Danwei Noon Report is a daily roundup of new and old media coverage about China from Chinese and English sources. Today's report includes contributions from Joel Martinsen and Bill Zhang.

Leslie Cheung's working on his chan
Song Zude is at it again. The latest revelations from China's least reliable source of nasty celebrity gossip may cost him whatever credibility he managed to scrape together when he correctly called the harelip on Faye Wong's new baby. Song now claims that the late Leslie Cheung, whose 50th birthday was marked just this week, is in fact not really dead. He bases this belief on a trip he took to Mt. Wutai, where an old monk let him have a peek at Leslie while he was meditating, and who spun an engaging tale of tragic love, creative failure, and weariness with the world. Writes Song:

As for who it really was who jumped from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, and how Cheung was able to convince everyone that the person was the star Leslie Cheung, the old monk said that Cheung never mentioned it. If religious don't bring up secular affairs of the past, no one will press them on the issue.

How great Buddha's power, I say, and I know that there are a million things that cannot be forced. Today, I reveal this secret to tell all of Brother's lamenting fans that you need not grieve, since Leslie Cheung is not dead. He is living the life he wants at Mt. Wutai from the morning bell to the evening drum. Let us wish him well. (link - in Chinese)

In a report in China Times about this stunning revelation, Song denies using Cheung to hype his own image ("I see this post as a diary entry, and had no thought of catching more people's attention."), and offers this tinfoil hat commentary: "If you really jump from the 22nd floor, your guts will definitely splatter unrecognizably. But the police announced that it was Leslie Cheung who committed suicide. Doesn't this make you wonder?" He urges fans to leave Cheung in peace to pursue chan on the mountain. This is Song's second attack on the Hong Kong celebrity scene, following his explanation of the truth behind the Twins changing room incident (see ESWN). (link - in Chinese).

More emphasis on classical education
Xinhua had a report today on the five-year cultural program-- Calligraphy, painting and traditional handicraft are to be introduced onto the curriculum in China's elementary schools as part of a government drive to bring culture to the youth.

According to the program, the government will increase investment in cultural projects, reform the way cultural entities operate, expand the quantity and quality of cultural products and services to meet rising demand, and increase the global competitiveness of Chinese cultural products. (Chinese Link, English Link)

Egao blog provider?
Via cbvivi comes this link to a new blog provider, 共产档, "Communist Files", which plays on party-related language. Members are 档员, and there are no fees (档费) when you sign-up (入档). (link - in Chinese)

Wen Jiabao: information flows freely in China
From the China Daily:

The Chinese Government encourages the free flow of information and respects the rights and freedoms of foreign media operations in China, visiting Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday.

Beijing's policy towards foreign media remains unchanged despite the recent promulgation of new measures concerning international news agencies, he stressed.

"I think there is a lot of misunderstanding about China's policy on foreign media and I would like to reiterate that the open policy adopted by the Chinese Government regarding foreign news media and financial information agencies remains unchanged," Wen said last night after meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

So, information is free to flow! Unless it comes from a foreign news agency, in which case Xinhua wants it to flow through their offices first where it can be censored and taxed. And unless you want to publish it in China. Or publish it abroad and import it into China. Or something. (link)

See also Richard Spencer's take in his blog: China puts its own people second.