"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
ust links today:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Li Keqiang pushes for Asian free trade pact inside two years | South China Morning Post In separate speeches to two regional summits in Brunei yesterday, Li urged Asian nations to stick to their plan and complete talks on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) by the end of 2015. While attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the East Asia Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Li also raised concern about the prospect of the US defaulting on its debt, much of it held by China, Xinhua reported. Li mentioned his worries while meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry on the sidelines of the events…Observers said Li’s push for the RCEP indicated Beijing’s fear that its role in regional economic affairs might be diminished should the TPP be launched.
让“看不见的手”充分施展（人民观点） ——深化改革进行时之二 本报评论部–《 人民日报 》（ 2013年10月11日 05 版）“Let the invisible hand be fully put to use”…page 5 commentary from the People’s Daily commentary department, second in series about deepening reform// 以改革释放发展的红利，让市场成为增长的源泉，乃是“中国奇迹”步入“第二季”的唯一选项…然而，犹如怀胎之分娩、凤凰之涅槃，改革总要付出成本。根治“看得见的手”乱动的顽瘴痼疾，绕不开政府与企业、中央与地方、城镇与农村利益格局的全方位调整。勒住地方政府的“税收冲动”，无异深水之中除暗礁；剥离审批部门的“权力依恋”，不啻险滩之上啃骨头。但是，完善基本经济制度、加强市场体系建设，就必须忍受“调整的阵痛”、缓释“成长的烦恼”，在与既得利益的奋力一击中，赢得市场的信心，塑造法治的信仰… “惟其艰难，才更显勇毅；惟其笃行，才弥足珍贵”，深味习近平总书记的谆谆寄语，行进在社会主义市场经济这条通往富裕、繁荣与自由之路上，我们坚信“彩虹总在风雨后”。持续释放改革红利、市场潜力和创新活力，“中国经济升级版”必将化茧成蝶，一步步走近瑰丽动人的中国梦想。
[视频]半世纪“枫桥经验”：坚持群众路线“传家宝”_新闻频道_央视网 top segment on CCTV Evening News Thursday…on the benefits of mediation and working with the masses to settle disputes and “social contradictions”… the “Fengqiao Experience” originated with a 1963 directive from Mao Zedong, pops up every few years..see below // 央视网消息(新闻联播)：“发动和依靠群众，坚持矛盾不上交，就地解决。”这是上世纪60年代，浙江诸暨市枫桥镇化解基层矛盾纠纷的“枫桥经验”。半个世纪过去了，坚持群众路线这个传家宝，“枫桥经验”不断丰富着新内涵。 这是发生在枫桥镇栎桥村的一幕，两位村民因为埋设自来水管发生纠纷，居间调解的这位老人叫杨光照。
Related: 创新，答好群众工作新考卷（新形势下如何做好群众工作） 本报记者 杜飞进 温红彦 黄庆畅 彭波 《 人民日报 》（ 2013年10月11日 01 版 page 1 People’s Daily also on the “Fengqiao Experience” and cadres working better with the masses, being more responsive, and more accountable. That is the one of the public goals of the mass line education campaign…// 编者按：在党的群众路线教育实践活动深入开展之际，充满时代内涵、焕发蓬勃生机的“枫桥经验”，再次吸引了全国政法综治战线的党员干部的目光，他们赶赴枫桥，实地探寻新形势下群众工作的实招与真经。以此为契机，我们推出“新形势下如何做好群众工作”系列述评，就如何创新群众工作机制和方法，如何从源头上预防和化解社会矛盾、提高预防和化解社会矛盾的能力与水平，进行了在广泛调研基础上的深入思考。敬请关注…50年前，浙江诸暨枫桥镇干部群众在社会主义教育中创造的“依靠和发动群众，坚持矛盾不上交”的做法，得到了毛泽东同志的肯定。从此，“枫桥经验”走向全国，花开神州。
Related: “枫桥经验”50年:重调解群体事件不派大批警察|枫桥|经验|社会_新浪新闻 The Beijing News on 50 years of the “Fengqiao Experience”–Emphasis on mediating mass incidents, not dispatching large numbers of police
Related: Uphold the Mass Line, Develop Fengqiao Experience–Zhejiang Government–May 2013 //The instructions given during the investigation trip by Meng Jianzhu, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee of the CPC Central Committee, were relayed and studied at the meeting of the standing committee of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee on the morning of May 2. The meeting also deployed the work on upholding and developing Fengqiao Experience. Xia Baolong, secretary of CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee, presided over the meeting.
Related: May 2009–Social Order in the Wake of Economic Crisis | Hoover Institution–Joseph Fewsmith Similarly, Zhou Yongkang, the Politburo member in charge of Politics and Law, told the plenary session of the Central Commission on the Comprehensive Management of Social Order, which he also heads, that is was necessary to “more fully take into account the risks and difficulties that might affect social stability.”25 Zhou then went to Fengqiao township in Zhejiang Province, where Mao Zedong had praised the “Fengqiao experience” in 1963 for its management of social problems locally. Echoing the Chairman, Zhou told local leaders to “grasp matters at their origin and grasp them at their roots,” so that local contradictions were handled locally and not passed on to higher levels. “Party committees and governments at different levels must truly fulfill their primary task of maintaining stability,” Zhou said.
Related: People’s Daily Online December 1999–“Fengqiao Experience Worth being Summed Up and Popularized” This article by Our Commentator reads in part as follows: How to correctly handle the relations between reform, development and stability is a major question put to us by our times. Through the practice of the reform and opening up drive, the “Experience of Fengqiao”, a town in Zhuji City, Zhejiang Province, has been established as “the Party and government bear their respective responsibilities for definite work, relying on the masses, diffusing contradictions, safeguarding stability and promoting development to ensure that minor problems can be settled without going out of the village, major problems can be resolved without going out of the town and contradictions are not passed on to the leadership”. The “Experience of Fengqiao” is worth being summed up and popularized.
Daughter of Li Peng brokered secret deal for insurance giant – Telegraph The deal guaranteed Zurich Insurance, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, a hugely lucrative stake in a major Chinese insurance company at a time when foreign firms were barred from investing in the sector…In 1995, Li Xiaolin, now one of China’s most powerful women in her own right, introduced executives from Zurich to three Chinese businessmen who held a majority stake in New China Life, the country’s largest private insurance company. In return for a $16.9 million (£10.4 million) payment into an offshore Credit Suisse account in the Bahamas, they agreed to sell Zurich almost a quarter of the company, four years before it was legal for foreign firms to make such investments.
Related: How Zurich Insurance’s secret deal was revealed – Telegraph A spectacular fall out between two Chinese businessmen exposed a questionable payment by one of the world’s largest financial institutions
Related: Zhang Hongwei profile – Telegraph How Zhang Hongwei went from laying bricks to becoming one of China’s 50 richest men with a little help from Zurich insurance along the way.
China pilot scheme aims to shatter assumption; investments are not guaranteed | Reuters The project will not allow banks to assign an expected return to a product, common in wealth management investments, and one reason they were seen as guaranteed. Unlike wealth management products, they will also be forced to regularly publish a net asset value to reinforce the idea that returns are based on the performance of the asset, not the creditworthiness of the bank. Detailed rules have not been released, but bankers said they expected them to require banks to clearly identify the underlying assets of a product.
EXCLUSIVE – Alibaba CEO says company has decided not to list in Hong Kong | Reuters “The Hong Kong authorities need time to study this corporate governance structure (for knowledge-based companies),” Lu said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in China’s Hangzhou city in Zhejiang province. He added that the company had not yet committed to list on any other exchange, including the New York Stock Exchange.
Related: 马云进京面晤监管层 申请特批控股天弘基金_财经_腾讯网 21st Century Herald reports that Alibaba’s Jack Ma arrived in Beijing Thursday to lobby regulators for approval of the Alibaba investment into Tianhong Asset Management // 10月10日，本报记者从一位接近监管层的知情人士处获悉，阿里巴巴董事局主席马云为此已亲赴证监会与相关负责人沟通。 “马云是10日下午去的证监会，他希望入股天弘基金能得到特批。”上述知情人士透露。 而阿里巴巴出言谨慎，其公关部人士表示对马云的这一举动还未听说。
Related: World’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, leads $206M investment in Amazon competitor ShopRunner | VentureBeat Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company that became the biggest online retailer on the planet last year, has invested most of a massive new $206 million funding round in ShopRunner, a rival to Amazon.com. As part of the deal, eBay sold its 30 percent stake in ShopRunner for a profit, the Wall Street Journal says.
祝华新：打击谣言背景下的网络舆论新格局–舆情频道–人民网 interesting discussion on the new state of online public opinion in the wake of the crackdown on rumors, by the secretary general of the People’s Daily Public Opinion Monitoring Center // 今年11月，十八届三中全会将全面规划经济和社会体制改革，打造未来十年的“中国经济升级版”。善待、善管和善用互联网这个“最大变量”，形成一个有活力、有理性的舆论场，一个有弹性、有法度的体制，是深化改革的基本保障。为政者兼听则明，海纳百川；治理者镇暴抑邪，调和鼎鼐，治大国若烹小鲜–作者为人民网舆情监测室秘书长
How young women in China become mistresses – James Palmer – Aeon Zheng Tiantian, a social anthropologist at the State University of New York, worked as a karaoke bar hostess for two years in Dalian to research her PhD. ‘The most powerful men were identified as those who could emotionally and physically control the hostesses, exploit them freely, and then abandon them,’ she writes in her astonishing book on the experience, Red Lights (2009). But the women are equally mercenary. One of her informants comments: ‘I’d rather be a mistress than a wife, because you can make much more as a mistress.’
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
Li Sees China Growth Topping 7.5% in First Nine Months – Bloomberg The economy has “shown stronger momentum of steady growth” in the past few months, with indicators that reflect market expectations such as the Purchasing Managers’ Index (CPMINDX) improving, Li said. He made the comments in a speech today at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Brunei.
China signs second-biggest swap line with ECB | Reuters The bilateral currency swap agreement between the European Central Bank (ECB) and the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is valid for three years and has a maximum size of 350 billion yuan, or 45 billion euros ($60.8 billion). The deal is the latest of a string of currency swaps that China has created with other nations to promote usage of the yuan in global commercial and financial transactions, with the ultimate goal of rivaling the dollar as a reserve currency.
民资入股掀农村金融机构改制潮 新华社——经济参考网 Economic Information on reforms in rural finance, including plans to allow private capital to invest in rural commercial banks // 在全国金改的背景下，农村金融改革也在推进中。日前，银监会公布了《农村中小金融机构行政许可事项实施办法(征求意见稿)》(以下简称“征求意见稿”)，向社会公开征求意见。其中，针对农村商业银行的设立条件方面，明确提出将其最大股东持股比例降低至15%，同时监管层鼓励引导民资参与农村中小金融机构改制。接受《经济参考报》记者采访的业内专家认为，民资参与农村金改的风险与机遇并存。在此轮改革过程中，民资的进入，将掀起一轮农村金融机构并购重组潮。
住房公积金闹“钱荒” 部分城市现“挤提”风潮_新闻_腾讯网 runs on the housing provident funds in several cities? mortgage loans hard to get, home buying fever is back… // 据新华社电 由于全国各大城市楼市成交量不断攀升，住房贷款和公积金贷款也呈快速增长状态，杭州、广州、青岛、北京、上海等地频现公积金贷款难，多个城市公积金出现缓贷甚至断贷的现象，部分城市甚至出现了“挤提”。一度巨额“沉睡”的公积金，缘何也闹起了“钱荒”？
Wealth in Asia Rises, Number of Billionaires in China Skyrockets: Credit Suisse – China Real Time Report – WSJ According to a report this week by Credit Suisse, the country now has 6% of the world’s total of ultra-high-net-worth individuals, or those with fortunes in excess of $50 million. That’s second only to the United States, which commands nearly half the world’s total.
New M&A Rules Bring Cautious Optimism – Caixin Mergers & acquisitions in the country are expected to enter a new stage of development with regulations implemented October 8 aimed at streamlining approval procedures. The policy allows qualified listed companies planning an M&A to skip a long list of compliance checks to receive fast-track approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
Review & Outlook: Shanghai’s Zone of Timidity – WSJ.com This is also raising doubts about whether a reform vision will emerge at the November third plenum of the Central Committee. From one perspective, signs of conflict may be good news because it means Beijing is grappling again with how to make its banks competitive and the currency convertible. The bad news is that would-be reformers are clearly on the back foot. The Shanghai trade zone holds out the prospect of only limited exemptions from capital controls and circumscribed opportunities for foreign banks to compete for Chinese customers. // “would-be reformers are clearly on the back foot”…still think premature to be so negative on the FTZ, also note absence in most western commentary of the Politburo’s August endorsement of the importance of the FTZ: “会议指出，建立中国（上海）自由贸易试验区，是党中央从国内外发展大势出发，统筹国内国际两个大局，在新形势下推进改革开放的重大举措，对加快政府职能转变、积极探索管理模式创新、促进贸易和投资便利化，为全面深化改革和扩大开放探索新途径、积累新经验，具有重要意义” …it is no longer a solely “Li Keqiang initiative”, if it ever were just that…
各地“自贸区创建热”再升温 谋与上海错位竞争_财经频道_一财网 many localities want their own Free Trade Zones now that Shanghai’s is established…unlikely to see more approval until there is something tangible out of Shanghai…but getting your own FTZ is great for local politicians and local businesses/stocks// 在上海自贸区建设不断升温之后，资本市场再现新一轮的自贸区“炒地图”热潮，各地自贸区的申报也在加速推进之中
沿边地区开放开发规划有望在三中全会后出台_证券时报网 国家主席习近平日前在亚太经合组织工商领导人峰会上表示，我们将实行更加积极主动的开放战略，完善互利共赢、多元平衡、安全高效的开放型经济体系，促进沿海内陆沿边开放优势互补，形成引领国际经济合作和竞争的开放区域，培育带动区域发展的开放高地。 改革与开放本就密不可分，三中全会将规划我国全新的开放战略。中国证券报记者日前获悉，促进沿海、内陆、沿边开放优势互补的新政策有望在三中全会后出台。其中，《沿边地区开放开发规划(2012-2020)》或率先推出。对于包括TPP(跨太平洋伙伴关系协议)、TTIP(跨大西洋贸易与投资伙伴关系协定)，以及基于服务贸易总协定所开展的服务贸易协定谈判，我国正在积极关注。
POLITICS AND LAW
China Mulls Oil Giant Spilt-up After Graft Scandals, but with Resistance: Report -Caijing “Rising high on the wave is the idea to split up the company,” the source said. The proposed plan could be to separate the oil giant into several regional companies, with each centered at a big subsidiary while integrating with surrounding businesses, according to the expert. “An initial design is to form five to six regional companies, geographically in North China, South China, Northeastern China and others,” the source said, “but the companies may differ from each other in primary businesses.” Employees of the company, especially the high-rank officials at the Beijing headquarter, have been restless amid uncertainties, according to the report.
Wellesley College partnership with China university tested by threats to outspoken professor Xia Yeling – CBS News The announcement of a vote on Xia’s tenure comes just months after Wellesley College in the United States, announced an academic partnership with Peking University at a June conference in Beijing, where celebrated alums including Madeleine Albright spoke. Now that partnership is under fire from almost 40 percent of the Wellesley’s faculty. A letter signed by 130 Wellesley professors urges the college’s administration to reconsider its partnership with Peking University if Xia is fired.
多地纪念习仲勋诞辰百年 中央纪念或近期举行_新闻_腾讯网 more commemorations planned for 100th of Xi Zhongxun’s birth, a central-level event likely soon, commemorative stamp set to be issued October 15 // 按中共惯例，中央层面的纪念活动或将在近期举办，通常是以纪念座谈会的方式进行。2009年，中共另一位元老宋任穷诞辰百年纪念座谈会在北京人民大会堂举办，时任国家副主席的习近平还在座谈会上发表讲话，高度评价了宋任穷的一生。 据悉，中国邮政已定于15日发行《习仲勋同志诞生一百周年》纪念邮票一套两枚。
习仲勋亲人：全家人将会在15日集体前往富平陵园纪念_大公资讯_大公网 TaKungPao says that the extended Xi family will visit Xi Zhongxun’s tomb on October 15
When patriotism is flagging: Lhasa lockdown | The Economist One top official priority during the National Day holiday was to nip any potential disturbance in the bud. Another seemed to be enforcement of the mandated show of Tibetans’ allegiance to China through the prominent display of the national flag. The pressure to do this seemed to fall most heavily on those running businesses on Lhasa’s main thoroughfares. After worrying during the holiday period that a failure to comply might have led to fines or detention, the shopkeepers are now awaiting word on when they may drop the flag. In Lhasa, that is not a move to be taken lightly.
250,000 Chinese journalists to receive training – Xinhua All reporting staff with newspapers, news agencies, TV stations and other press organizations in the country will be required to undergo training, which will last for three months until the end of 2013, the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said Thursday…Training will focus on six subjects, including theories on socialism with Chinese characteristics, the Marxist view on journalism, journalistic ethics, laws and regulations, norms in news gathering and editing, and content on preventing false information, said the administration. Media staff are also required to take an exam scheduled in early 2014 to obtain press cards, according to the authority.
Journalist Liu Hu, accuser of Chinese government minister, is charged with defamation | South China Morning Post Prosecutors in Beijing have formally charged journalist Liu Hu with libel seven weeks after he was taken away from his home in Chongqing by police. The journalist for the Shenzhen-based Modern Express had called for an investigation into Ma Zhengqi, deputy director of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, on his Sina Weibo account.
赵乐际：继续高标准严要求 推动教育实践活动深入开展-新闻中心频道-新华网 赵乐际指出，习近平总书记的重要讲话，站在坚持和发展中国特色社会主义、进行具有新的历史特点伟大斗争的高度，深刻回答了事关党的建设的一系列根本问题，为深入开展教育实践活动提供了重要遵循，为进一步严格党内生活、提高党的建设科学化水平指明了方向。要深入学习领会，认真贯彻落实，以更大决心抓好整改和相关工作。要积极回应群众关切，针对查摆出来的问题，细化整改方案，深化专项整治，以重点突破推动作风整体好转。整改情况要向群众公开，让群众评判。要总结用好联系点经验，抓好省级其他班子和省直部门、单位的教育实践活动。要体现法治思维、改革思维、系统思维，健全制度体系，求真务实、狠抓落实，推动作风建设长效化、常态化。
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
ASDF scrambles jets 193 times in July-September – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun The Air Self-Defense Force scrambled fighters against foreign aircraft approaching Japanese airspace 193 times from July to September, the highest number for this period since 1999, the Defense Ministry said Oct. 9. According to the ministry, 105 of the scrambles were for Russian aircraft, more than triple the 31 in the April-June period. For Chinese military aircraft, ASDF fighters were scrambled 80 times, an increase of 11 from the April-June period.
Statement of CECC Chairman Sherrod Brown and Cochairman Christopher Smith on the Release of the 2013 Annual Report | Congressional-Executive Commission on China Washington, DC—The bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China today released its 2013 Annual Report http://www.cecc.gov/publications/annual-reports/2013-annual-report on human rights and rule of law developments in China, which it is required to do by October 10 of each year. “Amid talk of a new round of economic reforms under President Xi Jinping, this year’s report serves as an important reminder that China is no closer to granting its citizens basic human rights than when China entered the World Trade Organization nearly 12 years ago,” said Senator Sherrod Brown (OH), Chairman of the Commission. “Increased trade ties have not improved working conditions or the environment, and Chinese citizens still do not enjoy the freedoms of expression, assembly, and religion to which they are entitled under international law. To the contrary, China’s new leaders continue to heavily censor the Internet, repress Tibetans and Uyghurs, and violate international trade rules by unfairly subsidizing state-owned enterprises, failing to stop the massive theft of intellectual property, and undervaluing its currency at the expense of American businesses and workers.”
China’s foreign propaganda chief outlines external communication priorities | China Copyright and Media This article was first published in today’s People’s Daily. Cai Mingzhao, director of the Foreign Propaganda Office (or State Council Information Office) discusses the future priorities in public diplomacy work in the light of Xi Jinping’s recent speech at the National Propaganda and Ideology Work Conference.
World media leaders meet to discuss challenges – Xinhua Leaders from Xinhua News Agency, News Corporation, The Associated Press (AP), Reuters, ITAR-TASS News Agency, Kyodo News, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Turner Broadcasting System Inc., Google, AL Jazeera Media Network, The New York Times Company, NBC News, MIH Group, Kasturi&Sons Limited are at the meeting. Leaders have agreed that the WMS will create global prizes for journalism to recognize outstanding journalists around the world.
NYT launches China website in new outreach – The Hindu The New York Times Company on Thursday announced the launch of a Chinese language-website and said it would, next year, host in New York the third edition of the World Media Summit — a forum co-launched by China’s official Xinhua news agency and eight other news organisations in Beijing in 2009. NYT’s new outreach comes even as it engages Chinese authorities to lift restrictions on its websites, which were blocked last year after it published an investigation into the alleged $-2.7 billion wealth amassed by former Premier Wen Jiabao’s family. The move to launch a new Chinese-language online version of the paper’s T Magazine was announced here by Arthur Sulzberger Jr., Publisher and Chairman of the New York Times Company, at a meeting of members of the World Media Summit.
SIPRI Publications–China’s Exports of Small Arms and Light Weapons Mark Bromley, Mathieu Duchâtel and Paul Holtom China is a leading exporter of small arms and lights weapons (SALW) and is a popular supplier among states looking for inexpensive or alternative sources of SALW. While China has stated its commitment to preventing the illicit trade in SALW and formally recognizes the destabilizing effect that SALW transfers can have, it is one of the least transparent arms exporters. This report is the first to comprehensively map Chinese policies and practices for controlling SALW transfers. The authors use their expertise in arms transfers and Chinese foreign policy to describe China’s involvement in multilateral SALW control inititatives, detail its administrative system for granting export licences and map the destinations of Chinese SALW exports. This timely and detailed report will prove to be a useful resource for future studies of China’s evolving approach to the control of SALW transfers.
China’s Ambassador to Myanmar Stresses Communication – China Real Time Report – WSJ Political analysts have labeled Yang Houlan, China’s ambassador to Myanmar, as one of the most hardworking diplomats they’ve encountered…The Wall Street Journal spoke to Mr. Yang about China’s place in Myanmar’s transition towards democracy, falling investment from the economic giant and what he hopes for out of this crucial bilateral relationship.
Retired PLA general voices frustration with capricious North Korea | South China Morning Post “Historically, this [area] has again and again developed into an [area] of strategic offence and defence, and has often become a threat to the central government, even leading to disastrous consequences,” retired Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang, 63, wrote in an article for National Humanity History magazine, a subsidiary publication of the People’s Daily.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
Fatal crypto flaw in some government-certified smartcards makes forgery a snap | Ars Technica Raising troubling questions about the reliability of government-mandated cryptography certifications used around the world, scientists have unearthed flaws in Taiwan’s secure digital ID system that allow attackers to impersonate some citizens who rely on it to pay taxes, register cars, and file immigration papers. The crippling weaknesses uncovered in the Taiwanese Citizen Digital Certificate program cast doubt that certifications designed to ensure cryptographic protections used by governments and other sensitive organizations can’t be circumvented by adversaries, the scientists reported in a research paper scheduled to be presented later this year at the Asiacrypt 2013 conference in Bangalore, India.
TECH AND MEDIA
China’s Black Box For Blockbusters Riles Hollywood Studios – Forbes among U.S. studios it is notorious for uploading hundreds of copyrighted movies and evading tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees. Chinese production houses also say they’re being cheated. “If you ask anyone in China they’ll tell you Future TV is a pirate,” says a U.S. studio executive in Beijing….its biggest shareholder is CCTV, China’s state-owned broadcaster, which enjoys huge subsidies and sells $3.6 billion a year in advertising. Future’s other investor is Tencent Holdings , China’s largest Internet firm, with $9.7 billion in revenue. And Future’s main hardware partner is Xiaomi Corp., a midprice-smartphone maker that outsells Apple’s iPhone in China. A Xiaomi set-top box costs only $50 and streams free content, from Chinese costume dramas to U.S. blockbusters.
Photos: Chinese Wall Street Journal Innovator Awards – China Real Time Report – WSJ Lei Jun, a successful angel investor, is the founder and CEO of smartphone maker Xiaomi. He is also the chairman of Hong Kong-listed Kingsoft
Your Playstation 4 may be built by Chinese students in the worst internship ever – Quartz Engineering students from Xi’an Institute of Technology were told that if they didn’t participate in the internship program, they wouldn’t receive six course credits, effectively making it impossible for them to graduate
大数据国家战略有望提上议程 新华社——经济参考网 China working on a national Big Data strategy // 《经济参考报》记者最新获悉，最近，十多位院士向高层建议，我国应制定大数据国家战略，并在发展目标、发展原则、关键技术等方面作出顶层设计。与此同时，国家发改委与中科院正在启动“基础研究大数据服务平台应用示范项目”。权威人士透露，有关部门正在积极研究，大数据国家战略或将提上议程。
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Executed hawker’s son accused of copying Taiwanese artist’s work | South China Morning Post The suspicions have prompted Xia Jianqiang’s mother, Zhang Jing, to issue an apology on her Weibo account, admitting her son “imitated” Jimmy’s paintings. “I would like to apologise to Jimmy Liao and explain myself to him,” she said, adding: “I sincerely had no idea about [the concept of] plagiarism in art as I studied only up to middle school.”…The announcement was shortly followed by Taiwanese actress and singer Annie Yi’s statement on Weibo in which she said Xia’s family would dedicate all profit from the paintings’ sales to the two city management officials’ families and charity projects.
新京报：网络围攻夏俊峰儿子是一种堕落_新闻_腾讯网 The Beijing News criticizes those criticizing Xia Jufeng’s son for paintings that closely resemble those of a Taiwan artist…this whole case and its aftermath just grim…// 现在网上许多对夏健强抄袭的质疑，过于上纲上线，无中生有。以浩大的“喊打”声势，夹杂着子虚乌有的恶意揣测，对付一个正在学画画的无辜孩子，这样的质疑和“监督”是一种堕落。与夏健强画中简单美好的童话世界相比，网上的那些泼脏水和跟着吐痰的人又何其丑陋。 不管怎样，夏健强已经是没有父亲的孩子，与同龄人相比，他的天空已经残缺。不要再让成人世界的喧嚣，搅扰这个爱画画的孩子的成长。
Meet Ai Xuan, Ai Weiwei’s Estranged Artist Brother – Scene Asia – WSJ His works sell better and are more expensive than Ai Weiwei’s // Ai Xuan, 65, is a realist painter based in Beijing. Known in China as “Master Ai,” he is best known for his finely rendered large-format portraits of Tibetan nomads. His works often spark bidding wars at auctions, and 4 million yuan is considered a fair price. A collector at a 2011 Poly Auction sale in Beijing famously paid 28 million yuan (about $5 million) for one of Mr. Ai’s oil-on-canvas pieces, among the highest prices ever achieved by the work of a living artist in China, according to Artron, a Chinese art-data provider.
四川广汉发掘一汉墓群 墓葬超10万平方米_新闻_腾讯网 100,000 square meter Han Dynasty tomb complex discovered in Sichuan
Palace Museum to expand with new institute and restoration centre | South China Morning Post The museum’s director, Dr Shan Jixiang, said it would expand beyond the city’s ancient crimson walls, with plans to open an educational institute downtown and a conservation and repair centre in Haidian district. Officials hoped the new space might also draw tourists and relieve the seasonal swells at the Forbidden City, the Beijing Times quoted Shan as saying.
For Some NYU Students, A Sweet Deal To Study … In Shanghai : Parallels : NPR NYU made her a better offer — but only if she attended NYU’s new Shanghai campus, where she’d applied as an afterthought by clicking a box on an application. The deal: tuition, room, board and even reimbursement for her plane ticket to Shanghai. “I was a little bit flabbergasted,” says Ron Ulan, Stephanie’s dad, who works as a computer programmer with the New York City Police Department. Ron, who says he lives check to check, calculated the savings over four years. “A scholarship that’s worth about $228,000,” he says. “How can you turn that down?”
Bodyguards, Chinese-Style – Economic Observer It was not until 2010 that privately run security services were even legalized in China, which is when Shi founded his security agency. He aspires to imitate Academi, formerly known as Blackwater USA, a security contractor that has worked for the U.S. State Department and usually retrains retired military or police personnel to become premium armed security guards. Shi says Chinese often have a very poor awareness of their safety. “In China, many rich people are reluctant to hire bodyguards because they believe that it is showing off,” he explains. “They also worry about privacy.”
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Chinese city recovering from worst floods in century – Xinhua Power supplies, transportation and communication are being restored in the city of Yuyao in east China’s Zhejiang Province that has experienced its most severe flooding in a century. Yuyao has been one of the places worst hit by Typhoon Fitow this week, and over 70 percent of the downtown area was flooded. Over 830,000 people from 21 townships in the city have been affected, though no casualties have been reported. // lots of criticism of response, comments online that fears of new online rumor rules may have led to people not posting about the flooding and its aftermath
环境税开征进入“快车道” 新华社——经济参考网 Economic Information says approval of an “environmental tax” now in the “fast lane” // 近期，开征环境税方案已上报国务院，目前相关部门正在积极推进此事。今年作为《大气污染防治行动计划》(以下简称大气“国十条”)实施第一年，包括环保部、财政部等部委都在积极酝酿相应的细化政策措施。作为控制环境污染的重要措施，被停滞的环境税无疑再次被推向了“快车道”。多位专家建议，环境税税率应在“排污费”的基础上大幅提高，并将主要税收收入划归地方。
消息称煤炭出口关税明年或取消 救市内外并行 -财经网 China to abolish coal export taxes jan 1 2013? // 在控制煤炭出口近10年之后，中国可能在明年放松对煤炭出口的管制。据21世纪经济报道，知情人士表示，有关部门正在研究取消中国煤炭出口的税率，拟从明年1月1日起实施。
China’s South-North water diversion middle route – in pictures | Environment | theguardian.com A year from now, the 1,000km middle section of the South-North water diversion is expected to begin operation, channelling water from the south to the arid northern region, in one of the world’s biggest feats of engineering. These pictures show the raising of the Danjiangkou dam in preparation for water diversion, which has resulted in the massive relocation of villagers in Xichuan county, Henan province
You are falling short of your ‘crazy quota’, Zhengzhou officials warned | South China Morning Post A provincial capital in central China has informed its administrative divisions that they have failed to fulfil their quotas for reporting cases of mentally ill residents. A document leaked from the Department of Health of Zhengzhou, the capital of China’s third most populous province Henan, showed that sub-districts were required to report at least two cases of grave mental illness for every 1,000 residents.
Related: 摊派精神病人指标，不科学–时政–人民网 State Health and Planning Commission criticizes the Henan crazy quota
FOOD AND TRAVEL
假日办网络调查显示7成网友不满假期安排_网易新闻中心 State Council Vacation Office has been running an online survey via several large portals asking users if they are satisfied with the current vacation scheduling. 70% or respondents say no // 新京报讯 昨日，全国假日办在新浪、腾讯、人民网等网站发布了“关于法定节假日放假安排的调查问卷”，面向社会征集意见。
报告称如家汉庭等大批酒店开房记录泄露(图)_新闻_腾讯网 Home Inns. Hanting customer records leaked online? Could be very embarrassing…
Chinese researchers at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou find hangover ‘cure’ | News.com.au CHINESE researchers may have found the cure for a hangover before it takes hold – lemonade. The Independent reports research from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou which explains why lemonade, such as Sprite or Schweppes, could be the trick.
BEIJING
业内人士认为北京可售商品住宅库存已跌破警戒线 新华社——经济参考网 Beijing housing supply running low? So says a research department of a real estate brokerage firm… // 中原地产市场研究部10日发布报告，据北京房地产交易管理网数据统计，10月9日，北京可售商品房住宅库存已从年初的80038套下降至59921套，创年内库存新低。值得注意的是，这是库存数值首次跌破6万套。业内人士认为，北京库存已跌破警戒红线，接下来的几月内，北京房地产市场受供需不均衡影响，房价上涨速度或再度加快。
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
纪念顾城时，请别忘记被他杀害的妻子_UGC精选 大部分人所面对的只是顾城的某一个侧面，或者将诗人之死诗意般地美化；或者对舆论诗化顾城之死看作是社会良知的堕落。
JOBS AND EVENTS
Fellowship (seeking fluent Russian/Chinese/Arabic speakers) job at BuzzFeed in New York, NY Buzzfeed going to start mining the Chinese web for “crazy China stories”? // The BuzzFeed Fellowship is a three month program for the next generation of editors eager to master the tools and techniques of the social web. Over the course of the program, you will learn how to create social content that readers love to share. This includes writing and editing posts tailored to BuzzFeed’s audience of social sharers, using the daily news cycle as a stepping off point for your work, and exploring how people share on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social sites. You’ll rotate through several content areas — creating socially engaging posts, working with both video and images, learning about different editorial styles. There are spaces available in the program ONLY for people who meet these qualifications, and also can read/speak fluently in Russian, Chinese, or Arabic.