ZGBriefs | June 16, 2016

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Featured Article

Video: Sichuan Cuisine, Imperiled by Success (June 14, 2016, The New York Times)
“Sichuanese cuisine really faces a crisis,” said Wang Kaifa, a 71-year-old chef who has been leading a campaign against what he sees as the creeping debasement of the region’s celebrated cooking. “The scene feels like it’s booming, but this is a chaotic boom that has had a lot of negatives,” he said, drawing out his vowels and emphasizing high notes in the region’s lilting accent. “Finally, they could become a sickness that brings down Sichuanese cuisine.”

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Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

Why Sino-American relations are likely to become stormier (June 12, 2016, The Economist)
It is not merely that the two sides have much to disagree about. At their meeting, they differed about China’s claims in the South China Sea; about what to do next in North Korea (though they promised to impose sanctions agreed in March) and about the pace of Chinese economic reform (the Americans want China to go faster). Some disputes are inevitable. The worry is that they might become confrontations.

The Death and Life of Middle Class Politics in China (June 13, 2016, China Change)
As public contention surrounding the death of Lei Yang’s continues to grow, something new is developing in China’s political scene: the middle class is speaking out and asserting its own demands, even as the rights defense movement continues to suffer a sustained crackdown.  

‘Missing’ bookseller Lam Wing-kee returns to Hong Kong (June 14, 2016, Hong Kong Free Press)
Previously missing Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee returned to Hong Kong from the mainland on Tuesday morning. He met with the police and requested them to cancel his missing person case. He stated that he did not require any assistance from the Hong Kong government or the police. The police said he refused to disclose other details.

China spy ship shadows U.S., Japanese, Indian naval drill in Western Pacific (June 15, 2016, Reuters)
A Chinese observation ship shadowed the U.S. aircraft carrier John C. Stennis in the Western Pacific on Wednesday, the carrier's commander said, as it joined warships from Japan and India for drills close to waters Beijing considers its backyard.

Wife and Son of China’s Ex-Security Chief Sentenced for Taking Bribes (June 15, 2016, The New York Times)
The Yichang City People’s Intermediate Court, about 800 miles south of Beijing, handed down a nine-year term to Jia Xiaoye, whose husband, Zhou Yongkang, was until 2012 one of China’s most powerful officials. His son by a previous marriage, Zhou Bin, received an 18-year prison sentence from the same court on Wednesday, China’s Central Television reported.

Obama, Dalai Lama Anger China With White House Meeting (June 15, 2016, ABC News)
It was Obama's fourth White House meeting with Tibetan spiritual leader, whom Beijing accuses of leading a campaign to split the region off from the rest of China. The Dalai Lama says he simply wants a higher degree of autonomy under Chinese rule. China condemned the meeting after the White House listed it on Obama's public schedule.

China seeks to open judiciary to lawyers and scholars (June 16, 2016, South China Morning Post)
The new policy follows a pilot scheme set up in March by the ­Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate to recruit lawyers and legal academics as judges and prosecutors during what they called “a year of critical judicial reform”.

Religion

The Precious Cross (June 14, 2016, Chinese Church Voices)
If you find yourself worshiping at a church in China, chances are you may sing this song, titled “The Precious Cross.”

Tortured Chinese Christian lawyer on his faith, hopes … and teeth (June 14, 2016, Crux)
Chinese Christian dissident lawyer Gao Zhisheng talked with The Associated Press on the eve of the launch of his memoir, using a messaging app to circumvent constant surveillance. Among other things, he described a dental problem he can't fix because security services are blocking treatment.

7 Trends for Foreign Christians in China (June 15, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
Today the maturing of the church, along with heightened official suspicion toward foreign involvement in China, are giving rise to new modes of engagement.

Society / Life

China’s Edifice Complex: A Setback Delays World’s Tallest Tower (June 8, 2016, China Real Time)
Plans to build what would be the world’s tallest building in central China—on ice since 2013—have been dealt a further setback. Authorities in the southern city of Changsha last month designated the area where the 202-story Sky City project site was to be located as a protected wetland area.

Chinese feminists post selfies in solidarity with Stanford assault victim (June 10, 2016, The Guardian)
mages of Chinese women holding up messages of solidarity for the victim began circulating on Weibo, China’s Twitter, on Wednesday and are being gathered on the Facebook and Twitter pages of a group called Free Chinese Feminists.

Caring for Elderly Parents in China: Through the Eyes of an American (June 10, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
However, I still believe from my observations that taking care of the elderly—especially parents—is a value deeply engrained in the Chinese mind and heart. And this deep respect and care for the aging is shown more often in action than words.

2016: the Year of Regulation and a New Future for Civil Society? (June 11, 2016, NGO’s in China)
The year 2016 could be said to be the year that future starts. It is the Year of Regulation when two national laws regulating the nonprofit, NGO, social organization sector were passed within the space of two months – the Charity Law in April and the Overseas NGO Law in May. These are the most consequential nonprofit laws passed in the history of the PRC. 

Video: 60 seconds in Beijing (June 11, 2016, Vimeo)
One second at a time, with the camera I had in my bag, I tried to film bits that are representative of my life in Beijing. The police, the air pollution, the X number of flights taken from PEK airport… But also the dancing grannies of my neighbourhood, boxing, trips to greener pastures outside the city, and in general the kindness of the people here. Welcome to Beijing.

Shanghai airport blast culprit was indebted gambler, say police (July 12, 2016, Reuters)
The man responsible for a weekend blast at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport that injured five people, including himself, was an indebted gambler who warned on Chinese social media that he intended to kill himself, police said on Monday. Zhou Xingbai, a 29-year-old migrant worker from the southwestern province of Guizhou, posted his message in the early hours of Sunday, the police said on their official Weibo microblog.

The Elderly Challenge – China’s Graying Population (June 14, 2016, Collective Responsibility)
China is just now beginning to feel the full brunt of the aging population as the portion of the population older than 60 years continues to rapidly grow. In turn, the aging population in China causes a strain on the national economy, the public service system, and the traditional Chinese family model.

The Kite Makers Of Beijing (June 14, 2016, The World of Chinese)
As the fourth generation master in his family kite-making craftsmanship, Liu runs a lonely business making and selling handmade Chinese kites in Beijing.

Hundreds of illegal radio stations busted in China (June 14, 2016, South China Morning Post)
Police in northeast China busted over 300 illegal radio stations for hawking fake medicines, promoting scams or threatening aviation safety through their transmissions, state media reported.

Beijing ranked last, Qingdao ranked first on new survey of China's most livable cities (June 15, 2016, Shanghaiist)
Surprise! The largest and most populated cities in China are the least livable. Zhang Wen and his team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently released a report ranking 40 different Chinese municipalities and provincial capitals from most to least livable.

Photographing the Birth of Pudong New Area, China’s Wall Street (June 15, 2016, ChinaFile)
Fritz Hoffmann, an independent photojournalist, was based in Shanghai from 1995 to 2008. He was the first foreign photojournalist to be accredited to live outside of Beijing since 1949.

Economics / Trade / Business

Is China trying to stockpile US jet engines? (June 10, 2016, Christian Science Monitor)
A California woman was convicted in Florida on Thursday of conspiring to illegally export American military technology and technical weaponry data to China. Wenxia Man faces up to 20 years in prison for violation of the Arms Export Control Act, which regulates the export of defense materials and services.

China faces growing vulnerabilities, fewer buffers to deal with shocks – IMF (June 14, 2016, Reuters)
China needs to implement reforms with more urgency as the economy faces growing vulnerabilities and there are fewer buffers to deal with any shocks, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Tuesday. "The near-term growth outlook has turned more buoyant due to recent policy support," David Lipton said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks provided to Reuters.

How China Won the Keys to Disney’s Magic Kingdom (June 14, 2016, China Digital Times)
Seven years since getting a green light from Beijing and five since the official breaking of ground, the $5.5 billion Shanghai Disney Resort will open to the public this week. Tickets are already sold out for weeks to come, and nearly a million Chinese fans have reportedly visited the grounds just for a glimpse since a Disney stop opened on Shanghai’s metro in late April.

Jack Ma Says Fakes “Better Quality and Better Price Than the Real Names” (June 15, 2016, China Real Time)
“The problem is the fake products today are of better quality and better price than the real names,” he said at Alibaba’s investor day in Hangzhou. “They are exactly the same factories, exactly the same raw materials but they do not use the names.”

Education

China’s New NGO Law and its Impact on FDI into the Higher Education Industry (June 9, 2016, China Briefing)
China’s recently released law to regulate the activities of foreign non-governmental organizations (NGOs) has raised fresh doubts regarding foreign investment into China’s higher education industry.

Parents wait in line all night to get their kids enrolled in kindergarten admissions lottery (June 14, 2016, Shanghaiist)
Recently, parents in the city of Hefei, Anhui province, lined up for over 24 hours in order to get their kids enrolled into a selective kindergarten admissions lottery. The lottery is important because it decides which children will be enrolled at a kindergarten when there is not room enough for everyone who applied.

Push to Widen College Access Suffers Setback (June 14, 2016, Caixin Online)
Education officials in at least five, relatively wealthy provinces have yielded to protesting parents by thwarting a plan that would have opened their universities wider to students from poor provinces. Parents of college-bound students had protested against expanding out-of-province admission quotas at the expense of local student quotas after the central government's Ministry of Education unveiled the plan in early May.

Middle Class Chinese Flock to International High Schools, Eyeing College Abroad (June 15, 2016, ChinaFile)
International schools were once reserved for expatriate families working for multinational companies or serving in the diplomatic community. Now more local families are using international schools, where they follow the A-levels or International Baccalaureates curriculum from Britain or take Advanced Placement programs from the United States, as a springboard to getting places in British or U.S. universities.

Science / Technology

Why Taiwan is far ahead of mainland China in high-tech (June 7, 2016, FT)
The topic at hand: high-tech innovation in the People’s Republic of China and why it seems to lag so far behind that of neighboring Taiwan. The current issue of one of China’s leading business publications, Caijing Magazine, published a Chinese-language article I wrote together with China First Capital’s COO, Dr. Yansong Wang, about Taiwan’s outstanding optical lens company Largan Precision.

Internet activists are finding ways around China’s Great Firewall (June 14, 2016, The Washington Post)
Although tens of thousands of websites are blocked, the Chinese government appears to tolerate having a small number of people able to vault the Wall and access the outside world. Yet for those who design systems to help netizens do just that, a knock on the door and a visit by the authorities remains a constant threat.

History / Culture

In Pictures: Ming Dynasty Ruins Discovered Under Forbidden City (June 12, 2016, The Beijinger)
Following reports from last month that Ming Dynasty conquerors may have built the Forbidden City over the site of Yuan Dynasty ruler Kublai Khan's palace, archaelogists can now confirm that early Ming Dynasty ruins have been discovered underneath the Forbidden City, and have released photographs of the dig site.

Red Guards ransack homes in 1966 (June 14, 2016, Everyday Life in Mao’s China)

How the Cultural Revolution Sowed the Seeds of Dissent in China (June 15, 2016, The New York Times)
It endorsed the use of so-called big character posters for mass criticism. And a Red Guard press flourished. Several thousand titles of Red Guard papers appeared around the country. These publications gave them channels for expression they couldn’t have dreamed of before.

Arts / Entertainment / Media

Skyon Fire – China’s Big 2016 Movie (June 13, 2016, What’s on Weibo)
Upcoming movie Sky on Fire (冲天火) is causing much hype on China’s social media. With its all-star cast and action galore, Sky on Fire already is one of the most anticipated Chinese movies of 2016.

Travel / Food

XJ Q&A #1: Visas and Permits for Xinjiang? (June 9, 2016, Far West China)
In this FarWestChina series entitled “XJ Q&A”, Josh answers commonly asked questions about traveling to Xinjiang.

85 images of the Ancient Earthen Castles in Tulou, Fujian (June 9, 2016, China Underground)
Not far from Xiamen, about four hours by bus, surrounded by Southern Fujian hills, Yongding county hosts many Hakka roundhouses. Tulou and nearby area are a perfect example of this architectural style.

19 Things To Know Before You Go: The Tea Horse Road (June 13, 2016, Roads and Kingdoms)
It’s not a road, it’s a region. The ancient Tea Horse trade route (also known as the Southern Silk Road) is a sprawling web of millennia-old paths connecting Southeast Asia to southwest China and Tibet.

Report: 23 Million Chinese Travelers Expected to Visit the United States in the Next Five Years (June 14, 2016, Jing Daily)
Studies show that the growing number of Chinese outbound tourists headed to destinations outside of Asia highly favor travel to the United States—it’s among Chinese travelers’ top “dream destinations,” and also comes out in front when jetsetters are prioritizing cultural experiences.

“Cheap”, “Ugly”, “Nothing like Hong Kong” – Netizens Disgruntled with New Shanghai Disneyland Trains (June 14, 2016, What’s on Weibo)
Shanghai’s very first Disney-themed trains will start running on June 16, the very same day of the grand opening of Shanghai Disneyland. Many netizens, however, are disgruntled with the design, saying it is ugly compared to that of Hong Kong’s Disney trains.

Mission: Shanghai Soup Dumpling (June 15, 2016, Roads and Kingdoms)
It’s an understatement to call them pan-fried pork buns, which is how they often appear on menus. Sheng jian bao are the more delicious, less internationally famous, just as soup-filled sibling of xiao long bao, the tiny soup dumplings that Shanghai is also known for.

Yes, it’s finally open: 6 things you need to know about the new Shanghai Disneyland (June 16, 2016, South China Morning Post)
The new resort is Walt Disney company’s sixth worldwide. There are two other resorts in the United States – Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World Resort in Florida – Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan, Disneyland Paris in France and Hong Kong Disneyland Resort. Construction of the Shanghai resort started in April 2011 and it is officially open to the public on Thursday.

Language / Language Learning

Mandarin Phrases For Restaurant Dining With Children (June 11, 2016, The Beijinger)
While dining at a Chinese-only restaurant, or any restaurant with Chinese fuwuyuan and their limited English, you must have noticed that some basic Mandarin can be necessary. This is especially true if you’re dining with children, since it’s unlikely you’ll go to just any restaurant your friends invite you to (those were the good old days).

Pros and cons of apps for learning Chinese (for beginners) (June 13, 2016, Sapore di Cina)
Before analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of learning through an app, it’s important to know how beginners learn Chinese. Many of you already know this, but it can be useful to do some reflections.

Don’t forget to consolidate the Chinese you have already studied (June 14, 2016, Hacking Chinese)
I don’t mean to say that you need to master everything on a certain level or in a certain area before you move to the next, but I am saying that never spending time on consolidating what you have learnt is really bad.

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons