ZGBriefs | April 16, 2015

ZGBriefs is a compilation of news items gathered from published online sources.
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Featured Article

China: What the Uighurs See (April 13, 2015, The New York Review of Books)
Drake has been traveling to Xinjiang since 2007, when she began photographing Central Asia from her base in Istanbul. Over the years, she has come to know the region well, and struggled to break free from its clichés. The summation of her work is Wild Pigeon, an ambitious, beautiful, and crushingly sad book.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

Eight Rules for Dealing with a Rising China (April 9, 2015, Wall Street Journal)The U.S. and China have the most critical bilateral relationship in the world, and it serves America’s national security, economic health and environmental well-being to keep it strong. I’d like to suggest eight rules for dealing with China—offered not as a scholar or a theorist but as someone who has made more than 100 visits there and spent nearly 25 years dealing with senior Chinese officials.

Heard in the Hutong: What Role Should China Play in Conflicts Overseas? (April 10, 2015, China Real Time)
As China develops, what role do its citizens think it should play in conflicts abroad? China Real Time hit the streets to hear what residents in the capital had to say.

Beijing, With an Eye on the South China Sea, Adds Patrol Ships (April 10, 2015, The New York Times)
China is rapidly building coast guard ships, the vessels that China most commonly uses for patrols in the South China Sea, and in the last three years has increased the number of ships in that category 25 percent, a new report by the United States Navy says.

Jiang Jiemin: China former energy chief on trial (April 13, 2015, BBC)
China's former energy chief Jiang Jiemin has gone on trial for corruption, a Chinese court says. Jiang Jiemin has been charged with bribery and abuse of power during his time at the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), according to Xinhua news agency. He was arrested in 2013, shortly after he left to head a government body overseeing state-owned companies.

China's Great Wall of Sand (April 13, 2015, Bloomberg)
China is building new harbors and airstrips on various reefs and atolls in the Spratly Islands — facilities that, Beijing confirms, will be used for military as well as civil purposes. The U.S. and its allies in the region need to weigh their response with care.

To Understand Where China Is Headed, Look at the Ancient Concept of 'He' (April 13, 2015, Huffington Post)
We have to tackle the international community's concerns about China head-on, and explain why the Chinese system has its merits, where the country is headed, and why China is not a threat to others. Rather than quoting ancient classics, we need to bring them up to date and define the core meaning of contemporary Chinese culture. In other words, we need to give a concise, easy-to-understand answer. The best answer, in my view, is the concept of "he" (peace / harmony). It is important that we discover the historical connotations of this word and expound on its current meanings in light of China's modern history and the process of reform and opening.

So You Wanna Join The Party? (April 14, 2015, The World of Chinese)
With more than 86 million members, the Communist Party of China (CPC) is different to any political structure that exists elsewhere. While in other countries, people tend to join political parties either out of a sense of idealism or because they want a political career, there are a whole host of reasons why people in China join the CPC, often revolving around advancement.

China to strengthen surveillance, security in anti-terror push (April 14, 2015, Reuters)
China will establish a national population database linked to ID information and credit records, state media reported late on Monday, as part of a larger push to beef up surveillance and security in response to violent unrest. China has already taken a series of measures to prevent attacks by extremists, including plans for an anti-terrorism law that would give the government broader surveillance powers and offering to pay for tips about violent plots.

Hong Kong’s Umbrella Revolutionaries Are Slowly Coming Back to the Streets (April 14, 2015, TIME)
A small pro-democracy encampment has started to take shape ahead of a crucial vote on electoral reform.

China targets rights group Yirenping after activists' release (April 15, 2015, BBC)
China has threatened to punish a local human rights group linked to five women's activists who were released on Tuesday. The foreign affairs ministry said Yirenping had "violated the law" but gave no further details. The group has been locked out of its Beijing office after the police conducted a raid last month. China earlier this week freed the women after more than a month in detention, a move welcomed by rights groups.

Survey Offers Rare Window Into Chinese Political Culture (April 15, 2015, Sinosphere)
China may even be divided, much like the United States, into “red” conservative provinces mostly in the poorer rural interior and richer, urbanized “blue” coastal provinces, the draft research paper found. The paper, quickly translated into Chinese and posted on social media sites, drew blistering criticism from the state news media.

Religion

Why Christmas Is Huge in China (April 9, 2015, US China Perception Monitor)
The Western religious festival is so trendy, in fact, that it may be the second-most-celebrated festival in China after the Spring Festival among young Chinese, according to research conducted by the China Social Survey Institute (CSSI), which found that 15- to 45-year-olds are the most likely to observe it. The holiday’s popularity is an outgrowth of study-abroad programs, said Sara Jane Ho, whose Institute Sarita specializes in educating wealthy Chinese on aspects of Western culture such as how to properly pronounce “Hermes”—the brand, rather than the Greek deity (the ‘h’ is silent, and the second ‘e’ accented).

Tibetan Nun Calling for End to China Rule and Dalai Lama’s Return Sets Self on Fire (April 11, 2015, The New York Times)
A nun set herself on fire in the past week in a Tibetan area of western China to protest Chinese rule and to call for the return of the Dalai Lama from exile, according to two pro-Tibet advocacy groups. The nun, Yeshi Khando, is believed to have died because of the intensity of the fire.

Is Christianity's future Chinese? New study considers scenarios (April 13, 2015, The Weekly Number)
Today, the world's seventh largest Christian population lives in China. By 2050 it could become the world's largest. This has been argued by sociologist Fenggang Yang of Purdue University. 

Beijing Christians Celebrate Qingming Festival (April 14, 2015, ChinaSource Blog)
This year April 5 was an interesting day for Christians in China as Easter coincided with Qingming Festival (grave sweeping). On the day they celebrated the empty tomb they were also expected to tend to the tombs of their ancestors. In some cases, the ancestors were themselves Christians, so ceremonies and services are conducted at Christian cemeteries.

Celebrating Life and Death at Easter (April 15, 2015, ChinaSource Blog)
This year Qingming Festival–Chinese Tomb Sweeping Day–and Easter fell on the same weekend.  While Christians around the world were celebrating an empty tomb many in China were remembering their dead and caring for tombs still filled with bones.

China's 'evil' church demolition campaign continues, say activists (April 15, 2015, The Telegraph)
Hopes that a government demolition campaign targeting Chinese churches had ended have been dashed after the crosses were stripped from at least three places of worship in recent days. China has faced international condemnation over the total or partial demolition at least 400 churches in the eastern province of Zhejiang since early 2014.

The Gospel And The Souls Of The Chinese People, Part 3 (April 15, 2015, China Partnership)
This is the final post in a series by a house church pastor reflecting on the gospel and its impact on the Chinese people.

Society / Life

Chinese TV Star Apologizes For Remarks Critical Of Mao (April 9, 2015, NPR)
A Chinese television star made a public apology after controversial remarks he made that were critical of communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong. Bi Fujian, a regular presenter on state-run CCTV and the host of its annual New Year's variety show — the most-watched television program in the world, according to the BBC — says he's sorry for his actions.

IKEA Denies Reports It Has Banned Chinese Sleepers (April 10, 2015, China Real Time)
China’s IKEA sleepers can rest easy. The Swedish furniture giant said Friday that Chinese shoppers are still welcome to crawl into their beds and lounge on their sofas after local media reported this week that IKEA issued a new napping policy.

Canadian Woman Accidentally Kills Elderly Chinese Lady at Mutianyu Great Wall (April 13, 2015, The Beijinger)
The Great Wall at Mutianyu was location to a tragic incident on Wednesday of last week: a Canadian tourist accidentally knocked over an older woman when rushing down a steep part of the wall. The 37-year-old Canadian tourist was running after a friend, the victim’s family told Beijing News, and reportedly squeezed in between the victim and her husband. She reportedly kept running down, but eventually ran back up to where the collision took place.

Yushu: A Tibetan Town Rebuilt in Beijing’s Image (April 14, 2015, TIME)
After a massive earthquake destroyed 90% of Yushu's buildings and claimed more than 2,000 lives, the price of recovery has been sacrificing identity.

Education

Now More Than Ever, The World is Coming to Study in China (April 10, 2015, The Nanfang Insider)
More than 377 thousand foreign students came to China in 2014, making it the third-most popular country for international students, trailing only the USA and the UK after surpassing France.

Health / Environment

Images from a cancer village (April 9, 2014, jd.com) (in Chinese)

Scientists Question Environmental Impact of China’s Winter Olympics Bid (April 9, 2015, The New York Times)
Beijing used to be rich in water resources, but it dried up as its population doubled over the past 25 years to an estimated 22 million. A $62 billion project to divert water to the north from the water-rich south has begun, but it is expected only to stabilize the situation. “Of course they shouldn’t have ski resorts,” said Hu Kanping, a retired hydrologist who writes reports for the Chinese nongovernmental organization Friends of Nature. In a 2011 report, he wrote that the 11 ski resorts then open in Beijing used an average of about a billion gallons of water a year, or enough for 42,000 people.

Images: Green Plague: (April 10, 2015, Caixin Online)
A city in southern China battles a species of invasive plant that clogs its waterways every spring

Insuring Those Who Serve (April 10, 2015, ChinaSource Blog)
Facing a medical crisis is difficult at any time. When it happens far from home, family, and familiar medical facilities it can be devastating. Having good, accessible insurance can relieve some of the concern and the financial burden of medical care overseas. One insurance provider that has been serving cross-cultural workers in Asia for years is Talent Trust Consultants (TTc).  

China Gets Tough With Surrogate Mothers (April 10, 2015, China Real Time)
China appears to be a bit conflicted about its birth policies. While it has rolled back its strict “one-child” policy in order to address problems of an aging population, it is worried that surrogate pregnancies are undermining its remaining controls. Now, Beijing is trying to crack down on surrogacy – where a woman gives birth to another woman’s child — rekindling a debate about the legal and moral issues surrounding the practice in a country where the government continues to tightly control birth rights.

Beijing Turns to Social Media Tattletales in Battle Against Smoking (April 14, 2015, China Real Time)
The government this week launched an account on the social messaging app WeChat to allow residents to report violators, either by uploading images or videos of smokers caught in the act.

Economics / Trade / Business

China to punish Internet firm Sina over series of complaints (April 10, 2015, Reuters)
China will punish web portal and social media firm Sina Corp after it was identified as operating the most complained about major website in the country, the Internet regulator said on Friday, the latest blow in an ongoing online crackdown.

China’s Fapiao System: Fapiao and Value-Added Tax (April 14, 2015, China Briefing)
For those new to China, the fapiao system can be an especially confusing part of domestic bookkeeping. In China, all business transactions are required by law to be recorded on an official receipt (or ‘fapiao’ in Chinese).

China's growth slows to 7% in the first quarter (April 15, 2015, BBC)
China's economic growth slowed further in the three months to March this year, expanding 7% compared to a year earlier, its slowest pace since the global financial crisis in 2009. The rate was lower than the 7.3% posted for the three months to December.

Behind China’s Billion-Dollar Startups: Alumni of Alibaba, Tencent (October 15, 2015, China Real Time)
Chen Qi quit his software engineering job at Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in 2010 to start an Internet venture he financed by selling all of his Alibaba shares for $500,000. Those shares would be worth more than $8 million today, following Alibaba’s record $25 billion initial public offering in New York last year. But the 33-year-old Mr. Chen says he has no regrets.

Science / Technology

Government websites: Zombies in the cloud (April 11, 2015, The Economist)
Ever since the dawn of the internet age, China’s government has fretted over dangers that may lurk in the chaotic and unruly realm of cyberspace. It has worked hard to monitor citizens’ internet doings, and block or filter content it does not like. Now authorities are trying to rein in internet chaos they themselves have wrought.

'Great Cannon of China' turns internet users into weapon of cyberwar (April 13, 2015, The Guardian)
The “Great Cannon” has entered the cyberwar lexicon alongside the “Great Firewall of China” after a new tool for censorship in the nation was named and described by researchers from the University of Toronto. The first use of the Great Cannon came in late March, when the coding site GitHub was flooded by traffic leaving it intermittently unresponsive for multiple days. The attack, using a method called “distributed denial of service” or DDoS, appeared to be targeting two specific users of the site: the New York Times’ Chinese mirror, and anti-censorship organisation GreatFire.org.

Check out 14 new features in WeChat made specifically for Shanghai users (April 15, 2015, Shanghaiist)
The Shanghai government joined up with Tencent to push out new features on WeChat aimed specifically at Shanghai users. After downloading the latest version of WeChat, users will notice 14 helpful tools added in its new “WeChat City Service” tab. The features allow users to virtually get a hospital queue number, pay utilities, search for library books and more.

Arts / Entertainment / Media

Propaganda and ideology in everyday life: Chinese collection posters (April 7, 2015, British Library)
The Chinese collection at the British Library includes an interesting series of around 40 posters produced in the 1970s and 1980s in the People’s Republic of China which represent an extraordinary example of popular visual material created by official sources to promote a sense of shared history and national identity.

How Asian-Americans Found A Home In The World Of K-Pop (April 14, 2015, NPR)
It's no secret that the Korean entertainment industry's prime export — K-pop — is now a global phenomenon. But for what's considered a largely Asian hit-making machine, it's Americans who are often headlining the groups. How did things come to be this way? To talk about it, we found a pioneer of the cross-over gambit, Jae Chong, in a basement studio in Seoul, or more specifically, a neighborhood you probably know of…"It's in Gangnam," Chong says with a laugh.

Travel / Food

Visiting Xinjiang’s Jurassic Park (aka “Tianshan Safari Park”) (April 9, 2015, Far West China)
Driving our car through the high, double gates of the Xinjiang Tianshan Safari Park, it was hard not to think that we had just entered Jurassic Park. The guard tower was vacant and not a single park ranger was in sight. My family and a couple friends had decided to make our first visit to this park an hour outside of Urumqi, none of us quite sure what to expect. Previously, the zoo in Urumqi had been located in the south of town until September 2005 when it was moved to a massive tract of land at the foot of the Tianshan range.

A Beginner's Guide to Green Tea (April 11, 2015, Life on Nanchang Lu)
Green teas are a perfect introduction to the family of Chinese teas because they are more lightly flavoured and easy to prepare, with a taste everyone enjoys. Here's an easy guide for learning more about Chinese green teas.

China scraps unlimited Hong Kong entry for Shenzhen residents (April 13, 2015, BBC)
China is to stop issuing multiple entry Hong Kong visas to residents of Shenzhen, state media reports. The move is an attempt by Beijing to ease growing anger in Hong Kong over shopping trips by mainlanders who take advantage of lower taxes. Shenzhen residents will now only be able to enter Hong Kong once per week, and stay for no longer than a week.

Language / Language Learning

What Linguistic Diversity Feels Like (April 14, 2015, Sinosplice)
We often think of “linguistic diversity” referring to the existence of minority languages in an area. But it can also refer to the varying dialects of a region, which in China would include topolects, AKA 方言. When you throw various forms of language together in a single geographical area, they don’t stay distinct; they bleed into each other in interesting ways. Here are a few anecdotes about that, and what we’re potentially losing when a large region’s language becomes one shade of plain vanilla.

Books

Writer Yu Hua shares his thoughts on China’s wealth gap (April 9, 2015, The Global Times)
One side shows an extravagant and dazzling downtown scene, while the other depicts a grey area of broken walls and shabby shelters. A striking white scar runs down the middle to drive home the point of the sheer contrast between these two scenes. The realistic cover of Chinese writer Yu Hua's new book tells readers that above all his book is about the current reality of China. Titled We Live in a Huge Gap, Yu's newly published book boasts a collection of his essays written over the past 10 years and published together for the first time ever. A reflection and summary of Yu's experiences with writing and life over the past decade, Yu's essays look at society, reality, literature and culture, to name just a few, with his unique and penetrating style of observation.

Articles for Researchers

Full Text: Tibet's Path of Development Is Driven by an Irresistible Historical Tide (April 15, 2015, Xinhua)
The State Council Information Office, China's cabinet, on Wednesday published a white paper on the development path of Tibet.

Chinese Religious Regulations in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region: A Veiled Threat to Turkic Muslims?  (Project 2049 Institute)

Image Credit: Little Emperors, by China Supertrends, via Flickr