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Big news today, a major American media company has decided to acquire Sinocism. I am very excited and looking forward to having the resources to make the service even more valuable. There will be a formal press release in the next few days.

One change that will affect everyone is that as of April 15 the newsletter will only be available to subscribers paying $100 per month. I have however negotiated a special deal for current readers. If you sign up to support Sinocism in the next 5 days, at a level of $100 or more per year (either by paying monthly or one time), you will be guaranteed access at that level for the next five years.

So if you want to keep receiving this newsletter please contribute, and today April 1st is a good day to start.

Ok, if you have not figured it out, this is a wishful, April Fool’s day gag. But the need for your support is no joke, so if you have not already donated please do.

Happy April Fool’s Day, and be careful what you read on the Internets today. I once took April Fool’s Day seriously, like with this 2010 post about the World of Warcraft Park in Shanxi.

Today’s links:

THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT

China’s official factory PMI at 11-month high in March | Reuters China’s factory production lines ran at their fastest in 11 months in March, according to a reading of 50.9 on the official manufacturing purchasing managers index (PMI) published on Monday, signaling economic recovery may be accelerating. The rise missed market expectations of a rise to 52.0, as forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, but was nevertheless a pick-up from February’s five-month low of 50.1.

2 in China first known deaths from H7N9 bird flu – Yahoo! News Two Shanghai men have died from a lesser-known type of bird flu in the first known human deaths from the strain, and Chinese authorities said Sunday that it wasn’t clear how they were infected, but that there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission. A third person, a woman in the nearby province of Anhui, also contracted the H7N9 strain of bird flu and was in critical condition, China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission said in a report on its website. There was no sign that any of the three, who were infected over the past two months, had contracted the disease from each other, and no sign of infection in the 88 people who had closest contact with them, the medical agency said.

China eager to end isle row, not alter ’95 apology: Murayama – The Japan Times Former Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama said senior Chinese officials reassured him on a recent visit to Beijing that China, too, desires a “peaceful resolution” to the territorial dispute in the East China Sea and that China is “not seeking hegemony.” His impression from the trip in late January was that the Chinese think highly of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, given his fence-mending efforts during his first stint in office from 2006 to 2007, but remain concerned about his intention to rethink the 1995 Murayama statement, in which the then-prime minister apologized unequivocably for Japan’s wartime aggression in Asia.//Murayama met with Tang Jiaxuan

人民日报-筑就民族复兴的“中国梦” 任仲平 page 1 People’s daily, “building the “Chinese Dream” of national renaissance”..top read story on the PD web site so far monday…//今天，从“全面崩溃”到“虚假繁荣”，仍有一些人在“唱衰”中国。这样的说法虽耸人听闻，却也警示我们追梦之路绝非坦途。新兴大国崛起的烦恼，经济社会双重转型的困惑，人民渴盼公平正义的焦虑……有人曾说，今天的中国不能是打网球，可以等球落地后再挥拍，所有的问题都需要主动截击，否则就会输掉比赛。正所谓“为山九仞，功亏一篑”，离目标越近，阻力就越大，也越艰辛。最有自信的时候，也最容易自满；最有希望的时候，也最可能失望。要让梦想成真，最重要的是牢牢把握机遇，以实干托起中国梦。改革开放之初，美国《时代》周刊将邓小平评为年度人物，其开篇标题是《中国的梦想家》。30多年后世界之所以还对“梦想家”怀有敬意，正是因为我们靠实干把一个处在经济崩溃边缘的国家推上了健康发展的轨道，靠实干改变了占世界四分之一人口的命运，靠实干让国家富强、民族振兴、人民幸福的梦想日益接近。邓小平同志曾经说过，不干，半点马克思主义也没有。同样的道理，不干，一切理想、梦想最后都只能是一枕黄粱。

[视频]保修期延长 苹果服务政策仍遭诟病_新闻频道_央视网 CCTV Evening news reported Sunday night that Apple has adjusted its repair policies but does not yet appear to be fully conforming with Chinese law in certain instances..// 近两天，记者在北京、杭州调查时发现，苹果ipad的保修和服务政策已经悄悄发生了变化，苹果Ipad在出现故障换货后，主要部件的保修从过去的一年延长到两年，但两地对新换货品保修期的执行标准上却不尽相同 // 苹果保修政策修改实为误读 仅新加入2年提示|苹果|保修|时间_手机_科技时代_新浪网 or have Apple china support policies always been in compliance w chinese law, as Sina Tech reports, and now they are just doing a better job of communicating them, and forcing their authorized repair centers to honor them?// 新浪科技讯 3月30日上午消息，今日在微博上有消息称“苹果悄然将中国Mac和iPad产品的主要部件保修延长为两年”。但实际上，苹果此前保修政策一直如此。只是最近在保修查询页面上加入了时间提示。// Apple says the specific repair policies depend on the laws of the country in which the apple product was purchased…so a big issue here given the number of grey market, overseas purchased apple products in China// 除了iPhone，苹果MacBook、iPad等可享受全球联保电脑产品(不含iPhone手机)在国外购买，国内确定可以保修。具体保修时间遵循购买地保修政策。比如购买地保修是一年，在国内也是一年。正因如此，苹果产品的在各国都可能保修可能出现不一致的情况，用户可在苹果官网服务选项下选择产品类别，之后输入产品序列号自行查询。但具体是否能保修，需要到苹果直营店(Apple Store)或授权维修点由苹果售后服务人员决定。//confused yet? meanwhile Apple appears to have similar issue, without the media mobilization, in Europe?// EU Reding: Apple Still Not Informing Customers Correctly About Warranty Rights in EU -A senior European Union official said Tuesday that Apple Inc. ( AAPL ) still isn’t informing consumers correctly about their legal warranty rights in many EU member states, as she called for Brussels to take a greater role in shaping a common approach to consumer protection rules. In a speech Tuesday, the EU’s Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding honed in on the Apple case as an example of weak and diverse enforcement of consumer rules within the EU.

Little hope that latest cooling measures will ease property costs | South China Morning Post Indeed, as the new premier, Li Keqiang has identified urbanisation as the long-term engine of growth for the economy and up to 300 million farmers are expected to settle in cities, demand for housing will remain strong for years to come. And so will prices.//that is the core of the bull argument…and property stocks up monday morning in Shanghai

With China’s Hottest Social Network in Danger, Netizens Cry: Hands Off! | Tea Leaf Nation Head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) Miao Wei has stated that the MIIT is currently considering whether to require [Tencent], the operator of Weixin, to implement a fee on [the service]. They have already asked operator [Tencent] to submit a [plan] to the Ministry. [Mr. Wei] also stated that fees in addition to data fees paid to telecom operators are entirely reasonable, but the supervising bureaus can [view the matter] from the users’ perspective, [so although] fees on Weixin are possible, they will not be onerous.//工信部部长称微信有收费可能|工信部|微信|收费_互联网_科技时代_新浪网 工信部部长苗圩昨日在参加第二届“岭南论坛”时表示，目前工信部正在协调运营商向微信收费一事，已要求运营商制定相应解决方案提交工信部。　“(通信运营商)说我维护这么大的一个网络，还要投资，还要运营，除了流量以外还应该有这些方面的收费，这也是合情合理的。但是绝不能占有垄断的这个地位，卡死像腾讯这样一个非常好的企业。”苗圩在接受财新记者采访时称。

Insight: China’s losing battle against state-backed polluters | Reuters Hugely dependent on the tax revenues and jobs provided by big polluting firms, local authorities have long been regarded as one of the biggest obstacles to Beijing’s promises to reverse decades of environmental damage….According to a proposal submitted by delegates at last month’s National People’s Congress, there have been more than 30 serious incidents of heavy metal pollution in the past three years, and many were caused by “regional governments blindly pursuing economic development, as well as law enforcement and supervision not being strong enough”. China has the laws, but its ability to enforce them is weak, especially in the face of giant firms that pour millions into otherwise bereft local government coffers.

 

BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

China’s urbanization drive leaves migrant workers out in the cold | Reuters Cheap but crowded neighborhoods are being cleared across China as part of a stepped-up “urbanization” campaign by China’s new leaders. The country aims to spend an estimated $6 trillion on infrastructure, including housing, as a projected 400 million people become urban residents over the next decade. But in an ironic twist, the clearance of so-called “villages within cities” removes cheap housing stock for the very people targeted to fuel that migration, without providing sufficient replacement units. The land is sold by municipalities to developers who generally erect expensive apartment towers.

李克强：小城镇比北京好，我听着心里高兴_资讯频道_凤凰网 Li Keqiang visits rural residents in Jiangsu,very happy when one told him that “small cities and towns are better than Beijing”…this is a theme in the growing propaganda campaign about the urbanization plans// 听说李总理来了，在广场上休闲的居民纷纷围拢上来，把刚刚下车的总理层层“包围”起来，争抢着与总理握手、拍照。 规划馆里，镇委书记赵强向总理汇报：镇上成立了土地股份合作社，农民把一家一户分散的土地流转出去由合作社统一耕种，自己当上了股东，搬到镇里集中居住，还可以到工厂上班。不仅2万本地居民的生活、就业解决了，还吸引了4万外来人口。李克强点头说：“我们进行的城镇化是以人为本的城镇化。我国收入差距主要在城乡，消费差距主要也在城乡，小城镇建设好了，可以解决就业、拉动消费。”

新型城镇化四问_财经频道_一财网 good summary by First Financial of some of the big issues discussed at the China Urbanization International forum over the weekend// 城镇化，将是未来中国经济发展的最重要的话题之一。由此衍生出来的户籍制度、土地制度、财税制度改革以及农民工市民化、社会经济与环境可持续发展等问题，将是中国必须面临的挑战。能否成功应对这些挑战，也关乎中国未来发展的成败。3月30～31日，由国家发改委城市和小城镇改革发展中心与世界经济论坛共同举办的2013中国城镇化高层国际论坛在上海召开，《第一财经日报》深度参与了该论坛的举办过程，在此予以特别呈现。

7000亿次级债开始每年“减记”10% 五大行资本补充压力再现_财经频道_一财网 即使不考虑新增贷款带来的资本消耗，若想保持资本充足率不下降，单单弥补这“按年递减10%”的缺口，五大行每年就需增加约700亿元的二级资本。

China’s Austerity Starves A Gifting Economy – Forbes Going into and throughout the Chinese New Year in 2013, austerity was the new sentiment for the government, as well as the average Chinese consumer. The impact of the austerity measures has been felt acutely across all sectors in China,from upscale restaurants to luxury packaged tours and VIP room traffic in Macau casinos.  While it is impossible to obtain an accurate number on “gifting” as a percentage of the total luxury industry, we estimate that for certain items (such as high-end watches and handbags) 40-60% of purchases are intended as gifts.

人民日报-让民族服装品牌托起美丽中国（感言）（ 2013年04月01日   10 版） foreign luxury brands will not like this..page 10 people’s daily, brief article “let national fashion brands support a beautiful China” …by fashion firm Lancy’s Chairman and CEO Shen Dongri (朗姿股份有限公司董事长　申东日), may even be a paid article, but do not underestimate the possibility this become a real trend, especially given Peng Liyuan’s fashion choices // 如何摒弃崇洋媚外的消费观念，让国人的自豪感开始自我觉醒，是摆在我们面前的考验。作为中国的服装品牌，应该承担起传播中国文化的使命，通过服饰文化诠释中国民族文化，使中国文化成为国际的引领者

人民日报-内需不是奢靡的挡箭牌（人民论坛） 顾伯冲 People’s Daily, expanding consumption is not a “shield” for luxury…do not expect frugality campaign and luxury goods merchants’ china challenges to end any time soon// 　内需固然对我国经济发展的全局很重要，但不能指望靠奢侈浪费、公款消费来拉动，更不能将内需异化成奢靡风气的挡箭牌。真正拉动内需，应遵循和尊重经济社会发展规律，找到国内需求不足的深层症结，采取有效治理方案。加快收入分配改革，“提低扩中”，壮大消费的中坚力量；完善社会保障，稳定消费预期，让老百姓敢花钱，才是治本之策，才能从根本上驱动消费这驾马车奋然前行，为经济发展助力。

21观察：刹酒风劲吹，愁的是官员还是消费？_21世纪网-21cbh.com 酒桌即中国。“酒劲”还是生产力。禁酒令当前，发改委官员忧心了，公款吃喝下来了，影响了整体消费。言下之意，消费没有了“酒劲头”，中国经济还能有盼头吗？进一步言，这“酒劲”到底是谁的需求？拉动消费增长的需求？GDP保8的需求？市场需求？政府需求？还是官员个人的需求？ 茅台高管则放言，“三公消费禁止喝茅台？那么我请问你，三公消费应该喝什么酒？”话音旁落，狠刹酒风，继续劲吹——国务院：各部门不得接受地方的送礼和宴请。这下，发改委官员又该犯愁了？

阿里小贷版图再扩 量化放贷模式复制成疑|阿里小贷|量化放贷|复制_21世纪网 AliLoans could be a very important financing channel for SMEs, if it can get to scale and avoid regulatory problems// 3月，阿里小贷宣布计划将版图扩张至全国，且将借贷范围由小微企业扩大至普通消费者。它正在用一些细小的变化改良中国小微企业面临的金融生态。

本轮楼市调控17城公布细则 政策公信力偏弱_网易财经 张宏伟说，从政策面看，以后政策应该还会继续支持刚需、自住需求的入市，这样，总体市场成交量不会受到此次限购小幅收紧的影响。市场需求在短期内被压制，随着时间的推移，这样的行政化调控措施会逐渐被潜规则破解。 同时他认为，部分城市措施“阶段性”的收紧，短期内遏制投机行为，是一个过渡性的政策，并不具备长期执行的条件，稳定涨价预期。为以后经济手段长效性政策执行、限购退出提供一个稳定的市场缓冲期。

深圳版国五条细则出台：确保房价涨幅低于收入增速_资讯频道_凤凰网 Shenzhen’s new real estate rules increase price target; home price growth must be lower than income growth in the city //【深圳版国五条细则出台】深圳版国五条细则今日出台，房价调控目标：确保2013年全市新建商品住房价格涨幅，低于本市人均可支配收入的实际增长速度。并提出，人民银行深圳市中心支行可根据我市年度新建商品住房价格控制目标和政策要求，在必要时候调整第二套住房贷款的首付比例和利率。南都记者周昌和

Doing Business in China Safely. The Due Diligence Basics–China Law Blog–The below comes from an article I wrote a couple years ago for a manufacturing magazine.  I am reprising it today after having just communicated with a company that could sorely have stood to have read it.  The point here is that it is possible to do business in China safely, simply by following some basic due diligence rules. Whether it is cynicism or realism, I am becoming increasingly willing to blame “the victim” of China business problems. I am convinced that, nine times out of ten, when bad things happen to good people who do business internationally, it is the “good person’s” fault.

San Francisco Fed: Official China GDP Data is OK – China Real Time Report – WSJ In 2012, researchers at the Dallas Fed looked at the relationship between a sharp deceleration in China’s electricity consumption and more moderate slowdown in industrial output. Their conclusion: “China might have overstated its 2012 industrial production data to mask the economy’s weakness. In other words, the slowdown in China could be worse than the official data indicate.” With research based on different approaches, and results pointing in opposite directions, the San Francisco and Dallas Feds’ conclusions are unlikely to end the debate on the reliability of China’s data. But the NBS will be relieved that at least one serious set of number crunchers is in their corner.

 

POLITICS AND LAW

四川富商邓鸿接受调查_杂志频道_财新网 Caixin reporting a third wealthy Sichuan businessperson is under investigation. This one is Deng Hong 邓鸿// 共有三位当地富商被带走，调查范围还在扩展

Jilin deputy party secretary Zhu Yanfeng probed over graft: report | South China Morning Post The deputy party secretary of Jilin province has been placed under investigation by the party’s top graft-busting agency, Caixin.com reported yesterday, citing various sources. Zhu Yanfeng, 52, was allegedly implicated in problems related to the assets of Jilin-based First Automobile Works Group (FAW), the company of which he was formerly president, the report said.

中共中央禁止媒体发表反马列毛言论 – BBC中文网 – 两岸 来自中国媒体的多个消息来源透露，中共各级党的宣传部长都在传达中共中央宣传工作会议精神。有关会议定出了中共中央今后的5点宣传基调。

人民日报-改进作风探实效 People’s Daily starting a series to investigate implementation of the campaign to change work styles and adherence to Xi’s 8 rules…officials in Harbin nailed ignoring new rules, not going to have a happy Monday// 中央颁布改进作风八项规定后，各地积极贯彻落实，切实转变作风，出现了不少新举措、新风尚。但也有一些地方的干部或认识不到位不以为然，或只说不做应付了事，或上有政策下有对策，慢半拍、搞变通。为推动中央八项规定的贯彻落实，本报从今天起开设“改进作风探实效”栏目，刊发各地各部门的新举措、新亮点、新形象、新风貌，同时，及时监督、报道存在的问题、误区。

地方政府预算藏花钱花招：某市其他支出达146亿_新闻_腾讯网 据新华社电 近日，李克强总理在国务院召开的第一次廉政工作会议上，要求建立公开、透明、规范、完整的预算体制，把政府所有的收入和支出都纳入预算，形成强有力的约束机制。记者在调查中发现，目前在一些地方政府部门的预算报告中，仍然存在“说不清道不明”之处，不仅让人“雾里看花”，更暗藏一些“花钱花招”。在一些地方公开的预算账本中，记者看到了不少巧立名目的“预算花招”。

A BOOK IN PROGRESS [PART 21]: COMMUNISM & CONFUCIANISM | Pandaemonium This is the last extract from my book in progress on the history of moral thought. ..This extract is about the problems of moral thinking in post-1949 China, and the fraught relationship between communism and Confucianism….At the heart of Jiang’s [Qing] ethics is what the political philosopher Christopher Ford calls ‘meritoligarchic’ thinking, by which he means ‘the conviction by some members of a cultural and intellectual elite that they are ideally suited to rule benevolently over ignorant and uneducated masses who should not be trusted with the ability to choose and change their rulers’.  Such ideas tend ‘to pop up whenever a ruling elite faces pressure to give more political power to the masses’, as for instance in the debates in Britain and America in the nineteenth century over the extension of the franchise. In the ancient world there was something progressive about the ‘meritoligarchic’ idea, because it stood in opposition to rule by bloodline.  In the modern world, it is deeply regressive because it stands in opposition not to aristocracy but to democracy.//imagine Daniel Bell and Jiang Qing will not like this book

Efficient injustice – – Globaltimes.cn Last Tuesday, when 49-year-old Zhang Gaoping and 38-year-old Zhang Hui heard the judge announce they were acquitted after serving 10 years in jail for a wrongful charge of rape and murder after forced confession, they couldn’t believe their ordeal was finally over. An officer of the Zhejiang People’s High Court unlocked Zhang Gaoping’s handcuffs in the court and apologized to him in person. Zhang then said to the judge, “Today you are a judge, but your descendants may not be judges. If there is no guarantee of unified institutions and law, they could be wrongfully accused as we were and teeter on the brink of the death penalty. Please remember that.”

河北霸州环保大楼被拆建酒店 官员家属入股房企_网易新闻中心 核心提示：河北霸州市一家房地产公司要开发五星级酒店，与政府“合作”，拿下环保局大楼黄金地块，而该环保局大楼建成不足10年即将被拆除。媒体称，该公司与霸州国土局关系密切，其一名股东是现任国土局党委书记之子，另一人据介绍是前国土局长之妻

Book Review: A Death in the Lucky Holiday Hotel – WSJ.com The sordid details in “A Death in the Lucky Holiday Hotel”  are voluminous. Much of the reporting is unverifiable—and some of it amounts to little more than rumor—but the narrative is thrilling and believable, based as it is on the information that Chinese officials leak to the press as part of their infighting//read it a couple of weeks ago, entertaining if impossible to know what was true, most interesting to me was admission by the authors that they could not verify most of what they wrote, knew they could be being used by leakers to spread misinformation and advance political and/or personal agendas.

 

FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS

人民日报-继往开来、影响深远的外交开局之旅 ——外交部部长王毅介绍习近平主席出访有关情况 Foreign Minister Wang Yi discusses Xi Jinping’s trip, page 1 People’s Daily Monday// 这次访问对外发出的明确信息是，新时期中国外交的序幕已经拉开。在以习近平同志为总书记的党中央领导下，中国外交将继续高举和平、发展、合作、共赢的旗帜，开拓进取，务实前行，为实现中华民族伟大复兴营造良好国际环境，为促进人类和平与发展事业作出积极贡献。

习近平出访9天见32国元首 曾持续工作15小时_资讯频道_凤凰网 Xi Jinping met w 32 heads of state over his 9 day trip// 外交部长王毅昨天介绍，习近平主席此次访问内容丰富，日程紧凑，习近平9天共出席了66场活动，与32位国家元首及政要举行会谈和会见，发表了20多次演讲和重要讲话，多角度、深层次阐述了中国的外交政策和重大主张。王毅透露，访问途中，习近平有时一天内不间断工作15个小时。

人民日报-我国发展仍处于重要战略机遇期–汪同三 People’ Daily on China’s strategic opportunities// 国内经济环境的有利条件和积极因素主要有：我国作为世界第二大经济体的地位巩固，经济结构调整和优化的效果逐步显现，各项社会事业快速发展，居民收入增长速度加快，生态文明建设取得新进展。●国际政治经济环境潜藏的新机遇主要有：国际力量对比朝着有利于建立公正合理的国际政治经济新秩序方向发展，我国在发挥科技革命和产业发展的后发优势、推动产业结构优化升级上大有可为。●面临的风险和挑战主要有：世界经济复苏充满不稳定性、不确定性，我国经济运行仍存在一些突出矛盾和问题。克服困难、解决问题、赢得发展，关键要在提高经济增长质量、效益和深化改革开放上取得实质性进展… （作者为中国社会科学院学部委员）

人民日报-别拿岛国心结作茧自缚 钟声 Zhong Sheng not happy about Abe’s recent statements about te Yasukuni Shrine..tells Japan to change its views about history, integrate better with the new Asia // 据日本媒体报道，日本首相安倍晋三确定，将不会在今年4月下旬春季例行大祭期间参拜靖国神社，改为向靖国神社供奉祭品，但不排除于今年秋天前往参拜靖国神社的可能性。　靖国神社问题事关日本是否能够正视和反省过去那段侵略历史，是否尊重包括中国在内的广大受害国人民的感情，没有搞小动作、耍小聪明的空间。日本只有正视过去，才能开辟未来，处理好同外部世界的关系。

Abe strikes energy deal with Mongolia in a bid to curb China’s clout – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is stepping up diplomatic efforts to strengthen Japan’s ties with a valued energy source and a strategic neighbor by visiting Mongolia, a move also intended to check the growing influence of China in the region. Meeting with Mongolian leaders on March 30, Abe underscored the importance of bilateral relations, particularly from the standpoint of guaranteeing Japanese energy security.

Education Department posts, then removes quote by Mao Zedong – Washington Times The Department of Education pulled a “Quote of the Day” by Chinese dictator Mao Zedong from its children’s website Friday after a screenshot of the quote went viral. The website, Kids’ Zone by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), featured the quote “Our attitude towards ourselves should be ‘to be satiable in learning’ and towards others ‘to be tireless in teaching.”// 社评：美国对毛泽东禁言，“言论自由”挂了_评论_环球网 and global times weighs on the DOE Chairman Mao quote episode by saying it shows the US does not really have freedom of speech// 美国教育部下属机构国家教育统计中心网站近来“闯了祸”。该网站3月22日在“每日语录”一栏中引用毛泽东“对自己，‘学而不厌’；对人家，‘诲而不倦’”的名言，国家教育统计中心因此遭到猛烈抨击。有美国参议员出面表示，教育部必须解释为何引用“共产主义者”的话。该中心网站被迫删除毛泽东的这句话，换成了林肯的一个警句。美教育部代理新闻秘书还专门公开表示这次引用“很糟糕”，像是在道歉。

Spacecraft ends testing, moves to launch center |Sci-Tech |chinadaily.com.cn The Shenzhou X spacecraft, which will be launched between June and August, has completed testing and on Sunday left Beijing for the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Gansu province. On its mission, it will carry three astronauts and dock with the orbiting Tiangong-1 lab module.

Chinese investors set sights on Greek property |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn “Some Chinese businessmen have shown an interest in investing in Greek property, such as investing in hotels, or buying pieces of land on Greek islands,” the Mayor of Athens, Georgios Kaminis, said on Friday….“Greek property prices are at the bottom of the economic cycle. Now will be a great time to invest,” Kaminis added. He made the remarks while heading a business delegation on a visit to Beijing, where he will sign an agreement with the Beijing municipal government to promote cooperation in a number of sectors, including real estate, agriculture and tourism.

U.S. Asia-Pacific Policy – C-SPAN Video Library House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Edward Royce (R-CA) spoke about U.S economic and security policy in Asia. In remarks, he emphasized the need to focus on economic prosperity in Asia. He also discussed U.S.-China relations, North Korea’s nuclear program, India engagement in Asia, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. He answered questions from audience members.

China’s Rise: Assessing Views from East Asia and the United States | Brookings Institution On March 29, the John L. Thornton China Center and Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies at Brookings, the Program for East Asia Democratic Studies of the Academia Sinica and National Taiwan University, and the Institute of Arts and Humanities of Shanghai Jiaotong University will host a half-day conference to address this question. At the conference, panelists will present data from the Asian Barometer Survey and compare these findings with prevailing survey data in the United States. Leading experts from both sides of the Pacific will weigh the potential implications of these studies for future relations between China and other East Asian countries and for U.S.-China relations.

Chinese navy conducts West Pacific live-fire drill – Xinhua | English.news.cn The fleet, since entering the training sections of the West Pacific, has also run anti-terrorism and anti-piracy exercises, as well as anti-missile, anti-air strike, anti-submarine exercises, and practice of daytime landing of warship-carried helicopters plus search-and-rescue. Wang Zhihe, judge with the Nanhai Fleet military court, said the Chinese navy conducting offshore drills in designated training sections of public waters conforms with international law and the common practices of navies around the world.

PLA fighter crashes, two pilots dead – CHINA – Globaltimes.cn A People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) Su-27 fighter crashed in Rongcheng, Shandong Province on Sunday, killing two pilots. Initial photos showing the crashed aircraft began appearing on microblogs on Sunday afternoon. China Central Television later reported the pilots’ deaths in a Weibo account. Judging from the photos, the crashed aircraft is a double-seat Su-27UBK fighter.//中国空军一架苏-27战机训练中失事 2名飞行员遇难_资讯频道_凤凰网 Pictures of the SU-27 crash in Shandong

China to build two more Antarctic research stations by 2015 – Xinhua | English.news.cn China is planning to build two new research stations in Antarctica by 2015 and site inspections are already being conducted by an expedition team, the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) said Thursday.

 

HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN

Taiwan vows to step up patrols in East China Sea – AJW by The Asahi Shimbun TAIPEI–Taiwan’s president has commissioned a new vessel to beef up patrol in a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea also claimed by China and Japan. President Ma Ying-jeou on March 30 commissioned the 2,000-ton Xinbei cutter, which is equipped with machine guns and water cannons. The vessel will join a fleet of smaller ships to patrol the islands, known in China as Diaoyu and in Japan as Senkaku.

 

TECH AND MEDIA

常小兵马化腾“面谈”微信收费|常小兵|马化腾|微信_互联网_科技时代_新浪网 晨报讯(记者 孙雨)微信到底该不该收费？在昨日的深圳IT领袖峰会上，中国联通董事长常小兵和腾讯董事局主席马化腾这两位“当事大佬”终于有了一次“面谈”。在会上，常小兵再次强调了今天的免费是为了明天的收费观点，期盼能与OTT公司发展成鱼水关系。对此，马化腾说道，“我们对运营商都很老实的”，对于常小兵的说法很赞同，并认为“水乳交融”这个词更适合。而实际上，他们却是展开了一场“共赢”前提下的“太极式”博弈。

Users may pay fee to use WeChat app — Shanghai Daily USERS of Tencent’s popular WeChat chatting application may have to pay fees after media reported China’s major telecommunications operators are looking to charge users, a senior regulatory official said yesterday. Miao Xu, head of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the regulator, told a forum the ministry is “coordinating” between telecom operators and Tencent on charging fees for WeChat users. The ministry is studying whether users need to pay a small fee to the telcos to use the app, he said.

马化腾谈微信：占用通道有价值 国际化略难|微信|马化腾|收费_互联网_科技时代_新浪网 on Pony Ma’s talk at the IT Summit// 新浪科技讯 3月31日午间消息，腾讯CEO马化腾在2013深圳IT峰会谈及微信相关话题，在面对运营商占用信令过高指责时，马化腾认为可能是运营商统计错误，并认为微信占用通道很有价值。而在微信国际化方面，马化腾则坦言遇到一些困难，成功几率则是50%。

马云：中国企业不缺创新缺管理思想|马云|阿里巴巴|企业管理_互联网_科技时代_新浪网 full text of jack ma’s talk at the China (Shenzhen) IT Summit 2013…said Chinese entrepreneurs do not lack innovation, they lack management thinking/skills // 新浪科技讯 3月31日上午消息，阿里巴巴董事局主席兼CEO马云今日在2013深圳IT峰会演讲，他认为目前中国的企业并不缺创新，而是缺乏管理思想。　以下为演讲实录全文：

Tibet taboo leads to cyberassaults – The Washington Post grim story// The cyberattacks on the team led by filmmakers Christian Johnston and Darren Mann started nearly five years ago and continued for so long that they delayed completion of the documentary about Tibet, “State of Control.” The filmmakers are convinced that the Chinese government is behind the attacks, but the evidence is circumstantial…

Softbank-Backed Startup SmarTots Builds Facebook for Kids – Bloomberg Started with $1 million in seed money in 2011, SmarTots in December won financing from SoftBank’s Pan-Asia Fund, managed by SoftBank Ventures Korea, a unit of Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier. The investment was about 2.15 billion won ($1.9 million), according to Mariko Osada, a spokeswoman for Tokyo-based Softbank. Other SmarTots investors include Xu Xiaoping, co-founder of New Oriental Education and Technology Group; Angelvest; SOSVentures and ChinaRock Capital Management, Lodahl said.

 

SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY

Transcription of Beida Laozi Manuscript On-Line | Warp, Weft, and Way As many of you know, there are more and more excavated texts making their presence known in our field. Beijing University is in possession of a bamboo-strip version of the Laozi / Daode Jing that they date to the Western Han; a full transcription is available here; just scroll down past the pictures.

《农村生活街拍》_项新平_博联社 interesting pictures of life in the countryside by Xiang Xinping, on Bishe

Chinese homosexual’s marriage struggles under social pressure – Xinhua | English.news.cn Nine years into his second marriage, Yang Bin still awkwardly refers to his wife as “my date” while conversing with others. The failure to settle for a heterosexual marriage has once again saddled him with guilt and remorse. Yang Bin (not his real name), born in 1970 in the outskirts of China’s Tianjin Municipality, is now the owner of a small restaurant. He looks pale and speaks in an utterly gentle voice, his face covered with chiseled wrinkles. Like many Chinese homosexuals, Yang has a sad story of struggling in heterosexual marriage, as China’s family-centered culture accentuates one getting married and carrying on the family name, and the social tolerance for homosexuals is still limited, particularly in less-developed areas.

What the Clamor Over Peng Liyuan, China’s ‘National Mother,’ Really Means | Tea Leaf Nation Ultimately, one red thread seems to unify all of the divergent comments about China’s new First Lady: all are seeking a society with more warmth, caring, and love. In fact, the very term “The First Lady,” (or diyi furen) sounds somewhat inelegant in Chinese and is associated with values imported from the West. By contrast, another unofficial term for Peng used on Weibo better reflects China’s historical background: “Guo Mu,” literally, “Nation’s Mother.” Originally used in the Imperial era, Guo Mu was used to refer to the mother of the crown prince or the empress, who was always required to care for the nation and its people with maternal love.

Private aircraft stores opening across China |Society |chinadaily.com.cn Private aircraft stores are springing up across China, with Beijing opening its first on Friday. Yet industry insiders say it does not signal maturity in the general aviation market. “Low-altitude airspace (under 3,000 meters) is still restricted in China and the infrastructure for take off and landing is rather poor,” an engineer surnamed Xu at Beijing Capital Helicopter Co said on Sunday

 

ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH

最新报告显示：2010年我国15%死因为PM2.5_财经频道_一财网 first financial on a new report that says PM2.5 led to 1.23 million deaths in 2010, 14.9% of all deaths in China that year…really?…looks like from this conference (PDF of panels and paper abstracts) // 3月31日公布的最新研究报告显示，2010年，我国因PM2.5导致的死亡人数估计为123.4万例，占当年全国死亡总人数的近14.9%。

3M P100 Particulate Respirator Mask #8293: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific As disclosed I participate in the Amazon Associates program and receive a commission if readers click an Amazon link in Sinocism and then buy something…For march, this mask was the best selling item among Sinocism readers…you all bought 98 of them…sign of the times

More HIV cases among Chinese students |Hot Issues |chinadaily.com.cn The number of Chinese students infected with HIV increased by 24.5 percent year-on-year in 2012, and sex between men was the main cause of the new infections, a senior health expert said. There were 1,700 students infected with HIV last year, Yu Jingjin, director of the bureau of disease control and prevention under the National Health and Family Planning Commission, was quoted by Xinhua News Agency as saying on Saturday. Yu said 64.8 percent contracted the virus through sex with people of the same gender. Eighty-seven percent of HIV cases were sexually transmitted. In China, more than 7,000 students are HIV carriers or AIDS patients, Yu said during an event to promote HIV prevention on campuses.

电解铝项目“疯狂”西进 新华社——经济参考网 西部电解铝投建正逆势加速。《经济参考报》记者获悉，近年来，尽管国家有关部委连续出台多个文件遏制电解铝行业产能过剩和重复建设，但电解铝产能却在西部转移过程中一路走高。值得注意的是，目前的核准制并没有起到遏制电解铝盲目扩张的作用，已建成的项目中85%以上均未能得到国家相关部门批准。

Firm’s ex-chief admits tainting baby formula — Shanghai Daily  In Hero Group’s latest statement, it said the company learned in December that Suzhou authorities had begun an investigation into alleged illegal repackaging by Xile Lier. “The incident in Suzhou was, according to our information, centered around the wrongdoing of one individual, and the person involved was immediately replaced and stricter screening has been applied by our distributor,” the company said in the statement. The Swiss-based consumer goods giant said it is exploring how to better monitor its sub-distributors to ensure the integrity of all Hero products sold in China. //  [每周质量报告]“美素”奶粉疑云2(20130331)_新闻频道_央视网 CCTV tainted Hero baby formula expose update// 央视网消息：3月28日我们栏目播出了315特别行动《“美素”奶粉疑云》，对荷兰美素丽儿奶粉涉嫌非法生产的内幕作了报道，在调查中我们发现美素丽儿奶粉进口商玺乐丽儿进出口（苏州）有限公司早在去年11月份就已经被当地执法部门查封，部分奶粉还被检测为不合格产品，然而直到本周我们节目播出之前，美素丽儿问题奶粉却一直在全国各地正常销售。节目播出之后，我们栏目的两路记者，分别前往苏州、上海展开继续追踪调查。

Cradle of Communist Party at centre of dead pig fiasco | South China Morning Post In 1921, the party met secretly on a boat on the South Lake after their initial gathering in neighbouring Shanghai was broken up by French police. Now the party’s cradle has acquired another, far less auspicious distinction: the origin of some 20,000 pig carcasses retrieved from Shanghai’s Huangpu River and other waterways stretching to the coast. Jiaxing is the leading hog-raising centre in that part of China, and extensive media coverage of the incident has depicted a region of scattered, small-scale farms, where until recently carcasses pigs that died of disease or neglect were as likely to be sold on the black market for pork as they were to be hurled into the nearest river.

Chinese Government Map for Energy and Environmental Policy－－Live From Beijing Color-coding: Yellow is Chinese national governmental body. Green is government-affiliated organization (事业单位 or 直属单位). Blue is government-affiliated organization directly administered by the State Council (国务院直属事业单位). Pink is State-Owned Enterprise. (Note: color-coding is still under development; any suggestions greatly appreciated!)

China Focus: China maps out blueprint to harness Yellow River – Xinhua | English.news.cn China will build three more large-scale reservoirs on the troublesome Yellow River, the nation’s second-longest river, after authorities gave a green light to a harnessing plan earlier this month. After six years of programming, the State Council, or China’s cabinet, has approved the Comprehensive Plan for the Yellow River Basin (2012-2030), focusing on solving the problems of the Yellow River from now to 2030.

 

BOOKS AND LITERATURE

Ethnic ChinaLit » Blog Archive » China’s Bilingual Writers: Narrative with a Difference–Bruce Humes But what about writers who not only speak two languages native to China, but write in both? How does their ability to move seamlessly between two tongues impact their choice of themes and their “narrative voice”? Two such authors have recently come to my attention, one who writes in Tibetan and Chinese, and another who has mastered Uyghur and Chinese.

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