"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. Lawmakers Raise Questions About Wanda’s Chinese Investment in Hollywood | Variety The latest salvo came in a letter from 16 members of Congress last week, which called for closer scrutiny of Chinese investment in the U.S. entertainment and media sectors. The letter cited the Dalian Wanda Group’s acquisitions of Legendary Entertainment, AMC and Carmike Cinemas, and warned of “growing concerns” of Chinese efforts to exert “propaganda controls on American media.”..
Related: Wanda Accused of Using Foreign Money in Beverly Hills Ballot Fight | Variety The Dalian Wanda Group is accused in a new complaint of using foreign money to influence the outcome of a ballot measure in Beverly Hills. UNITE HERE Local 11, which represents hotel workers, filed the complaint on Thursday with the California Fair Political Practices Commission and the Federal Election Commission. It accuses the Wanda Group of funneling overseas money into a committee to oppose a ballot measure sponsored by the Beverly Hilton.
Related: Wanda Group partners with Sony Pictures, giving China’s richest man a leg up in Hollywood – LA Times The Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group announced a partnership with Sony Pictures on Friday, giving it some creative control over upcoming Sony films and underscoring China’s rapidly rising influence in Hollywood. Wanda, which is led by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, will invest an undisclosed amount in Sony Pictures and “highlight the China element in the films in which it invests,” the company said in a statement.
Related: Dick Clark Productions in Talks for $1 Billion China Sale Dick Clark Productions, producer of the Golden Globe Awards and other Hollywood awards, is looking to sell to a Chinese buyer at a $1 billion valuation, an individual familiar with the talks told TheWrap. Hedge fund manager Todd Boehly, a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers, spun off the production company along with the money-losing trade The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard magazine in December from Guggenheim Partners, where he served as president. //Boehly a DC native, Landon class of 1991
2. Baosteel-WISCO Merger Marks Beginning of Steel Industry Transformation-Caixin The proposed merger of China’s second-largest and most profitable steelmaker, Shanghai-based Baosteel Group, with its money-losing smaller rival, Wuhan Iron & Steel Group (WISCO), will create an industry behemoth. But it may be just the beginning of a new wave of government-backed consolidation in the fragmented and inefficient steel industry, according to sources close to regulators. It also looks to be a first step in Beijing’s pledge to cut excess capacity, which trading partners blame for the global steel glut. In 2015, the sector has been using just two-thirds of its capacity, according to the China Iron and Steel Association. China’s steel profits have been shrinking since 2012, and last year the industry’s profit margin fell to minus 2 percent. About half of the major steel companies reported losses…Top executives of the two companies were notified by SASAC of the planned merger in mid-June, about a week before the companies suspended share trading in Shanghai for the restructuring, the source said. “The notice leaves no room for discussion,” the source said. “It just informed (the companies) the decision of SASAC, requiring the companies to merge.” // I think the term for that is diktat…does the resumption of more supportive credit and fiscal policies and stimulus mean supply-side structural reform is already dead, or that they can’t push too hard on it without crashing the economy, so they are stuck between a rock and a hard place, as they have been for a long time? Can’t wait for the speculation this is a sign of “resistance” to Xi…
Related: Nationwide inspection prioritizes structural reform: state councilor – Xinhua State Councilor Yang Jing said on Monday that the current State Council nationwide inspection should focus on maintaining steady economic development and advancing supply-side structural reform. Priorities of the nationwide inspection should also include the implementation of innovation-driven development and polices to improve people’s well-being, said Yang, who chaired a meeting on the inspection.
Related: China unveils major projects to boost growth – Xinhua Provincial projects worth more than 1 trillion yuan (149.25 billion U.S. dollars) were launched this week as China strives to boost growth, Shanghai Securities News reported Friday. The projects are mostly infrastructure-related,
Related: China’s housing market to remain robust in 2017, says Citigroup | South China Morning Post China’s housing market will remain robust next year, despite already hitting new highs in 2016 as the central government moved to maintain market sentiment while clearing an oversupply of units in smaller cities, according to Citigroup. “Unsold stock will only be cut if home prices keep rising, so there’s no doubt the physical market will keep thriving in 2017,” Oscar Choi, head of Asia-Pacific property at Citi Research, told a real estate conference in Hong Kong. Choi and his team have been named as best property analysts for the past seven years by Institutional Investor magazine.
3. Government Plans Massive Relocation to Fight Poverty-Caixin Chinese authorities said it will spend 950 billion yuan ($142.4 billion) to relocate about 16 million people out of poor areas nationwide as China strives to meet its poverty eradication goal by 2020, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Thursday. But only 9.8 million of those to be moved are below the poverty line, earning less than $2 a day, while the others have been ordered to move as part of the government relocation program.
Related: Mother’s Killing Her 4 Children Reveals Cracks in Anti-Poverty Drive-Caixin The deaths of four children at the hands of their poverty-stricken mother who then committed suicide has sparked outrage and an online debate about how corruption and red tape have undermined China’s poverty-alleviation efforts. The incident has led many to ask why the billions of yuan that has poured into China’s anti-poverty program had failed to reach the neediest. The family, among the poorest in their village, had received no government aid since 2014.
Related: Orphans of progress | 1843 Millions of Chinese children have been left behind in the countryside by parents drawn to the cities in search of employment
4. [视频]习近平在参观“英雄史诗 不朽丰碑”主题展览时强调 铭记红军丰功伟绩 弘扬伟大长征精神_CCTV央视网消息（新闻联播）：在中国工农红军长征胜利80周年之际，中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平23日前往中国人民革命军事博物馆，参观“英雄史诗 不朽丰碑——纪念中国工农红军长征胜利80周年主题展览”。他强调，80年前，中国共产党领导中国工农红军战胜千难万险，胜利完成举世闻名的二万五千里长征。这个伟大壮举将永远铭刻在中国革命和中华民族的史册上。红军长征胜利，充分展现了革命理想的伟大精神力量。现在，时代变了，条件变了，我们共产党人为之奋斗的理想和事业没有变。我们要铭记红军丰功伟绩，弘扬伟大长征精神，深入进行爱国主义教育和革命传统教育，引导广大干部群众坚定中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信，继续在实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标、实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的新长征路上万众一心、顽强拼搏、奋勇前进。// Xinhua-Xi stresses Long March spirit in realizing national rejuvenation — 80th anniversary of the Long March this year
5. Chinese Court Sentences Ai Weiwei’s Lawyer to 12 Years for Fraud – The New York Times The lawyer, Xia Lin, and his wife and supporters strongly rejected the prosecutors’ claim that he had defrauded people, and said the case was part of the government’s campaign to silence Chinese rights lawyers who have challenged arbitrary state power. There had been little doubt that the court in Beijing would declare Mr. Xia guilty: Defendants in politically sensitive cases rarely, if ever, walk free in China.
Related: 司法部关于律所和律师的6条最新禁令，我只看看，不说话。 screws turned even tighter on legal profession…new rules for law firms and their partners just announced
Related: Beijing’s Disturbing Turn Against Personal Freedoms – The New York Times – Murong Xuecun While Beijing likes to give the impression to the outside world that the legal system is being reformed, there is no respect for the legal process when it comes to government critics. In the past few years, the justice system has devolved into a form of street-gang justice. In one recent egregious example, five employees of a Hong Kong-based bookseller known for selling books that needle the Beijing leadership disappeared, only to resurface later in the mainland, where they faced harsh interrogations and public humiliation.
Related: China should be proud of Wang Quanzhang – instead it persecutes him | The Guardian If the government is serious about there being room for the rule of law in China, it must immediately release Wang Quanzhang and dismiss all charges against him. We hope it is. For rights defenders like Wang and his colleagues – who any nation should be proud to have as citizens – a conviction will reaffirm that it is not. Michael Caster and Peter Dahlin are co-founders of the Chinese Urgent Action Working Group (China Action), which existed in China from 2009 until the beginning of 2016, when it was targeted by the Chinese government.
6. DARKENED SCREEN: Constraints on Foreign Journalists in China | PEN America The report also surfaces little known developments in American media companies’ responses to Chinese pressure, who have often redrawn their editing and review processes, the parameters of their coverage, and–in some cases–their Chinese-language news output in new ways that relate to such pressures.
7. China to make environmental protection management more efficient-State Council The Chinese central authorities will roll out a string of measures ranging from adjusting the management of local environmental protection agencies to evaluating officials based on their environmental protection performance, according to an official guideline published on Sept 22. The guideline, released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, aims to put more focus on environmental protection and make the current management of environmental protection agencies more efficient.
Related: 中办国办印发《关于省以下环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革试点工作的指导意见》–时政–人民网 9月22日电 近日，中共中央办公厅、国务院办公厅印发了《关于省以下环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革试点工作的指导意见》，并发出通知，要求各地区各部门结合实际认真贯彻落实。
Related: 省以下环保部门将垂直管理综合新京报网 9月22日，环保部公布了《关于省以下环保机构监测监察执法垂直管理制度改革试点工作的指导意见》，提出对省级以下环保机构监测监察执法实施“垂直管理”。这是十八大以来，我国第五个引入“省以下垂直管理”的领域。
8. Forged Document Used in Soccer Team Purchase, Bank Says-Caixin he Chinese group that bought Italian soccer team AC Milan for 740 million euros ($825 million) used a forged Bank of Dongguan document that promised financial support for the deal, the bank said today. In August, a consortium led by little-known Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co. Ltd. bought 99.93 percent of AC Milan from Fininvest, a privately owned company controlled by former Italian Prime Minister and billionaire businessman Silvio Berlusconi.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
JPMorgan May Face New Scrutiny in China Hiring Case – The New York Times With prosecutors, the bank appears to have scored a moral victory by avoiding criminal charges, the people briefed on the matter said. Instead of facing charges, the bank negotiated a rare nonprosecution agreement.
China Starts Default-Swap Trading as Buffer Against Failures – Bloomberg The People’s Bank of China has approved rules governing CDS trading in the nation’s interbank market, according to a statement from the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, a unit under the central bank. The purpose is to help diversify credit risks and facilitate healthy development of the market, the statement said.
深圳二手房价上涨卖主悔约 不服判决冲击法院被捕财经腾讯网 handful of Shenzhen homeowners who backed out of sale agreements because prices kept rising, then lost court cases bought by the buyers, detained for protesting outside the court…might teach them that contracts actually matter…
Investing in Chinese Stocks—投资大中华地区股市: Chinese Company Sells Beijing Apartments to Avoid Delisting Nanjing Putian Telecommunications Co., a state-owned manufacturer of computer wires and videoconferencing equipment, announced in a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange last night that it is selling two apartments it owns in central Beijing. The company gave no reasons for the move, other than describing it as an “asset sale.” To some analysts, however, the sale is likely an attempt by Nanjing Putian to hold on to its listing on the Shenzhen exchange.
enodo economics Enodo Economics was founded in 2016 by Diana Choyleva, a globally respected economist, who has been forecasting developments in China and the world since 2000.
China Ends Complete Ban on Beef From U.S. as Imports Explode – Bloomberg China removed a ban on shipments of some U.S. beef products, opening up the trade for the first time since 2003 as the country sees a surge in imports of the meat. The ban on imports of U.S. bone-in beef and boneless beef for livestock under 30 months has been removed, with conditions, effective immediately, according to a statement on Thursday from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. Imports must follow requirements under China’s traceability, inspection and quarantine systems, it said.
Xinhuanet.com Gets Green Light for IPO-Caixin Chinese securities regulators have approved a request by Xinhuanet.com, the website of China’s official news agency, for an initial public offering on the Shanghai stock exchange, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said late Friday. Xinhuanet.com had said in June it planned to issue 51.9 million shares in an offering worth about 1.49 billion yuan ($223 million). Xinhau has been waiting in line for China’s IPO approval since 2013.
POLITICS AND LAW
Provincial boss ordered crackdown on China’s ‘democracy village’ with eye on national power | Reuters A source close to senior officials in Guangdong said Hu opted to take a harder line on Wukan to minimize risks to his prospects and any perception of weakness from a repeat of the climb-down in 2011. He took that option after leaders in Beijing made clear they wanted it suppressed, said a second source with central leadership ties. “The central leadership held a meeting (recently) and decided that Wukan should be dealt with appropriately,” the source said, adding that Hu was facing a delicate situation.
独家:陈光标->李源潮？前中组部副部长沈跃跃排前面 Boxun running with the speculation that the recent Caixin expose of Chen Guangbiao really signals the end is near for Shen Yueyue and eventually Li Yuanchao, as part of the continuing dismantling of the CYL influence…soggy tea leaves are hard to read…but given Caixin’s history of running stories that foreshadow much bigger takedowns by Wang Qishan, speculation is both rife and not unjustified // 消息人士指，陈光标是中共上一朝由令计划一手挖掘包装，由当时最高领导人亲自树立和推销的“模范标兵”式的人物，不光令计划本人与陈有亲密接触，胡锦涛、温家宝等高层都单独接见过陈，所以，虽然陈光标非中共体制中人，但是拿陈光标当靶子打，是最容易“顺理成章”对令计划为首的前朝重臣进行“剥洋葱”的。 消息人士对博闻社指，习近平、王岐山要彻底肃清令计划为首的所谓“共青团系”在党内的影响势力，现任政治局委员李源潮是一个不得不正视的障碍。“几乎在财新网发出倒陈光标的长文同时，网上出现了李源潮与陈光标、令计划在一起的亲密合照，绝不应该视为是偶然的重合。”消息人士如此说道。
Fraud Allegations Test China’s Philanthropy | Sixth Tone An escalating dispute between a controversial Chinese philanthropist and a major news outlet has resurrected the question of fraud in China’s booming charity sector. Caixin Online, one of China’s leading business news outlets, published an article Tuesday questioning whether Chen Guangbiao was a top philanthropist or top scammer. The report cited unidentified critics who alleged that Chen reported donations that had never reached charitable causes.
China’s Xi Puts His Stamp on Communist Party With Promotions – Bloomberg The president’s reshuffle effort is still ongoing ahead of an annual party meeting in October, with 17 of 31 top regional officials replaced since April. Massive changes in the party’s senior ranks are expected in the lead up to next year’s party congress. While not all promoted leaders have explicit personal connections to Xi, the maneuvering reflect his leadership style. Here are a few notable moves so far:
For Mocking a Martyr, Chinese Blogger Runs Afoul of Beijing Court – The New York Times Once again, a Beijing court has ruled that tampering with the official narrative of a Communist hero is off limits. The hero this time is Qiu Shaoyun, a young soldier celebrated in Chinese textbooks for choosing to burn to death during the Korean War rather than betray his comrades’ positions. According to that account, written by a fellow soldier, Mr. Qiu was hiding in high grass before a planned attack in 1952, when an American incendiary bomb fell nearby. Instead of escaping, he held his ground and died a martyr. “This great soldier, till his last breadth, did not move or even moan,” the account reads.
中央网信办民政部发文：加强网信领域社会组织建设新闻中心中国网 《通知》要求各地网信、民政部门进一步统一思想、提高认识，把大力加强网信领域社会组织建设作为促进网信事业发展和社会组织管理创新的一项重要工作，摆上重要议事日程，主动创造有利于网信领域社会组织建设的条件，共同推动网信领域社会组织建设迈上新台阶。 《通知》要求省级、设区市两级网信部门和有条件的县级网信部门加快培育一批骨干社会组织，覆盖网络安全和信息化工作主要领域。各级民政部门要与网信部门紧密配合，优化服务，提高审核办理效能，并在法律法规允许的范围内简化登记程序，推动全国网信领域社会组织数量实现较快增长，积极构建结构合理、功能完善的社会组织发展格局。
Controversial scholars offer transition advice to Chinese leadership – Global Times Refusing to be categorized as the Chinese government’s brain trust, a group of independent Chinese scholars are being consulted by the country’s top leaders in hope of aiding the transition from “a government of omnipotence, mystery, power, caprice and interests,” to a transparent, responsible, neutral one which assumes limited power and has the trust of the people. As China Newsweek reported, the scholars are regularly invited to Zhongnanhai, the central government compound in Beijing, to discuss the transition with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, and deliver lectures to the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. // one of the articles, looks like the cover story not yet online 中国智囊贾康:国家要在制度层面保障公平竞争
中央批准：免去沈晓明同志的上海市委常委、委员职务 中国经济网上海9月14日综合报道（彭博） 据“上海观察”消息，今天（14日）下午，浦东新区召开党政负责干部会议，上海市委常委、组织部长徐泽洲宣布有关决定。沈晓明同志不再担任上海市委委员、常委以及浦东新区区委书记，调离上海、另有任用。 澎湃新闻网披露，沈晓明同志将任教育部党组副书记。
河北省委常委、政法委书记董仚生辞去副省长职务(图|简历)国内新闻环球网 经济网石家庄9月23日综合报道(彭博) 据河北日报消息，9月22日下午，省十二届人大常委会第二十三次会议闭幕。会议通过了关于接受董仚生辞去省人民政府副省长职务请求的决定。
“救火”书记李亿龙被捕 曾参与调查衡阳破坏选举案_凤凰资讯 2016年9月23日，湖南省人民检察院依法以涉嫌受贿罪、贪污罪对湖南省委农村工作领导小组原副组长李亿龙决定逮捕。案件侦查工作正在进行中。因全程参与衡阳破坏选举案调查处理，曾被称为“救火”书记。
Insider Gives Rare Look Into Chinese VIP Prison | Sixth Tone It’s not often the outside world gets a peek into Yancheng Prison, a facility housing foreigners and high-profile lawbreakers such as government officials. But on Thursday a public account on messaging app WeChat shared a set of photos it claims show life inside the compound. The prison, located in Sanhe City in northern China’s Hebei province, is one of two in China run directly by the central government. The other one, Qingcheng Prison located in Beijing, is home to Bo Xilai and other high-level political prisoners, such as the so-called tigers in president Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption campaign. // “长安剑”探访燕城监狱:床体没棱角 工厂用5S模式_网易新闻
被控受贿1977万余元 福建原副省长徐钢受审当庭认罪–法制网 据安徽合肥市中级人民法院官方微博消息，合肥市中院22日一审公开开庭审理了福建省人民政府原副省长徐钢受贿一案。徐钢被控受贿1977万余元，当庭表示认罪、悔罪。 安徽省合肥市人民检察院起诉指控：2002年至2013年，被告人徐钢利用担任福建省人民政府副秘书长、福建省交通厅厅长、中共泉州市委书记职务上的便利以及职权和地位形成的便利条件，
辽宁省人大常委会原委员尹亮涉嫌严重违纪被调查————要闻——中央纪委监察部网站 据辽宁省纪委消息：经辽宁省委批准，省人大常委会原委员、抚顺矿业集团有限公司原董事长、总经理尹亮涉嫌严重违纪，目前正接受组织调查。
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Chinese Premier defends country’s justice system during Ottawa visit – The Globe and Mail Mr. Li, the first Chinese leader to visit Canada in six years, is on a mission to forge closer ties. That included announcements to start exploratory talks on free trade, the settling of a canola dispute and pledges to double trade by 2025. But China’s No. 2 leader was adamant that high on his bilateral agenda is an extradition treaty to seek the return of fugitives accused of economic crimes. More than 40 other countries, including France and Australia, have signed such treaties, he said.
Canada and China deepening economic ties by embarking on possible free trade deal | Financial Post At a joint press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, the two leaders said they aim to double trade by 2025 and had resolved longstanding issues of access for Canadian beef and canola to China, while several companies signed commercial deals. They also announced talks aimed at an eventual free trade agreement.
Chinese champ’s husband leaves tap running in ‘attack’ on Japan：The Asahi Shimbun Chinese pingpong champion Wang Nan says her husband was right to leave the faucet running in a Japanese hotel to waste water as revenge over Japan for invading China 85 years ago. “It was really satisfying to keep the water running in a Japanese hotel,” the husband gleefully posted on the Chinese microblog Weibo. “When I went to Japan, I did not use any Japanese goods, including electronic appliances,” the businessman also said in the post he put up Sept. 18.
Testimony before the Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee—Hearing on “Seapower and Projection Forces in the South China Sea” | Andrew S. Erickson Andrew S. Erickson, “The South China Sea’s Third Force: Understanding and Countering China’s Maritime Militia,” Testimony before the House Armed Services Committee Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Hearing on Seapower and Projection Forces in the South China Sea, Washington, DC, 21 September 2016.
Chinese deep-sea explorer ship completes maiden voyage – Xinhua The Chinese deep-sea research ship Zhang Jian returned to her home port in Shanghai after finishing a 74-day scientific research trip to the Southern Pacific. The vessel is the mothership for the Rainbow Fish, a manned submersible capable of diving to 11,000 meters. During its 9,000 nautical-mile maiden voyage, the research vessel travelled across the South China Sea and the Pacific Ocean to reach the New Britain Trench, which is more than 8,000 meters-deep in the Solomon Sea near Papua New Guinea.
“一带一路”：习近平打开的“筑梦空间”-新华网 在不久前举行的推进“一带一路”建设工作座谈会上，习近平要求：“以钉钉子精神抓下去，一步一步把‘一带一路’建设推向前进，让‘一带一路’建设造福沿线各国人民。” 习近平为何如此看重“一带一路”建设？自他发出沿线国家和地区共建“一带一路”倡议三年来，都取得了哪些进展？ 新华网《学习进行时》原创品牌栏目“讲习所”今天推出《“一带一路”：习近平打开的“筑梦空间”》，为您讲述古老而崭新的丝绸之路故事。
Philippines seeks Duterte visits to Japan, China next month | Reuters Diplomats in the Philippines are in talks with counterparts in Japan and China to arrange visits by controversial President Rodrigo Duterte at the end of next month, officials in Manila said on Friday. Dates were still being worked out for the proposed trips by the outspoken leader, several officials said, remaining anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to media.
Domestically-designed drones help with South China Sea geological surveys – People’s Daily Online China is now capable of deploying domestically-designed drones to the waters around Diaoyu Island and the South China Sea for surveying and mapping, an industry expert revealed on Sept. 20.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
U.N. agency snubs Taiwan, recognizing Beijing’s ‘one China’ | Reuters The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said arrangements for the assembly, scheduled for Sept. 27 to Oct. 7 in Montreal, did not follow the pattern ahead of a meeting in 2013, when China had asked for Taiwan to be invited. “ICAO follows the United Nations’ ‘One China’ policy,” the agency’s communications chief, Anthony Philbin, told Reuters in an email.
Sidelined at the U.N., a Frustrated Taiwan Presses On – The New York Times This week, Taiwanese diplomats began a campaign to ask Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to press the United Nations secretary general into allowing Taiwan to join bodies like the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Such efforts, most experts agree, will likely be for naught. Vincent Wei-Cheng Wang, a Taiwan-born political scientist at Ithaca College, said China had been increasingly assertive in denying Taipei a role in international affairs, thwarting the aspirations of one of the world’s most advanced economies and a vibrant democracy.
TECH AND MEDIA
WeChat Tests Feature Allowing Mobile Services Without Apps-Caixin WeChat, the most widely used messaging and social media app in China, is testing a new feature that will allow users to access a variety of mobile services without downloading separate apps. Experts said the move may affect the business of major smartphone app distributors such as the online Apple Store. WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd., said on its official microblog on Thursday that businesses can start applying to test the feature, which it calls Xiaochengxu, or “Little Program.”
China Money Network − China IC Fund-Backed Entity Acquires Analogix Semiconductor For $500M An investor consortium led by Chinese private equity firm Beijing Shanhai Capital Management Co, Ltd. has agreed to acquire Santa Clara, California-headquartered Analogix Semiconductor, Inc. for over US$500 million with plans to list the company in China soon. China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co., Ltd. (China IC Fund) is one of Shanhai Capital’s limited partners.
Alibaba to launch world’s first e-commerce satellite in 2017 – People’s Daily Online Juhuasuan.com, a group shopping website affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, recently announced plans to launch the world’s very first e-commerce satellite. The project is in cooperation with the China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology and the China Space Museum. These three parties aim to further develop space exploration with the help of both space technology and e-commerce data. According to the report, Juhuasuan.com plans to provide consumers with the world’s best vegetables after analyzing agricultural cultivation and harvesting data provided by satellites.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Yao Ming Appointed to Post in New Basketball Company-Caixin Yao has not said whether he will accept the post. Five months earlier, Yao said the arrangement would do little to boost the sport. Li Jinsheng, deputy director of the Basketball Management Center at the General Administration of Sports, which oversees all athletics activities in the country, was appointed chairman of the new venture on Thursday, state broadcaster China Central Television reported. Also at the venture’s shareholders meeting, shareholders approved the company’s constitution, which gives the state 30 percent control and each of the 20 pro teams a 3.5 percent stake.
‘Botched’ Repair to China’s Great Wall Provokes Outrage – The New York Times A once unkempt, haunting 700-year-old stretch of the wall now looks like a cement skateboarding lane dumped in the wilderness. The aesthetic impact was “not ideal,” the head of the provincial cultural relics bureau, Ding Hui, conceded, according to The Beijing News. “The repairs really don’t look good,” he said.
Artist Zeng Fanzhi on the Evolution of His Work and China’s Art Market – The New York Times Last weekend, the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing unveiled “Zeng Fanzhi: Parcours,” a major retrospective that runs through Nov. 19…And, for the first time in China, the show displays Mr. Zeng’s most recent works — a series of ink on paper — which signal a shift by the artist toward an engagement with ancient Chinese painting. // everyone seems to be moving towards ink on paper…more in tune with Chinese collectors…
人民日报评论员：建设更有活力的妇联组织–评论-人民网 随着《全国妇联改革方案》近日正式印发，各级妇联组织迎来“改革时间”。推进妇联组织改革，是党中央的重大战略部署，是党的群团工作发展的重要里程碑，也是我国妇女事业发展的重大历史机遇。
Chinese teen starves mother to death in fury at brutal Internet addiction boot camp – The Washington Post A 16-year-old Chinese girl starved her mother to death after tying her to a chair for a week, in fury at being sent to an Internet addiction treatment center where she was beaten and mistreated, Chinese media reported. Treatment centers aimed at curing teens of Internet addiction or other behavioral problems have become popular in China, but many are poorly regulated, military-style “boot camps,” where corporal punishment is common, media reports say. They have become increasingly controversial since a series of scandals broke in recent years.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Chinese space station set to fall out of sky. How did that happen? – CSMonitor.com Chinese officials appear to have admitted they lost control of the Tiangong-1, the country’s first space station.
Tiangong-2: China fires up science payloads | gbtimes.com ChinaTiangong-2 Tiangong-2: China fires up science payloads ANDREW JONES 2016/09/23 A rendering of China’ Tiangong-2 space lab in orbit. (Photo: CMSE) TAGS: Tiangong-2China’s space programNational Space Science CenterChinese Academy of Sciences twitter facebook google email RSS Science and space application payloads aboard China’s second space laboratory, Tiangong-2, came online on Thursday after a week on standby in orbit. Tiangong-2 was launched on September 15 from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, with the main aim of testing advanced life support systems, repair and maintenance functions, and the refuelling capabilities necessary for sustaining a long-term human presence in space.
An Expert on Chinese Medicine, but No New Age Healer – The New York Times Mr. Unschuld is a challenge to both ways of thinking. He has just finished a 28-year English translation of the three principal parts of the foundational work of Chinese medicine: the Huangdi Neijing, or Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, published by the University of California Press. But unlike many of the textbooks used in Chinese medicine schools in the West, Mr. Unschuld’s works are monuments to the art of serious translation; he avoids New Age jargon like “energy” or familiar Western medical terms like “pathogens,” seeing both as unfair to the ancient writers and their worldviews. But this reflects a deep respect for the ancient authors the detractors of Chinese medicine sometimes lack. Mr. Unschuld hunts down obscure terms and devises consistent terminologies that are sometimes not easy to read, but are faithful to the original text. Almost universally, his translations are regarded as trailblazing — making available, for the first time in a Western language, the complete foundational works of Chinese medicine from up to 2,000 years ago.
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ISSUES
农业部 国家转基因检测中心多处违规已暂停工作国内新京报网 近日，中国农业科学院北京畜牧兽医研究所肄业博士研究生魏景亮实名举报“国家转基因检测中心造假”引起广泛关注，9月20日上午农业部派联合调查组，对举报问题进行调查。昨日下午5时，农业部在官方网站通报了检查结果。经调查组核查，该中心在材料准备、档案整理、人员聘用等方面存在违规行为。
FOOD AND TRAVEL
Duck de Chine Nabs a Place on ‘Best Restaurants in the World’ List | the Beijinger In its list of “The World’s Best Restaurants,” published Tuesday by the US-based magazine, described as “Two hundred and seven of the greatest restaurants around the globe, according to those who eat, cook, and travel for a living,” Duck de Chine is the only Beijing eatery included, and one of just six from China on the list. Shanghai had none (suck it!), and the only other non-Hong Kong restaurant is in Chengdu. // decent but think overrated/overpriced
Shanghai Restaurant Wins Michelin Star, Closes Down Day Later | Sixth Tone Yu Hailan, a 60-year-old retiree living on the floor above Taian Table, told Sixth Tone conflicts between the restaurant and the neighbors began when it opened in April. The restaurant is located in a residential neighborhood in a part of Shanghai known as the former French Concession. Taian Table had redecorated the first floor of an apartment block to give the restaurant a vaguely European veneer, but neighbors were anything but charmed by its proximity to their homes. The neighborhood’s residents in May sent an appeal letter to several district and municipal departments listing problems such as noise and air pollution caused by the kitchen’s ventilators. They also pointed out that the restaurant didn’t have the proper business license. Dozens of residents signed the appeal.
Is Rockville the new Chinatown? – Bethesda Magazine – September-October 2016 – Bethesda, MD big fan of east dumpling house
BEIJING
Beijing Subway Finally Plans Testing Late-Night Trains | the Beijinger Yesterday, the City Transportation Bureau told The Beijing News that Line 4 will be their first attempt at expanding the hours of the system, though specific dates were not released. This move can only lead to more lines being considered for later closing times, and a much-needed evolution of the city’s public transportation network. With all taxi app dudes being accused of being weirdos, this could not come at a better time.// they have gotten past the rumored worries about ghosts in the tunnels?
JOBS AND EVENTS
South China Morning Post, Correspondents (Washington & New York) job with South China Morning Post | 64332 The South China Morning Post is recruiting experienced full-time reporters in Washington and New York to expand our coverage of the business, trade, economic and diplomatic ties between China and the United States.
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