Danwei Picks is a daily digest of the "From the Web" links found on the Danwei homepage. A feed for the links as they are posted throughout the day is available at Feedsky (in China) or Feedburner (outside China).

A taxing time for China's non-profits: The Economic Observer looks at what a new 25% tax on the operating income of non-profits means for charity work:

According to calculations by Xu Yongguang, a member of the National Committee of CPPCC, even if total yields of foundations average 10% per year, their yearly income would still be under 1 billion yuan, one fourth of which would be paid to the state treasury according to the new rules.

"Compared with state revenues, which amounts to six to seven trillion yuan each year, 250 million is a trifling sum. If we say 250,000 yuan is needed to build one new charity school, then paying 250 million yuan to the state treasury means losing the chance to build 1,000 schools," said Xu.

Paying for nature: At China Dialogue, Katherine Ellison describes government plans to subsidize farmers who raise water-conserving crops:

"We’re spending a huge amount of money," Xiaoping Wang, a high-ranking official at Beijing’s Parks and Forestry Department, said of the Hebei agreement, in which the Beijing municipal government essentially pays to increase water conservation in the neighboring province.

As part of the deal, two Hebei prefectures will switch from traditional farming to water-saving crops, meaning less rice, more corn and potatoes. Farmers will also plant and tend trees on their property and reduce pesticide use to help cut back on the sediment and pollution entering rivers that feed the capital’s two main reservoirs. In return, among other things, Beijing will provide some US$16 million in direct yearly payments to farmers for water stewardship, according to the amount of land they own; subsidise Hebei farmers’ chickens, eggs, and milk; and build two new highways for products from Hebei to reach the capital’s lucrative market more easily.

"Fei-fei" Lydia Shum dies at 60: Bloomberg reports:

Hong Kong television veteran Lydia Shum died after a protracted fight with liver cancer, local broadcaster Radio and Television Hong Kong reported on its Web site, without citing anyone. She was 60.

The actress, affectionately known as Fei-fei for her plump appearance and jolly disposition, died at 8:38 a.m. Hong Kong time at the Queen Mary Hospital, the report said. She was best known for her comedic roles in Hong Kong films such as "Drunken Tai Chi."

SCMP has an obit, if you have a subscription. More info on Wikipedia.

The old dog and medal show: China has stringent, detailed standards for Olympic hostesses, leading Adam Minter at Shanghai Scrap to think of another sort of "beauty contest."

Highlighting the Bund as Shanghai looks to the future: At the Zhongnanhai blog, Cam responds to a blog post by Richard Spencer about the changing face of the Bund with his own comparison of Shanghai and Beijing:

Shanghai was much different. Sure, you had the tourist-ridden Bund waterfront and Nanjing Lu. But the French concession, Suzhou Creek area, and People's Square were nice places to wind down an evening (or start your morning, depending on the time of day). I also enjoyed my morning walk to work from the Hengshan Lu subway station to Zhaojiabang Road, traversing streets filled only with pedestrians and delicious xiaolongbao steaming in bamboo baskets. What made it different from Beijing (in this one particular neighborhood near Hengshan Lu) was the lack of cars, honking, and noise (at least in comparison to Beijing).

China to build railway in Libya: AfricaAsia.com reports:

A Chinese contractor has won bids to build two railways in Libya worth a combined 2.6 billion dollars as China enhances its economic presence in energy-rich African nations, state media said Monday.

Under one contract, China Railway Construction Corp., the firm that built part of the controversial rail to Tibet, would construct a 352-kilometre (220-mile) west-to-east coastal railway, the Xinhua news agency reported.

It will also build an 800-kilometre-long railway linking the southern city of Sebha to Misurata in the north to facilitate transportation of iron ore and passengers, the report said. Both projects are expected to start in June.