"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
Mike Forsythe leaves Bloomberg, as do others | Poynter. Bloomberg News reporter Mike Forsythe said on Twitter Tuesday he had left Bloomberg News. //Bloomberg’s huge, self-inflicted loss will be someone else’s huge gain
Related: The evolution of Bloomberg News | Felix Salmon not just about the self-censoring for China, on broader changes at Bloomberg News // To understand what’s going on, it’s important to have a vague feel for where the power really lies within Bloomberg LP. Winkler is undoubtedly a powerful man — he oversaw the rise and rise of Bloomberg News, and he is a close confidante of Bloomberg, co-writing Bloomberg’s autobiography along the way. But while Winkler is powerful, he’s no Tom Secunda. Secunda, a co-founder of the company, is the other Bloomberg billionaire, the man in charge of basically everything which makes money at Bloomberg. And Secunda is the opposite of a romantic press baron: all he’s interested in is profitability…All of this should make Secunda happy — while at the same time emphasizing the fact that Smith and Tyrangiel now have a significant degree of control over a newsroom which used to belong solely and unambiguously to Winkler. And while the Winkler regime had its idiosyncrasies, it didn’t pull its punches. Now, however, Bloomberg News is increasingly a direct threat to the success of Bloomberg LP, in a world where China represents the company’s biggest growth opportunity and just one of the two things that Mike Bloomberg has declared to be in his “long-range plans” after his successor’s inauguration as New York City mayor.
Related: As American Journalists at Bloomberg and Elsewhere Are Denied Access, What Will It Cost the Media to Cover China? : The New Yorker – Evan Osnos If China denies access to correspondents because of the quality of their work, their colleagues have a responsibility to report that fact as diligently as we have reported on China’s progress over the years. Some are calling for countermeasures, such as declaring China’s barriers to journalism trade violations. Others would revive calls to restrict the number of Chinese journalists allowed into the United States…The leaders who met in Beijing this month were deciding not simply what reforms to undertake but what of kind of country they want to leave for future generations. It is a story that nobody can afford to ignore.
New team to promote China’s reform plan – Xinhua The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Tuesday founded a 28-member team to promote the key reform plan that it adopted last week. The promotion team is made up of senior Party and government officials, including ministers, vice ministers and provincial party chiefs, as well as legislators, political advisors and researchers from national think tanks. They will tour the country to explain the decision on major issues concerning comprehensively deepening reforms that was adopted at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee on Nov. 12.
Related: 学习贯彻三中全会精神中央宣讲团动员会在京召开–时政–人民网 本报北京11月19日电 （记者倪光辉）学习贯彻党的十八届三中全会精神中央宣讲团动员会19日在京召开，中共中央总书记习近平作出重要批示。他指出，组织中央宣讲团，是学习宣传贯彻党的十八届三中全会精神的重要举措。宣讲的关键是要联系实际、研机析理、解疑释惑，努力讲全、讲透、讲实，帮助广大党员、干部、群众全面准确领会全会精神，全面准确领会全会提出的新思想、新论断、新举措。各地要组织形式多样的宣讲活动，各级领导干部要带头深入基层宣讲。要增强宣讲的针对性和实效性，因人施教，因材施教，因事施教，做到多层次、广覆盖，推动全党全社会把思想和行动统一到全会精神和中央要求上来，坚定信心，凝聚共识，形成合力，汇聚起推进改革的强大正能量。
Related: 三中全会精神中央宣讲团成立 黄奇帆等为成员|三中全会|宣讲团|黄奇帆_新浪新闻 the 28 members of the team to promote the spirity of the Third Plenum Decision // 本报北京11月19日电（记者倪光辉）为推动兴起学习宣传贯彻党的十八届三中全会精神热潮，中央决定，由中宣部会同中央有关部门组成中央宣讲团。据了解，中央宣讲团成员有：中央组织部常务副部长陈希，中央宣传部常务副部长雒树刚，国家发展和改革委员会主任徐绍史，国家发展和改革委员会副主任朱之鑫，环境保护部部长周生贤，商务部部长高虎城，国家新闻出版广电总局副局长、党组书记蒋建国，国土资源部部长姜大明，科技部副部长、党组书记王志刚，民政部部长李立国，国家卫生和计划生育委员会主任李斌，湖北省委书记李鸿忠，重庆市市长黄奇帆，中央宣传部副部长王晓晖，中央政策研究室副主任潘盛洲，中央政策研究室副主任江金权，中央财经领导小组办公室副主任杨伟民，中央政法委副秘书长姜伟，全国人大常委会副秘书长沈春耀，全国政协办公厅研究室主任刘佳义，财政部副部长王保安，中国人民银行副行长易纲，国务院法制办副主任袁曙宏，国务院研究室副主任韩文秀，国务院发展研究中心副主任刘世锦，全国政协社会和法制委员会副主任施芝鸿，国际经济交流中心副理事长郑新立，国家发展和改革委员会研究员林兆木等28位同志。
吴敬琏《财经》年会演讲：本届三中全会提出的改革更成熟更现代化（实录）-财经网 Wu Jinglian’s speech at the Caijing conference in Beijing Tuesday..positive on the Third Plenum Decision // 用我的话来说，就是十四届三中全会指导下建立的，上个世纪末建设起来的市场经济体系是初级版的，还带有很多旧体制的遗产。十八届三中全会提出来的建立市场经济体制是升级版的，更加成熟的，符合现代要求的一个市场经济
Related: 全会经济体制改革解读：从全能政府到有限政府_证券时报网 对于如何才能处理好政府与市场的关系，国务院发展研究中心研究员吴敬琏在接受媒体采访时表示，旧体制下政府无所不管，政治学家称之为“全能主义”政府，看起来什么都管，实际上不可能管好。在市场经济条件下，市场可以办的，应该由市场去办；社会组织可以办好的，交给社会组织去办。只有市场和社会组织做不了或做不好的，政府才应插手，也就是要建成所谓的“有限政府”。
CBRC Promotes Interbank De-leveraging -Caijing Caijing learned that relevant authorities at the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) have drafted the Interbank Financing Management Rules for Commercial Banks (the “Rules”). The Rules are expected to be approved and implemented in Feb. 2014 after being submitted to CBRC leadership in November. This new round of regulatory countermeasures to address banks’ “covert credit business” can be interpreted as a sharp warning directed towards interbank operations, which currently account for 12 percent of banks’ total assets.
Related: China To Ban Another Off-Balance Sheet Bank Channel: Press | MNI New rules limiting borrowing and lending practices in the Chinese interbank market may not be as draconian as previously feared but will still close off a channel which currently allows banks to transfer assets off their balance sheets, according to Caijing magazine. The weekly says that, according to newly finalized rules from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), banks will no longer be allowed to use tri-party agreements to transfer those assets off, but won’t ban the agreements outright as the interbank market had rumored.
新一轮地方投资摸底：超大体量投资存隐忧_财经频道_一财网 local governments desperately in need of investment methadone…China business News adds up all the various plans announced by the 10 largest provinces/cities since 6.12…calculates 20 TRILLION RMB worth of plans…how much double counting, how many actually moved forward unclear. but…// 而据《第一财经日报》记者对去年6月以来，全国十多个省市发布的大规模经济刺激计划数据的梳理，其中涉及金额已超20万亿元，远超2009年中央政府的“4万亿计划”。在如上超大体量地方版投资计划之下，依然是地方经济依赖投资拉动的不变现状。而在2009年4万亿投资后遗症尚未完全消化，地方高负债风险仍未排除前提下，不少专家认为，新一轮投资冲动可能会进一步推高负债和金融风险。
China to Enforce New Fuel Standards -Caijing Major state-owned oil companies might be the biggest winners in this upcoming upgrades of fuel standards, as increases in oil prices unveiled by the NDRC far exceed estimated increases in production costs.
Ties between China, Seoul on new level, affirms Yang-INSIDE Korea JoongAng Daily Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi yesterday met with President Park Geun-hye and affirmed that Korea and China have entered the next stage of development in bilateral relations. The two discussed issues including North Korea policy and a free trade agreement that is in the works.
Related: Korea, China Find Common Ground Against Japan With Monument of Korean Hero Ahn Jung Geun in Harbin – China Real Time Report – WSJ But while the source of the current strain between Japan and its neighbors tended to be territorial rows or about mid-20th century aggression by the imperial army and how the current Japanese leaders continue to offend, Seoul and Beijing have recently decided to go further back in time to denounce Japan, possibly driving the schism deeper between Asia’s top economic powerhouses. On Monday, South Korean President Park Geun-hye thanked a visiting senior Chinese official for the progress made for a monument in China’s northeastern city of Harbin commemorating the 1909 assassination of Hirobumi Ito, who presided over the Korean Peninsula as governor when it was a colonial protectorate of Japan’s.
Related: 日方谈“韩国在华建安重根纪念碑”：他是罪犯_资讯频道_凤凰网 Japan not happy, says Ahn was a criminal
China’s population policy: No tears for the enforcers | The Economist Some years in the future, the national policy will be two children per family, says Mao Qun’an, spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission (the newly named combined ministry). That will further narrow the scope for ugly abuses. The forced abortions and sterilisations, illegal under the policy but still carried out from time to time, will become much more rare, for lack of law-breakers. The enforcers will have far fewer opportunities to levy fines for violating the policy (or accept bribes to ignore violations).
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
国企改革大方案或明年出台 新华社——经济参考网 Xinhua’s Economic Information reports that SASAC is preparing an SOE reform plan to be released in 2014…//《经济参考报》记者从权威人士处获悉，国资委等相关部门正在紧锣密鼓地就下一步深化国有企业改革的相关工作进行规划和部署。其中，国资委牵头制定的《深化国有企业改革的指导意见》目前正在进行完善和调整，有望明年初出台…他告诉记者，即将出台的总体方案中，首先将会把国有企业分成垄断性国企和竞争性国企。国资委监管将更具针对性，自然垄断行业下一步改革重点是以政企分开、政资分开、特许经营、政府监管为主要内容，根据不同行业特点实行网运分开、放开竞争性业务。与此同时，国资委会在绩效考核、企业激励约束机制等方面进行一系列的调整，其中也包括市场化聘用制度、薪酬、员工持股等热点问题的改革。 参与总体方案起草的有关专家告诉记者，从国资委监管角度看，顶层设计的当务之急是解决国企分类监管的问题
PBOC Will ‘Basically’ End Normal Yuan Intervention: Zhou – Bloomberg The daily range will be widened in an “orderly way” as China seeks to enhance the currency’s two-way flexibility, Zhou wrote in an article in a guidebook explaining reforms outlined last week following a Communist Party meeting. The nation will phase out investment caps for both domestic and foreign investors, he added. A ceiling on deposit rates offered by local banks will be gradually removed as well, PBOC Deputy Governor Yi Gang wrote in the book.
At WSJ Event, Economists Cautiously Upbeat on China’s Shift – Washington Wire – WSJ “They know that the buildup of inventory in the state-owned enterprises shows the market isn’t working,” Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew told the WSJ CEO Council attendees…“What I didn’t get a good sense of was the seqence and pace of change,” Mr. Lew said. “We’re going to be pressing them to move faster” and also advocate for the direction of Beijing’s reforms when they become clearer.
Registration-based IPO System Big, But Not Easy Move:CSRC Xiao Gang-Caijing The surprising move will return power to the market as well as investors, Xiao said Tuesday in a keynote speech at the Caijing Annual Conference 2014. Implementation of the new system, however, doesn’t mean no interventions from the regulatory commission, Xiao explained, adding the CSRC will keep strength of its regulations on information disclosure.
以经济体制改革为重点全面深化改革–时政–人民网 long Zhang Gaoli piece in today’s People’s Daily on economic reform
坚持社会主义市场经济改革方向–时政–人民网 Fifth commentary in People’s Daily series on implementing the spirit of the Third Plenum// ——五论认真贯彻落实十八届三中全会精神–本报评论员
建设统一开放竞争有序的市场体系—学习领会党的十八届三中全会精神–人民网 韩 俊 任兴洲–（作者分别为国务院发展研究中心副主任、市场经济研究所所长）
JPMorgan Said to Quit Everbright Bank Offering Amid Probe – Bloomberg The U.S. bank told Everbright it would quit the deal, which at $2 billion would be the largest first-time offering by a Chinese lender in Hong Kong since 2009, because the probe delayed an internal approval process, the people said. They asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Brian Marchiony, a JPMorgan spokesman, declined to comment
Chinese vice premier urges better business environment – Xinhua Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang said at a meeting on Tuesday that China will speed up construction of a modern market system. During the meeting with Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Scott Davis of United Parcel Service, Wang said China will build an open economic system, improve the environment for foreign investment, and actively push forward economic and trade cooperation with the United States.
Chinese Skeptics Deepening Biggest A-Share Discount in 3 Years – Bloomberg China’s largest package of economic reforms since the 1990s is getting a bigger vote of confidence from foreign investors than from the nation’s own citizens. The benchmark index for Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong has jumped 6.2 percent, more than twice the Shanghai gauge, since policy makers led by President Xi Jinping pledged to ease China’s one-child policy and liberalize interest rates on Nov. 15. That left mainland shares valued at a 5.8 percent discount, the most in three years, according to the Hang Seng China AH Premium Index.
Chinese Stocks May (Finally) Head Higher – Barrons.com If the momentum continues – and it is so powerful right now that it may potentially change the personality of FXI in the options market – the calls will sharply increase in value. The historical trading pattern in the China ETF is that investors are often just about evenly split between bearish puts and bullish calls. The economic reform trade, however, has created massive demand for bullish calls.
LightInTheBox Forecast Sinks Vipshop: China Overnight – Bloomberg 2nd miss since IPO by this POS, never should have been taken public, underwriters and management had to have known..too bad nothing will happen to them…// LightInTheBox Holding Co. (LITB) plunged 23 percent, leading declines among Chinese stocks traded in New York, after the online discount retailer’s sales forecast trailed analyst estimates.
POLITICS AND LAW
以过硬作风打好改革之“铁”（人民时评）–财经–人民网 would not be surprised to see the anti-corruption, ant-extravagance, improving workstyle campaigns to intensify in wake of Third Plenum…Xi’s way or Shaunggui…// “行船趁顺风，打铁趁火红。”改革是决定中国命运的抉择，过硬的作风则是改革者的立身之本。当前，作风建设初见成效，改革风帆正待远飏。当此之时，正该以好作风凝聚正能量，打好改革这块“铁”、走好发展这步棋。
习王联手敲山震虎 官不聊生显山露水_中国_多维新闻网 中国自古有民不聊生的说法，说的是老百姓无法生活下去，形容人民生活困难。而今该说法有了衍生版，也即“官不聊生”。前者是社会退步、政权危亡的征兆，后者则被公认为一个国家进步的标志。也就是说，官员的日子太好过了，混日子、人浮于事、精神懈怠、脱离群众成风，结果往往是“民不聊生”；一旦“官不聊生”，这些积弊就不再有存活的空间和土壤，人民公仆的称号才恰如其分。
取消“双规”成共识 中纪委让位检察院_中国_多维新闻网 “Shuanggui/”double regulation”” heading for abolishment? // 【多维新闻】中共十八届三中全会通过的《中共中央关于全面深化改革若干重大问题的决定》（简称《决定》）力推多项反腐新举措，预示着中共反腐体系将引来新格局。专家表示，中共取消“双规”这一党内不规范的“司法程序”已达成共识，今后查处官员的违法犯罪事实，中纪委将让位于检察院。这也将为中纪委反腐纳入规范的司法程序铺路搭桥。
专家回应“双规”退出历史舞台：频率将减少_网易新闻中心 or maybe shaunggui frequency will be reduced? // 昨日，两位专家称，对于官员贪腐等职务犯罪案件，今后，纪检监察部门的侦查环节，检察机关或已介入。但具体实施方案还在研究。
中移动原副总鲁向东一审被判无期_财经频道_一财网 life in jail for former senior China Mobile exec Lu Xiangdong…heard recently from someone w very deep ties in industry that a bigger fish soon to be netted…this CM investigation been going on for years, taken down many people…// 吉林市中级法院一审做出判决，原中国移动通信集团执行董事兼副总经理鲁向东因受贿2000多万元被判无期徒刑。
湖北省政协原副主席陈柏槐涉严重违纪正接受调查_网易新闻中心 former chairman of the Hubei CPPCC under investigation // 新华网北京11月19日电 中央纪委监察部网站消息，湖北省政协原副主席陈柏槐涉嫌严重违纪违法，目前正接受组织调查。
第十名川商被查 拿下周永康的网在收紧？_中国_多维新闻网 【多维新闻】中共十八届三中全会刚一结束，官方媒体新华网就发出四川成都高新董事长平兴被立案调查的消息，这是近期又一起川籍上市公司高管被查案件。此前有9名川籍商界人士被查，均被传与李春城和郭永祥案有关，郭永祥曾担任周永康秘书，李春城则同样被认为曾与担任四川省委书记的周永康关系密切。据悉，平兴案与2013年7月被中纪委调查的国腾电子实际控制人何燕案密切相关。何燕被公认是周永康的人，有评论人士认为，平兴被查说明中共拿下周永康的网正在收紧。
审计高官侯凯空降上海任纪委书记_中国_多维新闻网 【多维新闻】北京时间11月19日，中共下发人事调整信息，称中共第十八届中央纪律检查委员会委员侯凯空降任上海市纪委书记一职。 据中国大陆媒体11月19日报道，经中共中央批准：侯凯任上海市委委员、常委和上海市纪委书记；免去杨晓渡的上海市委常委、委员和上海市纪委书记职务。
Wife of jailed Chinese Nobel Laureate appeals for his retrial | Reuters The wife of jailed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo has filed an extraordinary appeal for his retrial, his lawyer said on Tuesday, in a move that could renew the focus on China’s human rights record. The news comes two weeks ahead of a visit to China by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, during which human rights will likely be raised amid a broader crackdown on dissent and freedom of speech and assembly.
东莞一街道官员被举报身家20亿 全家房产超百套 _新闻_腾讯网 online accusation that neighborhood committee official in dingguan, guangdong is worth 2B RMB, family has 100+ pieces of property…about that property tax…// 记者段思午 近日，有网友发帖举报东莞一镇街官员购买过百万元的豪车，坐拥大量房产，称其身家近20亿元。同时举报了该官员涉及其他违法违纪问题。
2013/22_《求是》_求是理论网 latest issue of Qiushi has lots on the Third Plenum Decision, as you would expect
Capital gains: Spending on contracts and lobbying propels a wave of new wealth in D .C. – The Washington Post No, not a China story. But useful for perspective. I grew up in DC, change has been remarkable // So much money to be had if you know where to look. The avalanche of cash that made Washington rich in the last decade has transformed the culture of a once staid capital and created a new wave of well-heeled insiders.
Tian Xueren Case Opens Corruption Rabbit Hole-Caijing imagine what is inside that onion as it gets peeled, and how many onions there are in China // During the investigation of Tian Xueren’s corruption case, prosecutors uncovered a number of related transactions involving state-owned enterprises’ public listing and restructuring.
Wenzhou fake tycoon Lin Chunping gets life in jail for fraud | South China Morning Post Lin was hailed last year as a role model by the local government after he claimed to have bought the fictitious “Atlantic Bank of America in Delaware” for US$60 million. Wenzhou , a city in Zhejiang renowned for its entrepreneurs, even made him a member of its Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Army disciplinary inspection eyes leading officials – Xinhua An inspection on officials’ decadence will focus on leading officers of the Communist Party of China (CPC) within the army system, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Xu Qiliang has said. Xu, also head of the guidance group of the CMC inspection campaign, made the comments on Monday at a meeting where special CMC inspection groups were set up and personnel announced.
Cybersecurity Absent in Lew’s Recent China Visit – Washington Wire – WSJ One senior Treasury official said the secretary had discussed the theft of trade secrets, telling China’s top officials that foreign investors need greater government assurances their intellectual property will be adequately protected. But that was the extent of it, the senior U.S. Treasury official said, and the concerns were about all forms of intellectual property rights protection, not just those in cyberspace.
央视曝解放军渤海夜间抢滩登陆画面_网易新闻中心 CCTV has footage of the PLA night exercise in Bohai // 核心提示：由济南战区组织的代号为联合决胜2013的战区联合战役军团演习进入到实兵交战，日前，央视在节目中曝光了解放军在渤海夜间抢滩登陆的画面。
Why we must measure national harmony – FT.com — Daniel Bell But how can harmony serve as a guideline to evaluate a country’s political progress? Global indicators offer little guidance: not a single index, for example, measures family wellbeing as an indicator of human wellbeing. So we made one – the Harmony Index…The five least harmonious countries are large, populous countries: Brazil, the US, South Africa, India, and Russia (in descending order). The US is penalised because of its large ecological footprint, but it is a surprisingly harmonious society internally; Brazil, in contrast, did well on harmony with nature but poorly on harmony in society. China did not rank highly on the HI, showing that there is still a large gap between the ideal of harmony and its reality.
TECH AND MEDIA
The Weekly Wonk–The Achilles hell of Alibaba and China Inc. –Hao Wu As an ex-employee of Alibaba, an Aliren (Ali-person, as Alibaba calls its employees and alumni), I am proud of the company’s achievements. But could the Alibaba I know go beyond its home market to become a global consumer behemoth, or is all this talk yet another exaggerated fear of China-taking-the-world?
Alibaba Giving Away Smartphones to Speed M-commerce Adoption | Alizila Trying to speed up the pace at which Taobao’s estimated seven million merchants are shifting from PC-based online shopping to shopping by mobile phones, Alibaba officials are spending heavily to build up a mobile-services platform that will make it easier for Taobao sellers to make the switch.
Dianping, China’s Largest Restaurant Review Site, Turned Down An Acquisition Offer From Google China | TechCrunch Dianping, the restaurant review platform that is sometimes referred to as the “Yelp of China,” turned down an acquisition offer from Google China in early 2007, co-founder Edward Long revealed at the TechCrunch/Technode event in Shanghai. Google China valued the company, which was then four years old, at less than $100 million. After Dianping refused its buyout offer, Google China made a Series B investment in the site of a few million dollars. Dianping’s other investors include Trust Bridge Partners, Sequoia Capital, QiMing Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners and it has raised almost $180 million in funding.
Oberweis Defies Muddy Waters by Doubling Down on NQ – Bloomberg NQ Mobile is now the largest position in five of six Oberweis funds, he said.//Brave
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
The secret buyer of Bacon’s triptych is … | Page Six is she also the buyer of Zeng Fanzhi’s “last supper” that sold for 20m+ at a recent Sotheby’s auction? // The buyer of the Francis Bacon triptych at Christie’s for a record $142 million last week was shrouded in secrecy — but Page Six can exclusively reveal it is Qatar’s Sheikha Mayassa, the most powerful woman in art.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Drawing a Red Line on Protecting the Environment – Caixin The central government wants to map out ecological areas where development is prohibited, but there are major divisions over how this should be done
Farmers Wonder If Tree-Planting Subsidy Will Be Chopped Down – Caixin Starting this year, subsidies to peasants for growing trees on their farmland – subsidies that have been around for almost 15 years – are scheduled to be phased out in the 25 provinces and regions involved. It is unclear whether the government will extend them. Since they were introduced, natural vegetation has reappeared on 139 million mu (or 9.3 million hectares) of severely desertified land and steep slopes that had been used to grow crops. All of this was backed by the government’s subsidies. And without them, it seems inevitable that farmers will reclaim a vast amount of land for agricultural use
BEIJING
Murdoch Divorce Said to Be Almost Final – NYTimes.com In Beijing, they own a siheyuan, a courtyard-style house near the Chinese capital’s Forbidden City. Shortly after marrying, they transformed the home in an old hutong, or alley, into a sprawling oasis filled with works by Chinese artists. Mrs. Murdoch has held parties there in the past with such guests as Tony and Cherie Blair. // who gets this? may be the only China investment that has actually made money for Murdoch
北京明年起小学三年级前不开英语课_网易新闻中心 Beijing announces end to English classes for 1st and 2nd graders starting in 2014, weighting on later tests will be reduced…last year Beijing announced no homework for 1st and 2nd graders starting after chinese new year, was enforced for that semester. parents not happy, worried kids will fall behind, this year our second graders have hour plus of homework a night.// 晨报讯 昨日，北京市教委副主任付志峰透露，明年起北京市小学一、二年级将不开设英语课，调整至小学三年级零起点教学；整体降低中高考英语难度，严格执行考试大纲要求，中考试题难度不超过课标五级标准，高考试题难度不超过课标七级标准。
李某某翻供：开房后接妈妈电话 啥也没参与_新闻_腾讯网 part of Li Tianyi’s new defense in his appeal trial Tuesday–I couldn’t have raped her because I was on the phone with my mother
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
David Tod Roy Completes His Translation of ‘Chin P’ing Mei’ – NYTimes.com have read his first four, but only parts the original. a useful reference for some of the dissolution here in the last few years // But the “Chin P’ing Mei,” as the novel is known in Chinese, is about far more than just sex, scholars hasten to add. It was the first long Chinese narrative to focus not on mythical heroes or military adventures, but on ordinary people and everyday life, chronicled down to the minutest details of food, clothing, household customs, medicine, games and funeral rites, with exact prices given for just about everything, including the favor of bribe-hungry officials up and down the hierarchy. “It’s an extraordinarily detailed description of a morally derelict and corrupt society,” Mr. Roy said. // The Plum in the Golden Vase or, Chin P’ing Mei: Volume Five: The Dissolution on Amazon
Carnal Prayer Mat: Li Yu: Amazon. 肉蒲团 — for those who like the Plum in the Golden Vase genre. Terrific translation by Patrick Hanan, much shorter than PitGV