Must-read China news by Danwei

From The Financial Times:

One of South Africa’s biggest financial institutions is borrowing $1bn from a group of Chinese banks, in a move which reflects the scarcity of credit in traditional capital markets and growing links between South Africa and the bigger emerging economies.

Standard Bank, which sold 20 per cent of its equity to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China two years ago, said it was the first time that it had tapped the Asian market. “There is absolutely no way we could raise this kind of money from western banks,” said Jacko Maree, Standard Bank’s chief executive. “You could not do it at any price.”

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 5:02 PM | Permalink

At China Heritage Quarterly, Sang Ye and Geremie R. Barmé look back at some of the momentous National Days of the past as China gears up for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic:

Recalling these National Days and providing an overview of the kinds of military parades and mass marches organized by the Party-state over the years offers a perspective on the changing official priorities of socialist China. As the state marks time with slogans, meetings, political movements and orchestrated expressions of mass will, it is through the National Day celebrations over the past sixty years that one can gauge the unsteady biorhythms of the nation-state. Just as the clamour of celebration indicates the formal nature of state power, silences and absences have other stories to tell, the tenor of which is frequently hard to discern.

More National Day goodies at The China Beat.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 4:42 PM | Permalink

At the White House, replete with photos.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 12:14 PM | Permalink

On Han chauvinism, from John Kennedy at Global Voices Online:

In fact, Han in many places in Xinjiang don't just discriminate against Uighurs, but don't even see them as human. For example, six years ago I was in Xinjiang on a business trip. I was standing on Yan'an Nan Road in Ürümqi trying to get a taxi, and one Uighur girl came up next to me and was trying to get a taxi too. It always takes a long time to get a cab in Ürümqi in the winter. We were freezing and finally when one empty cab did pull up, it went right past that girl and stopped right in front of me. Strange, I thought, and after I got in I asked the driver why he didn't stop for the girl. The (Han) driver said: we don't pick up those leatherhats (Uighurs). I asked why. He said once he picked up an Uighur who gave him fake money, so I asked if he'd ever had Han customers who gave him fake money. He said he had.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:27 AM | Permalink

Dan Chung makes a video about home-made submarines for The Guardian.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 10:50 AM | Permalink

China Digital Times notices that both Austin Ramzy and Evan Osnos have blogged about local shops getting taken over by the sex industry.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 7:38 AM | Permalink

At China Elections, He Ron and Jason Kyriakides look at "My Campaign for Secretary of the Party Committee," an episode of CCTV Focus Interview that examined direct elections in Nanjing.

Before the election, the two candidates conducted interviews with residents, street sweepers and Party members in order to know the specific problems of the community. During the election, both of them first presented a speech. In his speech, Chen emphasized his experience as a Party member for over 20 years, and his rejection of running for "reputation or promotion." Zhao emphasized his youth and energy, his experience working for street-level and community-level organizations, and his education. Following the speeches, there came the Q and A section. Party members posted questions concerning the construction of the community for both of the candidates. Later on, the votes were counted and called out, and the election was a victory for incumbent Chen.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 7:33 AM | Permalink

The lead editorial in the most recent issue of New Weekly takes the Qixian cobalt-60 scare as a starting point for a look at how local governments fail to make use of the Internet as a communication tool.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 11:25 AM | Permalink

A letter signed by an organization called the Global Chinese-Kokang United Alliance calls for Chinese volunteers to follow earlier generations in taking up arms to save Kokang from the brutal rule of Burmese government:

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 11:23 AM | Permalink

From The China Daily:

China and the US will work together on $12.38-billion of agreements and contracts - including the largest solar power project between the two countries - deals that illuminate the healthy state of bilateral trade ties.

The 41 projects ... were signed in the presence of China's National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Wu Bangguo while he attended the one-day US-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 10:28 AM | Permalink

At the China Media Project, David Bandurski introduces and translates a Guangzhou Daily editorial on "public opinion channeling":

The watchdog function of the press may affect the interests of a particular area, office or enterprise in the short term. But in the longer run, this influence of public opinion will be beneficial to overall interests. Regrettably, many people still persist in believing that the responsibility for a poor image lies with the media, and with the news report itself . . .

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 12:50 PM | Permalink

Three Hong Kong reporters say they were beat up in Xinjiang. Hou Hanmin, director of the Xinjiang Autonomous Regional Information Office, responded with accusations that two of them lacked proper press passes, and that "something that everybody doesn't want to see took place." ESWN rounds up reports on the Hong Kong media's indignant response: "this is completely fabricated with trumped up charges."

Update (2009.09.11): ESWN translates a Yazhou Zhoukan article on the press conference, to which the press organizations whose journalists were beaten were not invited.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 12:01 PM | Permalink

Teo Cheng Wee blogs at the Straits Times about political nicknames in the the Malaysian Chinese Association's leadership tussle:

The fiery face-off between MCA's top two leaders has provided much fodder for the Chinese press, which dedicate pages of coverage to the contest daily. It is often serious, but sometimes irreverent - and that is where the cheeky fun comes in.

In fact, as the saga has developed, cooking metaphors seem to be the order of the day. This is, after all, a party which has become synonymous with the "cai dan" (Mandarin for "menu").

The "cai dan" is a list of preferred candidates for different posts, endorsed by an MCA leader or its influential members, during the party's internal elections.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 11:24 AM | Permalink

GoChengdoo.com translates a story from their region about a Chengdu bus-driver who has a reclining easy-chair:

Imagine for a moment, you're in a reclining position, face up, your upper body forming a 125 degree angle with your thighs. Would you dare to drive like this? On September 4, Chengdu resident Mr. Liu was on a public bus when he saw such a driver. "This is irresponsible and is an enormous threat to the safety of passengers." The startled Mr. Liu used his cell phone to record a video of the scene before his eyes.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 12:15 PM | Permalink

Wu Bangguo meets Fidel Castro. From the China Daily.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:39 AM | Permalink

From the Associated Press:

The death toll from an explosion at an illegal coal mine in central China rose to 42 Wednesday with another 37 men still trapped with little hope for survival.

A statement on the State Administration of Work Safety's Web site did not give a reason for the pre-dawn explosion Tuesday in Henan province. It said 14 miners fled to safety. There were 93 men working underground at the time.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:18 AM | Permalink

Black and White Cat explains what those strange blue-shrouded vehicles labeled with a the name of a non-existent industrial conglomerate were doing in Beijing in April: they were testing the integrity of the roadways that tanks and missiles will parade down come October 1.

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 9:53 AM | Permalink

deerawn translates a couple of essays posted to the Utopia BBS by young true-believers:

I argued back, not wanting to show any weakness. Another classmate looked up at me, regarding me as if I had just landed from outerspace. "You think you understand history? Try looking outside of a Party history book. How can you believe everything the party says?"

I suddenly realized I was surrounded. I had no allies in the debate. Everyone was forgetting the sacrifices of Party members that had fought against the Japanese, while praising the brave Nationalists. So, this is the new generation, the hope of our nation....

Posted by Joel Martinsen at 9:48 AM | Permalink

For Foreign Policy magazine, April Rabkin writes about her time as an English editor at Caijing magazine, as well as its financial backers and how they affect policy changes:

So when the magazine tightened the breadth of its coverage at the end of July, it was not the editorial side but the purse strings calling for caution. The source of the pressure, Caijing reporters told me, was the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the party-led organization of businessmen that holds the magazine's publishing license. The change was passed down matter-of-factly at routine weekly meetings in July, sandwiched in along with the news budget. Many desk editors told reporters they wouldn't be running any politically controversial stories — indefinitely.

For more background on Hu Shuli and Caijing, see "The Forbidden Zone," by Evan Osnos in the July 20, 2009 issue of The New Yorker (subscription required).

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:49 AM | Permalink

For the New York Times Jonathan Ansfield reports on new but seemingly ineffective Web regulations that may affect Internet regulations in the future:

But in early August, without notification of a change, news portals like Sina, Netease, Sohu and scores of other sites began asking unregistered users to sign in under their real names and identification numbers, said top editors at two of the major portals affected. A Sina staff member also confirmed the change.

The editors said the sites were putting into effect a confidential directive issued in late July by the State Council Information Office, one of the main government bodies responsible for supervising the Internet in China.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:34 AM | Permalink

Kathrin Hille in the Washington Post on the tension surrounding Wang Lequan (王乐泉) after the syringe attacks in Xinjiang:

When the Zhang family's more than 150 wedding guests gathered at the Phoenix Hall restaurant in Urumqi on Saturday night, there was one main topic of conversation: Will he stay or will he go?

The person in question was not the groom but Wang Lequan, the regional Communist Party chief.

Wang's position as the strongman ruling Xinjiang, a multiethnic region in western China, had been uncontested for 15 years.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:10 AM | Permalink

From the China Daily:

They also vowed to give syringe attackers harsh punishment according to the law, ranging from three years in prison to life sentence or even death penalty.

"The officials will go door to door to explain policies and solve disputes," said Wang Lequan, secretary of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Regional Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) late Sunday.

The regional government had earlier sent 1,500 such officials and police officers to communities densely populated by Uygurs in wake of a deadly riot on July 5.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 10:50 AM | Permalink