ZGBriefs | May 26, 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

Here's why Chicago's Chinatown is booming, even as others across the U.S. fade (May 13, 2016, Chicago Tribune)
Local leaders say it has avoided gentrification because Chinese-Americans value a sense of belonging and choose to stay in the neighborhood. Few Chinese move out, and if they do, they sell their homes back to the Chinese.

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Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

China demands US military 'stop spying' over South China Sea (May 19, 2016, The Guardian)
China has rejected US claims that its fighter jets maneuvered unsafely when they intercepted an American navy reconnaissance plane over the South China Sea, and demanded that the US end such missions close to Chinese territory.

Chinese Official Condemns Calls for Greater Autonomy in Hong Kong (May 19, 2016, Sinosphere)
A senior Chinese official closed his three-day visit to Hong Kong on Thursday with a strong statement against local calls for greater autonomy and even independence from China, a movement that has persisted amid fears that the city’s liberties are eroding.

Uyghur Teenager Convicted of Plotting to Leave China, Join Separatist Group Gets 20 Years (May 19, 2016, Radio Free Asia)
A Uyghur teenager is facing a 20-year jail term after he was convicted of plotting to join a militant separatist group and conspiring to help some of his friends escape from China, RFA’s Uyghur Service has learned. Abduraxman Rozi, 17, was sentenced by a court in  Aksu (in Chinese, Akesu) prefecture  over what authorities say was a plan he masterminded to join an East Turkestan separatist group and to help four other people illegally leave China.

Taiwan President Takes Cautious Line on China at Inauguration (May 20, 2016, The New York Times)
Taiwan’s new president called on China to look beyond the divisions of history for the benefit of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as she pledged in her inauguration speech on Friday to promote local industry and push the island’s global trade links to help revive a stagnant economy.

China plans base station for rescue operations in South China Sea (May 23, 2016, Reuters)
A Chinese government bureau is planning a base station for an advanced rescue ship in the disputed Spratly Islands, state media reported on Monday, as China continues its push to develop civilian and military infrastructure in the contentious region.

China democracy activist enters second week of hunger strike (May 23, 2016, The Guardian)
Guo Feixiong was sentenced to six years in prison in November 2015 for taking part in a protest against censorship of a liberal newspaper.

No country for academics: Chinese crackdown forces intellectuals abroad (May 24, 2016, The Guardian)
Political scientists and law experts flee to America as Beijing’s grip on freedoms in China intensifies under President Xi Jinping.

China’s New Law on International NGOs – And Questions about Legal Reform (May 25, 2016, China Real Time)
One of the many questions raised by the new law (“Management of Foreign Non-Government Organizations Activities in China”) includes the fate of INGOs involved in assisting law reform.

Chinese news agency: Taiwan's leader is radical because she is single (May 25, 2016, The Guardian)
An opinion piece published by the International Herald Leader, a Xinhua-run newspaper, suggested Tsai was likely to be obsessed with detail and hold radical views that could encourage her to seek formal independence from China because she was unmarried and had no children.

Tsai Ing-wen 'extremist because single' article riles social media (May 25, 2016, BBC)
An article on Chinese state media that said Taiwan's new leader Tsai Ing-wen has an "extremist style" because she is unmarried has prompted outrage online. The opinion piece, published by the Xinhua news agency, said Ms Tsai did not have the "emotional burden" of a family, leading to an "erratic style". Chinese social media users largely rallied in support of Ms Tsai, who has been outspoken about her single status.

Not Enough Character? Communist Party Frets Over Constitution Copying (May 25, 2016, China Real Time)
Since the end of February, China’s Communist Party has been encouraging its 88 million members to copy out the party’s 15,000-character constitution by hand.

China’s Leader Wears Many Hats, but Only One Jacket (May 25, 2016, The New York Times)
Mao popularized the tunic suit with a tight collar that now bears his name. Deng often wore the Mao suit, while his successors embraced Western business attire. But Mr. Xi has become so attached to his windbreaker that it might now be called the “Xi jacket.”

Religion

A Sociological or Theological Reading of Christianity?: The Case of the Chinese Church (May 20, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
Common sense would tell us that what stands at the core of Christianity is its theology, polity, and mission. But when we come to Christianity in China, it is Chinese Christianity’s social impact and its implications for issues such as human rights and China’s international relations, rather than its pastoral and theological developments and challenges, that have received disproportionately large attention in the Western press in the recent decades.

Decapitated Churches in China’s Christian Heartland (May 21, 2016, The New York Times)
On a four-day journey through this lush swath of China’s Zhejiang Province, I spoke with residents who described in new detail the breathtaking scale of an effort to remove Christianity’s most potent symbol from public view. Over the past two years, officials and residents said, the authorities have torn down crosses from 1,200 to 1,700 churches, sometimes after violent clashes with worshipers trying to stop them.

Success—Our Generation’s Greatest Spiritual Disaster, Part 2 (May 24, 2016, Chinese Church Voices)
In the part one of this article Si Wei shared her journey from darkness to a personal relationship with Christ. Here she goes on to tell about the next stage of her journey—sanctification. Not surprisingly, God chose to use the furnace of marriage to expose Si Wei’s unhealthy mindset and areas of idolatry, which she shares with us in this conclusion to her story.

The China Church Narrative, and Why It Matters (May 25, 2016, From the West Courtyard)
Yet it seems the Western press has but one narrative for interpreting Christianity in China. Information that falls outside this narrative is generally discarded, as it does not fit neatly within the approved storyline.

Society / Life

Online anti-child-trafficking platform helps rescue girl days after its launch (May 18, 2016, China Daily)
A toddler was successfully rescued from a suspected trafficker after the news of her disappearance was released by a missing child broadcasting platform days after its launch online. The Emergency Response System, launched by the Ministry of Public Security on May 11, is similar to Amber Alert, a system for emergency information broadcasts about missing children in the United States.

Death of Policeman Draws Big Controversy: The Zhang Jiyong Case (May 24, 2016, What’s on Weibo)
The mysterious death of police officer Zhang Jiyong (张际勇) has caused a clamor of rumors growing on Chinese social media, with thousands of people questioning his cause of death.

China’s Middle Class Vents Over Growing List of Grievances (May 24, 2016, China Real Time)
The death here of a 29-year-old man in police custody—a new father and graduate of a prestigious Chinese university—has exposed growing anxieties in the country’s growing middle class, already shaken by a decelerating economy and a disparate series of high-profile incidents threatening their sense of stability.

Chinese shoe vigilante video sparks social media debate (May 24, 2016, BBC)
The video, uploaded to the popular web portal NetEase, shows an angry man at an airport in southern Xiamen province picking up the traveller's shoes and throwing them into a nearby bin. "I saw a man lying on the seats with his shoes and socks off," the man says. "What will foreigners think if they see such ill manners – they will wonder about how low Chinese peoples' standards are."

Netizen Voices: No Respect for Family Planning Officers (May 24, 2016, China Digital Times)
Family planning workers in Gong’an County, Hubei Province occupied the front steps of the county health and family planning building today, protesting for more respect for their occupation. They got just the opposite on Weibo.

China tackles growing identity crisis (May 25, 2016, China.org.cn)
The authorities are working to eradicate duplication of official documents after two well-publicized cases highlighted a rising problem, report Cao Yin in Beijing and Qi Xin in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

Photos: Why China is moving millions to cities (May 25, 2016, CNN)
Guizhou, home to the largest population of Miao people in China, is experiencing one of the largest mass-migration efforts in Chinese history. The Chinese government plans to move 2 million people from their remote villages to the province's cities, in an effort that began in 2012 and is set to continue into 2020. Through government subsidies and economic incentives to relocate, the Chinese government is aiming to alleviate rural poverty and narrow the income inequality gap. The relocation effort also stems from a government push for modernization in the face of a changing global economy.

Video: Three-storey building's dramatic collapse in China (May 25, 2016, BBC)
A building has collapsed after flooding hit Rongxian county in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. There were no reports of injuries. The footage of the collapse was captured by a local resident on 20 May.

Economics / Trade / Business

China’s 13th Five-Year Plan: Q&A with Scott Kennedy and Christopher K. Johnson (May 23, 2016, China Real Time)
Analysts Scott Kennedy and Christopher K. Johnson with the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, D.C., have released Perfecting China, Inc.: The 13th Five-Year Plan, a report on China’s latest policy blueprint. Here is a question and answer with the authors, edited for length and style.

Chinese steel industry – in pictures (May 23, 2016, The Guardian)
Photographer Kevin Frayer takes a look at the Chinese steel industry, which produces more than 50% of global output.

Cold Feet: China’s Experiment With Freer Yuan Again Gets Cut Short (May 24, 2016, China Real Time)
China has a long history of trying, but failing, to loosen its grip on the yuan.

WeChat’s global expansion has been a disaster (May 25, 2016, Tech in Asia)
The numbers are there for proof. Looking through the top free apps – making use of AppAnnie’s collated data – on the official Android app store, Google Play, shows that WeChat is nowhere in the top 100 in Brazil. Nor in India.

Education

Is China’s ‘Neo-Maoist’ higher education gaining ground? (April 26, 2016, Times Higher Education)
The university is part of China’s “red education” movement, partly sanctioned by government, partly taken on independently by ultra-leftwing “Neo-Maoists”, which has been growing in influence over the past 10 years.

Can we please stop holding up China’s schools as a model for the U.S.? It’s ridiculous. (May 24, 2016, The Washington Post)
In light of the staggering social costs required to produce the Shanghai PISA results — they amount to “one of the greatest human rights calamities of our time,” according to Brookings Institution analyst Tom Loveless — why has the OECD gone out of its way to hold up the Shanghai school system as a model of equity and excellence that the rest of the world should emulate?

One Chinese Entrepreneur’s Prescription for More Innovation: Less Schooling (May 25, 2016, China Real Time)
A Chinese tech entrepreneur-turned-economist is calling on Chinese authorities to shorten the length of time students must spend in K-12 education so that college graduates can begin work earlier – and also have more time to start a family.

Science / Technology

Sindicator: Chinese Telecom and Upward Mobility (May 3, 2016, The Nanfang)
This explosive growth has brought the influence of a ‘connected’ China to the attention of the mobile telecom industry. As China joins the ranks of international players it has to play by the rules, but the authors of the rulebook are subject to change…

My Take: Top 5 Best VPNs for China (Updated May 2016) (April 14, 2016, Far West China)

China mulls new ways to control video websites (May 23, 2016, Hong Kong Free Press)
Chinese authorities are exploring new ways of imposing controls on the Internet, state-run media cited experts as saying Monday, after reports said state-owned enterprises may be encouraged to take stakes in video streaming websites.

China’s scary lesson to the world: Censoring the Internet works (May 23, 2016, The Washington Post)
Defensive no more about its censorship record, China is trumpeting its vision of “Internet sovereignty” as a model for the world and is moving to make it a legal reality at home.

How China is super-sizing science (May 24, 2016, BBC)
The Chinese are super-sizing science – here are five big projects that reveal China's plans to become a global scientific powerhouse.

The Importance of Network Security in China (May 24, 2016, China Briefing)
A sound network security system is an important component within the operations of any foreign company in China, as it is in any other country. Especially for small and medium-sized companies (SMEs), who often lack the IT resources of larger companies, to protect a business from today’s sophisticated internet threats can be a challenging task.

History / Culture

Time Traveling Through Dramatic Urbanization in China Over Decades (May 18, 2016, China File)
Struck by this idea, Dheera Venkatraman recently traveled across China, putting together a photo series called “Time Traveling in China.” The project was inspired by photos of old China, the locations of which Venkatraman revisited to take his own photos of the modern landscape. For a fair comparison, he edited his photos to be black-and-white and put them side-by-side with the old photos. The changes are startling.

The Barbarian And The Babe (May 19, 2016, The World of Chinese)
The story of An Lushan has been told so many times that it qualifies as Tang Dynasty slash fic. There is the aging emperor, his sensual concubine, and the exotic foreign warrior who comes between them.

A documentary: Acupuncture research in China in 1970 (May 22, 2016, Everyday Life in Mao’s China)

All The Emperor’s Mén (March 23, 2016, The World of Chinese)
Stroll around most cities above a certain size and age in China, and you’ll find a bewildering number of spots containing the character 门 (mén), for 城门 (chéngmén), referring to gates on the walls that encircled all Chinese prefectural cities and many towns and villages.

9 Things You Should Know About China’s Cultural Revolution (May 24, 2016, The Gospel Coalition)
This month mark the 50th anniversary of China’s Cultural Revolution. Here are nine things you should know about one of the darkest times in modern human history:

Photos: A wedding in rural China in 1983 (May 24, 2016, Everyday Life in Mao’s China)

Arts / Entertainment / Media

Photos: Training China’s Olympic Future (May 20, 2016, Reuters)
China's sports system has been enormously successful since the country returned to the Olympic fold in 1980, culminating with the host nation topping the medals' table at the 2008 Beijing Olympics with only a slight dip into second place behind the United States in London four years later. And yet, with the Rio de Janeiro Games less than three months away, the system is beginning to break down due to the shifting demographics of a more prosperous nation.

'Godfather of Rock' Cui Jian to Hold 30-Year Retrospective Concert, Sep 30 (May 23, 2016, The Beijinger)
China's "Godfather of Rock" Cui Jian will look back at his 30-year career with a Beijing concert on September 30 at the Workers' Stadium.

Disney’s Top Rival in China Is Trash Talking Its Theme Parks and Mickey Mouse (May 24, 2016, Skift)
Billionaire Wang Jianlin, who’s starting tourism projects across China as Walt Disney Co. readies to open its first mainland theme park in Shanghai on June 16, said the U.S. company misread the Chinese market and shouldn’t have stepped on his home turf.

Travel / Food

Hidden Beijing: 10 intriguing sights to discover in the Chinese capital (July, 2013, The Lonely Planet)
As Beijing leaps skywards into the 21st century, its history can sometimes get left in the shadows. But despite the new highways and high-rises, China’s capital has plenty of past pockets hidden away to reward the intrepid explorer. Here are ten little visited, history-rich Beijing sights to get you started.

Taiyuan Endures (May 22, 2016, The World of Chinese)
At first glance, Taiyuan (太原) may not seem to be of any special importance, just your bog-standard Chinese third-tier city. But, it was once a seat of power that held the key to ruling North China. Today, relics and natural wonders have seen their way through the past and sit hidden in this quaint industrial city.

So Hot Right Now: As Economy Shifts, China’s Consumers Still Crazy About Hot Pot (May 23, 2016, China Real Time)
Hot pot, the fondue-like cook-your-own-vegetables-and-meats dish typically consumed during cold winters months in China, is holding its own amid the country’s shifting consumer landscape.

Beijing Capital Airport Implements 'Women-Only' Security Checks (May 23, 2016, The Beijinger)
These lady-only lines have been popping up at major airports around the country, including Beijing, Shenzhen, Wuhan, and Kunming, since the beginning of the year when they began a trial period. These new lanes are marked by bright pink bilingual (English and Chinese) signs that say “Females Only.”

Travel Video of the Week: Top 10 Scams in China and Beyond (May 24, 2016, Johnny Jet)
From the video, I learned a couple new scams, some of which are found not just in China but all over the world.

China’s Craft Breweries Find They May Have a 5,000-Year-Old Relative (May 25, 2016, China Real Time)
A group of researchers in China and the United States have analyzed pottery vessels discovered at a site in Shaanxi Province and determined that they are the first direct evidence of a beer-brewing operation.

Language / Language Learning

The 5 best Chinese reading resources for beginners (May 24, 2016, Hacking Chinese)
In this article, I will introduce some of my favourite reading resources for beginners (or intermediate learners who want to broaden their base).

Video: Cheng Yu: Telling Secrets (Learn Mandarin with Chinese Pod)
Secrets, secrets are no fun… except for when it's Fiona and Iona teaching you the Cheng Yu for whispering secrets in Chinese. Watch this lesson and be equipped to call out anybody you see whispering about you!

Books

My Review of Eight Juxtapositions: China Through Imperfect Analogies from Mark Twain to Manchukuo by Jeffrey Wasserstrom (May 18, 2016, Lijia Zhang’s Blog)
Through these analogies, the book challenges the perceived either/or convention, as Wasserstrom neatly summarized in chapter 7, entitled Chicken or Beef. China is a complex place. It’s not going to collapse tomorrow or going to dominate the world any time soon.

Links for Researchers

Review of Religion and Chinese Society (Volume 3, Issue 1, 2016, Brill Online)

Perfecting China, Inc.: China’s 13th Five-Year Plan (May 21, 2016, Center for Strategic and International Studies)
This study examines China’s 13th Five-Year Plan, the most authoritative strategic blueprint for the country’s economic policies under Xi Jinping. The plan seeks to rebalance the economy toward more advanced technologies, greater environmental protection, and a stronger social safety net. However, it does not fundamentally rebalance the relationship between state and market, with the government and Chinese Communist Party still left with significant tools to micromanage most aspects of the economy.

Event

The Theological Basis for Creation Care — an Integral Part of Mission
Co-sponsored by Alliance Bible Seminary Department of Intercultural Studies and OMF Hong Kong
June 4, 2016, 2-4PM
Alliance Bible Seminary City Campus
1/F, Rialto Building, 2 Landale Street
Wan Chai,  Hong Kong
Admission is free. Please register by May 27 by calling 852-2398-1823 or email hk(at)omfmail.com

Image credit: Chicago Chinatown, by Marko Forsten, via Flickr