FEATURED ARTICLE
The Kunming Train Station Attack: A Hypothesis (March 9, 2014, East by Southeast)
According to a Uighur resident of Kunming interviewed for the article, the attackers were most likely asylum seekers from Xinjiang with plans to escape to Laos via Yunnan. They left their home in Hotans Hanerik Township after a police crackdown last year. However, their plans hit a snag in October 2013 when Yunnan authorities arrested over 100 Uighurs, with over 30 were caught in Mohan on the China-Laos border.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Five Ways China Spies (March 6, 2014, The National Interest)
Here are five important and unmistakably familiar ways that China collects foreign intelligence.
How Much Does Xi Make a Year? The Surprising Answer (March 7, 2014, Tea Leaf Nation)
Based on available information, if Chinese President Xi Jinping were to decide to buy a 100-square-meter (about 1,080-square-foot) two-bedroom apartment in central Beijing, it would set him back almost $1 million at current prices. That means Xi, who by all appearances draws a nominal annual salary of about $20,000, would have to toil for 50 years as Chinas top leader to afford this modest property assuming, that is, that he and his family didnt pay for any other living expenses during that time.
China's Xi Jinping: What has he achieved in his first year? (March 9, 2014, BBC)
In a year, the confident Mr Xi has made remarkable strides. He is sitting at the forefront of the country's most ambitious economic and social reform plan in decades. China also has a new vision in the form of Mr Xi's "China dream", the idea that Chinese citizens can attain national glory if they work as a collective. A campaign to eliminate government waste and bureaucracy makes daily headlines. But not all President Xi's changes are positive.
China detains Uighur AIDS activist amid crackdown (March 10, 2014, Reuters)
China has arrested a Uighur AIDS activist for endangering national security, a health advocacy group said, in the latest sign of the government's crackdown in the troubled far western region of Xinjiang, home to the largely Muslim Uighur people. Akbar Imin was detained in Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi, on January 15, the same day that prominent Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti was held by police in Beijing, the Aizhixing Institute said in a statement seen by Reuters on Monday.
Chinese politics : The brains of the party (March 10, 2014, Analects)
On purely practical terms, more independent organisations have great difficulty fitting into the schema of Chinese policymaking. They have less access to information than their counterparts in less secretive systems, meaning their recommendations often lack operationability, as one party insider put it. They also may lack reliable channels to the top.
After the NPC: Xi Jinpings Roadmap for China (March 11, 2014, Brookings)
A year after he and his colleagues took control of Chinas government, Xi Jinping has emerged as an extraordinarily powerful leader, with a clear and ambitious agenda for remaking the Chinese governance system. Economic, social and foreign policy are now on a far more clear and decisive course than they were during the drifting and unfocused last years under president Hu Jintao and premier Wen Jiabao.
Staged Questions Raise Hackles at Two Sessions (March 11, 2014, China Digital Times)
At Chinas Two Sessions on Tuesday a panel of top financial regulators including Peoples Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan took questions from the press. After officials fielded nine questions from Chinese journalistseight from state media and one from private but Party-favored Phoenix Satellite TV a lucky foreign reporter was called upon.
Really Important Communist Party Meetings, for Dummies (March 13, 2014, The World of Chinese)
There are so many of them that it is all a bit mind-boggling. Here are a few of the big Party meetings explained:
Premier Li Avoids Mention of Former Leader Zhou (March 13, 2014, China Real Time)Chinese Premier Li Keqiang did not stray from the party line during an annual press conference with foreign and domestic media at the Great Hall of the People on Thursday. Perhaps most notably for politically attuned Chinese is what Mr. Li didnt address: Whats the status of former leader Zhou Yongkang?
RELIGION
A Brief Look at Filial Piety, Indebtedness, and the Gospel in the Chinese Context (March 6, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
Filial piety has long been part and parcel of Chinese culture. Confucius, arguably the most influential philosopher in Chinese history, extolled this virtue in his famous work the Analects. And despite the many changes modernization has brought to the traditional Chinese family, the virtue of filial piety seems to have remained firmly rooted in the Chinese mind. In addition to the lasting influence of Confucian thought there appears to be another common, albeit it unofficial, myth reinforcing the practice of filial piety.
Pope may visit China this summer, says China and the Vatican are 'close' (March 7, 2014, Catholic Online)
During an interview with the Italian paper, Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis confirmed that he has corresponded with Chinese President, Xi Jinping. Pope Francis said, "I sent a letter to President Xi Jinping when he was elected, three days after me. And he replied to me." Pope Francis told the paper he hoped to develop "friendly relations with China" and described the Vatican as being "close to China."
Popular Christian Books in China (March 10, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what Christians in China are reading these days by looking at the top selling books on three different distributors of Christian content in China.
Preparing for the Resurrection Festival (aka Easter) in Chinese (March 13, 2014, China Hope Live)
If you arent going to do in-depth historical and cultural reading on 1st-century Palestine and learn koin Greek, but you want an Easter tie-in for your Chinese language-learning and/or an intro to the basic Resurrection Festival narrative, here you go!
SOCIETY / LIFE
China Outsourcing Smog to West Region Stirs Protest (March 7, 2014, Bloomberg)
Chinas leaders want to lift the gray blanket of deadly smog that often chokes Beijings residents by shifting power plants to the less populated western part of the country inhabited by minorities. Thats turning into a nightmare for Ani Yetahon who lives in Oriliq, a village about 1,800 miles from the capital where some residents still walk to the well for their water.
In the Details of Passengers Lives, Signs of Hope and Prosperity (March 9, 2014, The New York Times)
The passengers bound for China represented a vivid cross-section of a nation in its fourth decade of a dizzying economic transformation: artists and corporate salespeople, foreign businesspeople and employees of technology firms.
Mayhem at the Xinjiang CBA Playoff Basketball Game (March 11, 2014, Far West China)
Before I had time to process what had happened, boos were echoing from the crowd, beverage cups were being thrown down at the players on the court and a fight was about to break out between players and sideline press. Nearby, a cameraman was sprawled out on the basketball court with his expensive camera a meter to his right, the product of a run-in with the coach of the opposing team.
China knife attack: three suspects 'detained two days before massacre' (March 12, 2014, The Guardian)
Chinese authorities detained three "terror suspects" two days before this month's gruesome knife attack at a south-western Chinese train station, an independent Chinese magazine has reported, deepening the mystery surrounding the incident.
Chinese delegation in Kansas to study elder care (March 12, 2014, Hutch News)
A small group of Chinese tourists was videotaping and photographing sights along the way as they toured central Kansas, gleaning new ideas about elder care to take home. Members of the Protestant wing of the China Christian Council, the visitors arrived March 3 for a 12-day tour in the United States.
Nine men arrested over cleaver attack on Hong Kong journalist (March 12, 2014, The Guardian)
Nine men have been arrested in connection with a brutal attack on a veteran Hong Kong journalist that sparked concerns for press freedom in the Chinese city, police say. Kevin Lau, a former editor of the liberal Ming Pao newspaper, was hacked with a cleaver in broad daylight last month by two men who then escaped on a motorbike. The Hong Kong police commissioner, Andy Tsang, said two triad-connected suspects had been arrested on the Chinese mainland, while seven alleged accomplices had been arrested by his force in several locations across the territory.
Officials Seem To Have No Clue About Fate Of Missing Jet (March 12, 2014, NPR)
This Morning's Bottom Line: We don't know much more than we did last night, and we may not know much more for some time.
Beijing Community Waits Anxiously as Search for Malaysia Airlines Continues for Fifth Day (March 12, 2014, The Beijinger)
Beijing's foreign community continues to wait anxiously for news of Malaysia Airlines MH370, which remains missing after losing contact with air traffic control in the small hours of Saturday morning. The majority of the missing are Chinese citizens, many from Beijing, along with a number of foreign Beijing residents and former residents on board.
Vanished Malaysian Airliner Carried Artist Whose Name Vanished, Too (March 12, 2014, NPR)
The missing airliner's passenger list was published in China with one name missing: Memetjan Abdullah, an ethnic Uighur artist. Fears of Uighur separatism are simmering after a recent terrorist act.
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Cultural Revolution Infographic (March 7, 2014, The World of Chinese)
Does China Face a Reading Crisis? (March 7, 2014, China Real Time)
For much of the last year, intellectuals and officials in China land of world-beating students and, in a bygone age, the scholar official have been wringing their hands over the countrys declining interest in reading. Earlier this week, that anxiety surfaced in the highest of forums: the annual government work report. Delivering the report in Beijings Great Hall of the People on Wednesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that, in addition to improving government housing and reforming management of outbound investment, the government would also encourage the people to read.
Universities Try a Cultural Bridge to Lure Foreign Students (March 11, 2014, The New York Times)
As the anthropology instructor engaged her class, a fault line quickly developed. American students answered and asked questions, even offered opinions, but the foreigners half the class, most from China sat in silence.
HEALTH
Pollution: Causing Lung Cancer in China? (March 10, 2014, China Real Time)
Can air pollution cause lung cancer? Thats the question many in China are asking as they snap up face masks to avoid breathing hazardous particles in the countrys often pewter-colored, polluted skies.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
Alibaba and Tencent in China's pilot private bank scheme (March 11, 2014, BBC)I
nternet firms Alibaba and Tencent have been shortlisted as pioneers of a pilot scheme to set up private banks in China, as the country takes steps to open up its financial sector. A total of ten companies have been selected to set up private banks. The first five banks will be established in Tianjin, Shanghai as well as Zhejiang and Guangdong provinces.
Chinas Tencent Is Now Bigger Than Intel (March 11, 2014, China Real Time)
Tencent Holdings isnt yet a household name in the U.S., but it should be. With a market cap now slightly above $150 billion, the Chinese social networking and gaming firm is already larger than staid U.S. tech giants like Intel, Cisco Systems, and Hewlitt-Packard.
Chinas card-carrying money smugglers (March 12, 2014, Reuters)
Chinese are evading currency restrictions when travelling abroad by conducting phony sales on their UnionPay bank cards to get mounds of cash.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
China to fight pollution with drones (March 7, 2014, CNN)
China declared a "war on pollution" this week, and is now fortifying its arsenal with a new weapon: smog-clearing drones. The drones work by shooting chemicals into the air, freezing pollutants and making them fall to the ground, according to state media. The unmanned vehicles currently carry about 176 pounds of haze-scrubbing chemicals, while future versions will hold more than 1,500 pounds.
Nine Chinese cities suffered more days of severe smog than Beijing (March 12, 2014, The Guardian)
Photographs of a smog-wreathed Tiananmen Square and the iconic headquarters of China Central Television dominated reports of Chinese pollution last year, but analysis shows nine other Chinese cities suffered more days of severe smog than the capital in 2013.
ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT
Chinese officials debate why China cant make a soap opera as good as South Koreas (March 7, 2014, China Real Time)
There is no shortage of problems facing China these days: a terrorist attack that recently left 33 people dead and 143 injured, corruption in government, a worrisome slowdown in economic growth. So when the countrys two highest governing bodies met in Beijing this week, what was the burning issue on the delegates lips? A South Korean soap opera that has taken the country by storm.
Meet Chinas Documentary Heavyweight (March 7, 2014, China Real Time)
Canadian-Chinese director Yung Changs documentary China Heavyweight, which follows boxing coach Qi Moxiang as he searches for talent in rural Sichuan, made history by screening at 200 theaters when it opened on Dec. 20, the first documentary to ever screen so widely inside China.
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
On the creeping commoditization of Tibet (March 10, 2014)
The 5-minute timeframe of a setting sun, a monastery outline and the snow-capped mountains beyond: the image of Tibet weve learnt to desire.
LANGUAGE / LANGUAGE LEARNING
Learn the Uyghur Language: A Beginners Textbook Review (March 6, 2014, Far West China)
Asking the experts: How to learn Chinese grammar (March 11, 2014, Hacking Chinese)
There are of course many more things to talk about than these, but this serves as an introduction to the complexity of the question of how to learn grammar. Because this is such an interesting topic and there are so many different approaches, I decided to ask the expert panel and see what other language learners and teachers out there had to say about learning Chinese grammar. They have all answered the question in their own way, so rather than viewing this as a competition between different views on how to learn grammar, regard it as a tour through different available options.
How Long Does It Take to Learn Chinese? (March 12, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
Since I've been in China for 28 years,* and speak Chinese reasonably well, I am often asked two questions (by foreigners), neither of which have easy answers. One is "are you fluent?" My response is usually "fluent enough to get myself into and out of trouble."
BOOKSMaos Golden Mangoes and the Cultural Revolution (March 7, 2014, China Rhyming)
I remember reading a version of this weird tale of the Maoist years when it was released in a limited edition to raise money for the Sichuan earthquake back in 2008.
Now Alfreda Murck has published it as a book well worth a readVenerate the Mango Comrades!
ARTICLES FOR RESEARCHERS
Terrorist Attack in Kunming Reveals Complex Relationship with International Jihad (March 6, 2014, China Brief)
Photo by The Gonger, via Flickr