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

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If Xi is “Dengist”, does that mean he will follow Deng Xiaoping’s strategy of ensuring positive relations with the US to maintain a stable external environment that is conducive to continuing reform, growing the economy and making progress towards the goal of national rejuvenation?

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Today’s Links:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Locke to step down, rejoin family in Seattle – The Washington Post Locke’s greatest achievement may have been cutting waiting times for U.S. visas to three to five days, down from 70 to 100 days when he took over. Locke said the improvement had “significantly increased Chinese business and travel tourism to the U.S.” Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said Locke should be applauded for the visa progress. At the same time, he said, it was “not evident” that the ambassador had a grand strategic vision for the U.S.-China relationship. // no one surprised since his family left. who is on the short list? Hear Jeff Bader may be, hope it does not go to a donor

Related: Locke controversy stems from Chinese expectation – OP-ED – Global Times Looking back, Locke is a “normal” US Ambassador to China. The unusual stand and image of him in the eyes of Chinese public in fact stem from Chinese expectations. Chinese public opinion should become more mature after taking a close look at Locke for over two years. The Chinese public needs to deepen their understanding of national interests. Locke’s Chinese American identity and affable face made some take him as “Chinese.” However, he soon displayed his loyalty to US national interests.

Related: 骆家辉否认因北京空气质量差决定回国_新闻_腾讯网 Guangming–Amb Locke denies he is resigning and moving back to the US because of the Beijing air pollution

Xi Puts Himself at Center of China’s Economic Makeover – NYTimes.com Mr. Bao [Tong], the former aide, said he thought Mr. Xi was likely to take charge of the reform group, partly to ensure leadership unity in making changes. But he said he saw no signs of strife between Mr. Xi and Mr. Li. Rather, he predicted, Mr. Xi is likely to oversee the overall package of reforms, while Mr. Li focuses on economic policy and implementation. “The decisions over the most important economic issues will be concentrated in the topmost leading small group,” Mr. Bao said. “My guess is that the leader of the group will be none other than General Secretary Xi Jinping.”

China to improve evaluation system to cut GDP obsession – Xinhua China will improve its evaluation system for measuring economic performance, putting greater emphasis on growth quality to cut local obsession with GDP data, according to the head of the country’s top economic planner. China will increase the weight of factors such as resource consumption, environmental cost, work safety and local debt in assessing local economic growth, and put more emphasis on employment, resident income, social security and people’s health, Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said during an interview Tuesday.

Related: 焦点访谈 《焦点访谈》 20131120 专访国家发展改革委主任徐绍史/押金之惑 – YouTube Wednesday edition of CCTV’s “Focus” has interview with NDRC head Xu Shaoshi talking about economic reforms

2013 Annual Report to Congress | The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission

Related: Chinese Hackers Seen Exploiting Cloud to Spy on U.S. – Bloomberg China-based hackers may target Internet-based e-mail, data storage and other services provided overseas by such companies as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to spy on the U.S., a congressional commission found. The Chinese government wages “a large-scale cyber espionage campaign” and “has successfully targeted the networks of U.S. government and private organizations,” the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission concludes in its annual report to Congress released yesterday.

State Council consolidates property registries | South China Morning Post In a meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang, the State Council decided yesterday to give the Ministry of Land and Resources overall authority over the registration of land, buildings, prairies, forests and coastal waters…”The thing now is how fast can that one centralised system be achieved,” Zhang said. “The housing ministry has promised to connect the property registration databases of 500 cities, but only achieved 40 cities. You can imagine how much resistance there is from interested parties.”// 李克强：建立不动产统一登记制度是国务院重要内容_财经频道_一财网 

Related: Property Taxes Hoped to Curb China’s Real Estate Excesses – NYTimes.com an effective property tax would require individuals, including government officials, to provide a more accurate record of their real estate holdings, a move analysts say would be resisted because of the scale of illicit income and other corruption it would uncover. “The moment the government starts collecting taxes, people will be able to see the properties that individuals own,” wrote Li Xiaoning, a real estate market analyst, in the Legal Daily newspaper. “This will unleash problems that will truly test the boldness and determination of the government’s fight against corruption.”

Related: 房产税：交易减 保有增（权威访谈·学习贯彻十八届三中全会精神）–时政–人民网 Lou Jiwei discusses fiscal and tax reforms mentioned in the third plenum document on page 2 of Thursday’s People’s Daily. PD headline leads with property discussion

Related: 改革氛围下楼市四大热点猜想 新华社——经济参考网 由于“房地产调控长效机制”等相关政策细则尚未确定，房地产正在被更大的不确定性笼罩。唯一确定的是，土地制度、财税制度、住房制度等房地产相关改革正在提速。在浓重的改革氛围下，房产税何时开征、小产权房如何定位、住房信息何时联网等多个敏感问题，触动着人们的神经，也引发各方猜想。

Related: 三中全会次日住建部调研楼市：调控年底临变|住建部|楼市|房地产调控_新浪财经_新浪网 first test of commitment to decisiveness of the market may be in the real estate market. can the government end the administrative price repression policies, or are more coming around year end as prices continue to rise?

Related: 财政部原部长：房子产权没给我 征房产税我肯定不愿意_财经频道_一财网 原财政部部长项怀诚表示“不解决产权问题，就征我的房产税我就会有意见。”// former Finance Minister Xiang Huaicheng says he is not willing to pay property tax until he has full ownership (not the 70 year rights to) the property

PBOC Says No Longer in China’s ‘Favor’ to Boost Record Reserves – Bloomberg “It’s no longer in China’s favor to accumulate foreign-exchange reserves,” Yi Gang, a deputy governor with the People’s Bank of China said in a speech organized by China Economists 50 Forum at Tsinghua University yesterday. “The marginal cost of accumulating foreign-exchange reserves has exceeded the marginal gains.”

How China Can Raise Its Economic Game – Caixin – Hu Shuli Participating in the American-led TPP would allow the country to meet many of the goals set out by the Communist Party at its recent plenum

Chinese Government is Winning the Internet Ideology Battle – Global Voices Advocacy A new study shows that China’s Communist Party is winning an “ideological battle” against public opinion leaders on social media and other commentary platforms in China. At the recent China Internet Media Forum, People’s Daily Public Opinion Monitoring Unit director Zhu Huaxin (祝華新）presented data illustrating the initial impact of an online offensive launched by the Chinese Communist Party in August of this year. The results show a marked drop in political commentary and conversation on social networks and other platforms over the past two months.

 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE

ICBC chairman sees inevitable rise in China bad loans – FT.com The head of China’s biggest bank has warned that bad loans will inevitably rise and weaker lenders will be wiped out as the government relaxes its grip on the economy. But Jiang Jianqing, chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the country’s largest lender by assets and market value, also hit back at critics, saying ICBC is prepared for the challenges and should not be held to impossibly high standards.

China’s Smaller Banks Exposed to Bankruptcy Risk: Fang Xinghai-Caijing China’s small banks is likely to plunge into a “collective bankruptcy” on liquidity squeeze one day if they fail to pay back depositors, warned Fang Xinghai, inspector of the Leading Group for Financial and Economic Affairs. Statistics showed that up to 80 percent capital in small and medium Chinese banks come from inter-bank markets and financial product sales, Fang cited statistics from China’s bank regulators, adding deposits only account for about 20 percent.

China to Set up Deposit Insurance as soon as this Year: Newspaper-Caijing China’s State Council is expect to launch a deposit insurance system as soon as this year to protect savers’ money in banks as the country speeds up market-oriented interest rate reforms, reported the Economic Information Daily, to protect savings in banks which may The State Council, or the cabinet, is working now on the legislation of such a scheme, the state-run newspaper said. The legislation will define the basic function of the deposit insurance system, as well as how the system will be organized, it said.

China manufacturing PMI hits two-month low: HSBC – MarketWatch China manufacturing activity slipped to a two-month low as export orders swung to a decline, according to preliminary results from HSBC’s monthly gauge of the sector, released Thursday. The “flash” version of the HSBC/Markit China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index eased to 50.4, compared to last month’s 50.9 reading. The result was also well below the official government version of the PMI, which hit 51.4 in October. Among the sub-indexes, new export orders slid below the 50 mark dividing growth from contraction, while overall new orders rose, but at a slower rate than in October. The closely watched employment sub-index also showed a decrease after inidicating growth the previous month.

China Central TV: champion of the people with a blurred picture – FT.com Shi Feike, a senior journalist who once had close ties with CCTV, has a more nuanced view. “The corruption inside CCTV is not necessarily more serious than in any other monopolistic state-owned enterprise in China,” he says…“The reasons for this bias towards reporting [negatively] on foreign companies are complicated; sometimes it is political as in the case of Google, often it is rent-seeking [trying to force large companies to buy advertising or pay bribes] and sometimes it is just the path of least resistance,” says Mr Shi. “They cannot touch state enterprises because they will be censored so it is much safer to beat up on foreign companies. It will get on air without any trouble [from the censors] and it will gain support from nationalists.”

China’s State TV Grapples With Advertising Slowdown – WSJ.com China Central Television this week departed from past practice and declined to disclose results of a closely watched auction for advertising slots for next year. In a written response to questions, the state-run broadcaster said only that its ad-auction sales growth this year was in line with the country’s economic growth. China’s economy grew 7.8% in the third quarter from a year earlier… Meanwhile, Beijing-based advertising company Charm Communications, CHRM -4.44% which brokers ad buys and tracks CCTV’s ad auction each year, estimated that ad purchases by beverage companies declined 12% in this year’s auction compared with a year ago. It said ad buys from information-technology companies fell 28%, while financial-sector purchases were down 51%. Charm said the biggest drop came from alcohol bidders, whose ad buys plummeted 85% in the midst of government austerity efforts that have made drinking spirits less acceptable and even forbidden at official banquets.// so even more pressure for shakedowns?

Multiple reform plans to tackle government debt – Xinhua  Yang Weimin, vice head of the office of the central economic and financial leading group, said at a briefing held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) that the document released after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee will unleash “unprecedented” power. Yang numerated upcoming changes in the tax and fiscal system and government financing channels that could help tackle local government’s debt issues.

亏损7央企打响年末保壳战 狂甩284亿资产续命_21世纪网 各家央企在最后两个月里频繁做资产加减法。各家央企前三季度情况也随之浮出水面。巨额亏损的阴云依旧笼罩在一些央企之上。

温州大都市梦:20综合体井喷 第1高楼烂尾5年_21世纪网 Wenzhou real estate prices may have collpased but the new building has not...// 在温州房价连跌26个月的另一面，温州正迎来城市综合体的建设高潮，据21世纪网不完全统计，目前温州已获批在建、可建的城市综合体项目超过20个，投资达数百亿。

China’s Property Firms Hedge Their Bets-WSJ Guangzhou-based Evergrande Real Estate Group3333.HK +1.53% is splashing out on bottled water. Earlier this month it unveiled a new business line—“Evergrande Spring”—which will distribute spring water from Changbaishan, or “Ever White Mountain” in northeast China.//and it put 100m RMB into music/live events business last year..and he soccer team has turned out to be a great investment given its recent win and Xi Jinping’s love of soccer…just because these guys invest in other things is not necessarily a bad sign

巴曙松：新一轮金融改革四大突破口 新华社——经济参考网 Economic Information interviews DRC’s Ba Shusong about financial reforms// ●如果说上一轮金融改革主要致力于改革微观金融机构，新一轮金融改革的重点则应逐步转移到构建制度、完善市场、改进利率汇率市场化形成机制、提高金融资源配置效率与金融服务实体经济的功能上。●在进行利率市场化建设的同时，应同时推进相关配套制度的建设，从而尽可能降低改革对金融市场和宏观经济的负面冲击。●在完善汇率形成机制、推进资本项目可兑换的基础上，逐步实现人民币国际化，以此倒逼带动外汇市场、跨境投资、债券市场、金融机构本外币综合经营等领域的改革。

China industrial capacity utilisation at 3-year low in H1 -NDRC | Reuters China’s industrial capacity utilisation rate stood at 78 percent in the first half of this year, its lowest point since the fourth quarter of 2009, a government official said. Li Zhongjuan, an official with China’s top planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said some industries were worse than others, with more than a quarter of the total capacity in 21 out of 39 sectors standing idle in the first half.

China’s Smaller Cities Thirst for the Luxe Life – NYTimes.com Chengdu is at the forefront of luxury growth in second-tier cities like Chongqing, Xi’an and Hangzhou. The city, the capital of Sichuan Province in southwestern China, is “the third or fourth most productive” in luxury-goods revenues per square meter, said Paul Husband, managing director of Husband Retail Consulting in Hong Kong. The average income among Chengdu’s seven million residents has increased at a rate of 14 to 21 percent over the last three years, according to the Chengdu Statistics Bureau. And the city’s businesses attract consumers from across the province, which has more than 80 million residents, a number comparable to the population of Germany.

Hundreds of Chinese workers protest after Microsoft Nokia deal | Reuters Workers massed outside the factory gates in the industrial city of Dongguan said they were battling new contracts worsening employment terms that they had been forced to sign after the U.S. software giant bought Nokia’s unit in a September deal.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

The Trouble With China’s Reform Plan – Businessweek Many of the reforms the leaders in Beijing intend to pursue will take away a source of existing revenue from the local governments that are supposed to pay for other reforms. That’s the case with giving farmers more rights to their land, for example. That reform is very much needed for China to succeed in moving to a more consumption-driven economy and to deal with growing rural unrest. But it will erode a principal source of local government revenue, the purchase of farmland at rock-bottom prices and the resale of the land to developers. Ditto with requiring state enterprises to remit more money to the center—that will leave the SOEs with smaller funds for paying local taxes. The present system of fiscal relations was put in place by Zhu Rongji and other leaders in 1994, and was then hailed as a victory in reasserting Beijing’s powers over a then-economically fragmenting country (he forced the localities to return a much larger share of their tax revenue to the center); today it’s seen by many as the root of the problem, where localities are tasked with paying much of the social welfare and other local development costs, but lack the finances to fully do so.

清华大学党委书记胡和平接替蔡奇任浙江组织部长_资讯频道_凤凰网 Tsinghua University party secretary Hu Heping moves to Zhejiang to become head of provincial Organization Department

三中全会后首轮人事调整开启 涉及党政军企_新闻_腾讯网 [导读]目前，31省份政协主席已经全部“退出”省级党委常委班子，重庆市委常委多人职位变动。中央审计署副审计长侯凯“空降”上海，接替现年60岁的中纪委委员杨晓渡，担任上海市委常委、纪委书记。

Chalco executive latest to face Beijing investigations | South China Morning Post Vice-president Li Dongguang was under investigation “by relevant authorities for personal reasons”, Chalco said in a statement to Hong Kong’s stock exchange without elaborating. “The investigation has no relation whatsoever to the company,” it said, adding Li had tendered resignation from his post and that the resignation had no noticeable impact on its production

To Curb Graft, Party to Consider Changes to Official Housing System – Caixin The ruling Communist Party will explore ways to provide housing to officials as a way of trying to curb property-related graft, a document released after a major party meeting says. The idea for the system comes from Wang Yukai, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, an institution in the capital that trains government officials. Wang proposed the idea to the party’s 18th Central Committee in July. His ideas were presented in an essay that explored how officials’ housing was handled abroad and in ancient China, and the feasibility of implementing new approaches.

Disciplinary authorities open nearly 1,000 microblogs – Xinhua  More than 700 official microblogs of disciplinary watchdogs have been established via popular websites including sina.com and QQ.com, while another 200 have been opened on government-funded sites such as people.com and xinhuanet.com, according to a statement posted on the website of the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on Wednesday.

社评：莫无限夸大“利益集团”的能量_评论_环球网 Global Times editorial says don’t overestimate the strength of “interest groups”// 把舆论焦点放在“利益集团”上，这样描述改革过于简单，很容易将改革意识形态化，把社会一刀切分成改革的促进派和抵制派。而真实情形是，全社会支持《决定》的共识度这一次非常高，但因为改革涉及面既广又深，真正推行起来后，很多人都会发现自己同时处于不同的利益群体，他们会欢呼一些改革，但说不准什么时候又觉得自己“被动了奶酪”。

多名地产商因季建业落马被查 美女老板疑逃出国_新闻_腾讯网 reports that several real estate developers, including one from Hong Kong, detained as a result of nanjing mayor Ji Jianye investigation..one wanted may have fled the country // [导读]今年7月，香港地产商人周达伟也被有关部门带走，苏州房地产女老总高琪亦牵涉其中，他们都是曾承揽重要政府工程的“红顶商人”。据透露，季建业被带走当天，其妻亦被带至北京，接受调查。

江苏吴中集团董事长被带走 疑涉季建业案_网易新闻中心 据苏州多位独立消息源，11月中上旬，江苏吴中集团董事长朱天晓被有关部门带走，疑牵涉季建业案。朱天晓是继金螳螂实际控股人朱兴良后第二个因疑涉季建业案被带走的苏州商人。今日，苏州市一位处级干部称，朱目前处于被监视居住的状态，但出于企业运作需求，可以限制性地打个电话。

中石化旗下公司四高管齐辞职_公司频道_财新网 4 execs of a Sinopec subsidiary in Shandong suddenly resign. company says “normal”…// 中石化旗下泰山石油新任董秘李支清回应，此番人事更替属“正常工作调整”，辞去泰山石油职务的四名高管仍将继续在中石化系统工作

郑州运管局长巴厘岛车祸身亡 官方称其因私出国_新闻_腾讯网 mostly local henan officials on the bus that crashed in Bali, several passengers dead. was it really a private trip? who paid?// [导读]死者赵金离系郑州市道路运输管理局局长，其他几名死伤者也多为运输、物流业人士。官方称赵金离是休了一个星期的假，因私出国。

创新网络思想政治教育_网易新闻中心 当前，许多人认为网络购物与思想政治教育没有太大联系。但如果深入分析，思想政治教育工作者还是可以从中找到相应的空间，使网络购物成为网络思想政治教育的一个重要方面。比如，通过研究网络消费的趋势、特点，以及影响网民进行网络消费的因素，教育网民树立正确的消费观和价值观，倡导健康向上的精神文化消费，引导形成合理的消费方式和消费结构；教育网民自觉遵守网络购物规范，减免网络购物的依赖性、成瘾性，形成健康的网购消费行为；开发和创新更多的关于思想政治教育的网络产品，使更多网民购买相关网络文化产品，如报纸杂志、图书影像等，以健康、高雅的网络文化引领网民的消费时尚。–（作者为华中师范大学政治传播学院教授）

公安部纪律作风大检查 对民众冷硬横推从严惩处_新闻_腾讯网 公安部11月19日召开全国公安机关深入推进纪律作风大检查活动电视电话会议。公安部副部长、纪委书记、督察长刘金国在会上强调，以动真碰硬的决心和态度，大力强化队伍纪律作风，坚决落实从严治警各项措施，坚定不移刹风整纪。

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

President praises submarine forces – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping commended soldiers of a submarine base for their fighting capacity and spirit of utter devotion. Xi, also chairman of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Military Commission, said in a special instruction that submarine forces have demonstrated faith in the Party’s command, fighting capacity to win battles, and willingness to sacrifice.

习近平对学习宣传海军某潜艇基地官兵先进事迹作出重要指示–时政–人民网 　新华社北京11月20日电 （记者陈万军、李宣良）中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平日前作出重要指示，对海军某潜艇基地官兵的事迹给予充分肯定，指出在他们身上集中体现了听党指挥的坚定信念、能打胜仗的过硬本领、英勇顽强的战斗作风、舍生忘死的奉献精神，要求进一步总结宣传他们的先进事迹。

National Security Advisor Rice on U.S.-Asia Relationship | IIP Digital When it comes to China, we seek to operationalize a new model of major power relations. That means managing inevitable competition while forging deeper cooperation on issues where our interests converge—in Asia and beyond. We both seek the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue, a stable and secure Afghanistan, and an end to conflict in Sudan. There are opportunities for us to take concerted action to bolster peace and development in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where sustainable growth would deliver lasting benefit to the peoples of Africa as well as to both our countries….We’re improving the quality of our military-to-military relationship with China, as we enhance our strategic security dialogues and cooperate on issues like counter-piracy and maritime security. Greater military engagement and transparency can help us manage the realities of mistrust and competition, while augmenting the high-level communication that has been a hallmark of this Administration’s approach to China….As we diversify the ways in which we do business with China, we will continue to champion respect for the rule of law, human rights, religious freedom and democratic principles…We welcome any nation that is willing to live up to the high-standards of this agreement to join and share in the benefits of the TPP, and that includes China

坚定不移推进国防和军队改革–军事–人民网 Gen Xu Qiliang, a vice chairman of the CMC, has long article in Thursday People’s Daily on reforming national defense and the PLA…leaders all expressing support, adding details to the parts of the Third Plenum decision in their areas…

China orders combat-oriented reforms in military schools – Xinhua China’s military schools have began reforming curriculums and management of their students to boost real combat abilities, sources with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) have said. Military academies and universities will foster talent in accordance with the goals of strengthening the army and boosting students’ ideological and political quality, adopting a combat-oriented educational system, according to a statement released on Wednesday by the training department under the PLA headquarters of general staff.

PLA to police itself for graft | South China Morning Post New army inspection teams will monitor top officers for graft, but experts say a culture of confidentiality makes transparency difficult

中国军队巡视机构成立 保密性超中央巡视组_中国_多维新闻网 【多维新闻】就在中央巡视组密集入驻地方和央企，展开今年的第二轮“寻虎找蝇”行动时，军队也将启动巡查工作。对此，被视为“反腐利器”的中共党内巡视制度，已扩大至军队。11月18日至20日，中国军队巡视机构成立暨巡视干部培训会议召开，中央军委副主席许其亮在会议上强调，巡视监督的重点是高层党委班子及其成员特别是主要领导干部。有分析指出，由于军队的特殊性，军队巡查工作保密性会超过中央巡视组。

PLA loses grip on airspace | South China Morning Post Small commercial flights will no longer need the approval of the PLA, making it quicker and easier to use a private plane on the mainland

China armed forces armed with spokespersons – Xinhua The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the Chinese People’s Armed Police (PAP) have appointed spokespersons for various services. The Central Military Commission approved the appointment of eight uniformed spokespersons for the PLA General Political Department, the PLA General Logistics Department, the PLA General Armament Department, the PLA Navy, the PLA Air Force, the PLA Second Artillery Force and the PAP, a statement said Wednesday.

Strategic Options for Chinese Space Science and Technology – All Things Nuclear Last spring the Chinese Academy of Science (CAS) produced a report that included a lengthy section on the future of Chinese space science and technology. A translation with commentary (PDF) is now available on the UCS website…CAS calls on China’s political leadership to create an “actual national space agency” to run all of China’s space programs. The agency would be overseen by a single special committee. If enacted, these reforms would put all Chinese military, commercial and scientific satellite programs under a unified administrative body that reports directly to the central political authorities

China fine with economic exchanges with Japan, but not political dialogue – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Despite deep strains on the political front, economic exchanges between Japan and China are moving in a favorable direction. The latest example of this occurred Nov. 19 when a delegation of a Japanese business organization met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang in Beijing. The goal of the Japan-China Economic Association, based in Tokyo, is to promote economic relations between the two Asian powers.

The Chosun Ilbo (English Edition):- Japan’s Cabinet Secretary Denounces Korean Freedom Fighter 114 years ago…// Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday said Korean independence fighter Ahn Jung-geun, who assassinated Japan’s first resident-general in Korea in 1909, was a “criminal.” Suga’s remarks to reporters came in reaction to President Park Geun-hye’s negotiations with Beijing to build a memorial to Ahn in China.

Department of Commerce International Treade Administration Senior Staff Biographies Congrats to Ted Dean, now Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services back in DC

100K Strong Foundation – the 100,000 Strong Foundation is investing in US-China relations, one student at a time On November 21 at American University, the 100,000 Strong Foundation will hold its inaugural conference, bringing together leaders from American and Chinese government, business and academia for a conversation about the future of the US-China strategic relationship. The invitation-only event is being held in honor of the 4th annual US-China Consultation on People-to-People Exchange (CPE), and will feature keynote addresses by US Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong.

Turk Industry Could Face US Sanctions in China Air Defense Deal | Defense News | defensenews.com Scores of Turkish defense companies that would act as subcontractors on a $3.44 billion air defense contract with a Chinese company may face US sanctions because the Chinese company is on a US blacklist. A senior US diplomat in Ankara said serious consequences could await Turkish companies involved in the program to build Turkey’s first long-range air and anti-missile system if China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp. (CPMIEC) wins the competition.

China tells Iran to seize opportunity before nuclear talks | Reuters President Xi Jinping praised Iranian President Hassan Rouhani for his government’s “proactive conduct” on nuclear talks and its efforts to improve ties with the international community, the official Xinhua news agency said late on Tuesday. “China hopes Iran seizes the opportunity, maintains the dialogue momentum and seeks the greatest common factor to strive for the best results,” Xinhua cited Xi as saying in a phone call with Rouhani.

China hospital ship to set sail for Philippine typhoon zone | Reuters The Foreign Ministry in Beijing confirmed on Tuesday the deployment of the 14,000-tonne “Peace Ark” as state television reported the arrival of the first batch of Chinese relief supplies in the Philippines.

FireEye Links Chinese Cyberattacks to Single Source – China Real Time Report – WSJ The researchers say the evidence suggests there is a single group in China – akin to a defense contractor – that built these cyberweapons and distributed them to various hacking teams who focused on different targets. “Many seemingly unrelated cyberattacks may, in fact, be part of a broader offensive fueled by a shared development and logistics infrastructure—a finding that suggests some targets are facing a more organized menace than they realize,” says a new FireEye report.

American Diplomacy May 2011–The China Fantasy Both Democratic and Republican presidents repeated Fukuyama’s mantra in their vision of China’s future. Bill Clinton said that economic changes in China would help to “increase the spirit of liberty over time . . . I think it’s inevitable, just as inevitably the Berlin Wall fell.” George W. Bush concurred. “Economic freedom creates habits of liberty. And habits of liberty create expectations of democracy” he said. “Trade freely with China and time is on our side.” Influential pundits like Tom Friedman agreed. “China’s going to have a free press,” he predicted in The Lexus and the Olive Tree (1999). “Globalization will drive it.” This view was shared by noted China scholars like Michel Oksenberg who said in 1996, “I am tempted to suggest that China’s paramount leader will (by 2010) have either been directly elected or selected via an elected, multi-party national parliament.” // whoops

New Express backer paid Bill Clinton US$500,000 for Guangzhou event｜WantChinaTimes.com really? this can’t be helpful to Hillary 2016 if true// The financial backer of the Guangzhou-based New Express, which was embroiled in a high-profile defamation scandal last month, paid former US president Bill Clinton US$500,000 to appear at an event in Guangzhou, reports Hong Kong newspaper Ming Pao. Chau Chak Wing, chairman of the Guangzhou-based Kingold Group, sponsored the global discussion forum on Nov. 18 at the Congdu International Convention Center in the city, one of his company’s investment properties.

Exclusive: Palo Alto man, 85, removed from plane, detained in North Korea – San Jose Mercury News Sources say North Korean authorities removed Merrill Newman, 85, from the plane on which he was to leave the country on Oct. 26. Newman and a neighbor visited North Korea — with which the United States has no diplomatic relations — via a tour business based in Beijing.//which tour group?

 

TECH AND MEDIA

Closer Look: Who Rules the Virtual World? WeChat Does – Caixin Businesses of all stripes are trying to figure out ways to make use of Tencent Holding’s WeChat app, lured mainly by the messaging service’s large number of users. On November 18, Tencent held a conference in the southern city of Guangzhou to meet potential WeChat partners and no fewer than 5,000 representatives from various businesses attended.

Tencent Was Already A Covert Investor In Snapchat’s Last Round | TechCrunch Tencent was an undisclosed minority participant in the company’s last $60 million round led by Institutional Venture Partners, according to sources familiar with the deal in both China and the U.S.

Li Xiaolai, Bitcoin millionaire | Danwei Li Xiaolai (pictured above), was a speaker at the event I attended at Cheku Café. He is perhaps the most famous figure in the Chinese Bitcoin world. Li admitted on one occasion that his Bitcoin holding is the six digits. At the current exchange rate, that is more USD 50 million, but such comparison may not do Bitcoin justice as unlike 50 million dollars, 100,000 Bitcoins is about 1/100 of all existing Bitcoins.

Li Becomes China’s 2nd-Richest Man as Baidu Shares Climb – Bloomberg Li’s net worth advanced to $11.9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He overtook Hangzhou Wahaha Group Chairman Zong Qinghou, who is worth $11.8 billion and was once China’s wealthiest individual just three months ago. Li trails Dalian Wanda Group founder and developer Wang Jianlin.

Umeng, The “Flurry of China”, Confirms Its Acquisition By Alibaba | TechCrunch Linda Jiang, who heads business development for the startup, didn’t disclose the value of the deal. It was rumored back in the spring to be worth $70 to $80 million. The company picked up $10 million in funding from Matrix Partners’ China arm after being incubated out of Kai-Fu Lee’s Innovation Works.

Q&A: China’s Coolpad Targets Global Smartphone Market – China Real Time Report – WSJ In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Coolpad’s Vice President Zhang Guang-qiang talked about the company’s strategy

China-based white-box vendors expected to ship 80-90 million tablets in 2013 China-based white-box vendors are expected to ship 80-90 million tablets in total in 2013, hiking 60-80% on year, and may ship 100 million units in 2014, up 25% on year, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

What Will the Beginning of the End of the One-Child Policy Bring? | ChinaFile Conversation

Top Filmmaker Reportedly Sought for Bucking Family Planning Rules – NYTimes.com A missing persons ad making the rounds online on Wednesday was marked under the hashtag #helpfamilyplanningofficialsfindzhangyimou and read: “Zhang Yimou, well-known Chinese film director, missing for almost 6 months despite ‘close scrutiny’ of Wuxi family planning officials, despite the fact that they have made every possible effort to find Zhang Yimou, even dispatching a team to Beijing, but in the end: Still! No! Word!” But others have voiced resentment over what they perceive to be preferential treatment by the authorities of Mr. Zhang.

Interview: Oxford expert says it’s not easy for Chinese buzzwords to make their way into English – Xinhua Chinese buzzwords reflect social changes, which is interesting, but it takes time for them to be accepted by British people and become English glossary, said Julie Kleeman, Project Manager of Bilingual Dictionaries with the Oxford University Press. “Chinese buzzwords often come to our attention through the media,” she told Xinhua in an interview. “In the case of Chinese words that are gaining publicity in the foreign media, obviously some terms such as tuhao and dama tell us something about trends and phenomena in China that mark interesting shifts in society.”

Building Luxury Villas for Poor Neighbors – NYTimes.com Instead of stashing his money in offshore bank accounts or buying up foreign real estate – common but widely denounced choices of China’s rich – Mr. Tang decided to build an entire village of luxury villas in his hometown, Huaying, for his parents and friends, replacing the mud-walled huts that had stood for generations. The 69 new houses, which cost Mr. Tang 30 million renminbi, were completed on Monday. Villagers are scheduled to move in before the Chinese Lunar New Year, known as Spring Festival, which starts Jan. 31.

毛泽东女性扮演者出场费达5位数 不敢穿裙子见人_新闻_腾讯网 female Mao Zedong impersonator gets 5 figures per appearance

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

Anger and Angst in Hospitals Where Doctors Die – Caixin Medical worker wages have been low since China commercialized public hospitals in the 1980s, shifting financial responsibilities to hospital operators and off government backs. Although these hospitals are still state-owned, some are run by private companies. Hospitals pass budget pressure to departments, who are struggling to cover various costs before doling out salaries and subsidies to doctors. Wen said his department needs to first cover its own costs on room rent, asset amortization, utilities and expenses on medical facilities. Then it must pay the hospital some fees to cover administrative costs and amortization for shared facilities. The reminder goes toward the department’s medical workers’ salaries and subsidies.

China starts to turn to drugs as awareness of depression spreads | World news | theguardian.com Antidepressant market booming but health service is struggling to cope with numbers needing treatment

Shanghai issues detailed rules on carbon emission trading – Xinhua The market will be based in the Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange(SEEE). The SEEE will spell out risk management regulations on emission trading, put limits on price fluctuation and the amount quota one can buy.

Asian Coal-Fired Smog Is Corroding Server Farms – Intel Concerned -SVW That smog that hangs so heavily in the air in China, India, and other countries in Asia isn’t just bad for human lungs, it’s corroding server boards and connectors and creating a “surprising” amount of damage reports Intel.  Sulfur in air pollution from masses of coal-burning power plants is causing damage to server boards which are being returned to Intel. The irony is that the servers are being destroyed by the very same electricity they need to run their computing tasks. The more electric power they consume, the more the pollution gets worse.

 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

New Zealand minister stresses regulation at Global Food Safety Forum – Xinhua | A group of up to 40 Chinese primary producers and dairy representatives were among 160 delegates at the first Global Food Safety Forum to be held in New Zealand from Nov. 13 to 15. The forum, run by a United States-based not-for-profit organization, is normally held in Beijing.

beehive.govt.nz – Speech to the Global Food Safety Forum I’m very pleased that the Global Food Safety Forum has chosen New Zealand as the location for its first such event outside China.  New Zealand is a fitting choice, given the strength of the relationship between our countries, the importance of China as a growing market for New Zealand’s high-quality food exports, and our well-deserved reputation for having a world-class food safety system.

 

BEIJING

北京拟特定8类区域实行停车3分钟熄火|熄火|停车|区域_新浪新闻 Beijing to require idling cars to turn off their engines in 8 types of areas (schools, parks etc). nice idea, good luck w the enforcement…// 昨天，北京市第十四届人大常委会第七次会议审议了修改后形成的《北京市大气污染防治条例（草案）》。针对此前颇受关注的“停车超过3分钟熄火”倡导还是强制的问题，草案原则上重在引导公民自觉，未设处罚，但将学校、宾馆、商场、公园、办公场所、社区、医院的周边和停车场等不影响车辆正常行驶的地段划为特定区域，在这些区域，机动车驾驶员在停车3分钟以上的应当熄灭发动机，但仍未规定明确罚则。此外，草案还在原有基础上进行了其他修改和完善。

 

JOBS AND EVENTS

P for P | Power Fitness for Philippines – 2013年11月26日 星期二 16:00 至 21:00 – Park View Green, The Haworth Club, Tower D Level 3, No. 9 Dongdaqiao Road | 北京市东大桥路9号桥福芳草地 Please join us at Parkview Green from 4Pm – 9PM on 26 November and show that the Philiippine people do have friends based in China. If you cannot join the event, please support by buying tickets or sponsoring friends who will take the fitness challenge and/or donate directly to UNWFP by bank transfer.

 

CORRECTIONS

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。 //Vice-chairman, not chairman

 

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