"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Xi demands moral art – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping told artists on Wednesday that they should not pursue commercial success at the expense of producing work with artistic and moral value. Addressing authors, actors, script writers and dancers at a symposium in Beijing, Xi said artists should not “lose themselves in the tide of market economy nor go astray while answering the question of whom to serve, otherwise their works will lack vitality.” Art works should not be the “slaves” of the market and should not bear “the stench of money.”
Related: [视频]习近平主持召开文艺工作座谈会强调 坚持以人民为中心的创作导向 创作更多无愧于时代的优秀作品_新闻频道_top 13 minutes of Wednesday CCTV Evening News–interesting to see Xi make unscripted comments
Related: Xi Jinping Calls for Artists to Spread ‘Chinese Values’ – NYTimes.com Chinese leaders have often given direction on what paths creative works should follow. In 1942, Mao Zedong delivered his Yan’an Talks on Literature and Art, which declared that creative ambitions must first answer to the goal of building a socialist state. Deng Xiaoping later quoted with approval Stalin’s line that writers and other artists could be “engineers of the human soul,” and said that people in cultural fields should study Marx, Lenin and Mao to understand just how their audience’s souls should be engineered…“The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak,” Mr Hu wrote in a 2012 essay. Mr. Xi also described art in terms of a competition of cultures.
Related: 莫言冯小刚陈道明六小龄童姜昆等参加文艺工作
Related: 共商文艺繁荣发展大计–文化–人民网
How China’s Leaders Will Rule on the Law | ChinaFile-Carl Minzner This does not mean a repudiation of any core Party policies. Far from it. Beijing’s commitment to maintaining social stability (weiwen) above all else remains unchanged. But central authorities appear to be gambling that recentralizing control over the court system will help curb social dissatisfaction by combating incestuous relationships between local judges and government officials that are the source of many citizen grievances. Whether this will work in practice is an open question. As one Guangdong judge explained the challenges, “if local officials no longer bear any direct responsibility for us, the next time we need their help—executing a verdict, finding housing for judges—they are likely to simply turn us down, or tell us to run to the provincial capital. How are we supposed to operate then?” Third, Chinese leaders are also moving to reshape the legal landscape with Xi’s signature rhetoric—specifically, the Chinese Dream.
Related: 专访李步云：依法治国的脉络与方向_
Related: 十八届四中全会前瞻：“改革突破法律”
Related: 四中全会将从6方面阐述法治 或议公权力边界_网易新闻中心 1997年9月，“依法治国”
Related: 推进依宪治国 维护宪法权威——从宪法历程看依法治国-时政频道-新华网 in
Government ready for talks with students in bid to end deadlock, says CY Leung | South China Morning Post Negotiations to bring an end to protests that have crippled parts of the city could start next week after Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said the government is willing to hold talks with student leaders of the pro-democracy movement. Middlemen have been shuttling messages between the two camps since the government cancelled talks last Thursday when the Federation of Students urged more people to join the mass sit-in to increase pressure for their demands to be met.
Related: Beijing ‘not behind leak of CY deal’ | South China Morning Post looks from the details of the leak that it is from a deal insider, probably someone distressed at CY Leung;s deal at the time who now saw an opportune time to embarrass him // An authoritative source in Beijing dismissed speculation the central government was behind the leak of documents on a multimillion-dollar deal that plunged Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying into a political and legal crisis. “The central government firmly supports CY and his government,” the source told the Post yesterday.
Hong Kong Protests: Beating Victim Is Long-Time Political Activist – WSJ – WSJ Ken Tsang Was a Member of Chief Executive Election Committee; Heckled Hu Jintao During Former President’s Visit to City
FBI warns industry of Chinese cyber campaign – The Washington Post The FBI on Wednesday issued a private warning to industry that a group of highly skilled Chinese government hackers was in the midst of a long-running campaign to steal valuable data from U.S. companies and government agencies. “These state-sponsored hackers are exceedingly stealthy and agile by comparison with the People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398 . . . whose activity was publicly disclosed and attributed by security researchers in February 2013,” said the FBI in its alert, which referred to a Chinese military hacker unit exposed in a widely publicized report by the security firm Mandiant.
Related: Chinese company tried to hack NSA using U.S. defense contractor By Bill Gertz – The Washington Time explosive if true // Chinese telecommunications equipment giant Huawei Technologies sought to gain access to National Security Agency computer networks this year in a failed cyberespionage attack, U.S. officials said. The company, which the U.S. government has linked to China’s military, sought to penetrate NSA networks through a U.S. defense contractor, officials familiar with intelligence reports said of the attempted cyberattack. The attempted network penetration was discussed in mid-August during a meeting of an interagency security group called G-FIRST, for Government Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams.
Communist Party tightens grip on control of China’s universities | South China Morning Post The General Office of the Communist Party of China, which is directly under the Central Committee, released the directive for higher education entities to unify under the party leadership yesterday. The announcement said that after the fourth plenary session of the 17th CPC Central Committee next week, all departments at universities across the country shall “conscientiously” make implementations that “adhere to the party’s leading core position”.
Related: 中办印发《
Chinese ambassador says Beijing pleased with Abe’s efforts to improve ties – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun China’s ambassador to Japan said Oct. 15 that Beijing is taking a positive view of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s efforts to mend the strained bilateral relations between the two nations. “We are sensing changes in (the Japanese side’s recent) positive moves,” Chinese Ambassador Cheng Yonghua said during a speech in Tokyo.
深化财税体制改革 建立现代财政制度 Lou Jiwei in latest Qiushi on reforming the public finance system // 核心要点： ■ 财政是国家治理的基础和重要支柱，
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China Credit Growth Climbs as Targeted Easing Kicks In: Economy – Bloomberg Aggregate financing was 1.05 trillion yuan ($171 billion), the People’s Bank of China said today in Beijing, compared with the 1.15 trillion yuan median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists. New local-currency loans were 857.2 billion yuan, and M2 money supply grew 12.9 percent from a year earlier. Foreign reserves were $3.89 trillion at Sept. 30.
U.S. Says China Shows Some ‘Willingness’ to Let Yuan Rise – Bloomberg In a twice-yearly report to Congress on foreign exchange, the Treasury Department said changes to China’s currency policy remain incomplete and the world’s second-largest economy should allow the market to play a greater role in setting the yuan’s value. The report covering the first half of this year concluded that no country was designated a currency manipulator.
Revision of Securities Law Is Chance to Liberalize Market – Caixin – Hu Shuli Editorial China’s Securities Law is to undergo a comprehensive revision almost a decade after the last major overhaul. Public consultation is due to start in the first half of next year, following recent comments from officials, scholars and market participants.
Alibaba Aims to Extend Its Reach into Country’s Rural Areas – Caixin Alibaba Group will invest billions of yuan over the next five years to expand its reach into China’s rural areas, the COO of the e-commerce giant that recently held a record-setting listing says. Zhang Yong said Alibaba will spend 10 billion yuan over five years to set up 1,000 county offices and 100,000 village offices.
China’s top economic adviser focuses on growth and restructuring during trip to Jiangsu province | South China Morning Post Top economic policy adviser Liu He focused on China’s economic growth and restructuring during a three-day trip to Jiangsu province that ended on Friday in preparation for a key meeting in December on next year’s policies. Liu, who directs the Communist Party’s Office of the Central Leading Group on Financial and Economic Affairs, talked with local policy advisers and economic officials from seven regions including Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Inner Mongolia. They discussed economic trends and policies, the Xin Hua Daily reported, without elaborating on their views.
发改委批复三条铁路新扩建项目 投资额958.78亿_财经频道_一财网 NDRC approves three new railway projects, about 96B RMB // 从国家发改委获悉，国家发改委日前批复新建玉溪至磨憨铁路、
China’s Alibaba Renames Alipay Unit In Financial Services Push – Business Insider Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd said on Thursday it has changed the name of its Alipay financial services unit to Ant Financial Services Group as it steps up its push into the financial services industry.
China September FDI recovers on month but still down 1.4 percent for the year | Reuters China’s year-to-date foreign direct investment inflows declined for a third month in September, indicating investors remained cautious amid a further slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy. Investment for the month of September rose from a year earlier, however, after a sharp drop in August, though economists cautioned about reading too much into single-month data, which can be highly volatile.
Bank of China bolsters balance sheet with $6.5 billion issue | Reuters It is the first time a Chinese bank has issued so-called additional Tier 1 preference shares, instruments which behave like bonds and convert into common equity if the bank’s core capital falls below certain trigger ratios. It is also the world’s largest ever contingent capital deal, beating a $5.6 billion deal by HSBC in September.
Agile Executive Director Missing as Second Funding Attempted – Bloomberg Huang Fengchao, who oversaw Agile’s developments in Yunnan province and Hainan province, asked a manager on Oct. 11 to assist with queries from the Communist Party’s top anti-corruption agency, the developer said today in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange. Agile was informed about the probe yesterday and hasn’t been able to contact Huang since.
Top Economic Planner Tightens Rules on Issuing Enterprise Bonds – Caixin The October 15 document listed requirements regarding the materials and data that the issuers should provide in order to applying for an issuance. An official at a provincial branch of the NDRC said the document set higher requirements for issuances than in the past. A source in the bond market said on October 14 that the NDRC suspended reviews of issuances on October 13 and told its provincial underlings that new requirements had been drafted.
魏民洲会见美国亮点 基金会主席尼尔·布什 _滚动读报_文化频道 _光明网 Neil Bush visits Xian, meets Hu Deping. How is Mr. Bush’s China business going? // 本报讯（记者刘振）10月13日上午，省委常委、
Top Chinese umbrella exporter files for Hong Kong IPO as city protests continue | Reuters China’s biggest umbrella exporter has filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong as the city enters a third week of pro-democracy protest dubbed the “umbrella revolution” after demonstrators used the devices as shields against pepper spray. Jicheng Umbrella Holdings Ltd is raising funds to build a new factory and expand its output, according to its preliminary IPO prospectus filed late on Wednesday. The company, based in Jinjiang in the southern Fujian Province, didn’t disclose the size of the planned deal.
POLITICS AND LAW
China broadcaster says Xinjiang attack mastermind sought Islamic state | Reuters China Central Television (CCTV) showed several Uighur defendants dressed in orange prison uniforms confessing and expressing regret for their crimes. They said they had been brainwashed into “holy war” by a man named Nulamaiti Sawuti, who the government said incited the violence in July and was killed then.
新疆轮台围剿暴恐分子视频：民众在楼顶配合警察_新闻_腾讯网
How Xi sister-in-law became a media curiosity She joined a People’s Liberation Army song and dance troupe in 2000 when Chinese First Lady Peng Liyuan headed it. But in 2008, Zhang disappeared from public view, sparking rumors about her personal life, including alleged links to Xu Caihou, the disgraced former deputy chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, and his son. Her husband’s effusive article appeared to address the rumors.
Propaganda Chief Liu Qibao Elaborates China’s Indigenous Development Path | China Copyright and Media This article was published first in Qiushi, on 13 October. We Are Marching on the Right Path Some Points of Understanding concerning the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
BBC News – The man who was locked up by his corrupt boss Guangshan, the town where Sheng Xingyuan has spent his life, lies in the heart of China’s central Henan province. Local corruption is a serious problem across China, but Henan is renowned for dirty, insider politics that benefit a select few. Few people are better positioned to show us around than Sheng – he’s lived on both sides of China’s government divide. He worked as a local Communist Party official in one of the town’s family planning offices but after he caught his boss stealing government money, Sheng became a thorn in the state’s side.
China likely to expel disgraced security chief from party: sources | Reuters China’s disgraced former domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang, looks set to be expelled from the ruling Communist Party at a key meeting next week, sources said, possibly paving the way for his formal prosecution. // of course. surprise will be if it is not announced
专家：“人肉搜索”公布“表哥”等贪腐信息可免责_凤凰资讯 e
把教育实践活动新成果转化为从严治党新实践 “Qiu Shi Autumn Stone” in latest “Qiushi” on the Mass Line Education Campaign // ■ 我们要深入学习领会习近平总书记在党的群众路线教育实践活动总结
坚定不移走中国特色解决民族问题的正确道路 来源： 《求是》2014/20 作者： 本刊评论员- 核心要点： ■ 多民族是我国的一大特色，也是我国发展的一大有利因素。
以放活土地经营权为突破口深化农村改革 Sichuan Party Chief Wang Dongming in latest Qiushi on rural land reform // 四川作为农村改革的发源地之一，
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
China expresses concern about Indian border road plan | Reuters The road will run from the key town of Tawang in the northwest to Vijanagar in the far east and is expected to cost 400 billion Indian rupees ($6.5 billion). “The minister of state has conceived the idea of building a road that could be about 2,000 km (1,240 miles) long. The project has not been given cabinet approval but the preliminary nod from the PMO has come,” said the official who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media. “China has already spread their network of roads and rail network near the border. Whatever we make on our territory should not be a concern of China.”
China blocks BBC website as Hong Kong tensions rise – Telegraph Chinese censors have blocked the website of Britain’s national broadcaster, the BBC said in a statement late on Wednesday, coming as tensions rise in Hong Kong between pro-democracy protesters and police. The broadcaster said that the move seemed to be “deliberate censorship”. It did not say what may have prompted the move by Beijing, which also blocks the websites of the New York Times, newswire Bloomberg and the BBC’s Chinese language website.
China’s influence over Australian Chinese-language media outlets growing, analysts say -Australian Broadcasting Corporation what is the situation in the US? does the FCC even pay attention? // Professor Fitzgerald said the findings seemed to prove Beijing has influence over editorial decisions. “What’s exceptional here is not that China’s engaged with the 1 million Chinese Australians, but that it’s controlling what appears to be the majority of the Chinese language media in this country”, he said. “Behind this strategic media policy sits a state, behind that state sits perhaps the most powerful organisation in the world, the Chinese Communist Party.”
BBC News – Why is the US Navy practising for war with China? But as I stand on the deck filming my report on how “the US is practising for war with China”, I can see my host from the Navy public affairs office wincing. You get used to hearing the PR rhetoric: the US Navy “is not practising for war with any specific country”. But the US Navy has not assembled two whole carrier battle groups and 200 aircraft off the coast of Guam for a jolly, either. This is about practising what the Pentagon now calls “Air Sea Battle”.
The battle for Beijing could destabilise Canberra | Little Red Blog There is growing talk in diplomatic and business circles that the Abbott government is considering making the first political appointment of an ambassador to China since Bob Hawke sent Ross Garnaut to Beijing in 1985. The job is up next August when incumbent Frances Adamson — the first woman to hold the post — completes her term. Planning for a new envoy could be tricky given the new low in relations between China and Australia. The central cause is Abbott’s overt and public embrace of China’s No. 1 enemy, Japan, as key regional security partner – a step many observers say went too far. China is now determined, insiders say, to have its revenge on Australia by way of death by a thousand cuts.
世界记者蜂拥辽宁丹东 中国人扮朝军受访挣钱_网易新闻中心-网易新闻客户端
China’s Naval Chief Visited Disputed Islands in the South China Sea, Taiwan Says – NYTimes.com Speaking at a meeting in Taipei on Wednesday of the Foreign and Defense Committee of the Legislative Yuan, Lee Hsiang-chou, the director general of Taiwan’s National Security Bureau, said that Adm. Wu Shengli, the commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, conducted a survey of five islands in the disputed Spratly archipelago last month. Calling the trip “unprecedented,” Mr. Lee said that Admiral Wu had made the weeklong trip on a military ship in order to inspect the land reclamation work that China has been conducting on the islands in recent months, according to Takungpao, a Hong Kong newspaper.
Creators of China’s Atom Bomb Reminisce 60 Years Later | TheNanfang Atom bomb worker Ren Tie was exposed to radiation after several nuclear tests, but is proud of his service to China even though his teeth feel out when he was 50 years-old. With 500 atom bomb developers now living in Hefei, these people did not understood the implications of what they were working on at the time. Wang Suide, who is now 76 years-old, explained the workrooms were all separated and workers were assigned different tasks, unrelated to each other// 500名原子弹建设者隐居合肥:
After news assistants arrest, Chinese employees of foreign media on mainland express concerns | South China Morning Post Another Chinese employee in the Beijing office of an overseas media company said she felt troubled by the frequent meetings with the national security authorities, which had influenced her private life. “Of course [I] have worries. I also feel helpless,” she said, “Compared to foreign correspondents who might face the worse consequence of being kicked out of the country, we may lose more. [I could] often feel the fear in my heart.” She said she heard from others in the Chinese news assistant circle that Zhang’s arrest might be related to her participation in an event organised by Beijing artists in support of the Hong Kong protests, but not because of her reporting work.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
Hong Kong Pro-Democracy Newspaper Under Siege–Huffington Post Apple Daily and its supporters claim it’s the blockading demonstrators who represent outside forces. In interviews and on the paper’s pages, Apple Daily representatives claimed the blockages are carried out by pay-to-play “protesters” hired for a night of civil disobedience. Interviews with some of the demonstrators appeared to support that theory. Several pleaded ignorance as to why they were there. Some elderly participants who claimed to have come out just to watch, soon took seats in the street when ordered to do so by a young man with a walkie-talkie. Other protesters reacted angrily to interview requests.
In City of Protests, Pro-Democracy Newspaper Becomes Target – NYTimes It was the fourth night in a row that protesters had gathered outside the headquarters — and printing plant — of Apple Daily, the unabashedly pro-democracy newspaper that is a thorn in the side of the ruling establishment in Hong Kong. It’s also reviled by the central government in Beijing, which must tolerate its existence and the political activism of its outspoken founder, Jimmy Lai, because Hong Kong, as part an agreement that transferred sovereignty over it to China from Britain in 1997, has civil liberties unheard of on the mainland, including freedom of the press.
港媒曝光密件——“占中”幕后黑手收美巨额捐款-港澳频道-
The National Endowment for Democracy and support for democracy in Hong Kong | National Endowment for Democracy In the wake of recent pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong, state controlled Chinese news outlets have published erroneous reports that the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has played a central role in the protests. The projects that the Endowment has supported over the years in Hong Kong have focused on encouraging good governance, supporting informed citizen engagement in the political process, and protecting human rights. NED projects for Hong Kong totaled $695,031 in 2013 – brief descriptions of these projects are available on the NED website and include two Hong Kong specific projects and one regional project.//doubt this statement will change perceptions in China, but useful for the historical record
Hong Kong Golden Website Is Doing Occupy Protesters’ Dirty Work | New Republic If Occupy Central is a calm, polite gathering of well-behaved students, Hong Kong Golden is the movement’s combative id. Part attack dogs, part merry pranksters, the anonymous “Golden brothers”—the forum’s users are mostly male—have given the otherwise diminutive umbrella movement its teeth, getting their hands dirty in ways that average protestors aren’t willing or able to. They dig up the personal information of people who oppose the movement and publicize photos of the anti-Occupy thugs who have harassed peaceful protesters. They create memes like parody songs mocking government figures, which protesters then forward around on Facebook and WhatsApp. And in the absence of a movement leadership structure, the forum has become a staging ground where “keyboard fighters” discuss strategy and float ideas, such as occupying Lung Wo Road. Lester Shum, one of the leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students, has credited Hong Kong Golden with inspiring his political awakening.
Taiwan considers permanent armed ships for disputed South China Sea island | Reuters Itu Aba, also known as Tai Ping, is the only island in the Spratlys large enough to accommodate a port – currently under construction. Taiwan had previously said the port, expected to be completed in late 2015, would allow 3,000-tonne naval frigates and coastguard cutters to dock there.
TECH AND MEDIA
Foxconn offers maximum reward of CNY10 million for anti-corruption informers Foxconn Electronics (Hon Hai Precision Industry) is offering rewards up to CNY10 million (US$1.63 million) for informing against corrupt employees who have taken bribes or kickbacks while handling Foxconn’s procurement, according to industry sources, adding that the rewards will be given if offenders are proven guilty.
Internet giants’ brawl ends with Qihoo 360’s final loss – Xinhua China’s Supreme People’s Court (SPC)rejected the appeal of Qihoo 360 on Tencent’s market monopoly on Thursday, ending the two Chinese Internet giants’ three-year legal fight. The SPC maintained the original sentence that Tencent did not create a monopoly and all of Qihoo 360’s appeals have been rejected, according to the SPC’s final judgement. Qihoo 360 was also ordered to pay 790,000 yuan (128,674 U.S. dollars) to Tencent in legal fees according to the first court decision made by the Guangdong Provincial Higher People’s Court in March last year.
Alibaba Group to China’s Mobile-app Developers: “Connect to Us” | Alizila The program—named Baichuan (hundreds of rivers)—offers retailers and developers outside the company extensive technical support so they can connect with Alibaba’s e-commerce ecosystem, which includes leading C2C and B2C shopping websites Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com as well as popular smartphone shopping apps Mobile Taobao and Alipay Wallet.
Hollywood Takes an Interest in China’s ‘Loser Boy’ Web Shows – China Real Time Report – WSJ Hollywood’s Dreamworks Animation is in talks with a Beijing-based production company to produce a slate of original online content based on “Surprise,” an Internet-driven TV show has been viewed more than 1.3 billion times since it went online last year, according to people familiar with the matter. The show, produced by Unimedia and online video site Youku Tudou, follows penniless daydreamer Wang Dachui and his misadventures as a diaosi, a vulgar Chinese slang term for educated young Chinese men with dim job prospects, little money and no girlfriends.
Alibaba Targets RMB 50Bln on Double 11 2014 — China Internet Watch It is leaked on China internet that Tmall’s goal for transaction value on Double 11 (11 Nov 2014) is expected to reach RMB50 billion ($8.16 billion) in 2014. In 2013, Tmall created an one day sales record of RMB35 billion ($5.7 billion) on double 11, which had great impact on China retail market.
Xiaomi Shipped 45M Phones in the First Three Quarters of 2014 – TechNode Li Wanqiang, co-founder of Xiaomi, disclosed yesterday that about 16 million Xiaomi phones were shipped in the second quarter of this year. Lei Jun, CEO and co-founder of the company, announced earlier this month that the shipment in Q3 increased 20% quarter-over-quarter. The company made RMB33 billion (US$5bn) in sales from 26.11 million phones in the first two months of this year. So a total of over 45 million Xiaomi phones shipped in the first three quarters.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
8 Killed in Clash Over Development in Southwestern China – NYTimes.com The violence took place in a rural area of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. While clashes between residents and construction crews are common in China, and fatalities and serious injuries sometimes occur, the confrontation on Tuesday was one of the deadliest in recent memory. The conflict was set off by efforts to build a logistics center for the distribution of manufactured goods in Jinning, a county under Kunming’s jurisdiction, the Kunming government said in a statement on Wednesday.
国土部要求地方主动公开征地用地批文等材料_政经频道_财新网
The Arc of Possibility, Jason Q. Ng interviews Evan Osnos – Guernica / A Magazine of Art & Politics Evan Osnos: The thing that’s funny is that American politicians are absolutely experts at stage-managing and choreographing things. In moving to Washington, I had to rediscover a more fine-grained sense of judgment of when I was being spun with propaganda, because in China, it’s very easy to know what’s propaganda and what’s not. It comes out of that building on Chang’an Avenue, and it’s recognizable. In Washington, there’s propaganda all over the place, but it’s not coming out of one building, it’s coming out of a hundred buildings. And some of them are private, some of them are government, and some are individual politicians, but you have to be just as alert to the idea that you’re being fed bullshit as you do in Beijing. It can actually be a little more difficult to separate what’s true.
Education Company Minerva Project Taps Chinese Investors For $70 Million – Venture Capital Dispatch – WSJ TAL Education Group XRS +2.12%, a publicly traded tutoring services provider for schoolchildren, is co-leading the round together with venture firm ZhenFund and private equity investor Yongjin Group. Benchmark, which has been funding Minerva to date, also participated in the new round. Minerva aims to accept only those who pass a rigorous selection process. Its students live together in residential halls, at first in San Francisco, and then the same students are due to rotate to different world cities. They take classes virtually via live video sessions in small seminars.
马未都：中国的底层文化是一个推卸文化_观点频道_财新网
《北平无战事》创收视口碑双高_共识网 《北平无战事》
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
China launches new air quality inspections – Xinhua The Ministry of Environmental Protection has announced that it will run a campaign of unannounced and drone inspections of air quality from Oct. to next March. Unlike regular checks, in which companies and authorities targeted are usually notified beforehand, the upcoming inspections will be conducted at random times, and those found wanting will be immediately named and shamed, said the ministry in a statement on Wednesday.
FOOD AND TRAVEL
Speeding from Beijing to Moscow on New Bullet Train | TheNanfang China and Russia have signed a four-party agreement that laid the groundwork for the new rail corridor. The trip will cover more than 7,000 kilometers and last two days. Construction will take 10 years. The first step is to build a rail line between Moscow and Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Russia.
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
The Year of Being Twenty-One – Asymptote – Shi Tiesheng The year of being twenty-one was over. I was carried out of the hospital by my friends; this was a possibility I hadn’t imagined when I first arrived. I hadn’t died, but nor had I walked out. I still felt both hope and fear, as far as the future was concerned. Later on, a lot happened that I could never have imagined, and—just as before—when I found myself lost in confusion, I sometimes silently mouthed to myself: “May God protect me.” I did see God, one day—but he went by a different name, and that name was the mind. In the hazy patches of science; in the chaos of destiny; you can only turn to your own mind. Everything we believe in—no matter what that might be—comes from the promptings and the guidance of our minds. —1991.
BEIJING
检验房贷新政：北京二手豪宅一周卖出前几个月的量_财经频道_
京津冀地区17日夜再起重度霾 将持续3天(图)_网易新闻中心 another smog storm to hit Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei starting Friday night, predicted to last through the weekend…just in time for the Beijing marathon this weekend
They’ll Be Watching: Beijing Gears Up for APEC With 1,000 Cameras – China Real Time Report – WSJ drove by the APEC facility recently…looks great, hear cost at least 20B RMB // Keeping track of all those video feeds probably isn’t as overwhelming as it sounds given that China already has as many as 100 million surveillance cameras. Still, the Huairou Public Security Bureau isn’t taking any chances, having installed a giant wall of 27 to track all its electronic eyes, according to the report said.