Must-read China news by Danwei

Shelly Kraicer writes again about Chinese cinema, this time, a critique of Lu Chuan's City of Life and Death:

The film’s structure, though, seems oddly schizophrenic: the opening sections depict, with vigour and admirable clarity, skirmishes surrounding the Imperial Japanese Army’s attack on Nanjing, its entry into the city, and the resistance it encountered by a heroic band of Nationalist Chinese soldiers. These scenes are handled with formal panache, but stay well within a hybrid style derived from (1) Spielbergian Saving Private Ryan-style (1998) battle fetishization, making chaotic, unimaginable violence accessible to a mass market by giving “realism” for an audience that largely has no idea what a war looks like; and (2) heroic Chinese martyr cinema, producing larger-than life heroic types (in this case box-office star and local heartthrob Liu Ye) who encapsulate a standard set of virtues and who die violently to save the nation.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 5:35 PM | Permalink

Top News reports that Internet "porn" crackdown has resulted in thousands of arrests (allegedly reported):

As shared by the officials on Thursday, the latest figures say that the crackdown on internet porn has now led to 5,394 arrests and registering of 4,186 criminal case investigations over the past year, which is an increase of about 4 times when compared with such cases recorded for 2008.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 5:29 PM | Permalink

Law professor Jerome A. Cohen on CNN.com:

Two major criminal cases in one week -- one resulting in an execution, the other a lengthy prison sentence -- have focused new foreign attention on China's judiciary. They are vivid reminders of the limits that China's Communist Party-dominated legal system imposes on the government's efforts to impress the world by its "soft power": its political, cultural and economic influence.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 2:06 PM | Permalink

From The Wall Street Journal:

Xinhua is set to enter the world of 24-hour television news as it launches its TV network CNC Friday aimed at an overseas audience.

But the state-run news agency has to think hard about how to compete while avoiding becoming too much like its rivals, both at home and abroad.

“We will provide international news with a Chinese perspective and Chinese news with a global perspective for an overseas audience, operate based on market rules, but will prevent commercial interest from eroding media responsibility, and we oppose turning news into entertainment”, says Li Congjun, the ministry-level agency’s head.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 9:39 AM | Permalink

Reuters reports on four more heroin smugglers and their possible executions:

The four were among nine people arrested over 144.5 kg (318.6 pounds) of heroin found by police in Shenzhen, the far southern Chinese commercial city next to Hong Kong, in August, the Beijing-backed Ta Kung Pao newspaper reported.

"Under Chinese law they may face the most extreme penalty," said the report, which cited Shenzhen officials.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 12:29 PM | Permalink

In The Standard, a competitor of the South China Morning Post:

The South China Morning Post yesterday axed 35 editorial and design department staff and closed its Bangkok office.

The move came three days before staff, whose salaries were reduced by 5 to 12 percent in March, were to have the cuts reinstated, prompting unionist legislator Lee Cheuk-yan to describe the payments as "blood money."...

...An analyst at an Asian brokerage said the group turned in a lackluster performance. "First, the pickup in the print media is not quick enough because advertising revenue thrives only after the economy fully recovers. The second thing has to do with competition, because The Standard has become very competitive since going free," the analyst said.

At the end of June, the group had 885 employees compared with 943 at the end of last year. According to the Hong Kong Audit Bureau of Circulation, the SCMP's circulation last year was 9 percent down from 2001.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 11:51 AM | Permalink

The Guardian reports on the next move of Hu Shuli of Caijing fame:

One of China's most independent editors today announced that she had taken the reins at a prominent general news magazine two months after splitting with a former publication over budget control and self-censorship.

Hu Shuli, who won plaudits for pushing the boundaries of media freedom in China, has become the executive editor of New Century News, a statement from her company, Caixin Media, said.

Most of the staff from Caijing, her former publication, have joined her. The first edition under their stewardship is expected to come out on 4 January.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:33 AM | Permalink

Cfensi directs to some reggae courtesy of Chinese rocker Xie Tianxiao (谢天笑).

On Dec 24th Xie Tian Xiao (incidentally also from Shandong for those keeping tally) gave his fans a memorable Christmas Eve, coinciding with the release of his new EP Chinese Zither Reggae Vol 1, with four new songs. XTX, who started off grunge, influenced by Bob Marley later became fascinated with reggae, and incorporated it into his latter albums. In this new EP he blended in zither instruments like the Gu Qin to create a style of “Chinese reggae”. A full album of “Chinese Zither Reggae” is in the works to be released later.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 11:12 AM | Permalink

Bob Chen at Global Voices Online has translated some reactions to the death of Akmal Shaikh:

Today when the British drug dealer violated the law on our land, we can openly and rightfully punish him without any mercy. We don't need to follow the order of others any more. This shows that China can be unhappy, and the consequence of provoking China is serious.

The Wall Street Journal also has a piece called China's Papers, Web Users Hail Briton's Execution.

Posted by Alice Xin Liu at 10:48 AM | Permalink

Xinhua:

China is set to issue regulations to remove hepatitis B check from physical examination for school entrance and work, according to the Ministry of Health.

Mao Qunan, a spokesman with the ministry, said here Tuesday that the move was based on related organizations' thorough demonstration in regard to whether hepatitis B carriers will affect other people's health.

However, Mao said restrictions will still exist in jobs that may induce hepatitis B virus transmission such as blood sampling.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 9:32 AM | Permalink

John Kennedy at Global Voices has translated telephone interviews recently conducted by Beijing Film Academy professor Cui Weiping about Liu Xiaobo.

The respondents are intellectuals living in the Mainland. Cui has been publishing their responses on her Twitter feed.

Liu was sentenced on December 25 to 11 years in prison for his role in the creation and circulation of Charter 08.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 9:23 AM | Permalink

Wen Tao in The Global Times:

More than 20 hemophiliacs and their relatives gathered at the headquarters of the state pharmaceutical group, petitioning for a compensation package for a 15-year old blood contamination scandal. Conflicts Tuesday with police officers resulted in at least three people being hospitalized.

In 1995, Factor VIII-related Antigen (Factor 8), a hemophilia drug manufactured by the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products (SIBP), was alleged to cause AIDS, hepatitis B or C. The state health authorities issued an emergency notice to ban such products nationwide in the same year...

...Petitioners asked Sinopharm to work out a compensation package by April 2010. Before that, they wanted the company to reimburse their living costs in Beijng for the past month, and give each patient 1,000 yuan ($146.4) and six units of Factor 8 for them to get through the next four months.

Sinopharm turned down the requests and said they are willing to offer each patient 5,000 yuan ($732) in the name of "consolation money" for the New Year.

"They won't pay the money right away in their office, telling us we can only get the money through Red Cross organizations. Obliviously, they want the public to think they are being charitable rather than compensating us for the faults they have made. That's ridiculous," Li said.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 9:23 AM | Permalink

Jane Macartney of The Times:

Few Chinese were even aware of the execution of Akmal Shaikh yesterday...

...Some debate emerged on the internet, the only free medium for discussion in China, with most comments questioning why a convicted drug smuggler should receive mercy just because he was foreign.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 9:15 AM | Permalink

Mobinode's Lu Gang looks at the current state and prognosis for China's video sharing websites.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 12:01 PM | Permalink

From the Wall Street Journal:

Google Inc. is expected to face off with the first Chinese writer to sue the company for its efforts to create a vast digital library of books at a court hearing in Beijing Tuesday.

Shanghai-based novelist Mian Mian, whose work has been translated for overseas readers and who is known for writing stories about China’s underworld and other risqué themes (one of her books is called “Panda Sex”, is suing Google for an apology and 61,000 yuan ($8,921) for publishing part of her novel, Acid Lover.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 11:51 AM | Permalink

Danwei interviews Guardian environment correspondent Jonathan Watts who attended the Copenhagen climate change summit about the meeting and its aftermath.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 9:27 AM | Permalink

From The China Daily:

The country's first national Internet TV was launched yesterday by China Central Television (CCTV) - the national broadcaster - in the latest foray into new media by traditional media.

China Network Television (CNTV.cn) offers programs on news, sports and entertainment as well as an online community network and video-on-demand services...

...The website, which reportedly received 200 million yuan ($29.4 million) in government investment, is expected to generate stiff competition to popular domestic sites and some mainstream media as well.

CCTV's move comes after recent government efforts to shut down more than 500 file- and video-sharing websites for pirated and porn content.

The crackdown followed a regulation issued by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) and the Ministry of Information Industry in December last year, requiring video websites in China to obtain a government license. The applicants must be either State-owned or State-controlled companies.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 8:35 AM | Permalink

From The Shanghai Daily:

A helicopter dropped a US$4 million ransom payment yesterday onto the deck of a Chinese coal ship hijacked by Somali pirates in mid-October, a pirate source on board the vessel said.

The De Xin Hai and its 25 crew were carrying about 76,000 tons of coal from South Africa to Mundra in India when it was seized in an audacious attack by the gunmen some 1,120 kilometers east of the Horn of Africa.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 11:48 AM | Permalink

From The Financial Times:

China streaked ahead of its western and Asian rivals at the weekend by unveiling the world’s fastest long-distance passenger train service.

The Harmony express raced 1,100km in less than three hours on Saturday, travelling from Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, to the central city of Wuhan. The journey previously took at least 11 hours.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 11:14 AM | Permalink

China Digital Times has translated parts of a China Youth Daily story:

Zhu Liangcai (朱良才), Secretary of the Zhoukou Communist Youth League Committee:

“The reason we don’t use our true identity while communicating with netizens is because by not revealing our identity we allow them to feel our mutual equality, and avoid creating a feeling of opposition. At the same time the work can be smoothly accomplished without revealing what goes on behind the scenes; this achieves very good results.”

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 11:04 AM | Permalink

From The China Daily:

A government minister who lost his job over last year's tainted baby formula scandal has been appointed deputy head of a department leading China's war on porn.

Li Changjiang, 65, former head of the top quality agency, is now vice-director of the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications.

He was in Jiangsu province for his first campaign last Thursday and Friday, said a report in Southern Metropolis Daily yesterday.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 11:01 AM | Permalink

From The China Daily:

Legend has it that Cao Cao, King Wu of Wei kingdom in the Three Kingdoms period (AD 208 to 280), had built 72 tombs to thwart tomb raiders.

Experts, however, have always doubted this, believing it was more a fabrication that reflected Cao's political cunning as portrayed in the classic Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Now, they have come up with solid evidence to prove it wrong.

Archaeological officials confirmed yesterday the discovery of Cao's mausoleum in Xigaoxue, a village in Anyang county of Henan province, which, much to the surprise of many, was indeed built as austerely as recorded in historical archives.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 10:59 AM | Permalink

Niall Ferguson in The Financial Times:

I am trying to remember now where it was, and when it was, that it hit me. Was it during my first walk along the Bund in Shanghai in 2005? Was it amid the smog and dust of Chonqing, listening to a local Communist party official describe a vast mound of rubble as the future financial centre of south-west China? That was last year, and somehow it impressed me more than all the synchronised razzamatazz of the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing. Or was it at Carnegie Hall only last month, as I sat mesmerised by the music of Angel Lam, the dazzlingly gifted young Chinese composer who personifies the Orientalisation of classical music? I think maybe it was only then that I really got the point about this decade, just as it was drawing to a close: that we are living through the end of 500 years of western ascendancy.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 10:33 AM | Permalink

In BusinessWeek:

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the government will cool property prices, resist pressure for the yuan to appreciate and keep inflation at “reasonable” levels.

“Property prices have risen too quickly in some areas and we should use taxes and loan interest rates to stabilize” them, Wen said yesterday in an online interview with the official Xinhua News Agency. China will “absolutely not yield” to calls for currency gains, he said.

Posted by Jeremy Goldkorn at 8:35 AM | Permalink