"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Things got nasty overnight in Hong Kong as police moved in to end the occupations. The South China Morning Post’s live blog and this Twitter list of foreign correspondents in China, many who seem to be in Hong Kong right now and are live-tweeting events, are good places to follow things as they happen.
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Hong Kong Clashes Erupt as Police Clear Protesters – WSJ A person familiar with the police strategy said it was a “piece-by-piece” approach with the purpose of avoiding the use of force. “If the police can take down or clear areas without using excessive force, they will do it,” the person said. Some protesters criticized student leaders for allowing police to tear down barricades without putting up much resistance. Some of the barricades were quickly rebuilt from bamboo Monday night after the first police effort to clear the road. Police made short work of demolishing the reinforcements.
Related: LIVE: Video shows police allegedly beating protester after clear-out in Admiralty | South China Morning Post 9:30am: Basic Law Committee member and University of Hong Kong law professor Albert Chen Hung-yee says he hopes the police would handle any investigation into the alleged beating of Ken Tsang Kin-chiu impartially. “Such things often happen in the US,” he tells an RTHK morning talk show. 9:15am: Civic Party leader Alan Leong says four lawyers representing Ken Tsang Kin-chiu, his party member who was allegedly beaten by a group of police officers shown in TVB footage, visited Tsang at the police college in Aberdeen a few minutes ago.
Related: 警察拳打腳踢示威者 (中英字幕) Police punched and kicked democracy protester.(English subtitles)
China won’t cede to HK protests, army used only as last resort-sources | Reuters “(We) move back one step and the dam will burst,” said a party source familiar with Beijing’s policy towards Hong Kong, adding that if Beijing yielded, it could have a domino effect with Tibet, Xinjiang and other parts of the mainland demanding the right to elections.
Related: Democracy not excuse for turmoil: People’s Daily – Xinhua “Facts and history tell us that radical and illegal acts that got their way only result in more severe illegal activities, exacerbating disorder and turmoil,” it says, stressing that different opinions for Hong Kong’s democratic development may exist but should be expressed “via various legal channels.” According to the article, only by resolutely supporting the HKSAR government can Hong Kong retain its sound commercial environment and its status as an international financial, trade and shipping center, which is in the common interests of Hong Kong people from all classes and fields as well as foreign investors. “Stability is bliss, and turmoil brings havoc,” it adds.
Related: 坚决支持特区政府依法施政–观点–人民网
Related: Zhang Xiaoming: Central govt prepared for the worst Zhang Xiaoming, head of Beijing’s liaison office, told the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) that the protest movement is a “battle” but stopped short of saying what would constitute a worst-case scenario, the report said, citing unnamed people at the meeting. In an hour-long speech over the weekend, Zhang accused foreign parties of involvement in the crisis. An unnamed source said the Hong Kong government’s worst-case scenario would be a prolonged protest lasting until the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit which Beijing will host in early November.
Related: 国平：港版颜色革命注定要失败
Related: 中联办：”占中”
CPC urges continued discipline after education campaign – Xinhua The Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday urged its 86 million members to continue to foster good work styles after a 15-month campaign aimed at tightening Party discipline. In a circulation published by the leading group which oversaw the CPC’s “mass line” education campaign, it urged all Party members to echo calls by Chinese President Xi Jinping to brace for a long-term initiative to clean up poor work conduct and to “run the Party strictly.” The document came days after the CPC marked the end of the mass line campaign last week at a nationwide teleconference presided over by Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee.
Related: 巩固和拓展教育实践活动成果加强党的作风建设
Related: China Voice: “Mass line” campaign another Long March for CPC – Xinhua The campaign has, as the Party said, righted Party members’ ideologies and thoughts, curbing their privilege consciousness and reiterating the communist party’s fundamental purpose — serving the people. The campaign also addressed many practical problems, such as waste in catering, public vehicles and travel, as well as excessive meetings and paper work. Over 70,000 officials were punished for violating policies for thrift. Through the campaign, the state made a series of systems to regulate public spending, officials’ lifestyles and many other aspects to solidify the results after the campaign ended. It is also a clean-up of intra-Party relations. Party members were required to make face-to-face criticism to others and themselves, discussing shortcomings and problems so that they can address issues and enhance comradeship.
On Dealing with Chinese Censors | ChinaFile A couple of years ago, I had published Ancestral Leaves: A Family Journey Through Chinese History. It had received generous reviews in academic journals, but attracted little attention beyond college campuses. The interest was greater in China, where several members of the Ye family, whose history I had traced from imperial times to the present, were known to the educated public. A translation was completed early this year, and I reviewed it line by line to assure both accuracy and reasonable fluency in Chinese. Now I needed to negotiate passage through two groups of censors…In the end, I found my clash with the censors instructive. We went back and forth on the final points, with cell phone debates on alternative wordings of the last few issues that went right down to the day before the manuscript went to the printer. It was a useful opportunity for a foreigner to experience the world in which all Chinese writers live.
Engaging China in Nuclear Arms Control – Carnegie Moscow Center Until now, China has maintained that it would only join the nuclear disarmament process when the United States and Russia had substantially reduced their numbers of nuclear weapons, committed to a no-first-use pledge, and removed a host of “destabilizing” factors (such as the deployment of U.S. nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines in the Pacific, missile defense expansion in the Far East, the development of space weapons, and U.S. support of Taiwan). Beijing’s position thus appears to be propaganda-driven and is not intended to produce practical results. It simply helps China buy time while strengthening its strategic position in anticipation of larger concessions by the great powers. At the same time, current U.S. and Russian policies quite naively call upon China to “open up” its forces and programs as a goodwill gesture and a contribution to the noble cause of nuclear disarmament. This will never happen. Similarly, ideas of involving China in the nuclear arms control process, joining the U.S.-Russia negotiations, or borrowing the U.S.-Russia experience are unrealistic. China’s involvement in arms control is likely only on a strictly pragmatic basis; it must be convinced of a valuable quid pro quo in return for greater transparency and limitations on weapons systems
China’s Dangerous Game – Howard W. French – The Atlantic Over the past year, I have traveled the region extensively, talking with key diplomats and military thinkers among China’s neighbors—the ones now scrambling to respond to China’s incursions—to get their sense of how things might play out, and how the United States might become involved, wittingly or unwittingly. What follows is their perception of the chessboard and likely play in the Pacific—and of where things might take a dangerous turn.
China Focus: Beijing to adopt strict air quality plan for APEC – Xinhua If the air quality index is expected to top 200 for three consecutive days, an orange alert, the second-highest in China’s four-level warning system, will be issued, but the city will put into place pollution control measures usually called for under a red alert, the highest level. Such measures include banning the use of 70 percent of government vehicles and restricting the use of private vehicles based on even- and odd-numbered license plates, among others. Beijing has yet to issue a red alert for air pollution since the emergency plan was put into effect last November.
Edelman’s Steven Cao Resurfaces After 10-Week Absence–Holmes Report Steven Cao, the CEO of Edelman China’s holding company, is understood to have returned to his family, almost three months after the country’s authorities began an investigation into detained CCTV anchor Rui Chenggang. Cao has been absent from work since the end of July. An Edelman spokesperson in China told the Holmes Report that Cao had returned to his family, but declined to comment on whether Cao remained an Edelman employee.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
PBOC Lowers Rate on 14-Day Repos for the Second Time in a Month – Bloomberg China’s central bank cut the interest rate it pays lenders for 14-day repurchase agreements for the second time in a month, spurring a bond rally on bets the move will lower borrowing costs and help the economy. The People’s Bank of China sold 20 billion yuan ($3.3 billion) of the contracts at 3.4 percent today, according to a statement on its website. That compares with 3.5 percent in a similar auction on Oct. 9. The monetary authority last cut the rate on Sept. 18 from 3.7 percent.
China Factory-Gate Price Drop Ties Asian-Crisis Record – Bloomberg The producer-price index dropped 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing today, compared with the median projection of a 1.6 percent decline in a survey of analysts by Bloomberg News. The consumer-price index rose 1.6 percent, below estimates for a 1.7 percent gain, after August’s 2 percent increase. The drop in producer prices matches a streak from 1997 to 1999, when a financial crisis roiled Asia.
China’s yuan bucks economic slowdown, climbs to 7-month high | Dow Jones The rise of the yuan comes as the central bank guides the tightly controlled currency stronger, with analysts saying the moves are meant to discourage outflows on the back of recent poor data and re-emerging doubts over China’s economy. The central parity rate was fixed at the strongest level against the U.S. dollar in more than a month at 6.1408, despite sluggish industrial production, weak property sales data and volatile trade balance numbers. The People’s Bank of China sets the exchange rate and then allows the yuan to trade 2 per cent above or below it.
Longtime Chief Leaves C.I.C.C., a Major Chinese Investment Bank – NYTimes.com The China International Capital Corporation, one of China’s biggest investment banks, said on Tuesday that Levin Zhu, its longtime chief executive and the son of a former Chinese premier, had resigned ahead of a planned initial public offering that was expected this year.
中金公司朱云来内部离职信|中金公司|公司文化_凤凰财经 Le
China’s business registrations surge after application streamlining – Xinhua China has experienced a boom in new company registrations since streamlining the process for starting business in March. About 2.65 million new companies were registered in the first nine months of 2014, rising 52.44 percent from the same period last year, data from the State Administration for Industry and Commerce showed on Tuesday. The registered capital of these new companies totaled 13.42 trillion yuan (2.18 trillion U.S. dollars), up 99.76 percent year on year.
China Economic Watch | Is China Rebalancing for “Real”? At first glance this real adjustment to consumption and services share of GDP is sobering. China has made much less progress in internal rebalancing than nominal indicators indicate. However, as we have pointed out in the past, rebalancing remains directionally correct. In real terms the service sector has grown faster than industry since the second half of 2012. Consumption also continues to grow faster than investment in real terms. If China is successful in pursuing additional structural reforms such as demonopolization of the service sector and deregulation of interest rates this should provide further impetus for real growth in services and ensure that services will eventually exceed secondary industry to become the largest real contributor to value added output. It will also ensure that gross capital formation will decline as a share of GDP relative to consumption.
EU, China have resolved telecoms dispute: EU trade chief | Reuters EU Trade Chief Karel De Gucht told Reuters he would ask fellow commissioners to back his proposal to end the dispute over an annual 1 billion euros ($1.27 billion) of imports by Huawei [HWT.UL] and the smaller ZTE.
China’s NDRC Said to Suspend Corporate Bond Approvals Amid Probe – Bloomberg It’s not clear when approvals will resume as the National Development and Reform Commission may issue stricter regulations for corporate bond sales, according to people familiar with the matter. They asked not to be identified because the suspension hasn’t been made public. The 21st Century Business Herald also reported the suspension yesterday. At stake is a market that has helped finance more than $100 billion worth of corporate bonds in the first 9 months, according to data compiled by China Central Depository & Clearing Co. The NDRC’s move underlined government’s unease over debt risks after a string of financial irregularities in bank lending, trust financing and bond issuance was exposed this year.
Amid security concerns, US eyes sale of Waldorf Astoria to Chinese firm | New York Post Terms of the Oct. 6 sale allow Hilton to run the hotel for the next 100 years, but also call for “a major renovation” that officials say has raised eyebrows in Washington, where fears of Chinese eavesdropping and cyber-espionage run high. “We are currently in the process of reviewing the details of the sale and the company’s long-term plans for the facility,” said Kurtis Cooper, a spokesman for the US Mission to the United Nations. The State Department routinely warns American diplomats in China about physical and electronic surveillance, and tells Americans in the country to be aware of similar risks, notably in hotels.
国海证券总裁齐国旗被刑事拘留 副总裁协助调查-股票频道-和讯网 chairman of Sealand Securitues has been criminally detained // 国海证券(000750,股吧)10月14日晚间发布公告称，
POLITICS AND LAW
How Anti-Graft Campaign Lifts Lid on ‘Phantom Worker’ Problem – Caixin Such positions are created when government leaders place their children on the books, creating “child officials” who collect a paycheck while still in school. Also, some leadership cadres that have been transferred still receive salaries from their former roles. Many of their family members also continue to get paid.
CPC appoints new Party chief for Yunnan – Xinhua The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Tuesday said it has appointed Li Jiheng as head of the CPC’s Provincial Committee of Yunnan Province, replacing Qin Guangrong.
Xi Jinping on Exceptionalism with Chinese Characteristics – NYTimes.com Mr. Xi’s remarks on merging the Communist revolutionary tradition with ancient culture were the result of a sense that “even the theory of the elementary stage of socialism with Chinese characteristics lacks some basis things, and so needs interaction with traditional culture,” Ye Zicheng, a political science professor at Peking University, said in a recent interview. The desire to “recover new things from Chinese history and culture so that it has greater cohesive force and greater influence on the minds of Chinese people” is Mr. Xi’s “biggest difference in terms of governance,” Mr. Ye said.
习近平提及的十句古代治国思想名言是何意？–时政–人民网
【山西贪官录】之二：聂春玉的选择_政经频道_财新网 seco
Communiqué of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee – Current Affairs – China Executive Leadership Academy, Jinggangshan (CELAJ) thought it worthwhile to go back and read about the last 4th Plenum, in advance of next week’s. not transparent then, even less transparent now…plenty of rumors floating around before next week’s meeting, from an elevation of the CCDI to give it more authority to some big personnel changes…but I have no idea, nor do all but a tiny number of people, ones who don’t usually talk. We will know when we know, and even then we may not really know… // // (Approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee on September 18, 2009) The Fourth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee was held from Sept. 15 to 18 in Beijing, China.
Cablegate: Fourth Plenum: Xi Not Appointed to Cmc; No | Scoop News Wednesday, 23 September 2009, 11:11 am Cable: Wikileaks
CCP 17th Central Committee Plenum Skips Xi Jinping and Inner-Party Democracy | The Jamestown Foundation Willy Lam in September 2009 // The Central Committee seems more explicit when it concerns fighting graft, which has long been billed as the leitmotif of the Fourth Plenum. The Resolution characterized fighting corruption as “a major political task.” It said the party fully recognized that building clean government was a “long-term, complicated, and difficult” struggle, and that anti-graft agencies must endeavor to “tackle both the symptoms and the underlying causes of corruption.” Concrete measures were announced by a meeting of the party’s Central Commission on Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI), the country’s top anti-graft unit, last weekend. More emphasis was put on investigating the occupation, business activities, and wealth of the spouses and kids of mid- to high-ranking officials. The CCDI warned that in addition to regularly stating their earnings and assets, cadres must file with the CCDI and other watchdog agencies details the employment and investments of their spouses and children, and whether these offspring have married foreigners or settled abroad (Xinhua News Agency, September 19; Ming Pao, September 20). At least in theory, this means that details of the commercial activities of the offspring of President Hu and Premier Wen—both of whose sons are well-known businessmen—will have to be submitted to the CCDI.
The Best Laid Plans: Xi Jinping and the CMC Vice-Chairmanship that Didn’t Happen James Mulvenon–on 2009 4th Plenum There are no clauses in the Party constitution outlining the succession process, nor is there any specific mention of appointing the successor leadership to positions on the CMC prior to their anointing at a Party Congress. Some analysts, like the Brookings Institution’s Cheng Li, interpreted Mr Xi’s failure to win promotion as good news, a sign that “the Communist Party was developing more sophisticated mechanisms for leadership succession.”28 Li continued, “You do see checks and balances appearing in the system, there can be no single ‘strongman,’ and new rules of the game are emerging.”29 At the same time, others interpreted the non-decision as further evidence that the CCP political system is not maturing and becoming more predictable. According to Joseph Cheng Yu-shek, of City University, the outcome “makes China’s leadership succession procedures less certain and predictable . . . Having no decision [on the appointment] will encourage unnecessary speculation and competition.”30 Hu wants to stick around after 2012 Perhaps the non-decision reflects Hu Jintao’s desire to relinquish his party and state leadership posts but stay on as CMC Chairman after the 18th Party Congress, much as Jiang Zemin did after the 16th Congress.31 Some analysts, such as Victor Shih, speculate that Hu may want even more: “My take is that Hu wants to delay Xi’s ascension into the CMC so that he himself can serve another full term as chairman of the CMC before fully retiring at the 19th Party Congress in 2017.”32
Once upon a time, the Communist Party of China fought for democracy | Offbeat China But mainland netizens, after years of experiences fighting censors, always have a way – they turn to old quotes from the Communist Party of China (CPC) before they took power in 1949. A fact seldom mentioned now is that the CPC won hearts of millions of Chinese exactly by promising democracy during the rule of the Republic of China by KMT who now governs Taiwan. CPC was once itself a fighter for democracy, rising out of student movements – the Party probably has a whole playbook of how to do student protests. Talking about someone who has become what he hates? That’s exactly the case with CPC. “Chinese students’ patriotic movements won’t stop until democracy is realized.” Vowed Xinhua Daily in December, 1945, CPC’s official voice at the time.
环球时报:有人借批判阶级斗争培养话语权牟私利|阶级斗争|
中央部委招公务员人数收缩 被指与简政放权有关_网易新闻中心
我们走在正确的道路上 Minister of Propaganda Liu Qibao in latest issue of “Qiushi”–“We are walking on the correct path” // 来源： 《求是》2014/20 作者： 刘奇葆–核心要点： ■ 我们说中国道路走得对、行得通，不是哪个人的主观判断，
天津燃气原董事长装买菜老汉出逃 三轮上放150万现金_凤凰资讯 more details coming out in investigation of former chairman of Tianjin Natural Gas…he tried to flee in disguise, pretending he was a vegetable seller // 近日，天津市人民检察院第一分院宣布，
习远平：梢林美丽_共识网 Xi Yuanping writes on the 101st anniversary of the birth of his and Xi Jinping’s father, Xi Zhongxun // 时值习老诞辰101周年之际，
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Internet caretaker ICANN to escape US control – Yahoo News The US government in March of this year announced that it is open to not renewing a contract with ICANN that expires in about 11 months, provided a new oversight system is in place that represents the spectrum of interests and can be counted on to keep the Internet addressing structure reliable. ICANN plans to hand a proposal fitting the bill to the US Department of Commerce next year.
China, Uzbekistan vow tighter security cooperation – Xinhua Chinese security chief Meng Jianzhu met with Uzbekistan’s Chief of Security Rustam Inoyatov in Beijing on Tuesday, vowing to increase security cooperation between the countries. Calling cooperation on security and law enforcement “an important part of bilateral relations,” Meng, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said the security departments of both countries should improve the security cooperation mechanism. Both sides should lift their joint anti-terrorism efforts, working together to address common challenges and threats so as to safeguard regional peace and security, said Meng.
Japanese, Chinese parliamentary exchanges set to resume – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Ichiro Aisawa, chairman of the Lower House Committee on Rules and Administration, met in Beijing with Cao Weizhou, deputy secretary-general of the Standing Committee of the China’s National People’s Congress and Zhang Ping, vice chairman of the committee. Exchange programs between the parliamentary bodies have been in limbo since Japan-China relations nosedived in 2012.
China Voice: With right approach, two giants can coexist – Xinhua The governments are trying hard to encourage people-to-people exchanges by sponsoring a series of annual functions. The theme of next year is “the China-Russia Youth Friendly Exchange Year”. By jointly marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II next year, the two countries also aim to renew shared memory and raise mutual affection among ordinary people. China and Russia both realize that there are more benefit and less risk to be in tune than to wrestle with each other.
BBC News – Australia expands visa programme aimed at rich Chinese Applicants who invest at least A$15m ($13m; £8.09m) will now be eligible for permanent residency after one year. Since 2012 a fast-track to permanent residency has been open to those who commit at least A$5m ($4.6m; £2.8m) over four years – 90% of successful applicants have been Chinese. Australia is looking for new sources of growth as its mining boom winds down.
China requests Australia’s cooperation in chasing fugitives – Xinhua China’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that it hopes to work with Australia in chasing fugitives and illegal assets, responding to worries that a new Australian visa policy might be abused by corrupt Chinese officials. Australia said earlier on Tuesday that it would introduce a “premium investor visa” to give immigrants permanent residency after a year if they invest 15 million Australian dollars (13 million U.S. dollars) in the country.
TECH AND MEDIA
阿里巴巴即将推出新智能手机操作系统|阿里巴巴_互联网_
Costco teams up with Alibaba’s Tmall to make China debut–TechInAsia US retailer Costco is entering China today for the first time. But the membership-only warehouse store is not opening any physical shops in the country. Instead it’s partnering with Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace to open a storefront for shoppers in mainland China. It’s targeting an ecommerce market in China that’s worth an estimated US$275 billion this year.
从天猫数据“造假门”看互联网假数据-看点-虎嗅网 Huxiu on the rampant fake data on the Internet, in wake of Alibaba being caught making up sales figures for a new smartphone on Tmall // 越来越多的“蓝翔哥”站出来在知乎揭露了“预约下单页面”
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
厦大博导诱奸女生被开除党籍 自称不知睡过几人_新闻_腾讯网 据《厦门日报》微博，
Japanese school backpacks win the hearts, wallets of Chinese tourists – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun “High-class school bags for children made in Japan,” read a sign in Chinese. Another touted, “These bags will last until children graduate from school even if they are used every day.” These satchels are finding fans in China and even in Hollywood, buoying domestic makers trying to secure new markets in light of a dwindling number of schoolchildren in Japan.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
China military-linked firm eyes quick approval of drug to cure Ebola | Reuters Sihuan Pharmaceutical Holdings Group Ltd has signed a tie-up with Chinese research Academy of Military Medical Sciences (AMMS) last week to help push the drug called JK-05 through the approval process in China and bring it to market. The drug, developed by the academy, is currently approved for emergency military use only. “We believe that we can file to the Chinese Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) before the end of the year,” Sihuan’s chairman Che Fengsheng said during an investor call last week.
China’s Alzheimer’s time bomb–EJInsight China already has the world’s largest group of Alzheimer’s sufferers with 9.2 million afflicted, according to a 2013 article in the medical journal Lancet. Yet, with only 300 qualified doctors to treat them, more than 90 percent of cases go undetected. Even so, the World Health Organization estimates that Alzheimer’s patients in China will hit 11.7 million by 2020, which means that one out of every 10 Alzheimer’s patients worldwide will be Chinese.
北京医院用人将实行聘用制 同岗同酬同待遇_网易新闻中心 根据《意见》，
Digital doctors: China sees tech cure for healthcare woes | Reuters Liu’s case – one of a growing number of distance healthcare cases in China – reflects the rise in digital healthcare, or eHealth, to bridge the chasm between China’s developed health services in large cities and its grassroots rural care. And that’s a multi-billion dollar opportunity for technology firms.
AGRICULTURE
Dim Sums: Rural China Economics and Policy: Foreign Meat: Shaky Inroads in China In January 2014, a Ministry of Commerce official endorsed beef imports as a means of supplementing short supplies. He explained that while China is overall self-sufficient in food, “appropriate imports” of certain items in short supply like beef are OK. He said the Ministry makes import policies based on the relationship between domestic supply and demand. When there is a deficit, import licenses can be issued automatically, and inspection and processing procedures can be accelerated. What he doesn’t mention is that the process can work in reverse: slower approvals and foot-dragging by customs officials when imports are not wanted. Would the beef keep flowing if prices started falling?
FOOD AND TRAVEL
政务会议缩水 五星酒店“瞄准”企业_深度_新京报网 近日，