FEATURED ARTICLE
In Chinese Schools, Disabled Get Shortchanged (May 18, 2014, The New York Times)
China has approximately 85 million people with disabilities, according to the United Nations. Experts in the field, including professors of special education, human-rights officials and lawyers representing the disabled, say that the Chinese government, despite some progress, is not doing enough to ensure that people with disabilities have equitable access to higher education or really any education at all.
GOVERNMENT / POLITICS / FOREIGN AFFAIRS
In China, corruption cases keep cropping up (May 16, 2014, Los Angeles Time)
Reports of corrupt Chinese officials seem to be a dime a dozen these days, and its easy for readers to get blas about such news. So this week, the Beijing Youth Daily provided its audience with a helpful info-graphic to highlight the case of Wei Pengyuan.
Is China the fastest rising power in history (May 18, 2014, Tea Leaf Nation)
But the hue and cry obscures a more fundamental question: whether the scale and speed of Chinas ascendance is truly unique, or whether it resembles the emergence of earlier powers. China, it turns out, scores moderately on the first metric, and very highly on the second.
Chinese Boats Evacuate Citizens From Vietnam After Protests (May 19, 2014, Bloomberg)
Two Chinese boats collected workers from central Vietnam, even as Vietnamese authorities thwarted anti-China protests after violent demonstrations resulted in two deaths and damage at factories.
What the U.S. and China Arent Saying About the South China Sea (May 20, 2014, China Real Time)
Even as China grows increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, the United States maintains that its not attempting to contain China. At the same time, China continues to insist its firmly committed to its peaceful rise. Are both sides faking it? The answer is complicated. Some believe the answer is yes, while others argue that both sides are hedging to defend their respective interests and avoid open confrontation.
China Halts Cybersecurity Cooperation After U.S. Spying Charges (May 20, 2014, Bloomberg)
Chinas decision to suspend its involvement in a cybersecurity working group with the U.S. after being accused of commercial spying threatens to undo efforts aimed at finding common ground to tackle hacking.
A Peek at the Chinese Army Unit Accused of Hacking U.S. Companies (May 20, 2014, China Real Time)
The Peoples Liberation Army hackers at the center of U.S. allegations of government-led Chinese cyber-theft work in a cluster of buildings that are easy to ignore among Shanghais skyscrapers.
Not Forgetting Old Friends: Putin Meets with Jiang Zemin (May 21, 2014, China Real Time)
Photos of Mr. Putin visiting with retired Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, who served as Chinese president between 1993 and 2003, surfaced Tuesday on social media. Chinese were intrigued by Mr. Jiangs reappearance. Not forgetting old friends, wrote Zhan Guoshu, a former editor of the Peoples Daily overseas edition, on his Weibo account.
China president speaks out on security ties in Asia (May 21, 2014, BBC)
China's President Xi Jinping has called on Asian countries to avoid strengthening military alliances with "third party" powers. Addressing neighbouring countries at a summit, Mr Xi also said that issues and problems in the region should be resolved by Asians themselves. His comments come as the United States seeks to increase its presence in Asia.
China sentences 39 on terrorism charges in crackdown (May 21, 2014, Reuters)
China on Wednesday sentenced 39 people to jail terms of up to 15 years on terrorism charges, as authorities crack down on the restive far western region of Xinjiang, hit by a recent string of knife and bomb attacks blamed on Islamist separatists. The suspects, who had ethnic Uighur names, were sentenced in a rare mass public event.
RELIGION
Video: What is your hope and dream for the Chinese church? (China Partnership)
Tim Keller disucsses the importance for churches to live out of a balance of preserving the past and innovating in the present.
"Purdue Consensus on Religious Freedom" with Signatories (May 14, 2014, Center on Religion and Chinese Society)
Religious Freedom and Chinese Society: A Symposium of Case Analysis was held on May 5-7, 2014 at Purdue University. The participants included lawyers, ministers, and scholars. Through engaging discussions, some consensus was reached. Consequently, some participants proposed to draft a text of consensus for signatures so that the understanding of religious freedom can be spread and greater attention can be paid to the issues of religious freedom in China. The text was finalized after further discussion by the symposium participants.
Folk Thinking among Rural Christians (May 19, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
Christianity in rural China is heavily influenced by concepts of Chinese folk religion and functions in many ways like a folk religion. This is due to the influence of traditional religious concepts and the limited education among most rural people. Folk concepts observed in rural Christianity include predilection for the mysterious including evidence of supernatural power, obsession with objects (the evil of unspiritual objects as well as the benefit of spiritual objects like pictures of Jesus or crosses), an intuitive desire for ritual to express one's faith and other aspects to be discussed below.
Propaganda Fight 2: neighbourhood posters directly address cult-stamped money (May 20, 2014, China Hope Live)
In Qingdao, China its not uncommon to find anti-Party messages stamped on our money. I have a collection going. Theyre created by a huge home-grown Chinese religious group that the Chinese government officially designated an evil cult in the late-90s. Heres the most recent one Ive received:
Zhejiang: list and pictures of 64 demolished Christian churches (May 21, 2014, Asia News)
More than 60 churches in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, have received a demolition notice, have had some of their annexes demolished and crosses either removed or covered. The dates in the list published below are not confirmed demolition dates, but rather the dates when the pictures of this sacrilege were posted on the web (at the bottom list, numbers refer to the building destroyed).
Beijing Denies Anti-Christianity Claims (May 21, 2014, China Topix)
China denies allegations that recent occurances of church demolitions are government efforts to eliminate Christianity in the country, The Telegraph reports. This is the first time that Beijing has given a statement on this matter. In an interview with The Telegraph, spokesman Hong Li said the demolitions are in no way government plans to eradicate Christianity in the country. […] "With regard to what has happened in Zhejiang, there has been some misunderstanding. The demolitions took place because those sites were built against relevant regulations. It has nothing to do with religious beliefs."
Is There Religious Freedom in China? (May 22, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
To the Chinese government, "religious freedom" means that the citizens are free to believe what they want, but the government reserves the right to set the boundaries within which the beliefs are practiced." Unfortunately, like so many other boundaries in China (where the legal system is weak), the boundaries are both rubber and invisible.
SOCIETY / LIFE
Fighting for identity (May 17, 2014, The Economist)
People born outside family-planning regulations are fighting to obtain legal documents that prove they exist.
Five Myths About China (That Im Sorry I Helped Spread) (May 19, 2014, Politico)So, which is it: Is China the worlds next great power or a political antique or an economic powder keg? The answer: Yes. China is so vast and contradictory home to one-fifth of humanity, with an income gap wider than that between New York and Ghana that we are tempted to simplify it by resorting to the archetypes that capture one side or another.
A Generation of One (May 19, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
China's most privileged generation to date, the youth of today have grown up with McDonald's and iPods, online video games and instant messaging. They are the most connected, the best educated, and the most well-off of any generation in recent history. They are also perhaps the loneliest.
Is there an expat exodus in China? Not really (May 20, The Nanfang)
An organization called SmartIntern has put together a handy infographic that says things are not as they seem. While the number of foreigners coming to China has declined, it is only very slightly. Plus, the country remains insanely popular, with Shanghai leading the way.
How to Fail at Philanthropy in China (May 20, 2014, ChinaSource Blog)
At a recent conference on China hosted by the International Association of Advisors in Philanthropy, Clare Pearson of Charitarian Magazine in Beijing offered some helpful tips. Her advice may seem counterintuitive at first. However, given the political situation and the role of China's nascent charity sector it makes sense.
A Brief Guide to Chinas Media Landscape May 2014 (May 21, 2014, Danwei)
The table below shows mainland Chinas most important websites, newspapers, and broadcast news organizations, together with numbers for website traffic, circulation and audience.
China Gets Older and Lonelier (May 21, 2014, Tea Leaf Nation)
Four Generations Under One Roof, a 1940s novel by author Lao She about life in Beijing under Japanese occupation, describes what was then an archetypal Chinese family: large, multigenerational, and united. But in modern China, a place of massive internal migration and upheaval, that image is fast becoming quaint.
4 People Killed in Taiwan Subway Stabbing Spree (May 21, 2014, TIME)
A university student wielding a knife attacked riders aboard a subway train in Taiwans capital on Wednesday, killing four people and injuring at least 21 others, police and local media said.The seemingly random attack occurred at about 4 p.m. at the start of the evening rush hour aboard a train on Taipeis Banqiao line, which leads to the citys southwestern suburbs.
Chinas Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Friend Circles (May 21, 2014, Foreign Policy)
While the government views social media as a useful window through which to monitor public opinion, authorities also fear the power of social media to spread politically sensitive information as well as to mobilize dissenters into mass movements.
Video: Attack kills 31 in Chinas Xinjiang (May 22, 2014, BBC)
Thirty-one people have died in a bomb attack in the north-west of China. Reports said two vehicles drove into a busy market in Xinjiang region and threw explosives into the crowd. The Ministry of Public Security called it a "serious violent terrorist incident."
EDUCATION / HISTORY
Flying Tiger relics land in Chongqing museum (May 16, 2014, China Daily)
The Flying Tigers, also known as the 1st American Volunteer Group, were a group of American and Chinese pilots fighting together against Japanese invading troops during the Second World War.The jacket along with 468 other relics going back to the period of 1937-45 was donated to the Chongqing Historic Sites Museum of the War of Resistance Against Japan by Pedro Chan of Los Angeles.
Tiananmen: How Wrong We Were (May 20, 2014, New York Review of Books)
During a television interview in the square I said that, while I couldnt predict, I was confident China would never be the same again. I wrote several opinion pieces for my paper saying much the same, surer about Chinese affairs than I had ever been.
Is English Necessary? China Debates Whether College Exams Should Bother (May 20, 2014, China Real Time)
A debate about learning English is re-emerging in China. The discussion is resurfacing after a local newspaper reported that Gu Mingyuan, president of the Chinese Society of Education, told an education forum in Hangzhou over the weekend that English would be taken out of the national college-entrance exam, called the gaokao, in a new reform plan to be implemented in 2017.
25 Years On, Mothers Of Tiananmen Square Dead Seek Answers (May 20, 2014, NPR)
Zhang Xianling's son, Wang Nan, was just 19 years old when he was killed by a single bullet to the head. It was fired by martial law troops sent to clear protesters from Tiananmen Square in the early hours of June 4, 1989. For the past quarter-century, Zhang has stored this bureaucratic receipt in a cardboard shoebox, nestled between her son's childhood photos and his swimming certificate.
Son of purged reformer Zhao Ziyang tells of China's 'shame', 25 years after Tiananmen (May 20, 2014, South China Morning Post)
The late liberal leader Zhao Ziyang, who was purged for opposing the Tiananmen crackdown 25 years ago, never regretted his own fate. But he was heartbroken that society became more corrupt than ever after his political reform plan was sabotaged, according to one of his sons.
Serving the People: Chinese Law Student Opens Noodle Shop, Kicks Off Debate (May 22, 2014, China Real Time)
A Peking University law student who was worried about finding a job and set up a noodle shop last month has become a social media sensation. Zhang Tianyi has won online praise for his entrepreneurial spirit though the 24-year-old has attracted heaps of criticism that he is wasting his skills. But his effort has struck a chord with many college graduates who are also finding it hard to land a job.
HEALTH
Caring for sick babies: The dilemma facing China's poor (May 18, 2014, BBC)
When Liu Jiaomei gave birth to her daughter Miaomiao in March, she was forced to leave the hospital an hour after her labour was over. Ms Liu and her husband, both poor migrant workers, had no money to pay for extra care.
Idiotic Name for Dementia Sparks China Doctors Protest (May 20, 2014, Bloomberg)
The Chinese name diseases based on symptoms, so diabetes is known as sugary pee, while a dyslexic has trouble reading. Dementia derives from two Chinese characters meaning insane and idiotic. Worried that many people with dementia are so self-conscious they wont seek treatment, Chinese psychiatrists are calling for professionals and patients to adopt a new term.
ECONOMICS / BUSINESS / TRADE
Retaliatory Attacks, Online (May 20, 2014, The New York Times)
A Justice Department indictment released on Monday which accuses five Chinese military personnel of the attacks reads like a chronology of most of the major trade disputes between the United States and China in the last five years.
Russia signs 30-year gas deal with China (May 21, 2014, BBC)
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has signed a multi-billion dollar, 30-year gas deal with China.The deal between Russia's Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has been 10 years in the making. Russia has been keen to find an alternative energy market for its gas as it faces the possibility of European sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine. No official price has been given but it is estimated to be worth over $400bn.
Chinas Global Search for Energy (May 21, 2014, The New York Times)
Whether by diplomacy, investment or in extreme cases, force, China is going to great lengths to satisfy its growing hunger for energy to fuel its expanding car fleet and electrify its swelling cities.
Chinese Travel to Vietnam Plummets Amid South China Sea Standoff (May 21, 2014, China Real Time)
As the government evacuates thousands of Chinese from Vietnam following deadly anti-Chinese riots, Chinese tourism to the country is also taking a hit. Both travelers and local travel agents appear to be taking heed of the Chinese governments Sunday warning against travel to Vietnam, with many abandoning previous travel plans. Multiple airlines have also canceled flights.
China WFOE formation. The New rules on minimum capital (May 22, 2014, China Law Blog)
But earlier this year, China eliminated any minimum registered capital requirement for WFOEs and my firms China lawyers have received a number of emails from companies asking about the impact of that change. Our answer has mostly been that we do not expect the change to have much impact for most companies.
Holy Productive Cow! China Invests in Israeli Dairy (May 22, 2014, China Real Time)
State-owned Bright Food Group Co. said Thursday it is finalizing an agreement to take a 56% stake in Israels Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. from private-equity firm Apax Partners. Financial details of the deal werent disclosed. The deal is in line with Chinas attempts to diversify its food sources, includes dairy products, as demand explodes and domestic production fails to catch up.
SCIENCE / TECHNOLOGY / ENVIRONMENT
300 polluting companies to leave Beijing (May 19, 2014, The World of Chinese)
Over the coming months 300 companies will be forced to relocate outside of Beijing, with Hebei Province, Tianjin and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region likely becoming new homes for the companies.
China bans Microsoft Windows 8 on government computers (May 20, 2014, BBC)
China has banned the use of Microsoft's latest operating system on government computers. Beijing issued the restriction as part of a decree about the use of energy-saving products. But official news agency Xinhua said security concerns related to foreign operating systems had led to the move.Microsoft said it was surprised, but insisted it would continue to provide older versions of its software to the Chinese authorities.
3-D printed buildings emerge from recycled trash (May 22, 2014, Christian Science Monitor)
A Chinese company, Shanghai Yingchuang Design & Engineering Co., has built 10 buildings in an astonishing 24 hours, and it has done it all with a 3-D printer. The 3-D-printed structures, which are in the Qingpu District, a suburb of Shanghai, are constructed of a combination of recycled industrial waste and a mixture of sand, concrete, and glass fiber.
ARTS / ENTERTAINMENT
Interview: Artist Xue Tao (May 22, 2014, Go Kunming)
Below is an interview conducted by Luo Fei () with Dali-born artist Xue Tao (). Xue was one of the first off-canvas artists in Yunnan province and founded the Red Heart Commune in Dali in 1994, and the Migratory Sky Art Space in Beijing in 2005. Xue has actively been promoting interaction between Yunnan artists and the outside world and has witnessed the beginnings and development of Yunnan artists born in the 1970s firsthand.
FOOD / TRAVEL / CULTURE
The World Is Falling All Over Itself To Attract Chinese Tourists (May 20, 2014, Business Insider)
Chinese tourists have caught the international travel bug and the rest of the world is desperately hoping they never lose it.
How to find out how good your Chinese pronunciation really is (May 22, 2014, Hacking Chinese)
If were going to improve our pronunciation (or anything else for that matter), we need to know what were currently doing wrong. If we dont know that, we might make small improvements just by practising more, but in many cases, you might actually perpetuate bad habits because you arent even aware that there are problems.
LANGUAGE / LANGUAGE LEARNING
The vocabulary of prayer in modern China (April 7, 2014, Language Log)
Many of the comments on the disappearance of MH370 by Chinese netizens mention their prayers. Since most Chinese are not religious (i.e., are not Christians, Buddhists, etc.), to whom are they praying? In what way are they praying? Even if they are Buddhists, is prayer (qdo ) an integral part of Buddhism?
Do You Dare Try the Devil-Language? Chinas 10 Hardest Dialects (May 21, 2014, China Real Time)
A city best known for its millionaires and factories churning out everything from buttons to lightbulbs is now better known in China for its unintelligible dialect. Thats according to a post titled Chinas Top 10 Most Difficult Dialects known as fang yan in Mandarin thats been trending on Weibo, Chinas microblogging service. Wenzhou, the free-wheeling commercial metropolis in Zhejiang province, took the crown.
BOOKS
Dangerous memories of Tiananmen Square (May 16, 2014, Washington Post)
I wrote my book on a brand-new laptop that had never been online. Every night I locked it in a safe in my apartment. I never mentioned the book on the phone or in e-mail, at home or in the office both located in the same Beijing diplomatic compound, which I assumed was bugged. I took these extreme measures because I was writing about that most taboo of topics in China: the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989, when soldiers opened fire on unarmed civilians on the streets of Beijing, killing hundreds of people, maybe even more than 1,000.
The Peoples Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited, by Lousia Lim)
Audio: Evan Osnos On Chinas Age Of Ambition (May 21, 2014, On Point)
How to review a China book (May 22, 2014, China Daily Show)
Step One Begin boldly: Chinas extraordinary rise in recent years has spellbound [about 20,000 or so] Western readers, but few writers in either Asia or the universe are better placed to tell this story than Plankton.Com correspondent/ local drunk/ close friend [add name here]. Note how [X] avoids the banal clichs and tired predictions of other, lesser writers. And don't mention Peter Hessler.
ARTICLES FOR RESEARCHERS
Daedalus 143:2 (Spring 2014) – Growing Pains in a Rising China [Kindle Edition] (Amazon)
Ddalus was founded in 1955 as the Journal of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It draws on the enormous intellectual capacity of the American Academy, whose members are among the nation's most prominent thinkers in the arts, sciences, and humanities. The theme for the Spring 2014 issue is "Growing Pains in a Rising China."
Image credit: Joann Pittman