ZGBriefs October 27, 2011
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FEATURED ARTICLE
Yet in all of these discussions of ethics and morals, questions about the reluctance of the Chinese to play the Good Samaritan for Yue Yue, there has been no serious examination of the religious or philosophical issues at play (that I have seen). |
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GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
China paper warns of "sound of cannons" in sea disputes (October 25, 2011, Reuters) One of China's most popular newspapers warned on Tuesday that nations involved in territorial disputes in the South China Sea should "mentally prepare for the sounds of cannons" if they remain at loggerheads with Beijing. The Global Times is published by Communist Party mouthpiece the People's Daily, but unlike that newspaper it is not a platform for official policy and tends to take a stridently nationalist tone which pleases it readers. In a editorial published in its Chinese and English editions, the tabloid-sized Global Times accused countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines of taking advantage of China's "mild diplomatic stance" to push their own agendas. "Currently, China's mainstream understanding is that it should first go through the general channels of negotiating with other countries to solve sea disputes. But if a situation turns ugly, some military action is necessary," it wrote. "If these countries don't want to change their ways with China, they will need to mentally prepare for the sounds of cannons. We need to be ready for that, as it may be the only way for the disputes in the sea to be resolved."
China considers new law better defining terrorism (October 25, 2011, AP) China said Tuesday that it is considering new legislation to better define terrorism and allow for the public listing of terrorist groups, in an effort to strengthen prosecution against domestic threats and bolster Beijing's role in international cooperation. A proposal before the national legislature would provide more specific legal definitions for terrorists and terrorist acts based on Chinese and international precedents, making it easier to bring terrorism charges, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The proposal targets those using violence, sabotage or threats in hopes of intimidating or coercing governments or international organizations. Incitement, funding or providing other support would also be considered terrorism.
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HEALTH
China's Xinjiang steps up polio vaccinations after one dead, 17 paralyzed (September 21, 2011, Xinhua) China vaccinated about 3.89 million children against polio in one of its far western regions this month, bringing the region's vaccinated population to 60 percent after an August outbreak left one person dead and paralyzed 17 others, local health officials said Friday. The latest round of vaccinations included children under 15 years old in six high-risk areas and children under five years old in eight low-risk areas in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, said Yin Yulin, head of the regional government's health bureau. More than 9.3 million children and adults in Xinjiang, a vast region that is home to 21 million people, were vaccinated in September, the official said. The next round of vaccinations will start in November.
Cabinet OKs emergency vaccine provision plan (October 26, 2011, Xinhua) The State Council, or China's Cabinet, on Wednesday approved a plan to create a national vaccine provision system in order to boost the country's ability to cope with epidemic emergencies. The plan was passed at a regular meeting held by the State Council and presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao. "Our country's vaccine reserves can meet the basic demands of regular epidemic prevention, but our ability to research, manufacture and preserve supplies for emergencies are inadequate," said a statement released after the meeting. Although acknowledging vaccination as "one of the most economic and effective measures" to prevent infectious diseases, the statement said that the actual vaccination rate in the country is still comparatively low. According to the plan, a vaccine provision system that can supply regular use and at the same time greatly boost the country's ability to cope with emergencies should be set up by 2015.
Police crack underground organ-trade ring (October 26, 2011, China Daily) Police in East China's Shandong province announced Wednesday that they have cracked two illegal organ-transplant clinics, arresting 18 people involved. The clinics in the Huaiyin district of Jinan, capital of Shandong, were raided Sunday night as doctors were preparing for a kidney transplant, said an official with the city's police bureau. Police were tipped off earlier this month, and then launched a probe with the city's health bureau against the two clinics. They found that vehicles and people regularly shuttled between the two clinics, which were not far away from each other, the official said. They decided to raid the two clinics after 10 days of investigation. |
RELIGION
Another Tibetan monk sets himself on fire in China (October 26, 2011, AP) A British human rights group says another Tibetan Buddhist monk has set himself on fire in a protest against Chinese rule over the Himalayan region in the 10th self-immolation this year.The monk set himself ablaze early Tuesday outside a Tibetan monastery in southwestern Sichuan province's Ganzi prefecture, the London-based Free Tibet group said in a statement. The group said it was unable to confirm the monk's age or name. It was unsure of his condition and whereabouts. |
EDUCATION / CULTURE
China to provide food allowance to needy students (October 26, 2011, Xinhua) The State Council, or China's cabinet, has decided to create a food allowance for about 26 million needy students nationwide, according to a statement issued on Wednesday. Each student will receive an average of three yuan (47 cents) daily from the central budget, said a statement issued after a State Council meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.The policy will be implemented on a trial basis in 680 less-developed counties, the statement said. Authorities will have to allocate a total of 16 billion yuan annually from the central budget to meet the policy's requirements, it said.
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SOCIETY / LIFE
Ten percent of Chinese women encounter gender discrimination in job-hunting: survey (September 21, 2011, Xinhua) A survey on the social status of Chinese women released on Friday shows that one in ten women have encountered sexual discrimination in the country's job market. The nationwide decennial survey has been the third of its kind, and was jointly conducted by the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) and the National Bureau of Statistics of China. "The social status of Chinese women has greatly improved over the past decade. But, among female students looking for jobs, nearly one-quarter reported having encountered unequal treatment," Song Xiuyan, vice president of the ACWF, said. More than 70 percent of women have a clear understanding of gender discrimination, as they discern prejudices against women in terms such as "being looked down upon because of giving birth to a female child," said Song, who is also the first secretary of the federation. According to the survey, nearly eight percent of surveyed women have encountered sexual harassment in the workplace.
A quarter of Chinese women 'abused'(October 22, 2011 Shanghai Daily) A quarter of Chinese women have suffered domestic abuse, the government said in a survey issued yesterday, showing the ongoing struggle of women in a society in which Chairman Mao Zedong once famously said women hold up half the sky. Some 24.7 percent of women have experienced domestic abuse, according to the results of the survey that classifies domestic abuse as verbal humiliation, physical assault, deprivation of personal freedom, illegal control of income and rape. The survey was based on the responses of 105,573 women aged 18 and above throughout the country. Reports of physical assault stood at 5.5 percent, with a rate of 7.9 percent among rural women and 3.1 percent among their urban counterparts, the survey indicated.
Beijing's neighbor supplies water to ease capital's thirst (October 22, 2011, Xinhua) A small county in north Hebei province has begun supplying water to its neighbor Beijing to ease the capital city's thirst. Chicheng county, about 180 kilometers northwest of Beijing, will provide 15 million cubic meters of water to Beijing from now to the end of November, said Li Min, a top county official. A major water source for the capital city, Chicheng provides for 53 percent of the water in Miyun Reservoir, the largest storage facility in north China. This means one third of Beijing's drinking water comes from Chicheng.
Truck kills herder in Inner Mongolia China (October 24, 2011, BBC News) An ethnic Mongolian herder has been killed in China in circumstances similar to an incident in May which led to protests in the region, reports say. A human rights group said the herder had been trying to protect grazing land from Chinese oil trucks in Inner Mongolia when he was knocked down. Chinese authorities said he had tried to overtake a truck on a motorcycle.
China to build mass low-income apartments (October 25, 2011, China Daily) China will have begun construction on 10 million low-income housing projects by the end of November, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said on Tuesday. According to the ministry's statistics, by the end of September, plans were finished for 98 percent of the planned construction projects, or 9.86 million apartments. Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development Jiang Weixin said the apartments include 1.65 million low-rent apartments, 1.10 million low-income apartments and 2.27 million public rental apartments.
Three people punished for spreading rumors online (October 26, 2011, Xinhua) Three people, including a website editor, have been punished for spreading rumors online, according to a statement issued by the State Internet Information Office on Tuesday.A Shanghai resident surnamed Li was held in local police custody for 15 days for posting a falsified personal income tax document from the State Administration of Taxation in August, and misleading the public, the statement said. A university student in southwest China's Yunnan Province was detained for posting a fake news item about a sick man who killed eight village heads in Yunnan, it said. The editor of a leading gateway surnamed Pei received a warning from his employer for publishing a microblog entry about an air force fighter crash without confirming the source and facts, the statement said.
China to limit 'vulgar' reality television shows (October 26, 2011, BBC News) China is to clamp down on the number of entertainment shows broadcast on satellite television channels in a bid to boost public morality. Authorities are concerned at the "vulgar tendencies" of light entertainment shows, particularly reality TV, dating and talk shows. From next year, satellite channels will each be permitted to screen only two programmes of this type a week. Networks will be required to promote "socialist core values" instead.
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BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / TRADE
China says trade with NKorea has nearly doubled (October 23, 2011, AP) China's trade with its close ally North Korea nearly doubled in the first seven months of the year compared with the same period in 2010, state media reported Sunday. The 87 percent increase to $3.1 billion was announced at the start of a visit to the North by Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang that reaffirms strong ties between the communist neighbors. Li said China was hoping for better relations between North and South Korea and a resumption of long-stalled six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
13 Wal-Mart stores in SW China reopen after pork scandal (October 25, 2011, Xinhua) Thirteen Wal-Mart stores in southwest China reopened on Tuesday after being closed down by local authorities for 15 days for selling incorrectly labelled pork. The company set up supervisory teams at stores in the city of Chongqing to improve management and overhaul product labeling during the temporary closure. Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan said the measures that Wal-Mart took are rational and practical, adding that they demonstrate the company's sincerity and willingness to assume responsibility.
China minimum wage up by 21.7% despite economic cooling (October 25, 2011, AP) Labour costs are rising in China, with official figures showing minimum wages have grown by more than a fifth. The average minimum wage in most of the country rose by 21.7% at the end of September, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security said.This comes despite a broader economic slowdown engineered by Beijing to bring down inflation.Rising costs may mean China will lose its edge as one of the world's cheapest manufacturing centres.
SKorea, China agree to expand currency swap deal (October 26, 2011, AP) South Korea's central bank says it has agreed with its Chinese counterpart to expand their currency swap deal as a backstop against global economic turmoil.The Bank of Korea said Wednesday that its won-yuan swap agreements with the People's Bank of China will double from 180 billion yuan to 360 billion yuan for the next three years. The South Korean central bank's announcement came as Chinese Vice Premier Le Keqiang met with South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak during a two-day trip to Seoul.
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ENVIRONMENT / TECHNOLOGY
China spacecraft to launch soon to test docking (October 26, AP) China will launch an unmanned spacecraft early next month that will attempt to dock with an experimental module, the latest step in what will be a decade-long effort to place a manned permanent space station in orbit. In space, the Shenzhou 8 will carry out maneuvers to couple with the Tiangong 1 module now in orbit. The ship and the modified Long March-2F rocket that will sling it into space were transferred early Wednesday to the launch pad at the Jiuquan space base on the edge of the Gobi desert in northern China, the official Xinhua News Agency said. Its exclusive report did not specify a date for the launch. Chinese space officials rarely speak to foreign media.
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LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS
A campaign to draw attention to the plight of Chen Guangcheng, the rights lawyer who has been forcibly confined to his home in China's Shandong Province for more than a year, escalated over the weekend, with dozens of people trying to visit him, human rights advocates said Monday.
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LINKS TO BLOGS
The film, now titled Living With Dead Hearts, explores the issue of kidnapped children in China and how it affects the parents, the children and the whole community. And it needs your help to finish being made.
Below, a collection of links about the book itself, as well as some of the many reviews that have appeared recently.
An unprecedented series of suicides erodes Beijing's repressive policies, hinting at a new wave of unrest
In episode 1, Rowblatt visits Africa to see how China's economic involvement is changing the lives of ordinary Africans, for both better and worse. He visits Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia to understand the situation on the ground, and gets subjected to the 'Please stop filming!' hand-in-front-of-the-camera routine, and even has time for some universal humanity lolz.
What's the purpose of all this effort at putting the need for a uniform Chinese culture front and center now, at a major Party conclave? One aim is that many officials want to put the Party back front and center in the lives of people-be that through revolutionary nostalgia or providing cultural guidance.
This was an important session of the Central Committee, but it's still far from clear what direction the Party will take as its new leadership takes over the reins next year. Nor is it clear what the final make-up of the new Politburo will be, apart from Xi Jinping, the likely successor to President Hu Jintao, and Li Keqiang, the likely successor to Premier Wen Jiabao.
China has tightened the limits once again on the nation's broadcasting media - and online critics aren't pleased.
Baby formula. In the prime real estate where one might expect to find the usual array of borderland businesses-jewelry shops, money changers, electronics vendors-there are, instead, pharmacies for blocks in every direction.
After a full week of feverish coverage in official Chinese media about "cultural system reforms," and the need to bring about the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese people" through a flowering of the creative industries, Party leaders have finally released the full text of the document everyone has been yammering about.
We all know by now the standard-issue worry about China - too much debt-fueled building too fast, raising the risk of a hard landing. There's an additional wrinkle to the story, too, one that might be more worrying, as it has a bit of the feel of the subprime mortgage debacle that took down the global economy just a few years ago. We're talking about a large, off-balance-sheet world of debt, China's "shadow banking" system, which has grown to make up about 22% of all new financing in China, Barclays Capital reports.
China's super-competitive exporters give the country a capitalist flair and obscure fact that the country's state-owned companies still play a huge role in the economy. How big? According to a new report for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, a congressional review group, state-owned entities of one kind or another, account for about 50% of China's rapidly expanding gross domestic product.
Hundreds of angry homeowners gathered last weekend to protest what could become a growing trend of price slashing in housing markets around China.
The railway remains China's most popular way to travel long distances, and Chinese trains often show a slice of life for people across the social and economic spectrum. A series of photos of train passengers in China has been posted online and is being distributed throughout Chinese cyberspace.
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