by as much as 25%.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

Google block set to continue – Global Times Chinese tech blogger William Long told the Global Times Monday that the block would not affect Google’s market share, as most users would use a type of virtual private network (VPN) to access the blocked sites, and would not shift to a domestic search engine such as Baidu. This is because people like to stick to websites they usually use. The block on Google has spurred the VPN market in China. An anonymous Chongqing-based VPN retailer said he is dealing with more purchasing inquiries and more deals have been closed in the past week. Such a VPN can cost 98 yuan ($15.7) monthly for a single user.

How Corrupt Is the U.S.? Just Watch ‘House of Cards,’ China Party Arm Says – China Real Time Report – WSJ A well-known private-equity investor, China eCapital Corp. Chief Executive Wang Ran, responded to the “House of Cards” kerfuffle with a pointed comment on his Weibo account: “Another notable difference between the two countries—only one of them can make and screen this type of TV show.”

专家解析:”红白事”怎样办算是”大操大办”?——要闻——中央纪委监察部网站 有关专家给出了基本判定标准:一看操办“红白事”是否使用公款;二看是否使用公物,如公车等;三看是否使用公产,如免费使用礼堂等;四看来宾中有无管理和服务对象,是否收其礼金礼品,特别是有无借机敛财;五看来宾中有无使用公物;六看是否影响他人休息、破坏环境等。

民主生活会一年盘点:常有常委边哭边批评_网易新闻中心 taking stock of the Democratic Life Meetings…really wish there were videos // 2013年6月18日,党的群众路线教育实践活动正式启动。这是十八大后,党中央为保持党的先进性和纯洁性而采取的重要举措。 时至今日,该活动已满一年。一年中,通过各级召开的民主生活会,外界看到了各级常委班子成员身上存在的问题和不足,也看到了他们直面问题、改正不足的决心。 这其中,“官僚主义””官本位”思想”成为民主生活会的关键词,很多常委一把手检讨了自己在用人上存在的问题,有些县级常委在自我批评环节,还出现“痛哭”情景。

China’s State Council checks petitions – Xinhua From the end of June to the middle of July, the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the Ministry of Land and Resources, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council will establish five groups to check how complaints are dealt with in 15 provincial regions and 10 ministerial departments.

CPC needs new recruitment rules to deter opportunists from exploiting system – Global Times According to official statistics, the number of CPC members has been soaring since the 1990s, with an annual increase of more than 2 million new members. So far, the overall number of CPC members has surpassed 8.6 million, which makes the CPC undoubtedly the largest political party in the world. This gives rise to a series of brand-new challenges: how to manage this colossal team of CPC members, how to improve the structure of this team, how to maintain reasonable size of party branches at different levels, how to stimulate Party members to set a better, pioneering model, and how to build a dynamic exit mechanism for Party membership.

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

China’s Information Warfare Campaign and the South China Sea: Bring It On! | The Diplomat China should not be permitted to pursue information warfare in order to have it both ways – circulating a position paper to the UN in order to demonstrate the serious nature of its dispute with Vietnam and rejecting UN arbitration. The United States and Australia should press for a UN Security Council debate. Japan and other maritime powers with a stake in stability in the South China Sea should join in. China should be forced into the uncomfortable position of opposing any Security Council debate and thus scuttling its attempt to use UN for propaganda purposes, or to veto any resolution arising from a debate in the Security Council critical of China’s action in the South China Sea.

Xi stresses CPC’s absolute leadership of air force – Xinhua President Xi Jinping stressed the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s absolute leadership of the air force at the 12th Air Force Party Congress on Tuesday in Beijing. Xi said he has every confidence in the prospects for the air force to shoulder its historical responsibility and build a strong force that integrates aviation and space power, strike and defense capabilities essential to national security and development.// 习近平:坚持从严治党切实抓好空军党的建设 

China Dominates US Naval Strategy Discussion | Defense News | defensenews.com “The rise of China as a challenger is the most significant strategic challenge for the US,” Hal Brands, a historian at Duke University, told a “Current Strategy Forum” audience Tuesday at the Naval War College here. “The US is not devoting enough resources to addressing China’s rise,” claimed Aaron Friedberg, a professor of international affairs at Princeton University. “We need to develop a credible military strategy for countering China,” Friedberg continued. “Our ability to come to the aid of our allies depends on having a plausible strategy in which our friends and allies believe.”

Greenert: Don’t ‘Unnecessarily Antagonize’ China | USNI News Open discussion of how U.S. forces could deter Chinese ships and aircraft could unnecessarily antagonize one of America’s largest trading partners, the Navy’s top admiral said during an address at the U.S. Naval War College on Tuesday. “If you talk about it openly, you cross the line and unnecessarily antagonize,” said Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Jonathan Greenert during the Current Strategy Forum in Newport, R.I. in response to an audience question. “You probably have a sense about how much we trade with that country, it’s astounding. “

Is this a model of China’s next aircraft carrier? | Popular Science The strongest possible caveat must be added that this model could be unofficial, including even the work of Chinese military enthusiasts. However, Chinese military projects, like the J-31 stealth fighter, PLZ-05 self propelled howitzer, Lijian drone and YJ-12 supersonic anti-ship missile, have a history of impromptu debuts as models at arms shows and military exhibitions. In addition, the presence of PLA officers at the exhibit’s launch is notable.

New Chinese Threats to U.S. Space Systems Worry Officials-National Defense There is strong evidence that the anti-satellite weapon China tested in May 2013 went higher than low-Earth orbit, said Charles Miller, president of NextGen Space LLC, a space and public policy consulting group. If China continues to make strides and develops weapons that reach farther, it could one day threaten key satellites in geosynchronous orbit. The damage caused by an anti-satellite missile is two-fold: Not only does it destroy its target, but it also causes a massive ripple affect with debris from the collision striking other satellites. China’s 2007 test created a large debris field, which could damage other spacecraft, said Gen. William Shelton, commander of Air Force Space Command.

China, Britain issue joint statement, pledge to forward cooperation – Xinhua The document, issued after the annual meeting between visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and his British counterpart David Cameron, underlined that since the establishment of the China-Britain comprehensive strategic partnership a decade ago, bilateral relations have made significant progress. China and Britain agreed that their comprehensive strategic partnership has become an indispensable element of each other’s foreign policy agendas, the document said. China and Britain stand ready to expand economic and trade cooperation and promote development in each other’s markets. They renewed their commitment to the joint target of 100 billion U.S. dollars by 2015.

Queen welcomes Chinese premier to Windsor Castle – video | UK news | theguardian.com Both Li and his wife greet Her Majesty in English

UK media hype over visit unprofessional – Global Times Editorial British public opinion remains prejudiced against China and highly expects to embrace an opportunity to prove that it is superior compared with the emerging nation. Nevertheless, engaging in economic cooperation with Beijing is in its practical interests. Whenever Chinese and British leaders meet with each other, the British media habitually hypes China’s human rights and calls on the British government not to sell its soul in exchange for Beijing’s trade pacts.  Britain’s national strength cannot be placed in the same rank as China now, a truth difficult to accept for some Britons who want to stress their nobility. If they refuse to recognize this fact and find fault with China on purpose, even at the cost of bilateral relations, they will not find any mental comfort. Chinese society is more and more relaxed in dealing with Sino-UK ties, while the British could not be pettier.

China’s Li Calls Woman Journalist to Show Rights Respect – Bloomberg At a joint news conference with U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, Li appeared impressed when the first question from the British side was asked, in Mandarin, by the BBC’s China Editor, Carrie Gracie. “It is prescribed in China’s constitution that human rights must be respected and protected,” Li replied, speaking through a translator, before turning to the side of the room where Chinese reporters were. “To show respect for women, and also to show respect for human rights, I would also like to give this opportunity to raise questions to a female journalist.” He later gave a second female Chinese reporter the chance to put a question.

Deals worth billions signal new era for UK-China relations – Telegraph Together with David Cameron, Mr Li presided over the signing of £14bn of business deals in London. Meanwhile, Britain and China set a target of boosting bilateral trade to $100bn (£60bn) by the end of next year.

China Keeps a Close Eye on Oil Interests in Iraq – NYTimes.com The C.N.P.C. field that is the farthest north, Al Ahdab, is located more than 110 miles southeast of Baghdad. Three other fields in which C.N.P.C. also operates — Rumaila, Halfaya and West Qurna 1 — are located farther south, near the Iraq-Iran border. One Chinese state-owned energy company, Sinopec, does have a stake in an oil field in the north, but that field is in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, which is protected by formidable ethnic Kurdish militias that have vowed to defend their mountainous home region against ISIS.

China Seeks Shorter, ‘More Portly’ Troops With Brainpower – Bloomberg Male recruits can now be 1.6 meters tall (5 foot 2 inches), down from 1.62 meters, while the minimum height for women will reduced by the same margin to 1.58 meters, the paper said, citing the Ministry of Defense’s recruitment office. The upper weight limit for male enlistees was also relaxed to “allow more portly young men” into the military, it said. Eyesight standards were also lowered because nearly 70 percent of high school and university students in China are short-sighted, it said. Mental illnesses including schizophrenia, dissociative disorder, depression and bipolar disorder has also been removed from a list of conditions barring candidates from enlisting, according to the paper.

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition) – Japan Inches Closer to Severing All Ties with Korea The Kono Statement forms one of the two pillars that have maintained a fragile working relationship between Seoul and Tokyo over the last two decades. The other pillar is a statement in 1995 by then-Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama who apologized for Japan’s colonial rule over the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. The Abe administration has attempted to undermine the apology since it came to power in December 2012, and these efforts continue by fair means or foul.

 

HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN

Macau Tightens Chinese Visitor Stays in Visa-Abuse Crackdown – Bloomberg Transit visitors from China who don’t depart for another destination within the five days will be in violation of the new rules, effective July 1, and will be penalized upon their next visit, the city’s Public Security Police Force said in a statement yesterday. Repeat violations will result in denial of entry, according to the statement.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

Alibaba has a new way of explaining its controversial Alipay spinoff – Quartz May 2014: Alibaba filed with the US regulator for an IPO. The first draft of the prospectus argues that this spinoff was “pursuant to regulations issued by the PBOC.” However, in an oddly worded sentence, it also seems to acknowledge that those regulations never materialized, saying, “At the time when the licenses were first issued, no such additional regulations governing foreign-owned payment companies had been put in place.” June 2014: Alibaba filed an updated prospectus, tweaking some of the language concerning Alipay. The PBoC still hasn’t issued any separate regulations governing foreign-funded payment platforms.

‘Am I a Good Person?’ Documentary Chronicles Life With Alibaba’s Jack Ma – China Real Time Report – WSJ “Crocodile in the Yangtze” tells the story of how Alibaba founder Jack Ma transformed a 17-person startup working out of a small apartment to China’s first global Internet company, with 24,000 employees. Drawing on 200 hours of archival footage, the slightly hagiographic film covers 1995 to 2009, when Mr. Erisman—who had been the company’s vice president in charge of international marketing and corporate affairs—left the company to pursue other ventures, including making the film.

Alibaba Partners Include Onetime Top Cop – China Real Time Report – WSJ When Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. disclosed on Monday the names of the 27 partners that control the e-commerce giant’s board of directors, one of the most unlikely names on the list was Shao Xiaofeng. Mr. Shao is a 48-year-old former cop who gained a small measure of fame in China for cracking a brutal murder case more than a decade ago. Though listed as the company’s chief risk officer, he also as of last year held another essential post, according to one government website: secretary of Alibaba’s Communist Party Committee.

国家版权局:“剑网2014”重点打击非法转载传统媒体作品-法治频道-新华网 “Internet Sword 2014” campaign targeting illegal republishing of traditional media products  //  新华网北京6月17日电(记者璩静)记者17日从国家版权局获悉,国家版权局、国家互联网信息办公室、工业和信息化部、公安部等四部门已正式启动第十次打击网络侵权盗版专项治理“剑网”行动,即“剑网2014”专项行动。与以往相比,此次专项行动将打击部分网站未经授权大量转载传统媒体作品,严重侵害权利人合法权益的侵权行为纳入重点任务之中。

央视曝光“危险的WiFi” 无线上网存巨大安全隐患-财经频道-新华网 CCTV investigates free WiFi, declares it a security risk

GData-Chinese Android smartphone shipped with spyware This makes it possible to retrieve personal data, intercept calls and online banking data, read emails and text messages or control the camera and microphone remotely. The affected model “N9500” is produced by the Chinese manufacturer Star and looks very similar to a smartphone from a well-known manufacturer. It is not possible to remove the manipulated app and the spyware since they are integrated into the firmware. Large online retailers are still selling the Android device at prices ranging from 130 to 165 euros and distributing it across Europe.

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Nike’s Chinese star finally holes out | China Sports Insider This is exactly what the PGA Tour – and Nike – would have hoped for when it launched its China Series earlier this year. 27-year-old Shanxi native, who signed with Nike almost exactly a year ago alongside 19-year-old Li Haotong, finally won a tournament after a succession of near misses. He now leads the overall standings in the race to win one of five spots for next year’s US-based Web.com Tour, itself the feeder of the PGA Tour.

2014 China Tour – PGA Tour China Series-PGA Tour China Series

Golf in China: Birdies, bribes and bulldozers | The Economist Dan Washburn, a journalist who lived in China for a decade, uses golf as a barometer of change. Under Mao Zedong the sport was banned, like so many things that were decadent and fun. When the country began to open up under Deng Xiaoping, a few golf courses were allowed, to entertain foreign investors. As China grew richer, more and more locals wanted to try the sport. Suddenly more golf courses were being built in China than anywhere else, despite the fact that their construction was technically illegal.//The book on Amazon

randian – History in the Making II: Sketches for Iconic Paintings This exhibition, composed of sketches of famous paintings, presents the process in which the “Red Classics” oil paintings came into being from 1950s to the late 1970s

李银河:同性恋为何不敢出柜_共识网 Li Yinhe on why many Chinese gays do not dare come out of the closet// 从我早年对同性恋所做的调查中可以看到,中国同性恋者大多不敢向公众和家人坦承自己的性倾向是多因的,既有法律地位不明朗的问题,也有社会歧视的问题,还有来自社会习俗的压力,而它大多表现为亲友的不理解和不宽容。

《我的文革纪事》之:八一八,结束与开始_真话-网易新闻客户端 an eyewitness account of the summer of 1966 and start of Red Guards//  1967届初二5班学生、法学专家李红云去年从一位校友那里,见到了“筹委会”和“红卫兵”成立的原始记录,她曾给我看过Ipad的影印件,64开本,记录文字是提纲式的,譬如:“筹委会会议  8月7日  当前任务:怎么干革命。主攻方向。对工作组问题速战速决。批工作组目的。组织好。明前(应是明天——笔者注)宣布成立筹委会。成立红卫兵,组织落实。大家讨论工作组问题。下午重点批工作组问题。红卫兵做(作)为先锋。” 李红云曾在网刊《记忆》102期发表研究论文《师大女附中红卫兵是何时成立的——从一份原始记录说起》。 显然,在讨论成立“文革筹委会”的会上,有人提出了成立“红卫兵”的问题,得到了与会者的响应。李红云文章中全文引用了会议关于“红卫兵”问题的原始文字记录。

AllSet Learning Pinyin on the App Store on iTunes If you’re studying Mandarin Chinese, this is the pinyin chart for you. It’s the only pinyin chart for the iPad to make full use of zooming and panning controls to make pinyin study easy and enjoyable. The interface is simple, clean, and ad-free. Every pinyin syllable has audio associated, and toggling between the four different tones of Mandarin

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

China Exclusive: Climate change thawing Tibet plateau’s frozen earth – Xinhua The volume of frozen earth on the plateau has decreased from 1.5 million to 1.26 million square km, researchers with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) found after decades of study using remote sensing and satellite monitoring. The thawing of the frozen earth is an immediate result of global warming, as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at an average altitude of 4,500 meters, is extremely vulnerable to climate change, said a research paper published by the CAS Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research and seen by Xinhua on Monday.

The changing face of growing old in China – FT.com $$ Though there is a shortage of hospital beds for Chinese pensioners needing long-term care or medium-term rehabilitation, retirement homes that provide significant medical services have unexpectedly proved less popular than facilities where seniors live independently, and receive little nursing. Foreign-invested eldercare providers say they have run up against barriers, from culture to cost, that have made it hard to fill even a few hundred beds in a city the size and wealth of Shanghai, with more than 3.5m people of retirement age.

 

BEIJING

北京幼升小严审非京籍五证 民办小学称招不到人-财经网 新华网北京6月17日电(记者丁静)刚刚过去的周末,北京市不少小学迎来报名日。与城区部分学校排队报名的火爆情况相比,一些专门招收打工人员子女的民办小学却“一个孩子都招不到”。   今年,北京市幼升小针对非京籍儿童严格“五证”审核,打工人员子女就学的问题该如何解决?   北京市昌平区智泉学校高峰期曾有1200名学生就读。智泉学校校长秦继杰告诉记者,截至16日学校没有收到一个学生。“一方面大部分打工者拿不到‘五证’,另一方面,符合政策的学生都被安排到公办学校了。所以我们学校一个符合政策的孩子都没招到。”秦继杰说,“但有不少办不齐‘五证’的家长到学校来咨询。”

东城派位7成进优质校 小升初就近入学比例88.4%-教育频道-新华网 昨天上午,东城区精忠街小学的学生到学校查询录取结果。他们每人手持一张写着入学登记号和学籍号的纸条,登录东城区教育招生考试中心网站。经过几秒钟的操作,十一中、50中、文汇中学、汇文中学这些优质校校名纷纷出现在学生面前的显示屏上。北京晨报记者注意到,孩子们脸上露出了或吃惊或兴奋的表情。六(二)班学生者依馨说:“我被五十中录取了,我觉得这个学校环境特别好,所以第一志愿报的就是这所学校,真没想到能够如愿。”者依馨的同班同学芦佳怡说:“之前就听父母说过今年通过大派位上名校的几率很大,查询结果后,发现班里好多同学都上了好学校。”记者在现场发现,当时查询结果的10个孩子中,只有一个被派到了普通学校。

细数即将搬离北京的行业和企业_真话 “Strategy Thinktank” tries to account for all the Beijing companies and industries being moved out of Beijing as part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration plan. This time things are happening, unlike the talk of the previous ten years //  京津冀一体化这次算彻底火了。虽然大家都知道,京津冀一体化远远落后于长三角和珠三角。这种“火”体现在资本市场,体现在河北与天津的地方政府的热情,体现在媒体铺天盖地的宣传上。

老北京歇后语的来源 on the “xie houyu” of Beijing hua // 北京话有大量歇后语,从来源分,一种是根据事物的情状而编成的,另一种则有“典”可据。所谓“典”只是比喻的说法,如来源于某一民族,来源于某项民俗,来源于某历史人物及其他等等

北京一夜惊雷6790次破纪录_头版_新京报电子报 been a stormy June in Beijing, and the early hours of the 17th saw 6790 thunder claps, a record says The Beijing News…Beijing certainly needs the water //  17日凌晨降雨创多项纪录;6月1日入汛以来已发布9次雷电黄色预警,4次暴雨蓝色预警

 

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