ZGBriefs | August 13, 2015

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. 

Featured Article

Putting China’s Cyberpolice in Context (August 9, 2015, Medium.com)
In our rapidly evolving global news space, content is still king. But I confess at least equal devotion to the sovereign’s hoary (and so often ignored) envoy: context. As media reported last week, following a Public Security Bureau “work conference” in Beijing, that China would now "embed internet police in tech firms” and priority websites — underscoring yet again the deteriorating information climate under President Xi Jinping — context cowered in the shadows of the court. Everyone, as a result, got the story wrong.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

Major Issues for Chinese Leaders to Tackle in Beidaihe, if They Meet (August 6, The New York Times)
Only one thing is certain about the secretive annual meeting of Communist Party leaders at Beidaihe, a seaside resort 160 miles east of Beijing: that nothing is certain, including when, who, what — even if.

Beidaihe summit: Silent waves (August 8, 2015, The Economist)
IN THE dog days of August, Beidaihe is a sea resort unlike any other. Swimmers, waddling through the streets with flotation rings around their waists, pause at road crossings as paramilitary police, in tight single-file with ramrod straight backs, march past. Visitors entering town are stopped at checkpoints. Cars require special certification.

Chinese Human Rights Lawyer Is Unexpectedly Freed a Day After Being Detained (August 8, 2015, The New York Times)
A Beijing human rights lawyer said Saturday that he had been released from police custody, a day after being detained in a raid on his apartment.

The Guardian view on China under Xi Jinping: it prefers control to reform (August 10, 2015, The Guardian)
Nobody envies the Chinese government its difficult choices. Reform is inherently risky, but so, and probably more so, is maintaining rigid control whatever the cost.

How the Uighurs keep their culture alive in Pakistan (August 11, 2015, BBC)
Insa is one of a few thousand Uighur Muslims who live in Gilgit. The community is a mix of generations. Some left Xinjiang and the thriving trading town of Kashgar in 1949, while others are later arrivals.

Religion

Church-State Relations in Light of the Cross Demolition Campaign (August 4, 2015, Chinese Church Voices)
The Zhejiang cross dispute has provided us with a great spiritual lesson. Today, as the church is expanding we still need to keep in mind the exhortation of scripture: “It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts.”

China removes cross from church after month-long protest ends (August 7, 2015, Reuters)
Chinese authorities removed a cross from a church on Friday after Christian protesters ended a month-long sit-in on the building’s roof in a bid to protect the cross from what they said was its unfair removal, witnesses said.

Christian Sentiment in Zhejiang Against Cross Removal: Three Statements (August 7, 2015, China Change)
The ongoing forced demolition of crosses, and in some cases entire churches, taking place in Zhejiang is an extraordinary occurrence: the Chinese government appears determined to remove all traces of the symbol of Christianity in the public realm, with no regard to the antagonism it is provoking among at least two millions of Christians in one of China’s most prosperous provinces.

Scenarios for China (August 7 2015, From the West Courtyard)
Earlier this week we looked at the tools for strategic planning and the necessity of using them in preparing organizations operating in China for an uncertain future. We continue with more specifics here in part two.

From Kaifeng to the Kotel: Chinese Jews in Jerusalem (August 8, 2015, The Jerusalem Post)
What made Li, Fan and Xue’s journey so unique was the history they were making, as they became the first group of Chinese Jews to join Israeli army since the modern rebirth of the Jewish state.

Chinese Christians Resist Government Plan to Remove Crosses (August 10, 2015, The New York Times)
Resistance is growing among China’s expanding Christian community to a government campaign to remove crosses from churches in a wealthy coastal province.

China builds Tibetan Buddhism academy in Chengdu (August 10, 2015, The Economic Times)
China has started the construction of an academy for Tibetan Buddhism at Chengdu in southwest China at a cost of $18.9 million. The 116 million yuan project is funded by the Sichuan provincial government and will cover an area of 7.73 hectares, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Business as Mission with Chinese Characteristics (August 11, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
Business as mission is an increasingly popular ministry approach, particularly in areas and regions that are not open to more traditional types of missionary work.

Strengthening Marriages in the Chinese Church (August 12, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
Zhou Ming of Olive Tree Church, an unregistered congregation in Beijing, sees marriage ministry as foundational: “The church needs to increase the level of importance it places on guarding marriages. The true meaning and significance of marriage must be taught in the churches: one husband and one wife, one man and one woman, for your whole life. There are all kinds of problems in society, but whatever kind of social problem there is, you need stable marriages to be the foundation.”

Society / Life

17 Funny Weibo Trending Pics (August 6, 2015, What’s on Weibo)
What’s on Weibo brings you an overview of 17 of the most ridiculous and funny classic pictures that have been making their rounds on China’s social media.

Chinese County Limits Seniors’ Birthday Banquets to Once a Decade (August 7, 2015, China Real Time)
Are you a senior who loves to party? Officials in one southwest Chinese county have bad news for those planning on growing old disgracefully. Banquets in Sichuan province’s Tongjiang county have gotten so out of hand that the authorities have decided to impose a new set of rules dictating the types of occasions on which they can be held. Among the new restrictions: residents aged 70 and above will be strictly limited to one birthday bash per decade.

Typhoon Soudelor kills 17 in E China (August 10, 2015, China Daily)
Typhoon Soudelor has left seventeen people dead with five still missing, the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters said Monday. More than three million people and 110,000 hectares of crops in East China's Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi provinces were affected by the typhoon, with direct economic losses totalling 8.73 billion yuan ($1.43 billion).

'They don't deserve this kind of life:' Meet China's abandoned children (August 11, 2015, CNN)
The number of abandoned children has dropped steadily in the last decade, but the numbers remain disturbingly high. Today, almost all of China's unwanted children have disabilities. Dozens of new cases of abandoned children are reported each day.

Explosion rocks Chinese city of Tianjin – video (August 12, 2015, The Guardian)
Handheld footage captures a series of explosions in the Chinese city of Tianjin on Wednesday night. Allegedly the explosions happened in an industrial part of the city but reports are still coming in as to what might have caused them. The number of casualties are not yet known.

Beijing to close roads, metro stations for night parade rehearsal (August 12, 2015, China Daily)
Beijing will shut down roads and close metro stations for night rehearsals of a parade to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, schedule on Sept 3. According to the Beijing police, the rehearsal will be held between 10:30 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. from Aug. 13 to 15.

Education

What people in China thought of UK teaching experiment (August 6, 2015, BBC)
A BBC documentary broadcast in the UK this week followed the experiences of English pupils as their classes were taken over by Chinese teachers – and has caused a major debate in social media back in China.

Health / Environment

Beijing’s Ban on Smoking Is Actually (Sort of) Working (August 5, 2015, China File)
But what may prove more effective than the threat of a financial penalty is the growing realization that Beijing, already fending off notorious pollution, can no longer afford to carry the public-health burden of a citywide smoking habit as well.

China's much-hyped healthcare reform drive stuck in first gear (August 10, 2015, Channel News Asia)
Li Tiantian, a Chinese doctor turned tech entrepreneur, is a leading light of the country's much-trumpeted healthcare reform drive. His medical networking platform DXY.com links two million doctors across China and has attracted funding from tech giants like Tencent.

Economics / Trade / Business

China's inflation rate rises to 1.6% in July, missing a government target (August 9, 2015, BBC)
China's consumer inflation rate hit its highest level this year in July, but is still well below the government target of about 3%. The rate edged up to 1.6% from 1.4% the month before because of rising food prices, the government said. Producer prices, which include wholesale and factory price inflation, fell for the 40th month in a row.

Video: China’s Fast-Food Fight Turns to Delivery (August 10, 2015, China Real Time)
China’s Internet giants are now taking on Western food chains at their own game: door-to-door delivery. Startups backed by the likes of Alibaba and Tencent are wooing customers with discounts, free delivery and the choice of thousands of restaurants.

China Unveils New 100-Yuan Note in Bid to Stop Counterfeiters (August 10, 2015, China Real Time)
China gave the world a glimpse of its new 100-yuan banknotes on Monday, part of an effort to thwart increasingly active–and sophisticated–counterfeiters. The central bank showed off the design for the new bill – the biggest note in circulation in China – and said the note would be finding its way into purses and wallets around the country in November.

Why has China devalued the yuan? (August 11, 2015, BBC)
China has devalued its currency by the biggest amount ever, knocking nearly 2% off its value. There are concerns the move is likely to further inflame the so-called currency wars, particularly with the United States.

Science / Technology

Unlimited, free Internet connections for Shanghai residents & travelers (August 8, 2015, Shanghaiist)
Shanghai has entered a new phase in Internet connectivity with the city’s upgraded i-Shanghai Wi-Fi service as residents now have access to free and unlimited wireless connections at 620 public locations across the city, including public transportation hubs, commercial zones, parks, tourist sites, cultural venues and education institutions.

History / Culture

Color Photos Emerge of Beijing in 1947 (August 9, 2015, The Beijinger)
A series of photos by Ukranian photographer and journalist Dmitri Kessel show Beijing – at that time not the capital, and known as Beijing – between World War II and the establishment of the People's Republic of China.

Eating and Drinking: The Passport to Chinese Society (August 10, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
Chinese love eating. Why? Eating in China is not just a simple personal activity; rather, it fits together the unrelated pieces of life. Eating is a cultural and social activity.

What Happened to the Settlers the Japanese Army Abandoned in China (August 10, 2015, China File)
Now, in a small northeast China town named Fangzheng, their memory lives in a one-of-a-kind, all-but-unknown cemetery that has become Ground Zero in the battle over how China remembers its war with Japan.

Arts / Entertainment / Media / Sports

Here’s What’s Wrong With Most Commentary on the Beijing 2022 Olympics (August 7, 2015, China File)
All in all, the Chinese government probably has good reason to believe that the 2022 Games will strengthen, rather than weaken, its domestic standing. In other words, Beijing may have been able to bid for the Games not because of its autocratic nature, but rather because it enjoys, at least on this issue, substantial popular support.

Swimmer Ning Zetao, His Abs Dominate China’s Internet (August 7, 2015, China Real Time)
There’s a new athletic darling crowding China’s Internet these days: swimmer Ning Zetao. On Thursday, Ning won gold in the 100-meter freestyle at the 2015 FINA Swimming World Championships in Kazan, Russia.  His 47.84-second swim made him the first Asian to win a medal in the 100-free at the championships.

Holding 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is all about status, not snow (August 7, 2015, The Guardian)
Beijing’s desire to host the Winter Games has nothing to do with such legitimate ambitions and everything do with flaunting its power and status. As ever, the IOC is a willing accomplice. Questions of air quality and human rights will be brushed aside.

China TV anchor Bi Fujian to be punished for Mao insult (August 10, 2015, BBC)
A Chinese star TV anchor is facing "severe punishment" over jokes he made about Mao Zedong, state media report. A video of Bi Fujian singing a parody song at a private banquet and insulting the former Chinese leader in strong language was posted online in April. Mr Bi was taken off air shortly after the incident, amid great controversy. But People's Daily said officials had ordered his employer, state broadcaster CCTV, to punish him for "a serious violation of political discipline".

Behind the Scenes of a Chinese World War II Drama (August 10, 2015, The Atlantic)
At China’s Hengdian World Studios, the biggest movie lot ever built, there are currently 11 productions about World War II being filmed—just a handful of the many movies, TV dramas, and documentaries set to be released in China to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the end of the war. Reuters photographer Damir Sagolj was recently granted backstage access to the filming of The Last Prince television series at Hengdian World Studios.

The Day the Music Died: China Blacklists 120 Songs for ‘Morality’ Violations (August 12, 2015, China Real Time)
How do you boost a song’s popularity? In China, now there’s a new option: put it on a government blacklist. China’s Ministry of Culture this week banned 120 songs for “containing content that promotes sex, violence or crime, or harms public morality.”

Language / Language Learning

Why you should read Chinese on your phone (August 12, 2015, Hacking Chinese)
The main purpose of this article is to convince you that you should try reading Chinese on your phone if you haven’t already. If you have, you should probably do it more.

Image credit: If it's on the internet it isn’t private, by DonkeyHotey, via Flickr