"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
I am not normally a fan of official criticism of TV shows, but the skewering of the animated series “喜羊羊” (Xi Yangyang, officially translated as “Pleasant Goat”) is welcome news. The show will undergo “rectification” for its violent and vulgar content. Our kids have watched far more of Xi Yangyang than I care to admit. The only silver lining from the show, at least in this household, is that watching it made us all hungrier for lamb.
Xi Zhongxun, Xi Jinping’s father, was born October 15th, 1913. The commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth is a big deal, with new books, a stamp set, symposiums and a six episode CCTV documentary. Will this anniversary end up getting more play than the December 26th 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birth?
Lots of links today, catching up from the weekend:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Chinese Reaches Out Again – This Time to Vietnam – China Real Time Report – WSJ Mr. Li’s Vietnam visit to Hanoi follows his visit to Thailand last week, where he signed memoranda of understanding covering trade, infrastructure development and energy. Earlier this month, ahead of major international summits in Brunei and Bali, Indonesia, Chinese President Xi Jinping signed business cooperation agreements worth a potential $5 billion with Malaysia, and $28 billion with Indonesia.
Related: China, Vietnam agree to deepen partnership along three tracks – Xinhua As regards to onshore cooperation, the two sides need to improve strategic planning with the establishment of a work group on infrastructure cooperation, Li said, while calling for concerted efforts to promote practical cooperation in such areas as inter-connectivity, trade and investment. On the financial front, Li said, the joint work group on financial cooperation should lead the two sides to the signing of a bilateral currency swap deal and a local currency settlement agreement, so as to help safeguard the economic development and financial stability of both countries and the region at large. Meanwhile, China is ready to work with Vietnam to consolidate the public support for bilateral relations through more people-to-people exchanges and closer cultural and educational cooperation, he added.
Related: China, Thailand translate “familial affection” into concrete cooperation – Xinhua The Chinese premier called for full play of the mechanism of an economic and trade committee between the two countries, and closer cooperation in such areas as economy, trade, investment, agricultural trade and processing, and electricity. China is also willing to actively participate in the construction of high-speed railways in Thailand and promote regional inter-connectivity. In order to deepen financial cooperation, Li encouraged the enterprises of the two countries to settle bilateral trade in RMB, and explore the increase in the size of bilateral currency swap, saying that China will consider the establishment of RMB clearing banks in Thailand…China is now the largest trading partner of Thailand, with bilateral trade reaching nearly 70 billion U.S. dollars last year and targeting 100 billion dollars by 2015. //what about the Mekong?
守护人民政党的生命线–观点–人民网 very long page 1 People’s Daily today from “Ren Zhongping” on deepening the mass line education campaign…takes up almost half of page 1 and continues on almost half of page 3 // 到今天，有着74年历史的苏联，已经解体22年。20多年来，对于苏共亡党亡国的反思，在社会主义中国从未停止。精神懈怠、能力不足、脱离群众、消极腐败的危险，执政考验、改革开放考验、市场经济考验、外部环境考验，防住了经得起，我们就能涉险过关，实现长治久安。防不住经不起，形式主义、官僚主义、享乐主义、奢靡之风盛行，所带来的不仅是“载舟覆舟”的千古警思，更有亡党亡国的灭顶之灾。 正是站在这样的高度，习近平总书记郑重强调：工作作风上的问题绝对不是小事，如果不坚决纠正不良风气，任其发展下去，就会像一座无形的墙把我们党和人民群众隔开，我们党就会失去根基、失去血脉、失去力量，就有可能发生毛泽东同志所形象比喻的“霸王别姬”。
Chinese state media calls for ‘de-Americanised’ world after US shutdown | South China Morning Post As US politicians of both political parties (fail to find a) viable deal to bring normality to the body politic they brag about, it is perhaps a good time for the befuddled world to start considering building a de-Americanised world,” the commentary on state news agency Xinhua said.。。In a lengthy polemic against American hegemony since the second world war, it added: “Such alarming days when the destinies of others are in the hands of a hypocritical nation have to be terminated.
Related: Commentary: U.S. fiscal failure warrants a de-Americanized world – Xinhua -By Xinhua writer Liu Chang The developing and emerging market economies need to have more say in major international financial institutions including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, so that they could better reflect the transformations of the global economic and political landscape. What may also be included as a key part of an effective reform is the introduction of a new international reserve currency that is to be created to replace the dominant U.S. dollar, so that the international community could permanently stay away from the spillover of the intensifying domestic political turmoil in the United States. Of course, the purpose of promoting these changes is not to completely toss the United States aside, which is also impossible. Rather, it is to encourage Washington to play a much more constructive role in addressing global affairs. // have not found the original Chinese…any chance this only Xinhua English?
Related: “否决政体”的“停滞本质”（钟声）–观点–人民网 Zhong Sheng in today’s People’s Daily on the dysfunction in DC, though most of the final paragraph sounds like it is aimed at home too // 美国政治制度出了问题，这是显而易见的客观事实。原因的确很复杂，恐怕最大症结还是没有跟上时代变革的步伐，昔日的优势不经意间成为国家前行的障碍。一个国家政治生活的活力关键在于与时俱进。美国学者格伦·哈伯德和蒂姆·凯恩发现，历史上许多强国最终没落，很重要的一条原因就是政体“否认内在的停滞本质”，一旦“制度无法适应不断发展的现实”，就势必“带来衰退”…变革是当今世界发展的一大特征。既然问题已经出现，就必须正视，躲是躲不过去的。打破原有格局，触动既得利益，动静不会小，感受也未必舒服。但是，拖的结果只能是变革的成本越来越高。华盛顿的政治精英们需要明白，聪明人与时俱进，自负者被历史推着走。
Related: The Shutdown Is Hurting China’s Generals, Too | The Cable Some of China’s most influential military thinkers and policymakers — including several general officers — were due to come to the United States next week for a series of long-arranged meetings at the U.S. Army War College, followed by private discussions at some of Washington’s more prominent think tanks. Led by the respected Maj. Gen. Yao Yunzhu of the Chinese Academy of Military Science, the delegation’s meetings were considered important at a time when Beijing and Washington are squaring off over issues from cybersecurity to the South China Sea.
Related: US debt stand-off provokes ire among China’s officials – FT.com In the short term, Mr Yu and other top Chinese academics say Beijing’s hands are tied. With $1.3tn invested in US Treasuries, any sudden move to sell those holdings would by itself shake global markets and undermine the value of China’s remaining US assets – the very outcomes that the country’s currency reserve managers want to avoid. “Just thinking about the size of the portfolio, it’s very hard to do,” says Zhu Ning, deputy director of the Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance. “They want to do it slowly, to not stir up the frontrunners in the market.”
父亲往事-中国青年报 long page 1 China Youth Daily piece by Xi Yuanping about his father Xi Zhongxun// 父亲走了11年了。今年10月15日，是他老人家的百年诞辰。 作为他最小的儿子，站在他的墓前，对着他的雕像，我想说些什么呢？我能说些什么呢？他老人家走过的这百年，是中国扭转乾坤、翻覆天地的百年。这百年的中国历史太丰富了，他的人生历程也太丰富了，我看不尽，听不够，也享用不完。我只能在我的思念中寻找，寻找他老人家在我一生中留下最深烙印的东西。
Related: 央视将播出六集文献纪录片《习仲勋》-地方频道-新华网 CCTV to broadcast 6 episode documentary about Xi Zhongxun Oct 14-16
Related: [独家图集]《习仲勋在延安》画册出版 多幅照片首次公开-新华读书-新华网
Related: 《习仲勋主政广东忆述录》等两书出版_资讯频道_凤凰网 南都讯 记者许黎娜薛冰妮 习仲勋同志是广东改革开放的主要开创者和重要奠基人之一。对于他的研究，一直以来都是广东新时期党史研究方面的一个重点。今年10月15日是习仲勋同志百年诞辰。前日，广东省委党史研究室推出画册《习仲勋主政广东风采录》和口述历史《习仲勋主政广东忆述录》。
[视频]20家动画机构联合倡议：不制播暴力失度语言粗俗动画片_新闻频道_央视网 CCTV Evening news on 20 animation firms agreeing to not produce violent and vulgar cartoons…CCTV specifically call out “Pleasant Goat”…GAPPSARFT will be out with new animation content standards by end of the year. // 针对最近群众反映个别动画片中存在危险情节和不文明语言的问题，《喜羊羊》和《熊出没》系列动画片的制作单位正在进行全面修改。国家新闻出版广电总局将于年内出台《国产电视动画片内容标准》，对暴力、低俗、危险情节和不文明语言等方面做出严格限制。
Related: 喜羊羊制片方拟投千万改剧集 称修改非强制_网易新闻中心 Creator of Xi Yangyang (Pleasant Goat) says will make the show less violent from now on, plans to spend more than 10m RMB to go back and modify all existing episodes // “喜羊羊”系列已经连续8年占据着电视动画的第一把交椅，制作量也已突破千集，受到青少年儿童的欢迎，斩获过“五个一工程”奖等国内大部分的业界荣誉。针对这次被点名，喜羊羊系列动画片制作方广东原创动力文化传播有限公司（简称“原创动力公司”）怎么反应？该公司相关负责人表示，修改动画片并非因为受到强制要求，而是出于更高的行业制作标准共识而作，已着手对所有动画片逐步进行修改，计划投入近千万元。
Related: 毛泽东题材动画电影年内将上映(图)–青海频道–人民网 3D animated feature of a youthful Mao Zedong coming to the big screen soon// 由湖南潇湘电影集团有限公司、《求是》影视中心、湖南文远国际文化传播有限公司和湖南皇越投资有限公司联合制作的动画电影《韶山少年-毛泽东的故事》日前在2013长沙国际动漫游戏展上首次公布了片花。
Net closes on former China security chief – FT.com According to people familiar with the cases, the common tie between most of these people is their link with Zhou Yongkang and in particular his son Zhou Bin, 41. Until the end of last year the younger Mr Zhou and his wife, Huang Wan, 42, who uses the English name Fiona, lived at Number 28, Silver Lake Villas on Rainbow Road in northeastern Beijing… Fiona Huang has fled to the US with the couple’s two children but Zhou Bin has returned to China and is being detained for questioning, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. // if true that ZYK’s son is detained for questioning then the rules have already changed…
Liam Casey, chief executive, PCH International – FT.com Liam Casey has never read a book on China and does not speak Chinese. But the Irish entrepreneur has earned the nickname “Mr China” by creating a 5,000-employee company in Shenzhen whose customers include Apple and Beats Electronics. Sitting in his glass-walled office, the chief executive of PCH International laughs off the sobriquet given to him by the journalist James Fallows in The Atlantic magazine. “There is no such thing as a ‘Mr China’ because nobody knows China,” says Mr Casey.
Steven Schwankert and the HMS Poseidon–Sinica Podcast This week on Sinica, Kaiser and Jeremy help peel back the mystery of this Poseidon, as well as the secret Chinese salvage operation that took place decades later unbeknowst to the British Navy, in a discussion with Steven Schwankert, managing editor of The Beijinger, owner of SinoScuba training school, and now author of the just-released book Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China Consumer Prices Rise 3.1% as Factory-Gate Deflation Eases – Bloomberg The consumer price index rose 3.1 percent from a year earlier, the bureau said. That exceeded the 2.8 percent median estimate of 44 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News and compared with a 2.6 percent gain in August. Producer prices fell 1.3 percent from a year earlier. The median projection of analysts was for a decline of 1.4 percent after a 1.6 percent drop the previous month
China Exports Unexpectedly Drop – Bloomberg Overseas shipments dropped 0.3 percent from a year earlier, the General Administration of Customs said yesterday in Beijing, trailing all 46 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey that had a median projection for a 5.5 percent gain. The trade slowdown resulted from a high basis of comparison with last year, the agency said in a statement.
Beijing Construction Plans $1.3 Billion Manchester Hub – Bloomberg Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co. formed a venture with Manchester Airports Group and other partners to build an international business district in the U.K.’s second-biggest city. The buildings on the 150-acre (61-hectare) site in the north of England will be worth about 800 million pounds ($1.3 billion) when they’re completed and fully leased, the partners said in a statement today. Carillion Plc (CLLN) and the Greater Manchester Pension Fund are also part of the project, known as Airport City. It will create as many as 16,000 jobs and the development will be managed by Argent LLP, the group said.
Why China may not be over-investing | FT Alphaville Here’s a refreshingly different view on China, courtesy of Karen Ward, senior global economist at HSBC. Her key point: it’s not that China is necessarily over-investing (as is frequently argued) but that the rest of EM may be under investing.
CSRC releases findings of IPO inspection |Markets |chinadaily.com.cn Meanwhile, the sponsors of IPO applicants will have their sponsorship qualifications suspended – barring them from recommending other companies to issue stock – if any firm they sponsor posts a 50 percent decline in profits or record losses in the first year after going public.
Next for Chinese Developers: Making It in New York – China Real Time Report – WSJ Shanghai-based Greenland has agreed to buy a 70% stake in a 15-tower apartment project located in the Atlantic Yards site from Forest City Ratner Cos. The project, which includes an office building and retail space, is expected to cost more than $5 billion, according to an updated estimate from Greenland. (Forest City earlier offered an estimate of $4 billion.)
Sept. Land Sales in Ten Chinese Cities Top 33-Month High-Caijing Local governments in the ten cities reported total land revenue of 145.5billion yuan last month, 79.2 percent higher from the previous month and a considerable rise of 199.3 percent on a yearly basis.
Columbia business professor teaches ‘shady’ China deal | New York Post An internal “CaseWorks” study from Columbia University’s prestigious business school obtained by The Post teaches its students an important lesson: Make millions of dollars while promoting a host of busted Chinese companies — even as investors who held the shares lose hundreds of millions — and you can be written up as an American success story. That’s exactly what Columbia Business School’s Kravis Professor Paul Ingram did when he co-authored a 23-page piece with Benjamin Wey, a controversial promoter of Chinese shares listed in the US. // I have the full document. Columbia Business School should be very embarrassed
奶粉战争_杂志频道_财新网 Caixin cover story on the government’s attempts to fix and support the infant formula industry // 这份“国家队”名单一度有数个版本，流传最广的包括“伊利、蒙牛、完达山、飞鹤以及高原之宝”五家企业。消息传出，名单内的企业难抑欣喜，以为媒体得到了内部消息，传闻已久的政府扶持政策终将落地；也有没进入名单的大型乳企闻讯着急，上海、北京两地的乳企龙头光明与三元旋即展开危机对策；更有一众中小型民营奶粉企业，想方设法四处打听政策细节，并纷纷抱怨政府的不公平对待。
China: Urbanization and Hukou Reform | The Diplomat However, genuine and substantive change will only come if hukou reform is pursued as part of a comprehensive and coherent urbanization strategy that addresses rather than ignores many of the related but highly contentious issues. It seems whether this will happen is currently the subject of fierce debate inside the Communist Party. If agreement can be forged and hukou reform is tackled alongside much-needed changes to land and fiscal policy then it looks likely China’s new urbanization strategy will play an important part in shifting the country to a more sustainable development path. If not, further urbanization will in all likelihood only exacerbate many of the already serious problems facing China. // good overview
学习时报_2013-10-14_国家大局_新型城镇化是一个持续的过程 Study Times on “new type of urbanization” // 推进新型城镇化必须处理好中央与地方的关系。中央与地方，两者共同的载体应该从经济总量转向公共服务，关键在于推进事权与财权财力相匹配的财税体制改革。在原有体制下，地方财政支出责任大，压力也大，不得不搞土地财政，靠融资平台大规模举债，公共服务欠账不可避免。新一轮财税体制改革，必须在调整财政支出结构的前提下理顺中央与地方的财税关系，形成公共服务导向的央地关系，比如继续推进财政体制扁平化改革，减少财政层级，提高地方政府增值税分成比例，扩大财产税在地方税中的比例等。在此基础上，未来各地政府将在另一个层面上展开竞争：比谁的市场更开放，比谁的规则更加国际化，比谁的服务效力更高，比谁更加遵守市场“游戏规则”，比谁城乡更加平等、和谐。新型城镇化不仅是住在城中，更是幸福在城中。
Chinese want to sell British milk at £3 per litre – Telegraph British farmers produce some of the highest quality, but lowest priced, milk in the world. The best quality UK milk can sell for 90p per litre – in China, that same milk retails for 300p per litre. UK farmers protested as recently as last month that many struggle to pay bills and make any sort of profit from dairy farming.
15,000 foreclosed properties in Wenzhou pummeling guarantee companies｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com Wenzhou’s banking authorities confirmed rumors of 15,000 houses in Wenzhou nearing foreclosure after surveying 42 financial institutions. It has assured the public that “the situation is under control,” though shaking guarantee companies might not second the opinion, the Shanghai-based Jiefang Daily reports.
多部门调研楼市 三中全会后调控可能升级_财经频道_一财网 expectations increasing for more housing price repression measures to be rolled out after the third plenum, though they may be smarter, more focused on taxes rather than more market-distorting administrative rules..we’ll see, you can’t collect a property tax on existing homes without first dealing with corruption…corruption is at the core of so many of the problems and challenges here// 由于多地房价近期快速上涨，在十八届三中全会后房地产调控升级预期可能将趋浓，酝酿已久的房地产调控长效机制将逐渐浮出水面。中国证券报记者近日获悉，住建部等部门近期将对成都等地楼市进行调研，目的在于收集相关信息，总结各地调控楼市经验教训。业内人士认为，此举意味着，房地产调控长效机制正在加快建立。 另据中国证券报记者了解，正在酝酿的房地产调控长效机制中，有关房地产企业直接融资的政策可能会得到明确，房地产企业融资将进一步市场化、多元化。其中，备受市场关注的房地产投资信托基金（REITs）政策方案，已被相关机构提交至决策部门。
财税智囊机构提出不动产征税基本框架_经济频道_财新网 国税总局科研所提出，应以稳定和持续的不动产税，来化解土地出让金的短视和因土地资源稀缺导致的不可持续风险；不动产按评估价征税，税率水平设定在0.5%-1%
Re-Examining the Chinese Property Market: Deflating Bubble Fear – Forbes So far our research indicates that consumption driven purchase in major markets (T-1 and 2 cities) is robust, driven by wage inflation and urbanization. Even if China’s growth rate were to fall below 7%, the fundamental demand for property will remain strong. It’s hard to see a scenario where the price of property stop rising in the medium and long term. // you can not talk about Chinese real estate market as a national market. Real estate prices in some cities, like Wenzhou and Ordos and other 2nd tier and below cities, have already collapsed. But I do not think Beijing (at least inside the 5th ring road) or Shanghai are in bubbles…there is huge, real demand for housing in China’s top cities
房贷收紧之风频吹 深圳或提高二套房首付及利率_财经频道_一财网 housing prices rising too fast, mortgages loans tightened, Shenzhen may raise the down payment requirement for second homes, other cities with large price increases may also enhance their real estate repression measures // 一位资深业内人士对《第一财经日报》记者分析称，目前各地的楼市现状存在明显差异，全国性的新一轮调控新政出现的概率较小，随着年底的临近，地方政府或将根据自身实际情况调整当地的楼市政策。“深圳房价同比涨幅已经接近20%，进一步收紧楼市政策可以理解。”
房贷收紧抬高刚需购房成本 新华社——经济参考网 《经济参考报》记者了解到，目前银行信贷政策呈现明显收紧之势，尽管尚未出现银行普遍停贷的现象，不过首套房贷八五折的优惠利率已经成为历史，主流银行当前的房贷利率大部分上调至九折以上，个别银行开始执行基准利率。分析人士指出，房贷政策收紧使得购房门槛提升，成本增加，将直接影响到刚需群体的入市热情。
POLITICS AND LAW
China’s red tape goes under the knife – Xinhua The discipline watchdog of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has begun the second stage of its campaign to cut red tape in its system. The second wave will run until June next year, and target regulations or normative documents from the founding of the New China in 1949 to 1978, according to a statement by the CPC’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) on Sunday. The move will give the commission a clear picture of the existing regulatory situation and clarify the fight against corruption using legal weapons.
纪检改革再启 完善派驻机构管理待解_关注_新京报电子报 纪检派驻机构管理方式改革9年，专家称初衷未达到；政治局会议提出改革纪检体制、完善派驻管理
中纪委启动第二阶段清理党内法规制度_网易新闻中心 近日，中共中央纪委办公厅印发了《关于开展中央纪委党内法规和规范性文件第二阶段清理工作的通知》及《中央纪委党内法规和规范性文件第二阶段清理工作实施方案》，标志着中央纪委党内法规和规范性文件第二阶段清理工作正式启动。
【舒立观察】何为“根本性问题”_杂志频道_财新网 in her editorial this week, Caixin’s Hu Shuli sounds very positive on Xi Jinping’s October 7 speech to the APEC CEO forum and what it may signal about resolve for reform // 此后遂进入国人关心的表述，全文为：“中国是一个大国，决不能在根本性问题上出现颠覆性错误，一旦出现就无法挽回、无法弥补。我们的立场是胆子要大、步子要稳，既要大胆探索、勇于开拓，也要稳妥审慎、三思而后行。我们要坚持改革开放正确方向，敢于啃硬骨头，敢于涉险滩，敢于向积存多年的顽瘴痼疾开刀，切实做到改革不停顿、开放不止步。” 很显然，这里的“根本性问题”，是指改革开放的基本国策及与之相关的重大战略部署；而不要出现“颠覆性错误”，有两层含义，一是坚持改革开放正确方向，做到改革不停顿、开放不止步，更不能走回头路；二是在改革实施时，不要因粗率急躁，引致不可挽回的结果——真理到谬误有时只有一步，大国改革需要勇气也需要审慎。从阐述上下文比重看，前一层含义为重…在表面上，误读可能缘于对“颠覆性错误”这种新提法的理解。但在实质上，这与一段时间以来，舆论上对于要不要全面深化改革存有分歧直接相关。反对进一步深化改革的既得利益者掀起波澜，制造迷雾，渲染“怀旧”情绪，使许多人对改革开放的必要性产生怀疑，对改革前途丧失信心。习近平巴厘岛演讲对改革的承诺，极有助于驱散迷雾，凝聚共识，使改革议程得以重启。当前，国内外舆论都热切期盼，十八大确立的全面改革共识，能在即将召开的三中全会上落实为具体的行动规划。
《打铁记》第15章：山西“西山会”_UGC精选 interesting latest installment from Luo Changping’s book on the takedown of Liu Tienan, serialized online // 红墙绿瓦，豪车美女，紫檀黄金……织造出了隐蔽、幽静的权贵交际平台。谁手握着那张通往西山饭局的门票，似乎也就坐上了权力晋级的直梯。那种权力膨胀的速度，并不亚于他们故乡——煤都老板的财富迭增。一名大内管家成为他们名副其实的“党鞭”，正是通过他，郭静华为自己的丈夫刘铁男获得了那张门票。。。没有固定章程，没有组织程序，也无固定地点，甚至不会有特殊的秩序编排，所以，很难说这是一个组织。但类似的组织形态在全国并不罕见，通常以某个行业或地域为标签，比如行业中的石油帮、电老虎、铁老大，又比如地域上的湖南常德、江苏盐城、吉林的延边。。。这个饭局的一名埋单者，正是“铁老大”刘志军的合伙人丁书苗。这名目不识丁的山西女商，在2008年7月26日主办了首都秘书界联谊会，400多名中央及地方秘书界领导及部长出席，这得益于“西山会”的幕后援手…能量守恒似乎也能用于这里。不同于父辈的嗜权主义，这些年轻人是纯物质的，以高调、炫耀、拼爹为这个圈子定了基调。这种逾越自己赚钱能力的占有，代表了一种人品上的瑕疵，以及人性上的缺陷。比如他们这个圈子中的薄瓜瓜，在几段破碎故事中都闪烁着品牌不一的顶级跑车。而在2012年，一场重要的人事排序在即，他们的带头大哥开着豪车载着两位女子，在京城四环发生车祸，当场毙命。跟父亲在西山的那三场饭局一起，构成这轮人事的重大变量。
China’s Xi stresses conflict resolution through rule of law – Xinhua Xi made the remarks when commenting on the “Fengqiao experience,” a social management practice first advocated by late Chinese leader Mao Zedong in 1963 at a time when class struggles, such as struggles against landowners or anti-revolutionists, were still occurring. Fengqiao township of Zhuji City in eastern Zhejiang Province is credited with developing the practice, which required people to resolve social conflicts among themselves, rather than handing disputes over to higher-level authorities. In 1963, Mao Zedong called on local governments to learn from the “Fengqiao experience” after he learned about the township’s practice. Xi said the “Fengqiao experience” has evolved over the past five decades to become a model practice for the country’s judicial and law enforcement authorities today.// 习近平:把“枫桥经验”坚持好、发展好 把党的群众路线坚持好、贯彻好-高层动态-新华网 // 枫桥经验的诞生、发展与创新–法治–人民网
中国规模性群体事件明显下降 8月份下降51%_网易新闻中心 sharp decrease in mass incidents, journalist learns at meeting on 50th anniversary of “Fengqiao Experience” // 中新社杭州10月11日电 今年1月至8月，中国规模性群体事件明显下降，其中8月下降51%。这是记者11日从在杭州召开的纪念毛泽东批示“枫桥经验”50周年大会上了解到的。 会议透露，中共十八大以来，各地各部门坚持和发展“枫桥经验”，加强和创新群众工作，切实解决涉及人民群众切身利益的突出问题，促进了社会大局和谐稳定。今年1月至8月，全国信访总量比去年同期下降2.5%，刑事案件下降4.3%，严重暴力犯罪案件下降11.5%…孟建柱说，“枫桥经验”历久弥新，具有旺盛生命力。习近平总书记在浙江工作期间，强调要充分珍惜“枫桥经验”、大力推广“枫桥经验”、不断创新“枫桥经验”，作出了建设平安浙江、法治浙江的工作部署。浙江省委和省政府把“枫桥经验”的基本精神贯穿于经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明和党的建设各个领域，紧紧扭住群众工作这条主线，牢固树立大平安的理念，大力实施和谐促进工程，确保了社会大局持续和谐稳定
宁波电视台记者疑因粉饰灾情遭余姚民众围堵_网易新闻 Yuyao citizens berate a Ningbo TV journalist for whitewashing report about state of flooding damage in Yuyao, attack security vehicles. pics
PetroChina Dismisses Split-up Rumor -Caijing The reports were completely baseless, a senior executive told the Shanghai Securities News, adding the company will stick to its integration strategy “till the last minute”. The executive noted that a split-up is not the best option, at least not for the short and medium term.
Discipline Watchdog Reveals On-going Investigation on Website – Caixin The party disciplinary watchdog announced for first time on its one-month-old website that a high-level official is under investigation. Qi Jingping, deputy director of the government’s propaganda arm focusing overseas audiences, China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, was put under a probe for “serious violation of rules,” according to the website of the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). // 中央纪委监察部网站
中国外文局副局长齐平景涉嫌违纪违法被调查_网易新闻中心 2002年7月至2010年12月任中国外文局副局长兼国图公司总经理。2011年1月至今任中国外文局副局长。全国翻译专业资格(水平)考试工作领导小组成员。
As China Vows Austerity, Giant Brass Fish Devours $11 Million – NYTimes.com But after the uproar, the Yangzhong government offered a new explanation for the monument. A city official denied that money had been misspent, and said the puffer fish tower was built as a plea to save the environment, said the state-run China News Service. The official told the news service that the metal fish is “a call to protect the ecological resources of the Yangtze River.”
Chinese prison officials thwart Virginia doctor’s effort to visit ailing dissident – The Washington Post Bob Fu’s China Aid // Moved by the plight and failing health of a Chinese dissident imprisoned for a few lines of poetry, a retired American doctor traveled from suburban Washington to the gates of his prison in eastern China on Saturday and asked to evaluate him. Authorities at Prison No. 4 in Zhejiang province refused Devra Marcus’ request to see imprisoned activist Zhu Yufu. They also temporarily confiscated the cellphone of an accompanying interpreter and deleted images from it before brusquely escorting them out of the prison, said Marcus and others who were with her.
重庆卫视明日改版 强调以新闻占领舆论制高点_新闻_腾讯网 Chongqing TV relaunches format, far cry from Bo Xilai days…using foreign sports rights to take the commanding heights of public opinion // 新版重庆卫视除了在新闻、大型活动、传奇剧场等方面发力,还全新引入世界顶级体育赛事。目前,重庆卫视正与国内相关体育版权公司洽谈,基本敲定引入美国NBA和英超、意甲、德甲、西甲等重大体育赛事播出版权。
法制日报–2013年10月10日–政法·司法–8名省级公安厅局长曾任职公安部 魏永忠同时建议,当前包括公安机关在内的党政领导干部异地交流任职,应加大选任程序和制度上的公开透明；加大廉政和勤政评价,把最优秀的干部选拔出来；加大异地交流任职干部的政绩追踪,及时总结异地交流任职的经验和不足,不断推动领导干部交流选拔机制科学化、法治化。// 公安系统整顿悄然加速 敲山震虎稳步深入_中国_多维新闻网
民企抢注上海自贸区推高地价 政策红利待明确|抢注|上海自贸区|地价_21世纪网 sounds like Chinese private and SOE firms are more interested so far in the Shanghai FTZ than are foreign firms…// 9月29日挂牌后，我们10月1日到7日的国庆长假都没有休息，自贸区内每天都热闹非凡，企业纷至沓来。我没有想到的是，相对于外资企业来说，民营资本和国有大型企业的热情更高，甚至还有残疾人推着车子来咨询。”
人民日报评论部：让“看得见的手”更加有效–观点–人民网 “Let the invisible hand be fully put to use”…page 5 commentary from the People’s Daily commentary department, third in series about deepening reform..this one on why the Shanghai FTZ and administrative reform matter//“负面清单”是不是一张可以复制的“改革纸”，尚待在那片28.78平方公里的土地上检验。但可以肯定，这“破冰一步”与取消、下放行政审批事项的改革同方向、共挑战，都是为了从制度上让“看得见的手”更加有效。沿着改革之路一鼓作气，大刀阔斧的一系列举措不断印证习近平总书记的改革宣言：“推进行政体制改革，进一步转变职能、简政放权，理顺政府和市场关系”。
中央政府审批总清单将公布_头版_新京报电子报 近日，中央机构编制委员会办公室负责人在接受采访时表示，日前，国务院已经下发严格控制新设行政许可的通知，目前，中央编办正在研究起草关于规范国务院部门非行政许可审批事项的意见稿。据新华社电
学习时报_2013-10-14_国家大局_让网络正能量得到释放 Study Times page 1 on allowing the release of positive energy online // 因此，管理网络，治理负面是辅助，更重要的是激发网络正能量。中共浙江省委组织部部长蔡奇认为：“互联网是个新的传播工具，本身没有标签，不能认为它是洪水猛兽，也不能隔网喊话，而应更加积极主动地参与。”从某种程度上来说，网络也是个社会安全阀。已故国家文史馆馆长启功先生说过：“仁义即人意。”普通老百姓的处事原则往往是“与人为善”，如果我们能提供正当的渠道，保障普通网民通过网络表达诉求的民主权利，同时积极引导，使网民的正能量得到最大释放，网络就是社会管理的一个有力帮手。 信息化时代，网络是不可抗拒的潮流。作为管理者，必须从战略高度看待网络的发展。既要保护网民的积极性，又要借助网络这个舆情的窗口，积极引导，合理规划，让网络释放出更多的“正能量”。
学习时报_2013-10-14_社会观察_谣言为什么会存在 Study Times on why rumors exist and are such a problem online // 因此，社会中的谣言是作为一种社会的信息调节机制力量而自发地、独立地存在的。在任何一个地区，当公众对某事件或问题感兴趣、而又无法及时得到证实的时候，谣言便不胫而走。在信息技术日益现代化的今天，网络的多渠道特点为谣言的散布打开了方便之门。当人们无法从主流媒体或权威性部门获得信息时，原本主要依靠人际传播的谣言借助迅捷的现代化传播技术以网络的方式实现传播，就像打开了“潘多拉魔盒”，在人们成为传播群体中的一员时，往往只愿意接受简单明了的观念，而理性的力量则便被抛到一边。
学习时报_2013-10-14_思想理论_毛泽东社会矛盾理论的当代意义 interesting Study Times on the contemporary relevance of Mao’s theory of contradictions in society // 当下，正确处理人民内部矛盾，是关系改革发展稳定的全局性课题，是促进社会和谐的基础性工作。毛泽东倡导的“团结——批评——团结”的矛盾化解的基本方法仍然有效。
学习时报_2013-10-14_思想理论_顶层设计和摸着石头过河 Study Times on the “top-level design” and “crossing the river by feeling the stones” approaches to reform // 顶层设计与摸着石头过河对中国新一轮改革仍然具有极重要的意义：不告别碎片化的改革，改革难以为继；没有在改革的征程中的摸着石头过河，顶层设计也无法落地或得到修正。科斯在其新著《变革中国》中指出，“中国经济大转型绝不是靠一个全知全能的政府，处心积虑、耐心设计的结果”。没有地方或基层摸着石头过河式的探索与创新，中国的经济不会有今天的地位。因而，在改革再出发之际，顶层设计与摸着石头过河这两种方式要形成良性互动：“摸石头”要在顶层设计观照之下，不能瞎摸；同时，顶层设计也不能闭门造车，而是要吸纳“摸石头”过程中的经验与反思的成果。
Populism trend needs to be curbed – OP-ED – Globaltimes.cn Populism has limited influence upon China but shows overwhelming power on the Internet. Certain members of the web elite take advantage of populism to advocate liberalism and some liberalist lawyers attempt to expand their personal influence. This leads to the awful consequence that inconceivable values and political groups are shaped in China.
人民日报新大楼披上“土豪金”-财经网 Slideshow of embarrassing photos of the new People’s Daily headquarters building under construction…been getting widely mocked online…just down the street from my apartment, only looks like this from certain angles, should be fine once completed…
重庆打黑中的民企资产处置微露转机_政经频道_财新网 Caixin on the mechanisms for and difficulties of returning confiscated assets to innocent victims of Bo Xilai’s Chongqing crackdown // 而财新记者了解到，与李家相比，另一位被“黑打”的民企老板黎强的资产处置，似乎更是困难重重。黎家资产是涉黑企业中，遭罚没处理最完全的。2009年，在该案一审宣判前，已对黎强家族的资产进行收缴。据不完全统计，从2009年7月至2011年1月，黎家掌控的21家公司及个人账户，仅账面资金就被划走6000万元，且大多流向重庆巴南区政法委。..黎家核心资产则在2011年起，分多次在交易所挂牌，其中2011年1月，黎强地产与重庆芹俊物业管理有限公司股权转让，底价约1.66亿元；2011年3月，渝强集团、出租汽车公司等8家公司作价1.985亿元整体转让……这些公司先后被重庆巴南区融资平台渝兴建投投资有限公司收入囊中。时至2013年10月，这些资产的处置仍无下文
重庆涉黑资产僵局：众多资产债务处置不知所终-时政要闻-经济网 编者按/10月9日，山东省高级人民法院发布公告，称薄熙来已经递交上诉状，且已被受理。薄熙来在等待对他的终极审判，而对于王立军、薄熙来落马之后出现的多位民营企业主针对当初重庆“打黑”的申诉案件，一年多的时间过去，其处置工作进展显得十分缓慢。陈明亮案、彭治民案、李俊案，这些当初轰动一时的案件的受害人在去年提起申诉之后，部分资产得到返还，但仍有众多遗留的资产债务处置问题不知所终，而刑事方面的申诉更是悬而未决，他们只能继续等待
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Your only report on the World Media Summit – China Media Project The Global Meeting Summit was, make no mistake, the idea of China’s leaders at the most senior level, the direct product of a specific media policy launched by then-President Hu Jintao in 2008 and designed to combat what China saw as its strategic failure of “discourse power” internationally. China wanted a bigger voice. And it wanted to influence all of the other voices talking (negatively, always SO negatively) about it.
George Osborne to give China go-ahead to build nuclear power stations – FT.com The chancellor George Osborne will sign a deal in China next week allowing a state-owned Chinese company to build nuclear power stations in the UK and have its reactor design approved by British regulators. Under the deal, the government will give its backing to Chinese General Nuclear Power Group entering EDF Energy’s planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset as a co-investor.
Why should the US be involved in Asia? | The Jakarta Post On regional security, Washington will be better off negotiating a new power sharing arrangements with Beijing, instead of seeking to contain the rise of China by rounding up its allies and friends in the region. One forum these two giants can use to prevent the polarization of Asia into two camps is the annual East Asia Summit, where they can address security concerns jointly with other medium powers in Asia, including ASEAN. For their part, ASEAN countries could help ease the escalating tension in the South China Sea by resolving their overlapping territorial claims with one another. Asia would welcome a US policy that will, of necessity, be vastly different from the 2011 pivot, and one that is more realistic and less gung-ho.–The writers are senior editors of The Jakarta Post and former editors-in-chief of the newspaper. They are Class 1979 and Class 2004 of the Nieman Fellowship program for journalists at Harvard University. Siagian was formerly Indonesia’s ambassador to Australia.
India-China visa row erupts ahead of PM Singh’s visit to Beijing | Reuters Two teenage female archers from Arunachal Pradesh, who were due to participate in the World Archery Youth Championships in Wuxi, were barred from boarding a Guangzhou-bound flight late on Thursday. China refuses to stamp visas on Indian passport holders from disputed territories, but staples them instead, a practice that infuriates India. At times, even Chinese companies, like China Southern Airlines involved in Thursday’s incident, reject such visas.
U.S. gives tacit backing to Philippines in China sea dispute | Reuters “All claimants have a responsibility to clarify and align their claims with international law. They can engage in arbitration and other means of peaceful negotiation,” Kerry told leaders at the East Asia Summit in Brunei, including Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Middle East Oil Fuels Fresh China-U.S. Tensions – WSJ.com China’s rise as a dominant buyer of Middle East oil presents a conundrum for it and the U.S. For China, it means its economy depends in part on oil from a region dominated by the U.S. military. When tankers depart Persian Gulf terminals for China, they rely in significant part on the U.S. Fifth Fleet policing the area. For Washington, China’s oil thirst means justifying military spending that benefits a country many Americans see as a strategic rival and that frequently doesn’t side with the U.S. on foreign policy.
Mutual Vulnerability with China a Reality, Not a Choice – All Things Nuclear The United States is vulnerable to a Chinese nuclear strike. Admitting this reality should not be seen as a diplomatic favor to the Chinese, but as a prerequisite for prudent U.S. defense policy.
China’s Foreign Aid and Government-Sponsored Investment Activities: Scale, Content, Destinations, and Implications | RAND The RAND research assessed the scale, trends, and composition of these programs in the emerging-market economies of six regions: Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, and East Asia. Finally, the research derived inferences and insights from the analysis that may enhance understanding of the programs and policies pertaining to them. In general, China’s use of foreign aid and government-sponsored investment activities has burgeoned in recent years, with emphasis on building infrastructure and increasing supplies of natural resources (including energy resources and ferrous and nonferrous minerals). Loans that include substantial subsidies provide financing for many of these programs, but the loans are accompanied by rigorous debt-servicing conditions that distinguish China’s foreign aid from the grant financing that characterizes development aid provided by the United States and other nations of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
TECH AND MEDIA
iPhone 5S and 5C receive lukewarm response in Taiwan｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com The iPhone craze in Taiwan may have subsided after the country’s three major carriers — Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, and Far Eastone — received less than 30,000 orders for the latest iPhone 5S and 5C on Oct. 10, the first day for the booking, a far cry from 300,000 units for iPhone 5 last year, reports our sister paper Commercial Times. In anticipation of further sluggish sales, the carriers are talking with Apple to lower fees for 5S and 5C packages
Alibaba to transform China’s ‘e-conomy’ with $500 billion marketplace | Reuters CEO Jonathan Lu says Alibaba expects to nearly triple the volume of transactions on its marketplaces to about 3 trillion yuan ($490 billion) by 2016, overtaking Wal-Mart Stores Inc as the world’s biggest retail network. …”The old companies that aren’t willing to transform will be wiped out by competition,” said Zeng Ming, Alibaba’s chief strategy officer. “Most traditional retailers now understand if they don’t move online, their time is limited.” Analysts predict e-commerce will account for a fifth of total retail sales in China within 5 years, up from just 6 percent last year.
ZTE Seeks to Become Global Top Three Handset Company by 2016 – Bloomberg Sixty-five percent of ZTE’s cellphone revenue comes from overseas markets, according to He. The Shenzhen-based company targets 30 percent growth in global handset sales and shipments next year, with the U.S. outperforming, He said. ZTE ranks as the fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer in the U.S., he said.
阿里巴巴最终上市地仍将是香港 – 葛甲的博客 – 我的 Blog博客 A good post about the Alibaba IPO drama…comments about giving up on HK should be seen as negotiating ploy…I don’t think a US IPO is something Beijing wants, and Jack Ma has lots of things he needs/wants from Beijing, esp around Alifinance, so he can not afford to upset them…good for HK to hold firm // 说到底，纽约和上海都不是阿里的菜，上海阿里不愿上，纽约那边有大棒，不信就试试。阿里真正心仪的上市地，还得是香港，他们现在只是在与港府玩心理战。先是卖萌，后是撒娇，再是威胁，终于做出点实事了，操盘的还是职业经理人陆兆禧。话说IPO操盘手不是马云吗?是啊，陆兆禧出去唱通黑脸威胁一下，马云再找机会去香港跪求接纳嘛，这多简单的道理啊…马云要跟香港玩心理战，讽刺挖苦威胁抱怨，太低估香港人民的智商了吧，把香港人民当大X陆人民玩了吧。嗯，陆兆禧今天放弃赴港上市的表态，基本可以忽略，那是忽悠港府，忽悠媒体用的公X关手段，阿里巴巴的真实意图，还是要去香港上市。因为只有香港才能给阿里高市值，才没那么多法律诉讼，才能不需要阿里调整自身股权结构和治理体X制。只要港府坚持原则，主动忽略心理战这些小儿科，未来几个月马云的意志将会崩溃，届时他将放下身段，主动示好香港政府，示好香港人民，往香港福利机构捐点钱，收购几家香港报纸和电视台帮自己说说话，帮香港政府当当50 cents，这都是有可能发生的。但我想，浸染了上百年法制史的香港，还是不能轻易放低姿态，却反而要让马云不断放低姿态，低了还要低，一直低到尘埃里，唯有如此，才不负枉死在1688之下的那些冤魂。
Dreams of a Different Beat by Xiaoran Liu Narratively – Narratively: Local stories, boldly told. Three budding Chinese reporters crossed the world to build journalism careers at Columbia. A year later, their newfound investigative skills are in direct conflict with the culture of censorship back home. // looks like an interesting documentary
小米回应优酷土豆起诉：内容来自第三方|小米|优酷土豆|小米盒子_互联网_新浪科技_新浪网 Xiaomi replies to Youku suit accusing it of piracy: “content came from a 3rd party” Future TV//
央视曝光天猫、京东商城等知名电商售卖未注册假酒|京东|售卖|假酒_21世纪网 CCTV exposes JD.com (formerly 360Buy) for selling fake liquor…hope the pu’er tea I just bought on there is not also fake…//央视在13日晚《经济半小时》节目中曝光了国内天猫京东等知名电商售卖假酒“赖茅”乱象。
China’s National Development And Reform Commission Urges End To Broadband Oligopoly – ChinaTechNews Xu Kunlin, director of the bureau of price supervision and anti-monopoly at the National Development and Reform Commission, revealed to local media that the commission has been urging China Telecom and China Unicom to continue to rectify their monopolistic activities and end their oligopoly in the broadband sector within five years.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
港媒:河北欲扣王克楠百万赔偿款 不签曝其找小姐_综合体育_新浪竞技风暴_新浪网 ugly story about aftermath of swimmer Wang Kenan’s death in a car accident 10.5 // 近日，年仅33岁的前世界跳水冠军王克楠在天津遭遇车祸去世的消息引起社会广泛关注。从10月5日凌晨遭遇车祸意外身亡，到10月9日葬礼匆匆举行，短短的四天时间，幕后到底发生了多少故事并不为人所知。经过记者多方打探，从知情人处一一解开了整个事件的谜团。在并未与肇事司机见面，并且没有谈妥赔偿的情况下，为何仓促举行葬礼并且进行尸体火化？作为东亚运组委会是否承担了王克楠事故的赔偿？而作为王克楠所在单位的河北跳水队，在这其中又是什么样的一个角色？
高仿印刷以假乱真 看“海外回流文物”如何穿上马甲蒙人-时政频道-新华网 interesting piece on how advances in printing are making better forgeries of chinese art that are being sold as “art works returning from overseas’…// “在七八年前,‘海外回流文物’还不失为国内拍卖行招揽买家的一张号召力较强的招牌；三四年前,业内已视之为一个噱头；今天在圈内如果说某藏品是‘回流文物’,常常带有讽刺意味。”文物鉴定专家裴光辉先生告诉《法制日报》记者。
近5年留学归国人员近80万 为有史以来最大回国潮_网易新闻中心 nearly 800,000 Chinese students studying overseas have retuned to China in the last 5 years // 本报北京10月13日电 今年正值欧美同学会百年华诞，我国也迎来有史以来最大的留学人员回国潮，近5年归国留学人员近80万人。今天，人力资源和社会保障部副部长、欧美同学会副会长王晓初在欧美同学会北京论坛暨第八届中国留学人员创新创业论坛大会上表示，截至去年年底，留学回国人数已达到109万人，去年一年回国27.29万人，同比增长46.57%。目前，全国已建成各级各类留学人员创业园260多家。
《焦点访谈》 20131012 “风生水起”的“风水大师”_新闻频道_央视网 CCTV “Focus” on fortune teller frauds, good hidden camera coverage, these fortune tellers clearly dont have a third eye to detect reporters
China’s spelling bees aim to punctuate written word–USA Today Instead of writing out by hand the many strokes they learned through endless repetition at school, most Chinese these days write characters on cellphones and computers by typing in pinyin, the system that uses Roman letters to write Mandarin based on pronunciation… With surprising drama, and a clunky name, Chinese Characters Dictation Competition has become a prime-time favorite on state broadcaster CCTV every Friday and Saturday. The government-backed show follows the equally popular Chinese Character Heroes, which aired this summer by Henan Satellite TV.
China’s Cram School from Hell – By Rachel Lu | Foreign Policy The China Youth Daily article claims that Maotanchang, a speck of a town with only 5,000 registered residents, becomes home to more than 50,000 people when school is in session; classes are so crowded that teachers must use loudspeakers to address the hordes of students. The article describes schedules that run from 6:10 a.m. to 10:50 p.m., with students’ waking hours consumed by endless lectures and repetitive practice exams that abate only for two 30-minute meal breaks and one hour of downtime. (Some teachers have suggested a scheduled bathroom time for “easier management.”) According to the article, one year in Maozhong’s cram program can reportedly cost up to $8,000, roughly three times the average annual disposable income in Anhui.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Draft regulation raises fines for polluters |Society |chinadaily.com.cn Beijing is weighing whether to remove its upper limit on fines for violating air pollution regulations next year. The Beijing government released its second draft of the regulation on Sept 25, scrapping the 1-million-yuan ($163,396) limit and adding five categories of illegal behavior to a list of those for which fines will be doubled. If the draft is approved, it means that certain actions, such as barbecuing food out in the open and discharging more vehicle exhaust than allowed, may result in heavier fines than currently applied, while serious breaches of regulations may exceed the current 1-million-yuan upper limit.
China Said to Scrap 10Pct Coal Export Tax in 2014-Caijing China is likely to lift a 10 percent tax on export of coal products next year, nearly a decade after it imposed strict controls to ease supply tensions domestically, local media said. Relevant authorities are considering removing the tax from January 1, reports by the 21st Century Economic Journal, citing a source familiar with the mater.
The Search for Sustainable Legitimacy: Environmental Law and Bureaucracy in China by Alex Wang :: SSRN While conventional analysis has primarily viewed this effort through the lens of environmental protection, this Article argues that “environmental cadre evaluation” is better understood as something more fundamental. Chinese authorities have embraced environmental cadre evaluation as a tool for limiting risks to the party-state’s hold on power, using environmental protection in an unexpected way to deliver economic growth and social stability. Environmental objectives have been elevated, but primarily to the extent they support these other values as well. But implementation problems inherent to this top-down approach abound. Local agents falsify information and shut down pollution control equipment. Closed factories are secretly reopened. These problems create an imperative for reform. Of the initiatives already under way, governance reforms that strengthen public supervision have particular advantages for resolving institutional pathologies that limit the effectiveness of China’s environmental efforts. By examining why and how Chinese leaders have elevated environmental priorities through the cadre evaluation system, this Article seeks to offer insight into a number of broader ongoing debates — about environmental regulation in developing countries, accountability and regime survival in authoritarian states, and legal development in China.
Smoggy skies call for revival of Olympic strategy – Xinhua While everybody appeared to have been caught off-guard by the fall smog in Beijing, there are no reports of heads rolling under the accountability system. Perhaps punishment is only meant for the wintry battle or intended to serve as a stern warning to prompt officials into over-drive. Let’s keep our fingers crossed because the day of reckoning will soon come when blaming the weather or geographic conditions for air pollution will not be an option.
FOOD AND TRAVEL
Shuanghui Accused of Using Chicken in Ham to Save Cost: Paper -Caijing Shuanghui International, China’s largest meat processor and dozens of other companies are reportedly selling hams containing chicken to save costs. Chicken meat were found in nearly 40 difference kinds of hams and sausages made by 15 Chinese meat processors including Shuanghui and Jinluo, the Being News reported. Hams are traditionally made of pork.
Have yuan, will travel far and wide |Society |chinadaily.com.cn The rising value of the yuan has had a curious side effect: It is often cheaper for Chinese tourists to travel to exotic foreign destinations than it is to travel to China’s popular resorts. A Beijing resident looking for an island break, for example, may find it more economical to go to Sri Lanka than to Hainan. Over the next year, the number of outbound trips from China will top the 100 million mark for the first time in history. //Sri Lanka is working hard to get Chinese visitors..smart
Chinese Overseas Trips Expected to Hit 100m in 2014-Caijing China has become the third-biggest recipient of tourists in the world and the biggest contributor to global tourism revenue, Shao Qiwei, head of China’s National Tourism Administration, told a conference promoting cooperation between tourism authorities in China and the United States. Chinese tourists spent more than $102 billion last year on overseas trips, Shao said, adding that each Chinese traveler spent an average of $5,948 in the US. He also quoted research findings from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis that found Chinese tourists had helped the US generate at least 10,000 jobs in 2012. // but they can not get visas to the US while the house GOP keeps the government shut down
BEIJING
Beijing Halts Land Auction as Rising Home Sales Strain Funding – Bloomberg Beijing suspended the auction in the Shunyi district, according to a statement on Beijing land reserve center’s website Oct. 9. The move helped avoid setting a new high price in the area, according to realtor Bacic & 5i5j Group. Cities including Suzhou and Taizhou in eastern China have tightened lending at local housing providence funds after growing loan applications strained their capacity, the official People’s Daily reported today without saying where it got the information.
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
A Monument to What Might Have Been: Qian Zhongshu’s “Fortress Besieged” | QIAN ZHONGSHU is a tougher Nobel pitch than some of the other authors profiled in this series. He’s dead, for starters — traditionally an obstacle to many things, including winning Nobel prizes — and his total creative output consists solely of a few essays, several short stories, and a single novel. On the other hand, that novel, Fortress Besieged, seems to me to be the high-water mark of something significant, if hard to explain, so I’m going to make my best case for it being enough to secure Qian’s place in history. The book takes its title from a French proverb, sets its action in the China of the 1930s, and tracks the misfortunes of Fang Hongjian, a feckless, cowardly student returning from Europe with a mail-order doctorate in Chinese from an American university that exists only in the imagination of a crooked Irishman. It may be one of the most cosmopolitan books ever written; certainly it is, as literary critic C. T. Hsia said, one of the greatest Chinese novels of the 20th century. // fitting this piece written by an Irishman who may be getting a (legitimate) doctorate in Chinese…
Monkeying Around with the Nobel Prize: Wu Chen’en’s “Journey to the West” | And given how little-known many of the masterpieces of the Imperial Chinese literary canon are to Western readers, the Los Angeles Review of Books asked me to nominate one pre-20th-century work or writer deserving of the Nobel publicity boost. I’ve settled upon Journey to the West, which may or may not have been authored by a failed official–turned–hermit poet called Wu Cheng’en (c. 1500-1582). I’ve chosen it for its dazzling combination of slapstick effervescence and thought-provoking meditations on existential conundrums: the tragedy of mortality, the obstacles to self-perfection, the violence and chaos of the human and animal worlds.
Great note on Benjamin Wey! So where do we find the CaseWorks piece now that Columbia Business School has removed it? I’m sure it makes for interesting reading.