ZGBriefs June 9, 2011
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FEATURED ARTICLE
Students in China are taking a key exam that will determine their future. But focusing on the exam, the gao kao, may rob students of creativity. Marketplace's Rob Schmitz has the first in a series of stories on China's education crisis. |
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GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China says Philippines harming its maritime rights (June 7, 2011, AFP) China on Tuesday accused the Philippines of harming its maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, in sharp retaliation to claims by Manila that Beijing is undermining regional peace. The Philippines said over the weekend that China dispatched vessels to intimidate rivals in disputed areas of the South China Sea, violating "maritime jurisdiction" and undermining "the peace and stability of the region." But Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei hit back at the accusations Tuesday, saying the Chinese vessels were merely cruising and carrying out scientific studies in waters under Beijing's jurisdiction.
China aircraft carrier confirmed by general (June 8, 2011, BBC News) The head of China's General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has confirmed that China's first aircraft carrier is under construction. Gen Chen Bingde refused to say when the carrier - a remodelled Soviet-era vessel, the Varyag - would be ready. A member of his staff said the carrier would pose no threat to other nations. The 300m (990ft) carrier, which is being built in the north-east port of Dalian, has been one of China's worst-kept secrets, analysts say. Gen Chen made his comments to the Chinese-language Hong Kong Commercial Daily newspaper.
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HEALTH
Viral encephalitis outbreak contained in E China (July 3, 2011, China Daily) An outbreak of viral encephalitis that has hospitalized more than 100 children in East China's Fujian province since early May is now under control, local heath authorities said on Thursday. The scale of the epidemic was confirmed by Fujian provincial health department on Wednesday via an online notice that revealed a total of 192 cases were reported in Anxi, Dehua and Fu'an counties. However, although no deaths or severe cases have been reported, the number of people infected is still rising. |
RELIGION
Split in leadership rocks Shouwang Church (June 6, 2011, Shanghaiist) Beijing's embattled Shouwang Church has been rocked by a split in its leadership team of more than a dozen, marked by the departure of one pastor, one preacher and two deacons, according to the South China Morning Post. Since early April, the Shouwang Church, Beijing's largest house church, has been holding its services outdoors after the congregation was evicted from its previous location due to pressure by authorities. Police detained over 100 church members on their first service, but that hasn't deterred the senior pastor Jin Tianming (now under house arrest) from calling on his members to continue meeting at the same place. Dozens were detained during the church's Easter service, and there were also fears of a widening crackdown on other house churches in Beijing and across China. In an open letter sent to the church, Pastor Jin described the departure of his colleagues as a "huge earthquake shaking the entire church" and exhorted his members to continue to stand firm. While some church members remain under house arrest, others are either too fearful to attend upcoming Sunday services, or have decided to leave the church altogether. |
EDUCATION / CULTURE
China savors Li Na's French Open win (June 4, 2011, AFP) Li Na's landmark French Open win Saturday drew a massive outpouring of support in China, captivating a nation where tennis' popularity has been growing rapidly. "People now can feel it, that Chinese tennis is just too tough. This has left a really deep impression on the world," announcer Tong Kexin said on state broadcaster CCTV. "Li Na truly deserves to be called a great champion." CCTV added the banner "We love you Li Na," to their gushing post-match coverage after Li became China's first Grand Slam champion by beating Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the women's final. The official Xinhua News Agency sent out a news flash shortly after Li's victory.
Fall in student numbers hits universities (June 7, 2011, Shanghai Daily) IT might have been hard for Chinese universities, after a decade of soaring enrollment and millions of candidates fighting for places via make-or-break exams, to foresee a day when they might have to fight to survive. That day, however, may have arrived. About 9.33 million students have registered to take the annual national college entrance exams, or gaokao, which start today. That's 240,000 fewer than last year's figure and represents the third straight year of decline. Ma Yan, a senior consultant for MyCos, a Beijing-based higher education consulting firm, said: "The decline is mainly due to the shrinking number of high school students, which is a result of decreased birth rates caused by China's one-child policy. Ma said the downward trend in enrollment may last until 2018. Chinese students usually take entrance exams at the age of 18 after 12 years of primary and middle school education. National census figures show that the number of births in 2000 was 13.79 million, about 10 million less than the 23.54 million births recorded in 1990. Growing interest in studying abroad has also had an impact on enrollment. |
SOCIETY / LIFE
Chinese student executed: hit-and-run, stabbing death of woman (June 7, 2011, Reuters) A 21-year-old Chinese college student has been executed for stabbing to death a woman after the car he was driving struck and injured her, a case that has transfixed and outraged the nation. Yao Jiaxin, a student at Xi'an Conservatory of Music, was executed on Tuesday in Xi'an, capital of the central province of Shaanxi, state media reported. He was convicted of killing the woman to escape responsibility for the auto accident. The case drew outrage over what was seen as indifference and recklessness of more privileged, wealthy young people toward the less well off. That follows public criticism of several cases of wealthy or prominent drivers flouting traffic laws and arguing vehemently with police who stop them.
Growth in Chinese 'birth tourism' to US (June 7, 2011, China Daily) An increasing number of Chinese women are choosing to give birth in the United States amid a growing business in Nanjing city, capital of East China's Jiangsu province, the local Yangzi Evening News reported Tuesday. The number of agencies offering the service to expectant Chinese mothers has also increased as demand by rich families to give birth in the US grows. The move follows a decision by Hong Kong authorities to restrict mainland mothers from giving birth due to pressure on their health service. Most agencies charge between 160,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan ($30,886) for the service which includes flights, maternity stay, and treatment. One agency situated next to a hospital in Nanjing claims to seek obstetric services directly in the US would cost 150,000 yuan alone.
Death sentence over Inner Mongolia herder killing (June 8, 2011, BBC News) A Chinese coalmine worker has been sentenced to death by a court in Inner Mongolia for killing an ethnic Mongolian herder, state media say. Truck driver Li Lindong was accused of running over the herder as he tried to block the vehicle's path in protest. His co-driver was given a life term for the death, which led to the region's worst unrest in many years.
Moderate earthquake rocks northwestern China (June 8, 2011, AP) China's state media say a magnitude-5.3 earthquake has sent rocks crashing down onto a road in the country's northwest and caused car crashes that left five injured. The official Xinhua News Agency and U.S. Geological Survey say the quake struck Wednesday morning in the sprawling Xinjiang region's Toksun county, about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) west of Beijing.
China floods kill 52 as 100,000 flee homes (June 8, 2011, AP) Floods triggered by torrential rain in southern and central China have killed 52 people and forced more than 100,000 to flee their homes, state media reported Wednesday. Another 32 people were missing in the floods which have inundated parts of 12 provinces since the start of June, Shu Qingpeng, deputy head of the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters, told a conference, Xinhua news agency said. The floods across China have destroyed nearly 7,500 houses and submerged 255,000 hectares (630,000 acres) of farmland, causing direct losses of 4.92 billion yuan ($760 million), he said. Shu warned local authorities to monitor rainfall and water levels as further heavy rains are expected to hit many parts of the country over the next few days.
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BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / TRADE
Sina to launch English microblog by year-end (June 7, 2011, Reuters) China's Sina Corp will launch an English version of its microblog, Weibo, by the end of the year for overseas users, a company spokesman said on Tuesday. Sina's Chinese-language Weibo product was launched about two years ago and claims more than 140 million users. Technology blog TechWeb reported on Monday that Sina was going to launch an English microblog in the United States in a few months to rival Twitter.
China reaps 40% of winter wheat (June 7, 2011, China Daily) The Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday the country has reaped 40 percent of its winter wheat as of 5 pm Monday with an abundant supply of agricultural machinery and stable crude oil prices. China has gathered 137.75 million mu (9.18 million hectares) of winter wheat, among which, 103.84 million mu were harvested by reaping machines. On Monday alone, 230,000 combine harvesters were put into use, which gathered 10.78 million mu of wheat, the ministry said.
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ENVIRONMENT / TECHNOLOGY
China Rejects Google's Hacking Charge (June 6, 2011, The New York Times) China's official Communist Party newspaper issued a caustic response on Monday to Google's charge that Chinese hackers had taken aim at influential users of its Gmail service, calling the accusations "political gaming" aimed at fomenting new discord between the Beijing and Washington governments. The newspaper, People's Daily, published a front-page editorial in Monday's international editions that also suggested that Google's actions could cost it credibility in the business world. Google officials had said last Wednesday that hackers in Jinan, a coastal city in eastern China's Shandong Province, had sought to gain access to the Gmail accounts of hundreds of American government officials, Chinese political activists, military personnel, journalists and Asian officials.
China acid spill knocks out water to half million (June 7, 2011, AP) A toxic chemical spilled into a river that supplies drinking water to the scenic city of Hangzhou in eastern China, knocking out supplies to more than half a million people and creating a run on bottled water. A tanker truck carrying 20 tons of carbolic acid overturned late Saturday night. The chemical, also known as phenol, was washed by rain into the Xin'an River about 150 kilometers (90 miles) southwest of Hangzhou, the city said in a report on its website. The city said an emergency worker died, but did not say how. It said authorities temporarily shut down water plants and released extra water from nearby dams to dilute the spill, which affected the water supplies of at least 552,000 people in Hangzhou's suburbs.
China not slowing high-speed rail construction (June 7, 2011, China Daily) China is not applying the brake to its high-speed rail network development, according to a spokesperson for the railway ministry.The adjustments in some of the country's high-speed railway projects, such as reduced speed of bullet trains and classification of ticket prices, is to assist the public as well as the railway department, rather an indicator of slowing down the construction, said Wang Yongping in an interview with the Beijing Times published on Tuesday. China's high-speed trains will run at 300 kilometers per hour starting from July 1, instead of the previously announced 350 km/h. The lines will also operate bullet trains between 200 and 250 km/h.
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LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS
The growth of Christianity is all the more remarkable considering it occurred despite decades of bloody persecution under Mao, who viewed the religion as a "foreign" doctrine used to serve the interests of capitalist imperialism. Christianity has now adapted to the local realities and is no longer seen as a strange faith imported from elsewhere.
NPR examines the many ways China is expanding its reach in the world - through investments, infrastructure, military power and more.
China's worst drought in half a century has accomplished what years of criticism and environmental activism could not: It has caused the Chinese government to admit that mistakes were made with its star construction project, the Three Gorges Dam.
Chai Ling - Seen as the "general commander" of the student protesters, Chai Ling fled China in April 1990 and eventually settled in Paris.
Who are the leaders of China's economic miracle? Where do they come from, and what are their wildest ambitions?
As local government elections get underway nationwide in China, a new breed of independent would-be politician is emerging to challenge the ruling Communist party's near total stranglehold on political power. Harnessing the mobilizing power of social networking websites for the first time and attracting unprecedented attention to themselves, these candidates for local Peoples' Congresses are posing a dilemma for the government.
The wife of the internationally known human rights activist Hu Jia said Wednesday that she and her daughter could be forced out of their apartment in Shenzhen only weeks before he is scheduled to complete a 42-month prison sentence for state subversion.
Modern Chinese instruments are a lot like modern China: a disparate patchwork of various Parts forcibly cobbled into a Whole that, to hear some tell it, Always Was and Ever Shall Be.
From reading Henry Kissinger's new book On China,1 I have learned that Mr. Kissinger met with Deng Xiaoping at least eleven times-more than with any other Chinese leader-and that the topic of one of their chats was whether Fang Lizhi would confess and repent.
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LINKS TO BLOGS
Officials in the southeastern Chinese province of Guangdong are learning that hiding a problem isn't the same as fixing it.
Next week, Chinese students take the national college entrance exam. It's the soul-destroying culmination of years of study. And as good as it gets.
The Chengdu Zoo (located in Sichuan province), recently made an effort to reassure visitors of their capabilities in case a wild animal escaped from its cage. To do this, they conducted a safety drill to make sure their staff was properly prepared to deal with this event. Sounds reasonable enough, right?
Pollution and biodiversity loss feature prominently in the government's annual state of the environment report. But is this a case of 'could do better?'
As labor costs rise, China's manufacturers are facing unprecedented challenges. Some are being forced to move to less-expensive regions in the nation's interior, others are shifting production to Southeast Asia, and some are shutting down.
Regional belief in "peaceful rise" has been much eroded over the past year by a combination of incidents including with India and Japan as well as over the South China Sea, and by China's evident success in moving towards possessing weapons systems, some of which in principle can match those of the US and Russia.
Over the weekend, however, Chinese tennis player Li Na (李娜) became the first Chinese national (and the first Asian) to win a tennis Grand Slam final, and that news was apparently immense enough as a source of national pride to warrant a break with form at the People's Daily. Here is the front page of the June 5 edition of the paper, with a prominent report on Li Na's victory.
Modern China is a paradox. Economic prosperity coexists with political autocracy. As Jeffrey Wasserstrom has beautifully written in the Los Angeles Review of Books, Huxley's Brave New World might be as good a guide or better to China as Orwell's 1984. It is important to keep in mind that different modes of control are in place in China. It is easy to imagine China as the kind of 'Big Brother' state that Orwell imagined, with ubiquitous surveillance and harsh crackdown on political dissidents. But less obvious is how 'vulgar materialism' imagined by Huxley could serve as a kind of control.
Religion in China, and especially Christianity in China is one of the topics I am asked about most frequently when I return to the States.
Of course there was another, darker side to all that revolutionary zeal which is still around today. Usually with soft edges - Hu Jintao, China's president, talks in Orwellian terms of "social management" and a "harmonious society" - but as this episode suggests, with hard edges too, if need be.
Chinese microblog operator Sina Corp. already has what seems an unassailable lead over Twitter in China, thanks to the fact that Chinese government blocks access to the U.S. website for fear it could be used to spread political dissent. Now, as Sina aims to recharge its business growth by investing heavily in its microblog site, Weibo, some are speculating that the company intends eventually to take on Twitter overseas-where China's censorship rules could flip things around and put Sina at a disadvantage.
Not new but still worth a look. Celia Hatton of CBS looks at the thousands of dollars that some Chinese couples are blowing on elaborate photo shoots before the big day itself.
The exam tends to be pretty much procedural year after year. With that said, here are a few notable things happening around the country in light of this year's gaokao. |
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS
The Chinese Ministry of Public Security (MPS) on May 12th announced a series of new measures that would enable the government to better track the migrant population, including stepping up efforts to collect personal information, synthesize, and share information across the ministry and its provincial units (Ministry of Public Security, May 13). These efforts closely follow the central government's draconian response to stamp out jasmine-related events in 13 different cities after the Arab spring.
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RESOURCES
China Briefing has just released the third edition of its technical guide "Setting Up Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises in China" - offering an up-to-date reference source for all issues concerning the establishment, administration, and utilization of a wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) in China.
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| Contributions to support the production of ZGBriefs are always welcome and can be made at our secure online giving page for ZGBriefs. Click here to give online. Thank you. |
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