"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
The High Court of Shandong upheld the life sentence for Bo Xilai’s. In other news, a dog bit a man somewhere last night…
This may be the last time the public sees Bo Xilai for a very long time.
Beijing has rolled out new rules to try to repress real estate prices in the city. Once again, the likely outcome will be even more distortion in an already distorted market.
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Caixin Explains: The Capital’s New Housing Rules – Caixin They aim to boost real estate purchases by people who actually intend to live in the home. The name for the set of seven new regulations can be translated as “Beijing Seven Rules” and the rules uses a new term: “self-use commercial housing.” The rules are intended to make homes more affordable, and are aimed at smaller homes the lower-middle income group might buy. They also aim to discourage speculators.
Related: 王健林:非热点城市楼市 两年后无需调控-房产频道-新华网 Interesting comments on real estate by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin of Wanda. He sees lots oversupply and weakness pretty much everywhere but in the tier 1 cities like Beijing and Shanghai, says that soon the government may no longer need real estate price repression rules in most cities// 今年以来，房价快速上涨超出预期，业内人士分析指出接下来的四季度可能引发新的调控政策出台。昨日，万达集团董事长王健林在接受新京报记者专访时表示：“按照目前的中国房地产市场现状，我个人判断，除了个别热点城市以外，其他城市在两年后就没有调控的必要了。”然而，对于一线城市的房价调控，王健林则认为要“坚持限购不放松”… “现有的土地供应量和存量房，已经导致了很多地方的项目都卖不动；再加上这两年地方债务持续增长的情况下，地方政府主要靠卖地来还债。这种情况下，土地和房地产供应进一步被放大，别说三四线城市滞销，现在就连二线城市，比如说大连、青岛的房子都卖不动。”王健林指出，这两个因素导致了市场供过于求，最多只要两年就不需要调控了。 他同时指出，对于北京、上海这种超大型的世界城市，未来房价仍将处于长期的上涨通道。
India Seals China Border Pact as Singh Hails Li Handshake – Bloomberg Under the agreement, India and China will avoid making threats to use force against each other and refrain from seeking “unilateral superiority” along their 3,500-kilometer (2,175-mile) border. Both sides agreed to exchange information on military exercises and show “maximum restraint” in the event border forces come into contact.
Related: We should move quickly to resolve our boundary issue: PM tells China – The Hindu We were not destined to be rivals, and we should show determination to become partners,” Dr. Singh said in a speech at the Communist Party Central Committee’s Party School. Dr. Singh in his speech highlighted India’s specific concerns over the boundary issue – particularly in the wake of April’s three-week face-off following a Chinese incursion in Depsang, Ladakh – and on the management of trans-boundary rivers, such as the Brahmaputra, as two key areas that would determine the future course of relations.
实拍：防暴警察连开数十枪射抗拆村民—在线播放—优酷网，视频高清在线观看 video of police shooting tear gas (and one report says rubber bullets) during protest over demolition in Nanning// 9月28日早上，广西壮族自治区首府南宁市的青秀区圣人湾，伴随着几声枪响，胡定发满脸是血地倒在地上，他的大姐胡宝芬见弟弟中枪急忙上前营救，可当她刚要抚起弟弟时，她的腿也被枪击中应声倒地，他的弟弟胡志昌拚命向哥哥和姐姐跑去，可没跑几步，身上也被枪击中倒了下。6位村…查看全部
Related: 南宁回应”枪击村民48枪”:对方投掷汽油弹抗拆_网易新闻中心 Nanning officials say their response warranted as Molotov cocktails were thrown at them // 据新华社电 近日，一则“南宁警察枪击抗拆村民”的消息在网上传播。当地回应，执法队伍拆除的建筑属于违法用地上的违章建筑，由于遭遇暴力抗法并致两名执法人员不同程度受伤、消防车等装备不同程度受损，警察被迫使用催泪弹和橡皮子弹，对不法人员进行强制驱散和抓捕。
Related: 广西南宁：强迁时在孔圣人跟前上演美国“枪战大片” 社会_我爱放牛_解放牛网 long description of the event by a reporter on the ground // 孔老夫子是大讲中庸之道的，这个中庸现在可以理解为“和谐”吧，这次在孔夫子眼皮底下发生的事件，如果孔夫子当时睁睁眼睛，事情会不会好些呢?记者在想。采访完这个强拆事件，记者先为村民感到幸运，因他们没有死人，也为现场的警察们感到幸运，因他们没有受伤，更为这个市的领导感到幸运，如果当时真的出了人命，他们还有心情在现场祝贺和做报告吗?
Response to a City’s Smog Points to a Change in Chinese Attitude – NYTimes.com the emergency measures showed that the government was trying to address the problem rather than merely cover it up, as it might have done in past years, some environmental activists said. Action plans in Harbin, Beijing and other cities, along with broad national policies meant to curb air pollution announced last month, signal that some officials are serious about tackling the chronic problem. On Thursday, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said it was sending inspection teams to cities across China for the winter to ensure that environmental regulations were enforced. // not holding my breath…
Related: “大气十条”配套政策 或年底前发布_证券时报网 MEP to issue more regulations by year end to try to combat air pollution? // 据悉，环保部正在协调有关部门出台《大气污染防治行动计划》（下称“大气十条”）的20多项配套政策，力争在今年年底前发布实施。具体包括，大气污染防治专项资金、能源行业加强大气污染防治工作方案、耗煤项目煤炭减量替代管理办法、考核办法等“大气十条”等。
New China H7N9 bird flu cases ‘signal potential winter epidemic’ – Yahoo News a new case in October in a 35-year-old man from China’s eastern Zhejiang province shows that the virus “has re-emerged in winter 2013” and “indicates a possible risk of a larger outbreak of H7N9 this winter,” according to Chinese researchers writing in the online journal Euro surveillance. Flu experts around the world have been warning that despite the marked drop off in cases during the summer months, the threat posed by H7N9 bird flu has not passed.
Four new IPOs and forex problems | China Accounting Blog | Paul Gillis none of the companies explain how they got funds into the VIEs to fund the prior losses. Qunar has investment from Baidu. The others all got big investments from foreign private equity to fund their startup. How did these private equity funds get to the VIE? The private equity fund buys preferred stock in the Cayman Islands parent company. It is possible to then transfer those funds to the WFOE through capital contributions and loans and to convert them into RMB. But the WFOE cannot make a loan to the VIE, and it cannot make a capital contribution to the VIE, so how did the funds get into the VIE? It is quite clear that they were loaned to the VIE, since each of these companies show a loan payable by the VIE to a related company that is eliminated in consolidation. How was this loan legal? And if it is not legal, why isn’t it explained in the document?
Related: Initiating Coverage on NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE: NQ) – Strong Sell | Muddy Waters Research NQ is a massive fraud. We believe it is a “Zero”. At least 72% of NQ’s purported 2012 China security revenue is fictitious. NQ’s largest customer by far is really NQ. Our research estimates that NQ’s real market share in China is only about 1.5%, versus the approximately 55% it reports. We estimate that its China paying user base is less than 250,000, versus the six million NQ claims…NQ’s cash balances are highly likely to not be real. In NQ’s 2012 20-F, PwC classified all cash and term deposits as Level 2 assets (slightly hard to value), which is the first time we have seen this. NQ’s purported movements of cash from its IPO almost certainly did not occur due to PRC FX controls. We therefore believe the term deposits are likely forgeries. // NQ official response to a J-Capital report questioning the company in July 2013, have not seen an official response to the MW report
Related: Muddy Waters Risks Curbing IPO Demand: China Overnight Travel-booking website Qunar Cayman Islands Ltd. and online marketplace 58.com Inc. plan to raise funds in IPOs in the U.S. next week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “This just kind of fans the flames again,” Rudy Balseiro, the managing director of equity capital markets at Needham, said by phone from New York yesterday. “Whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter, it’s the perception that this is still going on. It will strip out some of the guys who were getting comfortable with the Chinese IPOs.”
Related: 出逃潮击溃TMT 明星基金一周清仓_21世纪网 mainland funds dumping mainland-listed TMT shares? Should overseas investors pay attention, especially given the upcoming US IPOS? // 核心提示：创业板的急跌始于传媒股的雪崩，传媒曾经被视为天空才是尽头的品种，一夜之间，成为机构、私募以及散户都争相抛售的对象。
A Game of Shark and Minnow – Who Will Win Control of the South China Sea? – NYTimes.com not the Philippines…nice multimedia package from the NYT. by Jeff Himmelman, the same Jeff Himmelman who wrote the book on Ben Bradlee that so upset Bob Woodward? // Ayungin Shoal lies 105 nautical miles from the Philippines. There’s little to commend the spot, apart from its plentiful fish and safe harbor — except that Ayungin sits at the southwestern edge of an area called Reed Bank, which is rumored to contain vast reserves of oil and natural gas. And also that it is home to a World War II-era ship called the Sierra Madre, which the Philippine government ran aground on the reef in 1999 and has since maintained as a kind of post-apocalyptic military garrison, the small detachment of Filipino troops stationed there struggling to survive extreme mental and physical desolation. Of all places, the scorched shell of the Sierra Madre has become an unlikely battleground in a geopolitical struggle that will shape the future of the South China Sea and, to some extent, the rest of the world….To understand how Ayungin (known to the Western world as Second Thomas Shoal) could become contested ground is to confront, in miniature, both the rise of China and the potential future of U.S. foreign policy. It is also to enter into a morass of competing historical, territorial and even moral claims in an area where defining what is true or fair may be no easier than it has proved to be in the Middle East.
Related: Manila backtracks on South China Sea accusation against China | Reuters In an embarrassing twist after foreign affairs and defense officials had accused China of preparing to build new structures on Scarborough Shoal, a group of rocks about 120 nautical miles off the coast of the main island of Luzon, Aquino said the blocks found within the shoal “are not a new phenomenon” and “some of them have barnacles attached to them.”
Top AIDS expert hit with charge of plagiarism|China|chinadaily.com.cn China’s leading AIDS scientist has come under fire for gross ethical misconduct after colleagues complained he used their unpublished data in an academic article without permission. Shao Yiming’s piece, Antiretroviral Therapy to Prevent HIV Transmission in Serodiscordant Couples in China, was published on The Lancet medical journal’s website on Dec 1.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China Crisis Odds Seen Lowered With Reforms From Meeting – Bloomberg The odds of a severe slowdown in China or a credit crisis will fall after a Communist Party summit in November as leaders tackle local-government debt and financial reforms, a Bloomberg News survey indicates. Fifteen of 23 analysts said policies flowing from the meeting will reduce such risks, and a majority said the plans will help China become a high-income economy by 2030.
China conjures up new ‘bad bank’ magic trick – FT.com Authorising bad banks at a provincial level is also part of a continuing adjustment in the financial relationship between Beijing and local governments. The central government has long sought to reduce the influence of local governments on the local branches of the big banks. “But now Beijing understands that when there are problem debts, they need the local governments to enforce decisions of the local courts,” says the head of one local investment firm with close relations in China.
Bocom’s Hong Ends Bullish China Stock View After Calling Rally – Bloomberg Hong advised buying Chinese shares on June 26, saying trading patterns signaled a rebound. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) rallied as much as 16 percent from a four-year low on June 27, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index (HSCEI) gained as much as 21 percent. China’s economic growth accelerated last quarter as Premier Li Keqiang spurred factory output and investment to meet the government’s expansion goal for 2013. The People’s Bank of China will probably start “fine-tuning” its monetary policy to curb surging property prices, Hong wrote.
Multinationals Contribute to Country’s Economy, Xi Says – Caixin Multinationals have played positive roles in the country’s economy, President Xi Jinping said on October 23 in a meeting with overseas members of the advisory board of Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management. In the meeting with the executives and scholars, including David Rubenstein, co-CEO of the Carlyle Group, and John Thornton, chairman of the board of trustees of the Brookings Institution, Xi said multinationals have aided China’s education in economic and management matters.
四川推地方最大投资计划 两年逾4万亿_21世纪网 Sichuan unveiled 4.26 trillion yuan investment plan for 2013-14…may be some double counting with the 3.67 trillion plan announced last year//此次推出的4.26万亿投资计划，并未明确划分拟建项目和续建项目，有分析人士指出，4.26万亿的投资项目中，或有部分与去年3.67万亿投资项目重合
Duty exemptions for Shanghai FTZ imported equipment – Xinhua Manufacturing and production service businesses in the newly launched Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) will get their imported equipment duty-free, China’s finance, customs and taxation regulators announced on Thursday. The exemption will be applied to such enterprises’ imports of machines, equipment and other necessary goods for manufacturing, according to a new tax policy released by the Ministry of Finance, the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration of Taxation.
水井坊外嫁的代价：内外俱伤 – 经济观察网 － 专业财经新闻网站 Economic Observer looks at the problems in Diageo’s investment in Sichuan Baijiu firm Swellfun (Shui Jing Fang) // 导语：以丢弃母品牌全兴为代价，水井坊终于如愿嫁给全球酒企巨头帝亚吉欧，但这一决策并未让水井坊实现国际化之路，反而陷入主牌不振，销售低迷，帝亚吉欧水土不服的现状。
人民币汇率逼近“5时代” 新华社——经济参考网 Could the RMB soon break 6 to the USD? // 在经历了一段时间的调整之后，人民币10月再现突破性走势。虽然中间价并未如前一个交易日那般创下新高，但24日午盘14时附近，人民币兑美元即期汇率达到6.0808，一举再创汇改以来新高。 “5时代”似乎已近在咫尺，在外需复苏乏力的背景下，人民币升值提速进一步挤压了出口企业的利润空间。不过，业内专家在接受《经济参考报》记者采访时表示，尽管升值会对出口造成一定冲击，但这不意味着政策制定者会降低对升值的容忍度。在人民币国际化程度加深和国内利率市场化进程加快的背景下，汇率机制市场化需要进一步提速，现在正是汇率加快向均衡汇率回归的时机。
余额宝规模增至556亿元：成全市场最大基金 Alibaba’s Yu’e’Bao now has 55.6 Billion RMB in assets, now the largest fund of its kind in the market
Baidu Raises Eyebrows by Promising High Yield on New Investment Product – Caixin A source from China AMC said the fund company will be operating a money market fund for the Bai Fa scheme. Any difference between the level of the fund’s return and the yield Bai Fa eventually hands out to investors, if there is any, will be determined and managed by Baidu, he said. That makes analysts wonder whether Baidu will use its own money to increase Bai Fa’s investment return, for the sake of advertising and attracting users. A document obtained on Bai Fa from a Baidu source says total investment in the money market fund will be capped at 1 billion yuan and investors can hold it for two months at most.
Baidu Can’t Guarantee Returns on Online Fund Products, CSRC Says – Bloomberg The China Securities Regulatory Commission said it will investigate media reports, which it didn’t further identify, that said Baidu promised an 8 percent return on investment products, according to a statement posted to the commission’s official microblog yesterday. That probe will be carried out using information provided by the company, it said.
Private banks to start on trial basis[1]|chinadaily Shanghai Securities News reported on Wednesday that the China Banking Regulatory Commission has asked provincial governments to make plans for the establishment of private banks and submit their plans to the commission. Insiders said a proposal made by a province in eastern China suggested minimum deposits of 500,000 yuan ($82,000). The suggestion could protect deposits by members of the general public from potentially high risks, but may also discourage private enterprises from opening banks.
China and Europe make up after averting trade war | Reuters “China is ready to work with the European Union to set out a comprehensive plan for the future of EU-China relations,” China’s Vice-Premier Ma Kai told a news conference alongside the EU’s two most senior economics and trade officials. “China is ready to ensure that our cooperation can be elevated to a higher level,” Ma said after talks with the EU’s economics chief Olli Rehn and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht in Brussels.
India looks to China, Iran for onions to cool political heat | Reuters India has become so desperate for fresh stocks of the onions it uses in spicy curries that it is turning to regional rival China and sanctions-hit Iran for supplies, and there is even talk of airlifts to ease soaring prices.
China Said to Plan Letting More Companies Sell Short-Term Debt – Bloomberg Allowing more companies to issue short-term debt is the latest step authorities have taken to expand China’s debt markets as they push firms to rely less on bank loans and more on bond and share sales for funding. Sales of domestic corporate bonds totaled 876 billion yuan ($144 billion) in the first nine months, more than double total annual sales in 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Wal-Mart to Accelerate China Expansion With 110 New Stores – Bloomberg The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company plans to open the new stores from 2014 to 2016 in the world’s second-largest economy, it said in a statement today. The retailer expects to shutter up to 30 under-performing outlets over the next 18 months, Greg Foran, its China chief, said at a media briefing in Beijing today.
质疑广汇能源 一网友涉嫌编造并传播虚假信息被刑拘-中新网 social media user arrested for posting negative analyses of a Xinjiang-based, Shanghai-listed firm. Arrested in Shanghai, shipped to Urumqi // 导读：网友“天地侠影”因涉嫌编造并传播证券期货交易虚假信息，被乌鲁木齐市公安局刑事拘留；此前一年，他持续公开质疑广汇能源存在财务粉饰、股票操纵等问题。针对举报方是广汇能源的疑问，北京青年报记者昨天致电广汇能源证券部，被证实消息属实… 10月12日上午10点20分，“天地侠影”微博称：“警察来了。”此后再无消息。据了解，“天地侠影”是在上海被警察控制的，但上海警方一直没有进一步说明。“天地侠影”的朋友表示，汪炜华被羁押到乌市后，正赶上新疆的古尔邦节，自10月15日到18日，所有机构都调休放假，无人处理公务，律师也见不到他。上周末，其家人到了乌鲁木齐。10月20日，律师第一次见到“天地侠影”，他告诉律师举报方是广汇能源。也因为假期缘故，警方还没有提审“天地侠影”。
POLITICS AND LAW
王岐山部署第二轮巡视 强调对“一把手”监督_新闻_腾讯网 Wang Qishan sending out a second round of cDIc inspection teams. one of the places in this round is Xinhua. // 中新网北京10月24日电(记者 马学玲) 今年第二轮中央巡视工作即将启幕，10个巡视组将分别对山西、吉林、安徽、湖南、广东、云南、新华社、国土资源部、商务部、三峡集团开展巡视。
‘Again, Please Free Him,’ Newspaper Begs Police on Behalf of Reporter – Caixin The country’s top print media regulator and the All-China Journalists Association said they were closely following the situation and would “fully support journalists’ lawful rights to conduct interviews,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported. An official from Zoomlion told the Internet news portal Sina that the case has reached central government leaders, and officials from the Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog and propaganda department are investigating. The article did not give the name of the Zoomlion official. Changsha police said on weibo, China’s version of Twitter, that Chen’s case is being investigated and would be handled according to the law.
习仲勋蒙冤下放洛阳 遇红卫兵揪斗受工人保护_新闻_腾讯网 Zhengzhou Evening News on Xi Zhongxun’s time in Luoyang during the Cultural Revolution, says abused by Red Guards, protected by workers // 习仲勋，一位被毛泽东评价为“从群众中走出来的群众领袖”。他曾两次下放洛阳，与群众打成一片，深入基层了解情况。在习仲勋诞辰100周年之际，记者来到他在洛阳曾经工作生活过的地方，与他的邻居和工友们，一起回忆习仲勋在洛阳的点点滴滴。
海南破题土地确权 多项土改政策或密集推出_财经频道_一财网 Hainan about to push aggressive land reform policies? // 海南农村集体土地所有权确权登记颁证工作日前全省铺开。海南打算通过3年的时间来完成这项任务。
Tibetans Call China’s Policies At Tourist Spot Tacit but Stifling – NYTimes.com XIAHE, China — Buddhist monks in flowing burgundy robes hurried along the dirt paths of the Labrang Monastery, trying their best to ignore the scrum of Chinese tourists following their every move, many with cameras fit for paparazzi.
Juvenile crime: Hard times | The Economist The reasons the migrant young are more likely to be punished severely are closely related to the reasons they get into trouble in the first place: their migrant status and their relative poverty. Without a proper household registration, or hukou, from their new city (impossible to obtain for most), migrant teenagers are often barred from attending urban secondary schools, and left to their own devices. Shanghai in 2010 had 570,000 migrant children aged 15 to 19 who were ineligible for the city’s high schools. They are eligible for prison, though. Many courts will not even grant probation to migrant juveniles because they lack a local hukou. And for those who are poor, the inability to pay compensation is another reason why they are denied release. Such payments, as in the Beijing rape case, are usually a mitigating factor in sentencing.
高清：河南公安机关5000余警力“雷霆”出击 打击违法犯罪–图片频道–人民网 slideshow of 5000 public security workers assmebling at a square in Zhengzhou to launch crackdown against crime
刘铁男案后遗症：黑龙江组织部副部长被调查_新闻_腾讯网 Deputy head of Heilongjiang Organization Department is under investigation, apparently related to Liu Tienan case// 在刘铁男案案发前一个月，黑龙江省委组织部副部长、省人力资源和社会保障厅党组书记林秀山被中央纪委专案组带走调查。据知情人士向《中国新闻周刊》透露，林秀山涉案，与当年黑龙股份重组的操盘手、中产经投资有限公司董事长倪日涛有关，而倪正是刘铁男案中那一位“神秘的浙江商人”。知情人士还称，目前齐齐哈尔市已有数位官员被约谈。// perhaps not a tiger but much more than a fly
Insight: China party’s secretive judicial system laid bare in torture case | Reuters Six officials were convicted last month of torturing Yu to death. Testimony given in the case, seen by Reuters, illustrates the brutality of a secretive detention system for party members and the drive to get confessions as President Xi Jinping presses on with an aggressive anti-corruption campaign. Lawyers say the case – highly unusual because Yu’s interrogators were charged – also renews questions about the legality of the process given rampant abuses in the system.
Interview: Freed Chinese cartoonist refuses to be cowed by Internet crackdown | Reuters Police in Beijing released Wang late last Thursday after taking him into custody at 11 p.m. on Wednesday. They had summoned Wang on a charge of “suspicion of causing a disturbance” for forwarding a post about a stranded grandmother holding her grandson who had starved to death in the eastern city of Yuyao, which was hit by floods two weeks ago.
China orders severe penalties for child abuse – Xinhua | English.news.cn Heavier sentences should be handed down for offenses committed by teachers and government personnel tasked with educating and protecting the victims, according to a joint communique by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC), the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Justice. As an advisory, “the guideline embodies the principle of ‘maximum protection’ for the victims and ‘minimum tolerance’ for the offenders,” said SPC spokesman Sun Jungong at a press conference on Thursday.
314项省级行政事业性收费取消_21世纪网 为落实国务院推进政府职能转变的要求，财政部会同发展改革委近日发出通知，决定自2013年11月1日起，取消314项各省、自治区、直辖市设立的行政事业性收费。 取消的收费项目既有涉及企业的收费，也有涉及居民个人的收费
In China, Can Plutocrats Have Political Opinions? : The New Yorker The ancient sage Mencius once said, “Those who have property are inclined to preserve social stability.” For the past decade, the Chinese Communist Party has thrived on the belief that co-opting those with property will buttress it against pressures for greater political openness. But stories like Wang Gongquan’s suggest that some of the nation’s most prosperous citizens are not comfortable with the status quo. In China, the Communist Party asks something of its entrepreneurs: be daring and ambitious in business, but not in politics. It is an odd arrangement. Men and women who have made it to the top of society by being unrelentingly determined are advised to relent when it comes to calling for the rule of law, adherence to the constitution, or an end to abuses of power. // miss Evan Osnos since he moved from Beijing to DC, still no word on new New Yorker China correspondent
3 Officials Jailed for Bugging Party Chief–CRI They were guilty of placing hidden cameras in the office of Hu Jiawu, secretary of the CPC Mayang Miao Autonomous County Committee, spying on Hu and storing video footage on a removable disk between March 13 and Oct. 2 in 2012. They used the footage to try and blackmail Hu for promotion, according to the ruling. They installed spy gadgets on a water dispenser, according to earlier media reports. // these guys would fit right into a Sopranos or Boardwalk Empire episode
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Myth of US press freedom |Editorials |chinadaily.com.cn One of the reasons why Washington has been so intent on imparting its idea of press freedom to other countries is to add to its political weight and present to the outside world its institutional superiority. However, such a sense of superiority, combined with its overpowering economic and military muscle, will make it even more commonplace for the US to act with impunity in its dealings with international community.–(China Daily 10/24/2013 page9)
美国要窃听全世界 全世界表示不答应-国际频道-新华网 Xinhua “US wants to wiretap the world, the whole world says no more”// 美国情报机构在海外的窃听活动几乎不分区域、不分立场地存在。而不断升级的窃听丑闻正在美国和世界其他国家之间制造着越来越大的互信鸿沟。在美国拿出真诚的态度和行动前，恐怕一时还找不到填补这一鸿沟的方法。
Foreign Ministry posts videos to shore up claim to disputed islands – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Japan has posted online videos explaining the history of the disputed Senkaku Islands and Takeshima islets to bolster its claim that they are Japanese territory. The videos, which were produced by the Foreign Ministry and released on YouTube earlier this month, are intended for domestic and foreign audiences. The ministry also plans to release them in 10 other languages, including English, Chinese, and Korean.
中国私人护航安保与欧美竞争 曾在苏丹救人质_新闻_腾讯网 armed, private Chinese bodyguards protecting Chinese ships from pirates in the Indian Ocean? // [导读]中国籍船长王富汉曾问外国保安“如果海盗上船你们怎么办”，对方回答“只能投降”。因此，他很高兴能有“中国兄弟”来船上护航。
Jimmy Kimmel’s China Kids Table Segment – Business Insider Kimmel posed this question to four kids: “America owes China a lot of money, $1.3 trillion. How should we pay them back” he asked. Right away, one child suggests “killing everyone in China.” Kimmel laughed off the comment, joking “that’s an interesting idea.”
Chinese lunar rover looks too much like Nasa’s Opportunity, say scientists | South China Morning Post The rover, they note, looks similar to Nasa’s Opportunity, which has roamed Mars for nearly a decade. Both feature a flat back with solar panels, a long neck fronted by cameras and a robotic arm set at the front chest. Only their wheels are different. For that part, the Chinese rover seems to have borrowed heavily from the Lunokhod 1 – the first lunar rover launched by the Soviet Union in 1970. Some scientists directly involved in the rover design project said the Chinese version was derivative.
Wolf Shirks Responsibility for Effects of China Ban – All Things Nuclear In response to well-deserved criticism from the scientific community, Wolf allowed the Chinese to participate in this one conference. But rather than blaming NASA for misinterpreting his law, Representative Wolf should lift the broadly worded ban targeting Chinese scientists and allow NASA to fulfill its mandate—which includes engaging in international scientific cooperation— without having to fear congressional investigation, federal prosecution or additional professional embarrassment.
Inside the Ring: Here come the drones – Washington Times Sr. Col. Wu Guohui disclosed “secrets” about China’s plans for unmanned aircraft conflict last week with the state-run People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party. Col. Wu, an assistant professor at China’s National Defense University and an air force special class aviator, said drones will become a “major force” in future air combat, according to the Oct. 17 report.
Learning by Doing: PLAN Operational Innovations in the Gulf of Aden | The Jamestown Foundation Chinese planners were seriously concerned about logistical and operational challenges associated with anti-piracy missions near Somali waters long before the first People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warships were deployed in 2008. In particular, trends in PLAN Far Seas logistical support and surface platform deployment demonstrate how China has gradually streamlined the underpinnings of its anti-piracy missions. As a result of becoming more efficient, China’s calculus vis-à-vis the costs and benefits of these distant sea nontraditional security missions continues to evolve.
Sanction Side-step: Iranian Oil Flows Back into China – China Real Time Report – WSJ China’s workaround stems from a gap in the sanctions law: When discussing exemptions, the sanctions mention only crude oil, not fuel oil. Customs data this weeks showed China imported 2.75 million barrels of Iranian fuel oil in September, bringing total imports to 8.14 million barrels worth $736 million in the first nine months of this year. By contrast, it imported less than $1 million worth of fuel oil in all of 2012.
Lifting the Veil on China’s “Carrier-Killer” | Flashpoints | The Diplomat Authored by what I would consider the world’s leading expert on the subject (the DF-21D is the world’s first anti-ship ballistic missile or ASBM) and the first to recognize its importance in modern warfare, Dr. Andrew Erickson has developed a one of a kind assessment tracing the missiles’ origins, development, possible uses in combat conditions, as well as its overall implications for the U.S. Navy. Simply stated: the report is a must-read for China hands interested in Asia-Pacific security matters. // report is here, costs $20 for an electronic copy
Challenging the Chinese Government To Disclose Its Aid to North Korea – NYTimes.com Like quite a few Chinese citizens, Ms. Wang would prefer that more of the revenue being spent on foreign aid be diverted to domestic needs, including on poor people such as herself. “They don’t take care of us hard-up folks, but they go and support North Korea,” Ms. Wang told the newspaper. “Nobody knows how the ordinary folks’ money is spent,” she added.
TECH AND MEDIA
Alibaba on Plan B to List in Hong Kong: Report-Caijing Under the B plan, the company will not stick to the right endowing its current 28 partners to nominate a majority of its board directors after it goes to public, reported by the 21st Century Business Herald, citing sources. The company insists, instead, the new Chief Executive Officer should come out of the 28 partners, according to the report. In other words, decisions made by the Partner CEO need to be approved by the majority of board directors under the plan.
阿里巴巴香港上市突现转机？ 合伙人根本不是问题 _21世纪网 another sign that Alibaba and the HKSE are close to an agreement for Alibaba to list in Hong Kong? // 李小加首次公开评论了马云此前提出的备受争议的“合伙人制度”，通过一句“四两拨千斤”的表述：“老实说，我不明白这个问题与我们讨论的上市公司股权治理机制有什么必然的逻辑关系。”轻松化解了公众此前对于这一特殊制度的纠结与诟病。
Tencent Has Invested $2 bn in Overseas Markets. Here’s the Full List. Tencent has invested $2 billion in overseas markets, a large part of which went to startups, disclosed Martin Lau, president of Tencent, at GMIC 2013 Sillicon Valley. Not only does Tencent inject money into those startups, the company would also pass on experience or help them enter China market, he said.
工信部计划新增七个骨干网节点_公司频道_财新网 工信部拟在成都、武汉、西安、沈阳、南京、重庆和郑州七个城市新增互联网骨干节点，并通过调整结算价格、扩容互联带宽等措施促进互联网产业发展
Data Analysis: Secrets Behind Taobao Traffic and Conversion Rate — China Internet Watch Every seller on Taobao knows that conversion rate is very important, but how important is it? How it affects traffic? We are going to unveil the secrets behind Taobao conversion rate.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Q.&A.: Tom Byer on Soccer in China – NYTimes.com China has hired Tom Byer, a former player from New York who completed his professional career in Japan, as head technical adviser for the Chinese School Football Program — an effort to teach the basics of the game to tens of thousands of children. Mr. Byer, 52, had already become a celebrity for doing the same in Japan, where his camps, soccer schools, a segment on a Tokyo television children’s program and a monthly feature in a leading manga have taught basic techniques to future stars like Aya Miyama, a member of Japan’s World Cup champion women’s team, and Manchester United’s midfielder Shinji Kagawa.
U.S. Tycoon Breaks Ground for China Scholars Project | TIME.com Accompanied by Chinese government and university officials, the founder of the private equity firm Blackstone turned a shovel at a ceremonial event on the campus of Tsinghua University. The first class of Schwarzman Scholars will study there in 2016.
International students in China hit record high – Xinhua A total of 328,330 international students from 200 countries and regions studied in China in 2012, up 12.2 percent than 2011, according to the Ministry of Education on Thursday.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
China to better finance science development |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn Zhang said that research institutes and colleges in China are scrambling?to spend more research funds, because they would be punished if they fail to spend every penny listed on the budget they submitted to authorities. “Tsinghua University was fined tens of millions yuan last year,” Zhang said. In 2012, the National Audit Office investigated more than eight major?national science and technology?programs, which the central government invested a combined 34.76 billion yuan on, but found that 98 percent of research tasks under these programs did not even receive an acceptance check.
白岩松谈胡万林：他可能不懂医学 但太懂中国人_资讯频道_凤凰网 您好观众朋友，欢迎收看正在直播的《新闻1+1》。13年前，2000年的时候，当时的“神医”胡万林，因为非法行医导致有人死亡，因此被判了15年徒刑。当时我以为，这个当年已经51岁的人，应该从历史当中就慢慢消失了，起码从我们视线当中慢慢消失，将来也不会再有机会祸害人了。但是谁能想到，这几天一看新闻才发现，他不仅在2011年提前已经出狱了，而且再次走上了非法行医的道路，并且再次把人给治死了，而又被抓起来了。这个我们身边的“不倒翁”，为什么能一次又一次地不倒呢？他的责任当然有，而我们的责任又是什么呢？这到底该怎么样去思考。来，今天我们一起去关注他。
FOOD AND TRAVEL
China’s Dairy Market Policies Clear as Milk – Caixin Dairy operators pouring over the Chinese government’s latest industry-support policies and what speculators have been saying about future policy changes want to know whether the cup is full, half-empty or nonexistent. Clear answers are hard to find because mixed signals have been trickling out of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) and other policymaking agencies since last spring.
Japanese dairy giant Meiji quits baby milk market in China | South China Morning Post Tough competition and rising production costs have forced Japanese diary giant Meiji to pull its milk formula business from the China market. The company posted a statement on its website yesterday saying it would suspend sales of three baby formula products and one milk formula for pregnant women on the mainland.
乳粉行业重组方案再上报 业界仍有争议_财经频道_一财网 Milk powder industry reorganization plan still in the works // 工信部新闻发言人肖春泉表示，工信部已制定了婴幼儿配方乳粉行业企业兼并重组方案，目前已上报国务院待批。
山西挖煤掏空悬空寺山体 当地称无法治理(图)_网易新闻中心 Shanxi’s Xuankong Temple at risk from illegal mining. Pictures