"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. ASEAN deadlocked on South China Sea, Cambodia blocks statement | Reuters The Philippines and Vietnam both wanted the communique issued by ASEAN foreign ministers after their meeting to refer to the ruling and the need to respect international law, ASEAN diplomats said. Their foreign ministers both discussed the ruling with ASEAN counterparts in the Laotian capital. But before the meeting, China’s closest ASEAN ally Cambodia opposed the proposed wording, throwing the group into disarray. Phnom Penh supports Beijing’s opposition to any ASEAN stand on the South China Sea, and its preference for dealing with the disputed claims on a bilateral basis. // poor if predictable performance by ASEAN
Related: Former Philippine leader Ramos accepts post as special envoy to Beijing over South China Sea dispute: reports | The Japan Times Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos has accepted a position as special envoy to China after an international tribunal ruled that Beijing’s claims to much of the South China Sea had no legal basis, local media reports said Sunday. Ramos reportedly accepted the offer to lead a team that will open bilateral talks with China when he met with President Rodrigo Duterte in Davao City on Saturday night.
Related: Podcast on Arbitration Outcomes with Paul Reichler, Philippines’ Lead Counsel | cogitASIA CSIS Asia Policy Blog CSIS Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative director Greg Poling and Paul Reichler, partner at Foley Hoag and lead counsel for the Philippines’ in its recently-concluded arbitration case against China, discuss the tribunal’s judgment
Related: Philippines’ oil still in troubled waters after South China Sea ruling | Reuters China’s Foreign Ministry did not directly answer a question submitted by Reuters about whether the government would permit a Chinese firm to join up with Philex, but said in a faxed statement that Reed Bank was Chinese territory.
2. Flooding in China’s Hebei Kills 114, Causes $2.5 Billion Losses – Bloomberg Separately, the Xinhua News Agency Sunday reported that four officials have been suspended for what it said was inadequate handling of the crisis. They are currently being being investigated, the state-run agency said, adding that Beijing has sent in state councilor Wang Yong to oversee disaster relief and relocation work. China’s worst flooding since 1998 may cut third-quarter economic growth by as much as 0.2 percentage points, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists.
Related: 邢台暴雨泄洪 河道被堵致下游大贤村损失惨重政经频道财新网 与此前网上传言不同，根据多位村民叙述和记者现场走访，这场洪水并非上游水库泄洪直接造成的，大贤村距离水库至少有三四十公里，中间有多处乡镇。之所以大贤村损失最重，是因为泄洪的洪水沿七里河至大贤村时，河道大幅度变窄，河北岸堤坝被铲，河道内更因铺设热力管线被渣土和热力管严重堵塞，洪水迅猛漫过河岸，向北横扫大贤村。// Caixin story on the Xingtai floods
Related: Without government warning, late-night floods swept away young and old, survivors in China say – LA Times At a news conference on Saturday night, Xingtai’s mayor and other officials offered their remorse for not doing more to protect residents and bowed to citizens in apology. But Gao is not satisfied. “Villagers and I think the apology from the mayor is only a political show to reduce his political mistakes; it’s useless,” Gao said Sunday in a phone interview. “He didn’t do anything helpful to us. My house is destroyed, and some families even lost their sons and daughters. We need the government to help us and give us confidence to rebuild our home.” On Sunday, four officials were suspended from their posts because of their inadequate performance during the floods. Among them was Duan Xiaoyong, a senior Communist Party official in charge of an economic development zone in Xingtai that includes Daxian.
Related: 市长公开道歉 邢台启动追责国内新京报网 7月18日至21日，河北大部地区出现降雨过程，造成省内部分地区出现洪涝灾害。截至23日18时，全省因灾死亡114人、失踪111人。截至23日9时，邢台死亡25人，失踪13人，邢台方面还就七里河洪水漫入大贤村等12个村等问题进行回应，官方认定为自然原因。邢台市长公开道歉，称启动追责程序。
Related: [视频]河北省委省政府工作组初步认定七里河决堤由洪峰所致_CCTV节目官网-CCTV- 工作组调阅了有关气象资料，实地查看了七里河河道、决堤口及上游东川口水库等，对决口原因进行会商分析。初步认定，7月19日晚七里河决堤是由于局地强降雨形成的洪峰所致，非人为原因造成。对预警通知、群众疏散等问题正在加紧核查中。
Related: Flood Buffer | Chublic Opinion The complex, ambiguous undertones of such posts provide opening for multiple interpretations. By somehow linking the current situation with the 1998 campaign, which was preserved in the national memory largely as a monument of national unity and struggle untainted by the whines and ridicules nowadays, they introduce the positive elements of state strength and legitimacy into today’s discourse that is facing increasing difficulty of erecting that kind of narratives. On the other hand, highlighting the historical feat of a previous administration always invites comparison and contrast. And when public narratives about party leaders are infested by the frame of power struggle among cliques, boosting the legacy of one former leader often has the effect (intended or unintended) of jeopardizing, if not outright undermining, the stature of their successors.
3. Discord Between China’s Top Two Leaders Spills Into the Open – WSJ China’s social-media users are cautious in discussing the divide, using coded references to a split between the southern and northern parts of the party and government’s Zhongnanhai leadership compound, where Messrs. Xi and Li work, respectively, In what people familiar with the matter depict as a subtle response by Mr. Li to criticism in the People’s Daily article, four words were added to a state-media news report about a May 9 conference call led by the premier. The words, which these people say weren’t part of the call, were xiang ren wei guo, an idiom loosely translated as “the premier endures for the nation.” They say Mr. Li personally vetted the media report before it went out. This month, Mr. Xi held a meeting with more than two dozen of the country’s top economists and analysts. Mr. Li wasn’t invited, according to people with knowledge of the matter. “It’s a meeting held by Xi Dada,” one of the people said, using a popular nickname for Mr. Xi. “It’s not necessary for Li to attend.” // hard to see what Li can do about it other than insert phrases into Xinhua copy, he doesn’t seem to have much influence over the sources of hard power–the security services and the PLA
Related: 國策透視：李克強的相忍為國 | 蘋果日報 | 財經地產 | 20160512 《人民日報》5月9日頭版刊登「權威人士」經濟講話，幾乎是對總理李克強近期樓股滙政策的全面否定。該日上午，李克強主持全國電話會議，內容為優化政府服務。出奇是李克強在會議總結指，要「相忍為國」。不少分析認為，是對該疑似習近平「權威人士」的回應。他的「相忍為國」能否解決問題？ 「相忍為國」典出《左傳》，通常指政治人物為顧全大局，放棄一時矛盾，並有委屈求全的意味在內。 // May 12 Apple Daily on the “相忍为国“, one of several examples in overseas Chinese media at the time, guess should have paid more attention to it
4. MERICS China Monitor No. 34 – Boosting The Party’s Voice: China’s quest for global ideological dominance The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) sees China involved in an ideological confrontation with „the West“, which primarily refers to the United States, but also includes Europe. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the CCP’s propaganda apparatus works hard to create and promote a set of Chinese values and norms to present an alternative to Western“ concepts of democracy, free markets and civil liberties and to discredit Western institutions.
Related: Foreign Agent Registration Act Frequently-Asked Questions The purpose of FARA is to insure that the U.S. Government and the people of the United States are informed of the source of information (propaganda) and the identity of persons attempting to influence U.S. public opinion, policy, and laws. In 1938, FARA was Congress’ response to the large number of German propaganda agents in the pre-WWII U.S.. // Surprised no one in Congress has suggested this should apply to employees in America of Party external propaganda organs like CCTV America, China Daily, etc, probably politically/diplomatically unpalatable…
5. India asks 3 Chinese Xinhua journalists ‘who met Tibetan activists’ to leave country by end of July | South China Morning Post The Indian government has asked three Chinese journalists working for Xinhua to leave the country by the end of July and refused to extend their visas, Indian media reported on Sunday. They came under the “adverse attention of security agencies” for allegedly indulging in activities beyond their journalistic brief, the English-language Hindustan Times quoted an anonymous source as saying…A Hindu newspaper report said the three travelled to the southern Indian city of Bangalore recently and met exiled Tibetan activists, which became an issue with India’s government.
Related: 社评：印度拒延新华社记者签证很是小气评论环球网 比如这次印度不延长3名新华社记者的签证，中方既不应毫无反应，也不必反应过度。做出一个动作，让印度人感知到那似乎是中国针对他们要求3名新华社记者离开的反应，就够了。另外，去年印度旅游签证改成了电子签，方便了很多。但仍有部分负有公务的中国人抱怨印度的签证难办。我们也应当让相应的少数印度人感觉办中国签证不容易。印度人很聪明，他们会明白的。
6. [视频]习近平主持召开中央全面深化改革领导小组第二十六次会议强调 以更大的决心和气力抓好改革督察工作 使改革精准对接发展所需基层所盼民心所向_CCTV 会议指出，当前和今后一个时期，要按照把改革主体框架搭建起来这一阶段性目标，排出督察优先顺序，聚焦重点难点。要抓问题要害，做到眼睛向下、脚步向下，既要发现实施中的共性问题，也要关注群众反映强烈的热点难点问题，找出症结，提出对策。要抓整改落实，督促真抓真改，对改革抓得实、有效果的要表扬，对执行不力、落实不到位的要问责追责。要抓统筹联动，完善督察职能，发挥社会和群众监督作用，做到上下贯通、内外结合。
Related: 今天新闻联播的主要内容是：深改组会议聚焦改革督查，世界财经大佬汇聚中国，刘云山周末开两学一做座谈会 说一千道一万，改革的推动主题关键在干部，如果干部的问题都解决不好，积极性调动不起来，再加上习大大的改革不左不右，又很难把控方向，怎么还能发挥干部的主观能动性，推动改革取得实效呢？干部、干部、干部，重要的事情说三遍，只要干部的问题解决好，中国没有办不成的事。
7. Asia Unbound » Podcast: The Dictator’s Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party’s Strategy for Survival Are Chinese citizens unhappy with their government? Media coverage of corruption, pollution, and censorship might lead outsiders to believe that they are. But on this week’s Asia Unbound podcast, Bruce Dickson, professor of political science and international affairs and director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University, offers evidence to the contrary. In 2010 and 2014, in collaboration with Chinese scholars, Dickson conducted two broad public opinion surveys of thousands of Chinese urbanites that culminated in his new book, The Dictator’s Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party’s Strategy for Survival. What he found will likely surprise many
Related: The Dictator’s Dilemma: The Chinese Communist Party’s Strategy for Survival: Bruce Dickson: Amazon In The Dictator’s Dilemma, eminent China scholar Bruce Dickson provides a comprehensive explanation for regime’s continued survival and prosperity. Dickson contends that the popular media narrative of the party’s impending implosion ignores some basic facts. The regime’s policies may generate resentment and protest, but the CCP still enjoys a surprisingly high level of popular support. Nor is the party is not cut off from the people it governs. It consults with a wide range of specialists, stakeholders, and members of the general public in a selective yet extensive manner. Further, it tolerates and even encourages a growing and diverse civil society, even while restricting access to it. Today, the majority of Chinese people see the regime as increasingly democratic even though it does not allow political competition and its leaders are not accountable to the electorate. In short, while the Chinese people may prefer change, they prefer that it occurs within the existing political framework.
8. Vladivostok Lures Chinese Tourists (Many Think It’s Theirs) – The New York Times Chinese social media, however, bubble with demands that territory ceded to the Russian Empire in the 19th century not be forgotten. A posting on a popular Chinese internet forum, for example, claimed that the Chinese people “are all in tears” when they see that the “table of unrecovered territory” includes Vladivostok and other lands now controlled by Russia. Young Chinese, who, unlike older generations, rarely speak any Russian and have no rose-tinted memories of Sino-Soviet friendship in the 1950s, are particularly prone to nationalist fervor. “A new, English-speaking generation of young people with weak or distorted notions of Russian history, culture and politics is forming in China,” lamented a report on relations between the two countries by the Russian International Affairs Council. // nice piece by Andrew Higgins, too bad the PRC never let him back in as a journalist
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
U.S. warns at WTO of China backsliding on economic openness | Reuters The United States is worried that China is retreating from pledges to open its economy to market forces as it tries to cope with a slowdown in growth, U.S. trade diplomat Chris Wilson told the World Trade Organization on Tuesday. China is undergoing a regular two-yearly review of its trade policies at the WTO this week, in which the body’s other 162 members get to quiz its officials and critique its policies.
As China Lets Yuan Depreciate, Other Nations Take Note – WSJ Beijing’s exchange-rate maneuvering this year has largely been driven by the dollar. When the greenback was weak, the PBOC mainly anchored the yuan to the dollar and let it fall against the basket. Conversely, when the dollar advances, it lets the yuan weaken against the dollar while keeping it largely stable against the basket. So far this year, the dollar has weakened for longer than it has strengthened, resulting in a weaker yuan versus the basket than versus the dollar.
No RMB crisis like last year, but it could be a false sense of security | George Magnus One day, there may be a big policy decision to be made about a devaluation. Whether or not that’s the case, I reckon the RMB-US dollar rate will continue to trade lower. At the risk of hostage to fortune, say 7 before the end of the year. Then re-assess.
China Factory Gauge Suspended, This Time ‘Indefinitely’ – Bloomberg The Minxin indexes were previously released on the 21st day of each month, ahead of China’s official PMI, which the NBS releases on the first day of the month. When the gauges were suspended in December, the publishers said they would make a “major adjustment” to their calculations. The gauges resumed in January. The statement Thursday didn’t make reference to resuming publication or changing the methodology. “We are facing some pressure,” Jia Kang, director of the Beijing-based academy, said by phone Thursday, declining to offer more elaboration. “It’s difficult to say.”
独家∣首只SDR计价债券有望8月底发行金融频道财新网 一家国际开发机构正在筹备在中国银行间市场发行首只SDR计价债券，对增强SDR的使用有重要意义；目前G20各方对完善国际金融架构的主要议题已经基本形成共识
Chinese Buyers Plant a Flag in the U.S. Suburbs – Barron’s For the second year in a row, a National Association of Realtors survey shows Chinese nationals—including ones from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the mainland—dominating the ranks of international home buyers in the U.S., with purchases of 29,195 homes totaling about $27 billion from April 2015 through March 2016. The second-place Canadians bought 26,851 homes totaling only $9 billion, preferring vacation locales to homes in pricey suburbs, in states from New York to California to Washington.
Chinese flock to America to work for companies they’ve bought – Jul. 21, 2016 “We’ve seen a huge surge,” said Bernard Wolfsdorf, founder and managing partner of a U.S.-based immigration law firm. “Chinese companies are investing very heavily in America, and [they are] bringing in key executives and employees.” The U.S. granted 10,258 L-series visas to Chinese workers and their family members in 2015, more than four times the number approved in 2005, according to an analysis of government data by CNNMoney.
China’s Giant Said to Lead Group Bidding for Caesars Online Unit – Bloomberg Caesars Interactive is one of the largest players in the market for casino-style games on Facebook, with titles such as Slotomania and Bingo Blitz. The business is projected to generate earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of more than $360 million this year, according to one of the people. That’s an increase of at least 27 percent from the $282.7 million ebitda reported for last year, according to a filing.
Anbang Defies Insurance Downturn With Surging Premiums-Caixin Even as its rivals struggle to boost sales amid a crackdown on risky investment-linked policies, secretive financial conglomerate Anbang is having a bumper year
In China, a Robot’s Place Is in the Kitchen – WSJ Luo Jun of the Beijing-based International Robotics and Intelligent Equipment Industry Alliance says there are now around 800 Chinese companies involved in robotics. Mr. Luo views them scornfully, saying that many just serve as resale agents. Fewer than 100 actually make their own products, he says.
央企层面改革全面铺开 横向整合、易主转型成重组热点-新闻-上海证券报·中国证券网 国务院国资委日前宣布，由中国国新、诚通集团、中煤集团、神华集团出资组建的国源煤炭资产管理有限公司成立运行，作为央企煤炭资产管理平台配合化解过剩产能，落实供给侧结构性改革。而自本月以来，国旅并入港中旅、中粮重组中纺，以及第二批央企改革试点密集落地，央企层面的各项改革正全面铺开。
POLITICS AND LAW
President Xi’s Assault on China’s Security Services: Grasping Tightly the Key Levers of Power-Christopher K. Johnson | The Sinocism China Newsletter President and Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s relentless purge of the regime’s security services is not simply a crass political power play. It likely reflects his deeply held convictions about the nature of power within the CCP and the security services’ status as a tool—and occasionally a weapon—to be wielded by the Party rather than an independent fiefdom with questionable loyalty to its political master.
独家：中共打击极左团体 平衡整肃炎黄春秋引争议 【博闻社北京报道】中共党内改革派媒体《炎黄春秋》遭当局以换领导班子为由强行整肃之际，北京又传出消息，中共高层下令整肃“中国红色文化发展促进会”，该会打着“弘扬红色文化”的旗号，不但在全国进行商业营销，还大肆进行政治活动，成为内地左派基地，对党和政府的方针政策造成干扰。
社会主义是干出来的–观点–人民网 回首既往，我们攻坚克难、屡建奇功，除了实干，别无密钥。展望未来，实现第一个百年奋斗目标胜利在望，中华民族积蓄的能量已久，正在爆发出来去实现伟大的中国梦。多一分实干精神、少一分清谈之风，立足本职接续奋斗，我们必能为实现中国梦汇聚起磅礴力量。 《 人民日报 》（ 2016年07月25日 01 版）
人民网评：习总书记发出“动员令”，中国人民出发“新长征”–观点–人民网 “中华民族积蓄的能量太久了，要爆发出来去实现伟大的中国梦。”长征没有终点，永远在路上。新的长征不再是“被迫”，而是富有战略定力、政治定力的“主动”，我们当不忘初心，继续前进，怀揣“乌蒙磅礴走泥丸”的信心，胸怀“长缨在手缚苍龙”的豪迈，在实现中国梦的历史进程中，奏响万众一心创伟业的铿锵乐章。
人民日报大篇幅刊登回访报道，习近平这十句不只是说给宁夏的中南海澎湃新闻-The Paper 细读这篇题为《回访习近平总书记宁夏考察：“社会主义是干出来的”》的文章，里面有不少独家信息。 尤其文中披露的习近平“新语”，其意义早已超越宁夏一地，更不只是说给宁夏人民听的- 1、全党全国人民要记住这一句：走好新的长征路 – 4、党建工作要记住这一句：产业链上设立党组织 – 7、宗教界人士要记住这一句：积极引导宗教与社会主义社会相适应 – 10、各行各业的你我要记住这句话：中华民族积蓄的能量太久了，要爆发出来去实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
PLA unveils new weapons for air and sea combat following Hague tribunal ruling | South China Morning Post The Southern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army unveiled a series of new weapons for sea and air combat during a visit by top military officers. In a rare revelation, the weapons were shown on state television in the wake of a landmark international tribunal rejecting Beijing’s claims to almost all of the South China Sea. Military experts said the disclosure was intended to show that the newly formed Southern Theatre Command, which covers the South China Sea, was well-prepared for any potential military confrontation with the US.
央视首次公布我国中程反导试验珍贵画面新闻腾讯网 西出阳关廿六载，为国铸剑固天疆。西北某基地研究员陈德明入伍以来，坚持以强军为己任，身处大漠戈壁，眼盯未来战场，心装打赢使命，勇于锐意创新，参与执行数百发导弹武器飞行试验任务，牵头完成“中段反导靶场试验技术”等几十个重大项目，为加快我军新型作战力量建设，提升我军新质作战能力贡献突出，被誉为“用创新助推强军兴军的科研先锋”。
Some Chinese are cheering for Donald Trump because he will “mess up the US” and let China pull ahead — Quartz Still, the Global Times, a People’s Daily offshoot, reports that readers of guancha.cn, a Chinese site focused on politics and social issues are rooting for Trump. Why? Because they believe he “will mess up the US and allow China to overtake the US as soon as possible.” // Guancha is funded by Eric X Li, no?
A Chinese Reporter at the Republican National Convention – The New Yorker Radio Hour – WNYC Evan Osnos, a New Yorker staff writer and the author of “Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China,” has spent a good deal of time reporting on the rapid changes taking place in modern-day China. Now back in the United States covering politics, he spent this past week at the Republican National Convention. There, he caught up with the journalist Yuanan Zhang of Caixin, which she calls “a combination of Economist and Bloomberg,” and spoke about why a Trump Presidency might make democracy a harder sell in China.
Republican convention sends disturbing message – Global Times As a master of manipulating negativity, he is capitalizing on the confusion and insecurity of the US working class. By inviting to the convention grieving parents whose children were killed by illegal immigrants and Benghazi radicals, furious cops whose colleagues were shot dead by extremists, and some demagogues who are good at whipping up angry hysteria, the entire event was rife with excoriation of the Obama government – and the actual message is that Hillary Clinton would be worse. The really disturbing message the convention has presented is that the GOP platform, in a 66-page policy document, seems to have given in to Trump’s wackiness.
China tells Japan no intervention in S. China Sea – Xinhua Stressing that the South China Sea arbitration is “illegal and invalid” from very beginning to end, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said China’s rejection of the award is indeed in accordance with the international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. “Japan is not a party to the South China Sea issue, and considering its shameful history, it has no rights whatsoever to accuse China on the matter,” he said.
China’s High-Speed Rail Diplomacy: Riding a Gravy Train? Agatha Kratz and Dragan Pavlićević King’s College London – Publications
Kurt Campbell on The Pivot – YouTube National Committee on U.S.-China Relations
Pokémon Go Is At The Center Of An International Incident Because Of Course It Is – BuzzFeed News The Chinese group that took over the Yasukuni Shrine’s gym in Japan told BuzzFeed News that it was an impromptu move as they were exploring the newly-released Japanese server.
Fact Check: Ads accuse Mo. AG hopeful of helping Chinese company – KMOV.com The theme of these ads, paid for by Super PACs from places like Georgia and Virginia, accused Sen. Schaefer of allowing Chinese corporations to purchase farmland in Missouri. One of the farms sold to a Chinese corporation was Smithfield Foods in 2013. As a large corporation, Smithfield owns more than 50,000 acres in Missouri and more nationwide for their plants.
中国军网中国军视网联合推出大型网络专题《雄关漫道》 – 中国军网 雄关漫道真如铁，而今迈步从头越。为纪念长征胜利80周年，中国军网、中国军视网今天联合推出大型历史专题《雄关漫道——纪念红军长征胜利80周年》，PC版、手机版同步上线，支持无障碍跨屏浏览。 该专题以毛泽东经典诗词为纲，串联起“承继”“评说”“信史”“寻根”“铭记”五大板块，气势恢宏，富有史诗韵味。
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
Joshua Wong and 2 Others Convicted Over Their Roles in Hong Kong Protests – The New York Times The judge, June Cheung, released the three men on bail until their sentencing, which is set for Aug. 15. They face a maximum of two years in prison, although the ultimate punishment may be considerably lighter; the judge is seeking a report from probation officers on whether community service might be a suitable alternative.
More young Hongkongers back independence and are less supportive of peaceful protest, poll shows | South China Morning Post Almost one in every five Hong Kong residents believe that the city should go independent after 2047, a poll conducted by the Chinese University found. The university’s journalism school interviewed 1,010 residents from July 6 to 15, on their views about Hong Kong’s future. It also discovered that young people are becoming less supportive of fighting for political reform in a “peaceful and non-violent” manner.
TECH AND MEDIA
北京市网信办责令多家网站整改 部分违规栏目被关停国内新京报网 日前，北京市网信办对属地新浪、搜狐、网易、凤凰等网站在提供互联网新闻信息服务中存在的大量违法违规行为提出严厉批评，责令网站限期整改。相关负责人表示，被责令限期整改的频道栏目严重违反《互联网新闻信息服务管理规定》，均大量登载自行采编的新闻信息，且违规行为严重，影响十分恶劣。 // Beijing branch of the Cyber Administration orders Sina, Sohu, Netease and iFeng to rectify their news channels, shut /investigative/news gathering operations. Since these firms are registered in Beijing the local CAC branch is their direct regulator…
Apple’s China Problem Is That Local Phones are Good — and Cheap – Bloomberg It’s been almost two years since the Cupertino, California-based company revamped the iPhone for the sixth generation. In the meantime, rivals like Huawei and Xiaomi Corp. have developed their own cheaper products with similar specifications, while the relative success of the iPhone 6 has made it harder for Apple to sustain its growth rates. After forecasting a second consecutive quarterly sales tumble in April, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook will reveal the extent of the decline when he reports earnings July 26. China generates about a quarter of Apple’s revenue, and deterioration there accounted for much of the sales drop.
China Moves Closer to Lift QR Code Payments Ban-Caixin Central bank is drafting technology and security standards for mobile payments using QR codes that will help resolve two years of regulatory limbo
两大漏洞报告平台突然关闭：乌云和漏洞盒子停业安全比特网 Wooyun & Vulbox, two China’s software vulnerability platforms shuttered by government, rumors of hacked Party files, founder a founder fleeing abroad… // 猎云网今日获悉，国内知名漏洞报告平台乌云今日凌晨出现无法访问的情况，之后网站公告显示，乌云及相关服务将升级。与此同时，企业级互联网测试平台漏洞盒子于昨日宣布，暂停接受互联网漏洞与威胁情报。这意味着国内两大知名漏洞报告平台先后进入“暂停”状态，但具体原因尚不明确。
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Weibo Netizens Show Support for Shanghai Restaurant Harassed By Muslim “Noodle Gang” | What’s on Weibo The people who harassed him claimed to be muslim representatives of Shanghai’s beef noodle shops and demanded the owner to leave. According to owner Xian, he was told that his own life and that of his family would be in danger if he would not close his business. As reported by Sixth Tone, the people told him he needed to shut down his business because it allegedly violated the so-called “Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia treaty”, which claims that there should be no other beef noodles restaurant within 400 meters of a Hui muslim restaurant.
Facing the Motherland is bittersweet for China’s emigres | Reuters Scores of China-born athletes have switched citizenship in the two decades since the Asian powerhouse returned to the Olympic fold in 1984, driven by stiff competition for national team places that has shut out many aspiring Olympians. The Chinese emigres are most apparent in the table tennis tournament at Rio, where China is expected to dominate as usual.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
China tried to drive a furry mammal to extinction. Maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. – The Washington Post Only now are some people in China realizing they may have made a huge mistake — just as some people in the United States have concluded that the mass extermination of prairie dogs might not have been such a great idea after all. Indeed, the plateau pika is the scapegoat for much deeper, man-made problems, a symptom, some Western scientists say, of decades of environmental mismanagement by China’s Communist Party, which threw out the natural balance that had endured on these grasslands for thousands of years. Just like the prairie dog, the plateau pika — which has not been wiped out yet, by any means — is what environmentalists call a keystone species, playing a crucial role in the ecosystem that sustains life.
China struggles with vaccine shortage after safety crackdown — FT.com Chinese parents are being refused vaccines for their children as shortages force doctors to ration supplies, amid government attempts to cut out private middlemen following a vaccine safety scandal this year. Parents have resorted to travelling from clinic to clinic in search of vaccines, with some turned away until September when a new distribution system is expected to come online.
Family argument in wildlife park leaves woman dead after she leaves car and gets eaten by tiger The attack took place at Badaling Wildlife World on Saturday when one of the women left the vehicle following an altercation, Chinanews.com reported. A tiger attacked her, prompting the second woman to go and try to save her. Another tiger then mauled the second woman to death, before carrying off her body. The first woman was injured in the attack. / with the video of the tiger dragging her off
Electric-Vehicle Makers Hit By Battery Troubles After Foreign Players Fail to Make Govt. List-Caixin Two major South Korean battery makers have lost Chinese clients after they were refused a Chinese government license, which may disqualify them from subsidies
EDUCATION
CPC to boost presence in primary, middle school education – Xinhua Communist Party of China (CPC) organizations at various levels have been told to strengthen “Party building” in elementary and middle schools and integrate their work into all aspects of the schools’ education and operations. A circular jointly released on Friday by the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee and the Ministry of Education said that Party organizations should effectively participate in school decision-making and supervision, and Party officials and school administrators should cooperate and even switch posts.
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