ZGBriefs | September 10, 2015

Featured Article

Driven to Kill: Why drivers in China intentionally kill the pedestrians they hit. (September 4, 2015, Slate)
Most people agree that the hit-to-kill phenomenon stems at least in part from perverse laws on victim compensation. In China the compensation for killing a victim in a traffic accident is relatively small—amounts typically range from $30,000 to $50,000—and once payment is made, the matter is over. By contrast, paying for lifetime care for a disabled survivor can run into the millions.

Government / Politics / Foreign Affairs

Video: Pomp and Power at China Military Parade (September 3, 2015, The New York Times)

Chinese human rights lawyer could face spying charges (September 4, 2015, The Guardian)
Writing on Weibo, China’s Twitter, two weeks before his detention, Zhang said: “I have thought it through: at worst they can put me in jail. But if I keep silent, I will regret it for the rest of my life.”

Photos: China Stages a Massive Military Parade to Commemorate the End of World War II (September 3, 2015, The Atlantic)

Why Is China Parading Missiles on TV? (September 4, 2015, The New Yorker)
Seventy years after China emerged from the Second World War, the greatest threat facing the nation’s leadership is not imperialism but skepticism. Chinese Communist Party leaders built their legitimacy on economic performance, and now they must rebuild confidence that they are able to negotiate a more complicated financial and political moment.

Takeaways from China’s Military Parade (September 5, 2015, China Real Time)
China staged a grand military parade for the 70th anniversary of the allied victory over Japan in World War II. While the event’s primary audience was domestic, the projection of national strength the meticulously managed imagery conveyed also says a lot about the Chinese military — and how China’s leaders plan to use it. Here are five takeaways from the parade.

Who Is Xi Jinping? Introducing the Asia Society Podcast (September 3, 2015, Asia Society)
Three years after Xi Jinping took control of China's Communist Party and assumed the country’s leadership, he has emerged as one of the world’s most powerful people. But his tenure has also raised uncomfortable questions. Is he a reformer bent on curbing corruption at the highest levels of government? Or is he merely concerned with consolidating power within China’s opaque political system?

Five Chinese ships seen off Alaska coast, Pentagon says (September 3, 2015, BBC)
Five Chinese naval ships are currently positioned in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska, US officials confirm. It is believed to be the first time Chinese military vessels have been seen operating in the area. Officials say they have been monitoring the ships' activities, but said they were operating in international waters.

How the US and Chinese Navies Are Trying to Avoid Accidentally Starting World War III (September 5, 2015, Vice)
As China celebrates its victory over Japan in World War II with a much-hyped Victory Day parade, it's continuing to drift toward a new conflict in the South China Sea. But promising new developments in the relationship between the US and Chinese navies appear to be keeping things calm — at least for the moment.

Caijing Journalist’s Shaming Signals China’s Growing Control Over News Media (September 6, 2015, The New York Times)
So the public shaming of one of its journalists has raised fears about prospects for journalistic freedom within China — and the direction of Caijing itself.

Uneasy Silence Follows Journalist’s Arrest (September 8, 2015, Medium)
IT has now been eight days since state media in China reported that Caijing magazine journalist Wang Xiaolu (王晓璐) had been subjected to “criminal compulsory measures” stemming from a report on the stock market he wrote back on July 20, 2015.

China's lavish parade to mark 50 years in Tibet (September 8, 2015, BBC)
China has marked 50 years since it established Tibet as what it calls an "autonomous region", by holding a large parade in the Tibetan capital Lhasa. The event, which featured large colourful floats and military marches, was attended by senior Communist Party officials.

The Dangers of Japan-Bashing (September 8, 2015, BBC)
Feeding the Chinese public’s hatred of Japan is a risky tactic: The appetite for Japan-bashing enlarges over time; emotion could spin out of control.

Video: Where are China's missing human rights lawyers? (September 9, 2015, BBC)
Two months ago China launched what appeared to be an orchestrated campaign, when more than 280 human rights lawyers and activists – along with their associates – were summoned, detained or just disappeared.

Bangkok's Erawan Shrine bomb: One suspect 'is Chinese' (September 9, 2015, BBC)
One of the alleged accomplices to the key suspect wanted over the Erawan Shrine bombing in the Thai capital Bangkok last month is Chinese, officials from both countries say. They say that Yusufu Mieraili was born in Xinjiang, home to China's Muslim Uighur minority. A Chinese official told the Global Times that the bombing may have been the work of separatists in Xinjiang.

Religion

Working out a Chinese Public Theology: Three Preliminary Guidelines, Part 2 (September 4, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
In my previous post, I suggested three guidelines for working out a public theology for today’s China and discussed the first of those guidelines. In this post we look at the second and third guidelines.

China says Panchen Lama 'living a normal life' 20 years after disappearance (September 6, 2015, The Guardian)
A young Tibetan who vanished two decades ago after he was chosen by the Dalai Lama as the second-highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism is “living a normal life” and does not want to be disturbed, a senior Chinese official said on Sunday. The remarks are a rare admission of the fate of Gendun Choekyi Nyima, now 26.

China releases Korean-American missionary: lawyer (September 7, 2015, Reuters)
China has released a Korean-American missionary arrested last year over a non-profit school he ran near the border with North Korea, his lawyer said, resolving a case that sparked outcry from international Christian groups.

Zhejiang fights rumors on cross removel, church demolitions (September 7, 2015, Global Times)
Several alleged rumormongers in the cities of Wenzhou and Taizhou in Zhejiang have been punished for spreading false information, provoking trouble and deliberately distorting the facts about the "three revise and one demolition" campaign.  Some Christians were among them, along with "self-righteous" media and overseas websites that deliberately "twisted" the facts, in an attempt to spare illegal religious structures, according to the commentary.

The Last China Inland Mission Pastor (September 8, 2015, Chinese Church Voices)
It is easy to think of the China Inland Mission era as being in the distant past. This article, translated from the mainland site Christian Times reminds us that it is not as far away as we thought.

Chinese Supply Chains and the Gospel (September 9, 2015, From the West Courtyard)
Once contaminated or tainted products enter the supply chain, no one can be sure where they will end up. Millions are directly impacted. In addition, such scares ultimately affect everyone by fueling a high level of mistrust throughout the society. Christian business leaders in China may have a role in helping to stem this disturbing tide.

Non-Stop Prayer Movement Grips Atheist China (September 9, 2015, CBN)
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, thousands of Christians are meeting in a corner of northeast China for an unprecedented prayer movement.

Society / Life

Weeks After Tianjin Blasts, Many Residents Await Compensation for Damaged Homes (September 4, 2015, The New York Times)
The chemical blasts that rocked the northeastern port city of Tianjin last month damaged an estimated 17,000 homes, shattering windows, overturning furniture and knocking down walls. But more than three weeks after the explosions, many Tianjin residents have yet to receive compensation for their losses, and some say they have been pressured into dropping their claims.

The Siege Of Xian (Roads and Kingdoms)
For the last six years, wave after wave of village families has yielded to the government’s and developer Poly Real Estate Group’s pressure, and signed over their homes. Still, a couple of hundred “left-behind families” remain, as they call themselves, holdouts living among a sea of rubble and vacated homes, demolished to prevent occupation.

Shanghai drafts Good Samaritan Law protecting those who come to the aid of strangers (September 8, 2015, Shanghaiist)
Shanghai has drafted a bill which would provide liability protection to those with proper medical training who administer first aid to others needing help.

Chinese Views on Europe’s Migrant Crisis: “The Road to Ruin” (September 8, 2015, What’s on Weibo)
he migrant crisis in Europe is dominating headlines and social media posts around the globe. Chinese media are also reporting on Europe’s “migrant wave” (“欧洲难民潮”), leading netizens to discuss the issue on Sina Weibo.

China jails 'Qing dynasty princess' farmer for fraud (September 9, 2015, BBC)
A court in China has sentenced a woman who posed as a Qing dynasty princess in order to run a fraud scheme to 13 and half years in jail. Wang Fengying had called herself "Princess Changping" and claimed to be a descendent of the Aisin Gioro Manchu royal family. She and her accomplice conned their victims out of more than 2 million yuan ($313,600; £204,100) within one year.

Health / Environment

The Yellow River: A History of China’s Water Crisis (September 3, 2015, China File)
Struggles over water are not new in China or around the world. But these struggles have their own unique historical and cultural contexts. Climate, geography, and social forces all combined to escalate tensions over water resources on the North China Plain during the 1990s.

China's pollution on Google Maps: Smog data shows 92 per cent breathe in unhealthy air … but how does Hong Kong fare? (September 4, 2015, South China Morning Post)
Scientists working at the University of California Berkeley and Nanjing University previously mapped hourly pollution data from over 1,500 sites across China – including Hong Kong – to produce a comprehensive smog map of the country’s heavily populated eastern provinces.

China will close 150 factories to make sure Shanghai Disneyland has blue skies (September 8, 2015, Quartz)
What will Disneyland with Chinese characteristics look like? Potentially bleak and gray, thanks to the air pollution that plagues Shanghai, where mainland China’s first Disneyland is slated to open in the first half of next year.

Economics / Trade / Business

What if the China Panic Is All Wrong? (September 4, 2015, China Real Time)
One of the chief problems is that it’s difficult to gauge China’s black-box economy. The country’s true growth is a guessing game given a number of statistical factors. That’s why growth forecasts show a range spanning several percentage points. Lombard Street Research, for example, estimates the economy will only expand by 3.7% this year, nearly half Beijing’s official growth forecast.

China Cracks Down on the Use of Superlatives in Advertising (September 7, 2015, TIME)
New rules go into force this month that ban the use of superlatives including “best,” “highest” and several others from Chinese advertising campaigns, the Wall Street Journal reports.

China's slowdown takes its toll (September 8, 2015, BBC)
Just a few months ago, he was constantly busy, but that's not the case anymore. "Our orders have been falling from the beginning of this year," he told me. "I'm not doing as much overtime these days as I used to when business was good, so I don't make as much money as I used to." That is a story you hear across China more and more these days.

Watch: A Drone’s-Eye View of a Defunct Chinese Steel Plant (September 8, 2015, China Real Time)
A victim of China’s economic slowdown, the massive “Panchenggang” steel plant in Chengdu had 16,000 workers when it was closed this year.

Video: The anti-corruption drive affecting foreign companies – Ian Johnson (September 8, 2015, Fons Tuistra YouTube)
Previous political campaigns in China mostly fizzled out after a few months, but the anti-corruption drive – started by President Xi Jinping is staying. How is this affecting foreign companies? Ian Johnson explains what has changed in China.

Science / Technology

Video: China’s Cheaper iPhone Alternatives (September 9, 2015, China Real Time)
China’s home-grown brands have been producing smartphones with advanced features at cheaper prices. Here’s a look at the top five alternatives to Apple’s iPhone.

China plans to land lunar probe on far side of moon (September 9, 2015, The Guardian)
China’s increasingly ambitious space programme plans to attempt the first-ever landing of a lunar probe on the moon’s far side, a leading engineer said. The Chang’e 4 mission is planned for sometime before 2020, Zou Yongliao, from the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ moon exploration department, told state broadcaster CCTV in an interview broadcast on Wednesday.

History / Culture

Jewish memorial park opens up in Shanghai (September 8, 2015, Shanghaiist)
Israeli and Chinese officials came together to open a new Jewish Memorial Park at the Fushouyuan Cemetery in Shanghai's Qingpu district on Sunday. The memorial is dedicated to some 20,000 Jewish refugees who fled to Shanghai to escape Nazi persecution, and opens just on the heels of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Arts / Entertainment / Media

Ai Weiwei on Beijing: 'It's a prison for freedom of speech' – video (September 8, 2015, The Guardian)
Chinese artist Ai Weiwei was born in Beijing but spent the first 18 years of his life in exile with his family. He now lives and works in the capital, far from the centre but under constant surveillance. In the first of this new series of short films, he offers a unique insight into the artists’ community he helped build in Caochangdi – and reveals his playful techniques for carving out a space in ‘a city that doesn’t really belong to its residents’.

Bon Jovi's first gigs in China cancelled by officials (September 8, 2015, BBC)
Bon Jovi's first ever concerts in China have been cancelled by government officials, the BBC has learned. No reason was given, but media reports suggest that censors discovered the US rock band had used an image of the Dalai Lama as a backdrop at a gig five years ago.

Travel / Food

Video: Take a Spectacular Hong Kong Vacation in Four Minutes (August 28, 2015, Travel and Leisure)
The video quickly switches between remote suburbs with rolling valleys of green grass and towering skyscrapers overlooking a bustling street system, sharing a surprisingly diverse profile of the city in just four minutes. 

Rules eased for foreign tourists on road trips (September 3, 2015, China Daily)
According to the notice, all international tourists' driving trips must be arranged by a certain number of tourism agencies with approval licenses. Agencies must arrange tour guides to follow the entire trip. No individual trip is allowed.

Video: Guilin and Yangshuo (September 9, 2015, Outside-In)
I’ve only been to Guilin and Yangshou once, way back in 1986. But this video is making me want to plan a return trip.

Language / Language Learning

Can Chinese Names and English Names Co-exist? (September 4, 2015, Sinosplice)
It’s safe to say, though, that most Chinese names are harder for English speakers than most English names are for Chinese speakers.

Books

Beijing From A-Z: An Expat Couple’s Adventures in China (September 4, 2015, BBC)
As expats in China realize, living in this country can be both maddening and illuminating. Small hints from daily life can give you an idea about the future of the world’s second-largest economy. Is all that construction a sign of strength or weakness? Does China really lack a service sector when workers come your apartment after midnight? Below is an excerpt from a new Wall Street Journal book, “Beijing from A to Z,” by veteran Journal reporter Bob Davis and his journalist wife Debra Bruno. They lived in Beijing for more than three years and miss the city since they returned to Washington D.C. last year.

Image credit: by Dominique Bergeron