April 20, 2012 ZGBriefs is a condensation of news items gathered from published sources. ZGBriefs is not responsible for the content of these items nor does it necessarily endorse the perspectives presented. Get daily updates from ZGBriefs on Twitter @ZG_Briefs. To make a contribution to ZGBriefs, please click here and then select Donate Through Paypal. FEATURED ARTICLE God Is Red: On Communism, Cults, and Chinese Christianity (April 17, 2012, The Gospel Coalition) Matt Smethurst corresponded via translator with Liao, whose writings have been banned in China, about his experience researching the complex phenomenon of Christianity in the world’s most populous country. GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS China’s Premier Wen says corruption greatest threat (April 16, 2012, BBC News) An influential Chinese journal has reprinted comments from China’s premier calling for tougher anti-corruption rules, as a political scandal deepens. Wen Jiabao said corruption was the greatest threat to the ruling party. The move came amid a drive to support the Communist Party’s recent move ousting top politician Bo Xilai over alleged disciplinary breaches. In the article, which appeared in China’s influential Qiushi journal on Monday, Mr Wen called for more effective measures to tackle corruption. The article published in the party magazine was based on a 26 March speech Mr Wen gave to China’s State Council. Bo Xilai’s wife Gu Kailai (left) has been linked to Heywood’s murder.He said that greater transparency and a reduction in the concentration of powers among government structures were also needed. U.S. Calls for Release of Chinese Activist (April 16, 2012, The Wall Street Journal) The U.S. ambassador to China called on Beijing to release a prominent property activist sentenced last week to more than two years in prison, a rare move by an envoy who has criticized China’s human-rights record but has seldom publicly questioned individual cases. In a statement released Monday, Gary Locke called on authorities to release Ni Yulan and her husband, Dong Jiqin. Ms. Ni, 52 years old, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison by a Beijing court on April 10 for fraud and “creating a disturbance.” PLA is target of Bo media blitz (April 17, 2012, South China Morning Post) The unusually strong state media blitz targeting disgraced former Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai is a bid to warn his army supporters to adhere to the party line and to limit the scandal’s repercussions on public opinion, analysts say. The downfalls of Bo and Chen both came about ahead of the five-yearly party congress. Chen was sacked in September 2006 for graft. Analysts say Bejing has been more cautious in handling Bo’s scandal than Chen’s because military media and personnel have been deployed to show their loyalty to the party in Bo’s case. Philippines and China in fresh maritime dispute (April 17, 2012, BBC News) The Philippines and China have accused each other of further maritime intrusions in disputed waters following a stand-off last week. The Philippines lodged a second formal diplomatic protest, saying China was harassing a research ship at the Scarborough Shoal, 230km off its island of Luzon. China said the vessel was in Chinese waters and should leave. A Philippine warship faced off with Chinese boats at the shoal last week. A spokesman from the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs said that the archaeological research ship carrying the Philippine flag had been “harassed by Chinese ships and aircraft” at the shoal. Neil Heywood killed in cover-up plot (April 17, 2012, Reuters) The British businessman whose killing has sparked political upheaval in China was poisoned after he threatened to expose a plan by a Chinese leaders wife to move money abroad, two sources with knowledge of the police investigation said. It was the first time a specific motive has been revealed in the killing of Neil Heywood in November, a death that ended Chinese politician Bo Xilais hopes of emerging as a top central leader and threw off balance the Communist Partys looming leadership succession. Bos wife, Gu Kailai, asked Heywood late last year to move a large sum of money abroad, and she became outraged when he demanded a larger cut of the money than she had expected, the sources said. She accused him of being greedy and made a plan to kill him after he said he could expose her dealings, one of the sources said, summarizing the police case. China pledges ‘thorough’ Bo Xilai scandal probe (April 18, 2012, BBC News) China has promised a thorough investigation into a top politician linked to the death of a UK man. In an editorial, state-run agency Xinhua said the probe into Bo Xilai and his wife over the death of Neil Heywood showed the Communist Party’s commitment to the rule of law. The editorial came a day after Britain’s prime minister raised the case with a visiting Chinese official. It is one of several such pieces in state media in recent days. Mr Heywood died on 15 November 2011 in the city of Chongqing, where Bo Xilai used to be the party chief. Mr Bo, now sacked from the post, is now being investigated for “serious discipline violations” and his wife Gu Kailai for “suspicion of homicide”. China stops N.Korean deportations over rocket: report (April 18, 2012, AFP) China has stopped sending fleeing North Koreans back across the border, in retaliation for Pyongyang failing to consult its ally over last week’s rocket launch, a Japanese report said Wednesday. The Yomiuri Shimbun quoted two Chinese officials as saying the long-standing policy of swiftly returning any North Korean who made it across the border and into Chinadespite the punishment they facehad been put on hold. Another official said the move was because Pyongyang had not consulted its patron about the botched launch of a rocket which the hermit state said was carrying a satellite, but which the West condemned as a banned missile test. HEALTH 22 nabbed for toxic drug capsules (April 16, 2012, China Daily) Police in east China’s Zhejiang Province said Monday they have captured 22 people who allegedly produced and sold pharmaceutical capsules containing excessive levels of chromium. By Monday noon, police had detained 11 suspects from four capsule manufacturing companies in Xinchang county, according to a spokesman from the county’s public security bureau. On Sunday, an investigative report from China Central Television revealed that several companies in Xinchang, a major pharmaceutical production hub in China, had manufactured drug capsules with industrial gelatin, which contains a greater amount of chromium than edible gelatin and is illegal to use for making drug capsules. The report showed that the industrial gelatine used to manufacture the capsules was made from scraps of leather material. The report said the gelatin came from companies in northern Hebei Province and eastern Jiangxi Province. HK to ban mainland mums from giving birth in local hospitals (April 17, 2012, Shanghai Daily) THE new chief executive of Hong Kong said mainland mums should be banned from giving birth in Hong Kong starting next year, Xinhua reported yesterday. Leung Chun-ying also said children born to mainland parents are not guaranteed Hong Kong residency. He admitted that the influence of a large influx of mainland mothers-to-be on the territory’s medical and educational resources remains unknown but he said no quota for mainland mums will be given to Hong Kong hospitals next year. Leung said allowing non-local women, most of them from the mainland, to give birth in Hong Kong is not a proper way to tackle the problem of an aging population. EDUCATION / CULTURE More college grads to work in west China (April 18, 2012, Xinhua) China plans to recruit 17,000 college graduates to live and work in the country’s western regions in 2012, up from last year’s quota of 10,000. “2012 is a key year for the deepening and consolidation of the country’s Western Project. Local offices affiliated with the project should make more efforts to encourage graduates to apply for work in places where they are most needed,” said Zhou Changkui, a senior official with the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (CYLC). Zhou made the remark on Tuesday at a meeting for the volunteer campaign. According to a statement released after the meeting, this year’s volunteers can apply to work in seven sectors: basic education, agricultural technology, health care, grassroots youth work, social management and providing services in the Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions. About 10,000 of this year’s volunteers will serve in ethnic regions, said the statement. SOCIETY / LIFE China airport tarmac protests prompt service plea (April 16, 2012, AFP) Chinese regulators have urged better service in the rapidly growing aviation industry following incidents in which angry passengers stormed onto the tarmac at airports, state media said Monday. Last week, 28 passengers travelling on Shenzhen Airlines who were angry about an overnight delay in Shanghai rushed onto the tarmac, disrupting the arrival of an incoming Emirates flight, the official Xinhua news agency said. Two days later, several Hainan Airlines passengers at the international airport serving the southern city of Guangzhou took to the tarmac in anger over a weather-related delay, it said. Police had to be called in to bring them back to the Guangzhou terminal, the report added. Chinese student’s parents arrested (April 16, 2012, Shanghai Daily) The parents of a Chinese student studying in the United States have been arrested for trying to get a woman who claimed their son had sexually assaulted her to change her story, China News Service reported yesterday. Tang Peng, 21, was arrested on charges of kidnapping and sexually assaulting the woman on March 29 in the bedroom of the Iowa City apartment that she was trying to sublet. The charges carry a mandatory life sentence. Tang’s parents, Tang Xuefan, 57, and Qiao Li, 49, who arrived in Iowa City on April 5, are said to have asked an unidentified person who is close to their son to find the alleged victim and persuade her to change her story, Iowa City police said. The woman notified the police when she heard what the parents were planning, according to the Press-Citizen, a local newspaper. The couple were arrested last Wednesday and charged with witness tampering. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in prison. Dam set to displace 100,000 (September 18, 2012, Shanghai Daily) ABOUT 100,000 people living in the Three Gorges Dam area could be relocated over the next three to five years with massive landslides and bank collapses expected to hit the area, a government official said yesterday. The prospect of controlling or preventing geological disasters in the near future was not promising, Ministry of Land Resources official Liu Yuan told China National Radio. The water level at the Three Gorges Dam was brought extremely close to its 175-meter capacity in trials in 2008 and 2009 and reached the maximum level in 2010. The maximum level would enable the dam to fulfil its functions of flood control and generate electricity to the fullest extent. But that would pose an increase in geological risks over the next three to five years, CNR reported. BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / FOREIGN TRADE China loosens currency controls on the yuan (April 15, 2012, BBC News) China has loosened its currency controls in a move that may spur gains in the value of the yuan. From Monday, the yuan can fluctuate up to 1% in trading against the US dollar from a fixed price set by the central bank, the People’s Bank of China said. That is up from the previous limit of 0.5%. The increase of the trading band was announced in English, a rare statement that suggests it was targeted at foreign audiences. China new home prices slide for sixth consecutive month (April 18, 2012, BBC News) Property prices in China have fallen for a sixth consecutive month amid government efforts to control prices and curb speculation. New home prices in 46 out of 70 Chinese cities fell between February and March. Meanwhile prices were lower than a year ago in 38 cities. There have been fears of the formation of asset bubbles in China. Despite the recent falls, authorities said they would continue to implement strict controls over the sector. LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSIS On Fang Lizhi (19362012) (April 13, 2012, New York Review of Books, by Perry Link) Fangs path through life observed a pattern that is common to Chinas dissidents: a person begins with socialist ideals, feels bitter when the rulers betray the ideals, resorts to outspoken criticism, and ends in prison or exile. China puts on show of might over Bo Xilais military allies (April 13, 2012, The Washington Post, by Kathrin Hille) Half of last week was a public holiday in China, but it was a busy week in the barracks. In many military bases and academies, political education sessions were scheduled at short notice to hammer home the message of the Communist Partys absolute leadership over the armed forces. Everyone knows its about Bo Xilai, but were not supposed to talk about it, said a young officer. Shattering the faade (April 14, 2012, The Economist) Mr Bos case has created the most damaging split in the party leadership since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The allegations against him and his wife appear to have given other leaders resentful of his ambition and populist approach the pretext they had long sought to bring him down. Beyond the scandal lies a crisis at the heart of China’s legitimacy (April 15, 2012, The Guardian, by Will Hutton) A Chinese Spring is inevitable if the party leadership doesn’t reform itself. China’s censors tested by microbloggers who keep one step ahead of state media (April 15, 2012, The Guardian, by Tania Branigan) China may have the world’s most internet-savvy government but Beijing has been struggling to keep a lid on bold social networks. China’s censorship can never defeat the internet (April 15, 2012, The Guardian, by Ai Weiwei) It is interesting to pick one’s way through the obstacles of censorship, but freedom can’t be stopped in the internet age. Wives Caught in Chinas Web of Abuse (April 14, 2012, MS, by Leta Hong Fincher) The latest government figures reveal that one quarter of Chinas women have experienced domestic violence. Yet feminist activists say that figure is understated. Sons Parties and Privilege Aggravate Fall of Elite Chinese Family (April 16, 2012, The New York Times, by Andrew Jacobs) As the grandson of revolutionary giants, Bo Guagua enjoyed the prestige and privilege that accompanies membership in Chinas red aristocracy. Corruption Nation: Why Bo Xilai Matters (April 16, 2012, The New Yorker, by Evan Osnos) So many Chinese officials have been arrested for embezzling funds through Macau that two scholars devoted a study to the subject. In China, foot binding slowly slips into history (April 16, 2012, The Los Angeles Times, by Kit Gillet) Isolated from the country’s key cultural and administrative hubs, the area around Liuyi, a village of about 2,000 people in southern China’s Yunnan province, was one of the last places in the country to end the tradition. US and China engage in cyber war games (April 16, 2012, The Guardian, by Nick Hopkins) The US and China have been discreetly engaging in “war games” amid rising anger in Washington over the scale and audacity of Beijing-co-ordinated cyber attacks on western governments and big business, the Guardian has learned. Rotting From Within (April 16, 2012, Foreign Policy, by John Garnaut) In many fields of international competition, China is less sanguine about its abilities than outsiders. Chinese leaders often remind Westerners that China is a developing country, with hundreds of millions of people living in poverty, an unbalanced economy, and high social tensions. What should most worry Beijing, and provide some comfort to those who fear Chinese military expansionism, is the state of corruption in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The Not-So-Great Firewall of China (April 17, 2012, Foreign Policy) Social media won’t drive the downfall of the Chinese Communist Party, but it is forcing government to be more transparent and responsive to the public. A Popular Side Trip for Foreigners in China: Visa Runs (April 17, 2012, The Wall Street Journal, by Bob Davis) Lisa Guetzkow, a 25-year-old American, is crossing the dusty border from China to Mongolia crammed into the front seat of an ancient Russian jeep that has a scarf for an inside door handle. She’s making a visa run. If it works out, she’ll be able to stay another three months in Beijing, until she has to dart across the Chinese border again. LINKS TO BLOGS Video: Skateboarding In Shanghai (April 14, 2012, Gedling) Chinese Netizens Hoot at North Koreas Failure to Launch (April 14, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation) The relish with which most, but not all, Chinese netizens jumped on the news is further evidence that many Chinese view the North Korean regime as evil, or at least hilariously inept. Chart: Comparing historical Chinese and foreign-inflicted deaths (April 16, 2012, Sinostand) The below charts show the relative death tolls inflicted on China by domestic and foreign forces over the past two centuries. Chinas Roads: Ten Years of (Amazing) Development (April 17, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation) Its perhaps not surprising, then, that a 10-year graphic retrospective on Chinas roads by the Chinese website Xcar.com.cn, translated below by Tea Leaf Nation, depicts a mind-blowing pace of development. Chinese tourists are gouged (by the Chinese) (April 17, 2012, Behind the Wall) Tourists everywhere could complain about getting gouged. But it seems that Chinese tourists truly are justified in their gripes. How Bo Xilais Fall Will Affect Chinas Leadership Transition (April 17, 2012, Global Spin) Bo Zhiyue, an expert on Chinese politics at the National University of Singapore, says the removal of Bo Xilai (no relation) could make this falls transition easier, as it removes one of the most divisive figures among the field of potential top leaders. Review: Consent of the Networked (April 17, 2012, The China Beat) Rebecca MacKinnons Consent of the Networked is a synthesis of the global debate over Internet freedom. MacKinnon has extensive journalistic experience in China, but her book encompasses the breadth of Internet issues worldwide. Inside Chinas Gross Domestic Product Data (April 17, 2012, China Real Time Report) In an exclusive interview with China Real Time, Dong Lihua, the deputy director of the NBS Department of National Accounts discussed the approach China takes to measuring quarter-on-quarter growth, and the differences between the official numbers and estimates by some investment bank economists. Unwavering Public Support Not Quite So Easy to Find These Days (April 17, 2012, The China Beat) But of course times have, in fact, changed. These headlines are like something out of the Cultural Revolution, said one very modern urban intellectual, shaking his head in disbelief. And while newspaper editors have apparently been summoned to meetings to ensure they follow the correct line, the authorities have had to work hard policing the Internet against critical comment in recent days. The Long March to Ferrari (April 18, 2012, Absurdity, Allegory, and China) Even at the outset of his higher level career Bo Xilai, former Red Guard and magnetic son of the revolutionary general, Bo Yibo one of the eight elders of the CCP who set Chinas course in the post-Mao era was comfortable tossing out a savvy business dictum and anchoring it in a falsely sentimental view of history. The Lighter Side of China: Explaining China (April 18, 2012, The Beijinger) There is a saying among long-time China residents: If you visit China for a week, you can write a book. If you are here for a month, you can write an article. If you are here for a year, you are so confused about what is happening that you can barely write a few sentences. LINKS FOR RESEARCHERS Huang Naishang (Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity) Hong Kongs Chief Executive Election Reveals Rift with Beijing (April 12, 2012, China Brief) Although relations between Hong Kong and mainland China have never been trouble-free, the past few months have been marked by unusual antagonism. The Power Shift in China (April 16, 2012, Brookings, by Cheng Li) The spectacular fall of Bo Xilai, a charismatic but notoriously ambitious Politburo member, is only the latest episode in the Middle Kingdoms long history of power politics. Still, the prevailing views of overseas China analysts have changed dramatically in response. RESOURCES Fun Read-Along App Helps Kids Learn Chinese (April 13, 2012, Techlicious) 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. Click to view this email in a browser If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please reply to this message with “Unsubscribe” in the subject line or simply click on the following link: Unsubscribe ChinaSource Partners, Ltd. Unit B / 17F Wing Cheung Industrial Bldg 58-70 Kwai Cheong Road Kwai Chun,, New Territories 00000 Hong Kong
Read the VerticalResponse marketing policy.