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

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So far Beidaihe Watch has not been very entertaining. In fact, top Chinese leaders seem to have disappeared over the last week. There have been no updates to this People’s Daily page chronicling top leaders’ activities since August 6 when Xi Jinping met grassroots delegates in Beidaihe. Perhaps this is a good indication that they have been in Beidaihe?

I think we have found the Tiger Mom of the last generation. Cai Jinyong just announced he is resigning as chief executive of Goldman Sachs’ China venture to head the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation. Cai Jinyong’s sister Jinqing Caroline Cai joined Christie’s as Managing Director, China, in March 2012, and his brother Cai Jindong is an acclaimed musician, Stanford University professor and music director/conductor of the Stanford Symphony Orchestra. Even Amy Chua might want to know how “Mrs. Cai” did it.

Zhou Kehua is still on the loose and police vacations have been cancelled in Chongqing, Guizhou and Sichuan to keep the manhunt fully staffed–渝贵川全体警察停止休假严防周克华 . Yesterday’s comment that Zhou is like a Chinese Rambo should have included the caveat “except evil”. The perils of writing fast without an editor…Surprisingly some readers thought I admire Zhou. He is a murdering thug whose evasion skills are impressive and who has exposed surprising holes in what many assume is a very efficient surveillance and security environment.

Reuters’ Chris Buckley looks at an important legacy of Bo Xilai in Bo’s brand of justice leaves timebomb for China. Buckley writes that:

China’s fallen politician Bo Xilai left a timebomb as a parting gift for the Communist Party leadership that threw him out — the smoldering demands for redress from the many targets of his harsh version of justice in the city he ruled.

Foreigners working in China should be aware of a new draft law under which courts would not protect the rights of foreigners in labor disputes if they do not have a proper work permit, even if they have a contract.

The new China Story Project is excellent. It is “a web-based account of contemporary China created by the Australian Centre on China in the World (CIW), College of Asia & the Pacific (CAP), The Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra”, with assistance from Beijing’s Danwei.  The site offers a free yearbook on China that includes a contribution from yours truly.

Today’s links:

• 台商西进 – 经济观察网 － 专业财经新闻网站 Economic Observer looks at Taiwanese investing in inland China
  在外界看来，台商们之所以将制造重心迁移到内地，人力成本是个很重要的原因。然而事实真的如此吗？
• 农业部：休闲农业还处于低水平消费 – 经济观察网 － 专业财经新闻网站 Lots of consumption potential in rural China, as Ministry of Agriculture points out//
  导语：目前农民是国内休闲农业的经营参与主体，农产品销售是休闲农业的重要收入来源。
• Asian American protest against largest Chinese Government Bank
  SAN BRUNO, CA – Asian Americans representing most of the nations opposing China’s aggressive military actions in the South China Sea will be holding a press conference and protest at the branch of the Chinese Communist Party’s largest bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). (ICBC is both the Chinese government’s largest bank and the world’s largest bank with almost $3 trillion in assets.)
• China Politics, Oil Needs Risk Conflict in S. China Sea – Bloomberg
  “There is no advantage for China to back down or enter negotiations,” said Andrew Nathan, a scholar of Chinese politics and foreign policy at Columbia University in New York. “China won’t calm down, and the current posture reflects a long-established strategy to reassert its claims steadily over time without ceding an inch.”
  At stake are unproven oil reserves of as much as 213 billion barrels, according to Chinese studies cited in 2008 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That compares with 265.4 billion barrels of proven reserves held by Saudi Arabia as of 2011, according to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy.
• 生猪价格持续下跌 发改委启动新一轮冻肉收储 – 新华财经 – 新华网
  pig prices dropping, NDRC starting another round of pork stockpiling
• 万通否认投资旧金山19号码头 房企频频试水海外_中国经济网――国家经济门户
  Vantone denies media reports that is considering investing in San Francisco’s Pier 19
• 人民日报-网络双重标准再显虚伪本质（环球走笔）
  People’s Daily says America’s Internet double standards again show its hypocritical nature, ledes w examples of keywords that will get you on a homeland security watchlist
• 钱砸出来的美国总统(国际观察)–国际–人民网
  People’s Daily on money and the american presidential race.
• 造船业一单难求46家造船厂零产出 破产随处可见|造船业|难求|造船厂_21世纪网
  46 chinese shipbuilding firm have no orders, facing bankruptcy//
• 破产、重组、政府代偿 浙江强蛟解围互保危局效用待解|浙江|强蛟|破产_21世纪网
  互保危机已经发生，而宏观经济环境也不可能在短期内出现重大转折。那么，危机之后及仍处于危机之中的利益相关者，如何在如此环境下进行自我救赎？
• Flood pools to be built in Beijing after deadly storm – Xinhua | English.news.cn
  Authorities are planning to build 20 underground flood pools in downtown Beijing to improve the Chinese capital’s flood-control capacity after a devastating rainstorm killed 79 people last month.
• Chinese athletes should be respected for their excellence, Chinese delegation chief – Xinhua | English.news.cn
  as should all athletes. innocent until proven guilty//
  When Chinese athletes achieve sport excellence, they should be given respect instead of skepticism without any factual information, Chinese delegation chief Liu Peng said here on Sunday.
• China slams media over Olympic doping innuendo: Shanghaiist
  as he should. shameful sideshow//
  “China’s top Olympic delegate slammed criticised the media on Sunday for airing “unfounded” doping speculation about teenage swimmer Ye Shiwen, after a controversy that cast a shadow over her record-breaking feats. “
• Kaifeng to restore historical image |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
  widely criticized on chinese internet//
  The blueprint of the reconstruction project shows that the new buildings will be built in the style of the Northern Song Dynasty, and even road signs on the streets will “reflect the character of the Northern Song Dynasty”, according to a report in China Business Journal.
  A total of 80,000 families, making up nearly a third of the city’s population, will have to move out of the downtown region in the next four years, the report said.
  The demolition and relocation will cost at least 100 billion yuan ($15.7 billion). The city’s financial revenue was just 5 billion yuan last year, according to the report.
• 河南开封拟举债重造北宋汴京_网易新闻中心 Kaifeng may issue bonds to pay for its huge northern song dynasty makeover
  核心提示：据报道，河南开封拟将该市老城区改造成近20平方公里的旅游区，重现北宋“汴京”，同时建设一座工业化新城。要实施该工程，十几万市民将在未来4年内从老城区搬离，仅拆迁费用就需1000亿元，而开封市的财政收入不到50亿元。报道称，开封市将举债实施相关计划。
• ‘New law’ focuses on work permits |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
  Draft legislation under review targets negligent employers
  Courts will not protect welfare or other labor rights of foreigners working without a work permit, even workers under contract, if a draft law is passed.
• Fugitive gunman kills policeman in SW China |Hot Issues |chinadaily.com.cn
  Chongqing police confirmed Sunday that one of its officers was gunned down while pursuing suspect Zhou Kehua in the city’s suburbs.
• 媒体评唐慧事件：天下难治者 官也_网易新闻中心
  Interesting commentary on Tang Hui and the causes of her injustice//
  核心提示：日前，牵动舆论神经的湖南上访母亲事件看似有了一个阶段性的结果，唐慧被释放。8月13日，有媒体发表文章评价这一事件称，“天下难治，人皆以为民难治也，不知难治者非民也，官也。”。。
  《人民日报》官方微博率先发帖，批评唐慧案。这条微博被转发13万次，评论4万多条。专栏作家徐达内（微博）写道：“介入唐慧事件报道的几乎所有市场化媒体，这一次集体向中国共产党最高喉舌表达谢意……《人民日报》的微博以及舆论的反响，表明‘两个舆论场’在这起事件中已实现对接。
• 电商格局未定：将迎来“史上最惨烈”价格战_互联网_科技时代_新浪网
  china’s ecommerce firms about to commence massive price war. great for consumers, bad for investors
• Insight: Bo’s brand of justice leaves timebomb for China | Reuters
• Inside story of post deletion’s industrial chain – People’s Daily Online
  tip of a very dirty iceberg//The news of Baidu’s severely cracking down on paid deletion of posts uncovered the secret of the hidden industry.
• Why are Western media selectively blind? – People’s Daily Online
  People’s Daily channeling Tom Friedman//
  If Western media still refuse to accept achievements of Chinese athletes and accuse them of wrongdoing without sound evidence, the world is still not flat.
• Amid Games, British economy gets gold from Chinese (2) – People’s Daily Online
  Well, don’t be too hard on us. We are Chinese, and our interest in luxury goods is always with us. It has been reported that Chinese shoppers have outspent others by an astonishing figure during the Olympic Games.
  No matter what, we have brought hope for the grim British economy.
• 中国缘何成奢侈品大买家（市场观察）–财经–人民网
  People’s Daily on why Chinese like luxury goods so much//
  奢侈品消费观已经被严重扭曲，盲目追捧和品牌饥饿营销的双重因素之下，才造就了中国现在世界第二大奢侈品消费大国的地位。因此，应当树立健康的消费观念，引导国人合理消费
• 认真学习领会胡锦涛同志重要讲话精神相关评论_重要文章_求是理论网 Qiushi suggested readings to study Hu Jintao’s recent important speech
• Rebound in China’s home prices will not continue, analysts predict — Shanghai Daily
  A recent rebound in China’s home prices will not continue, as the country will not ease its property tightening measures for the sake of economic growth, experts said at an industry forum held in Hainan Province.
• 薄谷开来、张晓军涉嫌故意杀人案庭审纪实_守门老鹤_新浪博客
• Chinese Law Prof Blog: He Weifang on the Gu Kailai trial
  Law professor He Weifang has posted the Xinhua report of the Gu Kailai trial on his blog and appended some, well, let’s just say not entirely credulous comments.
• Vogue’s Annual Age Issue Portfolio 2012 – Mona Locke and Family In Beijing
• First Tibetan Olympian wins medal for China | Fox News
• Does It Pay to Be a Cadre? Estimating the Returns to Being a Local Official in Rural China
  Surprising conclusions by World Bank Development Research Group//
  In China, researchers have frequently argued that village cadres, who are the lowest level of administrators in rural areas, exploit personal political status for economic gain. Much existing research, however, compares the earnings of cadre and non-cadre households in rural China without controlling for unobserved dimensions of ability that are also correlated with success as entrepreneurs or in non-agricultural activities. The findings of this paper suggest a measurable return to cadre status, but the magnitudes are not large and provide only a modest incentive to participate in village-level government. The paper does not find evidence that households of village cadres earn significant rents from having a family member who is a cadre. Given the increasing returns to non-agricultural employment since China’s economic reforms began, it is not surprising that the returns to working as a village cadre have also increased over time. Returns to cadre-status are derived both from direct compensation and subsidies for cadres and indirectly through returns earned in off-farm employment from businesses and economic activities managed by villages.
• 打造中国特色 中国风格 中国气派的话语体系_2012/15_求是理论网
  党的十六大以来，以胡锦涛同志为总书记的党中央多次提出要建设具有中国特色中国风格中国气派的哲学社会科学。7月23日，胡锦涛总书记在省部级主要领导干部专题研讨班开班仪式上强调：“在新的历史条件下，我们继续推进中国特色社会主义，必须不断丰富中国特色社会主义的实践特色、理论特色、民族特色、时代特色。”这其中就包括了要打造并形成中国特色中国风格中国气派话语体系这一重大而紧迫的时代课题。我们要深刻领会提出这一时代课题的必然性和重要性，全面把握其内涵和实质，在吸收借鉴人类文明成果的基础上，经过艰苦努力，打造并形成中国特色中国风格中国气派话语体系。
• 为中华民族“书写家谱”–时政–人民网 中华文明是什么？中华文明是如何形成的？中华文明具有哪些特征？它曾怎样影响了世界文明？百余年来，这些问题一直是世界性的课题，也是中华文明探源工程试图回答的问题。十年探索不寻常。作为“夏商周断代工程”之后又一项研究中国古代历史文化的重大科研项目，中华文明探源工程的焦点从传统的中原地区扩展到了长江流域和辽河流域，从简单的断代深入到古代文明的肌理，试图说明曾经如满天星斗的辉煌文化个体如何形成了最初的文明。虽然许多从事文明探源的学者将自己的工作仅仅看作是在为中华民族“书写家谱”，但每一项新成果的面世，无疑都是中国学术界对国际学术界的贡献，也是中华民族对于国际社会的贡献，不断丰富着人们对于文明起源的认识
• 高层动态–时政–人民网
• Jindong Cai-Music Director and Conductor, Stanford Symphony Orchestra
• CHRISTIE’S APPOINTS JINQING CAROLINE CAI MANAGING DIRECTOR, CHINA | Press Release | Christie’s
• Goldman Sachs Partner Cai Jinyong to Head World Bank Unit – Bloomberg
  World Bank President Jim Yong Kim appointed a Chinese partner at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to head the poverty fighting institution’s private-sector arm.
  Cai Jinyong, chief executive of Goldman Sachs’s China securities venture, will become executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation effective Oct. 1,
• The Other Siberian Railroad – NYTimes.com
  Begun under Joseph Stalin as a northern alternative to the Trans-Siberian, the BAM was finished only in 1991 though it’s still being tinkered with to meet growing Asian demand for Siberian lumber, gas and oil. “Stalin built BAM because he thought the Chinese might zip across their border and seize the Trans-Siberian, and that didn’t happen,” Mila said. “Brezhnev built more of BAM to make a pioneer utopia, and that never happened. Now,” she said, shrugging in her bulky homemade sweater, “who knows what will happen other than a beautiful trip?”
• 谁先把海伍德事件捅到了网上？
• 永州被迫卖淫幼女之母称仍相信政府_网易新闻中心
  Tang Hui still believes in the government
• Nuclear ruse: Posing as toymaker, Chinese merchant allegedly sought U.S. technology for Iran – The Washington Post
  The Chinese toymaker said he was seeking parts for a “magic horse,” a metal-framed playground pony. But the exotic, wildly expensive raw material he wanted seemed better suited for space travel than backyard play.
  His shopping list, sent by e-mail to a Seattle factory, started with 20 tons of maraging steel, an ultra-strong alloy often used in rockets. The buyer didn’t flinch at the price tag — $2 million — but he repeatedly insisted on secrecy. “This material,” an associate confided in an e-mail, “are danger [sic] goods.”
• march 25 2012–UK asks China to probe death in ousted Bo’s city | World | Reuters
  was this the first english-language news report about neil heywood dying suspiciously?//
  LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) – Britain said on Sunday it had asked China to investigate the death of a British man in Chongqing, the southwest Chinese metropolis formerly run by Bo Xilai, the leadership contender whose abrupt ousting shook the ruling Communist Party….The British national, Nick Heywood, died and was cremated in November, but questions about his death have been posted on Chinese microblogs.
• U.S. and China Developing Olympic Medal Rivalry – NYTimes.com
  Those sports will account for well under 20 percent of the Chinese total here. But what the United States and China do share is a reliance on strong women. Both have more women’s gold medalists than men’s gold medalists here.

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