The Sinocism China Newsletter 11.05.13

"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

New warning on overcapacity| China Daily In a video conference, officials from the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the two bodies with primary responsibility for the problem, urged local governments to implement a directive from the State Council, which is the country’s cabinet. “Local governments will be held accountable on this issue. Those who still violate discipline will be heavily punished. Officials should not bet on infringement without exposure,” Hu Zucai, deputy director of the NDRC, said during the meeting. On Oct 15, the State Council issued “guiding opinions” on solving the capacity issue. The document ordered a halt to the construction of new capacity in sectors burdened by excess production facilities.// guess local governments are not listening… 两部委严令遏制产能过剩行业盲目投资 and this related commentary on page 1 of today’s People’s Daily 不要再为产能过剩添火加柴 

全国多地房地产调控趋紧 新华社——经济参考网 Economic Information on real estate measures tightening across the country

Related: China’s Shenzhen toughens home-buying rules as prices surge | Reuters Most second-home buyers in Chinese cities have been required to make downpayments of at least 60 percent since 2011. Beijing raised the downpayments to 70 percent in April.

Related: 任志强:三中全会会后房产限购令或停止_财经频道_一财网 China Business News interview with real estate developer, weibo BigV Ren Zhiqiang…says real estate repression rules may end after the Third Plenum. He is always worth listening to about the China real estate market // 在他看来,中国的楼市仍然处在一个长期向上的通到之中,而即将召开的十八届三中全会还会出台更多有利于市场长期健康发展的政策,从而使房价更加平稳。

Related: 新华网:房地产调控未撼动房价却推高离婚率_网易新闻中心 Xinhua says the various real estate repression measures have failed to stem price gains and in fact led to an increase in divorce rates

Related: 北京今年土地出让金已超1327亿元(图)_网易新闻中心 132B RMB in Beijing land sales so far this year after a banner Monday of auctions, still below the 2010 record of 160B // “京七条”出台后,北京迎来首个土地出让高峰。昨天,北京共有8宗住宅用地出让,吸引了几十家品牌企业参与竞争。最终,8地块成功出让,土地出让金合计约88亿元。今年以来,北京土地出让金已超过1327亿元,创下北京年度土地出让金第二高。2010年,北京土地出让创下最高纪录,超过1600亿元。

China plans to prove the sceptics wrong – FT.com–Gideon Rachman Foreign commentators and local bloggers regularly predict that China is heading for an economic and political crisis. But the country’s leaders are in strikingly confident mood…Last week, I was part of a group of foreign visitors – brought together by the 21st century Council, a think-tank – who met the Chinese leader in Beijing…Yet the record of the past 30 years should encourage some humility in sceptical foreigners such as myself. Predictions that the Chinese economy is about to crash – or that the political system will soon implode – have been a regular feature of outside analysis of China for 20 years and more. So far the country’s political leadership has regularly proved the sceptics wrong. Given that record, it would be a brave person who bet against the success of the Xi reform programme.

China berates foreign media for Tiananmen attack doubts | Reuters “Some people have linked the violent terrorist act of crashing into innocent civilians and tourists with China’s ethnic and religious policy and have even slandered China’s ethnic and religious policy,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news briefing. “This is connivance with terrorists.”..CNN published an op-ed last week, questioning whether the incident “was a well-prepared terrorist act or a hastily assembled cry of desperation from a people on the extreme margins of the Chinese state’s monstrous development machine”. CNN, in a statement, said the article was simply an opinion piece // too bad the website anti-CNN is so badly run it is rife with management conflict and nearly out of cash. Otherwise this would be another moment in the sun for them

Related: CNN disrespects itself with terror sympathy – OP-ED – Globaltimes.cn Some Western elites hold double standards on terrorism toward China and Russia. Doing so will be no good for the global anti-terrorism cause, nor can it mess up the two countries. By publishing an ill-intentioned commentary, CNN lost its reputation among Chinese readers as well as jeopardizing the image of the US. France’s President François Hollande denounced terrorism and expressed condolences to the victims after the Square incident, which helped win France favor among the Chinese public. In contrast, CNN showed a dark-minded US which is inconsistent with its superpower position. Not long after a kid suggested “killing everyone in China” on the US television network ABC, CNN defended violent terrorists who perpetrated the Square incident on its website. We have to say to our US counterparts: Have some self-respect.

Analysis: Tensions with allies rise, but U.S. sees improved China ties | Reuters But officials from both countries say they are committed to what China calls a “new model of major country relations” – a Xi mantra that aims to minimize Sino-U.S. rivalry as China’s global power grows. To Washington, the concept means “there is room on planet Earth for a rising, strong, stable, prosperous China and a United States that continues to serve as the champion of a liberal, democratic, free-market and rules-based system,” said Daniel Russel, the State Department’s top Asia diplomat. Washington and Beijing intend to “avoid a mechanistic dynamic in which a rising power and an enduring power were inevitably destined for conflict,” he added.

Related: Biden to emphasize Asia pivot on trip to China, Japan, South Korea | Reuters U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will travel to China, Japan and South Korea in the first week of December, a trip designed to emphasize the U.S. commitment to a policy pivot toward Asia.

Disabled Chinese Struggle for a Good Education, and Acceptance – NYTimes.com “Children with disabilities have the right to attend regular schools like all other children, and are entitled to support for their particular learning needs,” Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “But instead some schools fail — or simply refuse — to provide these students what they need.” Said Mr. Ni: “In the mainland of China, there is prejudice against the disabled. It’s not people’s fault. But they’re not educated to know how to understand us.”

Less sin, more Shrek in Macau as China takes aim in corruption fight | Reuters “It is much stricter with the leadership change,” said Li, a Macau junket operator who helps organise high rollers’ travel and hotel arrangements and asked to be identified only by his surname. “They (officials) keep a low profile and stay in service apartments arranged by other people” instead of opulent casino suites, complete with massage rooms and karaoke parlours, that they once preferred…New regulations put in place over the past year in Macau require junkets and casinos to report suspicious transactions and player lists each month, including details of when they played and how much they won or lost.

The Extreme Tilt of Chinese Internet Politics – China Real Time Report – WSJ It’s clear why the government would want to target the Big Vs, many of whom are critical of authorities and capable of disseminating their views across the country with the push of a button. Less clear is whether Beijing, by subduing the Chinese Internet’s most influential voices, will actually achieve its stated goal of “purifying the online environment.” A soon-to-be published survey of Chinese Internet users conducted by Ma Deyong, a political science professor at Nankai University, suggests it’s unlikely.

 

THIRD PLENUM

专家解读反腐:先把“存量”腐败降下来_思想频道_一财网 don’t overlook the 2013-17 anti-corruption plan that is expected to come out of the Third Plenum. If Beijing can not get corruption reduced then all this talk of other reforms is likely just that…// 即将出台的2013年~2017年反腐工作规划中提到了党的纪检体制的改革、反腐败体制机制的改革,这是主要。法并不是目前最迫切的,现在查处官员都是有法可依的。刘志军等人涉及到性贿赂在法律中没有,但是党纪政纪也有相关规定,可以做出相关的处分。

改革开放永无止境(钟声) ——如何更好“读懂中国”之二 《 人民日报 》 Zhong Sheng says in today’s People’s Daily that reform and opening is never-ending, part 2 of “how to better understand China” series, says upcoming third Plenum will provide a good opportunity for the world to better understand China // 中国共产党第十八届三中全会,为世界更好“读懂中国”提供新契机,为世界同中国在共同发展的道路上结成更加紧密的命运共同体创造新机遇。关注中国的变化,也是关注世界的变化。

Proceed Cautiously on Land Reform – Caixin In fact, in October 2008, the third full meeting of the party’s 17th Central Committee called for a unified rural-urban construction land market, equal rights for collective land and state land, and reasonable compensation for farmers. Isn’t this in the same vein as the 383 Plan? Then why, after five years, has there been no substantial progress in these areas? Why have experiments in cities like Suzhou, Shenzhen and Chongqing failed to form a national model? And why has the Land Management Law, which was deliberated on for five years and passed by the State Council last year, not been given a timetable for review by the National People’s Congress? The answer is because land policy, which involves so many farmers, is incredibly important and sensitive. It is hard to change. And it is very likely that top decision-makers and society have not reached a consensus on how to reform it.–Zhao Xiao–professor at the School of Economics and Management at the University of Science and Technology in Beijing

China’s Third Plenum: Reform and Opening Up 2.0? | Brookings Institution On October 31, the John L. Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution addressed these looming issues. How deep is the commitment to renewed reform? What are the factors limiting meaningful change? What political considerations are shaping these policy deliberations? The upcoming Communist Party of China (CPC) Third Plenum will provide important clues to these issues and to China’s future policy directions.–Jonathan Pollack, Cheng Li, Erica downs, David Dollar

 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE

Scorecard on NQ Mobile | China Accounting Blog | Paul Gillis Several experts interviewed by Bloomberg said the high days sales outstanding (DSO) was a red flag. High DSO usually is a red flag, but a fraud perpetrated in this way would be quite small compared to what Muddy Water’s alleges. Muddy Water’s says that over 90% of the business is fake, and you can’t cover that up by edging up DSO. The second issue is whether the cash is there. I consider that the true test of whether the company is a fraud. If the cash is there, I see no way that any fraud could be of the scale alleged by Muddy Waters. The company is taking some extraordinary steps to clear this issue up. The Level 1/Level 2 controversy is meaningless.

Muddy Waters Viewed Right on NQ Mobile Payments, Wrong on Cash – Bloomberg  Determining who’s right may take time. For NQ, “there are probably some issues that the company at the very least has to address, and there are aspects in Carson’s report that are correct,” said Bernstein. “There’s a big leap between a company that commits fraudulent acts and, perhaps, very bad management positions.”

NQ Mobile Sales Search Leads to Suburban Beijing Office – Bloomberg  About 15 of Yidatong’s workers sit on the third-floor, sharing space with nearly 200 workers for the second company, Jiuhe Tianxia Beijing Technology Co., which operates an online gaming site called 9hgame.com. Xu described the effort to lower costs by locating the sister companies together as a “Chinese characteristic.” // not uncommon. not a sign all is ok at Netqin, but this office arrangement alone not convincing evidence of fraud. but still don’t know anyone who uses the product

人民日报谈地方债:风险总体可控 政府家底较厚_证券时报网 Monday’s People’s Daily on local debts, says manageable // 我国地方债风险总体可控,但不能掉以轻心,偿债能力下降、融资渠道收紧、不透明等因素正威胁地方债安全,亟须建立切实可行的地方债管理制度,实现真正的“阳光融资”,防止隐性债务的风险

Oaktree Buys Cheap Chinese Stocks as U.S. Fairly Valued – Bloomberg Oaktree Capital Group LLC (OAK), the world’s largest distressed-debt investor, is buying Chinese stocks after valuations tumbled, Chairman Howard Marks said. The nation’s equities are “tremendous bargains,” Marks said at a media briefing in Shanghai today, declining to name the specific shares he’s purchasing. U.S. stocks are “fairly to fully valued,” he said. The Shanghai Composite Index (SHCOMP) has dropped 5.3 percent this year even as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 24 percent.

疯狂英语经营惨淡 李阳加入安利做直销_财经频道_一财网 Chinese media reports that Li Yang, Crazy English founder and abuser of his American ex-wife, is now working with Amway in China. Amway executives have water in their brains?// 今天,疯狂英语创始人李阳一条言辞狂热的博客引起广泛关注。

红杉、软银等外资巨鳄纷纷下注 押宝中国互联网金融市场 新华社——经济参考网 foreign VCs like Sequoia and Softbank making bets on China’s Internet finance sector // 嗅觉灵敏的外资一直渴望深耕中国利润丰厚的金融业,但长期以来受到高门槛的制约。随着中国互联网金融的蓬勃发展,为外资打开了方便之门。相比传统金融业的“高帅富”形象,此轮互联网金融热显得更加“草根”,近来出尽风头的“余额宝”、“P2P贷款”等,瞄准的都是普通百姓以及各行各业未被激活的投融资需求。业内人士认为,互联网金融发展的空间在于“自下而上”,以“接地气”激发产业活力。

Brazil and China’s Economic Tug of War – Gwynn Guilford – The Atlantic Despite the bellyaching on both sides, Chinese investment in Brazil looks set to continue. China’s state-owned enterprise may be losing interest, but nimbler private Chinese companies are still seizing opportunities. Search engine Baidu recently launched in Brazil, months after Lenovo bought a Brazilian electronics company for $146.5 million. And more Chinese car brands sell in Brazil than do American or Japanese brands. // and Xiaomi’s hiring of Hugo Barra will probably help it expand into Brazil

Fears for Scottish salmon farming after China production targets missed | Environment | theguardian.com poor Norway // The Guardian has established that Scottish salmon producers have fallen way behind their goal of increasing production by 60,000 tonnes, or 50%, by 2020 to help meet surging demand for the fish from China’s middle classes. Scottish ministers now admit that hitting the target is a “challenge”. It is central to a major deal to become one of China’s preferred suppliers, struck in January 2011 by Alex Salmond, the first minister, just as China signed parallel deals to lend two giant pandas to Edinburgh zoo and take a major financial stake in Grangemouth oil refinery.

困顿温州 – 经济观察网 - 专业财经新闻网站 Economic Observer on the distressed economy in Wenzhou, battered by debt crisis, real estate collapse, structural shifts in economy and export markets …// 导语:在“对症下药”的温州金改实施一年半之后,温州的经济也并未走出向好的迹象,反而在债务危机、房产泡沫、实体经济转型阵痛中困顿交织。

政府巨资治水又添温州千亿新样本_财经频道_一财网 100B RMB to be invested in cleaning up Wenzhou water, maybe this will help the economy…who can criticize “environmental stimulus” given the scale of the environmental crisis // 8天前,温州市委书记陈一新宣布,该市启动千亿“美丽浙南水乡”建设,动员全市上下打好治水攻坚战。

GSK’s Chinese executives, but not company, likely to face charges in China: sources | Reuters A charge against GSK itself would be a much more serious outcome for the company because it would imply higher-level corporate involvement and could result in major fines and even disruption to its operations in China. Police are also unlikely to lay criminal charges against Briton Mark Reilly, GSK’s former head of China operations, the sources said.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

中央通知要求公款考察性出访一律叫停_网易新闻中心 近日,中央党的群众路线教育实践活动领导小组印发《关于开展“四风”突出问题专项整治和加强制度建设的通知》,强调要认真贯彻执行《党政机关厉行节约反对浪费条例》,把专项整治作为教育实践活动整改落实的重中之重,狠抓落实,务求实效。

“官员大V”陈里调任中央政法委 有1500多万粉丝_网易新闻中心 Chen Li, the most followed official on Sina Weibo with 15,000,000 followers, has transferred from his post as Deputy Police chief of Shaanxi Province to a job on the Central Politics and Law Committee in Beijing // 玩微博的同时,陈里对政务微博和网络问政也颇有研究。他曾多次通过网络访谈、撰文等方式,表达他的个人思考:“政务微博,或官员开实名微博,要对网络民意有大度的心胸,要学会接纳和引导。让不同的声音充分表达和自由讨论,让微博言论相互抉择、净化和纠错,培育互联网上的言论生态平衡,用科学管理的素养善待这个真实表达个性的信息平台。”并认为:在利益多元、观点多样的当今社会,政务微博将能为推动社会管理创新、改进执政方式插上了“无形的翅膀”。一位熟悉陈里的网友也告诉南都记者,陈里到中政委任职或与网络舆情有关,最近,中央政法委领导一直在强调政法机关要开通微博,第一时间回应社会的信息需求。

郭声琨实地检查北京安保工作 不打招呼身着便装|郭声琨|安保|北京安保_新浪新闻 Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun makes surprise, undercover inspection of Beijing police…must not have been a fun 8 days for Beijing police since the 10.28 incident at Tian’anmen Square. This morning The Place Mall was preparing a “handling sudden incident exercise” for its security guards…wonder if that is happened in venues all over Beijing now // 4日20时40分,郭声琨不打招呼、身着便装,来到北京市公安局西城分局府右街派出所突击检查值班备勤情况,详细了解派出所警力部署、勤务模式、值守应急等情况。他说,上面千条线,下面一根针。基层基础工作扎实,我们心里才踏实。要适应新形势新任务的要求,采取有力措施,大力加强基层基础工作。公安基层所队要加强值班备勤力量,完善应急处置预案,确保任何时候都能做到闻警即动、快速反应、有效处置。要织密社会治安防控网络,着力提升群众见警率,不断增强群众安全感。

In an interview with the WSJ, Google’s Schmidt discusses his views on alleged government spying and China – Digits – WSJ Mr. Schmidt also said that the company is in no hurry to expand in China because of the country’s censorship policies. Google abandoned its China-based search engine in 2011 on censorship concerns and rerouted its search service through Hong Kong. “China’s censorship  regime has gotten significantly worse since we left, so something would have to change before we come back,” he said.

In Remote Village, China’s Leader Faces Awkward Question: Who Are You? – NYTimes.com Whether in photos with his pants rolled up in a rainstorm or sweating through his shirt while meeting with earthquake victims in Sichuan, state media over the past year have emphasized the idea of Mr. Xi as a man of the people. His trip to a remote region of Hunan is a reminder that, while China now has nearly 600 million Internet users, there is another half of the country’s population without Internet access. In the case of Shibadong village, there are people without televisions or the means to readily know, outside perhaps the occasional newspaper, just what the country’s leader looks like.

China bans officials sending new year cards at public expense | Reuters China’s ruling Communist Party on Friday banned officials from sending or printing new year cards or calendars if they have been paid for with public funds, the latest step in the government’s crackdown on waste, extravagance and graft. “The printing and production are more and more extravagant, and the waste is greater and greater,” the central government said on its main website (www.gov.cn).

In China’s Xinjiang, poverty, exclusion are greater threat than Islam | Reuters “It’s only since the state has been repressing religious practices in Xinjiang so hard, that ironically it has caused Uighur Muslims to re-traditionalize, to re-Islamise at a very rapid rate now,” said Joanne Smith Finley, a lecturer in Chinese studies at Britain’s Newcastle University who studies Xinjiang. “There is no tradition in Xinjiang of any kind of radical Islamism,” she added. The government has recognized the economic roots of some of the problems, and has poured money into development in the form of schools, hospitals and roads. To be sure, incomes have risen, especially in the countryside where many Uighurs live.

Security in Xinjiang: Tightening the screws | The Economist Since an outbreak of inter-ethnic rioting in Urumqi in July 2009 that left around 200 people dead, many of them members of China’s ethnic-Han majority, the police have remained vigilant in Uighur-dominated areas of the city. During an evening walk from the People’s Square in the centre of Urumqi to Liberation South Road your correspondent noticed no unusual police presence until he reached the edge of the predominantly Uighur area. Residents said the numbers of paramilitary troops deployed there had been stepped up since the Tiananmen crash. A police van drove up and sounded its siren to disperse a group of Uighur men who had gathered on the pavement (with no obvious intent other than to chat).

Separatists spreading terror skills over Net|Politics|chinadaily.com.cn “The separatists, which seek independence for a so-called Eastern Turkistan, believe that once they gradually influence young people, they can achieve their goal of separating China. As the Internet becomes more and more popular in Xinjiang as its economy develops, it has provided convenience for separatists to spread their ideas and reach out to a greater audience,” said Adiljan Ablat, a professor of politics and public management at Xinjiang University. By the end of 2012, Xinjiang had 9.6 million Web users, of which about 44 percent are from ethnic groups. About 67 percent of ethnic users between the ages of 21 and 35 prefer and are used to receiving information over the Internet rather than through traditional media, he said.

China helps ministers, governors understand Xi’s policies – Xinhua A workshop began in Beijing Monday to help ministerial and provincial officials, including ministers, provincial Party chiefs and governors, to better understand President Xi Jinping’s policies. From this November until June of next year, a total of seven workshops will be held for senior officials by the Party School and Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee. At the workshop, the officials will study a number of speeches Xi has made since the 18th CPC National Congress last November.

Security cameras blinded by thick smog creating security worry | South China Morning Post The government has come to realise the seriousness of the issue and commissioned scientists to come up with a solution. The National Natural Science Foundation of China funded two teams, one civilian and one military, to study the issue and has told the scientists involved to find solutions within four years. //anyone suggested mandatory RFID chip implantation? would seem to fit with the occasional apocalyptic landscape

清华大学调查显示中国户籍城镇化率仅为27.6%-教育频道-新华网 Tsinghua research finds that China’s urban Hukou percentage is only 27.6% // 10月27日,清华大学中国经济数据中心发布的一项有关中国城镇化调查报告显示,中国户籍城镇化率非常低,非农户籍人口占全国总人口的比例仅为27.6%,20年内农转非比例仅增长了7.7个百分点。此次调查是清华大学自恢复文科院校以来的首次大规模的全国代表性入户抽样调查,样本覆盖中国大陆的31个省(自治区、直辖市),实际完成有效成人样本12540个,其中流动人口样本4386。

Nongfu Spring accuses Beijing Times of defamation|Society|chinadaily.com.cn After verbal confrontations in April and May, Nongfu Spring, a bottled-water giant based in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, said it sent workers on Monday to the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television to submit complaints that the Beijing Times had published as many as 76 “fake” stories to taint the image of the company. “The Beijing Times intentionally and systematically published 76 negative stories about Nongfu Spring from April 10 to May 7. … It is an unprecedented case in China’s history that a news organization launched such large-scale critical coverage of one single enterprise,” the company said in a statement on its Sina Weibo micro-blogging account on Monday morning.//农夫山泉:已派员赴京举报京华时报76篇虚假报道_传媒_南都网 There was speculation at the time that a Nongfu competitor had paid for the reports, and in the wake of New Express/Zoomlion-Sany/Chen Yongzhou scandal Nongfu may get some traction

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

China puts its stamp on Zimbabwean economy – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun In addition to direct management, Chinese companies are sprouting across the country, drawing up contracts with individual Zimbabwean farmers. One top Zimbabwean official has a contract with a Chinese company to sell agricultural produce from 200 hectares of formerly white-owned farmland now in his possession. His workers use fertilizer and pesticide provided at no cost by the company. He sells the harvested tobacco wholesale to the company. “Chinese companies pay good money,” the Zimbabwean official said. “Of course I welcome Japanese companies, too, but I wonder whether they’ll do anything for me that the Chinese don’t do already.”

Former Chinese Commander Warns of War If Japan Shoots Down Drone – Bloomberg China should attack Japanese planes over the islands as a “minimum response,” Wang Hongguang, former deputy commander of the Nanjing military region, wrote in the Global Times today. Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe should be “mentally prepared,” Wang wrote. “China has many kinds of countermeasures from low intensity to high intensity.” The Global Times said in July that Wang had retired recently.

Public debate China-Japan war prospects – CHINA – Globaltimes.cn Major General Luo Yuan, a vice president of the China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, told the Global Times that the assessment by Russian experts was inaccurate due to their outdated information, but it reminds China to remain cautious. Luo said neither side has the intention to fight a full-fledged war. “China’s defense capability has seen a great leap. Japan has neither the guts nor the capability to fight such a war,” he said. A military expert from the PLA Air Force, who asked to remain anonymous, shared similar views, noting that the Chinese foreign ministry’s repeated statements over the Diaoyu Islands have shown Beijing’s will to solve the dispute through peaceful means. However, he noted the possibility of conflicts ignited by unexpected emergencies exists, if Japan continues down the wrong path. “The conflict will be an isolated incident, which wouldn’t spin out of control,” he told the Global Times.

Chinese spokesman urges impartiality for U.S. newspaper on Diaoyu Islands – Xinhua A Chinese spokesman on Monday urged the Wall Street Journal to be impartial on the Diaoyu Islands dispute after the U.S. newspaper carried an article pushing the United States to endorse Japan’s claims explicitly. The online article, dated Oct. 31, alleged that along with the tensions over the Diaoyu Islands (called the Senkaku Islands by the Japanese side), Tokyo’s alliance with Washington and its ties with Southeast Asia have been strengthened. “The more explicit the Obama Administration is that the Senkakus are Japanese, the likelier Beijing is to back down,” said the article. // so far no Anti-WSJ web site has sprung up

One Place Where the U.S. Can Rest Easy About China’s Influence? – NYTimes.com Beware, Daniel S. Markey, says in his lively new book, “No Exit From Pakistan: America’s Troubled Relationship with Islamabad” . The sentimental language between Islamabad and Beijing masks a relationship that is not quite so profound. There is little need for Washington, he argues, to fear that China would like to supplant the United States in Pakistan.

India Prepares to Launch Mars Orbiter in Space Race With China – Bloomberg “There is an ongoing race for space-related power and prestige currently in Asia, although few officials will admit it,” said James Moltz, a professor at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, who has written books about the space race. “India is clearly concerned about China’s recent rise in space prestige and wants to minimize that damage.”

Foreign News At A Crisis Point | Peter S. Goodman Our new Middle East bureau chief will soon to be deployed to Beirut, with another correspondent on the way elsewhere in the region, and a third planned for China. We are pursuing myriad partnerships aimed at broadening our lens on the world by bringing in fresh voices and perspectives from multiple shores. // so Huffington Post now saying publicly they are coming to China.

Chinese entrepreneur allegedly bringing in cash-filled suitcases–the Age  One of China’s wealthiest people has bought a Toorak mansion for more than $20 million amid claims the businessman regularly flies into the country in a private plane carrying suitcases of cash. Entrepreneur Wang Hua is China’s 790th richest person, with a net worth of $400 million that the 54-year-old is seeking to sink into residential developments, wineries, timber companies, golf courses and luxury homes in Australia.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

即刻搜索消失中:产品跳转关停 总部迁址|即刻|邓亚萍|人民网_互联网_新浪科技_新浪网 People’s Daily Online search engine Jike looks to be spiked…and merging it with Pangusou probably won’t help. What does this mean for Deng Yaping’s career?

VIPShop: Revenue To Grow Faster, Citi Raises PT To $85 – Emerging Markets Daily – Barrons.com no wonder stock up so much last night…but wait, some random research firm said it was a fraud, based on Alexa data, back when the stock was in the 20s..whoops…never take data from Alexa about the Chinese Internet seriously…// Citi raised their price target for VIPShop (VIPS) to $85 from $50, because of the apparel discounter’s improved operational efficiency. According to the Citi analysts, the biggest constraint for VIPShop to grow fast is warehouse capacity, but the company is set to more than double its warehouse space in the next three years.

李克强赞许马云:你们创造了一个消费时点-财经网 Jack Ma gets some Li Keqiang love at 10.31 meeting with business leaders// “虽然公司只有两万五千名员工,但在淘宝网开店的公司数是900万家,比较活跃的有300多万家店。预计今年全年的销售额占中国整体社会消费品零售总额的比重超过10%。”谈起淘宝网的爆炸式发展,马云滔滔不绝,如数家珍,展现出一幅新经济发展的美好前景——“沃尔玛创造了B2C模式,我们希望在中国创建一个新的C2B模式,即按需定制。这是制造业转型提升的重要的平台。”

股权安排未改支付宝剥离的劫掠本质 – iDoNews 马云深知道,如果由他和谢世煌独占全部股权,等于是自绝于人民,成为全民公敌,也不再有资本敢投支付宝了。与其如此,不如把阿里巴巴员工都拉进来,把所有人的利益连在一起,可以显得不那么孤立,还能巩固自己在阿里集团中的地位。日后引入战略投资者,让他们为支付给雅虎和软银的赔偿买单,自己和阿里员工可以不付一分钱,就把一半支付宝揣入口袋。当然,只占10%阿里集团股份的马云及其管理层,就想做阿里100%的主,马云及阿里员工占了50%股权的支付宝,自然是马云一个人的天下了。在中国,股权算什么,控制权才是实际的。

马云“群众路线持股”的一石三鸟_互联网_新浪科技_新浪网 不过,在感叹马云不惜“散尽千金”,将手中阿里小微股权从80%股权降到7.3%的慷慨之时,也应意识一个关键问题,按照阿里巴巴集团理想的公司治理架构,马云可以不通过股权即对公司实现主导控制,那么他还有继续控股支付宝而背负“独吞”骂名的必要吗?

Form F-1-AutohomeSEC Filing-Another Chinese IPO coming..Australia’s Telstra owns over 71% of this pre-IPO// We are the leading online destination for automobile consumers in China. Through our two websites,autohome.com.cn and che168.com, we deliver comprehensive, independent and interactive content to automobile buyers and owners….We have experienced significant revenue growth while maintaining profitability. Our net revenues increased from RMB252.9 million in 2010 to RMB433.2 million in 2011 and RMB732.5 million (US$119.7 million) in 2012, representing a compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, of 70.2%. Our total net revenues grew to RMB830.6 million (US$135.7 million) for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, representing a 62.6% increase from RMB510.8 million in the same period in 2012. Our income from continuing operations increased from RMB80.4 million in 2010 to RMB135.4 million in 2011 and RMB212.9 million (US$34.8 million) in 2012, representing a CAGR of 62.7%. Our net income amounted to RMB333.5 million (US$54.5 million) for the nine months ended September 30, 2013, representing a 96.7% increase from RMB169.6 million in the same period in 2012.

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson Visits China, Drums Up Support for Canada’s Animation and Film Industry – China Real Time Report – WSJ Vancouver has already established itself as a Hollywood rival in film production. Canadian and foreign production expenditures in Vancouver last year reached $1.216 billion, up 2.3% from 2011, according to British Columbia film trade group BC Film Commission. And Chinese film production companies have discovered it as ripe stomping grounds for filmmaking. “Seeking Mr. Right,” a Chinese take on the Tom Hanks classic “Sleepless in Seattle,” took place in Seattle but actually filmed in Vancouver thanks to its tax incentives and Canadian production teams

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

曝张艺谋有“双千金” 妻陈婷拥6辆豪车生活奢华_证券时报网 Director Zhang Yimou’s flaunting of one child policy back in the news in a big way // 今年5月曝光了张艺谋传闻中的娇妻陈婷和一对爱子的照片,张导演隐婚超生的内幕“呼之欲出”,该新闻发布后,引发了一起全民关注声势浩大的“超生门”事件。但“超生”调查毫无进展,如今张艺谋再度“归来”,新片开机,而记者和风行工作室也终于再次勘破张艺谋娇妻子女的行踪。

Liu Xiang makes Olympic promise[1]- Chinadaily.com.cn Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang and other members of the national track and field team gather to prepare for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, in Ji’an, East China’s Jiangxi province, Nov 3, 2013. The team members are all in Red Army uniforms at Jinggang Mountains, known as the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army, predecessor of the People’s Liberation Army, and the “cradle of Chinese revolution”

真相:90后蓝领的梦想_UGC精选 他们毕业于不同专业,刚刚走出校门不久,他们是工厂里的90后蓝领,他们对自己的未来也曾有想象

Chinese Olympic champ Sun under fire out of pool – Xinhua Despite the glories and fames in the pool, Chinese swimming top star Sun Yang is under fire from the public. According to Hangzhou police on Monday, China’s first male Olympic swimming champion will be detained for seven days and fined 2,000 yuan (about 328 U.S. dollars) for driving without license in an accident. Furthermore, the Zhejiang College of Sports, to which the dual Olympic champion is affiliated, also suspended Sun from training and competition in a statement late Monday, accusing him of “breaking a series of rules”.

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

社科院绿皮书:雾霾会影响生殖能力-财经网 CASS releases blue book on climate change, discusses health risks from pollution, suggestions air pollution can reduce fertility…if it says air pollution can decrease chances of having a son then chaos may ensue…// 昨日,中国社会科学院、中国气象局联合发布的《气候变化绿皮书:应对气候变化报告(2013)》(以下简称“绿皮书”)指出,近50年来中国雾霾天气总体呈增加趋势。其中,雾日数呈明显减少,霾日数明显增加,且持续性霾过程增加显著。

应对空气污染,京津冀纷纷出台限行政策 雾霾,汽车之过有几分(政策聚焦) 本报记者 余荣华 赵梓斌 靳 博 《 人民日报 》 infographic in Monday’s people’s daily on sources of Beijing’s PM 2.5

新疆拍到中国首张高清雪豹捕食照(图)|新疆|雪豹|捕食_新浪新闻 HD pictures taken of a snow leopard in Xinjiang hunting mountain goats

 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

收稻子_亚东 · 心目中的风景_王亚东_博联社 nice pictures of rice harvest in Shandong

 

BEIJING

京明年购车摇号指标减9万 拥堵费最快2015开收|机动车|本市|拥堵费_新浪财经_新浪网 new Beijing license plate quota to drop to 150,000 in 2014 from 240,000 this year //《北京市2013-2017年机动车排放污染控制工作方案》任务分解表昨天发布。从明年起,每年24万个的小汽车摇号指标将缩水近4成,配置机动车指标变为15万辆,而且不同类型机动车配比额度会有变化。其中新能源车的配比率逐年递增,从最初的每年2万个逐渐增加到每年6万个。普通小汽车的“限购令”则将逐年收紧,到2017年每年非新能源车的配比量仅为9万辆。

北京中小学禁止出售碳酸饮料 一纸禁令管得住学生的嘴吗?-教育频道-新华网 Beijing bans sale of carbonated drinks in primary and middle schools…but like everything can it be enforced?

北京初二男生放学回家后跳楼 放学前曾被罚站3小时_图片频道_新华网 12 year old Beijing boy gets in trouble at school, comes home and leaps to his death from roof of his apartment building

北京遭雾霾围城3天 万元空气净化器日销超百台_网易财经 pollution good for business, reports that over 100 air filter machines costing 10,000 RMB+ are selling every day in the capital…and hear that the US government has purchased 5,000 air filter machines for embassy employees in Beijing…

央视消防中队成立 将配备可达101米高空云梯车_网易新闻中心 new fire brigade set up for the new CCTV tower and cbD, will have ladder capable of reaching 101m High. but that is only a third of the height of China World Phase 3 and Fortune plaza Phase 3, and a fifth the eventual height of the new CITIC complex now under construction // 其中央视消防中队将配备北京市最高的云梯消防车,这部云梯消防车可达101米高空,负责保卫CBD地区的消防安全。

 

JOBS AND EVENTS

网友提问——中央纪委监察部网站 China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to answer questions online at 15:30 BJT on Tuesday.

Internship – Research Analyst (Intern) Beijing IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of information, insight and analytics in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape.

Career Opportunities: Principal Economist (IHS) The ideal candidate would have at least a Master’s Degree in Economics or Finance and at least five years of experience analyzing economic trends in China. Demonstrated knowledge of sub-national economic trends in China is critical. The candidate will have strong analytical and quantitative skills and excellent communication skills (written as well as verbal). Fluency in both Chinese and English is required. Solid knowledge of economic, regulatory, and operational characteristics of China’s various provinces is expected. Prior modeling experience and familiarity with Eviews is a plus.