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 go here and then select Donate Through Paypal.FEATURED ARTICLEChristians, Power and Place in Contemporary China (June 12, 2012, Global China Center, by Wright Doyle)nthropologist Nanlai Cao has painted a detailed portrait of an enormously significant phenomenon the rise of boss Christianity in the port city of Wenzhou. With their national and global reach, Wenzhou Christians may be building a type of Christianity with immense consequences for Chinese Christianity everywhere. Noting that Wenzhou has become the largest urban Christian center in China, (1) the author seeks to understand the local significance of Wenzhous Christian effervescence in recent years rather than studying it as an instance of a general religious upsurge (2)GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRSChina denies North Korea missile transporter export (June 14, 2012, BBC News)China has denied allegations that a Chinese firm shipped missile transportation vehicles to North Korea.Japanese media said evidence pointing to a deal between the two nations had been found on board a ship which had been been searched in Osaka in 2011. Reports said records of a shipment of vehicles capable of transporting and launching ballistic missiles were on the Cambodian-registered vessel. China’s foreign ministry said no Chinese companies had been involved.HEALTHLife expectancy of Chinese to reach 74.5 years by 2015: document (June 11, 2012, Xinhua)China will work to increase the citizens’ average life expectancy so that it will reach 74.5 years by 2015, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012-2015) released Monday by the Information Office of the State Council. The government vowed to initially establish a basic medical and health system that covers the entire nation, and improve the medical insurance system, public health service system and medical care system to protect the citizens’ right to health. Efforts will also be made in strengthening the construction of primary-level medical and health care institutions and training bases for general practitioners.US raises concern on China abortion policy (June 11, 2012, AFP)The United States voiced opposition Monday to China’s one-child policy after activists reported that a five-month-pregnant woman faces an imminent forced abortion. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that the United States has asked China about the case of Cao Ruyi, who according to US campaigners will be forced to abort on Saturday unless she pays a hefty fine in Hunan province.China ‘forced abortion photo’ sparks outrage (June 14, 2012, BBC News)A photo purporting to show a baby whose mother was forced to have an abortion has shocked Chinese internet users. Feng Jiamei, from Zhenping county in Shaanxi, was allegedly made to undergo the procedure by local officials in the seventh month of pregnancy. Ms. Feng was forced into the abortion as she couldn’t pay the fine for having a second child, US-based activists said. Rights groups say China’s one-child policy has meant women being coerced into abortions, which Beijing denies. National and local family planning authorities are investigating the incident, the Global Times newspaper reports. Unnamed local officials in Zhenping county quoted in local media reports denied forcing Ms Feng to have the abortion.EDUCATION / CULTUREChina opens new sections of the Great Wall (June 9, 2012, BBC News)Beijing has announced that it will open two new parts of the Great Wall of China to meet high tourist demand. City officials told the state news agency Xinhua that the four parts of the wall currently open to the public are overcrowded on weekends and holidays. Tourists have reportedly responded by scaling the walls of the closed sections, damaging their structure. The authorities will now open the Huanghuacheng and Hefangkou areas. Beijing’s municipal government will also expand the Mutianyu and Badaling sites in the city’s northern suburbs.SOCIETY / LIFEYouths drinking younger (June 8, 2012, Shanghai Daily)Many Chinese take their first drink at age 11, and by age 15 have gotten drunk at least once, a recent investigation showed. The report, based on a sample of 1,258 men and women aged 18 to 30 in major cities including Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, showed that half started to drink before 18, the age of adulthood in China, according to Horizon Research Consultancy Group. And the age at which kids start to drink is getting younger, the research found. Laws do not specifically forbid underage drinking in China.Family mourns Chinese student murdered in Canada (June 12, 2012, BBC News)The family of the Chinese student who was killed and dismembered in Canada have called his death “a disastrous blow”, local media report. The first public comments by Jun Lin’s family were released by the Chinese consulate in Montreal on Monday. They arrived in Montreal from China last week. “This appalling catastrophe has dealt a disastrous blow to our family,” Mr Lin’s family said. “But it inspired outpourings of sympathy and charity in people, bringing together kind-hearted people in society, and deeply moving and gratifying us in a time of deep sorrow.” They described Mr Lin as a “Buddhist believer” who “made a point of doing benevolent deeds and achieving moral excellence”.China football ex-chiefs Nan Yong and Xie Yalong jailed (June 13, 2012, BBC News)Two ex-heads of China’s football league have been jailed for 10-and-a-half years each for corruption, making them the most senior football officials sentenced. Nan Yong and his predecessor Xie Yalong were both accused of accepting bribes. Nan was also fined 200,000 yuan ($31,400; 20,200) and Xie is set to have personal assets and illegal takings confiscated. China has increased efforts to clean up the game, hit by a series of scandals.SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENTBeijing building 45-km underground water tunnel (June 8, 2012, Xinhua)Beijing Friday started work on an underground water diversion tunnel to help bring water from the country’s south to the thirsty national capital. The tunnel will be about 44.7 km long and involves an estimated investment of 9.17 billion yuan (1.4 billion U.S. dollars), said He Fengci, a deputy director of the general office of the Beijing Construction Committee of the South-to-North Water Diversion project. The tunnel will supply water to the downtown area and two suburban areas in the southeast, He said. Local water sources have been unable to meet fast growing demand. One billion cubic meters of water will be diverted from the Yangtze River, the country’s largest, to Beijing annually through the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project after the flood season in 2014, the official said.China plans to accelerate Internet construction (June 11, 2012, Xinhua)China will accelerate the Internet construction and ensure that over 45 percent of its population have access to the Internet by 2015, said the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012-2015) released Monday.By 2015, the Internet connection speed for urban households will reach 20 Mb/s, and that for rural households will be 4 Mb/s. The government will work to gradually spread Internet connections and usage throughout the rural areas, said the document issued by the Information Office of the State Council Effective measures will be taken to accelerate the construction of public cultural facilities, promote the development of cultural undertakings, enrich the people’s cultural life and guarantee the citizens’ cultural rights, the document said. Moreover, the government will improve public cultural facilities and cultural service networks.China’s first female astronaut to fly on space docking mission (June 11, 2012, NBC News)The first female Chinese astronaut will be among the crew launching on the nation’s first manned docking mission this month, state media sources say. The upcoming Shenzhou 9 mission is expected to launch in mid-June, possibly as early as June 16, to dock with China’s first space station test module, Tiangong 1, which is already in orbit. One of the three Chinese astronauts (called taikonauts) on the flight will be chosen from two women candidates Liu Yang and Wang Yaping according to Chinese state news agency Xinhua. Both candidates are members of the Chinese Air Forces Wuhan Flight Unit. “They are selected as members of the first batch of female astronauts in China because of their excellent flight skills and psychological quality,” Xinhua reported.Straw burning sparks rumor of major disaster (June 12, 2012, Shanghai Daily)A mysterious yellow fog enveloped Wuhan City with a smoky smell yesterday, leading to rumors there had been a major fire, a chemical leak or a factory explosion. Instead, it was the burning of straw in neighboring provinces that was the major cause of the yellowish, foggy sky in the city in central Hubei Province, according to local government officials who issued an emergency notice to dispel rumors.In Wuhan, rumors began to spread online yesterday saying many residents felt sick and had started to show symptoms of poisoning. Hubei authorities said the haze started to cover cities in the province from northwest to southeast starting at about 2am. Wuhan suffered the most serious pollution.BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / FOREIGN TRADEChina’s exports jump 15.3 percent in May (June 10, 2012, AP)China’s exports jumped in May from a year earlier, the government said, although the increase is unlikely to be enough to ease pressure on the country’s leaders to reverse a sharp economic slump. Export growth climbed a robust 15.3 percent compared to May 2011, up from April’s 4.9 percent, while imports climbed 12.1 percent year on year compared with the previous month’s increase of 0.3 percent, according to customs data released Sunday. China’s global trade surplus widened to $18.7 billion.China to build 70 airports by 2015 (June 11, 2012, The Telegraph)Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) chief Li Jiaxiang also reiterated pledges that carriers would buy on average more than 300 planes a year from 2011 to 2015 – the country’s current five-year economic plan. “China plans to build 70 new airports in the next few years and to expand 100 existing airports,” he told delegates in Beijing at the annual general meeting of global airline industry group IATA. He added that the number of airports would reach more than 230 by the end of 2015, and that Chinese carriers would operate around 4,700 planes by then.China changes electricity pricing for residential use (June 12, 2012, Shanghai Daily)China will begin introducing progressive electricity rates for residential use after revisions to the original plan, the country’s top economic planner said today. The new electricity pricing scheme is part of plans to improve price reforms for electricity, water, oil and natural gas amid increasing supply pressure of energy and resources in the country, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement on its website. Similar to a progressive tax, the residential electricity rate increases as the electricity consumption base amount increases. All residents pay electricity bills according to the same rate no matter how much power they consume.China ready to impound EU planes in CO2 dispute (June 12, 2012, Reuters)China will take swift counter-measures that could include impounding European aircraft if the EU punishes Chinese airlines for not complying with its scheme to curb carbon emissions, the China Air Transport Association said on Tuesday. The warning came as the U.N.’s aviation body expressed concern about the growing threat of bilateral reprisals. Chinese airlines, which have been told by Beijing not to comply with the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme, refused to meet a March 31 deadline for submitting carbon emissions data. A new stand-off looms after EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard said the carriers would have until the end of this week to submit their data or face enforcement action.China second-quarter GDP growth may dip below 7 percent: government adviser (June 13, 2012, Reuters)China’s annual economic growth could fall below 7 percent in the second quarter if weak activity persists in June, an influential government adviser was quoted on Wednesday as saying. The forecast by Zheng Xinli, a former deputy director of the Chinese communist party’s policy research office, is among the most bearish by any government and private sector economists.LINKS TO DETAILED ARTICLES AND ANALYSISChina’s Great Leap Forward: One man’s quiet crusade to remember the disaster (June 7, 2012, Christian Science Monitor, by Peter Ford)Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward campaign aimed to launch China into a Communist utopia. It ended in famine that killed tens of millions a disaster that Beijing is still reluctant to acknowledge.Chinas Lies, Damn Lies, and Secret Statistics (June 7, 2012, Foreign Policy, by Trefor Moss)Beijing makes no secret of its secrecy. While the government has become much less controlling than it used to be, information that doesn’t suit Beijing’s larger purposes still gets withheld, while information that doesn’t quite suit its purposes is often polished until it does.Video: Trouble ahead? (June 8, 2012, The Economist)WITH China’s absence from the Shangri-La Dialogue and America’s increasing naval presence in the region, our correspondents discuss the state of diplomatic relations between the two countries.Looking to Get Ahead? China Doesn’t Want You (June 8, 2012, Business Week, by Christopher Beam)If youre a recent graduate but dont want to teach English, well-paying jobs thatll advance you professionally dont abound. And in lucrative sectors such as banking, private equity, and management consulting, its becoming harder for an American to find good work.Watchers gone, but fear lingers in Chen’s hometown (June 8, 2012, AP, by Didi Tang)Though the cameras and guards that kept blind activist Chen Guangcheng under house arrest have disappeared, the fear of local officials still lingers in his village and even his mother says he should not come home.Exhibition Rewrites the History of Han Civilization in China (June 8, 2012, The New York Times, by Souren Melekian)The Search for Immortality: Tomb Treasures of Han China on view at the Fitzwilliam Museum through Nov. 11 is one of those landmark shows that shed new light on a crucial historical period in one of the worlds great civilizations.Looking for love (June 9, 2012, The Economist)In the past 30 years the Chinese search for a spouse has, like so much else, been transformed. Confucian thought emphasised a matchs significance for society rather than for the individuals involved. Though formal arranged marriages were banned in 1950, parents and colleagues continued well into the new century to help couples pair up (some still do).Recurring Dreams for the Rule of Law (June 11, 2012, Caixin Online, by Chen Baocheng)On the Beijing campus of the China University of Political Science and Law stands a dramatic monument inscribed with the words of legal expert and former university president Jiang Ping: “Rule of Law for Everyone.”Jiang’s words carry special weight, even from retirement, because for decades he stood up to and survived ideological opposition that nearly crushed his quest for individual rights, academic independence and free speech in modern China. critical essay definition It takes a Children’s Village to give orphans hope for the future (June 11, 2012, China Daily, by Wang Ru)The Bakers also co-founded the Shepherd’s Field Children’s Village, which has cared for more than 4,000 orphans like Guang. More than 3,000 operations and medical procedures have been carried out and 900 children have been adopted.Video: China reveals more than 100 new Terracotta Warriors (June 11, 2012, BBC News)Chinese archaeologists have unearthed nearly 120 new terracotta warriors built 2000 years ago to guard the first Chinese emperor Qin Shihuang’s tomb. Along with the new warriors, life-size statues of entertainers or acrobats have also been found.Cantonese increasingly bows to Mandarin in HK (June 11, 2012, The China Post)At the age of 10, Hong Kong student Miranda Lam can hold a conversation and write in both English and Mandarin Chinese. But ask her to speak to her grandmother and she shakes her head. I don’t know what she says sometimes, she says.Hollywood gripped by pressure system from China (June 12, 2012, The Los Angeles Times, by Barbara Demick)To appease China and gain access to moviegoers and financing, movies include positive references to the nation (no Chinese villains!) and face censorship.Video: Heavy smog caused by burning straw affects China (June 12, 2012, BBC News,Heavy smog covered the city of Bengbu in China’s eastern Anhui province on Sunday, 10 June, forcing people to stay indoors. The pollution is being blamed on local farmers who burn straw in their fields after the wheat harvest.China emissions queried (June 12, 2012, Sydney Morning Herald, by Adam Morton)China could be emitting 20 per cent more carbon dioxide each year than previously thought, according to a study that raises doubts about the accuracy of data from the world’s biggest greenhouse polluter.Scientists found that the annual emissions reported by China’s 30 provinces in 2010 added up to 1.4 billion tonnes a year more than the total reported by its National Bureau of Statistics. The gap between the provinces’ data and the national figure is equivalent to the entire annual emissions from Japan – the world’s fourth-largest emitter. It is 5 per cent of total global emissions.Profile: Andy Zhang, China’s teenage golfer (June13, 2012, BBC News)Andy Zhang – the 14-year-old poised to become the youngest golfer to play the US Open since World War II – will be one of the big talking points at the tournament which begins on Thursday. The Chinese-born Florida-based player may be half the age of many of his rivals on the professional circuit – but is already 6ft tall, with a swing speed of 115mph and is used to playing and winning mini-tour events.China can fiddle as Rome burns (June 14, 2012, Asia Times Online, by Francesco Sisci)The consequences of the coming collapse of Italy as Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti trips while trying to dance to Germany’s tune, are likely to reverberate as far as China. Why? Because a disintegrating Europe could devastate the US economy, forcing Washington to choose to leave Asia to China and concentrate instead on the fight to regain Europe and the Middle East.What China really wants in Africa (June 14, 2012, Asia Times Online, by Cedric Mohammed)The simple resources-for-infrastructure narrative used to explain China’s engagement in Africa is less compelling than suspicions the continent is being readied as a home for a 300-500 million overflow of China’s population. The main trigger given for the exodus – environmental degradation – is a less likely than another reason: the individuals imbued with ambition through China’s “one-child” policy. Africa offers Chinese entrepreneurs an unprecedented chance to thrive.LINKS TO BLOGSWhy Persecution is Not the Main Story in China Today (pt. 1) (June 5, 2012, The Sinophile)As many of you know, I do not think that persecution is the main story of Christianity in China. In fact, I strongly believe that for many, focusing on persecution distorts peoples ability to see what is really happening in China. My belief about this is not mine alone.Will Chen Guangcheng Fade Away? (June 8, 2012, The Diplomat)Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng may find it hard to stay relevant now hes in the U.S. But China should be proud of its bright and honest son.In pictures: 35 years of Gaokao (June 8, 2012, Offbeat China)Sina collected Gaokao picture from 1977, the year when Gaokao was resumed after 10 years of Culture Revolution, to today.Interview: Ian Johnson on China’s Caves, Politics and Air Quality (June 8, 2012, Asia Society Blog)Beijing-based Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Johnson, author of Wild Grass, will appear at Asia Society New York as part of a panel discussion entitled How Stable is China? on Thursday, June 21. For those who can’t attend the program, which runs from 6:30 to 8 p.m. ET, a free live webcast will be available at AsiaSociety.org/Live. Asia Society Associate Fellow Jeffrey Wasserstrom caught up with Johnson via email.Digital Maps of Old Beijing (June 10, 2012, China Rhyming)My particular favourite is the digital overlay of the old Qing dynasty Peking (delightful) compared to todays sprawling Beijing (which you can keep thanks).The macroeconomics of Chinese kleptocracy (June 10, 2012, Bronte Capital)China is a kleptocracy of a scale never seen before in human history. This post aims to explain how this wave of theft is financed, what makes it sustainable and what will make it fail. There are several China experts I have chatted with and many of the ideas are not original. The synthesis however is mine. Some sources do not want to be quoted.CCTV Finds the Way to Viewers Hearts is Through Gorgeous Food Documentary (June 11, 2012, China Real Time Report)CCTV, Chinas state television broadcaster, is known for dutiful programming such as the Communist Party documentary The Flag, but it has struck a chord with viewers by focusing on a topic near and dear to Chinese hearts: food. In A Bite of China, which premiered last month, filmmakers equipped with high-definition cameras scoured the country chronicling a culinary heritage that can be hard to find in the urban jungles of Beijing and Shanghai.Netizens Chatter as Prominent HIV/AIDS Activist Leaves China (June 11, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)Despite negative coverage from Chinese media and the fact that HIV/AIDS remains a taboo topic in China, netizens reactions thus far have been ubiquitously supportive of Lu. Many thanked Lu for his efforts, wished him a safe journey, and prayed for his swift return. Others reacted with anger and frustration, lamenting the injustice of the situation.Video: Inside A Traditional Village In China (June 11, 2012, Gadling)The traveler, who sounds Canadian, takes us on a tour through a thousand-year-old village. One stop is the Longevity and Health Well, which enjoys enough local fame to have the restaurant next to it sport its image on its sign.China’s Conundrum: As Economy Slows, Property Market Speeds Up (June 11, 2012, China Tracker)Chinas real-estate market saw an ominous rally in May, a warning to Beijing that its loose monetary policy could not only boost the countrys slowing economy but also re-inflate a property bubble.New in the Annals of China Fakery: A Bogus U.S. Bank Takeover (June 12, 2012, China Real Time Report)Businesspeople in the Chinese coastal city of Wenzhou are famous for getting rich producing knock offs.Now, one local man has become infamous after allegedly manufacturing a tale that he bought a U.S. bank.Again? Ferrari Struggles with Spin in China (June 12, 2012, China Real Time Report)Eight Ferrari drivers were caught speeding in a convoy along a public expressway in China over the weekend one traveling as fast as 231 kilometers (132 miles) per hour in an incident that has reignited negative publicity for the Italian automaker amid fervent public debate over the social conscience of the countrys wealthy elite.Has Chinas Young Jedi Knight Just Joined the Dark Side? (June 12, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)Has Chinas most famous blogger finally been brought to heel? Han Han, writer, car racer, and Chinas youth opinion leader, recently sealed a deal with massive Chinese Internet company Tencent and founded an e-journal, One.Dirty Air and Succession Jitters Are Clouding Beijing’s Judgment (June 12, 2012, Asia Society Blog)Going public with an anti-foreign attack about local air pollution is just asking for ridicule from the increasingly skeptical Chinese public. Netizens responded accordingly. Why does reading the domestic news feel like reading a bunch of jokes? asked one commentator. Do you think people are blind? How many blue-sky days has Beijing had lately? Do you think ordinary people will only believe your own statements? grumbled another. This self-defeating action is symptomatic of a panicky leadership with a severe credibility problem.Testing times (June 13, 2012, The Analects)At the gates of Shanghai Beijiao Middle School on the morning of the gaokao, students thumb their textbooks frantically. The number sitting Chinas notoriously tough university-entrance exam each year is falling (6,000 fewer students took the exam in Shanghai this year; an effect of the one-child policy). But the atmosphere is as panicked as ever.A bite of poisoned apple: Have media in China gone too far in food safety reporting? (June 13, 2012, Offbeat China)On May 11, Beijing News featured an investigative piece titled Many Red Fuji Apples in Yantai Grow in Poisoned Bags. Like many other food safety news in China, the story spread like virus on the Chinese internet. Yet unlike other recent food safety scandals, apple farmers in Yantai fought back, denouncing claims of wide use of poisoned apple bags. The story has sparked heated debates about whether reporting food safety stories in China has become a hype.Zhou Yongkang: Party and People Thank You (June 13, 2012, China Digital Times)Despite calls for his ouster, it seems Zhou Yongkang wont be leaving the Politburo Standing Committee anytime soon. He is believed to be a lone supporter of ousted Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai. Rumors that Bo and Zhou were plotting a coup spread on Weibo in March; as apparent punishment, the central government forced Sina and Tencent Weibo to suspend the comment function for three days in late March.Heaven Help Us If The Rest Of China Crashes As Hard As Wenzhou (June 13, 2012, Business Insider)Wenzhous more than 400,000 businesses make everything from shoes in dusty side streets to synthetic leather in dilapidated factories, much of it financed by unregulated lenders that spread during Chinas record 2009-10 credit boom. The decline of so-called shadow banking in the city, triggered by Wens move to rein in a national property bubble, has left Wenzhou bearing the brunt of the countrys economic slowdown.Chinas everyday heroes take their lead from the CPC (June 14, 2012, Danwei)The front page of the Beijing Daily today features the pictures of three people who have recently committed acts of heroism in China. The headline: Learn from the most beautiful Chinese people a model of our generation!ARTICLES IN CHINESE (Pushi Institute for Social Science) (Pushi Institute for Social Science)LINKS FOR RESEARCHERSZhang Boling (Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Christianity)How Censorship in China Allows Government Criticism but Silences Collective Expression (Harvard University)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 browserIf 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 Click here to forward this email to a friendChinaSource Partners, Ltd.Unit B / 17F Wing Cheung Industrial Bldg58-70 Kwai Cheong RoadKwai Chung,, New Territories 00000HKRead the VerticalResponse marketing policy.