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THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. China’s Zhou Warns on Growth Slowdown, Says PBOC Has Room to Act – Bloomberg Business The room the country has to move on monetary policy “is not necessarily for quantitative easing,” Zhou said. There is scope “on both the price side and the quantitative side,” he said. Chen Yulu, an academic member with the central bank’s monetary policy committee, an advisory body, was quoted by Chinese journal Caixin as saying Sunday that the “non-conventional” policy in China means “continuous policy relaxation.” “In the monetary policy committee, the discussion is always about looking for new structural tools to use, including targeted easing,” Chen was quoted as saying.
Related: 经济参考网 – 稳增长政策工具箱即将再次开启 以增加有效投资为主 瞄准环保、水利、交通、通信四大领域 Xinhua’s Economic Information says more stimulus measures imminent // 从《经济参考报》记者了解到的情况看，中央也即将推出新一轮的稳增长政策，而且在政策工具的选择上与地方较为一致，主要将强调增加有效投资。据国家发改委透露，目前正在准备和储备一批项目。国家发改委秘书长李朴民表示，将围绕“7大类重大投资工程包、6大领域消费工程”和“一带一路”、京津冀协同发展、长江经济带三大战略，充实项目库，形成“实施一批、储备一批、谋划一批”的滚动机制。另有消息源显示，本轮有效投资将主要增加在基础设施领域，尤其是环保、水利、交通、通信四大领域。
2. Full text of Chinese President’s speech at Boao Forum for Asia – Xinhua Following is the full text of the keynote speech given by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2015: Towards a Community of Common Destiny and A New Future for Asia // The Chinese here 习近平出席博鳌亚洲论坛2015年年会开幕式并发表主旨演讲
Related: Xi calls for building common-destiny community on four pillars – Xinhua “We have only one planet, and countries share one world,” Xi noted in his keynote speech at the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia in this southern Chinese small town. “Facing the fast changing international and regional landscapes, we must see the whole picture, follow the trend of our times and jointly build a regional order that is more favorable to Asia and the world,” Xi added. The Chinese president tabled a four-point proposal….First, he called on all countries to respect one another and treat each other as equals, noting that the hard-won peace and stability in Asia and the sound momentum for development should be upheld by all…Second, Xi called for win-win cooperation and common development…Third, Xi called on countries to pursue common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security….Fourth, Xi stressed the need to ensure inclusiveness and mutual learning among civilizations.
Related: 习近平2015博鳌新语-新华网 Xinhua on “new language” in Xi’s speech
Related: How China plans to shape new Asian order – MarketWatch The speech was the latest by Mr. Xi to articulate his government’s plans to use China’s growing power to reshape economic and security arrangements in the region–a change from recent decades when Beijing largely worked within a U.S. and Western-dominated international system. At the center of these efforts is the new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and plans to build infrastructure across Asia and along the maritime routes that historically connected China to the Middle East, Africa and Europe. The plans have been welcomed by many countries and companies throughout the region, which the Asian Development Bank estimates is in need of trillions of dollars of infrastructure.
Related: Commentary: Xi’s Boao speech sheds light on Asia’s road to prosperous, harmonious future – Xinhua Xi’s Boao keynote speech is especially noteworthy, because it has shed lights on how to fulfill the vision of building a community of common destiny for a new Asia in the future. The first and foremost goal for Asia’s new future is to maintain peace. This is why Xi called for joint efforts of the Asian countries to pursue peace and stability, urging that “the Cold War mentality should be discarded.” Asia is still being festered by profound and complex threats. Some are the old issues left over from history and others are news ones associated with current disputes. Traditional and non-traditional security threats are also compromising a prospect of a peaceful and safe Asia. Seeing peaceful dialogues as the only solution, China has signed good-neighborly and friendly cooperation treaties with eight neighboring countries, and is working to conclude the same treaty with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “China stands ready to sign such a treaty with all its neighbors to provide strong support for the development of bilateral relations as well as prosperity and stability in the region,” said Xi. // Asia for Asians seems to be a consistent theme Xi is pushing, no?
3. China Lays Out Path to Silk Road – China Real Time Report – WSJ Chinese officials on Saturday fleshed out some details for “one belt, one road,” releasing an action plan. Though the plan released by China’s economic planning agency and the commerce and foreign affairs ministries, didn’t commit to specific projects, it outlined some priorities: // CBN has created quite an elaborate infographic for the plan 一张图看懂”一带一路”
Related: Xinhua Insight: “Belt and road” blueprint boosts practical cooperation The blueprint of the China-proposed belt and road initiative unveiled on Saturday will boost practical cooperation in key fields such as infrastructure, said analysts.. The action plan for the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road outlined the principles, framework, and cooperation priorities and mechanisms of the initiative. // Full Text of “One Belt, One road” vision and action document “一带一路”愿景与行动文件发布
Related: China sets up leading team on Belt and Road initiative – Xinhua The office of the group is under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner.
Related: With initiatives rolled out, China promises more opportunities – Xinhua The “new normal” of the economy and China-led initiatives, such as the Silk Road Fund and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), will create new opportunities, said Xi. China will be more open to the outside world, Xi said, adding that policies that encourage foreign investment will not change, the rights of foreign-funded enterprises will be protected and better services will be provided. Deeply integrated with the global economy, the Chinese economy is an important driving force for Asia and the world, Xi said, adding that efficiency and quality were improving alongside positive structural adjustments.
4. Guest post: will China’s property market crash? | beyondbrics Andy Rothman, Matthews Asia Will China’s real estate market crash? No, not in my opinion. China’s residential property market is significantly softer now. But I believe there is very little risk of a crash. House prices are stabilising in China, and are likely to rise again by the second half of this year on a year-over-year basis. But keep in mind that because of the base effect, prices are likely to fall year-on-year at a steeper rate through much of the first half of this year, leading to a growing chorus of predictions of a housing crisis.
Related: China restricts land supply amid property downturn – Xinhua In cities or counties with excessive home inventories, local governments should “significantly” reduce or halt land supply, according to measures jointly rolled out by the Ministry of Land and Resources and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. Meanwhile, in cities where there are not enough homes to meet demand, land supply should be increased based on market principles, the measures said. They did not specify a unified standard to gauge oversupply, instead they are expected to be established by the regions themselves as they are required by the ministries to draw up their land supply plans for 2015. // more property supportive policies expected. CBN discusses some 二套首付降至五成？ 更多宽松政策或浮现
5. Australia to join China-led bank despite US opposition – FT.com Hugh White, professor of strategic studies at Australian National University, said the government’s shift was significant and it was now very likely Australia would become a full member. “This marks a very sobering moment for Australia as until now we have subcontracted to the US our policy in relation to how to respond to China’s rise,” he said. “This gives real for pause for thought in how Australia positions itself for the future.”
Related: UK move to join China-led bank a surprise even to Beijing – FT.com The announcement by George Osborne, UK chancellor, on March 12 that Britain would join China’s answer to the World Bank — a move in defiance of US pressure and advice from its own diplomats — was not just a surprise to allies in Europe and Washington. It also caught Beijing unawares. The UK Treasury had told Chinese officials it would not announce its application to join until March 17. But once other European countries got wind of Britain’s plan to join the nascent Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the ensuing scramble to follow suit convinced London to move the announcement forward five days.
Related: China ends guessing game on AIIB | Business Spectator China has put an end to some of the guessing about the new bank it is setting up to promote infrastructure investment around the Asian region. It said the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, or the AIIB, would be based in — no prize for guessing — Beijing. That may have disappointed some countries — in particular Indonesia — that had hoped China might accept a more neutral location for the bank. That would take a page from the playbook of the Asian Development Bank, which has Japan and the United States as its big donors but is based in Manila.
6. U.S. Coding Website GitHub Hit With Cyberattack – WSJ Baidu said it wasn’t involved in the attack and its systems weren’t infiltrated. “After careful inspection by Baidu’s security engineers, we have ruled out the possibility of security problems or hacker attacks on our own products,” it said in a statement. Mikko Hyponen, the chief research officer of cybersecurity firm F-Secure, said the attack was likely to have involved Chinese authorities because the hackers were able to manipulate Web traffic at a high level of China’s Internet infrastructure. It appeared to be a new type for China, he added. “It had to be someone who had the ability to tamper with all the Internet traffic coming into China.” he said. Though Baidu is the largest search engine in China by several measures, the attack appeared to use traffic from its users outside the country, security experts said.
Related: Baidu’s traffic hijacked to DDoS GitHub.com | Insight-labs What is happening here is pretty clear now: A certain device at the border of China’s inner network and the Internet has hijacked the HTTP connections went into China, replaced some javascript files from Baidu with malicious ones that would load…In other words, even people outside China are being weaponized to target things the Chinese government does not like, for example, freedom of speech. // Disturbing if the GFW is shifting from passive, inbound to China Internet filter to active, outbound attacker on the global internet. Is it?
7. Two of Xi Jinping’s associates promoted to key public security ministry posts | South China Morning Post Two associates of President Xi Jinping have been promoted to key posts in the Ministry of Public Security. Fu Zhenghua, a native of Hebei who was appointed director of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau in 2010, has been promoted from fifth to third-in-command at the ministry. Deng Weiping, who served under Xi in Fujian, was promoted to anti-graft chief of the public security bureau, the People’s Daily website reported. Just days ago, Wang Xiaohong, an associate of Xi, who served alongside Deng in Fujian, was promoted to Beijing police chief after Fu relinquished the post. // here is an old picture of Xi and Wang Xiaohong together in Fujian, making the rounds of the Chinese Internet. The corruption crackdown has yet to really hit Beijing proper, these PSB moves a sign that is about to change?
Related: 公安部领导层大调整政经频道财新网 刘金国全面转战中纪委，傅政华晋升正部级并任党委副书记，邓卫平任纪委书记
Related: 邓卫平任公安部纪委书记(图/简历)|组织部|干部_凤凰资讯 中国共产党新闻网北京3月28日电 (李源) 据公安部网站“领导信息”栏目显示，邓卫平任公安部纪委书记、党委委员。据了解，3月26日，广西日报消息称，中共中央批准，邓卫平同志不再担任广西壮族自治区党委常委、委员和自治区纪委书记职务，另有任用。
8. Henry Kissinger paid $5m to steer Rio Tinto through Stern Hu debacle and consolidate China links-John Garnaut American statesman Henry Kissinger pocketed close to US$5 million ($6.4 million) for guiding mining giant Rio Tinto to wash its hands of its jailed China chief, Australian citizen Stern Hu, and build relations with Bejing. Fairfax can reveal that the 92-year-old former US secretary of state made clear that he would not use his ties with Chinese leaders to “interfere” with the country’s legal system or otherwise assist Hu, who was detained in sensational circumstances in July 2009.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
经济参考网 – 地方层层推责 放权遭遇“躲猫猫” 企业办证谁也不愿签字竟推给区长 In a real shocker, Xinhua’s Economic Information discovers that local officials are not willing to give up regulatory power in spite of Beijing’s orders to do so… // 《经济参考报》记者在多地调研发现，中央一系列简政放权的重要举措成效显著，但在权力层层下放过程中，一些地区基层干部因怕担责而“慢作为”“不作为”，同时因行政事权下放后人事制度改革缺位，造成“庙已经搬走，老和尚还在原地打坐，新庙的和尚又不会念经”的怪象。对此，基层官员和专家学者建议，需对各地行政权力进行统一清理，并通过顶层再设计尤其是及时启动人事制度等配套改革，让简政放权顺利通过“最后一公里”。
China aims to expand debt-for-bond program to ease pressures | Dow Jones Beijing will likely this year expand a program to alleviate the debt-repayment burdens of China’s local governments, its Finance Minister indicated Friday, underscoring one of the biggest risks facing the world’s second-largest economy. Finance Minister Lou Jiwei’s comments follow a recently announced plan by China’s Finance Ministry to allow localities to sell 1 trillion yuan (about $161 billion) worth of bonds to replace their existing debts—mostly short-term bank loans with relatively high interest rates
Once Bitten, Not Shy. Retail Investors Fuel Surge in Chinese Stocks – WSJ So far, the market run-up appears subdued compared with the previous cycle. Shares are trading about 20 times historic earnings, well below a peak of 53 times reached in 2007, according to a ratio watched by UBS. The S&P 500 currently trades at 21 times its past 12 months earnings, according to Birinyi Associates. Analytics firm Reorient Financial Markets Ltd. argues that Shanghai remains a buy, saying that “the subdued risk and elevated expected returns in China’s market are unique among the world’s large markets.”
股市“牛气”哪里来 （热点聚焦）–财经–人民网 Monday’s People’s Daily on what is driving the bull market in A-shares // 在连续上涨之后，部分股票短期涨幅已较大，尤其是高估值板块，风险在逐步累积。近日指数高位宽幅震荡，已经提醒投资者盲目追高所要面临的风险。张群认为，对于那些想要直接入市但并无投资经验的散户来说，盲目入市风险很大。尤其是抱有短期内入市大赚一笔念头的人，跟风炒作是非常不理性的行为。如果是持中长期投资态度的投资者，可以等待合适时机谨慎入市。 入市前要做足的功课也不可缺少。近几年来，结构性牛市特征明显，今后个股之间的分化可能仍将进一步延续。很多投资者认为在牛市中随意抢到一只股票就一定能赚钱，事实并非如此。投资者需要根据自己的风险承受能力和投资水平，选择相应的投资策略。
把握牛市“红利”（金海观潮）–财经–人民网 Monday’s People’s Daily on “grasping the dividends” of the A-share bull market // 股市表现既受整体发展环境的影响，又反作用于经济基本面。因此，股市上涨不仅能给直接参与的投资者送来“红包”，对于经济全局同样有不可小视的“红利”
Two-thirds of new investors in China’s stock market mega-rally didn’t finish high school – Quartz Some 67.6% of households that opened new accounts in the past quarter haven’t graduated from high school, according Orlik’s chart, which comes from a large-scale quarterly national survey of household assets and income conducted by Gan Li of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. Only 12% have a college education. Among existing investors surveyed, only 25.5% lack a high school diploma; 40.3% have finished college.
Some Opinions concerning Deepening Structural and Mechanism Reform and Accelerating the Implementation of the Innovation Driving Development Strategy « China Copyright and Media Innovation is an important force in the progressive development of a country and a nation, and is an important force in promoting the progressive development of the entire human society. In the face of a new round of global scientific and technological revolution and major opportunities and challenges in industrial reform, in the face of the trends, changes and characteristics of a new economic normal, and in the face of the historical tasks and demands of the “Two Centenaries” struggle objectives, we must deepen structural and mechanism reform, accelerate the implementation of the Innovation Driving Development Strategy, the following opinions are hereby put forward.
Geely chairman Li Shufu attacks Beijing strategy on car industry – FT.com Li Shufu, billionaire chairman of carmaker Geely, said the government had handed Chinese manufacturers a “sugar-coated bomb” by insisting foreign peers establish joint ventures in the country and control no more than 50 per cent.
How China’s Li Is Helping Push Railway Profits to Record Levels – Bloomberg Business “China’s experience in building rail networks, rail equipment manufacturing and operating high-speed rail networks would be a useful track record for Chinese companies in winning overseas contracts,” Anderson Chow, head of Asia infrastructure research at HSBC Securities Asia, said by e-mail. Using railway investment as a way to project broader political influence, China is competing aggressively for overseas rail projects, targeting emerging markets in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia, while also pitching for high-profile contracts in the developed world. China’s two largest locomotive equipment makers, China CNR Corp. and CSR Corp., have announced a merger plan intended to boost exports of rail technology. // But according to some well-known, oft-quoted foreign economists/”experts” China’s HSR investments are a huge waste, and China is too poor to justify such advanced infrastructure…
POLITICS AND LAW
王岐山在河南调研强调:从严治党就要把纪律和规矩严起来————头条——中央纪委监察部网站 王岐山强调，全面从严治党上升为战略布局，体现了以习近平同志为总书记的党中央治国理政的战略谋划。全面建成小康社会、全面深化改革、全面依法治国，都要靠全面从严治党作保障。全面从严治党，就要把我们的制度优势充分发挥出来，战胜面临的风险和挑战，实现执政党的自我完善、自我净化、自我革新。全面从严治党，是具体的、不是抽象的，8700万党员的执政党，必须把纪律挺在法律前面，明确纪律的内涵，密切联系实际、求真务实，把纪律执行到位，真正使纪律成为管党治党的尺子、不可逾越的底线。全面从严治党，就是要敢于担当，落实主体责任和监督责任要冲着纪律去，领好班子、管住干部、以上率下，实现全方位、全覆盖，既不能光说不干、也不能大轰大嗡。全面从严治党，就是要把严明纪律体现在日常管理监督中，严格执纪、动辄则咎，抓早抓小，使广大党员真正敬畏纪律、遵守纪律。今年要在巩固省一级成果的基础上，层层传导压力，把责任落到地市一级。// Xinhua-CPC discipline chief says discipline stricter than law during Wang’s inspection tour in Henan. There must have been some nervous officials there…for those who appreciate scatalogical humor, here is a joke in Chinese about the fear Wang Qishan instills that went around Wechat after the latest Petro detention
Anti-graft activist Ou Shaokun ‘caught with prostitute’ in Hunan raid | South China Morning Post A copy of the detention letter, which was issued on Saturday and circulated online, accused Ou of paying 1,200 yuan (HK$1,500) for a prostitute in a hotel room at about 11pm on Thursday, the Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News reported. The report did not say why Ou was in Hunan. The incident happened within hours of Ou uploading photos on his microblog of a Toyota SUV, one of two vehicles that he said were Guangzhou government cars being used for personal business in Hunan. // Global Times weighs in 社评：谁嫖娼被抓都得认栽，这里没有区分
党风廉政建设和反腐败斗争形势与任务之五——系列六——中央纪委监察部网站 党风廉政建设和反腐败斗争形势与任务之五
腐败家族化、帮派化-财经 高级官员的腐败最能代表一个时期腐败的“高精尖”模式，对下又极具“示范”意义。 2014年底，最高检副检察长邱学强在接受媒体采访时称，当前职务犯罪的一个值得高度重视的发展演变趋势，即系统化、区域化、家族化、群体化等动向更加明显。从一起案件、一个犯罪嫌疑人入手，往往牵出一大批案件，有的波及一个单位乃至整个行业系统。 这在高官腐败中表现尤为明显。// piece in latest Caijing Magazine on the “familiy-ization and “factionalization” of corruption
Bill Bishop on Twitter: “Another Weibo rant from Ren Zhiqiang noteworthy given his connections to the top. Wonder if he or his Beijing real estate developer friends getting worried about a likely coming wave of corruption investigations in Beijing?
李小琳：我们大力支持反腐-新闻频道-和讯网 Li Peng’s daughter Li Xiaoloin pledges allegiance to the corruption crackdown, again // 3月28日，在博鳌亚洲论坛上，被问及对目前央企反腐的看法时，中国电力国际有限公司董事长、中国电力新能源发展有限公司董事局主席李小琳对腾讯财经表示：“我们大力支持反腐”。
中组部等发通知：正副处级女干部60周岁退休政经频道财新网 党政机关、人民团体中的正、副县处级及相应职务层次的女干部，事业单位中担任党务、行政管理工作的相当于正、副处级的女干部和具有高级职称的女性专业技术人员，年满六十周岁退休
陈燕楠：学习“四个全面”中的辩证思维_求是网 Chen Yannan, executive vice president of the Yan’an Cadre Academy, discusses the dialectical thinking in the 4 comprehensives // “向习总书记学习怎么看怎么办”专栏：学习“四个全面”中的辩证思维 本期嘉宾：陈燕楠，中国延安干部学院常务副院长
China’s Fear of Women With Pamphlets – NYTimes Editorial Michelle Obama going to be willing to meet with Xi and Peng Liyuan in September if these women are still in custody? // President Xi should see that there is no place for such government thuggery in his campaign to modernize China. He has the chance to build a legacy embracing the advancement of human rights. Instead, he appears to be succumbing to the history of Communist Party leaders who fear citizens’ protests as a prelude to subversion. The Yirenping women stand as a noble opportunity for China, not a threat.
戴旭：学习“四个全面”中的战略思维_求是网 Seeking Truth interviews Dai Xu for his thoughts on the four comprehensives // 求是网：您刚才提到“高效行政和活力市场”，能否再详细解释一下？戴旭：高效率的行政管理机制，可以集中力量办大事；而有活力的市场机制，则可以为人人提供人生出彩的机会。两种机制各有优缺点，都实实在在地发展了中国。放眼世界，那些迄今还没有改革的教条化“社会主义”国家，经济缺乏活力；而那些老牌市场化的资本主义国家，陷入了全球性的经济危机，拖累了全世界。只有中国一枝独秀，那是因为中国正在进行的改革开放，是试图把两者机制的优点结合起来，“把马克思主义的普遍真理同我国的具体实际结合起来，走自己的道路”。当然，这不是一件容易的事，前无古人。但是，至少到目前中国是成功的。求是网：怎样理解“四个全面”之间的战略关系？
Chinese court jails Uygur for 6 years for growing beard | South China Morning Post A court in China’s mainly Muslim Xinjiang region has sentenced a man to six years in prison for “provoking trouble” and growing a beard, a practise discouraged by local authorities, a newspaper reported Sunday. The court in the desert oasis city of Kashgar sentenced the 38-year-old Uygur to six years, while his wife was given a two-year sentence, according to the China Youth Daily.
【特别报道】权力猎手郭文贵财新周刊频道财新网 以扳倒刘志华、夺回盘古大观为开端，郭文贵与以马建为代表的国家强力部门少数腐败官员结成同盟，裹挟公权力为其所用，上演了多场公然的围猎
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
Chinese warship docks in Aden to evacuate nationals: port official | Reuters A Chinese warship docked in the embattled Yemeni port city of Aden on Sunday to evacuate Chinese diplomats and expatriate workers, a port official and eyewitnesses told Reuters.
Philippines dismisses China concerns over South China Sea military repairs | Reuters The Philippines dismissed concerns by China over its plan to repair military facilities in South China Sea, a foreign ministry spokesman said on Saturday, insisting Manila has sovereign rights over territories in the disputed areas. The possible repair “is no way comparable to China’s massive reclamation activities, which not only violate international law…but also unnecessarily raise regional tensions”, spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement.
Top Homeland Official Alejandro Mayorkas Accused of Political Favoritism – ABC News The EB-5 visa program scam really should be terminated…far too many abuses, for far too little money to the US Treasury // Another regional center raised money from Chinese investors to finance the construction of federal buildings, including an FBI headquarters building in San Diego, raising what one internal document called “national security concerns” that “pertain to Chinese investors having visibility to FBI blueprints/information.”
Arms Control Wonk • Korla Missile Test Complex Revisited We can now say with high confidence, based on some open-source research, many things about the Korla MTC including the location of many of its assets, that it is subordinate to the General Armaments Department (GAD) and the location of a number of previous missile defense tests.
Hidden Dragon: China’s ‘Smoke and Mirrors’ Military Posture | The National Interest This year’s NPC offered little groundbreaking, especially considering that past congresses involved calls for new approaches to protecting Chinese interests abroad and the creation of China’s Coast Guard. Beijing once again demonstrated that its military modernization is a marathon, not a sprint, and that Chinese leaders are concerned with shaping perceptions about the country’s security environment and how they perceive threats. Some Chinese concerns are certainly worth taking into account; however, the party’s willingness to take credit for the Kuomintang’s heroism in World War II and the quoted Egyptian scholars’ ignorance of China’s conflicts suggest Beijing’s words cannot be taken at face value. This superficial rhetoric can only make it harder for Washington to negotiate with Beijing over legitimate interests while discarding the detritus of propaganda.–Peter Mattis is a Fellow with the Jamestown Foundation and a visiting scholar at National Cheng-chi University’s Institute of International Relations in Taipei.
China’s Next Move: A Naval Base in the South Atlantic? | RealClearDefense In Jan. 2015, The Namibian reported the existence of a “confidential letter from Namibia’s ambassador to China, Ringo Abed, to Namibia’s foreign minister stat[ing] that ‘a [Chinese] delegation will visit Namibia … for discussions … on the way forward regarding plans for the proposed naval base in Walvis Bay’.” According to the letter, a Chinese delegation, including technical staff and naval architects, will meet with Namibian officials sometime after March 21, 2015 to discuss a field feasibility study for the base. Beijing has told Namibian diplomats that a “Chinese naval presence will deter any would-be illegal trawlers and smugglers.”
军校开党史军史课 学生:火烧邱少云违背生理学_网易新闻中心-网易新闻客户端 3月29日，解放军报刊发整版文章，谈怎样上好党史军史课。文章中，多位军事院校教员认为，当前党史军史课多少有点“步步惊心”的感觉，质疑声音此起彼伏，学生对于党史军史偏信偏疑，广受网上有害信息影响，一些教员以己昏昏使人昭昭。文章指出，这需要思想政治教育的教育们增强敏感，学习提高抗辩能力。面对学生的误信误解，在历史研究上要对当代大学生的“活思想”，进行有针对性地加强专业研究。全文如下： 3月29日，解放军报刊文指出，当前，一些军校党史军史教学乱象多，普遍存在课堂敷衍应付，学生听信网络“奇谈怪论”，教员对此“不说”、“乱说”等问题。
Chinese army urged to implement “Four Comprehensives” – Xinhua During an inspection trip to the People’s Liberation Army troops in Hebei and Shanxi provinces, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Xu Qiliang said learning and implementing the “Four Comprehensives” is a major political task for the army. The negative impact of the corruption case of Xu Caihou, a former CMC vice chairman, must be cleared up, he added. Xu also urged the army to study CMC chairman Xi Jinping’s speeches on national defence and military building and to resolutely follow the central leadership and Xi. // 许其亮在驻晋冀部队调研
Thailand keeps suspected Uighurs in custody amid Turkey-China tug-of-war | Reuters A family of 17 suspected Uighur Muslims at the center of a diplomatic tug-of-war between Turkey and China will remain in custody after a Thai court on Friday rejected their argument that their prolonged detention was illegal. Turkey and China both claim the detainees as nationals in a dispute with potential implications for hundreds of other suspected Uighur detainees and to where they should be repatriated. The group has been in detention for a year.
TECH AND MEDIA
Xinhua, AP presidents discuss cooperation in new media era – Xinhua President of the Xinhua News Agency Cai Mingzhao and his Associated Press (AP) counterpart Gary Pruitt discussed cooperation between the two news outlets in the new media era on Friday at the Xinhua head office in Beijing…”We never regard Xinhua as a competitor, but as a partner that we can share and grow together and deal with the challenges of a transforming media environment together,” Pruitt said, noting that the AP’s relationship with Xinhua is more important than purely commercial relationship.
Facebook Woos Chinese Advertisers – WSJ Facebook Inc. is hiring in Hong Kong, has tapped a second local partner to reach advertisers and is waging a charm campaign to draw more business from Chinese companies, even though Chinese users can’t access its service. The aim is to pitch Chinese companies to the benefits of reaching Facebook’s 1.39 billion active monthly users beyond China’s borders.
What will it take for Facebook to come to China? – CNN Video another clip from my appearance on the On China show. The show won’t stream online in its entirety for rights reasons they told me
Li Ka-shing’s Fund Increases Bets on Tech Startups – WSJ The tycoon’s tech fund, run by his longtime companion Solina Chau, is Horizons Ventures Ltd. It has sunk at least $470 million in more than 80 technology firms, including Facebook Inc., music app developer Spotify AB and Internet-calling operator Skype, according to data compiled by The Wall Street Journal. Horizons recently invested $50 million in Slack, valuing the workplace-collaboration startup at $2.76 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Baidu, Hospital Association Squabble over Ad Charges – Caixin and still risk of regulatory action against some of the sketchy pharma ads // China’s largest private hospital association has accused the country’s biggest search engine company, Baidu Inc., of charging their members too much for ads. The accusations have hurt the share price of the Nasdaq-listed tech firm, which, unlike Google, gives prominence to the highest bidder in search results. Putian (China) Health Industry Chamber of Commerce said on March 22 that it has required all of its more than 8,600 private hospitals across the country to stop all paid promotional activities online.
SOCIETY, ART, SPORTS, CULTURE AND HISTORY
To Topple a Dynasty: Kung Fu Rebels and the Cycle of History | FIGHTLAND The martial arts played a critical, prominent role in the rebellions and warfare that tore the nation apart and eventually toppled the Emperor. Four rebellions in particular put the role of the martial artist in times of social unrest into perspective, and also help place the current martial arts infrastructure in China into stark contrast with the institutions that existed 100 years ago. Those rebellions are the Red Turban or “Opera Rebellion” (1854 – 1855), the Red Spears Uprising (powerful in the 1920s and 30s), The Boxer Rebellion (1899 – 1901) and the most destructive civil war in the history of mankind, the Taiping Rebellion (1850 – 1864).
Beyond Ai Weiwei: How China’s Artists Handle Politics (or Avoid Them) – The New Yorker Inside China, people have more complex views of Ai and of the relationship between politics and art. After Huang’s performance was finished, I encountered Wang Keping, a gifted wood sculptor who first made his name at Huang’s “Stars” exhibition in Beijing. Wang was even more radical than Huang at that event, agitating for a march and, according to an account he wrote later, shouting out “I am a rebel artist!” in the presence of state media. Among the sculptures that Wang hung on the gate of the National Art Museum that day was “Silence,” a bloated face with a cork in its mouth. Since then, however, he has drifted away from politics, building abstract depictions of male and female bodies; two of these sculptures occupied prominent spots at the fair. “When you look at the art scene, the work that really carries weight and power in politics and society is very rare,” he said.
Bill Bishop on Twitter: Picture of A Friend’s Beautiful Ancestral Nail House in Fujian to be razed for some kind of textile wholesale facility last I heard
Tiger Woods to Redesign Beijing Golf Course in USD 16.5 Million Deal: Report | the Beijinger Tiger Woods will redesign the Tian’an Holiday Golf Club in Beijing, as part of a two-course, USD 16.5 million deal, Golf.com reported Friday. Just outside the Fifth Ring Road, the 27-hole facility will reopen as the Pacific Links National Golf Club upon completion, although no opening date was given
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
Major publisher retracts 43 scientific papers amid wider fake peer-review scandal – The Washington Post The publisher is BioMed Central, based in the United Kingdom, which puts out 277 peer-reviewed journals. A partial list of the retracted articles suggests most of them were written by scholars at universities in China, including China Medical University, Sichuan University, Shandong University and Jiaotong University Medical School. But Jigisha Patel, associate editorial director for research integrity at BioMed Central, said it’s not “a China problem. We get a lot of robust research of China. We see this as a broader problem of how scientists are judged.”
British Ebola patient cured after experimental treatment-Reuters “After careful consideration Corporal Cross said she would like to be given the experimental drug MIL 77,” the hospital said in a statement. “She is the first Ebola patient anywhere in the world to be given this drug.” The Chinese-made MIL 77 is a close relative of another experimental medicine ZMapp – which British nurse William Pooley received when he was treated at the Royal Free for Ebola last year.
China launches relocation of near-extinct finless porpoises – Xinhua There are only around 1,000 finless porpoises, a dolphin-like freshwater mammal with iconic “grins” on the face, in the Yangtze River and two lakes that are linked to the busy waterway. On Friday, eight porpoises from Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province were placed in metal containers filled with water and took bus tours to two reserves in Hubei Province. The relocation project was launched by the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environmental Protection, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and three provincial governments.
Peng Liyuan attends campus event against AIDS, tuberculosis in south China – Xinhua Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, on Sunday attended a south China campus event promoting the prevention of AIDS and tuberculosis, alongside Zambia’s First Lady Esther Lungu and U.S. billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. Before the event, held in Hainan University in Haikou City, Hainan Province, Peng met with Bill Gates and highly praised the health promotion efforts of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in China as well as around the globe. She encouraged further cooperation between the foundation and China in this regard. // 彭丽媛出席“艾滋病／结核病防治宣传校园行”活动
AGRICULTURE AND RURAL ISSUES
Dim Sums: Rural China Economics and Policy: China’s Soaring Land Rents and Subsidies China’s narrative of poor peasants needing subsidies to compete with big American farmers is crumbling fast. China once took land from the “greedy landlords” and gave it to the “poor peasants.” Now the peasants are the ones demanding big rents. Chinese farming is morphing into farm businesses just like those in developed countries and the subsidy system will soon be an impenetrable alphabet soup of acreage bases, deficiency payments, and Olympic averages. If only George Orwell were here to see this real-life “Animal Farm” taking shape.
EDUCATION
刘云山在同部分高校党委书记、校长座谈-新华网 Liu Yunshan holds a discussion with 12 University Party Secretaries. Presidents. Xinhua English summary-Chinese universities urged to adhere to socialism // 刘云山在认真听取大家发言后说，高校党建是整个党的建设的重要组成部分，是办好中国特色社会主义大学的根本保证。高校党委和党委书记要进一步增强党建意识，认真落实党建工作责任制，切实抓好学校领导班子和干部队伍建设，抓好学校党组织建设和党员队伍管理，抓好党风廉政建设和师德师风建设，把党要管党、从严治党的要求落到实处。 刘云山指出，思想政治工作是立德树人的重要工作，事关青年学生健康成长。要加强马克思主义理论教育，完善相关学科设置和教材体系。要深入学习研究中国特色社会主义理论体系，深入学习研究习近平总书记系列重要讲话精神，把社会主义核心价值观贯穿教书育人全过程，打牢道路自信、理论自信、制度自信的思想基础。要加强对中国实践经验的总结提炼，加强战略性全局性问题研究，构建具有中国特色的话语体系和学术评价标准。
央媒评清华北大频繁换帅：校长任期太短无益一流大学建设舆论场澎湃新闻-The Paper 在陈吉宁升任环保部部长之后，清华大学校长一职空缺了两个月。3月26日，中组部副部长潘立刚宣布，由邱勇接任清华大学校长。陈吉宁缺席了这一大会，但作为蒋南翔以来清华大学历史上任期最短——只有37个月——的校长，陈吉宁留下的一个问题却并没有缺席：大学校长任期太短，调动过于频繁。 清华的邻居、北京大学前任校长王恩哥的任期更短，只有22个月，成为1978年以来任期最短的北大校长。 除了北大、清华，不少知名高校也有类似问题
BOOKS AND LITERATURE
Author throws spotlight on China’s ‘hidden Holocaust’ – Telegraph Yan Lianke, whose latest novel is set during the famine of the late 1950s when millions starved to death, said he had decided to address the period even though his book had no chance of being published in his native country where its discussion remains taboo. “As long as we remember, we can stop such a thing happening again. But without memory anything could happen. Perhaps not a famine but another kind of disaster,” the Beijing-based author of “The Four Books” said. // the book on Amazon here
‘The Seventh Day,’ by Yu Hua – NYTimes.com In Yu Hua’s surreal, mordant novel “The Seventh Day,” the victims of China’s explosively expanding market economy include the still conscious, still suffering, still impoverished dead. They can’t afford burial plots. They’ve been separated from their families and uprooted from their ancestral homes. Unable to be mourned in the proper Chinese way, they’re fated to roam a “hazy, indistinct city” where snow swirls around their legs and they have the opportunity to reflect upon their lives and the circumstances of their deaths. The limping shades may then encounter the dead former friends and loved ones who also inhabit this characteristically Chinese mega-necropolis. // the book on Amazon here, wonder why Yu Hua did not use the same translators who worked on “Brothers”
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