"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Spread the word by forwarding this email to your friends, follow me on Twitter @Niubi or Sina Weibo @Billbishop, support Sinocism.
Just links today, early meeting and then a trip to the genius bar for my hard drive, which lately sounds like it is trying to take off. If you do not get a newsletter Wednesday or Thursday make sure to check my Twitter feed; a dead hard drive makes writing this challenging.
Lots going on around the Southern Weekend censorship and protests, see “The Essential Eight:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
Online and Off, Social Media Users Go to War for Freedom of Press in China | Tea Leaf Nation– many Weibo celebrities with millions/tens of millions of followers joined in..,crackdown hard and whatever hopes the elite have for Xi Jinping may be dashed…can Tuo Zhen, show you are listening, Xi will gain a lot of goodwill…but…// Li Chengpeng and Han Han, China’s two most famous bloggers, both wrote articles in support of Southern Weekend. Li wrote, “We don’t need tall buildings, but we need a newspaper that speaks the truth. We don’t need the second highest GDP in the world, but we need a newspaper that speaks the truth. We don’t need a fleet of aircraft carriers, but we need a newspaper that speaks the truth.” Even the web editors of China’s biggest Internet portals, including Sina, Sohu and Netease, showed their support with a little subversive game. For example, when read vertically, the first characters of seemingly unrelated headlines on a Sina news page delivered the hidden message “Go Southern Weekend!”
Media Outlets Protest State Editorial on Southern Weekly – The Diplomat–Major Chinese media outlets today are showing solidarity with the Southern Weekly strikers, in an unprecedented display of resistance against official censorship by the Chinese government. All five of China’s major web portals are carrying a mandatory Global Times editorial criticizing the Southern Weekly strikers, but adding disclaimers that the portals themselves do not agree with the viewpoints expressed in this editorial.
Supporters Back Strike at Newspaper in China – NYTimes.com– But Global Times, a populist newspaper, ran a scathing editorial that said Southern Weekend was merely a newspaper and should not challenge the system. “Even in the West, mainstream media would not choose to openly pick a fight with the government,” the editorial said. Xinhua, the state news agency, published the editorial online.
Peoples’ power will reform China, says Qin Xiao– Garnaut–GROWING pressure from the Chinese public will force the new Xi Jinping administration to turn the world’s most populous country to the path of political and economic reform, says one of Mr Xi’s old family friends. Qin Xiao, chairman of the high-powered Boyuan Foundation, will tell an American audience this week that his country must guard against any ”self-delusion” that China’s unique combination of a roaring economy and uncompromising political dictatorship can be sustained.
Chinese Newspaper, Southern Weekend, Challenges Censors – NYTimes.com– The turmoil at the Guangzhou-based newspaper resonates especially strongly among politically aware Chinese because Mr. Xi chose southern China for a tour after taking power in November. He made a pilgrimage to nearby Shenzhen, where the father of China’s economic reforms, Deng Xiaoping, kick-started them two decades ago. Indeed, Mr. Xi seems to be casting himself in the mold of Deng, who was known for bold economic reforms but who also brooked no opposition to the rule of the Communist Party.
There is always a power | South China Morning Post–Han Han– We hardly have any world-class writers, directors, newspapers, magazines or films. Of course, you can blame that on the incompetence of the professionals. You could also point to Iran and say, hey, their censorship is much stricter than ours, yet they still produce world-famous works of art. You can question why we have to bend ourselves to other people’s standards. Maybe I am indeed not talented enough, but still I don’t appreciate other people censoring me, revising me, or tying me down. So, my solidarity statement today, is not just for my favourite newspaper or those journalists I respect. It is also for those in worse conditions, those media outlets and journalists who come to much more violent and miserable ends. It is also for ourselves. Southern Weekend has informed me a lot as a reader. It gives power to the weak and hope to the hopeless. So, in its moment of weakness and desperation, I hope we can all lend them some strength, even if just a little, and help it carry on.
Inside the Southern Weekly incident – China Media Project – According to an internal account CMP obtained from a source at the Nanfang Daily Group, which publishes a constellation of top magazines and newspapers, including Southern Weekend and Southern Metropolis Daily, an expanded meeting (编委扩大会议) of the editorial committee at Southern Weekly was held at 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 5. The meeting was voluntarily attended by many members of the paper’s editorial staff.
China to reform re-education through labor system – Xinhua | first reports on Chinese Internet were that it would be abolished..reform is still progress, though lots of details to be worked out, and interestes to be managed// The Chinese government will advance reforms for its controversial re-education through labor system this year, according to a national political and legal work conference held on Monday. The system allows police to detain people for up to four years without an open trial, leading experts to argue that it contradicts high-level laws, including China’s constitution. No further information on the reforms has been made available.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
China’s Economy: The Coming Year – China Real Time Report – WSJ – Even as potential growth declines, economists are hopeful that 2013 will be slightly better than 2012. The median forecast of 19 private sector, think tank and international organization economists polled by China Real Time is that gross domestic product will expand 8% in the year ahead, an improvement on 7.7% in the first three quarters of 2012.
温州开发商卷走4亿跑路 建行安信急保信托兑付|温州|开发商|跑路_21世纪网 – another wenzhou wmp mess// 理财周报记者获知，目前建行总行已经介入此事处理，温州分行和平阳支行均对外噤声。截至理财周报发稿时止，建行仍在调查此事。
Goldman on China Stocks: Why We’ll Be Right This Time–CNBC – According to the bank’s Chief China Equity Strategist, Helen Zhu, a pickup in earnings growth and the expectation of economic reforms by China’s new government will lift the MSCI China Index 8 percent in 2013 from current levels. The index climbed 4 percent in the first week of the year.
China stocks hit bull market territory, but economists warn of brief recovery | beyondbrics –
Xinhua Website Waits Chinese Regulator Greenlight for IPO-Caijing – Xinhuanet.com, the online portal of the official Xinhua News Agency, recently appeared on the list of IPO candidates in line waiting for approval from China’s securities regulator. The website’s IPO is now at the review process of China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), according to a latest file on CSRC’s website
北京楼市五环内涨五环外降 年底市场翘尾_中国经济网??国家经济门户 – beijing housing prices in 2012 increased inside 5th ring road, decreased outside 5th ring// 2012年北京新建商品住房全年成交均价为每平方米2.07万元，比2011年下降7.6%，其中五环外下降2.1%，四到五环上涨0.6%，四环内上涨5.6%。另外，二手住房成交均价为每平方米1.87万元，同比上涨5.1%。昨天，市房协发布了去年北京房地产市场的权威数据。
Remember That Jobless Recovery? China’s Fault – China Real Time Report – WSJ– Economists Justin Pierce of the Federal Reserve Board and Peter Schott of Yale University’s School of Management argue in a recent paper that import competition from China had a devastating impact on U.S. manufacturing jobs. Especially interesting is that the competition wasn’t spurred by tariff cuts. Instead, it was congressional passage of “permanent normal trade relations,” or PNTR, the wonkish term used by the U.S. to note that China was entitled on a regular basis to the lowest tariff rates the U.S. grants to its other trading partners. China won PNTR in 2000 when it cut a deal with the U.S. to join the World Trade Organization. “PNTR is notable for having had little effect on the tariffs actually applied to Chinese imports,” the two write. “Rather the principal impact of PNTR was to eliminate uncertainty.”
POLITICS AND LAW
Xi stresses fight against injustice, corruption – Xinhua | English.news.cn– The organs play a very important role in safeguarding people’s peaceful lives, economic and social development, national security, and social stability, said Xi.The organs should respond to public aspirations of social security, judicial justice and protection of rights and interests and make all-out efforts to build a peaceful China which is governed by law, he added.
人民日报-建设法治中国 实现公平正义 – page 1 people’s daily comment on building a china with rule of law, providing fairness and justice…the message from the politics and law conference just held
改革文革不能割裂否定 习近平讲话超越左右_多维新闻网 – 除此之外，对于中国政治更加熟悉的观察家们则认为，习近平的此番话实际上是在调和党内左右两派之间的矛盾。尤其是“薄熙来事件”前后，中共党内关于“做蛋糕”还是“分蛋糕”存在一定争议，而在很多官员的眼里，“做蛋糕”代表着邓小平的继续改革理念，“分蛋糕”则意味着更倾向于毛时代共同富裕的政策。习近平作为“新主”，在亟须党内共识的情况下，向党员发出号召，无论是毛，还是邓，都是中共探索社会主义的一个时期，两者不能分割、否定。希望以此为基础，逐步开始建立自己党内的威信，为下一步执政奠定基础。
胡耀邦铜像在浙江揭幕_国内新闻_环球网 – statue of hu yaobang goes up in zhejiang
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Exclusive: U.S. nuclear lab removes Chinese tech over security fears | Reuters – A leading U.S. nuclear weapons laboratory recently discovered its computer systems contained some Chinese-made network switches and replaced at least two components because of national security concerns, a document shows. A letter from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, dated November 5, 2012, states that the research facility had installed devices made by H3C Technologies Co, based in Hangzhou, China, according to a copy seen by Reuters. H3C began as a joint venture between China’s Huawei Technologies Co and 3Com Corp, a U.S. tech firm, and was once called Huawei-3Com. Hewlett Packard Co acquired the firm in 2010.
Japan to increase defense spending for 1st time in 11 years－ 毎日ｊｐ(毎日新聞) – Japan’s government has decided to increase defense spending for the first time in 11 years in fiscal 2013, amid continuing tensions with China, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
3 Chinese navy ships visit Vietnam – Xinhua | English.news.cn– The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships belonging to the 12nd Escort Task Group were warmly received by representatives from Vietanmese army and government, the Chinese embassy in Vietnam and consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City as well as local Chinese institutions and companies. The escort task group is composed of missile frigates CNS Yi Yang and CNS Chang Zhou and comprehensive replenishment ship CNS Qian Dao Hu. The fleet, led by Rear Admiral Zhou Ximing and joined by over 790 PLA Navy officers and men, had left China in July, 2012, and visited Sydney of Australia in December after fulfilling the escort mission.
TECH AND MEDIA
Lenovo China Smartphone Profit to Fund Emerging Market Push – Bloomberg – Yang has said he intends to use that dominant position in PCs to expand in mobile devices, including smartphones and tablet computers. Lenovo vaulted to second place in China’s smartphone market in the second quarter from seventh place the previous quarter, market researcher IDC said in August. “If we cannot improve our existing business like smartphones in China, we will not have the money to invest in new areas like smartphones in other emerging markets,” he said.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
北京城管回应抢夺流浪者棉衣：系清理遗留物_网易新闻中心 – Beijing cheng’guan try to explain why they took donated winter clothes for homeless after online uproar…
人民日报-乘客打车难 司机挣钱难 北京出租车纠结了 – People’s Daily Page 1 today on the taxi mess in Beijing. riders can’t find cabs, cabbies can’t make money…
Web China: All cold on the southern front – Xinhua | English.news.cn– In ravaging cold, when Chinese people living in northern cities are enjoying indoor warmth, southerners wonder how long they have to wait for before the government decides to install a public heating network. The problem is they are trapped by a line drawn by late Premier Zhou Enlai six decades ago. The line, which stands between 32 and 34 degrees north latitude, almost along the Huaihe River and Qinling Mountains, not only defines China’s northern and southern parts, but also determines different winters for the people.
Curtain Rising on Theater Investment – Caixin – A government-backed investment fund is one of several waiting in the wings for a chance to support – and profit from – China’s fast-growing performing arts and film companies. The Chinese Cultural Industry Investment Fund (CCIIF) plans to invest 20 billion yuan in businesses that together at the box office took in almost 30 billion yuan nationwide in 2012. Moviegoers spent around 16 billion yuan last year, according to the fund’s director, Chen Hang, while combined ticket sales for live theater performances, concerts and various tourist shows reached 13 billion yuan.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Apology for late pollution report |Society |chinadaily.com.cn– Authorities in Changzhi have apologized for a five-day delay in reporting a chemical spill that threatened supplies of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of people. Zhang Bao, mayor of the city in Shanxi province, issued the apology at a news conference on Monday.He said the city government had initially been told that an estimated 1.5 metric tons of aniline had leaked from a ruptured valve at a site run by the Tianji Coal Chemical Industry Group into the Zhuozhang River on Dec 31.Officials had underestimated the potential damage that quantity could cause, he said. However, when the spill was fully investigated it was found to be closer to 9 tons with another 30 tons spilling into a disused reservoir.
发现世界级铀矿 中国“贫铀”论将有所改变-中新网 – China makes “world-class” uranium discovery in inner mongolia, will no longer be “uranium poor”
WB: Reforestation pilot in China earns carbon credits – China.org.cn– A project that has reforested 3,000 hectares of previously barren land in China’s southwest Guangxi is issuing its first carbon credits under the Clean Development Mechanism. The Facilitating Reforestation for Guangxi Watershed Management in Pearl River Basin Project was the first reforestation project to be registered in the world under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which yesterday issued 131,964 temporary Certified Emission Reductions. “With fast restoration and expansion of forest areas in recent years, China has great potential for carbon sequestration through afforestation and reforestation. The Guangxi project has demonstrated an innovative and effective approach to mitigating climate change,” said Klaus Rohland, World Bank’s Country Director for China.
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
On the cusp of China’s third revolution – FT.com – Chinese intellectuals are still arguing about really fundamental issues. Is liberal democracy the way forward – or should the country seek its own political settlement, rooted in Confucian values? Did it go too far in its embrace of liberal capitalism or not far enough? If it becomes a superpower, should it try to reshape the world system or should it accept the existing institutions? The great virtue of China 3.0 – a short collection of essays by Chinese intellectuals – is that it gives an insight into the vigour and variety of some of these debates. According to Mark Leonard, the editor of the volume, China 1.0 was Mao Zedong’s communist revolution, China 2.0 was Deng Xiaoping’s market revolution – and China 3.0 is yet to emerge, but could be just as revolutionary.
What Does the New China Think? | The China Story– Titled China 3.0 it was published as a free PDF by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), the first pan-European think-tank. Mark Leonard is a co-founder and Director of ECFR. China 3.0 book brings together a range of Chinese thinkers and excerpts are selected with an eye to introducing non-Chinese language readers to various ways in which certain members of China’s leading thinking elites see the country and in what many call the ‘post-reform and opening-up era’.