ChinaSource | ZGBriefs | April 28, 2016

ZGBriefs is a compilation of news items gathered from published online sources. ChinaSource is not responsible for the content, and inclusion in ZGBriefs does not equal endorsement. Please go here to support ZGBriefs.

Featured Article

A warning for parched China: a city runs out of water (April 25, 2016, Marketplace)
Yang Shufang wakes up at 5 o'clock each morning and fetches water. "I bring a few buckets, enough for drinking or cooking," she says. Yang doesn’t live in the remote countryside, and her water isn’t from a village well. She lives on the seventh floor of a luxury condominium complex in Lintao, a Chinese city with nearly 200,000 people that’s run out of water.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

China confirms another test of new long-range missile (April 21, 2016, Reuters)
China's Defence Ministry on Thursday indirectly confirmed a report it had carried out another test of a new intercontinental missile. The Washington Free Beacon on Tuesday reported that China had on April 12 again tested a new long-range missile called the DF-41.

Video: Chinese President Xi Jinping Adds New Military Title (April 22, 2016, China Real Time)
Chinese President Xi Jinping is now the commander in chief of the new joint battle command center, in addition to being the chairman of the Central Military Commission.

Fraud Suspects From Taiwan Have Confessed, Chinese State Media Reports (April 22, 2016, The New York Times)
Forty-five fraud suspects from Taiwan who are suspected of cheating mainland Chinese by telephone from a base in Kenya have admitted guilt and will soon face trial, according to the Chinese police, the state news media reported on Friday.

Is China’s authoritarianism decaying into personalised rule? (April 24, 2016, East Asian Forum)
The authoritarian rules of the game that have held sway since the beginning of the modern reform era are steadily breaking down. For all of the problems associated with China’s existing system of authoritarianism, worse consequences will emerge as these rules give way.

Foreign NGO Management Law; How Might it Affect You? (April 25, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
The American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) would like to find out how organizations in China anticipate being affected by the new law. To that end, they are inviting organizations to participate in a survey.

Chinese rights lawyer Ni Yulan placed under house arrest (April 25, 2016, The Guardian)
Chinese authorities have placed a disabled rights lawyer under house arrest and prevented a group of foreign diplomats from visiting her, she said, ratcheting up pressure weeks after the US state department gave her a bravery award.

When is a fact a fact in China? (April 25, 2016, China Media Project)
In a piece appearing on page seven of the People’s Daily on April 6, expressly intended as an explication of “the spirit of Comrade Xi Jinping’s important speech on news and public opinion,” communications scholar Chen Lidan (陈力丹), a professor at Renmin University of China, wrote about the relationship between the Party’s unquestioned leadership of the media on the one hand, and truth and relevance on the other.

Uighur Activist in Germany Sees China’s Hand in Revocation of Indian Visa (April 25, 2016, The New York Times)
A prominent democracy activist said on Monday that he had been blocked from traveling to India to meet the Dalai Lama after the Chinese government urged Indian officials to rescind his visa.

Five Things About the People’s Liberation Army (April 25, 2016, China Real Time)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken on the ambitious task of transforming the People’s Liberation Army into a smaller, more modern force that is able to project power far from its shores. Here are five things to know about the PLA.

Video: Manufacturing China’s Future (April 26, 2017, The New York Times)
We are pleased to have made a rare film that captures a Chinese mayor as authentically and intimately as possible. In this Op-Doc, he is not a poker-faced bureaucrat or a talking head. Instead we see him as a real man, with dreams, emotions, dilemmas and ego.

China Poised to Approve Crackdown on Foreign NGOs (April 27, 2016, China Real Time)
Chinese lawmakers are on the verge of approving a contentious law that treats overseas nonprofit groups as potential security threats.

China human rights campaigner Harry Wu dies (April 27, 2016, AP)
Harry Wu, a former political prisoner who dedicated his later life to exposing abuses in China's brutal prison labor camp system, has died. He was 79. Wu died Tuesday morning while on vacation in Honduras, Ann Noonan, administrator with Wu's Laogai Human Rights Organization, told The Associated Press.

Religion

Another priest missing in China's Hebei province (April 18, 2016, UCA News)
Family and supporters of a Chinese priest who went missing April 15 are demanding to see surveillance cameras that could offer clues to the priest's disappearance. Father Yang Jianwei is one of at least five underground Catholic priests in Hebei province who has been picked up by authorities this month, although two have since been released A Hebei source reports an increasingly tense situation for the underground church community, which operates unofficially outside the auspices of the official government-run "church," in the province.

Encouraged by a Chinese Missions Group (April 22, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
I’m sure there are many similar groups around China that I don’t know about, but I know of one particular missions group that has sent out no small number of missionaries. Most of their workers are serving in Muslim countries, even in closed countries where missionaries are not allowed to serve openly.

Be on guard for foreign religious infiltrators, Chinese president warns (April 25, 2016, South China Morning Post)
China must guard against religious extremism and foreign infiltration through religion, President Xi Jinping told a high-level meeting on religious affairs on the weekend. […]He urged officials to fully implement policies on religious freedom, stressing that religious groups must abide by the party’s leadership.

Is China changing its policy towards Uighur Muslims? (April 25, 2016, Al Jazeera English)
Has China just issued its first conciliatory statement towards the Uighur Muslim ethnic group, which has been persecuted for years? And has it done so out of fear or embarrassment that Uighur Islamic militants have now gone global, fighting for Islamic causes in many corners of the globe?

Cardinal Zen calls on Beijing to end religious persecution (April 25, 2016, UCA News)
Leading a prayer service in front of China's Hong Kong liaison office, retired Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun of Hong Kong called on Beijing to end the persecution of Christians and allow religious freedom. "Facing all this persecution, we cannot take it for granted. We cannot stand idly. If we keep silent, we are accomplices," Cardinal Zen told a group of about 100 people who attended the April 24 service.

I Will Go with You (April 26, 2016, Chinese Church Voices)
The following is a translation of an excerpt from a wedding sermon preached by Pastor Wang Yi of Autumn Rain Church in Chengdu. In it, he exhorts the couple to remember that they are not entering into this marriage alone, that God is going before them and with them.

Video: A Robot Monk Captivates China, Mixing Spirituality With Artificial Intelligence (April 27, 2016, The New York Times)
A childlike creature in an orange Buddhist robe, Xian’er is an object of fascination in China amid an increasingly urgent pursuit of spirituality and, more recently, artificial intelligence.

4 Takeaways from Xi’s Speech on Religion (April 27, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
At a long-awaited national conference on religion, held in Beijing April 22-23, CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping outlined his vision for “helping religions adapt to the socialist society” under the direction of the Party. Here are a few prominent themes from Xi’s speech.

House church on a hill (April 30, 2016, The World)
A Christian school. A pro-life ministry. A presbytery. One trailblazing congregation in southwest China is launching politically taboo initiatives and reshaping the face of the nation’s house church movement—under a government’s wary eye.

Society / Life

Jinan ranks China's most congested city (April 21, 2016, Xinhua)
Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, ranked as the country's most congested city during the first quarter, followed by Beijing and Hangzhou, a traffic congestion report showed Wednesday.

Chinese Modernization Comes to an Isolated People (April 24, 2016, The New York Times)
Now, in this sliver of land on the eastern rim of the Himalayas, the government is building new roads, expanding telecommunications and encouraging commercial ventures to alleviate poverty. Li Yingchun, who used to hike five days over a snowcapped mountain range from a village here to attend a boarding school, said a new paved road that runs through a seven-kilometer tunnel slicing into the mountains had made life easier.

Beijing to build toilets with free Wi-Fi (April 25, 2016, China Daily)
Beijing Municipality will build 100 toilets with free Wifi access this year, part of the city's "toilet revolution" efforts. The toilets, to be built in the districts of Tongzhou and Fangshan, will also have ATM machines and charging facilities for cellphones and electric vehicles, said Ji Yang, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of City Administration and Environment.

Sinkhole opens at busy crossroads in east China – video (April 25, 2016, The Guardian)
CCTV footage shows the moment a sinkhole opens on a busy road in Hangzhou province, east China. The footage shows an officer noticing cracks forming in the middle of the road. He then decides to divert traffic around the cracks in the tarmac, and cordons off the area using cones. Reportedly, just minutes later, the road collapses

As China’s Economy Slows, Unrest Among Veterans Rises (April 26, 2016, China Real Time)
China already has at least six million PLA veterans on state welfare, thousands of whom have staged well-organized protests in recent years over what they see as insufficient government support.

Economics / Trade / Business

Video: China’s Ticking Time Bomb of Debt (April 22, 2016, Reuters)

iTunes Movies and iBooks blocked in China (April 22, 2016, The Guardian)
Apple has confirmed its iTunes Movies and iBooks services have become unavailable in China, after reports that authorities had ordered them to be taken offline. “We hope to make books and movies available again to our customers in China as soon as possible,” a spokeswoman for Apple said in a statement.

Bigger Families, Bigger Cars? China’s SUV Makers Pin Hopes on Two-Child Policy (April 25, 2016, China Real Time)
As the Chinese dream expands from one child to two, auto makers hope the size of the family car grows as well. Auto executives made the pitch for a golden era of the SUV in China as Beijing’s annual motor show opened Monday

Do You Know Where Your Underwear is Made? (April 25, 2016, Outside-In)
I’m guessing that the answer “somewhere in China” popped into your head when you saw the title of this post. And of course you’d be correct. But which town in China? Can you answer that question?

China to revitalize northeast rustbelt (April 26, 2016, China Daily)
China will rejuvenate its northeast rustbelt region through more reforms and economic restructuring, according to a policy document released Tuesday. State-owned enterprises (SOEs) will be restructured, private firms will receive more support and regional cooperation will drive development, according to the document jointly published by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council.

Alibaba-Disney Partnership Frozen in China (April 26, 2016, China Real Time)
China is putting on ice an Alibaba partnership to bring Disney characters to Chinese screens, at a time when Chinese regulators are tightening control over online content.

Consumption in China is resilient, despite the economic slowdown (April 26, 2016, The Economist)
If you believe that China’s economy is in trouble and that Chinese consumers are clinging tightly to their yuan, a visit to a local automobile dealership may make you think again. China has already roared past America to become the world’s biggest car market.

China Employment Contracts: Ten Things To Consider (April 27, 2016, China Law Blog)
Here goes, the top ten things you should consider when employing anyone in China.

Haunted by Specter of U.S. Financial Crisis, Shanghai Restricts Subprime-Style Loans (April 27, 2016, China Real Time)
Shanghai authorities are getting serious about reining in subprime-style loans in the city’s housing market – and property brokerages are feeling the brunt of the crackdown.

Education

China officials 'investigate classroom brawl' in Anhui province (April 21, 2016, BBC)
Chinese authorities are investigating a classroom brawl between high school students and their teacher in Anhui province, local media report. A video purportedly showing the fight spread online on Wednesday, shocking netizens who condemned the incident.

Another University Murder: Time To Get Serious About Dorm Life Problems? (April 22, 2016, What’s on Weibo)
A recent Sichuan university murder case has shocked China’s netizens. As one of the most heinous campus crimes in China’s recent history, it has attracted much public discussion about the underlying factors that played a role in the murder. Is it time for Chinese universities to get more serious about its dorm life problems?

Another 'toxic school' case leads to closure of Chinese chemical works (April 22, 2016, The Guardian)
According to reports in the Chinese media, more than 20 primary school children at the Hai’an Chengnan Experimental Primary School in Jiangsu province have complained of rashes and other medial complaints in recent days. Residents of the surrounding area, which is about 200km north of Shanghai, told reporters they suspected toxic emissions from the industrial complex were responsible.

Plan for a Chinese academy stirs worries in a Conn. Town (April 27, 2016, The Boston Globe)
A year ago, the leaders of this quiet suburb found themselves faced with an unusual — and highly lucrative — proposition. A Chinese company wanted to build an international academy in town, then funnel hundreds of students from the academy into local public high schools, where students would pay thousands in tuition to the district.

Health / Environment

China Has Begun Cracking Down on Parents Protesting Substandard Vaccines (April 21, 2016, TIME)
Angry parents who congregated at Beijing’s National Health and Family Planning Commission on Tuesday to protest last month’s vaccine scandal have complained of intimidation and arbitrary arrest by security officials.

China's National Anti-Doping Agency laboratory suspended by Wada (April 22, 2016, BBC)
China's National Anti-Doping Agency laboratory has been suspended for up to four months by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Wada said the laboratory must take five remedial steps after it was found to have submitted two false negative results during blind tests in October. If it meets Wada's demands, the ban can be lifted early.

Beijing ambulances to get taxi-style meters (April 25, 2016, BBC)
Ambulances in Beijing will be fitted with taxi-style meters in an effort to allay public concerns about overcharging. From May, the emergency vehicles will charge a fixed rate of 50 yuan ($8; £5) for patients being transported up to 3km (1.9 miles), and then seven yuan for each kilometre travelled after that, the Beijing Morning Post reports. If an ambulance is called but then not needed, a 50-yuan charge will still apply, the paper notes.

Obesity 'explosion' in rural youth, study warns (April 27, 2016, BBC)
Researchers found 17% of boys and 9% of girls under the age of 19 were obese in 2014, up from 1% for each in 1985. The 29-year study, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, involved nearly 28,000 students in Shandong province.

Experiments envision HIV immunity (April 27, 2016, China Daily)
Chinese scientists are working on new projects inspired by the documented case of a man who was cured of AIDS. They hope eventually find a way to ensure that humans are born with immunity to the disease.

Science / Technology

WeChat for Newbies: The 6 Features You Need To Know (April 19, 2016, Nanjing Marketing Group)
Our lead social marketer Estrella Yang has narrowed down 6 WeChat features she believes small businesses must understand.

Smart Toilet Seats (April 21, 2016, Outside-In)
Most of the time when traveling in China, I would have been deliriously happy with simply Having a toilet seat — any kind of toilet seat! Dirty? Cracked? Whatever — just give me something to sit on, thank you very much.

China to Develop Floating Nuclear Power Plants (April 22, 2016, The New York Times)
A state-owned company, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, is planning to build a fleet of the vessels to provide electricity to remote locations including offshore oil platforms and the contentious man-made islands, the state-run newspaper Global Times reported on Friday.

History / Culture

Death of Last Cultural Revolution Group Member Met With Official Silence in China (April 21, 2016, China Real Time)
Five decades ago, Qi Benyu penned polemics used by Mao Zedong to unleash the Cultural Revolution, the tumultuous mass upheaval that racked China for ten years. But his death, weeks before the movement’s anniversary, barely caused a stir, ignored by officialdom and most mainland media.

Ancient Shang Dynasty coffins unearthed (April 27, 2016, China Daily)
Three sets of coffins believed to have been buried 3,000 years ago were unearthed in Central China's Henan province on Monday and taken to a museum in Anyang, sources said on Tuesday.

Arts / Entertainment / Media

Video: 'What do I fear? Myself!' Shakespeare's Richard III in Chinese (April 22, 2016, BBC)
On the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, scholars in China are trying to translate his complete works so the poetry of his original words can be fully appreciated in Chinese. One performance of Richard III in Beijing has introduced distinctly Chinese characteristics.

Tibetan Marvel Character Rewritten to Appease China (April 26, 2016, China Digital Times)
Two growing complaints against Hollywood—that it bows to China to secure access to its audiences, and “whitewashes” Asian roles—collided last week in an interview with “Doctor Strange” writer C. Robert Cargill. The forthcoming Marvel film has come under fire for the casting of British actor Tilda Swinton as “the Ancient One,” originally a 500-year old Tibetan sorcerer.

China's Media Startups Fight Censorship Crackdown (April 26, 2016, Bloomberg)
China is in the midst of a media crackdown, with tightened censorship, blocked websites and televised confessions from reporters. Nevertheless, the country's media industry is booming.

You can now ride the metro to Shanghai Disney station! (April 26, 2016, Shanghaiist)
After years of anticipation, the moment we have all been waiting for is finally here! The Disney Resort station has finally opened its doors in Shanghai, allowing visitors to race over and look out at the still unopened park.

China’s People’s Daily Vents Anger at YouTube over Lost Subscribers (April 27, 2016, China Real Time)
On Wednesday, Ren Jianmin, managing director of People’s Daily Online USA, penned an English-language online column about the paper’s YouTube channel losing thousands of subscribers in two days.

Eric Liddell, Running the Last Race (April 27, 2016, Outside-In)
Now, 35 years later, a sequel to that movie has been made, and it’s been made in China. Starring Joseph Fiennes, and directed by Stephen Chin, a Chinese Christian filmmaker, The Last Race tells the story of Liddell’s life after the Olympics.

Travel / Food

The Expats in China Who Became World Record-Breakers (April 14, 2016, China Real Time)
After three years in Beijing they decided to broaden their horizons by riding more than 21,000 miles through 22 provinces.

Preview: Chengdu's new Tianfu International Airport (April 20, 2016, Go Chengdoo)
Local news reports this week provided readers with a sneak peak of the design of Chengdu's new Tianfu International Airport. Situated approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Chengdu's city center, the airport will feature a total of six runways suitable for A380 landings, 157 hangars and a total floor size of 1.26 million square meters.

A photo essay of China by Alessandro Ingoglia (April 27, 2016, Sapore di Cina)
Through my photos I tried to capture not only the panoramas, but above all the everyday moments, so as to reveal to the observer the variety, beauty an complexity of this country.

Language / Language Learning

Which Chinese language course should you take? (April 21, 2016, Hacking Chinese)
The answer has to be “it depends”. Since this answer is also very unsatisfactory, I’m going to expand it a bit by discussing what it depends on what factors you should take into consideration.

Books

Nineteen Seventy-Six: A Student Revolutionary Remembers the Year Mao Died by Ragnar Baldursson (April 15, 2016, Asian Review)
As a young Icelandic Marxist-Leninist student, Ragnar Baldursson applied for and was awarded a scholarship to study in the People’s Republic of China in 1975. He spent two years there, and forty years later has written a small book that is part memoir and part political reflection on what he describes as the “crucial” events of 1976, the Chinese Year of the Fire Dragon, when China suffered a disastrous earthquake, the Cultural Revolution ended, and Mao Zedong died.

Uyghur Nation: Reform and Revolution on the Russia-China Frontier (April 27, 2016, China Rhyming)
The meeting of the Russian and Qing empires in the nineteenth century had dramatic consequences for Central Asia’s Muslim communities. Along this frontier, a new political space emerged, shaped by competing imperial and spiritual loyalties, cross-border economic and social ties, and the revolutions that engulfed Russia and China in the early twentieth century.

Links for Researchers

Pushback against Xi Jinping’s One-Upmanship Strengthens (April 21, 2016, China Brief)
However, the Xi administration’s reaction to an anonymous letter calling for his resignation suggests that Xi, who is also Communist Party General Secretary and commander-in-chief, is far from secure about his powers.

Image credit: Lauren Parnell Marino, via Flickr

Share to Social Media

Joann Pittman

Joann Pittman is Vice President of Partnership and China Engagement and editor of ZGBriefs. Prior to joining ChinaSource, Joann spent 28 years working in China, as an English teacher, language student, program director, and cross-cultural trainer for organizations and businesses engaged in China. She has also taught Chinese at the University …View Full Bio

ZGBriefs

ZGBriefs | April 28, 2016