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THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

1. LIVE: Police start arrests after Hong Kong protesters defy warnings in clearance operation | South China Morning Post Good afternoon and welcome to scmp.com‘s live coverage of the police operation to clear the remaining Occupy sites, after 74 days of protest. The clearance operation has started and police have warned of imminent arrests.

Related: Hong Kong Police Arrest Prominent Radicals in Home Raids | TIME Home arrests on Wednesday included: Alvin Cheng, the leader of a hardline group, Student Front, that rejects non-violence; Anthony So, a member of People’s Power, a far left political party; and Raphael Wong, vice-chairman of the League of Social Democrats. The three arrests, on suspicion of unlawful assembly, were reported by the government-funded Radio Television Hong Kong.

2. China says U.S. can’t slam others on rights when it has racism problems at home | Reuters China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday that the United States has no right to confront other countries on their human rights records when it faces problems with racism and mistreatment of prisoners at home. Both U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and U.S. ambassador to China Max Baucus issued statements on Wednesday to mark International Human Rights Day in which they mentioned cases such as the imprisoned Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo. //  Will Beijing just send over a copy of the Senate CIA report to the embassy? Did the US Senate realize it was releasing the report on eve of International Human Rights Day?

Related: [视频]美国公布中情局酷刑报告_新闻频道_央视网 Wednesday CCTV Evening News on the Senate CIA report…Beijing knows a win, especially when it falls in their lap

Related: 美国中情局花8000万美元请人设计实施酷刑_新闻_腾讯网 The Beijing News some pictures of Abu Ghraib in its coverage of the Senate Report

Related: The disastrous flaw at the heart of the CIA’s torture program – Vox There’s something crucial we shouldn’t lose sight of: Torture was a terrible idea from the beginning because it was clear from the way the program came together that the CIA’s torture regime was never going to work, because it was based on copying Chinese torture methods designed not to elicit truth but to force false confessions.  // disgusting, tragic irony if this is true

3. A Top Target of China’s Antigraft Campaign Gets Life in Prison – NYTimes Some analysts of Chinese politics say the purge of Mr. Liu could signal preparations by Mr. Xi and other leaders to push forward ambitious economic policies, since the gridlock inside the bureaucracy of the National Development and Reform Commission is believed to be a major obstacle to further liberalizing China’s quasi-command economy. The Xinhua report said that Mr. Liu was a benefactor of four companies, after presumably taking bribes from them.

Related: [视频]刘铁男一审被判无期徒刑_新闻频道_央视网(cctv.com) Liu Tienan’s sentencing made the Wednesday CCTV Evening News. The announcement of the investigation into Liu in May 2013 came on the eve of big moves by the State Council to streamline government approvals. It is hard to see how the publicly announced takedown of an NDRC vice chairman just before a talk that would cut the NDRC’s power is a coincidence.

Related:  发改委原副主任刘铁男受贿3558万被判无期徒刑新闻腾讯网 video of Liu Tienan sniffling in court, expressing remorse, looks to be reading from a statement

Related: 刘铁男悔过书曝光 反思价值观政经频道财新网 Caixin gets hold of copy of Liu Tiienan’s “written repentance”, lots of details of his corruption

Related:  Ex-NDRC Deputy Head Given Life for Graft – Caixin The jurisdiction of Liu’s case was set in Hebei’s city of Langfang instead of Beijing in accordance with a Supreme People’s Court ad-hoc arrangement aimed at weeding out potential obstruction of justice. Commentators noted an injection of irony in court hearings with Liu’s proposal that the central government should move to decentralize administrative approvals to prevent abuse of power. In a bid for leniency, he also suggested the government have a system in place to prevent officials from meddling in the market.

Related: The Corruption Crackdown [ And Xi as Mao 2.0 Talk] | The Sinocism China Newsletter Something I wrote in July, right before the investigation of Zhou Yongkang was announced. I am sticking with it // As for the question of whether the corruption crackdown is about consolidating power, of course it is, these crackdowns almost all have an element of that. It is a mistake however to conclude that it is only about reshuffling officials so Xi can put his people in place. I believe that Xi is serious about improving governance and cleaning up at least the more egregious corruption in both the Party-state and the military. Improving Party-state governance does not mean making political reforms in any Western sense but it does mean trying to build a more adaptable and accountable authoritarianism, while cleaning up the military is necessary to achieve his stated goals of building a strong, professional military. I think the anti-corruption efforts are also clearly about reining in and in some cases removing special interests that are resisting the very ambitious reform plans passed at the Third Plenum of the 18th Party Congress in November 2013. Caixin has translated into English a recent interview with a Chinese scholar who also makes this point, along with several other important ones.

5. Zhanggong Leaks: History is the Best Judge – China Digital Times (CDT) The following leaked email, selected from the archive by CDT Chinese editors and translated below, was sent as a work report from the Zhanggong Internet Information Office to the City Internet Propaganda Office (市网宣办) on July 16, 2013. Much of the text appears verbatim in the Chinese-language transcript of venture capitalist and CCP defender Eric X. Li’s TED talk “A Tale of Two Political Systems,” delivered in English in June of 2013. In July of 2013, Li published a similar argument in essay form at the South China Morning Post as “China’s Rise and the End of ‘Meta-narratives’” (中國崛起與「元敘事」的終結). Li’s SCMP article, which was widely republished by state media [Chinese], also contains most of the talking points exactly as printed in the Zhanggong leak.  //  Is this the propaganda bureaucracy copying what Eric X. Li has been saying, or has Eric X. Li been working off of talking points set by the Ministry of Propaganda? If the latter, Western think tanks, conferences and media outlets that have had Li talk, taken his money or published his work might need to ask themselves some questions…

6. China to host top-level remembrance ceremony for Nanjing Massacre victims – Xinhua A state memorial ceremony will be held in the east China city of Nanjing on Saturday for China’s first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims. Communist Party of China (CPC) and state leaders are scheduled to attend the ceremony, which will be held at the memorial hall for the victims of the Nanjing massacre by Japanese invaders. The ceremony will be broadcast live by China National Radio (CNR), China Central Television (CCTV) and China Radio International (CRI) as well as the news websites xinhuanet.com, people.com.cn, cntv.cn and china.org.

7. Adjusting to the End of GDP Supremacy – Caixin – Hu Shuli Editorial We are already seeing the positive impact of the spate of reforms this year. As proposed by the reform blueprint unveiled at the end of the party’s third plenum, the central government has streamlined its administrative structure and rolled out hukou reform. Business registration procedures have been simplified, with the result that more companies have registered this year, while the services sector is enjoying a growing share of the GDP. According to economist Wu Jinglian, these are critical reforms. And, as he pointed out, these are just the first steps. China is more ready than ever to welcome reforms. Next year, we expect breakthroughs in reform of the tax and financial system, social security, land and state-owned enterprises, among other areas. This will mean breaking interest groups’ stranglehold on the economy, correcting the distortions in prices of key resources, improving the efficiency of resource allocation and ensuring social justice. We also expect to see next year the tax and fiscal reform measures promised in a resolution passed by the Politburo at its last meeting.

8. How Wal-Mart Made Its Crumbling China Business Look So Good for So Long – Bloomberg The practices — including bulk sales to other retailers and some sales allegedly booked when no merchandise left the shelves — made business appear strong even as retail transactions slowed and unsold inventory piled up, these people and documents say. Wal-Mart (WMT) said in August that it was unhappy with inventory growth internationally. Stores in China continue to make bulk sales, sometimes unprofitably and without required management authorizations, according to employees who’ve left the company this past month. Concerns about bulk sales, raised as far back as 2011 in an internal report, have been the subject of inquiries in China by Wal-Mart’s legal team as recently as May, according to an internal company e-mail and an employee interviewed by lawyers.  // Walmart PR is good, made the whiff of scandal a few years back disappear…

 

BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE

China tells banks to step up lending to lift flagging growth | Reuters China has told its banks to issue more loans in the final months of 2014 and has relaxed limits on their loan-to-deposit ratios to help hit a record new lending target as the government steps up efforts to lift flagging economic growth. Two sources with knowledge of the matter said China’s central bank would now allow banks to lend an unprecedented 10 trillion yuan ($1.62 trillion) for all of 2014, up from what Chinese media have said was a previous target of 9.5 trillion yuan.

央妈向10万亿合意贷款目标冲刺？财经频道一财网 1 2月11日有消息称，央行正在紧急放松银根，帮助银行放贷合意贷款和存贷比的执行力度，以鼓励银行加快贷款投放。并且央行从10月就已经开始调整合意贷款规模，将今年全年的新增信贷目标定在了10万亿元。（更多独家财经新闻，请加微信号cbn-yicai） 对于合意贷款调整，中国社科院结构金融研究室主任殷剑锋向《第一财经日报》记者表示，为了使得资金可得性状况有所改善，央行还应该在合意贷款规模方面作出调整。因为合意贷款规模的限制是一种行政性的做法，从实施效果来看它对银行信贷的控制可能要比准备金的控制更为严密。

China Stocks Fall on Biggest Swings in Five Years as Brokers Dip – Bloomberg The Shanghai Composite slid 0.5 percent to 2,925.74 at the close, after gaining as much as 0.9 percent and falling as much as 1.6 percent. The index’s 10-day volatility surged to the highest level since 2009 as investors assess the sustainability of a rally that has been the world’s best among major global markets over the past month and propelled share prices to the most expensive levels in three years.

证监会最快下周一启动两融检查 重点客户或查交易流水-股票频道-和讯网 CSRC to conduct inspections of securities firms next week? Concerned about leverage it looks like  //  大智慧通讯社日前从业内了解到，已有券商接到两融检查通知。该通知要求券商相关部门上调两融保证金比例，同时做好准备接受证监会两融检查，但具体检查时间需等待证监会通知 。

China’s falling inflation raises prospect of faster easing | Reuters Consumer price inflation grew at its slowest rate in five years in November, while the producer pricing index (PPI) is already reading negative after its 33rd straight monthly decline, down 2.7 percent from a year earlier. “The PPI deflation clearly suggests Chinese corporates are struggling amid economic slowdown,” wrote ANZ economists in a research note. “(The) real cost of funds is close to 10 percent, which will further squeeze profit margin and increase debt burden.”

China Company and LGFV Bonds Shrug Off Repo Ruling – Bloomberg “Investors wrongly dumped corporate bonds yesterday,” said Zhang Li, a bond analyst in Shanghai at Guotai Junan Securities Co., the nation’s third-biggest brokerage. “The new repo pledge regulation will damp demand for LGFV bonds, but it won’t curb liquidity.”

报告指商品房保障房工程欠薪风险高政经频道财新网 年关将近，随着房地产行业趋于低迷，建筑行业欠薪风险增加。2014年12月5日，在第六届“建筑工人关爱日”上，民间组织北京行在人间文化发展中心发布《当代建筑业欠薪机制与劳资冲突调研报告》（下称《报告》），指出建筑工人面临的严峻现实 。

Mobius Says China’s Bull Market Is Just Getting Started – Bloomberg “We are buying more in China because we think this is the beginning of a longer-term bull run,” Mobius, who oversees about $40 billion as the executive chairman of Templeton Emerging Markets Group, said in a phone interview yesterday from Thailand.

Hot Source of Property Financing: Visa Seekers – WSJ The giant trucks pumping concrete in Hudson Yards, New York’s biggest real-estate project in a generation, are being financed by an unlikely source: about 1,200 Chinese families in search of U.S. visas. Developer Related Cos. says it has raised roughly $600 million from the families to build the foundation for three skyscrapers at the West Side project, a 17-million-square-foot colossus of office, retail and residential space set to open over the next decade.

京津冀协同发展提速 或设立京津冀开发银行_凤凰资讯 近日，河北省政府印发的《关于加快金融改革发展的实施意见》（下称《实施意见》）提出，做好京津冀协同发展的金融服务，促进设立京津冀开发银行，重点支持回报期较长的基础设施及其他重大项目。// Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei to set up a regional development back to fund integration plans?

Chinese yuan strengthens to 6.1153 against USD – Xinhua The value of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened by 42 basis points to 6.1153 against the U.S. dollar in its central parity rate on Thursday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trading System.

China: Turning away from the dollar – FT $$ Such optimism will be welcomed in Beijing as it pursues a master plan to break free of US dominance in global finance and create a parallel, Sino-centric system that takes its cue from a mighty renminbi. Of course, much could yet conspire to blow China’s ambitions off course. But if even half of what it envisages is achieved, the impact on US debt financing, the future of development finance and the opening of Chinese financial markets to international capital would be profound.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

Top Communist Party paper puts Zhou Yongkang in ‘traitor’ class | South China Morning Post An article released through People’s Daily’s WeChat account last night said Zhou’s deeds made him “no different from a ‘traitor'”, a reference that prompted speculation that the former member of the innermost Politburo Standing Committee could face the death penalty. // 人民日报政文部：周永康所作所为与叛徒无异 

Young, Idealistic and Caught Up in a Wave of Detentions – NYTimes.com But what Ms. Ling apparently did not know — or remember — was that many commercial photocopy shops in Beijing are linked by computer to the police, who can scan their business for just such activities, especially in times of political tension, said the two sources. Spotting the Occupy Central content, they said, the police pounced. Ms. Ling was detained on Oct. 3. Next to be taken into custody was Mr. Chen, the Liren College administrator and her boyfriend, on Oct. 5. He had just returned from Taiwan, the sources said.

Oversight of China’s Lottery Funds Must be Tightened, Says Expert – Caixin The country’s auditors are carrying out the largest audit of its kind into lottery funds on complaints of fraud and embezzlement reported in recent years. The National Audit Office sent inspection teams to 18 provinces and regions in mid-November to audit lottery funds. China has two major lotteries: the welfare lottery and sports lottery, which are separately managed by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the General Administration of Sports. The two are also in charge of administering lottery funds. Lottery sales nationwide reached a total of 1.7 trillion yuan as of October this year so far. The first ticket was sold in 1987, according to the Ministry of Finance.

China Focus: Pedal to the metal on vehicle reforms | Shanghai Daily In March, reform on government vehicles was included in China’s State Council government work report for the first time. Zhou describes the reform as one “with the most decisive resolution.” In Xinyu, 130 vehicles, or one sixth of the previous amount, were kept. These vehicles are now equipped with a positioning system that allows travel routes to be tracked by the public.

乌鲁木齐召开常委会 将禁公共场所穿戴蒙面罩袍新闻腾讯网 Urumqi to ban wearing of veils in public places

Top Chinese political advisor meets Uygur writer – Xinhua China’s top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng has met with an author from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region who recently published a book introducing people from the northwestern region. Yu, chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, met with author Kurbanjan Semat as well as characters from his book “I come from Xinjiang” Wednesday. “I come from Xinjiang” records over 100 ordinary people from Xinjiang with different ethnicities, professions and ages working in other parts of China, showcasing the general image of Xinjiang people working hard for their dreams.

China says bilingual education a key for Xinjiang’s stability | Reuters Yu Zhengsheng, the party’s number four ranked leader, told a group of young Uighurs visiting Beijing that speaking both languages was of vital importance. “If we are to maintain Xinjiang’s social stability and ethnic unity we must put education and employment work in an even more prominent position and further raise the quality of bilingual education,” state television cited Yu as saying.

China Policy Institute Blog » “Terrorism” or Terrorism in Xinjiang? In no way am I trying to explain or justify the Xinjiang conflict, I am concerned primarily with the language used in diplomatic and media discourses regarding terrorist acts. Media discourses influence perceptions, while diplomatic discourses can create hostility between states. In order to attain some degree of journalistic objectivity, I believe the usage of specific terminology should be justified. Moreover, mutual misperceptions unevenly upheld and not accounted for, will only deteriorate the already eroded relations between China and the West. The fact that the Uyghurs have legitimate complaints about Chinese policy should not deter one from condemning terrorism and the elusive usage of “terrorism” risks doing just this, while even worse, taking sides. Oana Burcu is a Doctoral Researcher in the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham researching Chinese nationalism and foreign policy

中纪委编制：700人直接负责“打虎拍蝇”新闻腾讯网 中纪委一共有多少名工作人员？其中直接负责打老虎、拍苍蝇的执纪监督人员占多少？这一中纪委编制细节，官方从未正式披露。不过，9月受邀到中纪委访问的悉尼大学中国研究中心执行主任凯利·布朗，近日接受媒体采访时介绍了他在访问中了解到的情况：目前，中纪委的工作人员一共1000多人，其中女性占23%。 今年3月中纪委二度机构改革后，中纪委不驻会常委、中编办主任张纪南做客中纪委官网时说，执纪监督人员占比近70%。据此，目前，中纪委负责纪检办案、党风廉政建设等方面的执纪监督人员，约达700多人。

山西大同公安局副局长、交警支队原支队长薛凯被带走调查打虎记澎湃新闻-The Paper deputy head of Datong, Sanxi PSB detained  // 山西大同反腐正酣。  12月10日，大同多名知情人士向澎湃新闻（www.thepaper.cn）证实，大同市公安局副局长、交警支队原支队长薛凯近日被带走调查。 一名知情人士对澎湃新闻透露薛系两天前被带走，另一知情人士对澎湃新闻称薛案系大同市纪委办理。

官方通报太原组织部长李志江失踪实情：违反八项规定等被撤职中国政库澎湃新闻-The Paper Head of Taiyuan, Shanxi organization dept looks to be in trouble  //  人民日报12月10日消息，记者从太原市纪委获悉，鉴于太原市委常委、组织部长李志江所犯违反中央八项规定精神、失职等错误，中共太原市委根据《中国共产党纪律处分条例》相关规定研究决定，并经省纪委报省委批准，给予其撤销党内职务的处分。        据澎湃新闻（www.thepaper.cn）此前报道，如果算上12月5日的太原市学习讨论落实活动督导组工作会议，太原市委常委、组织部长李志江最近10天已连续缺席了7个重要会议。

反腐“正规军”网上布网，这一网将捕到谁？-时政频道-新华网 Xinuha on using the official online channels to send in tips about corrupt officials. Beijing wants the Internet to play a very important role in the corruption crackdown, just in a manner it controls. The Party now aggressively blocks mass citizen participation in the corruption crackdown outside of very structured channels managed by the CCDI, after cracking down on Weibo and dramatically reducing the use of Weibo as a channel for individuals to out misbehaving officials.// 12月9日，中央国家机关举报网站正式开通. 受理针对中央国家机关党组织、党员（不含中管干部）违反党纪问题的检举控告。 同日，中央反腐败协调小组国际追逃追赃工作办公室在中央纪委监察部网站开通专栏，欢迎海内外人士对逃往国（境）外的党员和国家工作人员，及其涉嫌向国（境）外转移违法违纪资产等线索进行如实举报。 　　协同中组部12380举报平台与中央纪委监察部12388举报平台，一支建立在网络基础上的反腐“正规军”基本建成，全社会对于腐败现象的监管将变得更加有力、有序、有效。

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

The Secret Deal to Save the Planet | Rolling Stone Inside the high-stakes drama behind Obama’s China climate talks

China, Russia Near Deal for Wide-Body Aircraft – Caixin Russian and Chinese aircraft manufacturers are preparing to cooperate to help China meet soaring demand for new jumbo jets without kowtowing to industry heavyweights Airbus and Boeing. Aviation industry officials on the sidelines of the recent Zhuhai Air Show in southern China told Caixin that the Chinese and Russian governments have agreed to cooperate on jumbo jet development, including wide-body aircraft design, research and manufacturing. Negotiations between aviation sector representatives from the two sides are still under way, but officials said they expect a final agreement to be announced next year.

罗援谈军队反腐：因有刘源这样的忠诚卫士才能刮骨疗毒_凤凰资讯 Luo Yuan in Global Times on the corruption cleanup in the PLA, again praises Liu Yuan for his role

越南军舰靠近南海赤瓜礁 与中国军舰对峙(图)新闻腾讯网 photos from a reported 11.30 PLAN-Vietnamese navy standoff near Johnson South Reef

解放军报再批徐才厚：他搞的假大空那一套，误党、误国、误军舆论场澎湃新闻-The Paper 根据习近平重要讲话精神，围绕“以整风精神革除问题积弊”，解放军报组织撰写了10篇评论员文章，今天（12月11日）刊发了第六篇，题为《对形式主义必须露头就打—六谈以整风精神革除问题积弊》。        文章写道，形式主义图虚名、招实祸，误党、误国、误军。徐才厚之流搞的假大空那一套，必须彻底纠正和革除。形式主义可以欺骗自己，却糊弄不了敌人。平时花拳绣腿，战时必然折臂断腿。早在延安时期，毛主席就指出要彻底改掉形式主义这个毛病，然而现在形式主义不但没有绝迹，反而变异变种、易服换装，甚至呈现越搞越成套、越搞越高档之势。形式主义之所以如百足之虫死而不僵，是名利思想在作怪，担当意识不够强。形式主义歪风不除，不但战时打不了胜仗，平时工作任务也难以真正完成好。

答澎友|徐才厚为何被军报称为“国妖”舆论场澎湃新闻-The Paper 这段话是什么意思呢？简单地翻译一下：做事情有逻辑有思想，且能付诸实践，中国自古以来就推崇这种“文武双全”的人。退一步说，即便缺乏表达的能力，但是能够扎实做事，这样的人也不错。再退一步，缺乏实践的能力，但是有想法有思路，这样的人也能为国家所用。在以荀子为代表的中国传统政治思维中，对应的能臣良将是构筑起国家的基本柱石，与之相应，国家也应尊敬、爱惜和大胆任用 对于能言善道迷惑世人，但“身行恶”，在行为上为非作歹的人，荀子称之为国家的妖孽。荀子在句末说要“除妖”，顿使整个论断掷地有声。而通过前面国宝、国器、国用的铺陈，最后谈及“国妖”、“除妖”，荀子的好恶可见。        荀子的这个论断历来为中国政治家所重视。

军报称徐才厚是“两面人” 用假面具掩盖肮脏灵魂新闻腾讯网 荀子把“口言善，身行恶”的“两面人”称为“国妖”，把“口能言之，身能行之”的人称为“国宝”，认为治国者要“敬其宝”“除其妖”。党员干部特别是领导干部肩负着军队建设和带兵打仗的神圣职责，理应坦坦荡荡、表里如一，当“国宝”不当“国妖”，做老实人不做“两面人”，自觉加强党性修养和道德修养，为强军兴军注入强大正能量。

社评：习著在西方广受热读反映时与势评论环球网 Global Times not happy with the Western media coverage of Lu Wei’s visit to Facebook and Xi’s book //少数指责扎克伯格的西方媒体精英看来还是蛮狭隘的。中国人经常反思自己是不是“不够开放”，但看看中国书店的架子上有多少西方领导人的传记和著作，对它们的阅读在中国是多么寻常的事情。 不自信对西方社会的侵蚀似乎在媒体圈内形成重灾区，触及了其部分精英认识外部世界的基础性原则。在他们那里，客观性被染上感情色彩，因而打了折扣。我们过去以为，一些西方精英的偏见完全是出于价值观原因。而现在我们怀疑，其中有一部分是因为他们敏感、怯懦，拒绝看清和面对他们已经隐约感受到的东西。

China’s ‘D’ word gets lost in translation | Business Spectator Richard McGregor points out in The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers, when the premier talked about democracy, he was leaving out a crucial caveat included in any official documents about the topic in China, including the Party’s 2005 White Paper on the topic. ‘Democratic government is the Chinese Communist Party governing on behalf of the people,’ the paper said. A former senior official ousted after the 1989 crackdown reportedly joked to McGregor: “You need a new dictionary to understand what Chinese leaders mean when they talk about democracy”. The Trade Minister tersely told China Spectator that asking about the ‘D’ word was merely a ‘gotcha question’.

解放军陆航部队夜间飞行训练直击图片频道新华网 据解放军报法人微博“军报记者”报道，12月9日晚，济南军区某陆航团组织多机型夜间飞行训练，演练编队起降、超低空航行、大机群护航等实战化课目

 

TECH AND MEDIA

Xiaomi banned from selling, importing phones in India: Report – The Times of India Delhi high court has put paid to Xiaomi’s surging sales juggernaut in India. At least for now. Hearing a case filed by Ericsson India against Xiaomi, the court on Monday passed an ex parte order forbidding the popular Chinese manufacturer from importing and selling its smartphones in India

Founder of China dating app Momo accused of graft, theft ahead of Nasdaq IPO | South China Morning Post A Chinese internet giant fired stunning accusations of misconduct and corruption against Tang Yan, CEO and founder of mobile-based dating app Momo, less than two days before his company’s planned Nasdaq listing on Thursday.

明天就要上市 老东家网易公开指责陌陌CEO唐岩科技腾讯网 Netease statement about the Momo founder  //  网易公司今早发布的声明称，唐岩自2003年12月至2011年9月期间在网易工作，在职期间，利用职务之便，获取网易提供的各种信息、技术资源，私创“陌陌”。此外，唐岩作为网易前总编辑，利用公司对其信任，向其妻（张思川）做创始人的四度(北京)广告有限公司输送上百万元经济利益。 网易还披露，唐岩在网易工作期间，还因个人作风问题于2007年被中国警方拘留10日。作为网易高级员工，唐岩未就此事向公司如实通报。

Momo vs. Momo: China’s Tinder Fights for Its Name – – WSJ As China’s popular dating app Momo prepares for an initial public offering in the U.S. on Thursday, a  second Chinese relationship service – also called Momo – is saying it was Momo first. Hangzhou Momo Wedding Service Co. in November sued the better-known Beijing Momo Technology Co. — the one set for a Thursday U.S. IPO — for  11 million yuan ($1.79 million), alleging they have exclusive use of the brand for what in China is called the friend-making businesses. The trial will likely take place around the end of December at an intellectual property rights court in Beijing, said Li Zhen, the major shareholder and legal representative of Hangzhou Momo.

Tencent Aims to Cash In on Its Hit Messaging App – Caixin In September, WeChat unveiled a plan named Smart Life that is aimed at providing ways for businesses to better engage with consumers through their WeChat accounts. Planned features include ways to order food, book hotels, buy public transportation tickets, pay tuition fees, make doctor appointments and more. WeChat’s management has held a number of public lectures across the country to promote the Smart Life solutions. “It is an approach to cultivate (potential) offline (users),” said Geng Zhijun, head of WeChat’s offline promotion team. “It is also a process for us to collect opinions from businesses and send them to our product development team for revisions.”

China market: Handset chip demand slowing down-Digitimes MediaTek and Ilitek both saw their November sales hit the lowest levels in five months, reflecting a slowdown in demand from China’s handset market, said the sources. There has also been speculation that smartphone vendors have high inventory levels at present.

小米空气净化器被指抄袭日本货_第一财经客户端 Japanese firm Balmuda accuses Xiaomi of copying its air purifier design  //  刚刚发布的小米空气净化器就卷入了抄袭风波。 日本空气净化器厂商巴慕达昨晚发布声明，暗指小米日前发布的空气净化器外观设计存在抄袭巴慕达的嫌疑。

工商总局抽检电商 天猫1号店等仍存售假科技腾讯网 shocker, AIC in inspection finds counterfeit goods for sale on big ecommerce sites, including Tmall, JD.com, Amazon, Yihaodian, Suning, Jumei, VIPshop

网秦CEO林宇突然卸任 与令完成芮成钢关系紧密财经腾讯网 Lin Yu, CEO of US-listed Netqin resigns. Tencent Finance suggests may be related to investigation of Ling Wancheng, Ling Jihua’s brother, notes Lin’s close ties with Rui Chenggang as well as his hiring of a PR firm linked to Ling Wancheng. Bummer, I own shares, though basis is lower than where they are now… //  腾讯财经了解到，林宇与央视著名主持人芮成钢关系紧密，后者已在数月前被中国地方检查机关带走调查。钛媒体在此前发布的一篇专栏文章中曾指出“网秦CEO林宇参与博鳌论坛混了个青年领袖圆桌嘉宾，与主持人芮成钢同桌，也是芮帮助运作的结果。”此外，林宇常年参加达沃斯中国论坛，其作为嘉宾参与讨论的环节也均由芮成钢主持，在芮成钢被查后，林宇缺席了今年的这一论坛。 此外，网秦公司长年聘用的公关公司趋势中国传播机构与令完成关系紧密。腾讯财经在早前刊发的报道《“王诚”叔侄的财富版图》中曾披露，趋势中国传播机构最早创始人股东包括孙淑敏及令狐剑，两位人士分别为令完成的嫂子及侄儿。香港媒体及财新传媒(微博)在早前的报道中称，令完成在今年10月份也失去了人身自由。

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SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

From ‘Baba Mahley’ to ‘Baobo’: An Expat’s Quest for the Ideal Chinese Nickname – Expat – WSJ On my press card and official documents, I was Dai Bo, but it never really felt right. In Chinese, the name is nonsensical. Dai literally means “wears”; Bo is an honorific like Mr. or Sir.  So, “Mr. Clothes”? “The Clothes Horse”? Me, who shops for suits once a decade? I switched on my own to “Baba,” after hearing that Bob Marley was known in China as “Baba Mahley.” Good enough for him; good enough for me. But every time I made a reservation as “Baba,” I could hear a pause on the other end of line. “Baba” means “Daddy.”  Daddy wants a reservation for three?

100 Vietnamese brides ‘flee bachelor husbands in Hebei’ | South China Morning Post Chinese police are seeking more than 100 Vietnamese brides who vanished after marrying bachelors from a poor rural area, with reports saying yesterday that an “organised ring” could be behind the disappearance. The men, from Quzhou, Hebei province, were introduced to the women by Wu Meiyu, a Vietnamese bride who had lived in the area for 20 years, mainland media reported. // 河北邯郸上百越南媳妇集体失踪 警方已立案侦查 

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH

China plans hike in cigarette taxes, prices to deter smokers | Reuters Campaigners for tougher curbs face hurdles, but reforms of the tax system offer China an opportunity to rein in tobacco use, Yao Hongwen, a spokesman for the National Health and Family Planning Commission, told a news conference. “Our country is deepening reforms of the tax system,” he said. “We believe this presents a hard-to-come-by historic opportunity to implement a tax hike for tobacco control.”

BEIJING: Chinese environmentalists accuse 1,000 companies of polluting | Asia | McClatchy DC Some of the industries “are in repeated violation of discharge standards and so have become a serious source of risk,” according to the report, which was released by the nonprofit Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs and two other nongovernmental organizations. Alleged violators include highly profitable publicly traded companies in China, including Kingboard Chemical Holdings Ltd., Aluminum Corp. of China and SinoChem Cokechem Co., a subsidiary of SinoChem International.

经济参考网 – 社科院报告称政府医疗投入并未减轻个人负担 专家：财政新增投入大部分被浪费，流向了医院、药房和药企 医保财政补贴标准将继续提高。根据“十二五”期间深化医药卫生体制改革规划，2015年城镇居民医保和新农合政府补助标准将在目前基础上再提高40元，达到每人每年360元以上。医改五年来，政府医疗卫生支出每年增加超过20%。不过从统计数据看，政府对医疗卫生的巨大投入并未减轻个人的直接负担，个人绝对卫生支出仍在逐年上涨。对此专家认为，民众一直抱怨的“看病难、看病贵”的问题没有得到实质性缓解。如果医院运行机制、补偿机制没有变，医药费用增长不能有效遏制，那么老百姓得到的实惠依然有限。

China Offers Billions to Subsidize Electric Cars on Gas – Bloomberg The central government is considering spending as much as 100 billion yuan to build charging facilities and spur demand for new-energy vehicles, two people familiar with the matter said in August.

 

FOOD AND TRAVEL

Passenger deploys emergency slide to get off plane early – YouTube A passenger who was in a hurry to get off a plane deployed the craft’ s emergency escape slide after it landed safely in south China’ s city of Sanya on Monday.

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