ZGBriefs September 1, 2011
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FEATURED ARTICLE
Xie Zhenqing spent 12 years transforming a collection of ramshackle houses into Red Star, a privately run, low-cost school for 1,400 children of migrants from poor rural areas. It took just a few hours this month for a government-dispatched demolition crew to turn the place into a jagged pile of bricks. |
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GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Foreign Ministry won't publish expenses to protect state secrets (August 23, 2011, Shanghai Daily) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will not publish its spending on overseas travels, receptions, entertainment and car use as it involves national secrets, Beijing News reported today. The ministry became the first central government department that clearly stated it wouldn't disclose the expenditure in the three aspects. At an anti-graft meeting on March 24, the State Council, China's Cabinet, announced that all government departments were to publish their expenditures in the three categories by the end of June. It reiterated the order on May 4. It was part of its efforts to root out corruption and promote clean government.
Pentagon: China military growing rapidly (August 24, 2011, AP) A Pentagon report says China's development of a new stealth fighter, an aircraft carrier and a record number of space launches over the past year puts it on pace to achieve its goal of building a modern, regionally focused military by 2020.The report released Tuesday says Beijing has closed critical technological gaps, and is rapidly modernizing its military equipment, all with an eye toward preventing possible U.S. intervention in a conflict with Taiwan. It also warns that the military expansion could increasingly stretch to the western Pacific in a move to deny U.S. and allied access or movement there. The Pentagon says the new stealth fighter along with longer range missiles could give Beijing the ability to strike regional air bases and other facilities.
Japan protests over China ships in disputed waters (August 24, 2011, Reuters) Japan lodged a formal protest on Wednesday after two Chinese ships briefly entered what it regards as its territorial waters near disputed East China Sea islets, the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute. "Vice Foreign Minister (Kenichiro) Sasae summoned the Chinese ambassador and said the Senkaku islands are Japan's integral territory historically and in terms of international law," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said. "He protested firmly and demanded they prevent a recurrence" on an incident last year, he told a regular news conference.
China replaces Tibet's hard-line party boss (August 25, 2011, AP) China on Thursday replaced Tibet's hard-line Communist Party boss under whom bloody rioting broke out in the Himalayan region three years ago. The official Xinhua News Agency said Zhang Qingli, the region's highest-ranking official, is being moved to another position which it did not identify. It said he will be replaced by Chen Quanguo, a longtime party official in the eastern province of Henan who last served as governor of Hebei province surrounding Beijing. Like all of Tibet's party chiefs, Chen is not Tibetan but a member of China's majority Han ethnic group. No reason was given for the move, although Zhang has served five years in the position, roughly the standard term for provincial officials.
China charges three in monk self-immolation case (August 26, 2011, BBC News) Three Tibetan monks have been charged over the death of a monk who set himself on fire in an apparent anti-Beijing protest, state media say. The monks are accused of the "intentional killing" of Rigzin Phuntsog, allegedly hiding him and preventing him from getting treatment. The incident in March sparked protests in Aba, a mainly ethnic Tibetan area of Sichuan province in south-west China.
China law change would allow secret detentions (August 26, 2011, AP) Activists said Friday that proposed changes to Chinese criminal law would effectively legitimize the disappearances used against high-profile dissidents. The official Legal Daily newspaper reported this week that amendments proposed to China's criminal procedure law would allow police to detain suspects outside of detention centers when they are part of major state security and corruption cases. The proposed legal changes would apply to China's law on "residential surveillance" - a measure that's intended as a form of house arrest to be used when formal detention is deemed unsuitable.
China Announces New Top Official for Tibet (August 26, 2011, The New York Times) Chinese leaders have appointed a new Communist Party leader to govern the vast and sometimes restive region of Tibet, where economic development has been rapid but tensions between indigenous people and immigrants from China's Han majority have been high, and where human rights have been an abiding concern. Mr. Chen's appointment to the top Tibetan post appeared to be part of a standard shuffling of senior provincial leaders by the government's Central Committee ahead of the country's expected change in leadership in late 2012. Mr. Chen replaced Zhang Qingli, who had served the normal term of about five years and was reported to have moved to a new, unspecified job.
China's air force to debut 2 new aerial teams (August 30, 2011, AP) China's air force will debut two new aerial demonstration teams this week as part of its growing sophistication and increasingly prominent public role, the Defense Ministry announced Tuesday. The Sky Wing and Red Falcon teams will take part Thursday in a joint performance in the northeastern city of Changchun, along with the air force's 50-year-old Bayi squadron of senior pilots, the ministry said in a notice posted on its official website. Zhao Jingbo, deputy director of the air force's training department, was quoted as saying the teams will promote international exchanges and education, along with awareness of China's aerospace interests and flight safety.
China's Wen says controlling inflation still goal (August 31, 2011, AP) The Chinese government remains focused on reining in surging prices despite global instability and has no plans to change controls that have caused its economy to slow, said Premier Wen Jiabao in comments released Wednesday. The global slowdown has prompted suggestions Beijing might ease its controls, but Wen said in comments on the Cabinet website that the cooling in China's rapid economic growth is in line with government plans. Wen is the country's top economic official and No. 3 in the ruling Communist Party hierarchy.
China ramps up security for expo in troubled west (August 31, 2011, AP) Already tight security in China's troubled Xinjiang region was ramped up further Wednesday ahead of a major Central Asian trade gathering in the capital Urumqi. Police armed with automatic rifles patrolled across Urumqi, their vehicles parked on central People's Square. SWAT units manned the entrance to the first China-Eurasia Expo, and a low-altitude no-fly zone was declared over the city that even banned racing pigeons. Travelers flying to Urumqi from Beijing, Shanghai and other cities faced more security checks, causing some delays. The expo that opens Thursday comes amid a two-month "strike hard" crackdown against violence, terrorism and radical Islam following renewed ethnic violence among the region's native Uighur (pronounced WEE'-gur) population, ethnic Turks who are culturally, linguistically and religiously distinct from China's majority Han.
China: Attacks thwarted in Xinjiang, details few (August 31, 2011, AP) A top official in China's turbulent Xinjiang region says security forces have defused a number of threats to public safety in recent weeks but is providing few details. Zhu Hailun says terrorists, separatists and religious extremists have been plotting to sabotage a Central Asian trade fair that opens in the regional capital Urumqi on Thursday. However, he mentioned only one case, that of a man who attempted to take a knife on board a flight departing from Urumqi airport. He says the man is being held on suspicion of planning to carry out an attack during the flight.
Chinese general discusses spies, government stays silent (August 31, 2011, CNN) China remained quiet Tuesday as a recently leaked video of a Chinese general's candid remarks -- apparently made at a corporate event in March -- on sensitive spying cases continued to draw international attention. The ministries of defense and foreign affairs have not responded to CNN's inquiries, and numerous phone calls to National Defense University, where the general -- Maj. Gen. Jin Yinan -- teaches, went unanswered. State media made no mention of the story. In a clip found on YouTube and smaller video-sharing sites, Jin -- with the help of slides -- presented eight major espionage cases. While some cases had been publicized, others had never been revealed or discussed in detail before, especially those involving senior officers of the normally secretive People's Liberation Army (PLA).
China says carrier met targets in first sea trial (September 1, 2011, AP) China says its first aircraft carrier attained all its set objectives in its initial sea trial last month. According to Thursday's official Global Times newspaper, Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun says the refurbished ex-Soviet carrier will continue to undergo testing. He gave no further details. China says the ship is intended for research and training, pointing to longer-term plans to build up to three additional clones of the carrier in China's own shipyards.
Chinese writer to speak in US after ban (September 1, 2011, AFP) Dissident writer Liao Yiwu, who fled China after authorities banned him from visiting the United States and Australia, will speak out on a first US trip, a literary group said Wednesday. Liao, who spent four years in jail after writing the poem "Massacre" about the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, will speak at New York's New School at a September 13 event of PEN, a group of authors active on human rights. China barred Liao from heading to literary festivals in New York and Sydney earlier this year, leading US and Australian organizers to protest. Liao later escaped to exile in Germany after first walking by foot to Vietnam. PEN said that Liao would read from his new book, "God Is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China," and perform the Chinese bamboo flute known as a xiao.
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HEALTH
Chinese surgery patient dies as doctors flee fire (August 26, 2011, AP) A man in China died on the operating table after his doctors fled from a fire that broke out in the next room, a hospital official said Friday. The 50-year-old man died after being left unattended for 30 minutes while undergoing surgery to amputate his leg Wednesday night at the Shanghai No. 3 People's Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Hu Yuan. A nurse at first tried to douse the blaze, caused by a disinfecting machine that caught fire. When that failed, the staff attending the patient reported the fire and carried on with the operation. "As they were finishing up, the power went out and then they all left," Hu said. Firefighters prevented the doctors from returning to the operating room, and by the time they reached the man in the operating room he was dead, apparently of smoke inhalation. |
RELIGION
Chinese Muslims celebrate end of Ramadan holy month (August 31, 2011, Xinhua) Millions of Muslims across China celebrated Eid al-Fitr today, the festival that marks the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan -- a season of fasting and spiritual reflection. Early this morning, Muslims from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, as well as other Muslim-populated regions, donned festive outfits and swarmed local mosques. About 5,000 Muslims went to the Yanghan Mosque in the regional capital of Urumqi to hear imams preaching. |
EDUCATION / CULTURE
Beijing school closures leave thousands of migrant children without classrooms (August 26, 2011, Christian Science Monitor) Just days before the new school year opens, Beijing's education authorities are scrambling to find classrooms for thousands of migrant workers' children whose old schools the government closed without warning over the summer. The public outcry that followed the closures has highlighted the institutionalized discrimination that China's migrant workers face, and the lack of a coherent government policy to educate their children. Local officials "don't know what to do about the problem so they just lash out" says Jonathan Hursh, founder of Compassion for Migrant Children, explaining the sudden closure of 24 technically illegal but long-tolerated schools over the past two months. The move left 14,000 children without a school place when term starts next Thursday.
New calligraphy classes for China's internet generation (August 27, 2011, BBC News) Schools in China have been told to run more classes in calligraphy because computer use and text-messaging are ruining children's writing style. Younger students should have classes every week specifically in writing Chinese characters, the education ministry said. Older students will be offered optional lessons and after-school activities. The classes could start as early as this coming week, with the beginning of the new school year. The rapid development and popularity of mobile phones and computers had weakened pupils' ability to write Chinese characters, a notice on the education ministry website said. It said students should be trained in correct writing habits, including posture, and in how to use hard and soft brushes.
Survey: Beijing Middle School Education Spending Soars (August 30, 2011, Caixin) Selective middle schools in Beijing now command up to 87,000 yuan in entrance fees, according to a survey by 21st Century Education Research Institute released on August 28. Over 500 netizens located in 35 cities nationwide were surveyed from July 11 to August 12. According to the survey, Beijing parents also spent a large amount on tutoring for subjects such as mathematics, English and art. The survey found that parents spend between 30,000 to 80,000 yuan per year on additional tutoring lessons. |
SOCIETY / LIFE
Donations dive after charity scandal (August 27, 2011, Shanghai Daily) Donations to Chinese charitable organizations during the summer nosedived nearly 90 percent compared to the March-May period, after the Red Cross Society of China was embroiled in a trust crisis. The amount the charitable organizations received from June to August stood at 840 million yuan (US$131 million), compared with 6.26 billion yuan recorded in March to May, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. The credibility of the Red Cross was put on the line after a young woman boasting her wealth and lavish lifestyle online claimed to be the general manager of the "Red Cross Commerce" in June. Reflecting people's distrust in charitable groups, donations made directly to people in need shot from 39 million yuan in March-May to 127 million yuan in June-August, an official with the ministry was quoted by the Beijing Times yesterday.
Eight children hurt in China school attack (August 29, 2011, BBC News) Eight children were hurt when an employee at a child-care centre for migrant workers in the Chinese city of Shanghai slashed them with a knife, local media reports say. The attack happened around midday in the city's Minhang district. Reports said the attacker, a woman, had been taken into custody by police.
Nearly 1,000 busted in China pork scandal (August 29, 2011, UPI) Chinese authorities have arrested 989 people accused of making and selling clenbuterol, blamed in a recent tainted-pork scandal, an official said Monday. Xu Hu, a senior official in the Ministry of Public Security, said the arrests came after police busted a criminal ring involved in the manufacture and sale of clenbuterol in 63 cities nationwide, Xinhua reported. The illegal drug is used as an additive in pig feed to help burn fat and make pork meat leaner but is poisonous to people consuming the tainted meat. Pork is the most consumed meat in China and rising prices for it have been blamed as the main reason for China's rising inflation, a matter of much concern to the government's economic policymakers.
Miners rescued from flooded illegal Chinese pit (August 30, 2011, BBC News) Nineteen coal miners have been rescued after being trapped underground for a week in north-eastern China, officials have said. The miners became trapped in the mine in Heilongjiang province after drilling into a flooded shaft by accident. One miner died in the incident and three others are still missing. Three were rescued on Saturday. Xinhua reports that the mine, near the city of Qitaihe, had been ordered to close in 2007 but re-opened illegally.
China Mobile executive sentenced to death with reprieve for bribery (August 31, 2011, Shanghai Daily) The former general manager of China Mobile's Sichuan branch yesterday was sentenced to death with two-year reprieve for taking bribes, Sina.com reported. Li Hua was convicted of accepting bribes of more than 16 million yuan (US$2.5 million) during his tenure as the chairman and general manager of Sichuan branch of China Mobile, the world's largest telecommunication company in terms of users, Panzhihua City's Intermediate People's Court in Sichuan Province said yesterday. The sentence means that with good behavior the execution could be commuted to life in prison. Li pleaded guilty in court and returned 12.59 million yuan bribes, Sina.com reported.
China to Have Half of Asia's Millionaires: Report (September 1, 2011, Bloomberg) China's millionaires will account for about half of Asia's rich and hold more than half of the region's wealth by 2015, according to a study by Julius Baer Group and CLSA Asia Pacific Markets. Asia's millionaires will more than double in number to 2.8 million, with 1.4 million high net worth people in China, according to the Asia Wealth Report released yesterday. Chinese millionaires will hold $8.76 trillion of the $15.81 trillion that the region's millionaires are expected to have, it said.
Some 60 million Chinese out of tax net as new rules take effect (September 1, 2011, Xinhua) Amended rules on personal income tax became effective on Thursday meaning that about 60 million Chinese will not be taxed on what they earn going forward. Only 24 million people have to pay individual income tax after the amended law raised the monthly tax exemption threshold from 2,000 yuan (313.2 U.S. dollars) to 3,500 yuan, according to the Ministry of Finance. The new law reduces its previous nine-category progressive mechanism to a less-segmented seven-rank system, with tax rates ranging from 3 to 45 percent. It also cuts the minimum tax rate from 5 to 3 percent for people whose monthly incomes are between 3,500 and 4,500 yuan.
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BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / TRADE
Chinese banks unveil record half-year profits (August 25, 2011, BBC News) Two of China's leading banks have unveiled record half-year profits. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Agricultural Bank of China both reported bumper figures on the back of rising interest rates. ICBC saw interim profits rise 29% to 109.5bn yuan ($17.14bn; £10.48bn), boosted by higher fee income on wealth management products. Agbank's net profits rose to 66.6bn yuan helped by government interest rate rises.
China manufacturing shows slight gain in August (September 1, 2011, AP) China's manufacturing firmed in August, according to a survey released Thursday, with data indicating the economy is showing resilience, despite a decline in new export orders. The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, an industry group, said its purchasing managers index rose 0.2 points from the month before to 50.9, showing activity expanding slightly. Figures above 50 show expansion, and below contraction.
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ENVIRONMENT / TECHNOLOGY
Apple blasted for alleged pollution by suppliers (September 1, 2011, AP) Apple is defending itself against a fresh barrage of criticism from Chinese environmental activists over alleged pollution by the manufacturers who make its iconic iPhones, iPads and other products. In a report issued Wednesday, a group of nongovernmental organizations accused the technology giant of violating its own corporate responsibility standards by using suppliers it said its investigations found are violating the law and endangering public health by discharging heavy metals and other toxins. Responding to the report, Apple said Thursday that it was committed to "driving the highest standards of social responsibility" in its supply chain.
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LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS
On the grounds of the Bodyworks weight loss campus in Beijing, 30 tubby men and women sweat profusely, gasping for air as they pound the treadmills in an exercise room. They represent a shocking new statistic in the world's most populous country. According to some estimates, a third of China's population -- some 429 million -- are overweight or obese, prime candidates for heart disease and diabetes.
Red tourism is a big business. Between 2004 and '10, a total of 1.35 billion people have gone on red tours, an average year-on-year increase of 20%. According to the country's state-run news agency, Xinhua, China's revenue in red tourism totaled $20.3 billion in 2010.
China's elderly demographic will surpass 200 million in just three years, and top 300 million by 2025. By 2042, more than 30% of China's total population will be over 60...These numbers, says Yuan Xin, professor at the Institute of Population and Development at Nankai University, mean that China is "running headlong" into an aging society. Yet, as a particularly populous country, China is quite distinct from other societies. The report characterizes it as "an aging society with Chinese characteristics."
Ling's zeal for improving the plight of Chinese woman and girls, fueled by a recent conversion to Christianity, aims to end such gendercide in China, which she likens to "a Tiananmen massacre taking place every hour.''
A visit by a senior Chinese leader meant to spread goodwill has instead left Hong Kong fuming over the smothering security that locals fear was aimed at muffling the media and protesters. In the two weeks since the visit, journalists have taken to the street in protest. Professors have taken out newspaper ads and students demanded the police chief resign. Police and local leaders have been raked over in the legislature.
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LINKS TO BLOGS
How many of my readers have experienced both a local Chinese hospital and an international, "expat" hospital? The differences can be quite striking, and last week I had the honor of discussing some of those differences in a lively debate on CCTV News' Crossover program.
There is a rumor circulating that the authorities will soon require real name registration for users of Weibos (microblogs) and other social media in China. Such a regulation would be consistent with the ongoing campaign to control rumors on the Internet.
The company behind historical hit movies "300" and "Clash of the Titans" has announced plans for its first production in China, which will focus on the country's most recognizable historical monument: "The Great Wall."
The incident has contributed to the growing rift between Beijing and the Vatican for control of China's estimated 12 million Catholics, a struggle that is threatening to divide the Catholic Church in China. "It's a very sensitive time," said a scholar in Hong Kong who monitors the church in China. "In my opinion, there will be a showdown - things are coming to a conclusion. "I've been in this business for 20 years, and I've never seen it get to this point before," the academic said. "Both sides are playing all the cards they have. One of the two will win everything."
A few weeks ago, I spent a few days with the Baidu team in Beijing. My first conversation was with Kaiser Kuo who is the Director of International Communications and the very first topic we covered was in answer to the question, "What would you rather people better understood relating to Baidu and its position in the market?" Whilst some of the responses were as you might expect - they were nonetheless revealing and fascinating.
China's microblog has become the new frontier of China's Christian movement. The Twitter-like service run by Sina.com, also known as "wei bo" - the Chinese word for microblog - now claims more than 120 million users and are expected to reach 200 million at the end of the year. And it is only natural that Christianity is thriving on the fastest-growing and the most powerful (and therefore most feared by the government) media platform ever seen in history.
The number 300 million comes from the total number of students who have completed their compulsory education, which includes more than 6 years of English classes. To me it seems that the gov't has received a very poor return on the investment.
Expecting to find a dusty mining town, I instead discovered a jewel of a city awash in wealth and civic pride for its local corporate giants. As June turned into July, I set out to learn more about Gejiu's tobacco industry and the Hongyun Honghe Company, perhaps the least well known of the world's major tobacco companies.
In his new book, "Midnight in Peking," Paul French solves the 1937 murder of foreign resident Pamela Werner, and brings to light the truths about expat life in a city on the brink of Japanese invasion.
Dragging out Libya's lessons for China is of course a sensitive issue, and few traditional media have tackled the question even indirectly. One editorial in particular is worthy of note, however. On August 26, Shanghai's Oriental Morning Post, which has distinguished itself as one of China's hardest-hitting publications since playing a key role in breaking the 2008 poisoned milk scandal, ran a lead editorial called, "Give the People a Choice, Give Everyone a Route of Escape."
What does concern me, as one of the names on the list, is the suggestion that there is anything one can do personally, or even collectively, to be removed from such a list, so that's what I'll focus on here.
This is a sarcastic poll created by a Chinese netizen on one of the China's largest social networking sites-Renren.com, which asks participants to vote for China's most notorious phenomenon.
Chinese can seem utterly alien at first to an English speaker, but these eight essential tips for learning Mandarin Chinese will help you on the way to mastering the language.
What looks to be about a five-year-old girl is captured on camera (by who we assume to be her mother) maneuvering a car through traffic while being softly guided and encouraged to "pay attention."
In the latest in our new series, "The Big Question", James Miles argues that if you're looking for the world's capital city, you have to look to China.
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RESOURCES
The following is a glossary of trades (手艺), crafts (工艺) and occupations (职业) in English and Chinese.
My friend Andrew Hupert is going to be putting on a webinar entitled, "Chinese Negotiation for Westerners: Tactics and Counter Tactics." It is going to focus on the "right way" to negotiate in China. It will be on Friday, September 2, from 9:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., China time/9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. United States Eastern Time.
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