ZGBriefs | August 6, 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

Why choice of Beijing to host 2022 Winter Olympics worries even IOC (+video) (July 31, 2015, Christian Science Monitor)
When Oslo, Norway, and Krakow, Poland, and Stockholm all pull out of the bidding for reasons similar to Boston's; when voters in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and Munich reject proposed Olympic bids for reasons similar to Boston's; and when no one in North America bothers to apply, you end up with – Beijing.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

Can Xi Jinping Turn China’s Economy Around? (July 29, 2015, China File)
On Monday, the Shanghai Composite Index fell 8.5 percent, it’s largest single-day loss since 2007. This came on the heels of major government intervention to stem the market’s slide earlier this month. What happened? What does the latest chapter of the crash mean for China’s economy? And, more broadly, what does it mean for the policies and politics of China’s current leaders?

Proposed Law Gives Gov't Too Much Control of Internet, Experts Say (July 30, 2015, Caixin Online)
Wang Sixin, a law professor at Communication University in the capital, said at a forum on the proposed Internet Security Law on July 27 that he is concerned the legislation would give the government too much control of the Net, in part because its clauses are vague and broad.

After Crackdown on Rights Lawyers, China’s Legal Reform Path Uncertain (July 31, 2015, China Real Time)
China’s current nationwide crackdown on “rights defense” (weiquan) lawyers is the strongest assault to date on a small number of pioneers who have struggled to advance the rule of law. Lawyers, activists and ordinary citizens who assert legal rights against agencies and officials now risk suppression in the name of ”stability maintenance.” The crackdown increases uncertainty about the future of law reform in China as long as Xi Jinping leads the party-state.

Joshua Wong: 'We had no clear goals' in Hong Kong protests (August 2, 2015, BBC)
The expression of private but not public support may help explain why last year's Umbrella protest movement, while unprecedented in scope and length, did not ultimately succeed in gaining greater voting rights for Hong Kong citizens.

China Seeks Businessman Said to Have Fled to U.S., Further Straining Ties (August 3, 2015, The New York Times)
China is demanding that the Obama administration return a wealthy and politically connected businessman who fled to the United States, according to several American officials familiar with the case. Should he seek political asylum, he could become one of the most damaging defectors in the history of the People’s Republic.

Xi, the CCP’s servant (August 5, 2015, East Asia Forum)
Xi Jinping is talked of as a Maoist figure: grabbing all the power to himself. But the political program and strategy since 2012 is better characterised as supporting one overriding objective: continuing stable and unchallenged rule by the Communist Party of China. As long as Xi Jinping is seen as promoting this, his position is secure. The party, not Xi, is the emperor of 21st Century China.

China says has stopped reclamation work in South China Sea (August 5, 2015, Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that Beijing had halted land reclamation in the South China Sea, and called on countries in the region to speed up talks on how claimant states should conduct themselves in the disputed waters. In June, China said it would soon complete some of its reclamation in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea, while adding it would continue to build facilities on the man-made islands.

Religion

Eschatology and China's Churches (June 26, 2015, ChinaSource Quarterly)
With regard to the church in China today, one of the most important questions we face is: What is a biblically orthodox eschatology and, more importantly, how do we preach this kind of eschatology in our churches? This question not only concerns our future but also determines how we live today.

Reflections on a First Visit to Hong Kong (July 31, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
God gives extraordinary gifts to people to create beauty—designing and building skyscrapers as well!

Church-State Relations in Light of the Cross Demolition Campaign (August 4, 2015, Chinese Church Voices)
At its core, the Zhejiang Cross Dispute has revealed that in light of the backdrop of a new society, neither the church nor the state has sufficiently prepared to enter into a mature and constructive dialogue; nor have they shown a readiness to settle their differences and conflicts on the basis if the rule of law. 

Shaolin Kung fu temple chief under investigation over sex and fraud claims (August 4, 2015, The Guardian)
The head of China’s most famous kung fu temple is under investigation by the country’s religious administration after online allegations by an anonymous former monk. Shi Yongxin, the Buddhist abbot of Shaolin monastery in Henan province, has been fighting off claims over the past fortnight of multiple sexual relations and embezzlement.

1 Way To Pray For China This Week (August 4, 2015, China Partnership Blog)

China crackdown on cults targets house churches (August 5, 2015, UCA News)
As Chinese authorities accelerate a campaign against religious cults, Christian groups warn that house churches — the unregistered underground churches that operate in a legal gray area — have increasingly found themselves caught in the crackdown.

Cross Removals Begin Again in ‘China’s Jerusalem’ (August 5, 2015, China Real Time)
In May, authorities in eastern China’s Zhejiang province unveiled rules severely limiting the size and placement of crosses on churches — the codification of a sometimes-violent 2014 campaign that saw crosses torn from more than 300 churches in and around the city of Wenzhou, home to a large Christian community. The local government now appears to be enforcing the new regulations.

Chinese Catholics Ordain New Bishop Approved by the Vatican (August 5, 2015, The New York Times)
Amid tight security, China’s Catholics have ordained their first new bishop in three years, signaling a possible thawing in tension between the Vatican and Beijing. Bishop Joseph Zhang Yinlin, 44, was ordained on Tuesday in a cathedral in the city of Anyang, in Henan Province, before about 1,400 worshipers.

Photos: China Ordains First Catholic Bishop Since 2012 (August 5, 2015, China Real Time)

China detains Zhejiang Christians amid cross removal dispute (August 5, 2015, BBC)
Seven Christians have been detained in China accused of embezzlement and disrupting social order. Pastor Bao Guohua, his wife and five church employees were detained in Jinhua, in eastern Zhejiang province. But the church's lawyer Chen Jiangang told the BBC he believed they were being punished for protesting against the removal of their church cross.

The Right Tools for Strategic Planning (August 5, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
History repeats itself.  Today, elite brands like Louis Vuitton are playing catch-up to “second-tier” brands like Coach. Christian organizations are no less immune to these changes.  Though the truth we propagate is timeless, our methods must be re-enculturated to each new generation and culture. 

Society / Life

On Tibetan Tour, China Trots Out Yak and Pony Show (August 3, 2015, China Real Time)
A two-day media tour of Aba last week organized by Chinese propaganda officials showcased what the government is calling the success of a program that it says has urbanized millions of nomadic herders across China’s borderlands.

Shenzhen Confers ‘Green Hat’ on Jaywalkers Caught in the Act (August 5, 2015, China Real Time)
In China, where traffic signals are often regarded as suggestions rather than directives, police officers can have a tough time wrangling wayward pedestrians. One Chinese city has sought to tackle the problem by making offenders wear green vests and hats – a sartorial solution that has stitched together a new debate due to its unsavory associations in Chinese culture.

China Is Making a Massive New Move to Censor the Internet (August 5, 2015, TIME)
China, long known for its strict Internet censorship laws, is now sending online censors to take posts at the country’s biggest online companies. Key “network security officers” will monitor the work of key websites and Web firms for crimes such as fraud and the “spreading of rumors,” China’s Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.

Education

What it was like being taught by Chinese teachers in the UK (August 3, 2015, BBC)
Bohunt School took part in a unique experiment and hired five teachers from China to be Year 9 teachers for one month. And to top it off it was all filmed for a BBC Two documentary called: Are Our Kids Tough Enough?

Health / Environment

Photos: Hazy days in China (Reuters)

Mosquitoes released in fight against dengue fever (August 3, 2015, China Daily)
More than half a million specially bred male mosquitoes are being released on an island in southern China every week to fight dengue fever. The mosquitoes produced at a science park "factory" in Guangdong province can make their female mating partners infertile. Scientists have managed to reduce the number of mosquitoes in some areas of the island by more than 90 percent, Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Economics / Trade / Business

Chinese Textile Mills Are Now Hiring in Places Where Cotton Was King (August 2, 2015, The New York Times)
Once the epitome of cheap mass manufacturing, textile producers from formerly low-cost nations are starting to set up shop in America. It is part of a blurring of once seemingly clear-cut boundaries between high- and low-cost manufacturing nations that few would have predicted a decade ago.

When China Stopped Acting Chinese (August 2, 2015, Value Walk)
As I have been saying for several years, in order for the Chinese economy to continue to grow, the Chinese must shift their emphasis from industrial production and infrastructure investment to a services-oriented economy. That is indeed what they are trying to do, and we are beginning to see signs of the services sector taking on a role as important to the Chinese economy as services are to the US economy. They have a long way to go, but they have begun the trip.

Railroad Operator's Parts Checks Find Faulty Brake Pads (August 3, 2015, Caixin Online)
Quality control checks that the country's railroad operator is conducting on parts used in trains in a bid to ensure plans for increasing exports are not hurt have found that many brake pads used on freight trains fall short of standards.

Is China a Market Economy? (August 3, 2015, Caixin Online)
Whether particular countries grant China market economy status has important implications for the adjudication of anti-dumping cases. In international trade, dumping occurs when a country exports a product at a price below the normal cost of production or price paid in the exporting country.

China Employment Contracts: If Yours Are Not Current, You Have A Problem. The Shanghai Version. (August 4, 2015, China Law Blog)
To avoid steep penalties you need a CURRENT written employment agreement (in Chinese) with your employees.

China’s Stock Market ‘Bun’-anza (August 4, 2015, China Real Time)
A restaurant chain known for its steamed buns and dumplings – and made even more popular by a visit from the head of China’s Communist Party – appears to be dining out on its fame. Qing-Feng Dumplings, perhaps tired of being an also-ran in the food game, looks like it has an appetite for bigger things. It wants a stock listing, and the fact that Xi Jinping stopped by for an oh-so-casual meal not that long ago certainly hasn’t hurt.

China’s Cities Keep Mum in Deep Fog of Debt (August 5, 2015, China Real Time)
One of the murkiest aspects of China’s public finances is the extent of its local-government debt. It’s not just that most Chinese cities refuse to venture a public estimate, one of the country’s most prestigious think tanks said in a recent report. The actual number itself may be lost in a statistical Tower of Babel among local-government accounts.

Video: Why China is crazy for crayfish (August 5, 2015, BBC)
Over the past few years, China has found itself in the grip – or should that be the claws – of a new food fad: the crayfish. Crayfish restaurants and crayfish farms are booming.

Science / Technology

China begins putting together radio telescope (July 25, 2015, China Daily)
China has started assembling the world's largest radio telescope, which will have a dish the size of 30 soccer fields when completed, Xinhua News Agency reported. The 500-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope, known as FAST, sits in a bowl-shaped valley between hills in the southwestern province of Guizhou, images posted online show.

Chinese premier stresses innovation as 'golden key' for development (August 29, 2015, China Daily)
Premier Li Keqiang has called for greater efforts to encourage innovation in science and technology, saying that innovation is the "golden key" for China's development. Li made the remarks at a symposium on science and technology strategy Monday.

History / Culture

Taiji: A Conversation of Hidden Strength (August 3, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
Practicing Taiji requires “inner strength.” “Inner strength” refers to the resilience that can absorb a punch as well as hit back, but in a pleasant manner. A fast-acting person often finds himself having to change his mind; but one who restrains himself from making a quick response usually has well balanced ideas for decision-making.

Post-War China, Alternatively: Chiang’s China (The Economist)
What if Mao Zedong’s Communist Party had lost the Chinese civil war to Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalist Party?

Become a Local Laowai (Auugst 5, 2015, Outside-In)
If you have, or intend to, spend any amount of time in China, of word that you will learn rather quickly, whether you want to or not, is laowai (老外). A literal translation is “old foreigner,” but in modern colloquial Chinese it is often just translated as “foreigner,” which means someone who is not Chinese.

Kalgan’s Mongol Gate in 1935 (August 4, 2015, China Rhyming)
I’m a little out of my knowledge zone here but as Zhangjiakou (aka Kalgan as used to be known) is now to be hosting much of the 2022 Winter Olympics I guess this will all get resolved. This 1935 picture is described as the “Mongol Gate” in Kalgan – i.e. it led towards Inner Mongolia.

Arts / Entertainment / Media / Sports

"Raised from Dust" and "The Only Sons ": Films by Gan Xiao’er (June 26, 2015, ChinaSource Quarterly)
China-based, independent filmmaker, Gan Xiao’er has created two films that explore the lives of modern-day Christians in China. Each film tells the story of a Chinese Christian whose family members are caught up in personal crises that threaten financial ruin and challenge the believer’s faith. Beautiful cinematography provides stunning backdrops for heartbreaking stories that bring to life the realities Christians in China face in their daily lives.

Gymnastics summer school in China – in pictures (July 31, 2015, The Guardian)
These images of young children training were taken at a gymnastics summer camp in Bozhou, Anhui province, China. Children with promise are selected to attend, and their families hope training will not only benefit their children physically but also increase ‘willpower’, according to China News Service.

Overview of China’s 2015 Top TV Dramas (August 2, 2015, What’s on Weibo)
China is the largest consumer of television drama in the world, and TV series come up as trending topics on China’s social media every day. From costume dramas to soap operas, there is a new TV hit every month. What’s on Weibo discusses China’s most popular TV series of the summer of 2015.

China’s Winter Olympic Theme Sounds Familiar, And Netizens Won’t ‘Let It Go’ (August 4, 2015, China Real Time)
Beijing doesn’t have much snow, but it is home to a sizeable number of fans of the Disney animated musical “Frozen.” And among many of them, a Beijing Winter Olympic bid anthem bearing similarities to the hit movie’s theme song “Let It Go” has received a frosty reception.

Travel / Food

I Heart My City: Daisann’s Hong Kong (July 29, 2015, National Geographic)
McLane now heads a team of seven distinguished local foodies and journalists­­, a “hive mind” of experts who ensure her guests are plugged into Hong Kong like an insider. Here she shares a few of her favorite things about the city she’s proud to call her second home.

Language / Language Learning

Learning to pronounce Mandarin with Pinyin, Zhuyin and IPA: Part 2 (Hacking Chinese)
I think they all have their own merits and I know all three myself, so this article isn’t meant to be a competition where I crown the king of transcription systems, but rather a clear explanation of each and an encouragement for you to get to know them.

Articles for Researchers

What You Need to Know About China’s ‘Residential Surveillance at a Designated Place’ (August 2, 2015, China Change)
There are two kinds of “residential surveillance” in China: enforced at the domicile of the suspect, or enforced at a designated place.

Image credit: Business Insider