Zhu De's request for a $20 million favor
From K. M. Lawson at Frog in a Well, a document sent by Zhu De to General Albert C. Wedemeyer asking for $20 million with which to buy off and convert 'puppet troops' to the Communist side.
« April 22, 2007 - April 28, 2007 | Main | May 6, 2007 - May 12, 2007 »
May 5, 2007
Not worth the paper it's printed on
The 26 April edition of the Beijing Evening News had 208 pages and weighed 486 grams. It had a cover price of 0.5 yuan, but as scrap it could be sold for nearly 0.6 yuan. Some newsstand owners did the only sensible thing.
Was the censor dumped over censorship?
But Long was definitely a Jiang man. And they [Discipline Inspection] have been trying to go after Beijing leaders for corruption for a long time. So maybe the book ban was an added excuse to make this move.
...I knew Long from back in his Beijing days. He was okay to do business with. So for me it's a bit of a shame to see him go.
Shanda cheats the anti-addiction system
Shanda is testing out GAPP's new anti-addiction system in its online game Magical Land. It's also selling gamers a way around the system. Is this why it was so eager to take part in the trials?
May 4, 2007
The Dalian Police Murder
ESWN translates a report on a media blackout following the shooting of three civilians in locked room in a Dalian police station. Also, commentary by Liu Xiaobo.
Review of Chinese espionage cases in US
From the New York Sun: 'The FBI has good reason to be apprehensive about its prosecution of an electrical engineer ... The handful of Chinese espionage cases brought in recent decades have often ended with the government disappointed, or even mortified, at the outcome.' The article reviews recent cases.
Paulson: Yuan revaluation needs time...
From Bloomberg: 'U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said it will take more than a stronger Chinese currency to reduce the record trade deficit between the U.S. and China. 'I don't think there is much they can do with the currency that would make a big difference in the trade balance,'' Paulson said...'
May 3, 2007
Disneyland in China?
Did I say Disneyland? I meant Shijingshan Amusement Park, an amusement park in Beijing that has absolutely nothing to do with Disney. Japanese bloggers seem to have recently discovered the existence of this park and have posted pictures of some of its characters:
May 2, 2007
Poisoned pets, our food regulations
'Wait until the pig gets fat and then kill it': this is the attitude with which many administrative departments treat penalties. For a country having just begun developing, maybe these sorts of practices are reasonable. But penalties on food products should be a little more severe; after all, this concerns people's life safety.
Chinese-American engineer denies espionage charges
The Los Angeles Times reports: 'A Chinese American engineer, on trial for allegedly sending information about U.S. military technology to China, took the witness stand Tuesday to deny the charges and said he had no ties to his homeland's military or intelligence service.'
Muckrakers for hire
A Washington Post article by Edward Cody about Li Xinde and Xu Xiang, two independent investigator journalists who take on corrupt officials on behalf of the exploited, and publish their findings online.
Propaganda guidelines for SARFT
1, Create a correct atmosphere for the 17th Party congress, promote the main melody, and praise the merits of socialism. Something noteworthy is the negative trend emerging from the recent historical books. The trend must be closely watched.
2, Military subjects must be cautiously dealt with. Don't excessively publicize military facilities. Avoid being used by the West to support the "China Threat".
3, Media reports on important historic events and persons must strictly follow the spirit of the No. 29 document.
4, Insist on the reform and opening-up policy. Don't publicize speeches affirming privatization.
5, Deal lightly with Anti-Rightist Movement subjects. In principle, avoid talking about them. Insist on "Anti-Rightist Movement is necessary, but is severely exaggerated". Related to this, the press must be cautious in talking about the independent spirit of public intellectuals.
Where there's hashish, there's marijuana
It's hard to describe the feeling of joy that overcame me when I realized that what I was looking at was actually cannabis. And these weren't just some tiny little sprouts. They were big, fat, healthy-looking plants swaying in the wind, soaking up the high-altitude mountain sunshine. Pinching off a small bud, I found the aroma to be very sweet, but without a lot of the overpowering intensity one often gets from indoor or hydroponic ganja. This was marijuana as nature had created it.
May 1, 2007
Cartoon channel cancellation received mixed reactions
While the cancellation of a cartoon channel in Zhengzhou, capital of central China’s Henan Province, may not be good news for young children, some parents were happy that it was no longer on air.
Mapping in Jiuzhaigou
We didn't expect to come across anyone. Chinese officials had told us that we were heading into unpopulated terrain. The Tibetans who used to farm and herd yaks there had been resettled, as had most of the Tibetans who had lived in the park. (Jiuzhaigou, by the way, means "Valley of Nine Villages." Those villages still exist, but now they're more like theme parks, tourist commodities.)
April 30, 2007
The sexual fantasy of angry youths
It is probably wrong to say that sexual inhibition is the only reason why Japanese women are the object of fenqing’s sexual fantasies. In the mind of a radical nationalist, a woman’s body is placed alongside sea and air as something that belongs to a country’s sovereignty. Occupying or destroying a woman’s body is another way of defeating the enemy and a way of carrying forward the national spirit....Once you understand this principle, it is easy to see why the nationalistic spirit of fenqing and their sexual fantasies are difficult to separate.
April 29, 2007
Reuters - still legal after 50 years
Xinhua reports: 'Xinhua News Agency on Saturday authorized four overseas news agencies including Reuters to release news and information in China after they passed an annual assessment'. Does this new approval actually mean anything?
Xinhua backs down?
Xinhua yesterday said that it had approved four overseas news agencies including Reuters 'to release news and information in China after they passed an annual assessment'. Last September Xinnhua demanded that foreign news agencies start working through Xinhua to distribute news in China. Although this latest article mentions those rules, they do not seem to have been enforced, and Reuters will probably be getting on with business as usual. The fact that the news was published on Saturday may indicated Xinhua wants to downplay its significance.
More on e-magazine regulations
Jonathan Ansfield provides more information about the new regulations from GAPP seeking to control the publication of online magazines.
Online uproar about animal rights
From Josie Liu's blog: 'An incident of burning dogs in the city of Nanjing drew nearly 17000 comments from web users on Thursday and triggered a huge debate about dog rights.'
China's new foreign minister: Yang Jiechi
China announced on Friday that Yang Jiechi is to replace Li Zhaoxing as foreign minister. Yang is a graduate of the London School of Economics and currently China's ambassador in Washington. Li had also been ambassador to the U.S. before his appointment. The change took effect on Friday. New ministers of land resources and science and technology were also appointed.