"Sinocism is the Presidential Daily Brief for China hands"- Evan Osnos, New Yorker Correspondent and National Book Award Winner
Lots going on the last couple of days so this is a quick and dirty version of the newsletter, but I figure something is better than nothing.
Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. PLA Daily warns of Internet’s revolutionary potential – Xinhua The Chinese military’s mouthpiece newspaper has warned of the possibility of “Western hostile forces” using the Internet to foment revolution in China. “The Internet has grown into an ideological battlefield, and whoever controls the tool will win the war,” according to an editorial published in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily on Wednesday. It stressed the need for cyber security measures to ensure “online ideological safety”, euphemisms suggesting efforts to safeguard China’s mainstream ideology. // anyone say ideological war?
Related: Cybersovereignty Symbolizes National Sovereignty « China Copyright and Media With regard to cybersecurity, apart from the fact that we have strengthened technological forces, strengthening “moral defence” forces should become the heaviest of heavies. The Internet is “the greatest variable” that we face, if we do not handle it well, it may become “an anxiety in hearts and minds”. Especially online ideological work involves our banners, our path and national political security, this is a core battlefield that we must defend and occupy. A scholar pointed out that: “control of cyber power in the 21st century is equally decisive as controlling naval power in the 19th Century and airpower in the 20th”. Western anti-China forces have continuously and vainly attempted to use the Internet to topple China. A few years ago, western political leaders stated that “with the Internet, there is a way to counter China”, and “Socialist countries will fall into the Western fold, and this will start with the Internet”. Consequently, Western hostile forces and a small number of “ideological traitors” in our country use the network, and relying on computers, mobile phones and other such information terminals, maliciously attack our Party, blacken the leaders who founded the New China, vilify our heroes, and arouse mistaken thinking trends of historical nihilism, with the ultimate goal of using “universal values” to mislead us, using “constitutional democracy” to throw us into turmoil, use “colour revolutions” to overthrow us, use negative public opinion and rumours to oppose us, and use “de-partification and depoliticization of the military” to upset us. // 网络主权彰显国家主权
Related: Army Newspaper: We Can Absolutely Not Allow the Internet Become a Lost Territory of People’s Minds « China Copyright and Media this from last week // In the present and future periods, it will be difficult to fundamentally change the situation of Western monopolization of online hegemony, and its occupancy of the superior position in online information dissemination. The circumstances of online struggle are grave, complex and long-term, it is still generally the case that the enemy is strong and we are weak, the enemy is attacking and we are defending. Are we “mid-stream water” or is “the current flowing East”; are we “silent lambs” or are we “valiant warriors”, a time has come to choose, and a time where we must counterattack firmly. The “main force” must be brought onto the “main battlefield”. Only if our Army keeps close pace and stands in the front ranks, and counterattacks well, will it be possible to defend “online sovereignty” and build an “online Great Wall”!
Related: China vows massive investment to improve Internet services – Xinhua China vowed on Wednesday to invest hundreds of billions of yuan in the coming years to increase Internet speed and expand broadband access in rural regions. The country plans to spend more than 430 billion yuan (70.4 billion U.S. dollars) in 2015 and more than 700 billion yuan total in 2016 and 2017 on Internet infrastructure, according to a guideline issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet. It said China will accelerate building of high-speed broadband networks and improve Internet access in more than 14,000 villages by the end of 2015.
2. President Xi demands absolute loyalty, firm faith from national security agencies – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed “firm faith” and “absolute loyalty” to the Party in face of tough tasks to safeguard national security and social stability Tuesday. Xi made the remarks at a meeting with some of the top agents from China’s national security agencies. National security agencies should strictly discipline themselves and forge a team, which is “determined, pure, trustworthy, devoted and competent,” Xi said at the meeting. Since China is facing complicated and fast changing domestic and international environment with huge uncertainty and risks, security agencies have the tough task to safeguard national security and social stability, Xi said. // lots of speculation of why now and why so high profile…
Related: [视频]习近平在会见全国国家安全机关总结表彰大会代表时强调 扎实深入贯彻落实总体国家安全观 与时俱进开创国家安全工作新局面新闻频道央视网(cctv.com) 本台消息：全国国家安全机关总结表彰大会19日在北京召开。中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平会见全体与会代表，并发表重要讲话。他强调，全国国家安全机关要以受到表彰的先进单位和个人为榜样，认真学习贯彻党的十八大和十八届三中、四中全会精神，贯彻落实总体国家安全观，坚定理想信念，忠诚党的事业，与时俱进开创国家安全工作新局面，为实现“两个一百年”奋斗目标、实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦作出更大贡献。
3. Hanergy shares suspended after 47% plunge – FT.com Hanergy’s public relations firm confirmed that Mr Li, who is the company’s majority shareholder, did not attend Wednesday’s annual meeting in Hong Kong, although other senior executives, including Frank Dai Mingfang, chief executive, and Eddie Lam, finance director, were present. David Webb, a corporate governance activist in Hong Kong, said it was unusual, but not unknown, for chairmen to miss AGMs “It’s a positive thing if a chairman does attend given he probably has the deciding vote on the date of the AGM in the first place,” he said. TL Chow, an external spokesman for Hanergy, confirmed that Mr Li did not attend, adding that: “He had something to do.”
Related: 汉能股价腰斩 或因金融机构抛售公司频道财新网 汉能薄膜发电股价此轮暴跌，市场传闻四起，有人猜测汉能恐遭监管机构调查，也有人猜测汉能技术被对手超越因此被机构看空。但多位市场人士在分析今日交易情况后认为，很可能是金融机构抛售汉能的股票引发连锁反应，导致了今天的暴跌。财新记者亦从消息人士处获悉，确有机构因获悉汉能到期未能还款选择今早抛盘。// Hanergy miss a debt payment?
Related: Hong Kong regulator probes Hanergy for market manipulation -source | Reuters May 20 Chinese green energy firm Hanergy, whose shares plunged nearly 50 percent on Wednesday, is under investigation by Hong Kong’s market watchdog for alleged market manipulation, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. The source said the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) had been investigating Hanergy Thin Film Power Group for several weeks.
4. More Willing and Able: Charting China’s International Security Activism | Center for a New American Security The Center for a New American Security (CNAS) Asia-Pacific Security Program has released a new report, More Willing and Able: Charting China’s International Security Activism. The report examines China’s increasingly robust foreign policy and makes a series of recommendations, ultimately concluding that managing China’s expansive security policy “call[s] for the United States to widen the aperture of its hedging policy to seize the benefits and manage potential instabilities associated with a more active China.”
5. 6 Chinese Men Indicted in Theft of Code From U.S. Tech Companies – NYTimes In the current case, however, authorities arrested a Chinese professor as he landed Saturday at Los Angeles International Airport on his way to a conference, a move clearly meant to signal to China that the United States would now aim to capture and try those accused of perpetrating what the former head of the National Security Agency, Keith B. Alexander, often called “the greatest transfer of wealth in history.” Prosecutors said that the professor was Hao Zhang, 36, of Tianjin University, which dates back to 1895 and advertises itself on its website as China’s “first university.”
6. These Chinese People Want High-Speed Rail So Badly They Are Fighting Police to Get It | Foreign Policy On May 16, thousands of people carrying banners marched through the streets of Linshui, a county in the southwest Chinese province of Sichuan. Some shouted slogans while others hurled rocks at lines of police in riot gear, who pushed back against the crowds and beat some with batons. Photographs show several people with bloody head injuries being cared for by paramedics and onlookers. Linshui residents turned out in droves, burned vehicles, and braved riot police for more than eight hours — not to protest inequality, corruption, or environmental degradation, but to demand that a high-speed rail line be built through their county.
7. Mao’s China: The Language Game by Perry Link | NYRblog | The New York Review of Books t can be embarrassing for a China scholar like me to read Eileen Chang’s pellucid prose, written more than sixty years ago, on the early years of the People’s Republic of China. How many cudgels to the head did I need before arriving at comparable clarity?
8. Time for Reform Advocates to Step to the Fore – Caixin – Hu Shuli Editorial An overhaul of the appointment system is necessary to ensure reform advocates do their best work. In its reform blueprint, the government has proposed building an effective and simple civil servant selection and appointment system, one that is democratic, fair and competitive. Further, as part of their work performance appraisal, officials should be judged on their efforts to implement reform. Among the 1.3 billion Chinese, there must be no lack of capable and honest candidates to join the ranks of government. We need a good system to find and deploy them. Many restrictions in the current system should be abolished, including a requirement that officials must serve a certain number of years before they can be considered for promotion, and one implicit promise that civil servants can be rotated out if they serve a number of years in a place.
BUSINESS, ECONOMY AND TRADE
China Is Investing Billions in the U.S. Despite Tensions Between the Governments – NYTimes The steadily rising corporate investment could quell some of the criticism of China in Congress, said Stephen A. Orlins, the president of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, a nonprofit group that sponsored the Rhodium study and promotes cooperation between the two countries. “If you’ve got 3,000 to 4,000 of your people working for the Chinese, that’s feeding a lot of your constituents,” Mr. Orlins said. That said, Chinese investment alone won’t quiet the criticism. “The geo-security tension will get worse, so the economic upside better be strong to offset the negativity,” said Daniel Rosen, the Rhodium Group partner who oversees the company’s work on China.
China slowdown deepens provincial economic divide – FT.com “The rich provinces and regions — with higher household consumption — are proving more resilient,” says Rodney Jones, founder of Wigram Capital and former head of Asian research for Soros Fund Management. “The downturn is being felt hardest in the poorer provinces — which have the biggest deficits and have relied the most on investment for growth.” He estimates that the economies of 11 of China’s 31 province-level regions contracted in real terms in the first quarter of this year from the previous quarter, even as wealthy regions such as Shanghai and Beijing continued to perform quite well.
China sets economic reform priorities for 2015 – Xinhua The reforms — to streamline administration and deregulate power to lower levels, promote the yuan’s convertibility under the capital account, and launch a trial scheme to connect the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchanges — aim to add new impetus to the country’s development, the State Council said in a statement on the government website. The central government promised to implement existed reform policies and roll out new pro-growth measures this year to stimulate the market and seek new growth potential.
China — all part of the plan? | FT Alphaville As Chen Long said via email, “the way to solve a liquidity problem is simply to keep rolling over debts. Beijing will not admit that there is a big solvency problem and cut lending to entities who have trouble. Instead Beijing wants banks to keep lending, in the hope that one day the borrowers may get better. Who knows if they can get better but let’s keep it going for now. Otherwise the economy slows sharply right now.” And that seems broadly fair as it was always unlikely China was going to let its LGFVs go to the wall in one go and, as mentioned, growth is trending down. China can’t let it do so aggressively or unsustainable. Finally though, from George Magnus: I would concur that the debt swap problems and the urge to keep calm and carry on lending to bad borrowers do not signify a major financial crisis in China. Evergreening and reshuffling the debt burden between state entities are processes that can continue… But they also remind us that all is not well with the economy’s dependence on credit and the rising burden of debt. For now, the policy stance is to stick to the status quo, but sooner or later, the authorities will have to swallow hard and shut down the debt dependency.
中钢千亿债务难解财新周刊频道财新网 银监会法规部协调召开中钢债务会议，由于几方分歧过大，进展胶着不前，债委会统计中钢集团及所属72家子公司债务逾1000多亿元
Shanghai Transport Officials Move to Regulate Popular Taxi App – Caixin The city will combine the government’s database of taxis and drivers, the dispatching systems used by the four largest taxi companies, and a taxi-hailing app called Didi Dache, transport officials said on May 18. The officials said the change will prevent drivers of private cars from illegally using the app to pick up passengers. It will also not allow taxi drivers who already have passengers from getting new information about people who want to be picked up. The government said this latter change would improve road safety because drivers would not be tempted to look at their phones while they are driving.
In First, Shandong Has SOEs Hand over Stakes to Its Social Security Fund-Caixin The government of Shandong Province has become the first in China to beef up its social security fund with portions of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), an approach many experts say is necessary to make up for shortfalls in the nation’s pension fund. Three SOEs overseen by the state-owned assets administration of the eastern province have transferred 30 percent of their worth – valued a combined 3.3 billion yuan – to a new council that manages Shandong’s social security fund, the government said on May 18.
Gov’t Announces Plan to Upgrade Factories over Next Decade – Caixin The Ministry of Industry and Telecommunication Technology (MIIT), which led the planning of the “Made in China 2025” plan, said the strategy is intended to give China an edge in innovation, green development and quality goods. The MIIT put the focus on 10 sectors, including high-end computerized machinery and robotics, aerospace equipment, renewable energy cars and biological medicine.
经济参考网 – 发改委考虑降低企业债发行门槛 继4月推出养老等四类专项债之后，国家发改委拟对企业债发行再次松绑。有知情人士19日向记者透露，为支持重点领域和重点项目融资，促进经济平稳较快发展，发改委拟对为七大类重大投资工程包等项目发债融资的优质企业降低门槛，发债企业相关数量指标不受限制。对此，业内认为，在经济下行政策面宽松的环境下，未来几个月城投公司将迎来一波新的发债高峰。
China’s newly registered firms expand steadily in April – Xinhua The number of newly registered enterprises in China increased 5.9 percent year on year to 389,000 in April as the government took measures to streamline business administration, official figures showed on Wednesday. Newly registered individually owned businesses and private enterprises topped 371,000 in April, up 6.7 percent year on year, according to a report released by the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC).
Economists seek to ease fears on China’s record capital outflow – FT.com By some measures, outflows have been continuing for more than a year. The central bank’s holdings of foreign assets have dropped for seven consecutive quarters — the longest run of declines on record. But economists say that as yet, capital outflows have not accelerated to a level that would threaten the stability of the financial system. That such relatively small outflows even set a record largely reflects the tight control Beijing has long maintained over cross-border capital flows.
China province completes landmark bond sale – FT.com On Monday Jiangsu sold Rmb52.2bn with a coupon rate only slightly higher than equivalent sovereign Treasury rates, after the central bank capped the premium local governments could offer.
POLITICS AND LAW
Senior Chinese judges speak out on preventing injustices in China’s criminal justice system | Supreme People’s Court Monitor Although the Human Rights Watch report on the use of torture in the Chinese criminal justice system is capturing the attention of the media outside of China (and overshadowing a forthcoming report of an investigation done by the China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL) on the same subject), the report that may be more persuasive to the Supreme People’s Court (Court) in reducing injustices in China’s criminal justice system is one coming out of a symposium held recently in Henan Province.
The Tianjin property empire ‘that politics built’ | South China Morning Post Police chief Wu Changshun helped developer Zhao Jin by intimidating unhappy homebuyers, Caixin reports
China’s graft-busters tighten regulations on cadres’ banquets | South China Morning Post something to keep in mind when you are negotiating a contract or a treaty with a Chinese party…be as specific as possible and anything not mentioned will be seen as permissible… // Three years into Beijing’s relentless anti-corruption campaign and ever-more complex regulations are being dreamt up by various levels of government. Some feel that the ban on luxury banquets, a favourite target for Communist Party graft-busters due to their long association with China’s social scene, is not effective – nor specific – enough.
Xi stresses befriending non-CPC elites – Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping has asked authorities to befriend and recruit more non-Communist Party of China (CPC) intellectuals and representatives, stressing their role in economic development and cleansing the Internet. To unite the non-CPC intellectuals is basic and strategically important work under the party’s efforts to unite the nation and pool strength for realization of the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation, Xi said at a three-day meeting of the united front work, which closed on Wednesday in Beijing. High value should be placed on intellectuals in new economic and social organizations and they should exert their roles in development. Students studying abroad should also be encouraged to return home and serve the country in various ways, said the president.
陕西前首富吴一坚被协助调查 曾与令计划妻子共事新闻腾讯网 调查发现，吴一坚与令计划妻子谷丽萍有明显交集，谷丽萍是中国青年创业国际计划(YBC)首任总干事，而吴一坚兼任YBC创业导师。令计划的弟弟令完成曾在吴一坚旗下高尔夫俱乐部组织的比赛中夺冠。
FOREIGN AND DEFENSE AFFAIRS
China Grows South America Sway as Commodity Bust Cheapens Assets – Bloomberg Business As Premier Li Keqiang tours Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Chile for the first time, China is taking advantage of cheaper prices as the commodities super-cycle ends to fast-track its influence in a region that supplies everything from crude to soybeans and copper. High on the shopping list? Infrastructure, power and banking — credit-hungry industries that would help promote growth. Among the more than $50 billion in mostly financing deals announced in Brazil Tuesday was a plan by China’s BYD Co. to build a solar-panel factory, while China’s fifth-largest bank is taking over Brazilian lender Banco BBM SA.
Alexander Perepilichny: Rare Chinese poison found in stomach of Russian whistleblower – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) “Once you have knocked out man-made analogues then you are bound to conclude Mr Perepilichny ingested Gelsemium on the day of his death,” he said. “Then, given that it only grows in China and is a known weapon of assassination by Chinese and Russian contract killers, why was it in his stomach?” A spokeswoman for the Royal Botanic Gardens in London said the institution, “has supplied its expertise in plant chemistry to assist the coroner’s inquest.”
The Truth About Anti-China Discourse in the United States | The Diplomat In 2013 Alastair Iain Johnston offered a similarly themed analysis, claiming there was an “assertive China” meme in U.S. discourse, and that it was not connected to any particularly assertive change in Chinese behavior. Indeed, a large body of work of uneven quality has tried to frame any friction in Sino-U.S. relations as the onus of the United States, declaring the latter should, among other things, stop reconnaissance mission in international waters and not deploy ballistic missile defense to protect allies. The logical error made by discourse analysis of this ilk is not in pointing out that some in the United States routinely express concern about Chinese behavior; this is accurate. But it does not necessarily follow that because an “anti-China” discourse exists in the United States that either U.S. perceptions are unfounded, or that U.S. behavior is to blame for Chinese behavior.
China Buys Into Multiple Warheads – NYTimes Editorial These developments strengthen the case for talks between the United States and China, and, ideally, with other nuclear powers, on ensuring strategic stability in Asia. China has resisted a government-to-government dialogue, but American officials say there have been promising informal conversations that can provide a basis for progress. The United States, Russia, Britain and France could help greatly by transitioning from their multiple warhead weapons.
HONG KONG, MACAO AND TAIWAN
Putsch of Columnists at Hong Kong’s paper of record – Asia Sentinel | Asia Sentinel The South China Morning Post, one of the region’s most influential newspapers, appears to be axing its star columnists, three of whom were persistent critics of the Hong Kong government and held views on Asia which were sometimes sympathetic to China’s neighbors. The four are *Philip Bowring, Steve Vines, Kevin Rafferty and Frank Ching – all respected commentators. Their status is unclear, with at least one told he might be allowed to write once a month.
Creeping censorship in Hong Kong: how China controls sale of sensitive books | World news | The Guardian The mainland’s economic control of bookshops and media outlets in the territory has resulted in soft censorship and restrictions on what people are able to read
TECH AND MEDIA
Tiger Cubs Lead Hedge-Fund Stampede Into China’s Red-Hot JD.com – Bloomberg Business The hedge funds, which also include Carlyle Group LP’s Emerging Sovereign Group, are piling into a company that’s benefiting from surging online shopping in the world’s second-largest economy. Investors are betting a burgeoning middle class and growing Internet user base will help extend the 78 percent rally since JD.com’s initial public offering a year ago. “People have taken a look at this company, some great funds, and they like what they see,” Dan David, co-founder of Skippack, Pennsylvania-based research firm Geoinvesting, said by phone on Monday. “Hedge funds tend to do a lot more diligence on the companies they invest in than a mutual fund or any other kind of fund. They have a vested interest to take a much closer look on the ground. They see value there.”
One Guy Made $66 Billion on China’s Web. Now He Needs a Second Act – Bloomberg Business His vision is for Naspers to become a leading e-commerce presence in places that American tech giants haven’t yet focused on. Though Bekker concedes it’s a difficult game, he argues the hunger of consumers and entrepreneurs in India, China, Africa, and Eastern Europe offer ample opportunity for those willing to wait for their bets to pay off. “E-commerce is not a get–rich-quick business,” Bekker said. ‘You need a good amount of patience.’’
Xbox One gets $100 price drop in China to boost sales – GamesinAsia The Kinect-bundled console, which currently retails for RMB 4299 (US$692), will drop to RMB 3799 (US$611), and the version without Kinect will see an even bigger drop: from RMB 3699 (US$595) to RMB 2999 ($482).
Phone Maker Transsion Catches the African Beat – Caixin A Shenzhen-based mobile phone maker whose brands are virtually unknown in China but common in Africa is growing so quickly that even smartphone powerhouse Huawei is looking over its shoulder. Some 7 million handsets made by Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Ltd. were shipped mainly to African countries in January alone, according to China’s Mobile News trade journal. That feat helped Transsion rise to second place among Chinese mobile phone exporters, behind only Huawei, which reported 8.3 million global shipments that month.
经济参考网 – 跨境电商进口税酝酿上调 但仍低于一般贸易进口税，专家称主要考虑贸易公平 《经济参考报》记者日前从业内人士处获悉，目前我国对跨境电子商务企业进口环节征税适用的是行邮税（行李和邮寄品税的简称），有关部门正在酝酿调高这一税率。据了解，目前我国跨境电商企业进口，通常采取在保税区建仓库的做法，即通过一般贸易的方式先将商品进口到国内保税仓中，通过电商平台来确定购买者，国内消费者下单之后，商家直接从保税仓发出小包裹货品，这样就可以大大节约成本和时间，对于消费者而言，也更加便利。
China’s Unigroup says wins bid to buy 51 percent stake in HP unit | Reuters If the deal is confirmed, Unigroup would have pipped another state-backed firm, China Huaxin Post and Telecommunication Economy Development Centre that had also sought to acquire the unit, which makes routers and switches for corporate customers. Huaxin is still waiting to hear from HP about its decision, a spokesman for the Shanghai-based firm said.
Huawei stakes claim in ‘Internet of Things’ market with new operating system | Reuters At an event in Beijing, Huawei executives showcased its “Agile IoT” architecture, including an operating system called LiteOS to control basic devices. This marks the firm’s most significant push into a sector that has lured heavyweights from Google Inc to Intel Corp and IBM into pushing their own standards and communication protocols.
Foreign Top-Level Domains in China Should Step Up Compliance Efforts as Central Ministry Seeks to Recoup Control | Allegravita. Chinaʼs new regulations concerning domain name registries and registrars are now close to completion. Following several years of ambiguity and rumor, new information emerged in Chinaʼs state-run media on May 12, 2015 which casts light on the eventual requirements. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) is now actively applying the regulatory code to Chinaʼs registrars. Domestic Chinese registrars are facing new scrutiny right now, and the examination and a re-approvals process will continue over the next five to six months. Foreign registries which have not applied for Chinese market approval are advised to do so in the near term, as unapproved Top-Level Domains are likely to be taken off the market from July this year.
Yahoo IRS statement – Business Insider An IRS representative stated Tuesday that the IRS plans to study its rules for issuing private letter rulings regarding the active trade or business requirement in spin-off transactions and will hold off processing new ruling requests. Yahoo understands that the IRS’s statement is not specific to Yahoo’s planned Q4 2015 spin-off of its remaining stake in Alibaba Group and Yahoo Small Business, reflects no change in applicable law, and does not affect previously filed ruling requests. Yahoo filed its pending ruling request with the IRS in Q1 2015. Yahoo continues to work toward completing the planned spin-off in Q4 2015.
ENERGY, ENVIRONMENT, SCIENCE AND HEALTH
China illegally fishing off coast of west Africa, Greenpeace study reveals |The Guardian Number of Chinese fishing boats operating in Africa soared from 13 in 1985 to 462 in 2013, say environmental group, with ships ‘taking advantage of weak enforcement and supervision’
Asia Unbound » Podcast: China’s Environmental Health Crisis – Challenges and Politics In this next installment of the Asia Unbound podcast series, I speak with environmental economist Hu Tao, who currently directs the China program at the World Wildlife Fund. Drawing on his previous role as senior environmental economist at the Policy Research Center in the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection, Hu speaks to what the government is currently doing to stem the crisis, and in what ways he thinks they should be doing more
Public Hospitals to Be Opened to Investors, State Council Says – Caixin Some public hospitals around the country will be opened to private investors as part of an overhaul of the hospital system, the State Council said on May 17. The cabinet has not announced how the hospitals will be chosen or what stakes investors can hold, but it urged hospital administrators to evaluate assets ahead of the change. The privatization push is part of an overhaul of the 6,800 public hospitals in the country’s urban areas that is to be completed by the end of 2017.
EDUCATION
Dulwich College sister campus in China pupil claims he was molested | Daily Mail Online Dulwich College has been dragged into an abuse scandal after a former pupil at the school’s sister campus in China claimed he was molested. The school in Beijing has confirmed that the teacher’s contract was terminated after the alleged victim, now in his twenties, made allegations on an alumni forum, it was reported yesterday.
BEIJING
Portrait of a Beijinger: Call of Duty | the Anthill A decade ago, local deli owner Yang Guoqing was camping at the highland site when he discovered bullet shells and other remnants of the battle. Despite being born and bred in Changping district nearby, he had never heard of the conflict that claimed the lives of around 15,000 Japanese and 6,000 Chinese troops. Dressed in military fatigues with his trusty metal detector slung over his shoulder like a rifle, Yang has developed a spiritual connection with the area. The only shrine to the Battle of Nankou is a 150-kilogram marble tombstone he bought and carried up the mountain. Each time he visits to search for relics, he dutifully polishes the tombstone that stands on a bed of rocks scattered with empty baijiu bottles and cigarette packets, posthumous offerings to fallen soldiers.
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