ZGBriefs October 6, 2011
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FEATURED ARTICLE
Second part of a review of Christianity and Chinese Culture, edited by Miikka Ruokanen and Paulos Huang (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010). Read part one on Confucianism here. "Since the reforms of the 1980s every major religion has experienced development in China," writes Gao Shining, author of a chapter on Christianity and popular religion in China. Since his chapter was, to me, the most provocative, I shall discuss it first, though it comes later in the volume. |
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GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Dalai Lama cancels highly charged South Africa trip (October 4, 2011, Reuters) The Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, canceled a trip to South Africa planned for this week that had put Pretoria in a bind between its biggest trading partner China and one of its modern heroes, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu. The Dalai Lama's office said on Tuesday he canceled the trip intended for him to attend Archbishop Tutu's 80th birthday celebration because South Africa, which has had his application paperwork for weeks, had not issued him a visa on time. Last week, China agreed to $2.5 billion in investment projects with South Africa during a visit by South African Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to Beijing. South African President Jacob Zuma's African National Congress (ANC) government had come under pressure from China not to issue a visa to the Dalai Lama, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate Beijing sees as a dangerous separatist. Tutu said the government's action was a national disgrace.
US lawmaker slams China for cyber spying (October 4, 2011, AP) The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee on Tuesday accused China of waging an unprecedented campaign of cyber espionage aimed at stealing some of the most important U.S. industrial secrets. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., said Chinese efforts to pilfer the United States' technological know-how via the Internet have reached an "intolerable level," and called on the U.S. and its allies to pressure Beijing to stop. He made his remarks during a congressional hearing. Few intelligence insiders have discussed such concerns so bluntly. China is both a major U.S. economic partner and the nation's biggest foreign creditor. Rogers said the corporate victims of cyber spying, when they were willing to discuss it at all, are also reluctant to point the finger at China out of concern they could become the target of retaliatory attacks.
White House voices concern on China currency bill (October 5, 2011, Reuters) The White House on Wednesday voiced concern that legislation the U.S. Senate is expected to approve this week designed to press China to let its currency rise could violate international trade rules. While reiterating that it shared lawmakers' desire to ensure that U.S. workers and businesses face a level playing field when competing with China, the White House hardened its criticism of the legislation, which has drawn trade war warnings from Beijing. "We certainly ... have concerns about this particular legislation, and whether or not it would create consistency issues with our international obligations," White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters.
Russia says it has detained suspected Chinese spy (October5, 2011, Reuters) Russia's security service said on Wednesday it had detained a suspected undercover Chinese spy late last year who was working to gain access to sensitive missile technology, Russian news agencies reported. It was not clear why news of the detention was released only now, less than a week before Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visits China as part of efforts to strengthen ties with Beijing. Chinese citizen Tun Sheniyun had been accused of trying to buy sensitive material on a Russian anti-aircraft missile system while working under the guise of a translator for official delegations, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said, according to the state-run RIA news agency.
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HEALTH
China to slash leprosy cases by half by 2020 (October 3, 2011, China Daily) China plans to reduce the rate of leprosy cases by 50 percent over the next ten years in a bid to eradicate the infectious disease in the country, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced. The prevalence rate is targeted to be brought down to one case per 10,000 people by 2015, down by 20 percent compared to 2010, and the rate will further shrink to one in every 100,000 people by 2020, down 50 percent from 2010, according to a national leprosy-control plan (2011-2020) published by the MOH. A total of 500,000 leprosy patients have been reported and given free treatment across the country since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. |
RELIGION
Fourth Tibetan Monk Self-Immolates in Anti-China Protest (October 3, 2011, The New York Times) A young Tibetan monk set himself on fire Monday in a remote western town to protest Chinese policies, the fourth monk from Kirti Monastery to self-immolate this year, according to a Tibet advocacy group based in London.
Chinese Muslims to begin pilgrimage to Mecca (October 6, 2011, China Daily) More than 2,600 Chinese Muslims from Northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region will begin their annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia later this month, local religious officials said Thursday. The number traveling this year is about 200 more than that of last year, said Hei Fuli, vice chairman and secretary-general of the Islamic Association of Ningxia. The Muslims will fly to Saudi Arabia via eight Air China charter flights between October 17 and 22, and will return to Ningxia between November 27 and December 2, Hei said. |
EDUCATION / CULTURE
Museum on 1911 Revolution to open (October 5, 2011, China Daily) A museum on the 1911 Revolution will open on the upcoming Saturday in central China's Hubei Province, where the revolution started, said local sources on Wednesday. With its exterior wall painted as the revolutionary color of red, the museum covers 22,000 square meters. It shows more than 900 items and nearly 700 photos on the epoch-making event. From Saturday to October 14, the museum opens to tourist groups. It begins receiving a maximum of 2,000 individuals a day from October 15. Visitors will be free of charge. The 1911 Revolution which began on October 10, 1911 with an armed uprising, ended 2,000 years of imperial rule by toppling the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and resulted in a republican government, the first in Asia. As 1911 was called Xinhai in the traditional Chinese way of numbering years, the revolution is named Xinhai Revolution.
Chinese Ming vase smashes auction record in Hong Kong (October 5, 2011, BBC News) A Chinese vase from the early Ming period has been sold for $21.6m (£14m) - a world record at auction for any item of Ming porcelain. The vase, owned by Swiss tycoons, was bought at Sotheby's Hong Kong by an anonymous telephone bidder. The blue and white Meiping vase of fruit sprays is estimated to be at least 500 years old. The Sotheby's Hong Kong sales are seen as key indicators of the strength of the Asian art market. |
SOCIETY / LIFE
China denies int'l baby trafficking reports (September 30, 2011, AP) Officials in south China's Hunan province have dismissed claims that more than a dozen babies were seized from parents who violated the country's one-child policy and sold to orphanages who arranged to have them adopted overseas. A four-month investigation into the allegations, first reported in May by the Beijing-based Caixin Century magazine, found no evidence of baby trafficking in Hunan's Shaoyang city, said an official from the Hunan press office in the provincial capital of Changsha who would give only his surname, Zuo. However, investigators did uncover serious violations by 12 Shaoyang officials, who have since been punished, Zuo said Friday. He declined to elaborate or give details. A Shaoyang city press release posted online Wednesday said the 12 were fired and dismissed from the Communist Party. It didn't say what sort of violations they committed.
China vows to punish posters of Internet rumors (October 1, 2011, AP) China is vowing anew to punish people who post rumors and falsehoods on the Internet as the government tries to rein in forums that have increasingly become sources of debate and criticism. A spokesperson for the State Internet Information Office, a regulatory body under China's Cabinet, said in a statement released late Friday that Internet rumors and hoaxes were "malignant tumors" that harm social stability. The unnamed spokesperson's statement, which was carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, called on Internet users to abide by laws and stop spreading rumors, and urged websites to up their policing of content.
Sun Yat-sen-led revolution commemorated in China (September 2, 2011, China Daily) Facing the portrait of Mao Zedong hung on the Gate of Heavenly Peace, a gate to the Forbidden City, a portrait of Dr. Sun Yat-sen stood on the tourist-packed Tiananmen Square on Sunday, eight days ahead of the centenary of the 1911 Revolution, which was led by Sun and toppled China's last dynasty. Tourists crowded in front of Sun's portrait and took pictures on the second day of the National Day holiday. Sun is revered as the forerunner of democratic revolution in China. The 1911 Revolution which began on October 10, 1911 with an armed uprising, ended 2,000 years of imperial rule by toppling the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) and resulted in a republican government, the first in Asia. As 1911 was called Xinhai in the traditional Chinese way of numbering years, the revolution is named Xinhai Revolution.
Railway passengers hit a record 8.928m on National Day (October 2, 2011, Shanghai Daily) China's railways carried a record 8.928 million passengers throughout the country on October 1, the country's National Day, the Ministry of Railways said today. Railway passengers soared 7.7 percent yesterday from the previous National Day, the MOR said. A surge in both long- and short-distance travelers contributed to the heavy traffic, according to the ministry. A total of 310 temporary trains were put into service yesterday, the first day of the country's week-long holiday, the ministry said.
Free admission boosts popularity of museums (October 3, 2011, China Daily) About 30,000 people visited the National Museum of China on Sunday, a record high after it reopened in March with a free admission policy following renovations. The museum has witnessed a large increase in the number of visitors since it abolished its 20-yuan ($3.13) entrance fee. "I would not have come here if it were not for free," Yang Shucheng, a 65-year-old retiree, told Xinhua News Agency. Like the National Museum, most of the museums and memorial sites administrated by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage no longer charge admission fees after the central government issued a notice in January 2008 calling for free admission to all museums and memorial sites.
China web users mourn Jobs (October 6, 2011, AP) China's popular Sina web portal has created a tribute page to Steve Jobs with a banner that reads: "To live is to change the world." The website is gathering comments from its microblog service, Weibo, where many people Thursday were posting photos and video of Jobs and flickering candle icons. Former Google and Microsoft executive, Li Kaifu, pasted a photograph of a rainbow near Apple headquarters that a friend sent him. "I think God made this especially for Jobs," Li wrote.
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BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / TRADE
China factory activity picks up, export orders recover (September 30, 2011, Reuters) China's factory activity picked up in September for a second month in a row and export orders strengthened, offering some reassurance that the world's second-largest economy can weather the global economic turmoil. The official purchasing managers' index showed inflation pressures eased slightly, but probably not enough for Beijing to relax in its battle against soaring prices. China's PMI inched up to 51.2 from August's 50.9, largely in line with a median forecast of 51.3 in a Reuters poll.
China's Wen sees progress in inflation fight (October 5, 2011, Reuters) Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said his government has scored initial success in taming inflation, and told banks to lend more to small firms and tolerate high levels of bad debt from them, official media reported on Wednesday. Wen made the remarks while visiting Zhejiang province in eastern China, where reports have said a string of private entrepreneurs starved of formal bank credit have gone into hiding to avoid repaying high-interest informal loans. Wen said despite those strains and a worrisome international economic outlook, China's economy is "basically in good shape," the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS
The lift-off was flawless. The orbit immaculate. But while China's leaders were celebrating the triumphant launch of Tiangong-1 space lab on Thursday, viewers of state television footage were treated to a bizarre choice of soundtrack: America the Beautiful.
China is rife with extravagant building projects in backwater towns often grappling with poverty.
Hundreds of twins, triplets and quadruplets have gathered in Beijing for the city's eighth annual twins festival. China has a strict "one child" policy for urban families, but multiple births are a permitted exception to the rule.
To understand just how poor rural Guizhou is, you can look at the statistics. Or you can look at the children in Qixin village...Last year, Shanghai took the top spot in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)'s international rankings for reading, maths and science in state schools. Meanwhile, at Zhao's primary, the big educational challenge is "no food", says headteacher Xu Zuhua. Malnutrition stunts her pupils' growth and hampers their concentration.
Guiyang, the capital of China's remote southern Guizhou province, is growing at a rapid rate as new roads, homes and bridges are built at a frenetic pace.
Unicorns are beautiful, make-believe creatures. But despite overwhelming evidence of their fantastical nature, many people still believe in them. Much of America's China policy is also underpinned by belief in the fantastical: in this case, soothing but logically inconsistent ideas. But unlike with unicorns, the United States' China-policy excursions into the realm of make-believe could be dangerous.
China's rise to global prominence has long preoccupied the leaders of the developed world. They should be more concerned about what happens if the country's growth falters.
Not long after being baptized, Chai turned her attention to the daily loss of innocent life due to China's one-child policy and subsequent forced abortions. By some estimates, Chinese women have had 400 million abortions since 1979, when the government implemented the one-child policy.
A sharp rise in China's yuan currency might cut the U.S. trade deficit by as much as one third and create enough American jobs to put at least a modest dent in the unemployment rate. Then again, it may also lead to a destabilizing spike in Chinese unemployment and spark a trade war that drags the global economy back into a deep recession.
A rise in self-immolation by Tibetan monks, with three in the past fortnight alone, coincides with Beijing and the Dalai Lama escalating a verbal war over the spiritual leader's reincarnation. Fears Beijing will impose its own candidate are driving the tense situation, but the community in exile is divided over the form of protest.
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LINKS TO BLOGS
We interviewed Mike Chinoy, CNN's former Beijing Bureau Chief and Senior Asia Correspondent, who is currently a Senior Fellow at the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California, about his experience as one of the first American journalists reporting from China.
A massive vaccination campaign is under way in China after an outbreak of polio, more than 10 years after the country was declared polio free. What are the implications for the global effort to eradicate the disease?
If you have any foreigners in China and you want to shut down your business, either get all of those foreigners out and have them never again return, or shut down your business correctly. How then does one shut down a Chinese business correctly? There are essentially three ways.
This time last year, Chinese media were dubbing 2010 the "inaugural year" of the microblog in China. Platforms like Sina Weibo and QQ Weibo, which enabled real-time sharing of text, links, images and video, were already impacting the news agenda in China. In an October 2010 post, CMP Director Ying Chan wrote about how she witnessed Chinese editors at a forum in Shanghai busily checking their mobiles for the latest microblog updates on a forced demolition case in Jiangxi province that was grabbing headlines at the time.
What the Chinese want out of life is to return to where they came from, which has been painted in oily blossoms by all the philosophers of every dynasty. It is the Eastern version of Eden, and follows the same path, for man tampered with the Tao by "doing", and left that idealistic state of ignorance and bliss that once made him a monkey, and not a man.
Yang Lan, a journalist and entrepreneur who's been called "the Oprah of China," offers insight into the next generation of young Chinese citizens - urban, connected (via microblogs) and alert to injustice.
In news that has shaken the world of higher education in China, 69 students at Guiyang Defense University were found to have been sent to work at a manufacturing facility in the city of Dongguan just six days after they began their studies. In their three-year course of study, factory labor accounted for half their "study" time, and during work periods they worked daily double shifts of more than ten hours. The wage levels earned by these student laborers are so low as to inspire fury - just 1,300 yuan over a period of seven months, or less than 200 yuan on average per month.
China is moving towards a major leadership transition in 2012. A process that looks opaque is governed by clear if unwritten rules, says Kerry Brown.
News of Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs's death began to spread on Sina Weibo, China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service, almost immediately after it was confirmed on Apple's website.
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RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS
The Xinhai year of 1911-1912 marked the failure of an ambitious, although tardy, program of political reform launched by the Qing court, China's last imperial ruling house. It was a year when an ill-conceived bid by Beijing to take control of locally developed railways and strategically flawed military repression added to widespread elite and popular discontent. Inchoate regional disturbances led to open revolt and eventually revolution. By the end of Xinhai the young emperor Xuantong (also known in English as Henry Puyi) had been forced to abdicate and a Republic of China had been declared.
On September 27, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) announced the national launch of "police microblogging construction" (gong'an weibo jianshe) as the newest element in its social management toolkit and public security informationization (MPS.gov.cn, September 27; People's Daily, September 27).
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