FEATURED ARTICLE Cosmo Getting Back Together Ex Scenes from China (September 24, 2012, The Big Picture)But at the same time, an increasingly colorful society celebrates the continued vibrant awakening transforming the largest population in the world. Gathered here are images providing a glimpse of life from many parts of the country, including Hong Kong – which has now been under mainland control for 15 years.GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRSChina: Bo Xilai scandal police chief jailed for 15 years (September 24, 2012, BBC News)The ex-police chief at the heart of China’s biggest political scandal in years has been sentenced to 15 years in jail. Wang Lijun was jailed for bending the law, defection, abuse of power and bribetaking, state media reported. The policeman’s flight in February to a US consulate led to the downfall of his ex-boss, top politician Bo Xilai.Mr Bo’s wife was convicted in August of killing UK national Neil Heywood. Wang was accused of helping in a cover-up.The specks of land at the center of Japan-China islands dispute (September 24, 2012, The Los Angeles Times)In its heyday, the largest island was home to several hundred workers who caught fish and collected albatross feathers to adorn women’s hats in Europe. Nowadays, the only inhabitants are a hardy band of feral, inbred goats descended from a fecund pair left behind in 1978 by Japanese ultranationalists who wanted to establish a living presence on the otherwise deserted shards of land.Are the JapanChina troubles out of control? (September 24, 2012, East Asia Forum)Anxiety about the dispute between Japan and China over the Senkaku or Diaoyu islands spiralling totally out of control intensified last week when the Noda government bought three of the islands from a private Japanese owner.China slowdown adds urgency to Communist Party soul searching (September 25, 2012, Reuters, via Yahoo!)China’s cadre training system is run out of academies across the country, some focusing on practical aspects of 21st century communism such as handling the media and management skills, including role-play scenarios on how to manage a variety of crises from mass protests to train crashes. At Jinggangshan’s China Executive Leadership Academy, the job is to win hearts, not just minds. Hand-picked teachers are coached to tug heartstrings and elicit maximum emotion and they hammer two messages into trainees: your revolutionary forebears made immense sacrifices in harsh conditions, and the party exists to serve the people.Democracy with the Doors Shut (September 25, 2012, China Media Project)The phrase intraparty democracy was in fact a hot watchword in the political report to the 17th National Congress in 2007. But like many Party watchwords, intraparty democracy has run hot and cold through history.Still a Model? Revisiting the Rebel Village of Wukan (September 25, 2012, China Real Time Report)Proponents of political reform quickly heralded the village as a new model for the handling of unrest, possibly even the start of a genuine shift toward democracy. But a minor protest on Friday, the one-year anniversary of the start of the original protests, has sparked a debate about whether the results of the Wukan experiment need to be re-evaluated.China’s first aircraft carrier enters service (September 26, 2012, AFP)China put its first aircraft carrier into service on Tuesday, in a show of strength that came as territorial disputes over strategic islands in the region escalated. []The carrier was named the Liaoning after the northeastern province that is home to China’s main naval port city of Dalian, where it was extensively refitted. The commissioning makes China the last permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to have an aircraft carrier, and comes as Beijing’s political and economic clout grows. Numerous sea trials of the carrier were met with concern from regional powers including Japan and the United States, which called on Beijing to explain why it needed such a vessel.The Calm Before the Storm (September 26, 2012, Foreign Policy)The PLAN’s possession of an aircraft carrier is a great public relations booster for the Chinese military and suggests that Chinese diplomacy will be backed by an even bigger stick in East and Southeast Asia, and possibly beyond. Yet the stick was hard to come by and remains far from a potent tool. In fact, Liaoning has not yet demonstrated the capacity for aircraft launches or landings, which is the essence of carrier operations. Why has it taken so long to get to this point, which is not itself militarily decisive?Slide Show: An Aircraft Carrier of One’s Own (September 26, 2012, Foreign Policy)After much struggle, China finally has the massive naval vessel it always wanted.Japan, China top diplomats discuss island dispute (September 26, 2012, AP)The top diplomats of China and Japan went a little way to patching up ties frayed by an island dispute that has sparked violent anti-Japan demonstrations but appeared no closer to resolving their conflicting claims. China’s Yang Jiechi and his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba met Tuesday for about one hour on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly to discuss tensions over the uninhabited islands that are administered by Japan but also claimed by China. It is the highest-level meeting between the two Asian powers since their long-running dispute flared two weeks ago, after Japan’s purchase from a private owner of some of the islands sparked the protests in China. Taiwan has also weighed in, sending dozens of fishing boats to the area on Tuesday.China’s Leaders: Who Holds the Real Power? (September 26, 2012, Business Week)When he assumes the presidency in March, Xi will not rule alone. Hes a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, the countrys top leadership body. The No. 1 leader has some initiative and power. But he is a first among equals and has a lot of restraints, says Cheng Li, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an expert on the politics of Chinas elite. Their power is far less than the power of the U.S. president.Jiang Zemin, the old boss, wants to become the new boss(September 26, 2012, The Washington Post)With China approaching a leadership transition this year, and suggestions that various factions are still jockeying for key positions, enter; Jiang Zemin. The 86-year-old Jiang was Chinas paramount leader from 1989 until 2002, and is still believed to wield considerable behind-the-scenes influence inside the Communist Party. According to most analysts interpretations, Jiang who is frail and rarely seen in public these days wants to let it be known that he still has clout, and wants a say in the new leadership line-up to be unveiled in a few weeks time.Society Lost (September 27, 2012, China Media Project)In recent years, the relationship of the government to society has become a topic regularly discussed in China. Academics, journalists and others routinely describe China as a place where government is strong and society is weak, or qiang zhengfu ruo shehui (). []So where does Chinese society and its development fit into the overall picture of political change in China?Chinese female official aspires to top role (September 27, 2012, The Washington Post)Most of the 25 members of Chinas Politburo are uncannily similar, with their black-dyed hair, dark suits and science degrees, but one stands out. With her trademark blue skirt-suit and pearls, Liu Yandong, 66, the top official in charge of health, education, culture and sports, is the only woman in the group. As China prepares for its once-in-a-decade leadership transition next month, Liu is an outside contender to become the first woman to join the Politburo standing committee, the group of nine officials who rule China.China, On The Eve Of A New Presidency (September 27, 2012, NPR)China has been plagued by political scandal and controversy, just as the Communist government prepares for its once-a-decade transfer of power. It’s an important moment for the government, which faces questions about how its economy will be governed and how it will handle deal with foreign powers.RELIGIONThree Issues Concerning Chinese House Churches (September 17, 2012, Pacific Institute for Social Sciences)Controversies with house churches in China have been long standing and have not been resolved properly. How should we look at the origins and characteristics of Chinese house churches? How should we treat house churches? In building a harmonious society, we must directly face these questions; they cannot be avoided.The Church Today is on a Training Ground (September 21, 2012, Chinese Church Voices)Crossing the river by feeling the stones, a popular Chinese idiom, is a fitting way to describe Chinas emerging urban church. Its leaders have no older generation to look up to, and the opportunities and challenges they face are unprecedented in Chinas history. In this article published in the Christian Times, one pastor describes the dangers facing todays urban church leaders. He cautions them to be humble and teachable, as the decisions they make will affect an entire generation.The Urban Paradox: Together, Alone (September 24, 2012, ChinaSource Blog)This theme of loneliness emerged repeatedly in the course of visits to various corners of the city.A pastor of a large congregation of urban professionals pointed to loneliness, along with a breakdown in relationships and the pursuit of personal enjoyment, as the key social issues facing the church. He sees his challenge as creating a healing community where relationships can be restored and, most importantly, individuals can be brought into relationship with Christ. Several Christians who are seeking to address the needs of youth in China pointed to this next generation as both the most connected and the most disconnected in China’s history.Shouwang Church takes legal action against cops for religious persecution (September 24, 2012, South China Morning Post)Shouwang Church leader submits document accusing officers of repressing worshippers Shouwang Church, one of the mainland’s most influential unofficial Protestant churches, has taken legal action against Beijing police for preventing its congregation from worshipping for more than a year.The church’s pastor, Jin Tianming, last Friday filed an application for an “administrative review” – a legal step that enables citizens to contest government actions – with the Beijing municipal government. A church elder verified the authenticity of the content of the application, which was posted online. In the document, Jin accused police of barring the church from moving into a 16,000 sq ft office space it had bought for more than 26 million yuan (HK$32 million) and preventing it from renting another worship venue. He complained that police had illegally confined him and other church leaders at home since April 9 last year – a day before the church attempted to worship outdoors – and harassed many of its worshippers.A Domestic Media Report on Jeremy Lins Faith (September 25, 2012, Chinese Church Voices)Jeremy Lins Miracle Night evangelistic rally was not only a sensational event across all of Taiwan, but in the Mainland, news of the event has also been reported online by the Chinese media outlet Sina. In the headline, they clearly state that Lins faith is amazing and that in every game he tried to play his hardest for God.China plans campaign to promote Christian theology (September 25, 2012, China Daily)The China Christian Council (CCC) and the National Committee of Three-Self Patriotic Movement of the Protestant Churches in China on Tuesday announced a theological exchange campaign to strengthen theological thinking. At Tuesday’s announcement ceremony, members of an evangelical group for theological theory were awarded certificates, with 16 members delivering sermons on a variety of topics.The campaign, which will run from 2013 to 2017, aims to guide the country’s church rostrums and promote the spirit of the times with positive and correct theological thinking through the use of publishing, exchanges, discussions and evangelism, according to the campaign’s guidelines.China’s Muslims prepare for sacred pilgrimage (September 26, 2012, China Daily)The China Islamic Association planned 82 chartered flights this year to send more than 13,800 Chinese Muslims to Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage. The aircraft taking Wang is the first flight this year, and everyone taking the flights is expected to arrive in Mecca by Oct 18. The chartered flights organized by the association will take off in the coming few days from cities populated by large numbers of Muslims. Currently, more than 23 million Muslims call China home. Islam entered the country around 1,300 years ago.The number of Chinese Muslims taking the trip is increasing every year as incomes rise, said Guo Chengzhen, the association’s vice-president. “Only about 1,000 people went to the holy city in 1989 when the association first organized chartered flights for the pilgrimage.” Muslims who are healthy and wealthy enough to go on the 38-day trip are required to apply to the local branches of the association first.EDUCATION / CULTUREGrowing Up a Chinese Patriot, Then Heading West in a Changed World (September 26, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)I have hundreds of memories of the ceremony, the earliest of which took place in the playground of my elementary school: A dirt opening ringed with cypresses and gingko trees, a small brick-and-concrete platform, and a shining flag pole. Every Monday morning, the school gathered on the playground after second period, belting out the national anthem while watching the flag climb.Director Reveals Mystery of Chinas Film Censorship System on Weibo (September 27, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)No film is safe, no film investment is safe, no directors creation is safe [under China’s film censorship framework], said director Lou Ye (@) in a recent interview with Sina, a Chinese Internet portal, that explored his experience with the ironfisted gatekeepers of Chinas arts and explained his decision to post details of the film censorship process on Sina Weibo, Chinas Twitter.China artist Ai Weiwei court challenge fails(September 27, 2012, BBC News)Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei has again failed in a bid to challenge a tax evasion fine he says is politically motivated. Tax authorities imposed a 15m yuan ($2.4m, 1.5m) fine on Mr Ai’s firm for tax evasion in 2011. His appeal was rejected in July and on Thursday a Beijing court rejected his challenge to that decision. Mr Ai, who says he remains unable to leave the country, described the decision as “shameless”.”It didn’t respect the facts or give us a chance to defend ourselves; it has no regard for taxpayers’ rights,” Reuters news agency quoted him as saying. how to get a girlfriend SOCIETY / LIFEAgeing China: Changes and challenges (September 20, 2012, BBC News)Today, there are 180 million Chinese aged over 60, just over 13% of the population. That will double to 360 million in fewer than 20 years, when China will have more retirees than the entire population of the US. By the middle of the century, their ranks will soar again to 480 million. China is ageing so fast that a process that took up to a century in the West will happen in the coming 30 years here. And as the ranks of the elderly swells, the working-age population is starting to shrink.China’s Brainwashed Youth (September 21, 2012, Foreign Policy)The protests against Japan didn’t get us our islands back, but they made one thing clear: The people are puppets of the Chinese Communist Party.Chinese families’ worldly goods in Huang Qingjun’s pictures (September 23, 2012, BBC News)Amid China’s tumultuous dash to become rich, one man’s photographs of families posing with their worldly goods will soon seem like records from a distant era. Huang Qingjun has spent nearly a decade travelling to remote parts of China to persuade people who have sometimes never been photographed to carry outside all their household possessions and pose for him.Police ask netizens to help catch wild protesters (September 24, 2012, China Daily)Police have posted photos of more than 20 suspects on social media websites to solicit clues, as investigations continue into the beatings and looting during anti-Japan protests last week. So far, 18 people in Guangdong province, six in Shandong province and five in Hunan province, have been detained on suspicion of causing injury, vandalizing Japanese-brand cars and Japan-related businesses, and looting as demonstrations flared in more than 80 Chinese cities. The protests erupted after Japan “nationalized” the Diaoyu Islands on Sept 11. Those islands have belonged to China for centuries.On Saturday night, Shenzhen police posted the photos of 20 suspects on the department’s micro blog, rather than on its website, saying it had solid evidence of vandalism and damage to other people’s property. The police urged the suspects to turn themselves in and offered rewards for information on their whereabouts, providing numbers for three hotlines. The posts had been forwarded more than 4,000 times by Sunday evening.What the Foxconn Riot Says About China (September 25, 2012, Letter from China)But the deeper problem is about institutions. Day by day, Chinese workers expect better conditions and greater guarantees that when companies go bust, the employees will not. And, yet, China permits no independent trade unions or free collective bargaining. Complaint and mediation procedures are weak. China today still has, more or less, the same Party-sponsored national trade union it has had for sixty years, even as the economy and the population have transformed. If Beijing is to avoid more riots in the months and years ahead, it needs to stop seeing this as an Apple problem and start seeing it as a China problem.One Schools Stability Maintenance Instructions(September 26, 2012, China Digital Times)The following document from an unnamed university (apparently located in Shaanxi Province) is available, uncensored, within the Great Firewall on Baidu Wenku:Photos: Chinas 10 Richest People, According to Hurun (September 26, 2012, China Real Time Report)Chinese internet users to overtake English language users by 2015 (September 26, 2012, The Telegraph)In May 2011, there were 565 million English internet users, compared to 510 million Chinese users, representing 27 per cent and 24 per cent of total global internet users, respectively. The report predicts that if current growth rates continue, Chinese will overtake English as the main language used by internet users in 2015. This switch is largely due to China’s massive population, now over 1.3 billion people. Just under 40 per cent of people in China use the internet, compared to 82 per cent in the United Kingdom, and 78 in the United States.Report: As Burma Improves, China is Now Asias Worst Net Freedom Offender (September 26, 2012, Tech in Asia)American NGO Freedom House compiles a report every year on violations occurring on the web. Its new Freedom on the Net 2012 study shows shifting trends in the Asia Pacific region as the reforming Burma cleans up its act a lot. That leaves China as the worst net freedom offender in the region, performing even worse than it did last year.11 million vehicles expected to hit Beijing’s expressways during holidays (September 26, 2012, Xinhua)About 11 million vehicles are expected to hit Beijing’s expressways during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays, marking a year-on-year increase of 20 percent, according to the capital’s transport authorities. The increase is mainly a result of the new toll-free policy for passenger cars during major holidays initiated by the government in August, an official with the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport said.The move is widely expected to fuel tourism consumption. Since the policy was announced, there have been reports that car rental agencies have seen a surge in business amid the approaching holidays.China video of man beaten in anti-Japan riot spurs soul-searching (September 27, 2012, The Los Angeles Times)The Chinese government initially encouraged the anti-Japanese demonstrations. But it clamped down last week amid criticism within China that the violence suggested unflattering parallels to such episodes as the anti-foreign Boxer Rebellion of 1900 or the Cultural Revolution of the1960s and 1970s. “Even though it is 2012, history can easily repeat itself Boxers, Red Guards, mobsters, generation after generation,” wrote one microblogger in comments that were widely reposted.Mooncakes, China’s traditional festive gift, are getting a makeover (September 27, 2012, The Guardian)Given to friends and business contacts during the mid-autumn festival, the sweet treats have gone up-market as well as taking on a political flavor.BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / FOREIGN TRADEGlobal slowdown predicted after deluge of bad economic data (September 20, 2012, The Guardian)The prospect of a synchronised recession across the global economy loomed larger on Thursday after news that China’s factory output shrank for an 11th straight month, Europe’s recession intensified and the manufacturing sector in the US had its weakest quarter in three years.Foxconn halts production at plant after mass brawl(September 24, 2012, BBC News)Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology, a major supplier for Apple, has halted production at a plant in northern China after a fight broke out among workers. Foxconn confirmed that a “personal dispute” escalated into an incident involving about 2,000 workers, injuring 40 of them. Police later dealt with the situation near the facility in Taiyuan, which employs about 79,000 workers. []Foxconn said the incident started on Sunday at about 23:00 local time (15:00 GMT) in a dormitory near the Taiyuan manufacturing facility in Shanxi province. Internet users in China posted pictures on microblog sites which they said had been taken at the scene showing windows of nearby shops smashed and police vehicles overturned.Some photos showed police and paramilitary officers in riot gear being deployed to the scene. About 40 people were taken to hospital and a number of individuals have been arrested, the company said.Americans In China Feel Pinch Of Shifting Economies (September 25, 2012, Kera News)In recent years, China’s status like its economy has continued to rise as the economies in America and Europe have struggled. That shift isn’t just reflected in economic numbers, and some American business people in China say they don’t feel as respected or as valued as before. []Fifteen years ago, foreigners dominated multinational companies in China. Judy Tang, who teaches at the Antai College of Economics and Management at Shanghai’s Jiao Tong University, says now Chinese are much more able and worldly. Many have overseas MBAs, have moved into senior management positions and earn big salaries. “Many Chinese people [have] become capable to take the responsibility,” Tang says. “The economy has developed so quickly in the past 15 years; this has made some of the Chinese people quite rich.” Tang says foreigners still bring valuable skills to China’s economy, but that they aren’t needed quite so urgently.Toyota plans to produce no cars in China in October: paper (September 26, 2012, Reuters)Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) has indicated to its main parts makers that it plans to halt car production in China during October as rising anti-Japan sentiment in the country hurts demand, the Asahi newspaper reported on Wednesday. Toyota will also halt all vehicle exports to China from Japan, the paper said, without citing its sources. A Toyota spokesman in Tokyo could not immediately confirm the report.GDP may slow for 9th quarter (September 26, 2012, China Daily)China’s economic growth is likely to slow for its ninth consecutive quarter in the period from July to September, top policy advisers said on Tuesday. If their predictions prove true, the government may find itself taking “remarkable measures” to combat the slump, they said. Zheng Xinli, deputy head of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank, said Chinas economic data for August has turned out worse than expected and the economys prospects remain gloomy. Amid those circumstances,the countrys GDP is unlikely to grow at a faster pace in the fourth quarter. “The urgent need right now is to clarify what are the most effective ways to boost domestic demand,” Zheng said. He said growth can perhaps be best accelerated through expenditures on household goods, infrastructure, public utilities and modernized agriculture.China’s Baoshan suspends steel plant as demand slows (September 26, 2012, BBC News)Baoshan Iron and Steel, the fourth biggest steel producer in the world, has suspended production at a plant in China as demand slows.Baosteel, as it is known, said it closed the plant in Luojing, Shanghai, to avoid increasing operating losses.China is the world’s biggest producer of steel and prices have fallen this year. [] In a statement to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Baosteel said a downturn in demand in the slab market prompted the shutdown. It did not say when production would resume. The plant in Shanghai mainly makes steel slabs used in ships and manufacturing.ARTICLES IN CHINESE() (September 27, 2012, Gospel Times) (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences) (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences) (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences)LINKS FOR RESEARCHERSFinalizing the 18th Party Congress: Setting the Stage for Reform? (September 21, 2012, China Brief)Vice President Xi Jinpings reappearance last Saturday after an absence of two weeks signaled that preparations for the 18th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress, which is slated for the second half of October, were on track. Beijing is even awash with speculation that the high-profile princeling (a reference to the offspring of party elders) has been mapping out moderate versions of political reform with the help of forward-looking intellectuals such as Hu Deping, the son of the late party chief Hu Yaobang.News doesnt necessarily equal understanding (Hong Kong University)Reflections on China Reporting in a time of transition, by David Schlesinger, Speech to the International Relations Council of Hong Kong UniversityRESOURCESVideo: Assignment: China – The Chinese Civil War (USC US-China Institute)The surrender of the Japanese brought about the resumption of the battle between the Chiang Kai-shek-led Nationalists and the Mao Zedong-led Communists. American reporters tell of working to cover the struggle. (wanming.org) (All Nations: China Minority Information Network)5656500 BOOKSShanghai: The Vigor in the Decay(September 24, 2012, New York Review of Books)This is a story that sounds familiar, that we think we know or can imagine: old houses torn down for luxury malls, ordinary people poorly compensated, an intimate way of life replaced by highways and high-rises.All of this is happening in Shanghaiand dozens of cities across China and around the worldbut its not how Howard French and Qiu Xiaolong tell it in their unusual new book of photographs, poems, and essays, Disappearing Shanghai: Photographs and Poems of an Intimate Way of Life.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. zp8497586rq zp8497586rq