ZGBriefs | July 21, 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.
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Featured Article

Why China is probably never getting Pokemon Go (July 18, 2016, Tech in Asia)
Pokemon Go, although it’s not available in China, is already making people nervous. A popular Weibo conspiracy theory goes that the entire game is a US-Japanese plot to GPS map China and determine the locations of Chinese military bases to facilitate quick strikes if a war ever breaks out. That’s ludicrous, of course, but Chinese authorities probably are concerned about the game, although no one has yet said as much publicly.

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Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

China’s Failure in the South China Sea (July 14, 2016, China File)
By reiterating its policy of “no acceptance, no participation, no recognition, and no implementation,” China has painted itself into a difficult corner and diminished the chances of resolving the myriad maritime disputes—involving Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and now even Indonesia as well as the Philippines—in a peaceful manner.

Minxin Pei: Political jockeying hinders real economic reform in China (July 14, 2016, Nikkei Asian Review)
The Communist Party's political calendar makes it inconceivable that top Chinese leaders would risk a recession ahead of another critical leadership succession. The party's next national congress, its 19th, is scheduled for the fall of 2017. Between now and then, Chinese leaders will be consumed by political jockeying.

Gao Zhisheng on China’s Persecution of Rights Lawyers (July 14, 2016, China Change)
It’s one year on since the large scale of crackdown on lawyers, but the government has not succeeded in subjugating the rights defense community. The opposite is true.

Hong Kong demands that candidates take pro-China pledge in order to run (July 16, 2016, The Los Angeles Times)
In an unprecedented move, Hong Kong electoral officials are asking all candidates running for the legislature in September to pledge under oath that the territory is an inalienable part of China. The measure, announced Thursday, two days before the period to nominate candidates opened, is believed to be aimed at appeasing Beijing by blocking any candidate who advocates independence from China.

China Begins Air Patrols Over Disputed Area of the South China Sea (July 18, 2016, The New York Times)
China’s air force flew a “combat air patrol” over the South China Sea “recently,” Xinhua, the official news agency, reported, citing Shen Jinke, an air force spokesman. The patrol consisted of bombers, fighters, “scouts” and tankers and would become “regular practice,” Mr. Shen said, according to Xinhua.

Lawyer of legal assistant detained during lawyer crackdown pens ‘letter of apology’ (July 19, 2016, Hong Kong Free Press)
The letter was posted on Weibo by Zhang Huiyun, one of the lawyers appointed by authorities to represent Zhao. The letter claimed it was written by Ren and included apologies for posting that Zhao suffered “personal insult” in a Tianjin detention centre. It said that statements he made to foreign media – that Zhao Wei was sexually assaulted in detention – were false.

Report: More Than 100 Chinese Muslims Have Joined the Islamic State (July 20, 2016, Foreign Policy)
But new documents, leaked by an Islamic State defector in early 2016, suggest that Beijing is likely correct about the scale of Uighur involvement with the militant movement — if not about the underlying cause.

Religion

The Decay of the Chinese Family (July 11, 2016, ChinaSource Quarterly)
Christians in mainland China who are becoming young parents find themselves swimming against all these tides. Many are affected by these social norms and live in the tension of raising families biblically in this environment. Basic understandings of how a Christian family and family education should be structured are much needed for this first generation of believers.

Families, Churches, and China's Transition (July 11, 2016, ChinaSource Quarterly)
With the destruction of family structure and the collapse of its ethical order, the family was no longer a refuge for individuals. Weak, isolated, and helpless, individuals were forced to face the powerful state directly. Coming from this context, the restoration of family order is a must for China’s transformation. The role the Chinese church should play in this is what we need to consider.

Intergenerational Challenges in Christian Marriages: A Sociological Case Study of Urban Young Christians in China (July 11, 2016, ChinaSource Quarterly)
With Christianity spreading in China, marriages are taking on new ethical norms among the expanding groups of young Christians, although not without challenges.

Musings On Personal Evangelism In China (July 14, 2016, China Partnership Blog)
Over the years, however, I have realized that any gospel presentation that begins with “God loves you…” often falls on deaf ears. There has been so many times when I have looked into the eyes of someone after saying this and have seen a completely blank stare.

Can Christianity save China? (July 14, 2016, The Week)
The growth of Christianity in China has been astonishing. At this point, it's no longer a question of if China will become a Christian nation, but when. The ramifications of this religious shift are massive, and will shake China's culture and economy to their cores

After decades of mistrust, Pope pushes for diplomatic breakthrough with China (July 14, 2016, Reuters)
Catholic officials say a deal is in the works that would defuse a core dispute between the Holy See and China’s Communist leaders: the fate of eight bishops the Vatican views as illegitimate. But the talks face internal resistance on both sides.

The Church on Gospel Road (July 15, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
Throughout the tourist development, there are signs pointing to the church, no different from the signs pointing to the parking area or the shopping areas. According to the signage, the church is on Gospel Road. 

Solving the House Church Problem (Part 2) (July 19, 2016, Chinese Church Voices)
Last week we posted part 1 of a proposal to resolve the status of house churches in China. In part 2, Professor Liu gets more specific as to how a house church documentation system could be set up and what would be gained by doing so.

China and the House Church: Breaking the Stalemate (July 20, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
Functioning in a legal gray area, China’s unregistered congregations have—particularly in the cities—come “above ground” by meeting openly in fixed locations. Some have become quite large and carry out a variety of programs directed at strengthening their members and having a witness in society. Yet their lack of legal status prevents them from defending themselves against official abuse.

Society / Life

2 Chinese Photographers Shed Light on China’s Rural Families (July 7, 2016, Project Pengyou)
Huang Qingjun and Ma Hongjie, two photographers, set out to show how not all of China is swept up by consumerism in an age of economic development.

The Many Countries of China (July 18, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
In other words, beware of headlines that blare, “China says…” or “China does….”

Has China Reached Peak Urbanization? (July 18, 2016, Bloomberg)
Several factors are setting these new urban settlements up for problems. Probably most important is demographic change. In the 1970s, China had a surplus of young, under-employed workers in its countryside. That's no longer the case. The working-age population has been in decline since 2011, and the country's birthrate continues to drop.

Chinese nationalism: East, west, home’s best (July 19, 2016, The Economist)
Chinese society is far more connected to global culture than it was just a few decades ago, but exposure does not translate into tolerance.

Skyscrapers’ Rise in China Marks the Fall of Immigrant Enclaves (July 19, 2016, The New  York Times)
Baishizhou, an organic conglomerate of five smaller urban villages, has for decades served as an enclave of cheap housing for migrant workers and immigrants who have helped support Shenzhen’s rapid economic growth. But the days are numbered for the teeming tenement neighborhood, home to about 150,000 people: Long-awaited demolition plans have finally begun.

Can China get rich after getting old? (July 19, 2016, East Asia Forum)
In China’s case this was identified three decades ago, in 1986, by demographer Wu Cangping. He projected that China would ‘get old before it gets rich’. This led economists to fear that China’s aged demographic structure could dampen economic growth and prevent China from reaching the living standards enjoyed by developed countries.

“I Will Wash Your Uniform For You” – China’s Soldier-Loving Girls (July 19, 2016, What’s on Weibo)
A photo series titled “100.000 soldier-loving girls”(十万恋军女孩) posted by China’s Military Web in honour of soldiers’ aid during the Wuhan flood has triggered online discussions about the way in which it portrays Chinese women.

Taiwan bus bursts into flames killing 26, including 24 tourists from the mainland (July 19, 2016, Shanghaiist)
A Taiwanese tourist coach carrying 24 tourists from China caught fire on a highway near Taoyuan airport on Tuesday, all 26 people on board were killed, including the driver and tour guide, both from Taiwan. Surveillance footage shot at 12:57 p.m. earlier today shows the bus driving out of control down a highway with its front already on fire. The bus ends up crashing into a guard rail.

Why Chinese protesters are picketing KFC and smashing iPhones (July 20, 2016, Christian Science Monitor)
In response to the UN ruling favor of the Philippines in the South China Seas, Beijing protests show the risks involved for global companies seeking to tap Chinese markets.

LOOK: Insane flooding submerges cities across northern China (July 20, 2016, Shanghaiist)
Pictures of submerged streets in Henan, Hunan, Tianjin and even Beijing have flooded onto the Chinese internet today.

Economics / Trade / Business

Classic China Scam: Come to China to Sign The Contract (July 14, 2016, China Law Blog)
The scam consists of the Chinese company (actually, in every instance when our firm has done any investigation at all we immediately learned that there is actually no real company there) luring in the Western company with promises of big money for services (or sometimes products) to be supplied by the Western company.

Have Your Checked Your China Manager? (July 19, 2016, China Law Blog)
I mention that movie today because our China lawyers have been getting a spate of calls lately to assist from American and European companies who have just learned that the creep is in their house.

China’s Busiest High-Speed Rail Line Makes a Fast Buck (July 20, 2016, China Real Time)
Four years after it started operations, the high-speed rail link connecting China’s political capital of Beijing to the commercial capital of Shanghai became profitable for the first time.

Education

Chinese University Students: Compulsory Military Education Cause for Complaint (July 15, 2016, What’s on Weibo)
While compulsory military training has always been a source of complaint amongst Chinese students, dissatisfied voices grew louder this year. A wave of complaints from university students in Beijing about the conditions of their training camp has sparked online discussion about military education at Chinese universities.

Health / Environment

China Healthcare Costs Forcing Patients Into Crippling Debt (July 10, 2016, Fortune)
As China’s medical bills rise steeply, outpacing government insurance provision, patients and their families are increasingly turning to loans to pay for healthcare, adding to the country’s growing burden of consumer debt.

Science / Technology

America wants to believe China can’t innovate. Tech tells a different story. (July 19, 2016, The Washington Post)
The truth is that behind the Great Firewall — the system of censorship designed to block content that could challenge the Chinese Communist Party — China’s tech scene is flourishing in a parallel universe.

The Mystery Of The Tiangong-1 (July 21, 2016, The World of Chinese)
Last week, reports surfaced that China might have lost control of satellite Tiangong-1, meaning it could effectively be out of control and on its way down to earth. As yet, there has been no concrete confirmation of whether it is fine or whether it is spiraling downward into fiery doom.

History / Culture

A collection: Mao visits the Soviet Union 1957 (July 19, 2016, Everyday Life in Mao’s China)

Arts / Entertainment / Media

Ghostbusters in line for China ban due to supernatural theme (July 14, 2016, The Guardian)
Despite Sony renaming film ‘Super Power Dare-to-Die Team’ for China, censorship laws prohibiting promotion of cults and superstitions look set to scupper its chances of release.

The American Who Accidentally Became a Chinese Movie Star (July 14, 2016, The New York Times)
The journey of Jonathan Kos-Read, better known as Cao Cao, is a good guide for anyone seeking to make it in China’s budding, chaotic film industry.

Travel / Food

When Cuisine And Construction Merge (July 14, 2016, The World of Chinese)
n Xichang, Sichuan Province, a restoration project is underway to rebuild the city’s ancient wall. Workers’ tasks include making bricks, laying bricks…and boiling large bowls of rice to cement the bricks together.

Forbidden City Announces Plan to Open 75 Percent of Palace to Public by End 2016 (July 19, 2016, The Beijinger)
This week, the Forbidden City's Shan Jixiang, director of the Palace Museum, unveiled the next stage in the process of bringing the Forbidden City back to life. Three new areas will open later this year, so that by the end of 2016, almost 75 percent of the palace will be open to visitors compared to the two-thirds currently accessible to the general public.

Yili (Ili) Xinjiang | Top 5 Places to Visit (July 20, 2016, Far West China)
Whether you call it “Yili“, “Ili“, “Yining” or even the historical name “Ghulja“, one thing is for sure: it’s definitely worth traveling to this unique part of Xinjiang, China. In fact, if you’re planning to head out this way, I’d like to provide some suggestions on 5 places you should put on your itinerary while you’re here.

Street Eats: Street Food Dinner Tour With Authentic Jianbing, Chuan'r, and Beijing's Best Chicken Wings (July 20, 2016, The Beijinger)
Famous for their breakfast, night market, and hands-on dumpling tours in Shanghai, UnTour has recently branched out to Beijing, and we went along to give their foodie tour a try.

Language / Language Learning

How To Count In Chinese & Chinese Hand Numbers 1 – 10 (July 16, 2016, Peanuts and Pretzels)
If you know Chinese hand numbers and how to count in Chinese, you will not only reduce your fear but you will feel confident and enjoy your experience much more!

Books

Bringing Up Men of God (July 11, 2016, ChinaSource Quarterly)
My hope is that readers of this review will be motivated to read A Wind in the Door—the story of a noble mother who raised outstanding children.

Tong Wars: The Untold Story of Vice, Money, and Murder in New York’s Chinatown (July 20, 2016, China Rhyming)
Scott Seligman’s Tong Wars is an excellent read that shed light on the underbelly of New York’s old Chinatown…..

Links for Researchers

Papers On China: Chinas Core Executive (Mercator Institute for China Studies)
An essay collection which offers the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date account of the changes to China’s core executive under Xi Jinping through its analysis of developments in different policy areas. One observation is dominant – China has moved in further in the direction of top-down, autocratic policy making.

Image credit: Pokemon Go, by Eduardo Woo, via Flickr