Cyber Homage In Wuzhen; Grassroots Governance; GDP Target Not Going Away - Sinocism 12.04.17
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The Essential Eight
1. The 4th World Internet Conference Another Win For Beijing
Comment: The big gets this year were the Apple, Cisco and Google CEOs. Facebook still only sent a VP. Interestingly, the Google CEO was still snubbed as his talk was not marketed and thus sparsely attended and he did not feature in the propaganda, as the Apple and Cisco CEOs did.
Senior CPC official meets foreign World Internet Conference guests - Xinhua
Wang [Huning], a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and member of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat, met with Thai Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong, Mongolia Deputy Prime Minister Ulziisaikhan Enkhtuvshin, former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins...
CCTV Evening News report on the breakout meetings 王沪宁会见出席世界互联网大会的外国客人
Global delegates laud Xi's messages to World Internet Conference - Xinhua:
In his letter, Xi said the development of the internet has posed many new challenges for the sovereignty, security, and development interests of the world's countries.
He said China hopes to work with the international community to respect cyberspace sovereignty and carry forward the spirit of partnership to commonly advance development, safeguard security, participate in governance, and share the benefits.
Xi welcomes countries to ride fast train of internet, digital economy - Xinhua:
He expressed hopes that the delegates will draw on collective wisdom and enhance mutual understanding so as to deepen exchanges and cooperation on the internet and digital economy, and make the development of the internet better serve the well-being of all people worldwide.
Xi pointed out that the development of the internet has posed many new challenges for the sovereignty, security, and development interests of the world's countries.
"Building a community of common future in cyberspace has increasingly become the widespread common understanding of international society," he said.
Xi's letter to Wuzhen - 习近平致信祝贺第四届世界互联网大会开幕-中共中央网络安全和信息化领导小组办公室
Internet sovereignty not against opening up - Global Times:
Some observers in the US and some other Western countries are against the concept of sovereignty of the Internet. That's because they want to dress up the interests of the US and the West into the common interests of the entire world and turn the multi-polar world into a West-dominated uni-polar world through the network. Intentionally or not, they have neglected the complexity of the Internet and have been misleading the public with the simple slogan of "freedom."
Initiative on Belt and Road digital economy cooperation launched - Xinhua:
The initiative includes deeper collaboration to improve broadband access and quality, digital transformation and e-commerce cooperation as well as to enable more support for Internet start-ups and innovation.
China’s Cybersecurity Law One Year On - DigiChina New America:
Here, after a year working with the Cybersecurity Law’s text and half a year nominally under its effect, we offer a guide to the emerging regime and identify some areas to watch for the most consequential developments yet to come.
2. Communist Party Throws A Party For 300 Foreign Political Parties
China will not 'export' Chinese model: Xi - Gov.cn:
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said Friday that the CPC will neither "import" foreign models of development, nor "export" the Chinese model and ask other countries to "copy" the Chinese practice. Xi made the remarks while addressing the opening ceremony of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-level Meeting in Beijing // 此地无银三百两?
Xi proposes to establish new model of party-to-party relations - Gov.cn:
Xi made the remarks at the opening of CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing. Political parties of different countries should work together for an international network of cooperation and exchange in various forms and at multiple levels, he said.
CPC will deepen friendly cooperation with world political parties - Xinhua:
The Communist Party of China (CPC) will consolidate and deepen friendly cooperation with political parties worldwide, Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi said Sunday. Addressing the closing ceremony of the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing, Yang, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called on the CPC and political parties worldwide to contribute to building a community of a shared future for mankind and a better world.
Huang Kunming: CPC will continue to contribute to world peace, common development - Gov.cn:
Huang Kunming, head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks when meeting with the delegates from left-wing parties who were attending the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in Beijing.
Huang said China has proposed the initiative of building a community with a shared future for humanity and a better world, and the CPC is willing to work with left-wing parties worldwide to create a better future.
China Gets 300 Political Parties to Endorse Xi as Peacemaker - Bloomberg:
The Beijing event showcased a growing willingness to let China assume a leadership role as U.S. President Donald Trump’s “America First” policies and Brexit negotiations undermine confidence in the established Western powers. While most participants were from left-leaning parties in developing nations, Italy’s Democratic Party, New Zealand’s Labour Party, South Korea’s Democratic Party and Japan’s Komeito Party also sent representatives.
“Many political parties in the world are confused and struggling and searching for new path,” said Wang Yiwei, director of at Renmin University’s Institute of International Affairs and a speaker at the event. “As Brexit and Trump have shown, there’s no teacher of liberal democracy and teachers have made mistakes. There is no universal model of development.”
3. Cambodia As A Chinese Vassal State
As democracy wanes in Cambodia, China steps in - The Globe and Mail:
Cambodia's critics have accused Mr. Hun Sen, whose 32 years in office make him the world's longest-serving prime minister, of staging a "constitutional coup" that has snuffed out the trappings of a democracy the Western world spent heavily to assemble atop the bloodied ruins of the country's past. The United States has halted visas for senior Cambodian foreign-affairs officials. Other countries, including Canada, have issued public rebukes...
Mr. Hun Sen's Cambodia has become a bright example of Chinese succour for illiberal regimes. Economically powerful and technologically sophisticated, China has the clout to displace Western money and the know-how to equip others to follow paths similar to its own.
For Phnom Penh, Beijing has been a source of not just cash but help in running media, courts, military, economy, anti-corruption efforts, even an election.
4. Strategic Competition in the India Ocean Region
Why India is buying the world’s emptiest airport - Lowy Interpreter:
India is proposing to spend around US$300 million to buy out Sri Lanka's debt to China in return for a 40-year lease over Hambantota airport. But India's future plans for the airport are hazy. Maybe a flight school? A new destination for Indian weddings? There seems little chance that it will turn a profit.
That is not the point of the deal. A key element in any overseas naval base, and even a logistics facility, is easy access by air for people and supplies. A naval base also requires maritime air surveillance capabilities. Control over Hambantota airport will give India considerable control over how the port is used. It is difficult to conceive of the Chinese navy developing a significant facility at Hambantota without also controlling the airport. In short, India is spending US$300 million buying an airport to block a Chinese naval base.
More neighbors are saying "no thanks" to Chinese money — Quartz:
While most countries along the Belt and Road initiative welcome foreign investment and assistance in building modern infrastructure, the pressure being exercised by Beijing doesn’t always go down well. Countries on the receiving end of Chinese cash are starting to realize that when all is done and dusted, the infrastructure that is built is likely to end up controlled by China.
5. Can China "Divide And Conquer" Europe?
China practises “pick and choose” in its relations with the European Union, focusing on its direct interests, and often ignoring EU norms in its proposals. It has vastly increased efforts to strengthen bilateral relations with member states, putting special emphasis on Europe’s periphery. China holds its own summit with central and eastern European nations, the so-called 16+1, and it seized the opportunity of the euro crisis for massive takeovers in southern Europe. Fascinatingly, its offers and their packaging are not very different from those offered to African and other developing nations: a flurry of projects creating competition among recipients, loans at commercial rates, and a strong insistence on identical statements and agreements.
China is now inside Europe. Its soft power diplomacy relies on repetitive and positive messages. There is a gold rush by some European figures, while many companies, media groups, and universities seek to protect their access to the Chinese market.
6. GDP Target Not Going Away
Comment: Too bad if they stick to a target, but too hard for the system to give it up. I have heard they may be looking at a range of 6-6.5%, which would be slightly better than hard target.
The Central Economic Work Conference will be held imminently, possibly this week, so we may know more soon.
China says 2018 growth target to reflect new changes in economy - Reuters
The government will set its key targets for 2018 “after earnestly studying new performance, new situations and new problems”, the office, the government’s public relations arm, said in a statement in response to Reuters’ requests for comment on a source-based story...
Policy sources have told Reuters that China’s leaders are likely to maintain this year’s growth target of “around 6.5 percent” in 2018, even as they ratchet up efforts to control systemic risks from a rapid build-up of debt in the world’s second-largest economy.
7. Grassroots Governance Challenges
Comment: Beijing still can not control local governance as it would like to.
China to enhance supervision of village affairs - Xinhua:
China's central authorities have called for the setting up of supervisory commissions on village affairs, according to a guideline released Monday.
The village affairs supervision committees will help to "overcome unhealthy tendencies, curb corruption, promote harmony and stability and improve governance in villages," according to the guideline issued by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council.
中共中央办公厅 国务院办公厅印发《关于建立健全村务监督委员会的指导意见》
8. China Wants Its Own Influential Academic Journals
Comment: Foreign journals have too much market share, too high standards?
China to push influence of its academic journals - Xinhua:
"Publication is the priority," said Zhu Bangfen, chairman of the China Editology Soc
iety for Science Periodicals (CESSP). He suggested an academic platform with a quick and timely publication system be built for Chinese scholars.
Wang Zhizhen, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), said though not all Chinese scholars were willing to publish their articles abroad, two crucial factors -- a long publishing cycle and single alternative publishing language -- had stymied the outflow of academic articles abroad.
She suggested that Chinese periodicals select and publish creative research results as quickly as possible, especially revolutionary ones, providing a publication "express lane."
Another CAS academician Wang Dingsheng put a more fundamental resolution on the table. "To reverse the tendency of academic article outflows, we should build our own academic evaluation standard," Wang said.
Business, Economy, Finance And Trade
China Issues New Rules to Clean Up Online Microloans - Caixin Global The maximum allowed legal annualized interest rate in China is 36%. But many online lenders charge annualized rates exceeding 100%, despite advertising seemingly low daily interest rates. Lenders are not allowed to offer loans to borrowers who have no source of income or to mislead clients into over-borrowing, or to conduct violent debt collection. Lenders must fully and continuously assess borrowers’ creditworthiness, ability to repay debt and use of funds, according to the notice. A loan shouldn’t be extended more than twice. To prevent excessive leverage, regulators tightened scrutiny of the capital sources of microlenders, forbidding banks to invest asset management funds in securitization products backed by cash loans.
China banking regulator targets ‘invisible shareholders’ - FT $$ China’s banking regulator is preparing new rules to forbid “invisible shareholders”, a response to the widespread use of shell companies and proxies to disguise the true owners of major Chinese banks and other companies. A spokesman for the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) announced the impending rules at a press briefing on Friday without elaborating
China’s Next Potential Boom Spot: The Places People Overlook - The New York Times Comment: An interesting article, should not be news but it is, an interesting counterpoint to some of the more bearish views of China's economy, and of its infrastructure investments //Thanks to China’s digital revolution, advances in farming and billions of dollars spent on thousands of miles of new highways and railways, Chinese people away from the biggest cities are responding. Many of China’s more remote areas are catching up to rich metropolises and connecting to the broader economy in ways they had not before, with potential long-term benefits for the Chinese economy and the world...
State Council puts in force amendment to VAT regulations - Gov.cn According to the new regulations, all units and individuals engaged in the sale of goods, provision of processing, repairs and replacement services, sales services, intangible properties, real estate, and the importation of goods within the territory of the People’s Republic of China are taxpayers of the value-added tax, and should pay VAT in accordance with the regulations. The revised version also detailed the VAT rate. For taxpayers engaged in the sale of goods, labor services, rental services for tangible properties, and the importation of goods, the tax rate will be 17 percent.
Beijing’s bitcoin ban ‘helped China dodge a scary cryptocurrency bubble’ | South China Morning Post Pan Gongsheng, also head of the foreign currency watchdog the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in Beijing on the weekend that it would have been “scary” if China had not banned bitcoin trading and initial coin offerings (ICO) nearly three months ago. “If things were still the way they were at the beginning of the year, over 80 per cent of the world’s bitcoin trading and ICO financing would take place in China – what would things look like today?” he said on Saturday. “It’s really quite scary.”
Minsheng Bank Fined Record $4 Million for Wealth Management Fraud - Caixin Global The bank was ordered to pay a fine of 27.5 million yuan ($4.16 million), the biggest fine imposed on a bank. In addition, 13 bank executives and employees were handed penalties including fines and bans from the banking industry, according to a statement released Thursday by the Beijing office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC).
HNA's Units Are on a Borrowing Spree, Swallowing High Rates - Bloomberg “They just keep piling on debt,” said Warut Promboon, managing partner at Bondcritic. “It’s not going to work.”
Four Banks Fined for Breaking Rules on Offshore Loan Guarantees - Caixin Global The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) targeted branches of China Minsheng Bank and Xiamen International Bank Co. Ltd. on the Chinese mainland, the mainland subsidiaries of Hong Kong-based OCBC Wing Hang Bank Ltd. and South Korea’s Industrial Bank of Korea.
China denounces U.S. opposition to market economy status - Xinhua The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative told Xinhua Friday that the United States had submitted a statement of opposition to the WTO as a third-party brief in support of the European Union (EU) in a case brought by China arguing the "surrogate country approach" should be dropped after the expiration date. "China is strongly dissatisfied and resolutely opposes the rejection, as the U.S. government tried to mix the concepts of the surrogate country approach and market economy status to mislead the public," the MOC said in a statement.
China Banking Stress Indicator Eased for Fifth-Straight Quarter - Bloomberg China’s credit-to-gross domestic product “gap” declined to 18.9 percent in the second quarter from 22.1 percent in the first three months of this year, according to data released Sunday by the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. That’s down from a high of 28.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016 and below the 2013 level of 19 percent.
China ‘zombie’ debt accounts for small slice of total, IMF says - FT $$ zombies accounted for only 5 to 9 per cent of total Chinese corporate debt at the end of last year, according to a new IMF working paper, while companies in overcapacity sectors — defined as steel, aluminium, coal, plated glass and cement — comprised just 16 per cent.
Beijing migrant ‘clean-out’ hits China ecommerce sector - FT $$ Four big listed logistics companies — Best, ZTO, YTO, and STO — announced that delivery times would be affected until the end of December. One ZTO courier said his usual daily load of 100 packages had dropped to 20 in the past week, while several stalls on Alibaba’s ecommerce platform Taobao have stopped shipping to Beijing.
Politics, Law And Ideology
九三学社第十一次全国代表大会开幕 赵乐际代表中共中央致贺词—中央纪委监察部网站 Zhao Leji speaks at the Jiusan Society Congress Opening, another sign that suggestions last week that Li Zhanshu's appearance at the opening of another "democratic" party's congress was a sign he would get the CPPCC chair job. Still think Li gets the NPC and a major role related to the National Security Commission
The Beijing Migrants Crackdown | ChinaFile A good Chinafile Conversation
北京1周：新增1副市长、调整2区委书记、拟任职20多局级干部 lot of turnover in Beijing municipal officials in the last week. Cai Qi cleaning house?
Animated gifs on frugality regulations published - Xinhua The top anti-graft body of the Communist Party of China (CPC) released 16 animated gifs on the eight-point frugality code to mark the fifth anniversary of the code's release on Sunday. The CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published the gifs on its website, featuring the content and the significance of the code.
and here they are-http: // www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201712/t20171203_112964.html 八项规定表情包来啦！, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the release of the "8 regulations"
王沪宁：大力学习弘扬“红船精神” 用伟大精神推动伟大实践--时政--人民网 Wang Huning stayed in Zhejiang, spoke on 12.4 at the "red boat spirit" symposium in Jiaxing.
人民日报：牢记嘱托 勇担使命 建设和守护好中国共产党人的精神家园--观点--人民网 Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang in 12.4 People's Daily on studying the spirit of Xi's visit to the Shanghai site of the first CCP Party Congress
Foreign and Military Affairs
The Chinese Hacking Indictments and the Frail “Norm” Against Commercial Espionage - Lawfare The Boyusec indictment thus suggests that China is either violating the 2015 deal or exploiting its ambiguities and thus exposing the norm against commercial cybertheft as weak. Indeed, despite their joint statement in September 2015, it is not at all clear that the United States and China ever agreed on how to understand the meaning of “the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors.” The two countries have differing political-economic systems and differing conceptions of national security; and they appear to have very different understandings of the deeply ambiguous 2015 agreement.
China rebuffs Indian media on polluted South Tibetan river claim - Global Times India should not point its finger at China on hydrological issues to incite anti-China sentiment, which cannot help repair the ties of the two countries, Chinese analysts said following Indian media reports that China caused the pollution of a river in South Tibet. "South Tibet is the territory of China, which has the duty to preserve local environment," Hu Zhiyong, a research fellow at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of International Relations, told the Global Times on Thursday.
China showcases jet fighters at South China Sea island - Global Times The official Chinese media's broadcast of Chinese J-11B fighters entering a sealed hangar in the Xisha Islands showcases China's improving air and sea control of the South China Sea, a Chinese military expert said. Footage aired by China Central Television (CCTV) on Wednesday for the first time confirmed deployment of the fighter aircraft in a hangar on Yongxing Island.
Yun-9 ‘ready for combat’ after training in S.China Sea - Global Times The domestic-made medium-sized military transport aircraft Yun-9 is ready for combat mission, which will boost China's effort in safeguarding maritime rights, military experts said on Sunday after the aircraft completed exercises in the South China Sea. The Yun-9 is now able to undertake combat missions after a fleet of the transport aircraft finished training in the South China Sea, Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) announced on Saturday on its official WeChat account.
Chinese group tours to S Korea restart after 8-month suspension - ECNS On November 28, 2017, it was confirmed that Chinese group tours to South Korea would restart due to encouraging signs of a thaw in bilateral relations. A staff member from a Beijing-based travel agency noted that group travel to South Korea would need time to recover in accordance with market demand.
Future wars may depend as much on algorithms as on ammunition, report says. - The Washington Post The Pentagon is increasingly focused on the notion that the might of U.S. forces will be measured as much by the advancement of their algorithms as by the ammunition in their arsenals. And so as it seeks to develop the technologies of the next war amid a technological arms race with China, the Defense Department has steadily increased spending in three key areas: artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing, according to a recent report.
Scoop: Trump approves National Security Strategy - Axios The strategy will focus on economic competitiveness as a national security imperative, especially regarding China. That fits into Trump's long-held belief that foreign countries have been taking advantage of America and stealing U.S. jobs.
Justin Trudeau touts Niagara Falls and Canada’s charms in appeal to Chinese tourists | South China Morning Post Trudeau is visiting China for the second time since he took office in 2015, ahead of next year’s Canada-China Year of Tourism – an initiative to boost the relationship between the two countries – which Canada is to host.
国防部透露关于洞朗的重要信息 被大家略过了_网易新闻 MoD spokesman reveals that this winter, unlike in previous years China has not withdrawn troops from the Doklam area // “第二个问题，目前中国军队仍然在洞朗地区部署部队，按照惯例做法，每年冬天双方都会撤离，但这次中方并没有撤军，请问这是什么原因？为什么现在中国军队仍然在那里驻防？”
国务院办公厅印发《关于推动国防科技工业军民融合深度发展的意见》-新闻-上海证券报·中国证券网 State Council issues opinion on promoting deepening development of national defense science and technology civil-military integration
Tech And Media
China’s A.I. Advances Help Its Tech Industry, and State Security - New York Times Those tight ties with the government could give iFlyTek and other Chinese companies an edge in an emerging new field. China’s financial support and its loosely enforced and untested privacy laws give Chinese companies considerable resources and access to voices, faces and other biometric data in vast quantities, which could help them develop their technologies, experts say.
China and America must shape the high-tech future together - FT $$ - Kai-Fu Lee I expect China will lead the AI revolution together with the US. This in itself is a new development of considerable geopolitical importance. It will require more open-minded interactions from other players on the world stage.
Matrix Partners China Reveals Biggest Investment Mistakes And Lessons Learned – China Money Network Matrix China and its founding managing partner David Zhang, also known as Ying Zhang, are widely considered mavericks by many in China’s conservative VC circles. Zhang is known for leading a group of CEOs on a 17-day, 6,000 kilometers motorcycle road trip across Australia, in the summer heat. For the past two years, Matrix executives have also brought groups of Chinese CEOs to the “Burning Man” art and music festival in northwest Nevada.
Toutiao and beyond: How Bytedance will keep making global headlines - TechNode Speaking at a briefing to journalists during Bytedance’s Global Festival for A.Ideas in Beijing, the first time Bytedance has spoken to a group of international journalists, Liu revealed: Revenue for 2018 is expected to be around RMB 50 billion 50% of time spent on Toutiao is on watching videos 50% of revenue could come from overseas in five years’ time A million content creators produce 20 million pieces of new content per day 90% of content is moderated via AI, the rest by humans
WeChat Secures Electronic Payment License in Malaysia, Plans to Roll Out Services Early Next Year | Yicai Global Users in Malaysia will be able to directly link their bank accounts to the Wechat Pay platform and use local currency to make payments. Tencent plans to expand its Wechat ecosystem overseas in Malaysia including functions such functions as instant messaging, payments, taxi-hailing, and shopping.
Ant Financial Joins $350M Round In Chinese Bike Sharing Firm Hellobike – China Money Network It marks the first funding round after the company merged with Shanghai Stock Exchange-listed bike rental firm Youon Bike two months ago, to compete with industry leaders ofo and Mobike.
Xiaomi Seeks Valuation of at Least $50 Billion in IPO - Bloomberg The Beijing-based company is considering an offering as soon as next year with banks suggesting Hong Kong as the most likely destination, said the people, requesting not to be named because the matter is private
China sends its top actors and directors back to socialism school - The Washington Post This week, more than 100 of the nation’s top filmmakers, actors and pop stars were gathered for a day in the city of Hangzhou to be told exactly what that meant in practice, and to study the spirit of the 19th Party Congress
Society, Art, Sports, Culture And History
Chinese girl adopted by American family miraculously reunited with her birth parents on Hangzhou’s Broken Bridge | Post Magazine | South China Morning Post ‘Let us meet again on the Broken Bridge in Hangzhou on the morning of the Qixi Festival in 10 or 20 years’, read the note her parents left with the baby who would grow up as Kati Pohler in Michigan. Thanks to a lucky encounter, eventually they did
Chinese twins reunited after identity fraud investigation | South China Morning Post A pair of identical twins were reunited in eastern China decades after they were separately adopted, thanks to police unwittingly investigating them for suspected identity fraud.
Energy, Environment, Science And Health
Chinese university head elected president of world engineering federation - Xinhua Gong Ke, head of Tianjin-based Nankai University, has been elected president of the Paris-based World Federation of Engineering Organization (WFEO), the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) said Saturday.
CNPC reports new oil field discovery in western China - Reuters ...about 520 million tonnes of crude reserves in place...in the Juggar Basin of the Xinjiang region in western China, Xinhua said.
Beijing orders regions to 'regulate' gas market as prices soar - Reuters The meetings highlight Beijing’s concerns about rising gas prices amid its policy to shift millions of homes to gas heating from coal for the winter along with thousands of factories and businesses to combat air pollution. Last week, the industrial provinces of Hebei and Shandong warned of gas shortages and ordered cuts to some industrial and commercial users
Agriculture And Rural Issues
This new strain of salt water rice could feed 200 million people | World Economic Forum An 87-year-old scientist named Yuan Longping has successfully developed rice that can be grown using saltwater. While his rice could prevent food scarcity as global climate change floods the world, the new strain has a long way to go before it can be widely adopted.
Citic Plows $1.1 Billion Into Dow Brazilian Agriculture Assets - Caixin Global Citic Agri Fund has completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of some of Dow Chemical Co.’s Brazil agriculture assets, a move that has netted the company a significant chunk of the country’s huge agricultural sector.
Food And Travel
2018 Public Holidays-Gov.cn a useful listing
Books And Literature
Lu Xun’s Buddhological Library – Fairbank Center – Medium Lei Ying, Graduate Student Associate at Harvard’s Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and Ph.D. Candidate in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, examines the influence of Buddhist texts on Chinese canonical writer Lu Xun..
Beijing
Beijing bans fireworks in city proper - Xinhua According to the regulation, setting off fireworks will be banned within the Fifth Ring Road of Beijing. In addition, district authorities outside the Fifth Ring Road can set fixed areas where fireworks are banned or restricted. This means residents in the city proper will not be allowed to set off fireworks on the Lunar New Year, China's most important festival for family reunion. Chinese often celebrate the holiday with fireworks.
Beijing air pollution notably reduced in winter: environment minister - Xinhua Minister of Environmental Protection Li Ganjie told attendees of an environment forum in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, that Beijing's levels of PM2.5 dropped about 27 percent year-on-year in the March-November period this year.
Beijing Bashes Billboards in Bid to Beautify Buildings - Caixin Global Beijing is ramping up a citywide campaign to tear down billboards and logos that protrude from the edges of buildings, in a bid to remake the city’s skyline. As of the end of last week, nearly a third of the 27,000 billboards labeled irregular by the authorities have been taken down in the so-called “skyline operation,” the government-run Beijing Daily reported, citing official sources.