Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou faces billion-yuan lawsuit over children | South China Morning Post
Top Chinese film director Zhang Yimou is facing a billion-yuan lawsuit after violating the country’s controversial one-child policy, state media reported on Friday.
Zhang’s case has brought renewed debate over what critics say is the selective enforcement of China’s late-1970s family-planning law, which restricts most couples to one child but is frequently flouted by the wealthy and well-connected.
Two lawyers filed a lawsuit Thursday in the eastern Chinese city of Wuxi, the hometown of Zhang’s wife, suing the director of Red Sorghum and Raise the Red Lantern for a total of one billion yuan (HK$1.26 billion).
“The rich have become increasingly audacious by violating the family planning policy just because they are rich enough to pay the fine … and they take an extra share of resources from society,” one of the lawyers, Jia Fangyi, said in a statement reported by state-run newspaper China Daily.
“It’s unfair to the poor and those who strictly follow the national policy,” he added
The two lawyers are claiming 500 million yuan in “compensation for public resources” and another 500 million yuan in punitive damages, the China Daily said.
Zhang, one of China’s best-known filmmakers and the director of the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, had faced rumours for months that he had fathered as many as seven children with several different women.
Amid increasing pressure – including a Nanjing newspaper’s publication last month of a front-page “wanted” poster seeking information on his whereabouts – Zhang finally issued an apology on Sunday through his studio’s microblogging account.
He acknowledged that he has two sons and a daughter with his current wife, as well as another daughter with his ex-wife.
Chinese media reports have speculated that Zhang could face a penalty as high as 160 million yuan (over $25 million), but authorities have not released any figures.
via Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou faces billion-yuan lawsuit over children | South China Morning Post.
China’s reformed govt assessment hailed as landmark |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn
China\’s official evaluation system has abandoned GDP-obsessed assessments and puts more emphasis on public well-being and the environment.
\”It\’s a historical turning point that shows solid steps to deepen reform,\” said Wang Yukai, professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, who believes the new system will help CPC members do a better job.
Gross regional product and its growth will no longer be the main determinants of local administrators\’ success or failure, according to a circular on improving evaluation of local authorities, released on Monday.
The GDP growth has been the major index for assessing local performance for many years and has led to blind pursuit of growth by some local authorities at the cost of the environment and residents\’ livelihoods.
The document issued by the Organization Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, gives greater emphasis to indices related to the waste of resources, environmental protection, excess capacity and production safety. Evaluation of scientific innovation, education, culture, employment, social insurance and health should all be encouraged, it said.
The new assessment regime will make use of indices of sustainable economic development, quality of life, social harmony and ecological protection, said Xie Chuntao, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.
The circular echoes a key reform decision made by the CPC Central Committee last month, part of which vowed to improve the evaluation system.
via China’s reformed govt assessment hailed as landmark |Politics |chinadaily.com.cn.
Chinese tax bureau admits to keeping personal pleasure resorts | South China Morning Post
Taxmen in Heilongjiang province were discovered to be keeping at least two luxury mountain resorts and a farm, built with taxpayers’ funds, that supplied a private cache of fresh meat and produce to officials.
The resorts were reportedly built as a retreat for retired officials of Mudanjiang city’s tax bureau. One resort, located on a mountain more than 10 kilometres northwest from downtown, was opulently furnished and built with expensive wood. It featured several villas.
The premises also featured an animal farm along with a large greenhouse for vegetables. A manager of the resort told Xinhua news agency that the property had two functions: to be a place where tax officials can rest and enjoy leisure, and to supply “green” and “safe” vegetables and meat exclusively to the bureau.
Staff at the farm, which was publicly funded, were not allowed to sell the produce elsewhere.
via Chinese tax bureau admits to keeping personal pleasure resorts | South China Morning Post.
Beijing to buy new buses to clear city smog: media | Reuters
China\’s capital Beijing, regularly shrouded in hazardous air pollution, plans to replace its oil-burning buses with greener models by 2017 to help clear the smog, state news agency Xinhua said.
Nearly 14,000 new buses powered by electricity or natural gas will be bought to replace two-thirds of Beijing\’s bus fleet and halve carbon emissions, Xinhua said on Thursday, citing the city\’s environment and transportation authorities.
Air pollution in Beijing hit unprecedented levels in January when an index measuring particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) shot up to a staggering 755 – 38 times the level recommended by the World Health Organisation.
China\’s worsening air quality is a result of it chasing economic growth at all cost in the past 30 years, a pursuit that turned it into the world\’s second-biggest economy, but which also poisoned much of its air, water and soil.
Rising public concern over the health dangers of China\’s air pollution has worried its stability-obsessed leaders, who fear the issue may become a rallying point for wider dissatisfaction.
China has adopted an emergency response program to try to reduce the pollution, including alternating days for cars with odd and even license plates to be on the road and closing schools when the smog is particularly heavy.
via Beijing to buy new buses to clear city smog: media | Reuters.
Nanjing Massacre memorials to be held |Society |chinadaily.com.cn
A man is pictured in front of a wall at the memorial hall of the victims in Nanjing massacre by Japanese invaders in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Dec 12, 2013. 
NANJING – A series of memorials will be held on Thursday and Friday in the city of Nanjing to mark the 76th anniversary of a massacre that claimed the lives of 300,000 Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers.
Nanjing witnessed mass murder, genocide and war rape following the Japanese capture of the city in December 13, 1937, during World War II.
Memorial events will include a candlelight vigil, a prayer assembly for peace, as well as press conferences and seminars, according to Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Nanjing Massacre Hall.
As part of this year\’s event, a report on protection of survivors\’ oral histories of the atrocity will be presented and a Sino-U.S. collaborative project on oral history studies will be announced, Zhu announced.
\”This is about expressing sorrow for those perished, and more importantly reminding people to remember history and to cherish peace,\” he said.
Meanwhile, two survivors, 82-year-old Wang Jin and 89-year-old Cen Honggui, will leave for Japan to attend Nanjing Massacre testimony gatherings on invitation from Japanese non-governmental organizations.
Held every year since August, 1994, this activity has seen a total of 47 Chine
via Nanjing Massacre memorials to be held |Society |chinadaily.com.cn.
Apple’s Deals With Top Carriers in Japan, China May Spur iPhone Sales – Businessweek
As Apple (AAPL) and Samsung (005930:KS) rumble for leadership in the global smartphone market, the Korean electronics giant has enjoyed a big advantage. In China and Japan, Asia’s two biggest economies, Samsung had deals with the No. 1 mobile operators to sell its handsets—and Apple didn’t. Despite years of trying, the maker of the iPhone couldn’t win over China Mobile (941:HK) or Japan’s NTT Docomo (9437:JP). The two carriers have 821 million customers combined.
Apple’s Asia handicap may soon be a thing of the past. In Japan, Docomo began offering the iPhone in September. Meanwhile, Apple Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook’s shuttle diplomacy may be about to bear fruit in China. Although iPhones don’t work on China Mobile’s homegrown 3G standard, they do on the LTE technology the operator plans to use for its 4G service, which it will likely roll out by early 2014.
The timing of Apple’s breakthroughs in Japan and China is no coincidence. Because of their longtime dominance in their home markets, neither China Mobile nor Docomo felt the need to make concessions to offer the iPhone. Yet smaller rivals, such as China Unicom and SoftBank (9984:JP), that have inked deals with Apple are capitalizing on the iPhone’s popularity to woo customers.
via Apple’s Deals With Top Carriers in Japan, China May Spur iPhone Sales – Businessweek.
How Do You Say ‘Gym Rat’ in Chinese? – Businessweek
Yang Lei’s tight black T-shirt shows off his admirably bulging biceps. The chiseled 29-year-old is the head personal trainer at the Beijing Hujialou branch of Impulse Fitness, one of China’s top three fitness chains. A floor of weight machines and a lap pool—the latter surrounded by white marble columns—occupy the basement level of an upscale new residential complex. In recent years, as Chinese fitness chains have sought ways to transform working out from a niche interest to a mainstream pursuit in the world’s most populous country, it’s become increasingly common for gym franchises to strike deals with residential developers. “More people are starting to put health on their list of top priorities,” says Yang.
Personal trainer assisting and correcting a client during a fitball stretching exercise Category:Fitness Category:Fitness_training Category:Personal_training (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
When Yang was born in 1984, commercial gyms were all but unheard of in China. The first domestic and international fitness chains began to make slow inroads in the 1990s. By the time Yang graduated from high school in the early 2000s, it seemed a logical choice to enroll at Tianjin Physical Education University to study for a new profession in China: becoming a full-time personal trainer. In wealthy cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, it’s now a fairly lucrative gig. Trainers typically charge between $35 and $200 an hour—fees that they split with club management. Of course, hustling also is part of the job. As Yang puts it, “A coach is not only a coach, but a salesperson.”
Finding clients has become much easier in China’s leading metropolises as more young professionals hit the gym. Lawrence Fang, a 31-year-old journalist in Beijing, goes to the gym three times a week, alternating yoga and weightlifting, and says his aims are “health and trying to look good.” He Ping, a 35-year-old engineer, works out with a personal trainer in Beijing for 250 renminbi ($40) an hour because “a good instructor will help me form good habits.” And a petite 32-year-old reporter, who declined to give her name, says she started hitting the gym regularly a few years ago after her foreign boyfriend teased her for “only getting exercise in bed.” All three said the most important factor in choosing a gym was convenience—ideally a location next to their home or office.
Guess What? The U.S. and China Don’t Trust Each Other Much – Businessweek
And the Chinese trust Americans even less. That’s the conclusion of the U.S.-China Security Perceptions Survey (PDF) released on Dec. 11 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Beijing-based research organization China Strategic Culture Promotion Association (CSCPA). “There is a low level of strategic trust between the United States and China, which could make bilateral relations more turbulent,” warns the survey.
Working with the Pew Research Center and the Research Center for Contemporary China at Peking University, as well as the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Carnegie-CSCPA survey canvassed the general public and elites in government, business, academia, the military, and the media last year. In the U.S., it surveyed 1,004 adults among the general public and 305 elites. In China, it canvassed 2,597 adults in urban areas and 358 elites.
The tendency among the general public to label the other country an outright enemy was encouragingly low; only 15 percent of Americans and 12 percent of Chinese believe that. Notable, however, was the comparative lack of trust shown by Chinese elites, with 27 percent viewing the U.S. as a foe, compared with just 2 percent of American elites saying that about China.
via Guess What? The U.S. and China Don’t Trust Each Other Much – Businessweek.
Could a Shanghai Exodus Be in the Air? – China Real Time Report – WSJ
China’s effort to turn Shanghai into a global financial center came under a cloud this month—or, rather, under a choking blanket of smog that has affluent residents talking about bolting.
English: Shanghai Smog (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
As Wei Gu writes in this week’s The People’s Money column:
China’s pollution problem is spreading and growing worse, a fact on stark display last week in Shanghai, the country’s financial center. A stretch of filthy-air days in that coastal city so thoroughly shocked residents—who had largely escaped the smog that has long plagued the likes of Beijing and Harbin—that it inspired fresh talk about getting away from China.
Over the past century, migration has almost always been driven by a desire to get ahead. But today more affluent Chinese are talking about accepting a climb-down on the career ladder and a less-exciting lifestyle in exchange for cleaner air, safer food and a different education system.
via Could a Shanghai Exodus Be in the Air? – China Real Time Report – WSJ.
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