ZGBriefs is How To Get Your Ex Back Over The Phone a condensation of news items gathered from published sources. ZGBriefs is not responsible for the content of these items nor does it necessarily endorse the perspectives presented.Get daily updates from ZGBriefs on Twitter @ZG_Briefs.To make a contribution to ZGBriefs, please click here and then select Donate Through Paypal.FEATURED ARTICLEThe Rise of a Missions-minded Chinese Church (July 16, Chinese Church Voices)The Chinese church must seriously consider its responsibility and role in the sending of missionaries.GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRSChina’s Wen warns over unemployment (July 17, 2012, AFP)China’s Premier Wen Jiabao warned Tuesday the country was facing a more “severe” employment situation as the world’s second-largest economy slows. Wen said China had created 98 million new jobs between 2003 to 2011 but would now have to work harder to find jobs for its growing workforce, particularly its 250 million migrant workers and 40 million college graduates. “From now on, the country’s employment situation will become more complicated and severe. Achieving full employment is a very difficult process, but we must work harder,” he said in a statement posted on the government website.French architect linked to Bo Xilai scandal flies to China (July 18, 2012, The Guardian)A French architect with links to the disgraced politician at the heart of China’s biggest political scandal in decades has flown to China as a potential witness, Cambodia’s information minister has said. Patrick Devillers, 52, was detained by police in Cambodia last month at the request of China. But officials said they would not extradite him without evidence of wrongdoing. Cambodia’s interior ministry spokesman, Khieu Spoheak, told the Associated Press it freed Devillers on Tuesday following a request from Beijing. The Cambodian information minister, Khieu Kanharith, told Reuters Devillers had taken a flight from Cambodia to China late on Tuesday and that he had left of his own free will. He was not accompanied by anyone from the French embassy, the minister added. “China wants him as a witness,” he said, adding that Beijing had given an assurance he would only be required for up to 60 days before being allowed to return.China Pledges $20 Billion in Loans to African Nations (July 19, 2012, The New York Times)President Hu Jintao said Thursday that China would lend $20 billion to African governments for infrastructure and agriculture in the next three years, in a speech to a gathering of African leaders. The loans outlined by Mr. Hu, which doubled the amount offered at the last such conference here, in 2009, signaled that China was pressing ahead with aid programs in African nations with abundant energy and mineral resources but with more focus on grass-roots projects.RELIGIONTeenaged Tibetan monk ‘self-immolates’ in China (July 17, 2012, BBC News)A teenaged Tibetan Buddhist monk has burned himself to death in south-west China, the latest in a series of such protests against Chinese rule, rights activists have said. The monk, 18, is reported to have set himself alight in Sichuan province. Tibetan exiles said local people blocked a bridge to stop police from moving in after the incident.EDUCATION / CULTUREChina to strengthen vocational training for disabled (July 16, 2012, Xinhua)China will strengthen vocational training for the disabled population and help them find jobs through a variety of rehabilitation programs, according to a joint notice issued Monday.The notice, issued by the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) and two ministries, requires relevant government agencies to subsidize training programs and offer free information and employment services for the disabled. Local administrations are urged to formulate mid- and long-term as well as annual training plans for the disabled, according to the notice. The plans should be based on local economic development and cater to the needs of disabled people, it said. Official statistics show that China has 85 million people with some form of disability.German Held on Art Smuggling in China as Buyers Dodge Tax (June 16, 2012, Bloomberg)The German manager of an art-freight company is being detained in a Chinese jail for allegedly falsifying values of imported artworks to help buyers avoid 10 million yuan ($1.6 million) in import duties and value added taxes. Customs officials raided the Beijing office of Integrated Fine Arts Solutions Ltd., which specializes in contemporary art, on March 30, seizing records and arresting Nils Jennrich, 32, and his Chinese colleague, according to Torsten Hendricks, IFASs Hong Kong-based Asia director. Theyve been held ever since. Hendricks denies the allegations against his employees. Sothebys and Christies International, the worlds two biggest art-auction companies, said they have been contacted about the case and are cooperating with authorities.London 2012: China’s Liu Xiang leaves ‘cold’ London (July 17, 2012, BBC News)Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang is to avoid London’s “wet and cold” weather until he competes at the Olympic Games, his coach says. Sun Haiping said Liu, one of China’s top sporting heroes, would train in Leverkusen in Germany. He had arranged to train at St Mary’s University College in Twickenham. Liu Xiang left London for Leverkusen after pulling out of the Diamond League London Grand Prix 110m hurdles final on 13 July – his 29th birthday – due to muscle pain, having won his semi-final earlier in the evening. But Sun Haiping said Liu Xiang “will be sure to fight to the end”.SOCIETY / LIFENumber of exit by Chinese mainlanders up 20 pct: ministry (July 15, 2012, Xinhua)The number of Chinese mainland residents going overseas reached 38.56 million in the first six months of the year, up 19.75 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Public Security said Sunday. The number of exit and entry across the Chinese border reached 208 million in the six months, up 6 percent from the same period of last year, according to a statement of the ministry’s Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration. The numbers of mainland residents, Hong Kong and Macao and Taiwan citizens, and foreigners crossing the border during the period was about 76.7 million, 105 million and 26.78 million, respectively, the statement said. The first five destinations reached by mainland residents are Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan as well as the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Japan, it said.Internet words in new lexicon (July 16, 2012, Xinhua)A newly revised Chinese dictionary was published on Sunday, reflecting large changes in the language over the past seven years. Some new words frequently used online, such as geili (awesome), leiren (shocking), zhainan (indoorsy man) and zhainu (indoorsy woman), have been added to the sixth edition of the Contemporary Chinese Dictionary, the authoritative Chinese language dictionary and a reference work on modern standard Chinese. The new edition contains about 69,000 entries, including characters, words and expressions, idiomatic phrases and idioms. More than 3,000 words and expressions are new entries.6 mln people travel daily on China’s railways during summer travel peak (July 17, 2012, Xinha)China’s railways have handled six million passengers daily since the start of this month, when the peak summer travel season began, the Ministry of Railways announced Tuesday. A daily average of 6.04 million passengers traveled by rail during the first 15 days of July, the ministry said in a statement on its website. The largest number traveled on July 7, when 6.5 million passengers took trains, according to the statement.It said most of the passengers were students heading for their hometowns for summer vacation, as well as people taking breaks from work to visit friends and relatives.China’s motor vehicles top 233 mln (July 17, 2012, Xinhua)The number of motor vehicles in China in June topped 233 million, including 114 million automobiles and 103 motorcycles, figures released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) have showed. The number of vehicles has maintain rapid growth, as it shows an increase from last year of 3.67 percent, or 8.26 million in number, the Traffic Management Bureau of the MPS said, adding that the number of automobiles has increased by 7.66 percent during the same period. Eight provinces have more than 10 million motor vehicles each, while Shandong and Guangdong have more than 20 million. Automobiles in five cities, including Beijing, Chengdu, Tianjin, Shenzhen and Shanghai, have topped 2 million, according to the bureau.2.3 million affected in central China rainstorms (July 18, 2012, Xinhua)About 2.3 million residents have been affected and 42,000 evacuated over the past week as China’s central Hunan province was battered by the largest rainstorm this summer, local authorities said Wednesday. Heavy rains also damaged 123,000 hectares of croplands and destroyed 3,921 rooms in 11 cities across Hunan, the provincial flood control and drought relief headquarters said in a statement. In the 24 hours to 8 a.m. Wednesday, rainstorms mainly lashed four cities and a prefecture in northwestern Hunan, with a town in the city of Jishou receiving the largest rainfall of 236.5 mm.China’s Internet users hit 538 mln (July 19, 2012, Xinhua)About four out of 10 Chinese use the Internet, with the country’s online population hitting 538 million by the end of June this year, according to a report released by the China Internet Networks Information Center (CNNIC) on Thursday. In the first half of the year, the total number of Chinese Internet users increased by 25 million following rapid expansion in recent years, according to the CNNIC. China’s online population is equal to the combined populations of the United States and Brazil.SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENTThree Gorges reservoir water at year’s highest (July 17, 2012, Xinhua)The water level in China’s Three Gorges reservoir has hit this year’s highest since the world’s largest dam began handling seasonal floods at the beginning of this month. The water level in the reservoir, which is contained by the Three Gorges Dam in Yichang, of central China’s Hubei province, hit 158.9 meters high on Sunday evening, sources with the dam’s managing authority said. The water level reached its designed highest mark of 175 meters on Oct. 26, 2010. At the beginning of July, the water level was lowered to about 145 meters in order to deal with floods expected from the Yangtze River, according to the coordination division of the China Three Gorges Corporation. Two flood peaks, with a flow rate of 56,000 cubic meters of water per second, arrived at the reservoir on July 7 and 12.Chinese expedition reaches Arctic Circle (July 19, 2012, Xinhua)A Chinese expedition team entered the Arctic Circle Wednesday, beginning a three-month scientific exploration of the Arctic Ocean. After a voyage of 3,515 nautical miles (6,510 km), scientists aboard the icebreaker Xuelong, or “Snow Dragon,” crossed the Arctic Circle on the fifth mission of China’s Arctic program, which began in July 1999. The 90-day voyage is aimed at conducting comprehensive research at 33 oceanic observation stations in the Pacific Arctic and Atlantic Arctic regions. The expedition team left the eastern Chinese port of Qingdao on July 2.BUSINESS / ECONOMICS / FOREIGN TRADEChina property prices rise in June after decline (July 18, 2012, BBC News)Property prices in 70 Chinese cities rose slightly in June, compared to May, after eight months of decline. Home prices rose 0.3% in Beijing and 0.2% in Shanghai compared to the previous month, official data showed. China had implemented two years of curbs on the real estate market to bring prices down. However, as the economy slowed to a three-year low in the second quarter, measures have been taken to boost growth.LINKS TO ARTICLES AND BLOGSVideo: A Catholic Wedding in Beijing (July 11, The New York Times) How To Get Your Ex Back Over The Phone In China, people are flocking to the citys oldest Catholic church for a sense of community, entertainment, or a wedding ceremony, even if they are not Catholic.China’s big challenge (July 13, 2012, The Guardian)China’s declining growth figures highlight a country still searching for a less volatile economic modelLittle Hu and the mining of the grasslands (July 14, 2012, The Economist)Soaring demand for a regions minerals stirs unrest and brings challenges for a rising political starCriticism (July 15, 2012, Journey of Beginnings)Continuing the conversation on false assumptions of Chinese displays of affection, Kimberly asked this question: “Is criticism from Chinese mothers a display of genuine love?”Weibo: How China’s version of Twitter changed five lives (July 15, 2012, BBC News)Sina Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter, is one of the world’s most popular social networking sites. And some of the stories it has generated give an interesting glimpse into life in modern China.Chen Guangcheng on Disability, Human Rights and China (July 17, 2012, The Takeaway)In his first national broadcast interview since arriving in the United States, Guangcheng describes the intersection between human rights and disability rights in the United States and in his native China. Chen says that disabled people can hold up “a mirror to society.”Chinese whispers: How the worlds most populated country uses social media (July 17, 2012, storyful.com)Yet last month, a Chinese government report indicated that over half of the countrys 500 million internet users are on a social network. How can that be? The answer is local players that have entered and captured a large share of the market.Changing Times Reflected In New Chinese Dictionary (July 17, 2012, NPR)Robert Siegel and Audie Cornish have more on the first new edition in seven years of the Modern Chinese Dictionary. It’s published by the government-run Commercial Press and reflects the country’s giddy rise to wealth, its growing environmental awareness, and the dark side of one-party rule.Extreme Biking in Xinjiangs Gobi Desert (July 17, 2012, Far West China)In a new film titled Where the Trail Ends– previewed below a couple of biking enthusiast experience Turpan in a way that no other tourist ever has. Some people look at Turpan and see a sweltering desert. Others see it as a playground.As China Talks of Change, Fear Rises on the Risks (July 17, 2012, The New York Times)A small coterie of children of Chinas founding elites who favor deeper political and economic change had come to debate the need for a new direction under the next generation of Communist Party leaders, who are set to take power in a once-a-decade changeover set to begin this year.Slower GDP Growth in China? All the Better, Say Some Netizens (July 17, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)Considering the goal set by Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of 7.5% GDP growth for 2012, 7.6% does not seem problematic. However, Chinas central bank recently slashed interest rates twice within thirty days, a surprise measure that leads many netizens to question whether the government really has everything under control.Normalization of US-Chinese Relations During the Carter Administration (Part II) (July 18, 2012, China Elections and Governance)Prayers from the past (July 18, 2012, The Global Times)Christianity in Shanghai probably started in Xujiahui as early as 1608 in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) when Catholic missionaries first set foot in Shanghai. Located in one of the city’s most prosperous commercial centers, the first Western church in China, the St Ignatius Cathedral or the Xujiahui Cathedral has been standing for more than a century. It is now the headquarters for the Shanghai Catholic diocese. The Gothic-style cathedral was erected in 1910 by French Jesuit missionaries. A popular tourist venue, it can hold 2,500 people at a time.Eight Questions: Gerard Lemos, The End of the Chinese Dream (July 18, 2012, China Real Time Report)Beneath the polished image of a booming China, a different story is told of the unskilled and marginalized, displaced by development and factory consolidation. Gerard Lemos, a former visiting professor with Chongqing Technology and Business University, tried to uncover the inner psyche of ordinary Chinese people who have been left behind through his project, the Wish Tree.Chinese Fans Also Not Thrilled With Jeremy Lins Move to Houston (July 18, 2012, China Real Time Report)Lin fans in both Taiwan and mainland China, like their counterparts in the U.S., expressed concerns that the young players development could suffer by going to a team with few stars.25 Years After Taiwan Embraced Democracy, Netizens Wonder When It Will Be the Mainlands Turn (July 18, 2012, Tea Leaf Nation)Will a monumental shift take place in the Peoples Republic of China some day? To even begin thinking about this question is a monumental exercise, but reactions on Weibo provide some clues.Fears of Chinese media crackdown ahead of leadership transition (July 18, 2012, The Telegraph)Doug Young, a journalism scholar from Shanghai’s Fudan University, said the two cases were likely “part of a big crackdown that has been going on pretty much all year in the run up to the big leadership change.”Video: Skirting the one-child policy (July 18, 2012, CNN, via Shanghaiist)CNN’s Stan Grant meets with a few Chinese people who’ve found ways to skirt the one-child policy.A language learners guide to reading comics in Chinese (July 18, 2012, Hacking Chinese)I have read comic books ever since I learned how to read, I came into Chinese-language comics with a broad knowledge of the medium to support me, and even so, I had to learn how to best use the comics in my studies.Rock and Roll in China: An Insiders Journey (July 19, 2012, The Wall Street Journal)The 37-year-old, who spent four years in Beijing as a band promoter, documents the relatively brief history of Chinese rock in his book Red Rock: The Long, Strange March of Chinese Rock & Roll.Watch: Parents of cannibal killer victim Lin Jun speak to Canadian TV (July 19, 2012, Shanghaiist)China’s ‘unwanted’ single women feel the pressure (July 19, 2012, AFP)Xu, who did not want to be identified, is one of China’s so-called “Sheng Nu”.The term, which translates to the “Unwanted”, is derived from a phenomenon in Chinese society which affects hundreds of thousands of women, particularly the urban, educated and financially independent. The term, which is unique to China and which only applies to women, appears in China’s official dictionary and refers to “all single woman above the age of 27”.Chinese Colonialism? (July 19, 2012, BBC News)Is China becoming Africa’s new colonial master? Is Beijing sucking away resources to drive its own economic growth, while offering little in return? Or is such talk the product of fear and envy? Is it a sign of Western anxieties, that China is fast becoming the new power in Africa, building more equal relationships, and undermining Western influence on the continent?Rural Chinese get online as mobile overtakes desktop (July 19, 2012, BBC News)Mobile phones are now the most common way for people to connect to the internet in China, a report has said.China’s social media revolution (July 19, 2012, BBC News)More than 300m people in China are now signed up to Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, and the service is heralding a new wave of self expression. The service is helping groups to form and civil society to flourish. It is also heralding a new wave of self expression in a society where self expression, at least in public, has traditionally been dangerous and unusual. Duncan Hewitt travelled around China to meet the people using social media.Meet China’s booming middle class (July 19, 2012, BBC News)China is preparing for a major change in its top political leadership in the autumn, with President Hu Jintao and other senior leaders stepping down after 10 years in charge. President Hu has overseen a decade in which China has become the driving force of the world’s economy, creating a middle class now estimated at 300 million people.ARTICLES IN CHINESE90 (Pacific Institute for Social Sciencs)LINKS FOR RESEARCHERSState-Religion Relations in Contemporary China (Pacific Institute for Social Sciences)The Soapbox and the Truncheon: Hu Jintaos Amorphous Power (July 19, China Brief)There are three issues here. The first is whether or not Hus leadership isin the words of one internal criticbuilt on empty rhetoric, which has made an increasingly comfortable accommodation with state-sanctioned violence to deal with social issues in Chinese society as it has become more conflict prone in the last decade. ZGBriefs is a weekly compilation of the news in China, condensed from published sources and emailed free-of-charge to more than 6,000 readers in China and abroad. ZGBriefs brings you not only the most important stories of the week, but also links to blogs, commentaries, articles, and resources to help fill out your understanding of what is happening in China today. Coverage includes domestic and international politics, economics, culture, and social trends, among other areas. Seeking to explore all facets of life in China, ZGBriefs also includes coverage of spiritual movements and the role of religious believers and faith-based groups in China. 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