FEATURED ARTICLESpecial Series from National Public Radio: China: Change or Crisis?Part 1: As Economy Slows, China Looks For A New ModelPart 2: In China, A Ceaseless Quest To Silence DissentPart 3: China’s New Leaders Inherit Country At A Crossroads (October 29, 2012, NPR) GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS‘One party, two coalitions’China’s factional politics (October 25, 2012, CNN)To the casual observer, the Chinese Communist Party may seem like a monolithic, united entity.In recent years, its leadership has ruled collectively, rather than by the hand of a paramount leader, which was a characteristic of the Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping eras. But while the party outwardly stresses harmony and unity, political analysts believe its estimated 80-million-strong members are divided along deep-rooted factional lines with varying perspectives on social, economic, political, military and foreign affairs. CNN looks at what makes the Chinese party machine tick.Does China know it must change? (October 26, 2012, East Asia Forum)In late 2009, it was widely believed that the apparent effectiveness of Chinas response to the financial crisis demonstrated the advantages of statist over market models. Now, it is generally recognised that the PRC must eventually return to the market path.China condemns NY Times Wen Jiabao wealth story ‘smear’ (October 26, 2012, BBC News)China has condemned as a “smear” a New York Times report saying Premier Wen Jiabao’s relatives have accumulated billions of dollars. The article said Mr Wen’s family members “have controlled assets worth at least $2.7bn (1.7bn)”. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the report had “ulterior motives”. Both the NYT’s Chinese and English sites are being blocked inside China, as are references to the report on micro-blogging sites.Bo Xilai expelled from National Legislature (October 26, 2012, Shanghai Daily)The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature, announced today the termination of Bo Xilai’s post as an NPC deputy. The Standing Committee of Chongqing Municipal People’s Congress removed the former high-ranking official, who was suspected of violating laws, from his post as the NPC deputy late last month. “According to the law on deputies to the NPC and to local people’s congresses, his post was terminated,” said a statement of the NPC Standing Committee which wrapped up a bimonthly session today.An Interview with Chen Guangcheng: ‘Be Confident and Speak Out’ (October 26, 2012, The Atlantic)I think China has taken the first step, which is to make sure that there are rules and regulations and laws that govern the society. China is not doing a great job of the second step, which is to make sure that those rules are implemented and complied with in practice. Law enforcement generally speaking cannot function in today’s Chinese society.Chinas Communist Party is preparing for its ten-yearly change of leadership. The new team could be in for a rough ride (October 27, 2012, The Economist)Few Chinese know much about Xi Jinping, the man who will soon be in charge of the worlds most populous country and its second-largest economy. This makes the inhabitants of the remote village of Xiajiang, nestled by a river amid bamboo-covered hills in the eastern province of Zhejiang, highly unusual. They have received visits from Mr Xi four times in the past decade. Impressed by his solicitude, they recently erected a wooden pavilion in his honour (above). During his expected decade in power, however, Mr Xi will find few such bastions of support. The China he is preparing to rule is becoming cynical and anxious as growth slows and social and political stresses mount.Just Who is Xi Jinping? (October 29, 2012, Shadow Government)In the coming weeks, analysts around the globe will make their predictions regarding China’s presumed next leader. The task won’t be easy.China: Military Shake-Up Continues (October 29, 2012, The New York Times)A former deputy chief of the armys general staff, Lt. Gen. Wei Fenghe, has been promoted to commander of the Second Artillery Corps, home of the strategic missile force, the Defense Ministry said Monday. The new position, as head of one of Chinas most important military units, is part of a major turnover in Chinas armed forces and almost certainly assures General Wei a seat on the Central Military Commission, the militarys top decision-making body. The commission will oversee the rapid modernization of Chinas military.Clubs and cameras: stability preservation in the age of Weibo (October 29, 2012, China Media Project)Following several days of mass protests against two proposed petrochemical projects amid environmental and health concerns, officials in the coastal city of Ningbo announced late Sunday that the projects would be halted. The governments announcement failed to deter protesters, however, who continued to gather outside the government offices Monday and demand that the citys mayor step down.Middle-class blues(October 29, 2012, Analects)It must be worrying to Chinas leadership that some of the largest outbreaks of urban unrest in recent years have occurred in some of the countrys most prosperous cities. The most recent example, in the port city of Ningbo, involved thousands of people facing off with riot police in a protest over plans to expand a chemical factory in the city. After three days of sometimes-violent demonstrations, the city government announced on October 28th that it was halting the projectDavid Barboza Answers Reader Questions on Reporting in China (October 29, 2012, The New York Times)The Timess Shanghai bureau chief, David Barboza, reported last week that close relatives of Wen Jiabao, the prime minister of China, hold billions of dollars in hidden riches. Here are his answers to questions from readers prompted by the article.China confronts Japan ships near disputed islands(October 30, 2012, AP)Chinese patrol boats confronted Japanese vessels near a disputed East China Sea archipelago early Tuesday, the latest in a series of such encounters following Tokyo’s nationalization of the islands last month.Four ships from China Marine Surveillance entered waters near the islands at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT), according to a statement from the State Oceanic Administration that commands the service. The ships conducted surveillance on the on Japanese Coast Guard vessels in the area, “sternly expressed” China’s sovereignty claim over the islands and “carried out expulsion measures,” the administration said. Japanese Coast Guard spokesman Yuji Kito said ships from both countries flashed signs saying they were in their own territorial waters and demanding the other side leave.Will China Delay Reform – Again? (October 30, 2012, Asia Sentinel)A recent Chinese internet meme lacerated what is widely seen as a lame excuse for why Chinas leaders have been so slow to enact political reform. The ever-sharp social media blog Tea Leaf Nation says it all started when Professor Gong Fangbing, at Chinas National Defense University, wrote an essay for a Peoples Daily website, arguing that the reason the Communist Party hasnt yet embraced democracy is largely because of insufficient preparation of theoretical backing. Gong posited that the party, despite being in power for 63 years, hadnt developed theories to move it from a revolutionary party to a ruling party that could, maybe, eventually, share power. The responses, gathered by Tea Leaf Nation from Weibo, Chinas version of Twitter, were scathing: Now I get it. The Chinese soccer team didnt win the World Cup because of insufficient theory, scoffed one user.China’s leadership transition facing ‘chaos’ (October 30, 2012, Sydney Morning Herald)Chinas imminent leadership transition is descending into ”chaos”, say some close analysts, amid rolling scandals and new signs of factional infighting. As leaders converge on Beijing for a fortnight of crucial meetings centred around the 18th congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which begins on November 8, party insiders say fresh infighting has erupted over rising star Li Yuanchao. [] Several party insiders say Mr Li’s fate is the subject of a deepening power struggle between Mr Hu and his predecessor as president, Jiang Zemin. ”It is a state of extreme chaos,” said political watcher Li Weidong. ”There is no absolute authority, otherwise two sides won’t bite each other like this.”As Handover Looms, China Enters Extreme Lockdown (October 31, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)Its a state of lockdown so extreme that it feels like war. With Chinas change in leadership at the 18th National Party Congress just nine days away, stability and security has become the number-one issue for all levels of Chinese government. Although stability preservation () is always a high priority in China, it has now become the singular priority, affecting the lives of countless Chinese officials and citizens.Chinas former leaders step into the spotlight (October 31, 2012, Washington Post)The unusual sightings of the old cadres suggested that they were still the behind-the-scene bosses, having the final say about the list of the next Standing Committee of the Politburo, Chinas top decision-making body.Can China Be Described as ‘Fascist’? (October 31, 2012, The New York Times)Chinese politics is controlled by the Communist Party and its powerful families and factions, so when the son of a former party chief says the state is virtually fascist, its worth listening. Thats what Hu Deping, son of the late Hu Yaobang, the party general secretary forced to resign in 1987 for being too reform-minded, said to a group of mostly Chinese businesspeople and environmentalists in late 2005, in the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square.China powerless to prevent rising tide of Tibetan self-immolations(October 31, 2012, Washington Post)It is not certain whether the latest acceleration of the protests is timed to send a signal to the Chinese Communist Party Congress, which will meet beginning Nov. 8 to install a new leadership in Beijing.Nevertheless, the protests appear to have embarrassed the Chinese leadership, which has responded by intensifying its crackdown, activists and scholars say.Chinese man jailed for trying to form opposition party (November 1, 2012, The Guardian)A court in China has sentenced a man to eight years in prison for trying to form an opposition party and for online messages criticising the ruling Chinese Communist party, a week before a congress which will usher in a new generation of leaders. The court in the south-western city of Kunming sentenced Cao Haibo, 27, for “subversion of state power”, his lawyer, Ma Xiaopeng, said. Cao had called for democracy and had tried to form a party called the China Republican party, Ma said. The charge is more serious than one of incitement of subversion, which is more typically used against party critics. The sentence signals the party’s resolve to crack down hard on dissent, especially as it prepares for a power handover at the congress which opens in Beijing on 8 November.RELIGIONChina wants to stop profiteering at temple sites (October 26, 2012, AP)China is telling tourist-favored Buddhist temples: Don’t let money be your mantra. Authorities announced a ban this week on temples selling shares to investors after leaders of several popular temples planned to pursue stock market listings for them as commercial entities. Even the Shaolin Temple of kung fu movie fame was once rumored to be planning a stock market debut and critics have slammed such plans as a step too far in China’s already unrestrained commercial culture.Respecting Chinese Culture, Part 1: The Example of Hudson Taylor (October 30, 2012, Global China Center)What, then, was Hudson Taylors attitude towards Chinese culture? In the words of our conference theme, how did he change and adapt himself as he sought to serve Christ among the Chinese?A Young Christian Soldier in Shenzhen(November 1, 2012, Chinese Church Voices)We often hear about how the church in China is looking for ways to increase its presence in the public square; in other words trying to be more visible in society. This article from the Gospel Times is about a family in Shenzhen that is literally doing evangelism in the public square.HEALTHChina passes law to curb abuse of mental hospitals (October 26, 2012, AP)China’s legislature on Friday passed a long-awaited mental health law that aims to prevent people from being involuntarily held and unnecessarily treated in psychiatric facilities abuses that have been used against government critics and triggered public outrage.The law standardizes mental health care services, requiring general hospitals to set up special outpatient clinics or provide counseling, and calls for the training of more doctors.Hospitals to prevent theft of babies (October 30, 2012, China Daily)Hospitals in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, are using security bracelets to keep newborn babies from being stolen from the maternity ward.Chu Zhiping, matron of the maternity department under the No 2 Hospital affiliated with Nanjing Medical University, said the security bracelet will sound an alarm if a baby is taken outside certain areas of the department. “Warnings will also be shown on nurses’ computers so they can immediately know which baby has been taken and take action together with the guards,” Chu said.EDUCATION / CULTURE10 Chinese Equivalents to Common English Idioms (October 26, 2012, World of Chinese)Watch: Mrs Xi Jinping, Peng Liyuan, sings about how the PLA saved Tibetans from themselves(October 26, 2012, Shanghaiist)Peng Liyuan, wife of the next President of China Xi Jinping, performs the “Laundry Song”, a 50-year-old propaganda classic which purports to be sung by Tibetans desperate for the PLA and the Communist Party to liberate them.Ten Must Try Foods in Sichuan (October 29, 2012, Life on Nanchang Lu)Sichuan cuisine has been unfairly pegged in the Western world as consisting of nothing but mouth-numbing sichuan pepper (hua jiao) and paralytic amounts of chili. Not so – Sichuan cuisine is complex and diverse, using sour, sweet, salty, astringent and spicy flavours, and many dishes are – gasp – not spicy at all. As the locals say, it’s all about balance. Again, this is not an exhaustive list of famous Sichuan dishes, although some on the list are very well known and can be found all over the province. It’s simply a list of ten foods I enjoyed so much I’m desperate to try them again, and I hope you enjoy them too.Gallery: The Tea Road to Lhasa by Photographer Michael Yamashita (October 22, 2012, Asia Society)This Thursday, October 25, National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita joins Asia Society Hong Kong to discuss his newest book, Shangri-La [along the tea road to Lhasa]. The stunning photographs in this 272-page, full-color publication present a narrative of the historic Tea-Horse Road that stretches from Yunnan Province in southwestern China into the Tibet Autonomous Region.SOCIETY / LIFEA Point Of View: How China sees a multicultural world(October 26, 2012, BBC News)The vast majority of the Chinese population regard themselves as belonging to the same race, a stark contrast to the multiracial composition of other populous countries. What effect does this have on how China views the world, ask Martin Jacques.Me and My Censor (October 26, 2012, Foreign Policy)Like any editor in the United States, I tweaked articles, butted heads with the sales department, and tried to extract interesting quotes out of boring people. Unlike my American counterparts, however, I was offered red envelopes stuffed with cash at press junkets, sometimes discovered footprints on the toilet seats at work, and had to explain to the Chinese assistants more than once that they could not turn in articles copied word for word from existing pieces they found online. I also liaised with our government censor.China protesters force halt to Zhejiang factory plan (October 28, 2012, BBC News)Plans to expand a petrochemical plant in eastern China have been shelved after days of protests. On Friday, crowds opposed to the expansion attacked police in the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang province. Officials from Ningbo’s city government announced on Sunday evening that work on the project would now not go ahead. Environmental protests have become more common in China. They come ahead of a once-in-a-decade change of national leaders in Beijing. Protesters gathered again in Ningbo on Sunday, marching on the offices of the district government. They are opposed to the expansion of the plant by a subsidiary of the China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation.”There is very little public confidence in the government,” protester Liu Li told the Associated Press. “Who knows if they are saying this just to make us leave and then keep on doing the project,” she added.‘No’ tops the agenda ahead of China’s 18th party congress (October 28, 2012, The Los Angeles Times)In honor of the upcoming 18th congress of the Chinese Communist Party, here are just a few of the things you cannot do in Beijing. Watch foreign television while you exercise in a health club. Attend an outdoor concert. Do your homework online. Buy a knife in the supermarket. Buy lunch from a food cart. Run a marathon.Wary of Future, Professionals Leave China in Record Numbers (October 30, 2012, The New York Times)As Chinas Communist Party prepares a momentous leadership change in early November, it is losing skilled professionals like Ms. Chen in record numbers. In 2010, the last year for which complete statistics are available, 508,000 Chinese left for the 34 developed countries that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That is a 45 percent increase over 2000.Migrant children need more than food and education (October 31, 2012, China Daily)A report analyzing the needs of migrant children reveals that in addition to the basic necessities of education and medical care, the disadvantaged young people need more attention paid to their overall development. “They need more room to develop themselves, not only by having their essential living needs met, but also through the fulfillment of their whole range of personal demands,” said Tao Chuanjin, director of the Research Center of Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at Beijing Normal University.State-Affiliated Think Tank Calls for End to One-Child Policy (October 31, 2012, China Real Time Report)With China preparing to usher in new leaders, the drumbeat of semi-official support for reform of the countrys controversial family planning policies continues to grow. In the most recent development, a think tank affiliated with Chinas State Council issued a report saying the country should start loosening one-child restrictions in areas where controls have been strictest as a prelude to eventually doing away with child limits altogether.Escaping the Rat Race: A Profile of Chinas Emerging Counter-Culture (October 31, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)What does a typical cultured youth look like? Baidu Baike, Chinas version of Wikipedia, contains an entry on the term that quotes writer and musician Guo Xiaohan: Im a very typical wenyi qingnian. I like poetry, novels, indie music, European cinema, taking pictures, writing blogs, cats, gardening, quilting, making dessert and designing environmentally friendly bags.Taxi Zero Spread Rule for 18th Party Congress (November 1, 2012, China Digital Times)Beijing taxis will be stuffier than usual in the run-up to leadership transition of the 18th Party Congress, scheduled for November 8. The state-run Global Times reports that the rear windows of Beijing taxis are locked until further notice to prevent passengers from handing out leaflets with adverse information. The notice below, posted to Weibo by @luhualuhua (@), instructs cabbies on this zero spread rule and other regulations:China’s Twitter-like Weibo poses danger, opportunity for new leaders (November 1, 2012, Reuters)Since its launch three years ago, Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, has become the country’s water cooler, a place where nearly 300 million Internet users opine on everything from Korean soap operas to China’s latest political intrigue. It has posed a unique challenge for Chinese Communist Party leaders whose overarching goal is to maintain tight political and social control, while at the same time wanting to give their citizens a conduit to blow off steam. “One of the key challenges for the new leadership will be whether they can establish credibility through new governing mechanisms,” said Tony Saich, a professor of international affairs at Harvard Kennedy School in Massachusetts. “How are they going to deal with a wired, globally connected, urban middle class that is probably less likely over time to be treated like children?” Part of the solution is also the problem: Weibo.SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENTChinas Newest Stealth Fighter Takes Flight (October 31, 2012, Wired)Chinas newest stealth fighter prototype reportedly took off on its first test flight over the Shenyang Aircraft Company airfield in northeastern China on Wednesday morning. The 10-minute aerial debut of the twin-engine Falcon Eagle represents a huge leap forward for Chinas ambitious stealth warplane program. But more than a month after the Falcon Eagle first appeared in blurry photos apparently shot and posted online by Beijings army of sympathetic bloggers, there are still more questions than answers about Chinas second stealth fighter model.Three Gorges Dam not affected by earthquake (November 1, 2012, Shanghai Daily)The Three Gorges Dam remained intact after an earthquake measuring magnitude 3.2 jolted a county 38 kilometers away early yesterday, local experts said. The tremor hit Zigui County of Yichang City in central China’s Hubei Province at 3:42am, according to the China Earthquake Networks Center. Its epicenter was 5 km below ground. No casualties had been reported as of late yesterday, but the earthquake was felt across Zigui. “The minor earthquake has not affected the Three Gorges Dam, which can endure far stronger earthquakes,” said Hu Xing’e, vice head of the management bureau of the project with the China Three Gorges Corporation. She said that no earthquake-triggered landslides have been reported in the reservoir area and all power generating units and ship locks are working normally.BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / FOREIGN TRADEChallenging Apple by Imitation (October 29, 2012, The New York Times)Chief among the rivals is Xiaomi, whose newest smartphone has been expected to go on sale this month for 1,999 renminbi, or $320 less than half the starting retail price of an iPhone 4S in China. Pricing for the iPhone 5 in China has not been set. Less than three years since it was founded, Xiaomi, meaning little rice, has become a rising star in the Chinese smartphone market. The company predicts that by the end of 2012, sales will reach nearly seven million phones and revenue will be at 10 billion renminbi impressive for a company that sold its first smartphone in August 2011.As Economy Slows, China Looks For A New Model(October 31, 2012, NPR)Ask Chinese economists about the future of the world’s second-largest economy and the tone these days is uncertain and anxious. “I’m not as optimistic as many people in the Western world think about China,” says Xu Dingbo, associate dean of the China Europe International Business School in Beijing.”If you want to be the world leader, I think China is far from ready,” adds Wang Jianmao, his fellow business school professor.Free downloads of online music to end (October 31, 2012, China Daily)China’s major music websites are expected to form an alliance to start charging for music downloads at the beginning of next year, industry insiders said. Baidu Music and Tencent Music are among the major music websites said to be part of the initiative. Subscriptions that will allow users to download an unlimited number of songs are expected to cost between 10 and 15 yuan ($1.6 to $2.4) a month, a price level jointly reached by the country’s major record companies and the music websites, said Wang Hao, chief executive officer of Xiami, a website founded in 2006.The developing interior case that China will keep growing (October 31, 2012, Washington Post)China already seems to be pursing this, building lots of expensive infrastructure in interior cities. That infrastructure spending is economic stimulus itself, but its only a first step. There are two major ways that China could develop interior regions, some of which like mega-city and success story Chongqing are already quite developed.Understanding China’s Impact on American Consumers (November 1, 2012, US News and World Report, via Yahoo!)In recent weeks, politicians and pundits have held China responsible for all the problems plaguing the U.S. economy. They argue that the Chinese economy has grown strong at the expense of the United States. But according to experts, there is no direct correlation between China’s success and the difficulties in the United States. It’s true: Some aspects of China’s riseprimarily the availability of cheap labor and the country’s devalued currencyhave made things more challenging for the United States. But a number of Chinese economic practices have also benefitted American consumers. ARTICLES IN CHINESE (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences) (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences)(October 29, 2012, Caixin)Peoples Daily Special Section on the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China RESOURCESDownload CMPs 18th National Congress Series (China Media Project)The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party is just around the corner. And for those of you who want a handy reference in hand to help understand the ins and outs of this political gathering, the China Media Project is pleased to offer a downloadable PDF version of our WATCHWORDS series.Free Chinese-learning Apps an android beginner’s guide Part 1: Dictionaries and OCR (November 1, 2012, Go Chengdoo)Chinese-English Translation Of Fifty Common Legal Words (October 28, 2012, China Law Blog)ZGBriefs is a weekly compilation of the news in China, condensed from published sources and emailed free-of-charge to more than 6,000 readers in China and abroad. ZGBriefs brings you not only the most important stories of the week, but also links to blogs, commentaries, articles, and resources to help fill out your understanding of what is happening in China today. Coverage includes domestic and international politics, economics, culture, and social trends, among other areas. Seeking to explore all facets of life in China, ZGBriefs also includes coverage of spiritual movements and the role of religious believers and faith-based groups in China. The publication of ZGBriefs is supported by readers who find this weekly service useful. ZGBriefs is a publication of ChinaSource.