The NYRB China Archive
08.21.14
Beyond the Dalai Lama: An Interview with Woeser and Wang Lixiong
from New York Review of Books
In recent months, China has been beset by growing ethnic violence. In Tibet, 125 people have set themselves on fire since the suppression of 2008 protests over the country’s ethnic policies. In the Muslim region of Xinjiang, there have been a series...
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08.20.14Chinese Rights Lawyer Grilled by Police Over Meetings with US Envoy, ‘Insults’ to Officials
Reuters
Lawyer says timing of police questioning about well-known events could mean that authorities plan to charge Pu Zhiqiang with collusion.
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08.20.14China’s Xi Jinping Seeks Launch of New Media Clusters
Variety
Xi said that the new groups should be “diversified,” “advanced,” and “competitive” and said that state authorities should properly integrate and manage traditional and new media.”
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08.20.14China Arrests 1,000 Members of Banned Religious Cult 'Eastern Lightning'
CNN
State news agency Xinhua said that the group, which Beijing regards as a dangerous doomsday cult, cheated people, illegally collected money and "violated the law under the guise of religion."
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08.20.14Can China Save Africa's Elephants?
Bloomberg
Poaching has not only reduced elephant populations, but it has also become unsustainable. The problem, beyond how many elephants are being killed, is the lack of surviving males in their prime years.
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08.19.14China Chides U.S. Over Ferguson Violence, American Racism
McClatchy
State media of the world’s largest country has stepped up coverage of the Ferguson violence and protests, publishing commentaries accusing the United States of hypocrisy in seeking to be a global guardian of human rights.Read more here: http://www...
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08.19.14Heinz Recalls Four Batches of Infant Food in China
Reuters
Heinz took action after food safety regulators in eastern Zhejiang province said they had found "excessive amounts of lead" in the company's AD Calcium Hi-Protein Cereal.
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08.19.14China Said to Deploy Drones After Unrest in Xinjiang
New York Times
Three days after an eruption of violence in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang this summer left nearly 100 people dead, the region’s “antiterrorist command” asked the country’s biggest space and defense contractor for help.
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08.14.14China Dissident Lawyer Gao Zhisheng ‘Destroyed by Jail’
BBC
Leading Chinese dissident Gao Zhisheng — released the first week of August 2014 — has been “utterly destroyed” after three years in jail, says his international lawyer, Jared Gensher.
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08.11.14China Says Over 150 “Economic Fugitives” at Large in the U.S.
Reuters
The United States "has become the top destination for Chinese fugitives fleeing the law," the China Daily newspaper said, citing Liao Jinrong, director general of the ministry's International Cooperation Bureau.
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08.11.14China Jails Foreign Sleuths
Economist
A Shanghai court sentenced British corporate detective Peter Humphrey to 2.5 years in prison for illegally obtaining private information on Chinese citizens for pharmaceutical firm GlaxoSmithKline.
Environment
08.07.14
What to Do About China’s Polluted Farmland?
While the extent of China's soil pollution crisis is becoming clearer, the consensus on what to do next is still lacking.The results of the state soil survey earlier this year were damning: 16.1% of sampling points nationwide were in breach of...
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08.07.14China Says Japan Fighter Jets Shadowed its Planes over Disputed Waters
Reuters
Tension has been high between Asia's two largest economies in recent months, with each accusing the other of flying military aircraft too close to its own jets in a long-running territorial dispute.
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08.07.14China Cracks Down on Messaging Apps
Wall Street Journal
China says rules aim to 'Help Build a Clean Cyberspace' and safeguard national security
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08.06.14In China, Shark Fin Soup Is So 2010
Wall Street Journal
A WildAid study found that sales among shark fin vendors in the southern city of Guangzhou declined 82% in the past two years, while wholesale prices fell 57% and retail prices dropped 47%.
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08.06.14China Imposes Intrusive Rules on Uighurs in Xinjiang
Los Angeles Times
Black-clad, helmet-wearing paramilitary forces were seen in several locations in recent days, stopping Uighur men to check their IDs and scroll through the playlists of their phones.
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08.06.14China’s Bizarre Fixation on a 23-Year-Old Woman
Foreign Policy
Guo Meimei is being used to represent all that's wrong with Chinese charities—and maybe China itself.
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08.06.14China Regulator Probes Microsoft, Accenture Offices
Wall Street Journal
Inspection is latest move in country's antitrust investigation of U.S. tech companies.
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08.05.14Chinese Regulators Search Daimler Offices
New York Times
The German automobile giant Daimler has become the latest multinational company to bear the brunt a Chinese regulatory investigation, confirming on Tuesday that officials from an agency that enforces antimonopoly and pricing rules had searched its...
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08.04.14China Using Antimonopoly Law to Pressure Foreign Businesses
Wall Street Journal
China is using its six-year-old antimonopoly law to put foreign businesses under increasing pressure, a development that experts say will intensify as Beijing seeks greater sway over the prices paid by Chinese companies and consumers.
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08.04.14China Sees Boom in Illegal Surrogate Motherhood
New York Times
Rising infertility and a relaxation of the one-child policy have given rise to a booming black market in surrogacy that experts say produces well over 10,000 births a year.
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08.04.14China Says Can Build What it Wants on South China Sea Isles
Reuters
China can build whatever it wants on its islands in the South China Sea, a senior Chinese official said, rejecting proposals ahead of a key regional meeting to freeze any activity that may raise tensions in disputed waters there.
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08.04.14Death Toll Rises to 75 in Chinese Factory Blast
Associated Press
The death toll in for an explosion at a Chinese auto parts factory has risen to 75 people, as investigators fault poor safety measures and news reports reveal that workers had long complained of dangerous levels of dust.
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08.04.14China Using Antimonopoly Law to Pressure Foreign Businesses
Wall Street Journal
Experts say Beijing seeking greater sway over prices paid by Chinese companies and consumers.
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08.04.14What Microsoft Has Done Right (And Wrong) In China With Xbox One
Forbes
Half a year after China lifted its console ban, allowing gaming consoles to be legally sold within the country for the first time in over a decade, China’s console gamers are yet to get their hands on anything.
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08.04.14The War of Words in China
New York Times
I didn't ask for a Wikipedia page, but a few months ago, alerted by a friend, I found that someone had created one, ostensibly devoted to my journalistic achievements, but accusing me of writing over 400 mostly negative articles on China.
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08.03.14China Says Violent Xinjiang Uprising Left Almost 100 Dead
Wall Street Journal
Chinese police gunned down 59 people and arrested 215 during a violent uprising last week in the Xinjiang region, the government said Sunday, in a statement that shed fresh light on what dissident groups had earlier described as a major clash in the...
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08.02.14The War of Words in China
New York Times
These are challenging days for foreigners in China, who in the past year or so have increasingly found themselves caught up in a war of words that paint Westerners as conscripts in the army of “hostile foreign forces” seeking to thwart China’s rise.
Sinica Podcast
08.02.14
The Rule of Law in China
from Sinica Podcast
This week on Sinica, Jeremy and David are joined by Donald Clarke, a professor at George Washington University where he specializes in Chinese law, for a discussion of what is happening with the Zhou Yongkang corruption scandal, as well as ongoing...
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07.31.14China Charges Leading Uighur Professor with Separatism
New York Times
Although not unexpected, analysts say the decision to criminally prosecute Ilham Tohti is a clear signal that the Communist Party leadership under President Xi Jinping will broach no criticism of its increasingly hard-line ethnic policies.
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07.31.14The End of China’s Hated Hukou System is Less Ground-breaking Than It Seems
Quartz
The new rules only make it easier for formerly rural hukou holders to move to small, backwater cities, not the vibrant mega-cities along China’s eastern coast where the vast majority of migrants are.
Caixin Media
07.31.14
Ex-Politburo Members Accused of ‘Serious Discipline Violations’ Always Face Courts
After much speculation, the axe has finally fallen on Zhou Yongkang, the former public security chief and member of the Politburo Standing Committee, indicating the Communist Party’s campaign against corruption will grant no exceptions to the...
Conversation
07.31.14
Zhou Yongkang’s Downfall
On July 29, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communisty Party announced it was investigating ex-security czar Zhou Yongkang “on suspicion of grave violations of discipline.” Zhou, who retired from the Politburo...
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07.30.14Beijing Begins Apparent Corruption Probe Into High-Level Official
NPR
China has begun investigations into one of the country's senior politicians. Zhou Yongkang was a former domestic security chief, and he's suspected of "serious disciplinary violations" — a phrase which usually stands for...
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07.30.14China to Help 100 Million Settle in Cities
Xinhua
China State Council said it plans to help about 100 million people without urban ID records to settle in towns and cities by 2020 in a reform of the nation's household registration, or "hukou," system.
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07.30.14Fall of Zhou Yongkang Lights Up China’s Internet
Wall Street Journal
China’s social media microblogs, the country’s de facto town square, have for more than a year seethed with oblique flecks at the fate of former security chief Zhou Yongkang.
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07.29.14China Puts Ex-Security Chief Zhou Yongkang Under Investigation
Wall Street Journal
China launched a formal investigation into one of the Communist Party’s most senior figures, lifting a cloak of immunity that has shielded the country’s highest ranks for at least 25 years, in President Xi Jinping’s boldest move yet to solidify his...
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07.28.14China Activists Fight Gay ‘Conversion Therapy’
BBC
Gay rights activists in China are preparing for what they say could be a legal milestone in their fight to stop homosexuality being treated as an illness.
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07.23.14Chinese Blogger Jailed For ‘Rumor-Mongering’
Rakyat Post
A Chinese blogger known for criticizing the ruling Communist Party was sentenced on Wednesday to six-and-a-half years in jail, state media said, as authorities pursue a crackdown on online “rumors”.
Environment
07.23.14
Moving a Mountain, of Trash
from chinadialogue
On July 1, tough new standards for pollution from waste incinerators came into effect. The move is an attempt to end the conflict between communities across China and the nearby rubbish-burning plants they believe threaten their health and house...
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07.22.14Chinese Social Media Shrinks by 7% During Internet Crackdown
China Digital Times
According to China Internet Network Information Center, the number of Chinese Internet users logging on to social media websites declined by 7.4% percent in the first half of 2014 amid a year of slow Internet usage growth.
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07.22.14Heard in the Hutong: Will China’s Rise Lead to Conflict?
Wall Street Journal
With Xi Jinping currently finishing up a trip to South America following a meeting of BRICS leaders in Brazil, China Real Time hit the streets of Beijing to find out what residents think about China’s place in the world.
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07.22.14Twitter Acts Quickly on Suspect Pro-China Accounts
New York Times
Just hours after The New York Times posted an article about bogus Twitter accounts dedicated to spreading pro-China propaganda—and a Tibetan advocacy group demanded that the company take action—Twitter appears to have hit the kill switch on a score...
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07.21.14China Imports Record Amount of Iranian Crude Oil
Wall Street Journal
The import increase comes as U.S. sanctions are loosened.
Media
07.21.14
Everybody Hates Rui
He may be widely reviled in his home country, but oh, what a resume: The son of an author and screenwriter; a graduate of the prestigious China Foreign Affairs University; a Yale World Fellow; and state-run China Central Television (CCTV)’s best-...
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07.21.14China’s Response to the MH17 Tragedy? Condemn the West
Time
Despite memories of decades of Cold War frostiness, Beijing is now quite chummy with Moscow.
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07.21.14Alibaba’s IPO Could Be a Bonanza for the Scions of Chinese Leaders
New York Times
Firm didn't reveal deep political connections of its investment backers, Boyu Capital, Citic Capital Holdings and CDB Capital.
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07.18.14Anti-corruption Drive—Anchor away: A Famous Newsman is Detained
Economist
In the midst of an ongoing anti-corruption campaign popular, jet-setting China Central Television “Economic News” anchor Rui Changgang is questioned.
Conversation
07.17.14
How to Read China’s New Press Restrictions
On June 30, China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television posted a statement on its website warning Chinese journalists not to share information with their counterparts in the foreign press corps. Most major...
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07.17.14China Widens Anti-Corruption Drive to Officials with Family Abroad
Reuters
Wang Qishan, secretary of its watchdog Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, told investigators to go after “naked officials”, state media said, referring to those who have children or spouses who live abroad.
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07.17.14Advice for Journalists in China: Hire a Lawyer
Telegraph
This week, hundreds of thousands of Chinese journalists are expected to receive their new official press cards. But to qualify, they each had to sit a new exam designed to strengthen their ethics, professional conduct and knowledge of...
Environment
07.17.14
China Faces Long Battle to Clean Polluted Soil
from chinadialogue
This is the third of a special three-part series of investigations jointly run by chinadialogue and Yale Environment 360 with the support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. You can also read parts one and two.Luo Jinzhi is 52 and lives in...
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07.16.14Unprecedented: Chinese Company Beats Obama in Court
Wall Street Journal
In an unprecedented development on Tuesday,Chinese-owned Ralls Corp. proved the naysayers wrong, securing a court victory over the president that could shake up the way the U.S. reviews foreign acquisitions with national security concerns.
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07.14.14GSK China’s Private-Eyes Indicted in Shanghai for Illegal Probe
Xinhua
Peter William Humphrey, a 58-year-old Brit, and his wife Yu Ying Zeng, a 61-year old American, were arrested last August. Theirs is the first indictment Chinese prosecutors have announced on foreigners for illegal investigation.
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07.11.14How Will Cyber Spying Impact U.S., China Relations?
Bloomberg
Asia Society Senior Fellow Jamie Metzl discusses cyber spying and U.S., China relations and the re-militarization of Japan on “Bloomberg Surveillance.”
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07.11.14Watchdog Alleges Child Labor at Samsung Supplier Plant
Wall Street Journal
A China Labor Watch reports alleges that one of Samsung's suppliers in China employs and underpays and undertrains children. Samsung says it is investigating the claims.
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07.11.14China Labels iPhone a Security Threat
Wall Street Journal
Report cites researchers who say tracking app could expose 'state secrets.'
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07.10.14Power Shift: Hopeful Signs in China’s Legal Reform Plan
Wall Street Journal
The Central Leading Group for Judicial Reform of the Chinese Communist Party announced the reform measures last month and an overview of a new five-year plan issued by the Supreme People’s Court on Wednesday signals a serious intention to implement...
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07.09.14Kerry Presses China to Abide by Maritime Laws to Ease Tensions
New York Times
In a closed-door session at a high-level gathering of Chinese and American officials here on Wednesday, Secretary of State John Kerry urged China to follow maritime law in nearby seas to reduce regional tensions.
Conversation
07.09.14
The U.S. and China Are At the Table: What’s At Stake?
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are in Beijing this week for the sixth session of the high level bilateral diplomatic exchange known as the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. We asked contributors what's likely...