Escalator pile-up at Beijing West Rail Station
At CNReviews, Mollie Kirk translates a Beijing Times report about an escalator malfunction that sent three people to the hospital.
« May 17, 2009 - May 23, 2009 | Main | May 31, 2009 - June 6, 2009 »
May 30, 2009
Yu Jianrong on social stability
At China Digital Times, David Kelly translates a presentation given by Yu Jianrong, a CASS researcher into rural issues, that addresses China's current social situation:
My view is: a number of social conflicts are going on in China today, but there has been no change in its overall political unity or effectiveness of social control; this stability of Chinese society is a rigid one, bearing very great social risks. To prevent greater social turmoil occurring in China, a series of changes needs to be made.
I want to discuss three issues related to this: (1) what is actually taking place; (2) how to understand China's current rigid stability; (3) what is to be done?
Part two is here.
May 28, 2009
Stringent fuel economy rules for Chinese cars
The New York Times reports that new government standards will improve fuel economy by an additional 18% by 2015:
The details of China's new fuel economy standards may favor domestic automakers at the expense of multinationals, several auto industry officials said. That is because the new rules call for the steepest increases in fuel economy -- as much as 26 percent -- for midsize and compact cars, market segments where multinationals are strong. Subcompacts, a market where domestic automakers are stronger, will be required to increase their gas mileage by as little as 9 percent compared with the existing standards, which took effect on Jan. 1.
Inviting the DL to Paris could hurt ties
From China Daily:
Chinese observers believe an invitation from Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe to the Dalai Lama could derail Sino-French relations just as they were getting back on track.
Delanoe's spokesman, Laurent Fary, confirmed that the mayor has invited the Dalai Lama to the French capital in early June to collect the title of honorary citizen of the city, which he was awarded in 2008.
Earlier this month, Beijing urged Paris not to interfere in China's internal affairs by meeting the Dalai Lama.
The French foreign ministry played down the significance of the invitation, saying it was made independently by the city and "should have no impact on the caliber of our relations with China".
But Wu Baiyi, an expert on European studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Paris, as part of France, is obliged to coordinate its acts according to a communiqu agreed by the two foreign ministries on April 1 that stated that France fully recognized "the sensitivity of the Tibet issue" and that France would not support "Tibet independence" in any form.
China and sustainable development
The Guardian publishes an article by Zhenhua Xie, Hu Jintao's special representative on climate change and the vice-chairman of the national development and reform commission of China:
China is making huge efforts to combat climate change despite the fact that it remains a low-income developing country with a per-capita GDP of around $3,000 (£1,876). By United Nations standards, China still has 150 million people living in poverty. China has no other choice but to pursue sustainable development in order to meet the basic needs of its people and to eradicate poverty. In this process, the world is assured that China will make every effort to address climate change.
May 27, 2009
Twitter in China: happy days while it lasts
Michael Anti (安替) answers Danwei's questions about journalism, blogging, and Twitter - which he thinks will eventually suffer the "fate of Youtube".
Billowing red flags and hypnotic cadences of slogan and song
Philip Cunningham doesn't see anything surprising about the lack of interest shown toward events of two decades ago on the part of today's youth:
If anything, it was precisely because they had little or no first-hand contact with the horror of Mao's social experiment gone awry that they could in good faith and unremitting optimism write provocative wall posters and take to the streets, naively hoping for positive results.
It seems student activism, to really get off the ground, and to have any integrity at all, requires forgetting the past, --or at least not being beholden to it-- as much as invoking it.
Referencing the past as a guide to one's actions, especially in a place where the past weighs as heavily as it does in China, is intimidating to the point of despair.
A bio of Yang Bin, architect of the Sinuiju SAR
Bruce Humes gives an overview of the upcoming biography Kim Jong Il's Godson Yang Bin: From Orphan to Sinuiju SAR Chief:
Many a historian would love to have the kind of privileged access Guan Shan had to research Kim Jong Il's Godson. As Yang Bin's designated biographer, he schmoozes with the billionaire's relatives, conducts uncensored interviews with top government officials in Dandong and North Korea, and takes part in the negotiations between Yang Bin's team and the official North Korean Delegation as they hammer out the Siniuju Basic Law. And there is Guan Shan again, frantically taking notes when Yang Bin is hauled up before a Shenyang court, accused of everything from bribing officials to forgery of financial documents and contract fraud--and sentenced to a stunning 18 years of prison.
Climate change tops credit crisis
Bloomsberg reports that one of Hu Jintao's aides Xie Zhenhua said in an editorial that dealing with climate change is more pressing than the economic crisis.
Xie Zhenhua, also vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China is working on provincial climate change programs this year, and that the stimulus plan contains energy conservation and pollution components, according to the article in the South China Morning Post today.
"The global financial crisis has, no doubt, exacerbated the challenge of climate change," Xie wrote. "But since climate change is a more far-reaching and serious challenge, the world must not waver in its determination and commitment to address it."
Giving China a "cool" factor
Aimee Barnes speaks with Jenny Bai, founder and CEO of The Red Connect and managing editor of The World of Chinese:
In my opinion, there is already way too much traditional Chinese information out there, so I doubt if anyone wants to spend their leisure time reading yet another publication about the Great Wall. TWOC is also not a local rag like the Beijinger, City Weekend, or even Time Out. So, part of my intent in the re-brand was to introduce a business culture section, including useful information via case studies, market trends, biz tips, etc. But I really had to fight for my vision. Concepts like guanxi (relationships) and mianzi (face), topics widely covered by Western consultants everywhere, had a tough time making it through inter-office procedures. My Chinese bosses (and there are a slew of them, especially in the publishing industry) all felt that discussing guanxi in a useful light was too close to speaking on corruption, and talking about the ways mianzi play an integral part in Chinese behavior was in fact not humble enough.
See also: Jenny Zhu interviews Edelman's Adam Schokora about China's creative community.
Living in China, in one word: exhausting
CNReviews translates forum posts by Chinese professionals who have returned from abroad:
Shopping: The stuff in department stores or specialty retail stores make me think: "that much money for this sh*t? f**k it!" The only thing I have worn for a long time that was purchased from a department store was a pair of Erdos wool pants - can't help it, Shanghai winters are cold. I usually have the clothes I wear to work tailored made at Dong Jia Du, or I will go to small stores near my places to find quality imported clothes. Overall, if you search more, you can find some good stuff at cheap prices.
Opportunity: I truly think one the opportunities for making money in China are more than the United States (regardless of whether it is white, yellow, or grey income). I myself have started trying a few based upon my interests -- after all, if I am only working for foreign companies, the whole point of coming back would have been lost.
May 26, 2009
RMB as reserve currency: bunkum!
Arthur Kroeber on the Financial Times' website:
One baleful consequence of the global financial crisis has been a swarm of ill-informed commentary about the decline of the US and the dollar, and the rise of China and the renminbi. Such hyperbolic claims about a tectonic shift in global power relations are bunkum.
Anti-CNN shifts focus
Global Times' English edition reports on a rebranded, repositioned Anti-CNN:
"I still feel passionate," smiled Rao Jin, 24-year-old founder of Anti-CNN. com, "but not as spirited as that time."
Rao's been busy. After a round of meetings with business partners and media-savvy advisors, he's re-branding the whole website: gone is the "combative title" of "Anti-CNN". In its place is "ACCN", short for "Access China Communication Network."
Tsinghua graduate Rao, also the owner of IT company Cesky, said he wants "limited commercialization" and "modernization" of Anti-CNN into a "comprehensive community news website."
"The name 'Anti-CNN' was good to rally strength and fight biased reports at that time, but too easily lead to misunderstanding," said Rao.
"Life is about more than politics and debate. With these changes, I hope netizens on the website will chill out, be a bit more peaceful."
How to handle a censor over Zimbabwe
From Chinese Box, a blog run by an editor at a Beijing-based English-language business magazine:
So our magazine is in the midst of going to print, and our cover story, on Chinese African trade, was rather heavily attacked by the censor (who usually leaves us alone). The biggest problem usually is reference to any issue which the foreign press has spoken negatively about (China can't be involved in mining in Africa, despite the fact I'm saying their involvement is a good thing), but also there's a general cluelessness that Western readers will take something very different from a piece of information than a Chinese reader who has been used to half-truths, and generally doesn't follow what happenings in say, Zimbabwe.
So while I wrote a rather positive article (I'm rather optimistic about Chinese-African trade, as I think is pretty much anyone who has done much research on the subject), the censor took out a lot of my positive points, and replaced them with things that sound almost sarcastic.
Outspoken Pelosi stays on topic
From China Daily, which quotes extensively from the Washington Post about US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her green approach over the next eight days in China:
Fu Mengzi, researcher for American studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations said cooperation on global warming and improving energy efficiency was likely to "guide the future development of the two nations and the world".
"Any cooperation on such areas between the two global major economies is of instructional value for the rest of the world," Fu said, adding Pelosi's visit is "meaningful" on the legislative level.
Deng Yujiao tells her story
Deng Yujiao talks to Southern Metropolis Daily. ESWN translates:
Deng Guida then continued to curse: "What do you mean about working here or upstairs? Aren't you all the same? You are a prostitute but you still want to have a good reputation." He also said: "Don't you want money? You have never seen any money! How much money do you want? Just say so. Would you believe if I am going to beat you to death with money today" He took out a wad of money and used it to slap Deng Yujiao in the face and shoulder. At each slap, Deng Yujiao took one step backwards until she was at the edge of the sofa. She said: "Yes, I have never seen money. If you have the guts, you can beat me to death." Deng Guida said: "Indeed I'll beat you to death with money. I am going to summon a truckload of money and squash you to death."
The other massacre of 1989
Black and White Cat compares all of the media attention toward China's anniversary with the largely forgotten episode in Venezuela:
But there was another massacre in 1989; one that few in the English-speaking world have even heard of. In February that year, Venezuelans rose up against a massive rise in fuel prices, part of a package of neoliberal reforms that were the straw that broke the camel's back. The poor protested, rioted and looted, seizing the food and goods that had been denied them and the complacent middle classes and rich took for granted. The uprising became known as the Caracazo and it would turn out to be one of the most significant events of the late 20th Century.
The Venezuelan government responded with extreme violence. It later said 300 people had been killed in the military crackdown, but estimates of the dead go as high as 3,000 - remarkably similar to the casualty range in Beijing. Some troops refused to open fire on their own people. Others were disgusted with what they had been ordered to do. And the poor, though crushed for the time being, remembered.
Wolves return to Inner Mongolia
From AFP / France 24:
Scanning the vast northern China steppe surrounding him, Delger leans on a wooden staff that is his herd's only protection against a lethal enemy that is out there, somewhere.
"They come at night, but you never hear them. When you do hear something, it is the sheep crying out, and by then it's too late," he said.
Delger, 44, has lost six of his 40 sheep in the past two years to stealthy attacks by the wolf packs that roam northern China's Inner Mongolia region.
China "resolutely opposed" to North Korean nuke test
From state-owned news agency Xinhua:
China was resolutely opposed to the nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the Foreign Ministry said here in a statement Monday...
..."The DPRK ignored universal opposition of the international community and once more conducted the nuclear test. The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to it," the statement said.
May 25, 2009
Reading aloud as a response to disaster
Yu Qiuyu responds to a screed printed in a Hong Kong newspaper that attacked his public statements on the Wenchuan Earthquake. ESWN translates:
Several writers in Hong Kong read that essay and told me that the writer must surely be a mainlander because the style can only come from the mainland. I was incensed, but not because it was directed at me. In the whole world, including all those countries which hold bad feelings towards China, nobody thinks that the May 12th earthquake was caused by humans and not by nature. Nobody thinks that the spirit of grand love shown by the Chinese people was just a non-existent "mind-numbing potion."
Consuming raw fish off the streets of rural China
Quincy at Lost Laowai describes encounters with sushi and anti-Japanese sentiment.
Internet habits: China vs. U.S.A.
A graph from BusinessInsider.com that compares Internet use in China and the U.S.
PetroChina could purchase Singapore Petroleum Co.
The Wall Street Journal reports:
PetroChina Co. agreed Sunday to buy a US$1 billion stake in oil refiner Singapore
Petroleum Co. in a move expected to lead to an offer for the entire company.The agreement signals China's continued interest in extending its reach into global natural resources at a time when many resources companies are desperate for cash.
PetroChina will buy 45.5% of publicly listed Singapore Petroleum from Keppel Corp. for about 1.47 billion Singapore dollars, or US$1.02 billion.
Rushing undercurrents always eventually break free
C. Custer at ChinaGeeks translates an article by Woeser on ethnic Tibetan political prisoners.
Small protests for big problems
The Financial Times in China reports about what is happening in terms of protests in recent weeks:
Traffic in Beijing's central business district came to a standstill last Monday. Police cordoned off a 200-metre stretch of busy Guanghua road, plainclothes officers swarmed the street filming bystanders and journalists and security guards in helmets stood in tight rows.
At the centre of the action were three elderly local residents who had taken their stools and sat down in the middle of the road outside their apartment block. The reason for their sit-in: the lift in their building was not working.
An appeal from the US to China
LA Times reports on the Obama administration and their will to enlist Pakistan's allies in order to stabilize the militant country:
China traditionally has been reluctant to intervene in the affairs of other countries. However, Chinese officials are concerned about the militant threat to its west, fearing it could destabilize the region and threaten China's growing economic presence in Pakistan.
A "parkour" look at Beijing
Beijing Parkour, a new city guide, borrows a trendy concept to describe a novel way of looking at the city that includes photos, maps, exploded diagrams, pull-out panoramas, floor-plans, graphs, and other visualizations.
Sexual harassment defined
Using a mobile phone to send "yellow [pornographic] material" can possibly constitute as sexual harassment now.
Disavowing online public opinion
Superstar publisher Lu Jinbo declares his separation from the bigoted, hate-filled comments that attract attention online. In a separate blog post, he summarizes the changes he has brought to Chinese publishing.