"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner

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Today’s Links:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

Paper goes public over reporter’s arrest – China Media Project  In a rare case of open resistance by Chinese media against intimidation by the authorities, Guangzhou’s New Express newspaper today published an editorial on its front page appealing directly to its readers following the cross-regional arrest of one of its reporters by police from Changsha, the capital of neighboring Hunan province. Under the bold headline, “Release Him,” the editorial occupies the full front page of today’s New Express. The finer bolded text directly above the headline reads: “Dear Readers, our reporter Chen Yongzhou (陈永洲) reported on financial problems at Zoomlion and was arrested by the Changsha police outside their jurisdiction, accused of damaging business prestige. Over this matter, we must speak out.”

Related: 新快报披露记者被长沙警方跨省刑拘过程_新闻_腾讯网 reporter arrested after series of negative reports on Zoomlion // 今年5月27日，《新快报》刊发了记者陈永洲采写的《中联重科再遭举报财务造假记者暗访证实华中大区涉嫌虚假销售》一文，报道了A、H股上市公司中联重科去年在华中大区涉嫌销售造假。

Why’s China’s Smog Crisis Still Burning So Hot? | A ChinaFile Conversation

Related: Beijing adopts emergency response for air pollution – Xinhua According to the Beijing Municipal Heavy Air Pollution Emergency Response Program, drivers will only be allowed to use their cars every other day when a red air pollution alert is issued. Cars with odd and even license plates will be allowed on alternating days and 30 percent of municipal cars will be banned from streets on an odd/even basis. The emergency response will remind citizens to protect themselves from health hazards and take strict emission reduction measures. During a red alert, kindergartens, primary and high schools will be suspended, and some industrial plants shut down.

Related:  Chinese citizens losing patience with air pollution consequences | PBS NewsHour | Oct. 21, 2013 | PBS China’s tremendous growth has transformed the lives of its citizens but it has also come with a cost: significant air pollution. The major industrial city of Harbin shut down when smog levels reached record levels. Jeffrey Brown talks to Evan Osnos of The New Yorker about the ramifications of China’s air quality problems.

Related: 大气污染治理遭遇尴尬任重道远 新华社——经济参考网 MEP ranking of cities by Q3 air quality makes for grim reading…// 22日，环境保护部发布数据显示，三季度，京津冀地区13个城市空气质量达标天数平均仅为37.5%，平均超标天数比例为62.5%。一边是正在进行的大气污染防治行动计划，另一边是包括北京、湖南长沙、东北三省等地持续多日的雾霾围城，近在眼前的事实再度向公众警示，城市空气污染这一“顽疾”仍在持续恶化。目前，多地应对重污染天气频频出招，但收效甚微。而且，随着冬季供暖季到来，北方地区雾霾情况将更加严重。多位业内专家表示，这无疑给那些签订了大气污染防治“责任状”的地区带来巨大压力。

Related: Cleaner air a bitter pill for north China cities – FT.com Cleaning up pollution at state-owned Chengde Steel is unlikely to be much of a priority for anyone. The mill commands the only large vanadium mine in northern China and so has strategic value as a producer of the metal used to make hard, rust-resistant steel for tools and nuclear plants. It is also the biggest employer around, accounting for one in eight of all state employees in Chengde. It employs about 16,000 people and another 7,000 or so worked there until they retired.

Related: Considering All Options – Caixin time to mobilize the masses to fight air pollution // On September 23, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau revealed plans to invest nearly 1 trillion yuan to manage air pollution over the next five years. Of that, 300 billion yuan will be devoted to reducing levels of PM2.5 by one-fourth. This plan shocked me. At first, I was proud. Thirty years ago, China would not be able to raise this much money for environmental protection. But then I became sad. Trillions of yuan! How much could be done with this amount of money if it was used elsewhere. The fact is, according to the plan, even if we do invest all this money, average PM2.5 levels will only drop to 60 micrograms per cubic meter of air, far above the 25 microgram standard set by the European Union. So the question is: Are there cheap and fast ways to deal with the smog?

Related: Beijing Will Test This Giant Smog-Devouring Pollution Vacuum–Gizmodo Roosegaarde’s Shanghai-based design firm, Studio Roosegaarde, recently forged an agreement with Beijing’s mayor to test the concept in one of the city’s parks. The set up should be capable of clearing a 22,500 square foot area of clear sky in the otherwise smoggy park, showing local citizens what life could be like without the pollution. “Here, the absence of the smog is the design and I like that,” Roosegaarde told Wired. “For me design is not about chairs and lamps or tables, what you know Dutch design to be. I like thinking of designs that enable and improve life.” //uses copper coils buried underground

China’s ‘Mr. Market’ Sees Political Overhaul as Key to Reform – WSJ.com To anyone trying to handicap the chances of a new reform wave coming from the November meeting, however, it’s worth considering this: The reform ideas of Mr. Wu, now 83 years old, face more resistance from within the party than at almost any point in the past three decades—precisely because, in his view, economic reform must start with political change…”There’s no question that things have gone backwards,” says Mr. [Barry] Naughton, who admits he is having difficulty squaring the professed commitment of Mr. Xi and other leaders to economic reform with the conservative politics sweeping the country. “It doesn’t add up,” he says. //New English volume of Wu’s writings–Wu Jinglian: Voice of Reform in China by Barry J. Naughton (Editor)

阿里上市突现“B计划” 对香港“难说再见”_21世纪网 All this talk of listing outside of Hong Kong just huffing and puffing by Alibaba in hopes of getting what it wants from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange? 21st Century Business Herald reports that Alibaba may have a “Plan B” to compromise and get approval from the HKSE. I very much doubt Beijing wants to see China’s most important Internet company list overseas, and given all the licenses Jack Ma needs, especially to expand into finance, there is no way he will risk upsetting Beijing // 阿里上市的“肥皂剧”仍未结束。上市地除了香港、纽约和“不靠谱”的上海外，最新绯闻上市地竟出现了伦敦。备受争议的合伙人制度也出现了“B计划”。种种迹象显示，阿里对香港“难说再见”…有接近香港交易所与阿里巴巴谈判的消息人士透露，对于合伙人提名董事权在港受阻，阿里正研究“B计划”，即公司上市后，确保行政总裁（CEO）从28名合伙人中遴选，但不再坚持由合伙人控制董事局过半数提名权。熟知上市规则的专业人士表示，阿里若仅坚持CEO提名权，等于已作出极大妥协，与港交所之间已不存在根本利益冲突，双方或重启上市谈判。//The “Plan B” compromise supposedly has Alibaba only insisting on having the CEO chosen by the partnership structure…which is huge come down from the previous plan

Related: 谁在阻碍阿里上市-财经网 This week’s Caijing excellent cover story is on Alibaba and its IPO process. Too bad Caijing rarely does good, complete English translations…

Dui Hua Human Rights Journal: Politico-Legal Committee Issues Rules to Prevent Injustice There is much in these guidelines that sounds positive from the perspective of promoting procedural fairness and rule of law in China. The ultimate impact of these pronouncements, however, is likely to depend on how much weight they are given vis-a-vis other, well-established imperatives to pursue stability in the interest of the overall socio-political order, for it is the perception that these interests can trump the law and political and civil rights that contributes most to miscarriages of justice in China.

Related: 人民日报锐评：防止冤假错案，缺的不只是制度–观点–人民网 反思这些冤假错案，司法机关缺的并不是制度——无论是法律法规还是部门规章，对办案流程都有严格的刚性约束。真正缺乏的是制度的落实，是责任的追究，更是一些办案人员从心底对公平正义、对人民群众权益的漠视。有人曾表示，在办案过程中，只要哪怕有一名办案人员能够站出来，这些案件或许都不会成为冤假错案。

Even in China, Dissidents Sometimes Get Fired Just for Being Bad at Their Jobs – Eric Fish – The Atlantic When Xia Yeliang was dismissed from his job teaching economics at Beijing University, Western critics claimed his outspoken liberal beliefs were the reason. But the people Xia taught tell a different story… four former students, contacted independently of one another, say that Xia was an exceedingly unpopular professor who spent most lectures espousing his political views at the expense of teaching the course curriculum. “This was a basic class during our freshman year,” said the student from Xia’s 2010 Principles of Economics course. “We needed to learn this information for later on in our study. But he didn’t teach it well at all. We had to teach it to ourselves later.” //not the mainstream media view. 

Related: 【短评】北大解聘夏业良 需更多解释与对话_评论_南都网 Southern Metropolitan Daily commentary calls for more explanation of why Xia Yeliang lost his Peking U job // 摘要：大学解聘教员，攸关学术尊严，更事涉学者的尊严与权利。将被解聘的教员夏业良称“正在考虑是否申诉”，对这场已然引发的争议，无论是校方还是学者本身，都需要更充分地对话甚至是辩驳，教授的申诉救济渠道应得到切实的尊重和保障。个案虽小，兹事体大。

China’s CCTV Targets Samsung Following Starbucks, Apple -Caijing CCTV, China’s state television kept firing at foreign corporates as it stepped up to accuse South Korean electronics maker Samsung of charging high maintenance costs over inherent malfunctions and failures following its attack on Starbucks over profiteering in China. Constant failures have become a headache for many Samsung Galaxy Note and S phone owners, according to Monday’s Half-Hour Economy, a CCTV evening program.

Related: 三大运营商被指发垃圾短信获利 给群发者返利_新闻_腾讯网 CCTV goes after China Unicom, China Telecom and China Mobile for sending spam text messages // [导读]据记者调查，垃圾短信来源不一，有的来自群发器，更高级的来自移动、联通、电信三大运营商。他们不止为发送垃圾短信提供便利，还为相关企业出主意应付监管。// 《焦点访谈》 20131021 垃圾短信哪里来

Top China Banks Triple Debt Write-Offs as Defaults Loom – Bloomberg China’s courts have also been processing bankruptcies faster. The eastern province of Zhejiang, a region south of Shanghai that’s home to many of the country’s largest private companies, accepted 143 bankruptcy petitions last year, according to the most recent figures reported by its high court in May. That’s almost twice the number from a year earlier. The rising bankruptcies may have helped Bank of Communications, the nation’s fifth-largest lender, become the most aggressive among the top five in expunging bad loans from its books so far: its write-offs surged sevenfold to 4.82 billion yuan in the first six months

 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE

China central bank may tighten cash supply as home prices fuel inflation fears | Reuters A policy adviser to the People’s Bank of China told Reuters the authority may tighten cash conditions in the financial system to address the inflation risks, while the central bank refrained from supplying cash to money markets for the second day running. If it also avoids injecting cash at its next money market operation on Thursday, the effect will be a net weekly drain of 58 billion yuan – the second biggest since February. “(Policy) will only be tightened slightly as inflation is rising. There are some concerns on bank lending,” said Song Guoqing, an academic member of the central bank’s monetary policy committee.

China Intensifies Crackdown on Bond Market-Caijing An industry veteran said that during the LGFV bond boom, financial institutions went all out to fight for underwriting contracts. Some institutions relied on their professionalism; others boasted they were able to facilitate the approval process. Still others tried to gain an upper hand by employing a low-price strategy, and some of them even went so far as to pay corporate issuers to get underwriting contracts. In some cases, the main underwriter was simply designated by government agencies in charge of bond issuance approval. Financial institutions such as Guosen and Hong Yuan managed to quickly expand their market share in the bond market where only central government agencies and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are allowed to borrow, in particular the LGFV bond market segment, thanks in part to their ability to stay on good terms with regulatory agencies.

Bribery Claims Feed Milk Scandal-Caijing Dumex, a household name that entered the Chinese market in the late 1990s, is a unit of Groupe Danone, a Fortune 500 company with a global presence. It has pledged management changes in the wake of the scandal. Moreover, earlier this year, Danone’s Nutricia Advanced Nutrition Unit instigated an internal investigation after it was also accused of bribing doctors in Chinese hospitals to boost sales of its formulas.Not only has the long-cultivated prestige of these brands been hit hard, but the confidence of millions of Chinese consumers who believed in, and indeed almost seemed to worship, the products, has been destroyed.

SEC.gov | SEC Charges Diebold With FCPA Violations The SEC alleges that subsidiaries of Diebold Inc. in China and Indonesia spent approximately $1.8 million on travel, entertainment, and other improper gifts for senior officials with the ability to influence the banks’ purchasing decisions.  Government-owned bank officials in China and Indonesia were rewarded with free trips to popular tourist destinations in the U.S. and Europe, and Diebold’s expenditures were falsely recorded in the company’s books and records as legitimate training expenses.  Diebold’s subsidiary in China also provided dozens of government bank officials with annual cash gifts ranging from less than $100 to more than $600.

China Able to Solve Local Debt Problem, Says Top Auditor-Caijing China’s top auditor said he was confident in the government’s ability to resolve the local debt problem which casts shadow over the world’s second-largest economy, adding that an overall examination of the local debt has yet finished. Liu Jiayi, Auditor-General of the National Audit Office, made the remark at a joint interview on the sidelines of the 21st World Audit gathering on Monday, at which he was elected as elected as president.

铁路建设四季度“井喷”在即_财经频道_一财网 huge surge in investment by China Railway Corp once again coming in Q4? Yes, says First Financial // 相比城际铁路的建设热潮，全国铁路投资数据截至目前仍然呈现温和的增长态势，目前仅完成6900亿元计划额度的六成。中国工程院院士王梦恕近日在接受本报采访时称，受困于资金到位情况和结算制度等原因，铁路投资建设每年都会不同程度地出现“四季度井喷”。因此接下来的几个月，全国铁路投资将会有较为明显的增长。 上述观察人士也称，铁总四季度的“突击花钱”加上各地方在城际铁路方面注射的“强心剂”，令剩下几个月全国铁路建设可能呈现白热化状态。不过两者不同的是，铁总面临的是“突击花钱”，而地方则将继续在背负沉重债务的情况下探索新的融资模式。

四季度或成楼市调控加码窗口期 限购限价或加码_证券时报网 what new real repression regulations might the government introduce in Q4, to further distort the property market? // 分析人士表示，房价快速上涨超预期，可能引发新的调控政策，四季度可能迎来政策窗口期，热点城市可能密集出台微调政策，中央层面可能推出新的调控措施。尽管楼市调控长效机制正在酝酿，但从当前态势看，限购、限价等行政手段短期内可能不会退出，甚至有加码可能。

China Treasury Holdings Drop to 6-Mo. Low as Yields Rise – Bloomberg China’s holdings fell by $11.2 billion, or 0.9 percent, in August to $1.268 trillion, the fewest since February. The Chinese position has dropped by $29.2 billion since peaking this year at $1.297 trillion in May. Treasury 10-year note yields ended August at 2.78 percent, the highest monthly close since July 2011, rising 1.11 percentage points after the end of April. It was at 2.51 percent yesterday in New York.

Introducing: China Econtracker 2.0 – China Real Time Report – WSJ The Wall Street Journal’s China Econtracker – now enhanced so that you can plot two indicators simultaneously – lets you follow the ups and downs of the world’s second-largest economy in real time. The Econtracker aggregates publicly available data about the Chinese economy in one place, for an instant look at the direction of the world’s second-largest economy.

China agrees renminbi accord with Singapore – FT.com China is to further internationalise its currency by allowing Singapore-based investors to buy renminbi-denominated securities, paving the way for direct trading between the two countries’ currencies. The accord follows last week’s announcement from George Osborne, Britain’s chancellor – or finance minister – who touted a similar agreement as a breakthrough for London as a global hub for renminbi trading.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

China’s State TV Backtracks on News of Corruption Inquiry – NYTimes.com Should be easy for Twitter to confirm the hack and provide details…a huge deal, CCTV should want twitter to release the info // Less than two hours later, the message was deleted. On Tuesday morning, CCTV followed up with a statement on Twitter saying that its account “was targeted on Oct. 21st” and “used illegally to post incorrect information copied from other sources.”

《焦点访谈》 20131022 网络红人终落法网_新闻频道_央视网 CCTV Focus on the recent arrests in Hunan of Ge Qiwei and four others on charges of fabricating online rumors, blackmailing others and provoking troubles.

党报盘点“边民”、格祺伟等网络大谣劣迹 _新闻_腾讯网 People’s Daily looks at “bian min”, Ge Qiwei cases // 日前，在公安机关集中打击网络有组织制造传播谣言等违法犯罪专项行动中，“边民”董如彬、“全媒体记者”格祺伟先后被查处。这些网络名人，一边高举“为民维权”、“监督报道”旗帜，一边却通过捏造事实、制造热点事件敛财。“求证”栏目梳理了他们制造的一些“网络热点”，并约请业内人士及专家探讨：此类造谣敛财手段为何屡屡得逞？如何遏制此类谣言流传？

人民日报：解决群众反映强烈的问题–观点–人民网 Page 1 People’s daily, most-read story on site so far today, about resolving the strong reactions by the masses // 毛泽东同志曾经提出，应该深刻地注意群众身边的问题，从土地，劳动问题，到柴米油盐问题。一切群众生活上的问题，都应该提到我们的议事日程上。全心全意为人民服务是党的根本宗旨，领导干部永远都要围绕满足群众需求、解决群众困难来开展工作，坚决清除“四风”之弊。这样才能打掉党和人民之间的隔离墙，不断从群众中汲取推动我们事业前进的力量。

Commentary: Tibet’s progress shows victory of China way – Xinhua | English.news.cn The Chinese government on Tuesday issued a white paper on “Development and Progress in Tibet”.

北京办奢华婚宴村官因征地发家 住别墅开豪车_新闻_腾讯网 The Beijing village official who was removed after his son had a 1.6m RMB wedding may be worth over 100m RMB, got rich in land reclamation, claim villagers // [导读]北京村官马林祥发家史被曝光，村民称马林祥身家过亿，一家三口有数辆豪车和多套房子。朝阳区纪委表示，马林祥违反中央相关规定，造成恶劣影响，罢免其村委会副主任一职。

How to Say ‘Truthiness’ in Chinese – Tea Leaf Nation In the face of these assaults on their right to speak out, grassroots Chinese are trying to turn the mirror back on officialdom by calling out instances where officials or state-owned media made statements that turned out to be false. The result is two types of “rumors” in Chinese argot: minyao, or rumors spread by Chinese citizens which may or may not be true, and guanyao, official rumors, which are falsehoods uttered by Chinese authorities

China’s social media may diversify amid crackdown on celebrity bloggers | South China Morning Post Chang Ping says while the Chinese government’s attack on the ‘big V’ celebrity bloggers is petty, in the long run, a blogosphere without these groomed opinion makers may not be a bad thing

千龙网–新闻中心–“喝人奶”造谣者近日被查处 千龙网讯 据搜狐网今日发布网友“枫落51587516”爆料信息称，就在近日，新华社的朋友透露了这样一则消息，他们对外部的编辑周方因为在个人博客发布了关于宣传口正部级领导喝人奶的严重不实的内容，且曾引起了广泛的关注甚至轰动而受到查处。

Top UBS banker ‘to study at Harvard before returning to China to serve motherland’ | South China Morning Post Zhao Ju, currently China Co-head for UBS, will take a sabbatical of up to 12 months from the end of this year when he will become a visiting fellow in the class of 2014 in the prestigious John F. Kennedy School of Government at the famous university in the United States, according to two sources close to Zhao.

Eight punished following railway audit – CHINA – Globaltimes.cn  Wang Qishan, chief of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, demanded scrutiny and severe punishment for the misconduct. “He required me and the CRCC’s discipline chief Qi Xiaofei to sign the audit verification report,” said Qiang Weidong, secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee at the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council on Monday. “A signature means commitment and responsibility. It gives not only pressure but also a driving force,” Qiang said, while calling for the promotion of a new method among all discipline inspectors in an interview with the official website of the CCDI.

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

Japan, China were close to preventing current turmoil over Senkakus, DPJ lawmaker says – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun In his book, published by Kodansha Ltd., Nagashima said the Noda administration worked to gain the understanding of Chinese leaders before Japanese Cabinet members endorsed the policy in September. “We exhausted all available diplomatic channels to reach Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Zhijun and State Councilor Dai Bingguo,” Nagashima said in the book…But “a group of Chinese leaders who were inclined to accept (Noda’s policy) lost its clout” in the intensifying power squabble ahead of the Chinese Communist Party’s National Congress. // any reason to think this claim is credible?

新华国际时评：揭开美国“新闻自由”的虚伪面纱-传媒频道-新华网 Xinhua on how CPJ report on Obama & press uncovers hypocritical veil of America’s neo-liberalism// 新华网北京１０月２２日电（记者吴黎明　任海军）美国一向标榜“新闻自由”，热衷于在世界各地兜售其“新闻自由”理念，动辄对别国说三道四。总部设在纽约的保护记者委员会近日发表的一份报告，揭露美国政府近年来强化新闻信息管控的种种作为，让世人颇开眼界，得以窥见这层虚伪面纱后的真面目。

Announcement: Economic Observer’s English Site to Halt Operations – Economic Observer We regret to announce that as of Friday Oct 25 the English website of the Economic Observer will no longer be updated. The management of the newspaper has decided that they no longer want to devote resources to maintaining the site. The English team will cease updating all our social media accounts on Friday and we sent out the final issue of our weekly newsletter earlier today.

Japanese researchers on China set up new group to improve relations – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Japanese researchers on China, concerned over deteriorating Japan-China relations resulting from the dispute over the Senkaku Islands and other issues, established a new advocacy group in Tokyo on Oct. 22 to improve the bilateral relationship. The Association of Scholars Advocating Renewal of the Japan-China Relationship also called for the involvement of other researchers in its efforts. In a news conference held in the Japan National Press Club, Kazuko Mori, professor emeritus of Waseda University, who is serving as the representative of the new group, read a statement, titled “Going Beyond Exclusionary Nationalism.”

Hong Kong entrepreneur funds Japan-China dorms to improve relations – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Hong Kong businessman Chao Kee-Young never forgot the friendships he made in college in Japan and wants to ensure that other Japanese and Chinese students forge the same kind of connections, and, at the same time, improve relations between the two nations. He is funding an ambitious plan to build dormitories to be shared by Chinese and Japanese students at five top universities in China.

人民日报钟声：自信方能正确定义国家利益–观点–人民网　转型期给各国带来的感受全然不同，不仅取决于其实力处于上升态势还是下降态势，还有一个关键因素，那就是能否把握住国际关系体系变迁的大趋势…一个更加富有、更加有实力的中国，是否意味着一个相对变穷、变弱的美国？这是美国人面对的一个“时代命题”，用英国《金融时报》外交事务首席评论员吉迪恩·拉赫曼的话说，美国甚至因此步入一个“焦虑时代”。巨大的焦虑还未衍生出一个压倒性的结论。时至今日，“欢迎中国作为一个繁荣昌盛的大国登场”仍是美国的官方表态。

军方要求强化学生军训质量_新闻_腾讯网 PLA not happy with quality of military training for university students, wants it improved // 本报北京10月22日电 教育部、总参谋部、总政治部日前联合下发《关于全面提高学生军事训练质量的通知》，要求军地各级有关部门和单位进一步落实《学生军事训练工作规定》，推动学生军训工作创新发展。

Report: Chinese Censorship Expanding Abroad – China Real Time Report – WSJ Chinese censorship, far from a merely domestic concern, is increasingly spilling over the country’s borders. That’s the takeaway from a new study from the Center for International Media Assistance (pdf) that traces the Chinese government’s influence on Western media within and outside of China, as well as Chinese-language media and other outlets in Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America.

东风15C钻地武器首次曝光 地下掩体瞬间粉碎_图片频道_新华网 slideshow of DF 15C ground penetrating, “bunker buster” missile, claims first time shown in official media

 

HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN

Taiwan’s political rivals call truce in a fierce battle that went nowhere | South China Morning Post After an intense month and a half of legal manoeuvring and scandalous revelations, the fierce political battle between Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and speaker of the legislature Wang Jin-pyng seems to have been resolved, with all players emerging unscathed.

Li’s Hong Kong Sales Signal Peak as European Growth Beckons – Bloomberg Li’s dealings reflect the challenge Hong Kong faces in maintaining economic growth that averaged 4.6 percent in the past decade, as leaders fight to deflate a property bubble and China sets up free-trade zones that may one day compete with the territory. BlackRock Inc., the world’s biggest money manager, is cutting investments in Hong Kong on concern the city’s equity and property markets will underperform.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

Asia messaging apps seek to upend rivals with marketing might | Reuters WeChat, a unit of Tencent Holdings Ltd, has budgeted up to $200 million for marketing overseas this year including the Messi ads. Line, owned by Korean company Naver Corp, declines to say how much it spends but has relied heavily on celebrities in TV ads in many markets. Spurring them on is the belief that now is their chance to build an international brand, and that if they play their cards right, they can become serious threats to more established social networks such as Facebook Inc and its instant messaging service.

China Sports-Lottery Site 500.com Seeks $150 Million in U.S. IPO – Bloomberg 500.com announced its IPO plans as two other China-based Internet businesses, 58.com Inc. and Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd., plan to complete their own initial offerings by the end of this month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Those two offerings, if completed, will raise the number of U.S. IPOs by Chinese companies this year to five, compared with only two during all of 2012…Net income at 500.com almost doubled to 20.6 million yuan ($3.4 million) from a year earlier in the nine months through September, as sales increased 25 percent to 163.4 million yuan, the company said.

Jing Daily–Jia Zhangke Does Johnnie Walker China Ad In an event at the Shanghai Film Plaza on October 11, the brand released three short films as part of its “Game Changer” campaign featuring Septwolves Chairman Zhou Shaoxiang, MAD Architects founder Ma Yansong, and Cannes Best Screenplay winner and director Jia Zhangke.

Broadband China Plan Lacks Teeth-Caijing At the same time, interest struggles and power shifts among regulatory authorities have resulted in abnormal development of the broadband industry. Broadband industry regulation is not only under the scope of the MIIT; the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the SASAC, the MOF, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and many other ministries are also involved in regulating the industry. Experts call for the establishment of a top-level, independent regulatory agency similar to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission for the communication and information industries to resolve regulatory issues and improve Internet services in China.

百度回应：百发理财计划没承诺保本保收益|百度|百发|理财计划_互联网_新浪科技_新浪网 Baidu says it is not promising 8% return on its Yu’e’bao copycat, Baidu Baifa // 百度金融中心负责人今日澄清，并没保证“百发”产品收益率可以实现8%，也没有承诺保本保收益。因为所有投资性理财产品都没有保本保收益一说，不符合金融监管。　据介绍，“百发”计划是一种互联网金融模式的创新，是一项组合形式的理财计划。与华夏基金的合作，只是拉开了百发计划的序幕。

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Jiangxi businessman pays model Mo Lulu 100,000 yuan to breastfeed him | South China Morning Post A businessman offered a young model 100,000 yuan to breastfeed him during a group dinner in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province. And, astonishingly, she accepted.

Kyoto Web ad firm develops app to find abducted children in China – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Last year, the company, 1-10 design Inc., expanded its business to Shanghai, where it made contact with a Beijing-based human rights organization that was searching for IT solutions to rescue abducted and missing children. Though developing such apps are not its core business, 1-10 design sympathized with the mission of the organization and accepted its request to develop the software. The app, titled “Missing Children,” won a gold prize this year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for those working in advertising and related fields.

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

China Tries to Clean Up Toxic Legacy of Its Rare Earth Riches – NYTimes.com Communities scattered across China face heavy environmental damage that accumulated through two decades of nearly unregulated rare earth mining and refining. While the Chinese government has begun spending billions of dollars to clean up the damage, the environmental impact is becoming an international trade issue, with a World Trade Organization panel in Geneva expected to issue a crucial draft report on Wednesday. Arriving three years after an international tempest over the rare earths trade and 19 months after the World Trade Organization litigation was actually filed, the coming decision may not make a big difference to the rare earth industry itself, industry executives and officials said. But the case does seem to have had the unintended effect of helping to goad China into a major environmental cleanup.

China Pushes Genetically Modified Food – China Real Time Report – WSJ Beijing’s publicity blitz may now no longer be just about a war of wonky words with military theorists and academics. It may be revving up to turn the tide of opinion among the masses. At the taste tests for “golden rice” at Wuhan on Saturday, according to the Xinhua report, volunteer organizers were seen sporting T-shirts with a catchy slogan that said, “Love Science, Support Genetic Modification.”

Scientists trace deadly piglet virus hitting U.S. farms to China | Reuters A virus deadly to baby pigs that has roiled the U.S. pork industry likely originated in the Anhui Province of China and may have evolved from a virus seen in bats, according to a report by veterinary researchers at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech.

 

BEIJING

凤凰周刊：京城小学阶层分析_城市_凤凰网 fascinating Phoenix Weekly story on the top primary schools in Beijing // 从目前的情况看，史家小学的学生来源主要有三：一为传统的就近划片生。二为法定以外的共建生，改革开放后，为招商引资，东城区除了在土地、房屋和财税方面开出招商便利外，亦通过优质教育资源的置换，即以提供共建名额的方式，招徕了许多大企业，如中石油、中石化、保利等纷纷将总部设到了东城区。据记者了解，共建生在史家小学大概有7、8个班之多。三为高干子弟，名额直接划给中央办公厅等部门，如有领导人眷属申请入学，需直接联系中办，不能直接跟学校接洽。据悉，现在史家小学，中央领导人子弟约有30到40个。这些孩子在派出所皆有登记，以确保其安全。曾经有一次，某高级官员的孩子，放学之后自己跑到了网吧，结果7、8个派出所出动，遍寻一夜，才在网吧找到这个孩子…北京景山学校创办于1960年，位于北京市东城区灯市口大街，左傍故宫博物院，南下即是王府井，目前，因其招生甚少被认为是最难上的学校，亦是居北京的富商巨贾最爱为子女选择的学校。一个机缘是1983年，邓小平参观该校，信笔题词“教育要面向现代化，面向世界，面向未来”，此后“三个面向”成为大陆三十年来教育方针，景山学校亦因此而贵，成为中国教育改革的符号

北京2年推7万套自住型商品房 非京籍家庭也能买|北京|自住商品房|摇号_新浪财经_新浪网 Beijing to roll out 70,000 units of subsidized housing in the next two years, says can not be sold for five years, then have to pay 30% of any gains back to the government // 新京报讯 (记者马力)备受关注的“自住型商品房”政策已初现轮廓。北京市住建委昨日发布，今年北京将推出2万套自住型商品房，明年计划推出5万套左右，相关政策将于近日发布。此类住房价格比周边商品住房低30%左右，面向全市符合限购条件的家庭；购买此类住房后五年内不得上市，五年后上市收益的30%上交财政。

央视曝北京经适房变群租屋：一套三居室住34人 _财经_腾讯网 近日，家住北京朝阳区百环家园小区的观众蒋先生向《消费主张》反映，自从自己家楼上的两居室出租给20多个人住后，他和家人的恶梦就开始了，平日里嘈杂的吵闹声，楼道里堆积如山的垃圾，这些问题忍忍也就过去了，可这时不时的漏水着实让人受不了，短短一年时间，自已家被楼上的群租房水淹十几次，已经严重影响到了自己和家人的正常生活。蒋先生说自己已经将这个问题向多个部门反映过，可是每次反映都是石沉大海。现在群租房在小区内非常普遍，他担心这么发展下去，会给自己今后的生活带来更大的隐患。//CCTV exposes Beijing subsidized housing being used as mass rentals…one three room apartment has 34 people living in it

Beijing’s Financial Street Sports World’s Third-Highest Rents | the Beijinger In a ranking of the world’s most expensive office markets by U.S.-based property investment and management company Jones Lang LaSalle, Beijing places third globally, behind only London and Hong Kong, with average office rental prices at USD 137 per square foot (about one-third of a square meter) per year. London topped out at USD 194 per square foot per year in St. James. “This Beijing submarket was planned and built specifically to attract the highest-tier financial institutions. Major state-owned enterprises and global investment banks and insurance companies have accepted the invitation,” the company’s report said.

Architect looks to the big picture – Life – Chinadaily.com.cn Despite speculation on social media, Zhou Qi, the architect, remains upbeat, saying he believes the building will be a modest addition to Beijing’s CBD that will add character to the area. “This is a coincidence between the angle and this particular stage of construction, I never thought the scaffolds on top of the building would last for so long,” says Zhou, who is also a professor at Southeast University in Jiangsu province. “Now combined with the sexual connotation and the newly launched iPhone 5S, it’s totally understandable why people are so excited about it.”…The cap on top of the shaft, which has been the center of public attention, is in fact scaffolding to help to install the double coats // the designer of the new People’s Daily HQ

 

JOBS AND EVENTS

YCW BJ – Barry Naughton, “The Third Plenum, Economic Reforms and the Future of Xi Jinping,” Wednesday, Oct. 30, 7:00 pm- Eventbrite Wednesday, October 30, 2013 from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM (CST) Beijing, China, Face Bar

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