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

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And today we interrupt your regularly scheduled programming with a brief commercial break.

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Thanks for reading, back to normal programming next time, and I promise you will not get the “hard sell” too often.

• The Drone Zone – NYTimes.com
  China won’t be happy to see drones around the south china sea//
  According to three current and former intelligence officials I spoke to, in 2006, a barrage of Hellfire missiles from a Predator hit a suspected militant camp in the jungles of the Philippines, in an attempt to kill the Indonesian terrorist Umar Patek. The strike, which was reported at the time as a “Philippine military operation,” missed Patek but killed others at the camp.
• Tougher line urged on South China Sea | SCMP.com
  Beijing should be more assertive and strengthen its sovereignty claims on disputed islands, forum told, as Asean ministers gather amid mounting tensions..
  The country’s leading foreign affairs and military experts yesterday called on Beijing to take a tougher approach to mounting tensions in the South China Sea ahead of a key regional summit in Cambodia this week.
  China should rethink its current policies in handling territorial disputes and act more assertively to strengthen its sovereignty claims over the contested areas, according to panellists who spoke at the World Peace Forum in Beijing. The suggestions came on the eve of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) talks in Phnom Penh today, where the South China Sea dispute is expected to dominate meetings.
• The Jamestown Foundation: Toward A Second Generation of Ethnic Policies?
  The recent self-immolations in Lhasa remind us that China has its fair share of ethnic problems. Chinese government officials continue to blame “outside forces” for inciting ethnic divisions, insisting that “sixty years of experiences have proved that China’s ethnic policies are correct and effective” [1]. Yet for most in China these incidents reflect a fundamental failure of policy. Intellectuals, netizens, generals, dissidents and even property tycoons now call for a major rethink of ethnic policies. Individuals across ethnic and ideological divides are openly debating this once sensitive and secretive topic. Few in the West however seem to be listening.  The ping-pong propaganda on ethnic policy between the CCP and its overseas critics obscure those that seek to change the rules of the game, ushering in a new sort of ethnic politics with far-ranging implications for Chinese society
• Night of Frenzied Buying Portends Slowing China Car Sales – Bloomberg
  In three years as a car salesman, Rooney Chen had never pulled an all-nighter. Then came June 30.
  At 9 p.m. that Saturday, when all 57 showrooms at the Race Course Automall in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou had closed, the municipal government announced that to rein in congestion and air pollution, it would cap the number of new vehicle registrations at about half of last year’s total and suspend new registrations for July — effective midnight. Caught by surprise, dealerships recalled their staff and stayed open until the next morning selling to buyers packing the mall the size of four soccer fields.
• 千余名新任公安局长集训 处置群体事件等成课题_新闻_腾讯网
  dealing w mass incidents a focus of training for 1000 new public security bureau chiefs
• The public seeks details on deadly mall fire |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
  Experts have called on authorities to release up-to-date and detailed information about a shopping mall that caught fire in Tianjin at the end of June, rather than simply announce a death toll.
• Hu’s address for HKSAR’s 15th anniversary published – People’s Daily Online
  President Hu Jintao’s full speech at the meeting marking the 15th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to China and the inaugural ceremony of the fourth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been published.
• Qingdao toilet paper abuse triggers moral debate
  An eastern Chinese city’s efforts to build user-friendly toilets have ended with huge losses of free toilet paper, provoking reflections on the misuse of public amenities in China.
  As most Chinese public lavatories do not provide paper or charge for their use, Qingdao, in Shandong province, has won much applause after it announced some toilets would be equipped with free-of-charge paper.
  From late June, the Qingdao government started providing 100,000 toilet rolls to 24 public lavatories in several scenic spots, involving an investment of 1.5 million yuan (235,700 U.S. dollars).
  But discussions turned embarrassing after online posts said some toilets reported consuming 2 kilometers of paper every day, as many visitors used it excessively or pocketed paper to take home.
• Collection of new-appointed provincial Party chiefs – People’s Daily Online
• Arabians pay heavy price for Arab Spring – People’s Daily Online
  After a cost–benefit analysis of the Arab Spring, certain media outlets found that instead of truly improving the lives of the Arab people, the wave of uprisings for “freedom” resulted in immeasurable losses to the Arab world, including heavy casualties, economic losses, and humanitarian crisis.
• Beijing to add 110,000 parking spaces |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
  Beijing is planning to add 110,000 parking lots in downtown by the end of 2013 in a bid to accommodate its 5 millon cars, the Beijing Morning Post reported Saturday.
• Sri Lankan Airlines to run daily flights to Beijing, Shanghai |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn
  Sri Lankan Airlines will expand its services to Beijing and Shanghai, with daily flights to the two cities running from July 15, to serve the increasing number of Chinese travelers to Colombo, Male, Bangkok and other points on its global network.
• China, US in countervailing talks |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn
  The Ministry of Commerce announced on Sunday that it will soon start formal consultations with the United States on the latter’s 22 countervailing measures against Chinese exports.
• Wen urges aggressive fine-tuning measures |Economy |chinadaily.com.cn
  Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has called for more aggressive efforts to preset and fine-tune fiscal policies, as economic pressures remain huge. Speaking during an inspection tour of east China’s Jiangsu Province from Friday to Sunday, he said the economy is running at a generally stable pace, but there is still huge pressure for it to go downward.
• 藏疆班底60后比例飙高 避免管理僵化_多维新闻网
  7 members of new leadership teams in tibet and xinjiang were born after 1960..says youngest provincial teams in china now
• 重庆市政法委书记易帅_多维新闻网
• 解放军整顿基层 应对内外风险_多维新闻网
  【多维新闻】近期，解放军发起新一波“加强基层建设”的纪律整饬运动。有关军方人士指，在应对中国周边外部挑战的同时，还要防范军内存在的风险。
• 省委换届　团派失优势 | 新维资讯网 • 新维月刊
  内地第一批 14个省区的党委换届结束。在刚当选的 186位常委中，官方传媒关注的是年轻化、高学历。但如果从这些高官的背景去看，更应留意的是，中共总书记胡锦涛嫡系的团派已失去优势，远逊十七大之前的换届，同十六大前夕“团中央接管党中央”的气势更不可同日而语。
• Carlyle Buys Stake in Mandarin Hotel Holdings – Caixin Online
  Carlyle didn’t disclose the transaction amount. After the deal, it will be the largest shareholder of Mandarin Hotel Holdings, which operates 25 mid-range and high-end hotels under the brands Crystal Orange Hotel and Orange Hotel
• 《新世纪》周刊第509期_杂志频道_财新网
  cover for this week’s caixin: “how to land: macro-economy is having a soft landing, corporate profits are having a hard landing. why?”
• 6月CPI今日公布 涨幅或创28个月新低_网易新闻中心
  today is june cpi and ppi data release day in China, consensus cpi expectations are for 2.3%, lowest rate in 28 months
• 北海舰队原政委王登平中将转任南海舰队政委_新闻_腾讯网
  wang dengping now political commisar of south sea fleet. originally held same role in north sea fleet
• 天津蓟县火灾造谣者受处理 承认夸大死亡人数_新闻_腾讯网
  netizens who exaggerated the death toll in the recent jixian, tianjin shopping mall fire have been “dealt with”
• Obama for America TV Ad: “The Problem” – YouTube
  on Romney outsourcing to China. how accurate are these charges?
• Obama attacks on China: Mitt ‘the problem’ – POLITICO.com
  China-bashing has mostly been a Republican theme this cycle, but it’s been a potent one, and this week has been Obama’s first real attempt to get in on the action.
• Survey of wildlife to cover South China Sea — Shanghai Daily |
  census version of peeing on your territory//
  THE forestry administration in Hainan Province is to launch a wildlife survey on and around islands in the South China Sea…The one-month survey is China’s first of its kind covering the entire ecosystem of the South China Sea islands.
• Vicious piranha attacks two in south China river — Shanghai Daily
  China has piranhas? Dumped from a aquarium tank perhaps? wonder when they will appear on the menus in guangdong//
  TWO people were attacked by piranha, a South American fish infamous for attacking farm animals, in a river in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region over the weekend, worrying local residents
• 人民日报-切实消除“重返亚太”战略阴影（国际论坛)–钟 声
  page 3 people’s daily, commentary by zhong sheng, “eliminate the strategic shadow of [America’s] “return to Asia”. fairly conciliatory, with caveats of course//
  conclusion:
  中美在亚太加强沟通、开展互利合作、进行良性互动，符合两国和地区国家的共同利益。中国的崛起，并不意味着美国的衰落。宽广的太平洋两岸有足够空间容纳中美两个大国。中国欢迎美国为本地区和平、稳定、繁荣发挥建设性作用，也希望美国尊重和照顾亚太各国的重大利益与合理关切。美国惟有调整好心态，放弃零和思维，其“重返亚太”战略才能得到广泛认同。
• 人民日报-改革十年 中国探索（科学发展　成就辉煌·特稿） ——十六大以来中国改革发展历程述评之二
  another in the series extolling the economic management over last ten years under hu jintao and wen jiabao, page 1 monday’s people’s daily
• 人民日报-努力实现经济平稳较快发展 ——温家宝在江苏调研
  lead storuy in today’s peiople’s daily, wen jiabao calling again for steady, relatively fast growth
• Taiwan Man Flubs Disputed Diaoyu Islands Protest with Flag Mix-Up – China Real Time Report – WSJ
  Mr. Huang, the president of the alliance, then started waving the Chinese five-star flag.
  At some point, the flag ended up in the water. The entire affair was documented by Phoenix TV.
  Back in Taiwan, Mr. Huang had some explaining to do. What was a Taiwan protester doing with a PRC flag? Where was the ROC flag? And how did the flag end up drifting in the tide?
• Zhang Xiaogang Battles a Creative Crisis – WSJ.com
  wonder if he has properly reported his income to prc tax authorities?//
  For the past year, China’s most expensive living artist hasn’t been allowed to paint, doctor’s orders…Zhang Xiaogang, age 54, a Beijing-based painter whose hypnotic portraits have topped $10 million at auction, recently suffered a pair of heart attacks, and his doctors told him—for the first time in his three-decade career—to rest.
• Books: Winner and losers | Isabel Hilton – China Dialogue
  sounds like a vastly overhyped book, but no doubt Davos and maybe TED await the author//
  In Winner Take All, Dambisa Moyo claims to redefine the debate about global resource consumption and China’s role. But there is less to this book than meets the eye, says Isabel Hilton.
• Booming Southeast Asia in a quandary over U.S.-China rivalry | Reuters
  A U.S.-China tug-of-war over Southeast Asian influence is proving to be a critical test for Washington’s “pivot” East as Beijing strengthens its economic and military clout in its own backyard.
• The Associated Press: China boosts state firms as entrepreneurs struggle
  Reformers say China needs more entrepreneurs like Liu Peijian. His chain of six furniture stores employs 60 people. But Beijing’s response to the deepest economic slump since the 2008 crisis is to pump money into state industry, leaving businesspeople like Liu who create jobs to fend for themselves.
• Hong Kong: New “Red” Elementary School Curriculum Flames Concern · Global Voices
  Under pressure from mainland China, Hong Kong’s elementary schools have to start a new curriculum on “national education.” Recently revealed, its module on the “China model” is full of political propaganda, such as the claim that one party dictatorship is more effective than any other democratic political system.
• Lesbians to hold first same-sex Buddhist wedding in Taiwan｜Society｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
  Two women will hold the first Buddhist wedding for gay couples next month as part of an effort to push for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan.
• Beijingers paid most; wages up 8.5% in China’s urban regions｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
  People working in Beijing enjoyed China’s highest average monthly pay of 4,672 yuan (US$734) in 2011 while people in the relatively undeveloped northwestern province of Gansu drew the lowest on average at 2,742 yuan (US$431), according to statistics released by 23 provinces and cities.
• Guangzhou police spent US$26m on cars, travel, banquets in 2010｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
  Guangzhou’s bureau of public security finally announced its report of the “2010 three public consumptions” on July 5 after the other 40 government agencies in the southern city had submitted their reports. The report shows the amount of money the bureau spent on the food, cars and travel of its officials last year accounted for 30% of the total of the 41 departments, reports the city’s Southern Metropolis Daily.
• Chinese Firm to Build Power Plant in Central Iran, Times Reports – Bloomberg
  A Chinese company has invested some $500 million for the construction of a coal-fired power plant in central Iran, Tehran Times reported, citing Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad.
• Sany workers appeal to authorities to settle dispute｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
  More than a hundred engineers from Chinese heavy machinery manufacturer Sany Group have urged government authorities to take action against their employer for “disguised layoffs” intended to cheat them of the pay due to them, reports Guangzhou’s 21st Century Business Herald.
• Areva Looks to China as France Rethinks Nuclear Power – Bloomberg
  Areva SA (AREVA) Chief Executive Officer Luc Oursel is seeking fresh talks to sell nuclear reactors to China, halted in the wake of last year’s nuclear accident in Japan and amid questions about the new French government’s energy stance
• Chinese police rescue 3,600 crocodiles | World news | guardian.co.uk
  served in 2nd floor of IFC in Beijing CBD. kids refused to order it 2 weeks ago//
  Three arrested after police tipped off about animals thought to have been bound for restaurants to become exotic dishes
• China’s Dog Dyeing Craze: Once Shunned, Pet Pooches Now Embraced – The Daily Beast
• Japanese fishermen stayed on ‘uninhabited’ Senkakus : National : DAILY YOMIURI ONLINE (The Daily Yomiuri)
• PandoDaily–Cyworld, Student Protest, and Political Reform: Yong Joon Hyoung and the Story of a Korean Innovator
  nice to see korea getting credit for digital payments for virtual goods innovation. too many people think china invented it. //
  South Korea has never had a Mark Zuckerberg figure, but the man sitting opposite me in a dingy Seoul fried chicken house is probably the closest thing to it. If he had plied his trade in the US, Yong Joon Hyoung might have been a billionaire by now. More than just an Internet entrepreneur, he is an innovation machine, having started one of the world’s first social networks, popularized the concept of payments for digital items – from which Tencent and Zynga are now making billions – and helped kickstart Korea’s Internet acquisitions market.
• New Zealand millionaire ‘dissident’ linked to Bo Xilai｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
• Engineers at Chinese machinery giant Sany protest ‘reassignment’｜Economy｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
• China hacks Taiwan’s coast guard｜Politics｜News｜WantChinaTimes.com
  Firewall servers at Taiwan’s coast guard security department were taken down by hackers in China last month, gaining access to more than 3,000 classified files. National security authorities are concerned that the securities of other government departments could also be at risk, reports our sister newspaper the China Times.

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