"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Congratulations to Bloomberg News, The New York Times and CBS News for winning Polk Awards for China coverage. From the press release announcing the awards:
The staff of Bloomberg News and David Barboza of The New York Times will both receive the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting, for investigative reports that untangled the financial holdings of China’s political elite and uncovered corruption within the world’s most populous country. ..
The George Polk Award for Television News Reporting will be given to CBS News’ correspondent Holly Williams and cameraman Andrew Portch for their insightful coverage of Chinese human rights campaigner, Chen Guangcheng, who escaped China after years of being under house arrest for exposing the forced abortions in China that are sometimes ordered to enforce the one-child per family policy. Intuitive reporting and a fluency in Mandarin led to interviews with Guangcheng and sparked a compelling report from the activist’s hometown in the weeks after his escape. Williams and Portch returned to Guangcheng’s hometown under the cover of night after men apparently working for the government physically kept them from entering the village during the day.
Next up Pulitzers?
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
删帖生意_杂志频道_财新网 – Caixin special report on the post deletion/Internet black PR industry…remarkable corruption…(story also available on New York Times Chinese site in event deleted 删帖生意，一条灰色产业链 – 纽约时报中文网 国际纵览 ). Ironically this story now getting deleted/restricted, my Weibo mentioning it was removed from public view. it starts with the bust of a large black PR firm in Beijing that exposes webs of official and commercial corruption, all bred by the censorship regime. ironically, a large percentage of the firm’s revenue came from officials in the provinces who wanted postings removed…the article does claim that at one time Baidu search keywords could be manipulated, though Caixin seems to be hinting that the PR firm could bribe regulators to pressure keyword manipulation, not actually pay off the search engine…hope someone translates this story in its entirety//雅歌时代的客户中不乏知名公司，但超过60%以上的利润来自于“二三线城市的官员”…-不过，据财新记者从雅歌时代内部人士获知，在此次严打非法网络公关之前，雅歌时代亦曾承接有关在百度屏蔽关键词的业务，宣传语是：关键词屏蔽，一切负面都能解决。这个业务吸引了不少企业：企业最怕的就是搜索引擎会放大负面新闻的影响，另外，总有一些公关不下来的网站，对这类网站，惟一有效的方式就是通过“关键词屏蔽”来减少负面影响。据雅歌时代内部人士透露，这样的业务需要动用在网站之外更高层的力量，成本很高，只有极少数有特殊关系的公司能做到这点。一般对外报价一单从几十万元到上百万元不等，这些钱有很多流入了“特殊关系”人士。财新记者从接近调查的人士处获悉，此次雅歌时代一案也有网监人士涉案落网。
The groundwater of 90% of Chinese cities is polluted | Danwei – The front page of the Strait Times (海峡都市报) from Fujian province today reports that the groundwater of 90% of Chinese cities is polluted to some degree, and that of around 60% is “severely polluted”. These depressing findings were recently uttered by an official from the China Geological Survey (中国地质调查局) at an international groundwater forum.
Congressional staffers often travel on tabs of foreign governments – The Washington Post – China is by far the biggest sponsor of these trips, with senior staffers reporting more than 200 trips there over the six-year period, according to The Post’s review of 130,000 pages of disclosures collected by the Web site LegiStorm. Taiwan accounts for an additional 100 trips.//Any go home with computer transmitted diseases (CTDs)?
S.E.C. Inquiry Into China Film Trade Unnerves Hollywood – NYTimes.com– Last March, word reached several studios of a confidential inquiry by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department into possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by people or companies involved in the China film trade. Since then, executives and their advisers have been waiting for some public sign of the scope or focus of the government’s interest. So far, there has been none. But official silence has not kept the investigation from casting a chill over dealings between Hollywood and China. At a discussion in August sponsored by the Beverly Hills Bar Association, some panel members said deal-making had been complicated by the investigation. This concern was repeated in recent interviews by people involved in the Chinese-American film trade, though only on the condition of anonymity to avoid attracting the attention of regulators.
China’s 3D Printing: Not a Revolution – Yet – Caixin – Engineers, inventors and industrial futurists in China are setting sights on a new technological frontier as three-dimensional printing slowly revolutionizes manufacturing. A Beijing University research team, for example, has been working on what industry sources say is a breakthrough technology that uses 3D printing to produce large, complicated aircraft components. The team led by materials science and engineering Professor Wang Huaming in January won a national award from the State Council for technological achievement.
China Passes U.S. As World’s Top Smart Device Market | TechCrunch – In November, mobile app services company Flurry announced that China was on track to top the U.S. and Android install base at some point in the first quarter of 2013. Today, Flurry says that has happened. China has passed the U.S. to become the world’s top country for active Android and iOS smartphones and tablets, a year after the country became the fastest-growing smart device market in the world.
日媒：中国海监船首次行驶到距钓鱼岛1公里位置_资讯频道_凤凰网 – Japanese media says Chinese maritime surveillance ship got within 1 km of diaoyu islands for first time…actions speak louder than words, this doesn’t look conciliatory…//
Huawei denies work in field linked to U.S. death in Singapore | Reuters – why didn’t Huawei deny this to the FT for the original report? // Chinese telecommunications company Huawei said on Monday it had not worked with an institute in Singapore on any projects in the specialist field of an American engineer who died mysteriously last year shortly after leaving the institute.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
Yes, but how much did China REALLY grow in 2012? How about 5.5%? | FT Alphaville – Growth has slowed considerably since the height of the stimulus. Our guesstimates for the past two years look considerably weaker than the official estimates: our guesstimates for 2011 and 2012 are 7.2% and 5.5%, respectively, compared with the official prints of 9.3% and 7.3%.
1月份新增信贷快速增长 资金投向需引导-中国金融新闻网 – 虽然对1月份新增信贷规模的增长早有预期，但央行日前公布的统计结果还是让人大吃一惊。 央行最新发布的1月份金融统计数据显示，1月份新增人民币贷款1.07万亿元，同比和环比都出现明显增长。这一数字不仅是2012年12月新增信贷4543亿元的两倍多，也远远超出了2012年1月新增信贷7381亿元，当然也大大超过了很多专家早前预测的9800亿元。
多地收紧公积金政策 楼市调控加码在即？_财经频道_一财网 – preparation underway for increasing the real estate repression policies?// 昆山、东莞、金华等城市近期下调住房公积金贷款额度，这与去年30多个城市公积金松绑新政相反，也引发楼市调控加码猜想。
新华视点:房产税改革从“试点”到“扩容”有多远? 新华社——经济参考网 – 上海认定约５万套，应缴税住房约占认定住房总数的２０％；重庆在试点启动后１０个月内征税９０００多万元……房产税在中国“破冰”整两年，但对于房产税是否扩容的争论也一直不绝于耳。 房产税扩容，时机是否成熟？下一步改革该如何推进？业内人士认为，应综合考量、征减结合，逐步建立起覆盖住房交易、保有等环节的房地产税制。
煎锅上的俏江南：被堵死的民企海外上市路|俏江南|上市|张兰_21世纪网 – long look at south beauty restaurant chain, its founder and its IPO prospects..can’t imagine they are helped by the frugality campaign// 核心提示：“如果不是为了让这个企业上市，我为什么要放弃中华人民共和国公民的身份，去到一个鸟不拉屎、气温四十多度的小岛？去一次我得飞24个小时。”张兰感叹，她移民的目标不是加拿大，不是美国，而是加勒比海上的一个小岛，“几百年前那是海盗生活的地方。”
Finding Investment Opportunities in a Tough Market – WSJ.com – Mr. Ha: Economic growth is speeding up, and corporate profits are improving. The regulators are bringing in new investors, while halting new supply of stocks. The new government’s efforts to curb corruption are bad for consumption stocks. Restaurants have lost some businesses from local governments and state-owned companies, but personal consumption still looks strong. The rally of Chinese stocks may last in the first quarter, possibly well into the mid-year. But risks are also rising. They include over-investment, relentless property price increases, rising inflation and shadow banking.
Luxury brands still reaping big rewards in China | South China Morning Post– The profit margins of global luxury goods retailers on the mainland are so substantial they are shocking, according to an industry insider. A report aired on CCTV on Sunday, which conducted price-to-price comparisons of different luxury items in Europe, the US and China, found huge “unaccounted” mark ups on most products even when factoring in China’s high luxury goods taxes. “The profits [luxury brands] are making in the China market will scare you to death!” said Lu Xiaoming, former head of luxury label Montblanc’s China operations.
China Vanke Enters U.S. Property Market With Tishman Deal – Bloomberg – Vanke bought 70 percent of 201 Folsom Street, a mainly high-end residential project owned by Tishman Speyer Properties LP, Jinsong Du, a Hong Kong-based property analyst at Credit Suisse Group AG, wrote in a note to clients Feb. 12, citing information from Vanke. The development will comprise of about 669 residential units, according to Credit Suisse. Neither of the two developers has made announcements on the project
Commodity bears should look again at China’s credit growth | South China Morning Post – While analysts have painted a gloomy outlook for the resources sector, the surge in new financing suggests robust demand for commodities
教授叫板SOHO中国：有胆发公告_新浪新闻 – attacks on pan shiyi zhang xin and soho china back in swing. who did they offend?// 依联交所规定，若传言已对股价造成影响，即应发出澄清公告，或要求停牌以待发出公告，以处理潜在或实际的市场秩序混乱。很遗憾，SOHO至今没按此规就洗钱和侵占国企利益等发布正式的澄清公告，此沉默可能意味着不敢正式否认，因为对投资者说谎要担法律责任。 ”黄建中解释道。
房地产开发商调查：官员抛房影响有限 今年中国房价将涨10%-财经网 – 房地产市场正在复苏，房地产调控政策很可能保持不变甚至有所宽松，开发商普遍预计今年中国房价将有10%的小幅上涨。中国房地产即将崩盘的说法言过其实。
Central Gov’t Reshuffles a Bad Deck at Steel Services Firm – Caixin – “SASAC made Jiang step down because of business between Sinosteel and privately owned Shanxi Zhongyu Iron and Steel Co. Ltd, which owed Sinosteel 4 billion yuan,” a source at Sinosteel said. “Jiang shouldered the responsibility for mismanagement.” Sinosteel has done business with Shanxi Zhongyu since 2007. The latter received an advance payment from Sinosteel, but could not deliver products to the company. By the second half of 2010, Shanxi Zhongyu had run up the large debt. SASAC has been trying to restructure Sinosteel due to its loss, but has found it hard to find a buyer. “Nobody is willing to buy a company like this,” the senior executive at Sinosteel said.
De Beers (and the entire diamond industry) pins its hopes on China and India – Quartz – The diamond industry is putting a lot of hope in affluent and newly affluent residents in China and India, and with good reason. Since De Beers first started marketing diamonds in China in 1994, when few people were wealthy enough to afford them, they have become almost as much of a mainstay in marriages as they are in the United States. Four out of five couples in Beijing and Shanghai splurged on diamond engagement rings (paywall) in 2012. In 2011, China became the world’s second-biggest consumer of diamonds after the United States and some predict the country will pass the US market in 2016. Annual sales in China are about $9 billion, compared to the US’s $27 billion, according to the consulting firm Bain & Company.
Nicholas Schmidle: Leland Miller’s China Beige Book : The New Yorker – When the event broke up, Miller and Charney headed out to lunch. On the way, Miller wondered whether his remarks had gone too far, portraying the China Beige Book as an attempt to provoke the Chinese government. Charney spoke up. “You know the old joke about advertising?” Rolling his suitcase behind him, he said, “Half of all advertising is wasted. I just don’t know which half.” He went on, “The same thing is true of Chinese statistics. Half of them are wrong. The problem is that we don’t know which half.”//have not seen a version of the full book. how is the data? and what are the risks of getting shut down for conducting illegal surveys?
POLITICS AND LAW
Chinese Economists Call for Independent Reform Body -Caijing – sounds nice, hard to see it happening, or having real power if it does// Zhang Weiying, a prominent Chinese economist well-known for his advocacy of free markets, said that building a national committee devoted to reform, should be on top of the government’s agenda.
Netizens see China privacy measures as corruption aid | South China Morning Post– Local authorities in several cities in China have tightened regulations relating to housing registration inquiries, prompting fears that this will hinder public efforts to crack down on corrupt officials’ illegal gains, people.com reported. In Guangzhou, it is no longer possible to acquire house ownership information by providing the owner’s ID number or house address. Under new interim measures, to conduct an inquiry an applicant must also obtain the subject of the inquiry’s approval or ratification from an attorney.
人民日报-“保护”如何不会变“庇护”（今日谈）– page 1 people’s daily response to uproar over rules limiting access to real estate records, says don’t worry, authorities have access to the data they need about officials’ holdings…// 其实，要纾解这些担忧也不难。比如，监察机构对领导干部申报的房产信息，理应有更严格的登记、核查和监督；在严控“以人查房”的同时，反贪机构更要加强对公务人员来源不明财产的调查。如果这些措施同时跟进，就能既实现保护隐私的初衷，又打消庇护贪腐的焦虑。我们常说，改革要系统配套。出台任何规定，不仅要考虑自身合法，更要顾及群众期待。唯此，反腐倡廉才能给群众以信心，改革发展才能凝聚更多力量。（相关报道见第二版）
21观察：禁“以人查房”到底保护了谁的隐私？_21世纪网-21cbh.com –21 CBH looks at the uproar around limiting access to real estate records// 禁“以人查房”到底保护了谁的隐私？ 房地产登记和信息公示是国际物权法的通行惯例，旨在保护房地产交易安全和维护房地产交易秩序，而在网络反腐高潮迭起的中国，房产信息登记和公示制度则肩负了反腐的光荣任务，而近日媒体曝出多地政府禁止以姓名查询他人房产信息的报道，则无疑是给正在亢奋反腐的网民和媒体泼了一瓢冷水~ 结合近日纪委对实名举报的鼓励态度，对房产信息的严控就变得格格不入，民众嘲讽“房氏家族”的存在，但绝不希望其“失踪”和“藏匿”。
人民日报-“房姐”“房叔”“房婶”频频被曝光，住房信息查询和联网变得格外敏感 严控“以人查房”该不该(政策聚焦)– people’s daily discussion of the rules limiting access to real estate records and the difficulties in building nationwide property database// 据住建部信息中心有关人士透露，目前40个城市的联网工作实际已经完成，但技术上实现联网后，其中的信息还不完整。总体而言，住房信息联网的进度并不理想，联网工作在实施过程中受到的阻力不小。根据最初的设计，实现住房信息联网后，只要输入相关的身份信息，就能查询到此人在全国各地所拥有的房屋的详细情况。据知情人士介绍，联网的技术难度其实已经不大，但一些地方或部门不愿意主动配合完成联网工作，则是主要的阻力。 据了解，今年住建部还将继续推进地级市联网，并加快完善信息。这有助于更加科学的制定楼市政策，更好的利用经济手段来调控房地产市场。
人民日报-年初召开的省级两会，31个省区市未来5年发展路线图出炉 “中国梦”蓝图再绘（贯彻十八大 开局新气象·特稿） ——学习贯彻落实十八大精神系列述评之一 –page 1 people’s daily on building the roadmap for the chinese dream
Why Southern Weekly? – China Media Project – By Qian Gang | Posted on 2013-02-18 What were the factors behind the Southern Weekly incident? Was there any particular reason broader calls for freedom of speech had their origin in a conflict centering on this Guangdong newspaper? If tensions between Southern Weekly staff and propaganda officials had been running high for months, why did censorship of the New Year’s special edition create such a backlash? And why in particular did tensions center on the annual New Year’s Greeting?
左派质疑中央 称谷开来案疑云重重 _多维新闻网 – 【多维新闻】近日，有大陆法律界人士在北京召开座谈会，对2012年8月20日合肥中级法院所审的重庆市原市委书记薄熙来妻子谷开来杀人案的种种疑点进行质疑，而该案在审判时即在一审时以故意杀人罪判处谷开来死刑缓期执行、剥夺政治权利终身。而薄熙来案何时审判，官方依然没有任何消息，因此有分析人士指出，对谷开来案的质疑除了法律层面上的质疑外，还包括了政治层面上中国左派分子对于薄熙来以及其整个家庭的支持。2013年作为中共新一届常委班子的执政元年，如何在薄熙来以及其他周边问题上稳定中国大陆左右两派知识分子的争议，成为这一届班子需要亟待解决的问题之一。根据大陆网络上所流传的一份现场记录来看，该会议上对谷案提出十九点质疑，分别是
温家宝三宗“罪” 求宽恕也需有交代_多维新闻网 – 中国今天的社会舆情承受不了太多的“烂尾”新闻，如果中共任由像《纽约时报》这样的海外主流媒体继续跟进报道而不再认真核实调查的基础上做出正面回应，不仅会进一步损伤温家宝的政治声望和清廉形象，对中共新一代领导层集体努力营造的反腐氛围来说也是一种巨大损失。 无论是作秀、失职还是贪腐，还是亲民、勤政、廉洁，十年任期内，温家宝已经成为中国政坛上一个“誉满天下、谤满天下”的政治人物。同时也希望温家宝认识到，无论是传统的士大夫，还是今天的中共政治家，对名节的追求都远远重过富贵，而这种名节不能仅仅停留在“只说不练”的境地，而是需要更为扎实的政绩做依托。今天，胡锦涛因为其低调务实的士大夫精神和到期裸退赢得党内外广泛赞誉，高风亮节实至名归，比胡更珍惜名节的温家宝能否如其所愿，收获名节，归隐林泉，就要看2013年两会之前他是否还会有新的与民有利的政策出台，以保晚节。
舆论场：跪地留官VS 贪官出狱_多维新闻网 – 【多维新闻】近日，两位官员迅速蹿红。其一是大同市长耿彦波，其二是刚刚出狱的前山西省委副书记侯伍杰。前者因民众下跪挽留而名噪一时，后者则因当地官员和富商巨贾的列队迎接而令公众瞠目结舌。一送一迎之间，道出了怎样的官场生态？民众跪地挽留耿彦波所求为何？贪官出狱又怎奈会有鲜花簇拥？各种讨论，盛嚣于各个舆论场，也让两位官员成为新年长假后当之无愧的“明星”。
Officials in China fear the growing power of Weibo｜Society｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com – A survey by the Party-run People’s Tribune magazine which canvassed 2,156 officials across the country showed around 70% support the idea of using the internet as a tool in the fight against corruption, but more than 50% also fear the power of microblogs may increase social unrest, according to our Chinese-language sister newspaper, Want Daily.
Government reform: Super-size me | The Economist – In recent weeks speculation has been growing that a new round of ministry mergers will soon unfold. The 370-odd members of the Communist Party’s central committee are expected to meet later this month to finalise arrangements for the annual session of the National People’s Congress, China’s legislature, which begins on March 5th. Further steps to create what officials call a “big-ministry system” are likely to be discussed. The last push to achieve this was in 2008, when six central-government agencies were abolished and five super-ministries created. Of the 27 ministries left after this restructuring, officials suggest that several more are likely to be merged. China’s aim is to rid itself of a Soviet-style bureaucracy with a tendency to micromanage and an extensive overlap of interests among central departments. Bigger ministries, it is argued, should mean smaller government.
Striving for freedom in the Chinese New Year – The Washington Post – Xiao Qiang is founder and chief editor of China Digital Times, a bilingual news Web site, and an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Information. Perry Link, who was a co-editor of “The Tiananmen Papers,” teaches Chinese literature at the University of California, Riverside.
蔡昉：真正的城市化应实现农民工市民化-财经网 – 近年来表面上突飞猛进，而没有伴随户籍制度改革实质性跟进的城市化，实际上是不完整的城市化。没有伴随农民工市民化的城市化，不能充分履行中国现阶段所迫切期待于城市化的必要功能…作者为中国社会科学院人口与劳动经济研究所所长
学者称如按运动式推城镇化将不可避免会搞错方向_经产观察_聚焦中国新型城镇化_新浪财经_新浪网– 所以，笔者认为，城镇化道路选择应该重点关注农村而不是城市，出路在于城市建设稳步推进以及其与农村社会经济发展之间的协调。东部省市可以在超大城市发展起来的辐射区域内发展小城镇，而且这在20世纪30、40年代就已启动，其间虽然由于特殊的历史原因经历过一次“塌陷”，之后得益于20世纪80、90年代的农村工业化过程，城镇发展活力再次激发，原因是东部人口密度高且分布较为集中。然而与之不同的是，广大的中西部内陆地区只能依靠大城市吸纳农村人口，约束条件是人口密度低和居住分散。遗憾的是，现有的经济理论对中国城市和城市化发展很多既成的事实无法做出合理解释，因此在当下，建构切合中国实情的理论(体系)是学术界的工作和责任所在。
大同市民春节期间挽留调离市长耿彦波_网易新闻 – Pictures of Datong citizens rallying and getting on their knees to try to keep mayor geng yanbo from leaving for a new post// 春节期间，山西省大同市的一些市民聚集在市区东城墙广场、红旗广场等地，发起“签名留人”活动。很多市民担心耿彦波走后大同古城复建工程烂尾
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
我国多举措升级海监装备 李克强指示要走向深海|李克强|海监船|钓鱼岛_新浪新闻– on China upgrading the equipment of china maritime surveillance ships, li keqiang directs the cms to be able to go into deeper seas// 中新社北京2月18日电(董冠洋) 记者18日从中国国家海洋局获悉，当日上午8时许，中国海监50、46、66船编队继续在中国钓鱼岛领海内巡航。本月15日上午8时许，中国海监50、66、137船编队进入钓鱼岛3海里海域内巡航。中国记者对当日巡航进行了全程影像记录，并近距离全景拍摄到了钓鱼岛及其附属岛屿的全貌。
Arms Vendors turn To Cyber Security As Sales Drop-Associated Press – no possible link between this and the increases in cyber attacks and dire warnings?// The world’s largest arms vendors are expanding in the cybersecurity sector as austerity measures weigh on sales of traditional weapons, a Swedish peace research institute said Monday. Sales by the 100 largest arms producing companies, excluding Chinese companies, fell by 5 percent to $410 billion in 2011, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its annual review of the industry.
Stapleton Roy on U.S.-China Strategic Challenges on Vimeo – Ambassador J. Stapleton Roy, former ambassador to China and senior U.S. diplomat, speaks at the East-West Center in Hawai’i on “Strategic Challenges for the U.S.-China Relationship,” Feb. 13, 2013.
When the Bomb Goes Boom: Gauging China’s Policy Responses « SINO-NK – In the interest of reviewing past translations and providing context for China’s policy responses, Nathan Beauchamp-Mustafaga fresh from Beijing, weaves an eminently followable and well-documented narrative of Chinese policy and selected non-official, but well-placed – statements leading up to North Korea’s test. So what is China’s official fall out? Even though the response is still evolving, the outlines are clear and much as we called it. China is more upset with North Korea than last time. We see Chinese displeasure at being baldly ignored manifested in China’s slightly harsher language and a willingness to lay bare events that are usually not discussed in public such as calling in North Korea’s Ambassador to China. In the end, until North Korea negatively impacts China’s core interests we’ll likely only see incremental changes in China’s policy toward DPRK.
China needs to find right way to punish NK – Globaltimes.cn – Beijing is not an ally of Pyongyang, but at no point should China turn North Korea into its enemy, especially when it is crossing the nuclear threshold. This should be the strategic bottom line of China’s North Korean policy. However, China should express its opposition against Pyongyang’s nuclear activities through actions. The international community won’t accept China’s blind protection of North Korea. …China is not in a position to undertake extensive adjustments in its North Korean policy, but it doesn’t mean there will be no change. Now, facing a reckless North Korea and an anxious US, Japan and South Korea, China should take actions to maintain its strategy in Northeast Asia.
China Said to Approve Joining Iran High-Speed Railway Project – Bloomberg – China’s State Council approved plans to take part in the construction of a high-speed railway line in Iran, two people familiar with the matter said. The project will cost at least $1 billion and the companies participating haven’t yet been set, said the two people, who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
TECH AND MEDIA
People’s Search Engine Denies Layoff Rumors; Says More Jobs Open -Caijing – In the article, the writer said manager of the company, former Chinese table tennis star, Deng Yapeng, knows nothing about search engine, and the company is very unlikely to be a success. Deng, received a PhD from Cambridge University, was reportedly very industrious who gets to office before 8:00 am every morning. Deng’s vision is to make Jike more like Google. CNZZ statistics showed Baidu led the home search engine market in January with a market share of over 70%, followed by 360, Google and SoSo. And less than 0.0001 percent users turned to Jike.
数据显示“即刻”搜索占有率低于万分之一 使用率几乎为零-财经网 – censors working hard to scrub from Internet this story about jike’s tiny market share…a real embarrassing to People’s Daily, Ministry of Propaganda, and Deng Yaping, a cadre cum CEO with greater political aspirations// 《长江日报》报道，国内著名IT数据平台CNZZ数据显示，2013年1月，国内搜索引擎市场上，百度的使用率和占有率均超过70%，占去3/4个蛋糕。360、谷歌、搜搜等瓜分剩余份额。“即刻搜索”没能排进前10位，占有率低于万分之一，使用率几乎为零。
You’ve been Jiked! – China Media Project– That seems fair. You add Google to your favorites. Clearly, the first search engine was taking you for a ride. Someone was playing political ping-pong with your search results. For the first and last time, you were Jiked.//an excellent look at why Jike’s share is so low, Baidu has nothing to fear, barring regulatory innovation
Fei Chang Dao: China’s Weibos Ban Kai-fu Lee, News Sites Delete Criticism of People’s Daily Search Engine Boss Deng Yaping – On February 17, the web site of the state-sponsored China Newsweek (中国新闻周刊网) published an article entitled “Li Kaifu Calls Into Question People’s Search Engine and Deng Yaping” (人民搜索和邓亚萍 李开复质疑). Some excerpts: Recently, online talk is that Deng Yaping has been criticized. Li Kaifu has raised the following four questions on his Sina Weibo with respect to “People’s Search and Deng Yaping”: 1) Why is taxpayer money being used to build a search engine? 2) Is there any hope of building a search engine where there is belief in the free flow of information? 3) Why is the boss of a search engine appointed by the Party? 4) If back in the day America’s Democratic Party had appointed Michael Phelps to be the CEO of Google, could Google have beaten Yahoo and become the leading search engine
China’s censors go after Kaifu Lee, and a young blog bites back-Pando Daily Meanwhile, in a bold move, young tech blog Huxiu has reported in English how it was censored by the government in relation to the Jike story. Posting to its infrequently updated Tumblr site, Huxiu reported that a February 16 article critical of Deng and Jike that it published on its Chinese-language site has since been taken down at the request of censors. The anonymous article was apparently responsible for starting the rumors about the layoffs and management’s alleged dissatisfaction with Deng in the first place.
China mulls domestic criteria for online gaming addiction – Xinhua | English.news.cn– no more electric shock therapy though…//If cases are assessed based on imported criteria developed for groups with different cultural and social backgrounds, it could result in misdiagnosis, according to a special workplan jointly issued by 15 ministry-level authorities on Sunday. The plan calls on researchers to develop tools to identify the early stages of potential addiction, so as to enable early intervention for minors.
China’s E-Commerce Giant Now Has a Search Engine to Take on Baidu and Google－－TechinAsia – China’s biggest e-commerce company, Alibaba, now has a search engine. Using the name of its cloud computing division, the newly-launched search service is at s.aliyun.com and features tabs for searching news, sites, images, and maps.
2013 Digital Media Buying Trends in China | China Internet Guru –
Auto-chat app sparks social skills concern – People’s Daily Online– BEIJING, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) — The popularity of a new auto-chat app among young Chinese netizens has sparked debate about social skills and tendencies under China’s one-child policy and craze for online networking tools. By Sunday, the “little yellow chick” app had attracted more than 2.2 million followers. It was launched in December on Renren, the Chinese version of Facebook, a social networking site most popular among students.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
Toxic dye found in Shanghai school uniforms – Globaltimes.cn– Students in 21 primary and middle schools in East China’s Shanghai were ordered to stop wearing their uniforms on Monday after a toxic dye was found in the products of a local garment firm. In a recent quality inspection campaign, aromatic amine dye, which can cause cancer, was detected in one batch of student uniforms produced in July 2012 by the Shanghai Ouxia garment company, said the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.
Dog Expert’s Dos and Don’ts for Pet Owners in China – NYTimes.com– It has not always been easy for dogs in China. They have been beaten, eaten and, once, were banned in Beijing. But China’s rapidly growing pet canine population will soon have a new media hero, in the person of Cesar Millan. Mr. Millan, known here as the star of the “Dog Whisperer” television series, and soon to be seen in a new show, “Leader of the Pack,” is planning what his advisers describe as one of the first all-out celebrity branding campaigns in China.
Blue Devils on the Silk Road Rectified.name 正名 – Meanwhile, NYU Shanghai’s inaugural class of mainland and international undergraduates begins this fall. Their institutional partner is East China Normal University, which ranks way below Jiaotong or Wuhan, but then again the host city government is Shanghai/Pudong, which has a bit more weight to throw at these problems than Kunshan – not to mention that I bet NYU has a thriving MBA alumni program in Shanghai, whereas Duke alums are thin on the ground in Kunshan. Stanford, meanwhile, opened its program on Beijing University’s campus last spring. Duke took the hard road choosing to build an entire campus in a location comparatively deprived of wealthy elites – we’ll see if it pays off. It’ll be interesting to see, particularly with NYU and Duke’s mixed student bodies, how they navigate Chinese and American student’s differing expectations not only about curriculum, but for dormitories, student services, and off-campus activities. Which group’s norms will be the standard?
People’s Daily stresses integrity in “strangers’ society” – Xinhua | English.news.cn– Improving social integrity is in dire need, as China is turning from an acquaintances society into a society of strangers, said a comment piece in the People’s Daily Monday. The country’s flagship newspaper also urged honesty and faithfulness in government and enterprises, in a bid to pave the way for interpersonal trust and promote the value of integrity among the whole of society. The article quoted recent survey on social mentality, which showed that Chinese society has seen a dramatic decline of social integrity, with more than 70 percent of respondents saying they could not trust strangers.
‘China’s Leonard Cohen’ Calls Out Political Corruption : NPR – Ai WeiWei says Zuoxiao Zuzhou is his best friend. Ai helping him with his PR? // Zuoxiao Zuzhou is a Chinese singer whose accented, croaky voice is hardly ever in tune. But for his fans he’s the voice of a generation — one of the very few voices who dare to speak out. After a collaboration, Cowboy Junkiesmember Michael Timmins called him “China’s Leonard Cohen.”On These Tiny Grapes, Zuoxiao’s new album of edgy ballads focusing on the woes of modern-day China, he hones in on rampant corruption, food scandals, injustice and abuse of power.
北京天价月子会所日均消费超万元 行业无人监管|天价月子会所|日均消费超万元|无人监管_新浪财经_新浪网– 10,000 RMB a day first month post maternity center in beijing..imagine how these kids will grow up//《中国经济周刊》记者 张璐晶｜北京报道-30天，31.98万元。这是京城某高端月子会所的最新报价，日均消费1.07万元的价格让人瞠目结舌。近年来，随着人们对“坐月子”的重视程度日益提高，一些高端的坐月子产品应运而生，而价格最高的，莫过于高端月子会所。近日，《中国经济周刊》记者实地探访了北京的部分高端月子会所，近距离了解这一片新的“天价”消费领域。
33 banned for life for fixing soccer matches on mainland | South China Morning Post– Thirty-three people, including two former Chinese soccer chiefs, have been banned for life from future soccer-related activities in the latest development in the mainland’s biggest sports corruption crackdown, which has brought down about 50 sports officials, soccer club owners and referees. Quoting the Chinese Football Association’s disciplinary committee, Xinhua reported on Monday that Xie Yalong , former head of the Chinese Football Administrative Centre (CFAC), and his successor, Nan Yong , were banned for life along with 31 other soccer officials, soccer club owners, referees and several star players.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH
Laser intended for Mars used to detect “honey laundering” | Ars Technica– A laser tool funded by the European Space Agency to measure carbon on Mars has been reappropriated to detect fake honey. The counterfeit goods trade might more commonly be associated with handbags and watches, but it turns out that the world of honey trading is also a murky one, riddled with smuggling and fakery. According to a Food Safety News investigation, more than a third of honey consumed in the US has been smuggled from China and may be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals. To make matters worse, some honey brokers create counterfeit honey using a small amount of real honey, bulked up with sugar, malt sweeteners, corn or rice syrup, jaggery (a type of unrefined sugar) and other additives—known as honey laundering. This honey is often mislabeled and sold on as legitimate, unadulterated honey in places such as Europe and the US.
多重难题待解 页岩气开发获利受阻 新华社——经济参考网 – on obstacles to development of shale gas industry in china…so this will not help the water situation…// 近年来，我国页岩气产业发展如火如荼，然而由于产业的一些关键技术依赖国外，钻探成本高、补贴政策难到位，使得页岩气产业规模化、商业化开发进展缓慢。专家建议，针对页岩气开采面临的技术“瓶颈”，国家要尽快制定页岩气产业发展的技术政策和标准规范，建立自主研发创新机制，构建适合我国地质特点的页岩气勘探开发技术体系。
Grain supplies still not secure |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn– Despite consecutive years of bumper grain harvests, China still faces potential risks in ensuring grain security due to poor storage and huge waste, senior officials and experts warned. It is estimated that more than 35 million metric tons of grain are wasted every year in China in storage, transportation and processing, Ren Zhengxiao, head of the State Administration of Grain, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying on Sunday. Of the total waste, 20 million tons of grain are lost due to poor storage by farmers who have not yet placed their grain on the market, according to the administration.
China refutes ivory protection accusations – Xinhua | English.news.cn– China has made great efforts to crack down on ivory smuggling and related criminal activity has decreased remarkably in recent years, spokesman Hong Lei said at a daily press briefing. Hong made the remarks after being asked to comment on accusations made by some media and animal protection agencies stating that Chinese demand for ivory has resulted in increased poaching.
FOOD AND TRAVEL
有钱、有闲、休闲——国民旅游休闲纲要将给我们带来什么 – 新华财经 – 新华网 –new policies in works for paid vacations, should help tourism industry, maybe relieve some of the peak travel pressure?// 新华网北京２月１８日电（记者 钱春弦）备受关注的《国民旅游休闲纲要》１８日正式发布，这是旅游业的一件大事，更与广大百姓的生活息息相关，对我国经济社会发展具有深远影响。国民旅游休闲纲要何以此时出台，对普通百姓有什么意义呢？扼要地说，就是从国家发展和社会进步的高度，统筹解决有钱、有闲之后怎么真正享受“休闲”这一大课题。
花果山景区春节对属猴游客免票 网友：属猪能半价么_资讯频道_凤凰网 –free entry to huaguo shan scenic area over the CNY holiday for those born in the year of the monkey…
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
Pathlight: New Chinese Writing–Facebook page – Pathlight is a new English-language literary magazine produced by Paper Republic and People’s Literature magazine (《人民文学》杂志社).
JOBS AND EVENTS
President at AmCham China in Beijing – Job | LinkedIn – Qualification Guidelines: • College-educated • Minimum five years professional working experience in China • Broad management (including P&L), leadership, and team development experience required, preferably in a variety of business, government and/or non-governmental organizations. • Experience running a chamber of commerce-type organization preferred and at least active prior involvement with a chamber of commerce-type organization required • Strong ability to engage volunteer involvement (to drive AmCham China’s many member-led activities) • Broad experience interfacing with US and PRC governments including public policy development and implementation. • Minimum 15 years professional working experience • Strong written and oral communications skills • Fluent Mandarin Chinese preferred • AmCham China is an equal opportunity employer • United States citizen
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