ZGBriefs November 17, 2011
www.zgbriefs.com |
|
| ZGBriefs is a condensation of news items gathered from published sources. ZGBriefs is not responsible for the content of these items nor does it necessarily endorse the perspectives presented. To subscribe to this free news from China or to tell a friend, click the "Join Our Mailing List" or "Forward Email" link below. |
|
|
FEATURED ARTICLE
China Outreach Ministries for the Twin Cities, a Christian organization, invited Chinese students to have a meal with American host families on Sunday and learn the meaning of Thanksgiving. |
| Archives |
Search past content by date or keyword at www.zgbriefs.com
|
Keep up with us all week.
Now you can follow ZGBriefs on Twitter! |
|
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Philippines seeks summit on sea row; China cool (November 15, 2011, AP) Beijing on Tuesday rejected the Philippines' calls for talks at regional meetings this week with China and five other countries embroiled in one of Asia's most volatile territorial disputes. Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines also wants the United Nations to arbitrate the overlapping claims to a string of potentially oil-rich islands in the South China Sea that straddle one of the world's busiest sea lanes. China wants individual negotiations to settle the disputes, which many fear could be Asia's next flash point for conflict. In Beijing, Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Zhenmin said at a news briefing that China hoped the issue would not be discussed at the two-day East Asian Summit of 18 Asian-Pacific nations in Bali, Indonesia.
Lawmakers criticize US aid to creditor China (November 15, 2011, AP) Lawmakers say it's an insult to the American people: The United States is borrowing money from China only to give some of it right back as foreign aid. And that, they say, is bolstering Chinese businesses that compete with American companies in hard economic times. A House hearing Tuesday provided a venue for Republicans to pounce on the Obama administration when wasteful spending, questionable foreign aid and US-China relations are all hot issues ahead of next year's elections. But an administration official told lawmakers there was no money going to the Chinese government or Chinese companies. In fact, it helped American companies trying to do business in China.
China leery of US-Australia military pact (November 16, 2011, AP) China says a move by the U.S. to expand its military presence in Australia deserves greater scrutiny and might not be appropriate. Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told reporters at a regular press briefing Wednesday that global financial difficulties have driven home the need for greater international cooperation. In light of those difficulties, Liu said it was worth discussing whether the U.S. plan to deploy Marines in northern Australia is in line with the common interests of the international community. The agreement, announced Wednesday during a visit to Australia by President Barack Obama, underscores concerns in the region over an increasingly assertive China.
|
HEALTH
China to train 35,000 emergency response medical professionals by 2015 (November 18, 2011, Xinhua) Over 35,000 emergency response medical staff will be trained in the 2011-2015 period to strengthen the country's capability to overcome disasters and public health emergencies, health authorities said Thursday.The government-funded program, detailing a massive training plan in the five years through 2015, was revealed in a Ministry of Health statement on Thursday. China still faces heavy pressure in terms of emergency response to natural disasters, accidents and public health incidents while the training mechanism for its medical rescuers remains weak, it said. |
RELIGION
China 'to give Tibetan monks welfare benefits' (November 14, 2011, BBC News) China plans to give Tibetan monks welfare benefits in an apparent attempt to improve "stability", according to Chinese news reports. Monks can expect pensions, medical insurance and living allowances. The announcement came at a gathering of the Tibetan branch of the Chinese Communist Party. It follows a series of incidents in which monks and nuns have set fire to themselves, revealing continuing discontent in Tibetan areas. |
EDUCATION / CULTURE
China Sent 157,588 Students to U.S. Colleges, Most of Any Nation (November 14, 2011, Bloomberg) Students from China at U.S. colleges and universities surged 23 percent this year to 157,558, accounting for more than a fifth of all international scholars in the country. For the second year in a row, China sent the most students to the U.S., followed by India, which sent 103,895, and South Korea, with 73,351, according to a report released today from the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit organization based in New York. The total number of international students in the U.S. climbed 4.7 percent in the 2010-2011 academic year to 723,277, with the fastest growth coming from China and Saudi Arabia, which sent 22,704 students, a 44 percent increase.
Berkeley Reveals Plan for Academic Center in China (November 16, 2011, The New York Times) The University of California, Berkeley announced this week that it plans to open a large research and teaching facility here as part of a broader plan to bolster its presence in China. The public university, which is struggling under budget constraints imposed by the state of California, said the Shanghai center would cater to engineering graduate students and be financed over the next five years largely by the Shanghai government and companies operating here. The program is expected to begin in July 2012. |
SOCIETY / LIFE
South China villagers riot over land dispute: police (November 13, 2011, Reuters) South Chinese villagers wielding clubs and stones attacked an industrial park, incensed by reports that an official had sold land without compensating them, police and media said on Sunday in the latest flare-up over commercial development. The riot broke out on Saturday in Zhongshan in Guangdong province, where rice paddy land has given way to factories that make many of China's exports. Authorities said the violence was quelled by police who took away suspected organizers.
Deadly blast hits China city Xian (November 14, 2011, BBC News) At least eight people have been killed in a suspected gas explosion in the Chinese city of Xian, officials say. The blast, at a fast-food restaurant, ripped through a commercial building in a suburb of the city, sending shards of glass and debris into the street. State media reported that 31 other people were hurt in the explosion at 07:30 (23:30 GMT, Sunday). Reports said that the dead included children walking past the building on their way to school. Seven deaths were reported at two hospitals, and the body of a woman was later found at the restaurant. State media reported that the blast shattered windows several kilometres from the scene. The Xinhua news agency and a local news website blamed the explosion on a gas leak.
China cracks down on online black markets (November 14, 2011, Xinhua) The Ministry of Public Security has launched a nationwide campaign to crack down on online black markets selling illegal goods including weapons and human organs, the ministry said Monday. The campaign, to last till February next year, is to investigate and punish online trafficking of items such as guns, explosives, some kinds of knives, highly poisonous chemicals, wiretapping software, fake identity cards, counterfeit money, personal information and human organs, the ministry said in a statement.The police will not only shut down websites that are implicated or punish their owners, but suspend related phone numbers and online accounts and impose penalties on the offenders, the statement said. According to the statement, the supervision and investigation will be focused on search engines, instant messaging services, e-commerce platforms and online blogs and forums.
China launches crackdown on illegal media organizations, fake reporters (November 14, 2011, Xinhua) Chinese authorities have launched a special campaign to crack down on illegal media organizations and fake reporters as a part of the country's efforts to enhance the reputation of its news media, according to a statement issued by the government on Monday. The crackdown is jointly carried out by the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publication (NOAPIP), and will last through the end of December, the statement said. The campaign primarily focuses on illegally-published newspapers and those with serial numbers of foreign publication registered overseas, according to the statement. The drive also targets media organizations operating without government approval, especially those established under the names of foreign media, as well as consulting firms disseminating illegal publications, the statement said.
Ai Weiwei: Feels like I just paid $1.3M ransom (November 16, 2011, AP) Outspoken Chinese artist Ai Weiwei said Wednesday he feels like he has paid a ransom, after depositing $1.3 million into a government account while he contests a huge tax bill months after being held in police detention. Chinese tax authorities say Ai's design firm, Beijing Fake Cultural Development Ltd., owes 15 million yuan ($2.4 million) in back taxes and fines. Ai disputes the government's tax-evasion allegations and says he does not even own the company involved. The guarantee paid late Tuesday was required by the local tax bureau in order for him and the company to challenge the tax bill, which was levied on his company months after he was released from police detention.
Death toll in NW China school bus accident rises to 20 (November 16, 2011, Xinhua) The death toll in a school bus accident that occurred on Wednesday morning in the northwest province of Gansu has risen to 20 following the death of one child later Wednesday. The victims, including 18 preschoolers and two adults, died in a head-on collision between a school bus and a truck in the city of Qingyang, said an official from the city's work safety bureau. The accident happened around 9:40 a.m. in Yulinzi township of Zhengning county, according to a statement from the bureau. The statement said five people died at the scene, including four children and their bus driver, while 15 others, their teacher included, were confirmed dead by the afternoon.
Kindergarten chairman detained over fatal school bus accident in NW China (November 17, 2011, Xinhua) The head of a kindergarten in northwest China's Gansu Province has been detained after a school bus accident on Wednesday that killed 20 people. Li Jungang, chairman of the Little Doctor Kindergarten in Zhengning County in the city of Qingyang, was detained on Wednesday because of liability issues, Zuo Jianghua, a spokesman for the Qingyang city government, said on Thursday. Fan Jungang, the driver of a truck that collided with the school bus, was also detained for causing the accident, said Zuo.
Police say man set himself on fire in Tiananmen (November 16, 2011, AP) Police in Beijing confirmed Thursday that a man set himself on fire last month over a court dispute in a rare case of such protest in Tiananmen Square, the politically sensitive center of China's capital. The police said officers at the scene quickly extinguished the fire and that the 42-year-old man, surnamed Wang, survived, in what is thought to be the first self-immolation attempt at the site of the 1989 pro-democracy protests in five years. The incident was first reported by Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper, which was given a photo by a British tourist who witnessed it. In the three weeks since, there have been no reports in the Chinese media on it. Usually information on such events seeps out through social media outlets. The Beijing Public Security Bureau said that in the October case, the man set himself on fire on the northern edge of the square near the photo of Mao Zedong. Policemen at the scene put out the flames and took Wang to a hospital.
|
BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / TRADE
China's Total Local Debt May Top Audit Estimates, Observer Says (November 13, 2011, Bloomberg) China's local government debt may be almost 3 trillion yuan ($473 billion) higher than the figure given by the nation's audit office, if loans taken out by township governments are included, the Economic Observer reported, citing research from an independent institute. Borrowing by townships, an administrative tier of government below provinces, cities and counties, wasn't included in a report by the National Audit Office in June that put debt from those three levels at 10.7 trillion yuan, the weekly newspaper said in a report on its website dated Nov. 12, citing Beijing Fost Economic Consulting Company. Local authorities in China, barred from directly selling bonds or taking bank loans, set up at least 6,576 companies to raise money for roads, sewage plants and subways, according to the audit office's report. Government officials have sought to allay concerns that the debt will saddle banks with soured loans and derail economic growth.
Pork prices fall 8.2 pct since mid-September (November 15, 2011, Xinhua) China's farm produce prices continued to fall last week, with pork prices 1.9 percent lower than a week earlier and down 8.2 percent cumulatively since mid-September, the Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday. Egg prices fell for a seventh straight week last week, down 0.6 percent, as supplies increased, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
China pessimistic about trade outlook (November 16, 2011, AP) China's government is pessimistic about its export outlook this year amid global economic turmoil, a Commerce Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.Demand for Chinese goods is under pressure from Europe's debt crisis and global economic uncertainty, while rising costs are hurting exporters' profits, said spokesman Shen Danyang at a news briefing. Shen gave no forecast for monthly trade but noted that export growth has fallen steadily this year, hitting 15.9 percent in October. That was down from this year's peak of 36 percent in March.
Apple meets China environment groups to polish image (November 17, 2011, BBC News) Apple has met with environmental groups in China in a bid to quell concerns about pollution caused by its Chinese manufacturers. The move comes after a report in August alleged that some Apple manufacturers were discharging harmful pollutants. The Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE) said the technology giant had shared its plans to address the issues during the talks. When contacted by the BBC, Apple refused to comment on the meeting.
|
ENVIRONMENT / TECHNOLOGY
No evidence that Three Gorges Dam caused climate change: report (November 11, 2011, Xinhua) A report released in Beijing Friday said there is no scientific evidence that the Three Gorges Dam has caused change to the climate and is to blame for meteorological disasters in recent years. Research has shown that the radius around the dam within which environmental conditions have been impacted by the development is less than 20 km, said the report titled "Green Book of Climate Change: Annual Report on Actions to Address Climate Change (2011)", published by the Social Sciences Academic Press under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Overhauled bullet trains back on track (November 15, 2011, Shanghai Daily) BULLET trains recalled after a fatal crash in July are to resume operations from this week, according to a Ministry of Railways official. A total of 54 CRH 380BL bullet trains on the Shanghai-Beijing route have been overhauled to fix technical problems and six trains will be back in service tomorrow, the official said. "After a three-month process of modifications and repeated tests, previously reported problems with the CRH 380BL trains have all been fixed. Operations will gradually resume starting from Wednesday," the official told the Xinhua news agency yesterday. "If everything goes well, all the recalled trains will resume service by December 6," he said.
China spacecraft returns to Earth after docking test (November 17, 2011, Reuters) An unmanned Chinese spacecraft returned to Earth successfully on Thursday after more than two weeks in orbit, marking a pivotal moment for the rising power's plans to secure a long-term manned foothold in space. The Shenzhou 8 spacecraft touched down in northern China's Inner Mongolia region after a fiery return to Earth, a live broadcast on Chinese television showed.
|
LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS
It is no wonder that the issue of how to control China's hundreds of millions of microblog users seems to be becoming more and more of a headache for the Communist Party.
Propaganda authorities, apparently worried that Mr. Locke makes Chinese leaders look out of touch, have imposed restrictions on media coverage of Mr. Locke, the former two-term governor of Washington State and commerce secretary, and the first Chinese-American ambassador here.
A string of self-immolations at a single Tibetan Buddhist monastery has put Aba prefecture, a remote corner of Sichuan province, in the news again, three years after violent protests in the run-up to the Beijing Summer Olympic Games and the devastation of the Wenchuan earthquake.
As costs soar in the cities, more couples in China are opting for 'naked marriages' - those without the once-required trappings of a house, a car, and other goods.
New book by the jailed dissident and Nobel peace prizewinner contains a moving tribute to his wife, the poet Liu Xia.
But he is nevertheless convinced that the country is on the brink of democratic change. ''I don't know how it will happen but I feel confident,'' he said. ''We will witness reform in the next five to 10 years.''
Thousands of lonely hearts flock to matrimonial expo as China's annual Singles' Day takes on added interest this year.
There are many social indicators to a country's development. Unfortunately, one of those signs seems to be a rising number of broken marriages. In China - now the world's most populous country and its second-strongest economy - Han Bingbin looks at the heartbreak, and searches for the reasons why.
The 21-year-old is one of the growing number of females choosing to join the macho world of bodyguarding. It is estimated that there are 3,000 loosely regulated bodyguard companies competing to provide personal security.
Recently, however, more and more rural students are refusing to transfer their hukou to urban areas at the start of their studies. Why has an urban hukou suddenly become less attractive?
Hu Xiao says his job as one of China's executioners is usually not very complicated, except for the time when a prisoner he was about to kill stood up and ran toward his loaded rifle. The rare glimpse into the ranks of China's executioners appeared in the Beijing Evening News newspaper on Monday.
Why does the Chinese government respond to some forms of protest, while stonily ignoring others? The answer can be found in the way the Chinese leaders, at all levels, think about their authority, their reputations and their power.
Those who are against the content of the China model itself are usually great admirers of the West. They see anything different to the way the West takes as bad and as a sign that modernization is not in full effect.
Separated by religion, language and culture, Uyghur migrants are treated with suspicion by their Han Chinese countrymen in Beijing, with discrimination leaving kebab stalls a sole option for work. Though the recent violence in Xinjiang has hardened attitudes against them, the migrants complain that a Han influx into their province leaves them "no homeland to return to".
New media laws that ban China's reporters from using unverified information from the Internet are targeted at rapidly spread online "rumors" that Beijing says could destabilize society, such as false reports of the death of a leader. However, censoring micro-blogs just helps rumors go viral - whether they are true or not - and history suggests that hard facts dispel lies better than manipulation.
Surveys have found that domestic violence is widespread here, occurring in 25 to 35 percent of households. Most victims are women, but children, some men and, increasingly, the elderly, suffer too. Surveys suggest that around 90 percent of offenders are men.
Dissident artist Ai Weiwei's latest provocative piece was handed to him by the Chinese government: a $2.4 million tax bill that he says is a trumped-up effort to silence him. Though jarred after spending nearly three months in police detention this year, he turned the demand into performance art - posting official documents online, tallying loans from supporters and making a video of himself singing an anti-censorship song.
|
LINKS TO BLOGS
Chinese friends are quick to point out that officially, prostitution is illegal but I've noticed that doesn't seem to mean very much.
Officially corruption is not done, also in China. But a bit of corruption can be very useful, explains author Zhang Lijia on her weblog. For example, when you have to catch the train to Nanjing on 9 a.m. and you do not have the right ticket.
China's a very interesting place right now in terms of sex education, sexual behaviour, and tenacious, strong taboos surrounding discussion of sex.
In Taxkorgan County of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, a rural village called Pili Village(皮里村) recently became famous when the above photo showing how children travel to school was posted on weibo by a CCTV journalist and retweeted over 16,000 times.
The four-day U.S.-China Forum on Arts and Culture, which kicks off Wednesday night with a dinner at the U.S. embassy orchestrated by Ms. Waters, is the brainchild of veteran China watcher Orville Schell, who describes it as a response to the sclerotic environment surrounding China policy in Washington D.C.
As the nation's most dynamic age group, China's youth have consumer brand managers scrambling to understand their rapidly evolving values and behaviors. Fortunately, a lot of great information is available on the English language Web for marketers hoping to sell to this demographic.
Yet one question that always crops up is - "How much does it cost to set up a WFOE?" - often without any reference to what the WFOE scope of business is expected to be. It's an impossible question to answer at such a basic level, as WFOEs can be extremely diverse.
Some images appear to show mining, power and military sites, while others are harder to identify. Can you work them out?
If you have unlimited time - if you already know Xinjiang - if you really love adventure travel - then you can probably skip exploring the region with a tour.
With some trepidation, I opened the cover and began reading chapter one of Safely Home.
Cross-cultural work is all about living between two poles and keeping them in juxtaposition. The problem is that modernity - our western Enlightenment culture - drives us to resolve that tension.
China poses a high corruption risk. No secret there. But did you know it also poses the broadest risk of any country?
Anyway, earlier this week, a Chinese city did publish PM2.5 data publicly on it's official Sina Weibo account. It just wasn't on purpose. The following is a partial translation of this article from Southern Metropolis Daily.
|
RESOURCES FOR RESEARCHERS
|
RESOURCES
The following 14 words have been translated literally (character-by-character) from Chinese into English. Your challenge is to see if you can guess the original Chinese word, as well as the idiomatic English translation. You get double points if you can guess both languages.
The following is an original text written by me about environmental issues. It can be used as a consecutive interpreting practice, or as study material for IELTS writing or NAATI interpreting training. Enjoy!
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
0 comments:
Post a Comment