If true, very impressive.
26/08/2013
Mooncake Austerity Hits China’s Mid-Autumn Festiva
WSJ: “First baijiu, then red carpets, and now mooncakes. For Chinese government officials, the list of taboos keeps getting longer.
One month before the country celebrates its annual Mid-Autumn Festival, Chinese authorities said Wednesday that they are barring officials from buying mooncakes—a centerpiece of the holiday—as well as giving presents or hosting dinners on the public dime.
Traditionally, mooncakes are gifted (and often re-gifted) as a form of tribute during the festival, exchanged among family members as well as among companies, their clients and employees. “But this kind of polite reciprocity, when overdone, becomes a kind of squandering of cash,” ran an editorial in the People’s Daily on Thursday, praising the mooncake crackdown.
About the size of a hockey puck and traditionally stuffed with anything from red bean paste to salted egg yolk, these days, the once-humble mooncake is barely recognizable. Some are now made of solid gold and others come swathed in pure silk. Such is the luxury nature of some mooncakes that in past years, talk of a “mooncake bubble” circulated, while in 2011, China’s government proposed that workers pay income tax on the value of cakes gifted to them by their employers.
Given the frenetic pace of mooncake gift-giving, they’ve long been seen as an easy vehicle for corruption. Many environmental NGOs have also condemned the modern crop of mooncakes, criticizing their elaborate packaging as wasteful.
This week’s mooncake crackdown is part of a broader attempt to quell anger about public corruption, which in recent years has been stoked by the sight of officials gorging on lavish banquets and indulging in other excesses, including luxury watches and more. Thursday’s editorial in the People’s Daily, for example, cited the anti-mooncake move as part of President Xi Jinping’s effort to educate Party members about the evils of the “Four Winds,” i.e. “formalism, bureaucracy, hedonism and waste.”
On Thursday, some users on Sina Weibo, China’s popular Twitter-like microblogging service, though, were less than impressed. “”The system doesn’t change, these kinds of trivialities aren’t of any use,” wrote one.
Others mourned the idea that the confections were facilitating corruption. “A holiday that was once simple and pure has been transformed by China’s corrupt bureaucracy into something with a different meaning,” wrote another. “How sad.”
Still others took the opportunity to rail against mooncakes in general. Despite the holiday zeal for them, many languish uneaten for weeks after they’ve been gifted. “They’re just a mix of stuff high in fat, high in sugar, and high in additives,” wrote one user.
“They’re not tasty and they’re expensive,” added another. “No wonder that other than during the Mid-Autumn festival, people don’t eat them.””
via Mooncake Austerity Hits China’s Mid-Autumn Festival – China Real Time Report – WSJ.
26/08/2013
China hopes to snatch sales from US with J-31 4th-generation fighter jet
When that happens, China will really be a competitor to US for role of world Superpower.
26/08/2013
China’s Bloggers Rally Around Bo Xilai
BusinessWeek: “Official China has been touting it as a breakthrough for government transparency. But has the decision to live blog the five-day trial of Bo Xilai, which closed Monday, backfired? That’s a relevant question as a flood of support for the charismatic former high-flying princeling has erupted on China’s Internet.
China posted portions of the five days of court proceedings in Jinan, Shandong Province, on Sina Weibo (SINA), China’s largest microblogging site. Chinese checking out the trial online got to see an unusually spirited defense put up by the 64-year-old Bo, the former head of China’s southwestern megalopolis Chongqing who almost made it into the top echelons of the Chinese leadership.
The decision to show the trial online demonstrates an admirable new candor, according to state-run media. “The public hearing and the Weibo broadcasts reflect the transparency and openness of the country’s rule of law,” said a commentary on the website of China’s official party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, on Aug. 22.
STORY: Can Bo Xilai Be China’s Comeback Kid?
But that’s not the takeaway for everyone. Instead, many on the Web have written of a newfound admiration for Bo, who has been charged with bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power (the verdict—likely harsh—will come later, at a time still unspecified),and who fell from official grace last year after a murder perpetrated by his wife came to light.
“I’ve changed my view of him! He is much more gentlemanly than those with power and he really does know the law,” said one tweet by blogger He Jiangbing on Sina Weibo, translated by blog Tea Leaf Nation, which monitors China’s Internet. “This man has remarkable logic, eloquence and memory. As someone who likes smart people, for a moment I almost forgot about his avarice, evilness and ruthlessness,” wrote another microblogger, also on Sina Weibo.
While the decision to tweet key parts of the trial has indeed surprised many, others are less impressed. “The selective postings can only show selective openness and selective justice, and cannot be said to represent the truth,” said Liu Wanqiang, a Guangxi-based journalist, reported the BBC on its website on Aug. 22.
VIDEO: Can Bo Xilai’s Trial Change China’s Government?
In contrast, way back in 1976, the trial of Mao’s widow Jiang Qing, a member of the so-called Gang of Four, was shown live on television for all to view. While few Chinese then had their own TV sets, much of the population gathered communally around televisions to watch and discuss the live proceedings.
Beijing over the past week has launched a crackdown on spreading rumors on the Internet, which some fear will be used to squelch online free speech. Already authorities have announced arrests, including the detention of a muckraking journalist for “criminal fabrication and dissemination of rumors online,” reported the official English language China Daily on Aug. 26. Interestingly, little effort appears to have been made so far to scrub the Internet of the pro-Bo commentary.
“China is a country that respects and protects free speech, but people should also bear in mind that greater online freedom is guaranteed by greater responsibility,” stated the official Xinhua News Agency in a piece calling for greater efforts to police the Web on Aug. 21. “People should maintain moral principles and denounce any activities that harm the reputation and interests of others so as to stop the Internet from decaying into a land of abusive language and rumors.””
26/08/2013
China supports U.N. investigation in Syria, urges caution
China (and Russia) have finally stopped giving President Assad their full support.
(Reuters) – China supports an independent and objective investigation by U.N. experts into allegations of the use of chemical weapons in Syria, China’s foreign minister said on Monday, while urging a cautious response and political resolution to the crisis.
“China has paid close attention to the reports of the use of chemical weapons inside Syria, and China resolutely opposes the use of chemical weapons no matter who uses them,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a statement on the ministry’s website.
“China supports the U.N.’s secretariat to, in accordance with relevant U.N. resolutions, open an independent, objective, fair and professional investigation, to find out what really happened as soon as possible,” Wang said.
U.N. inspectors left central Damascus on Monday to investigate sites of an alleged chemical weapons strike on the outskirts of the Syrian capital, after calls from Western powers for military action to punish what may be the world’s worst chemical attack in 25 years.
Wang did not directly refer to the threats of military action, but urged a careful handling of the matter.
“The only way out for the Syrian issue is a political resolution,” he said. “All parties ought to cautiously handle the Syrian chemical weapons issue to avoid interfering in (efforts) to resolve the Syrian issue politically.”
Syria agreed on Sunday to allow the inspectors to visit the site. But the United States and its allies say evidence has probably been destroyed by heavy government shelling of the area over the past five days. It said the offer to allow inspectors came too late.
Major powers including Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad‘s main ally which has long blocked U.N.-sponsored intervention against him, have urged the Syrian leader to cooperate with U.N. chemical weapons inspectors already in Damascus to pursue earlier allegations.
China said last week that no side should rush to pre-judge the results of any investigation by U.N. chemical weapons experts in Syria, who it said should carry out an objective and impartial inquiry in consultation with the Syrian government.
via China supports U.N. investigation in Syria, urges caution | Reuters.
25/08/2013
Japan tourist visits to Beijing halved amid tensions over islands row
SCMP: The number of Japanese tourists visiting Beijing fell by more than half in the first seven months of the year amid a spike in tensions between the countries, the city’s statistical bureau said Sunday.
Japanese tourist arrivals this year fell to 136,000 up to the end of July, down 53.7 per cent from the same period last year, the bureau said.
The drop follows violent anti-Japanese protests in Beijing and several other Chinese cities in September in response to complaints from the government over Japan’s move to nationalise uninhabited East China Sea islands claimed by China.
Japanese businesses were torched and Japanese-brand cars, most of which are made by Chinese joint venture firms, were smashed and their drivers assaulted.
There were also scattered reports of assaults on Japanese citizens, although none of the attacks were serious.
Tensions remain high between the sides, with their ships conducting regular patrols in waters surrounding the islands, called the Senkakus by Japan and Diaoyu by China. Taiwan also claims the islands and has negotiated an agreement with Tokyo to permit fishing in the area.
The decline in Japanese visitors was part of an overall 13.9 per cent decline in tourist arrivals blamed on the sluggish global economy, as well as a spike in Beijing’s notoriously bad air pollution.
Numbers of tourists from Asian countries fell 25.4 per cent, including a 19.9 per cent fall in visitors from South Korea. Visitors from the Americas fell by just 3.4 per cent.
via Japan tourist visits to Beijing halved amid tensions over islands row | South China Morning Post.
Related articles
- China Summons Japan Ambassador over Shrine Visits (theepochtimes.com)
- China’s military flexes its muscles in the East China Sea amid Japan war shrine tensions (rt.com)
- China Rules Out High-Level Summit with Japan over Island Dispute (voanews.com)
- Japan summons China envoy over ships near disputed isles (channelnewsasia.com)
25/08/2013
Bo Xilai’s trial: Straying from the script
The Economist: “AS REPORTERS gathered in Jinan, the capital of the coastal province of Shandong, none (except perhaps the 19 Chinese journalists who were allowed into the courtroom, presumably because of their organisations’ unquestioning obedience to the Communist Party) had any idea how the authorities would choreograph China’s most sensational trial in decades. Still less did they know how the accused, Bo Xilai, a former member of the Politburo, would play along.
Two other trials related to Mr Bo’s case, that of his wife Gu Kailai and of his one-time police chief, Wang Lijun, suggested that the authorities would reveal only bare details of the proceedings. Those trials were conducted a year ago, before a new leadership came to power in November. Mr Bo’s case was a legacy of the outgoing regime that the incoming party chief, Xi Jinping, would rather not have inherited. But rather than follow the usual secretive pattern Mr Xi (for surely he made the decision) has allowed the court in Jinan to release lengthy transcripts of the hearings. Instead of showing a browbeaten rival meekly accepting allegations of corruption and abuse of power, the transcripts revealed Mr Bo in typical feisty form (see them here, in Chinese).”
via Bo Xilai’s trial: Straying from the script | The Economist.
25/08/2013
Why China Is Better Than You Think
Forbes: “The “imminent” demise of China will have to be postponed…again.
The risk to third quarter growth forecasts in the market are now to the upside.
On Thursday, HSBC’s China Flash PMI data showed a sharp rebound to 50.1 in August from 47.7 in July. Consensus estimates had it rising slightly to 48.2. Today’s manufacturing data is consistent with headline activity indicators such as industrial production, which also recovered in July. It confirms that the economy has stabilized in the short term at least and downside risks seen in the second half of the year have subsided.
Perhaps the best piece of news out of the PMI numbers is that it was driven by domestic demand. New export orders dropped to 46.5 from 47.7 in July, while total new orders rose sharply to 50.5 from 46.6.
Based on this flash PMI, we now see upside risks to our third quarter GDP forecast,” said Nomura Securities senior economist Zhiwei Zhang in Hong Kong. His forecast is for 7.4% growth, declining from the first (7.7%) and second quarters (7.5%).
For the last three years, the Chinese government has been trumpeting its stated goal to move away from its old export-driven export model. China is turning inward. That will come with growing pains as it transitions from a low-cost producer to one that produces value-added, even high end goods made by workers earning middle class incomes who then buy new apartments, cars, refrigerators, and — of course — take trips to south China for Disney and Macao casinos.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenrapoza/2013/08/22/why-china-is-better-than-you-think/
24/08/2013
China’s Rotational Ruler Model
International Policy Digest: “The only system that can be described as similar to the Chinese “once-in-a-decade transition of power” practice in the 21st century is Plato’s rotational ruler model proposed in The Republic— “those who have come through all our practical and intellectual tests with distinction must be brought to their final trial…and when their turn comes they will, in rotation…do their duty as Rulers…when they have brought up successors like themselves to take their place as Guardians, they will depart…” A comparison shows that three common features and two pragmatic variations can be found between the Chinese system and Plato’s ideal. And this system, if well institutionalized, can achieve an advantage that democracy can produce—regular and peaceful handover of authority.
Before coming to power, Hu Jintao, Xi Jinping and many other Politburo members had gone through certain types of party school training programs and been posted in rotation among several local administrative and/or functional ministerial positions as a sort of on-the-job training. Although the Chinese curriculum is not exactly the same as Plato’s mathematics (10 years), dialectic (5 years) and the post-dialectic “military or other office” apprenticeship (15 years), the fundamental principle is the same, namely, that only purposively trained for statecraft people can become rulers of the state.
The second common feature is that the rulers lead the state “in rotation” which in modern terms means “tenure”. In China, as imposed by Deng Xiaoping and subsequently stipulated in the constitution and certain administrative directives, there is a maximum limit of ten years (two terms of five years each) for an officer to hold a particular position. It has been a national anticipation that when the tenure comes to the end, the rulers in Beijing have to step down and retire. Hu Jintao’s complete retirement from both the state presidency and chairmanship of the party’s Central Military Commission in 2012 indicates that the practice has been institutionalized.
One of the main duties of the rulers is to bring up, assess and select their successors. Here is the third common feature between the Chinese system and Plato’s ideal. The selection of rulers is in no doubt arbitrary but there have been some signs of institutionalization in place. Firstly, it is supposed to be on merit. It has been generally expected that the selected rulers should have good track record in heading at least two provincial governments. Secondly, age is a strict requirement for consideration. Thirdly, like Plato’s “final trial,” the two leading candidates have to serve five years in the Politburo for final assessment before formal assumption of the top posts of state president and premier respectively. So far, authority has been handed over to the persons without kinship to their predecessors. It seems meritocracy is working.
The arrangement that potential rulers are openly recruited in China can be deemed as the first pragmatic variation from Plato’s ideal. While Plato proposes a caste system for his “Guardian herd,” Chinese Communist Party membership is open to all citizens. It provides socio-political upward mobility opportunity to the general public, which is in line with the functional purpose of the two thousand years long Chinese tradition of civil service examination system. The satisfaction of the national aspiration for socio-political mobility through open and fair competition is a key factor for social stability, and even legitimacy.
Nevertheless, the second pragmatic variation from the Platonic model that the Chinese rulers are allowed to hold private property and have family has become the source of rampant corruption. Plato, who understood the weakness of human greed, explicitly prohibited his ideal rulers from having private property and family. Unfortunately, it is impractical and unrealistic. Therefore, it will be a great challenge for Xi Jinping to strike a balance between private property ownership and the declaration of his assets so as to put corruption under control.
The present political succession system in China can be viewed as a pragmatic and experimental implementation of Plato’s ideal in a large scale that it has been institutionalized as a huge human resources management system for public administration, political training as well as selection of helmsmen as rulers.”
via China’s Rotational Ruler Model — International Policy Digest.
23/08/2013
Is China’s Space Program Shaping a Celestial Empire?
Space.com: “China is pressing forward on its human space exploration plans, intent on establishing an international space station and, experts say, harnessing the technological muscle to launch its astronauts to the moon.
Highlighting China’s intent, the country is working with the United Nations to stage a major workshop on human space technology, to be held Sept. 16-20 in Beijing.
The meeting is organized jointly by the U.N. Office for Outer Space Affairs and the China Manned Space Agency, co-organized by the International Academy of Astronautics and hosted by the China Manned Space Agency.”
via Is China’s Space Program Shaping a Celestial Empire? | Space.com.
Related articles
- China: Space Program And Strategy – Analysis (eurasiareview.com)
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 