Sinocism

The New York Times has an interesting article today on thriving state-owned companies in China-”China’s Policies Ensure State Enterprises Grow“.

The article makes no mention of China’s Internet industry, which will generate 6-7+ billion dollars in revenue this year from gaming, advertising and other sources, is growing 20% or more per year, and which has publicly listed companies with a combined market capitalization approaching 100 billion dollars (partial list here), and much more if you include the value of private firms like Alibaba Group and its Taobao subsidiary. A few billion dollars in annual revenue and 100 billion dollars or so in market capitalization still pales compared to China’s overall economy and to some of these state-owned behemoths. But as the Internet increasingly becomes embedded into hundreds of millions of people’s daily lives, its influence on Chinese society and China’s economy will be much greater than its current revenue would suggest.

In addition, foreign investors have large stakes in several of the large Chinese Internet firms, including Alibaba Group (Yahoo and Softbank together own a majority) and Tencent (South African media firm Naspers owns 35%). I think the government did not understand the potential or the importance of these small startups when the investments were made several years ago; it is highly unlikely foreigners could take such large stakes now.

State-owned firms are trying to gain share online, with ventures by CCTV, public listing of the new media arms of state media firms etc., but absent regulatory intervention or M&A it is going to be very hard for the state-owned firms to catch up to the private Internet sector.

Read the rest of this entry »

After my post last week on Li Delin’s (李德林) book “Goldman Sachs Conspiracy (高盛阴谋), both Forbes and the Associated Press wrote about the Chinese bestseller.

Li Delin did not like the Western press coverage. In a post on his Sohu blog titled “Americans Don’t Get Excited, It Was Just a Creation Out of a Piss 美国人别激动，那只是一泡尿的创意“, Li criticizes the attention, both because my post suggested possible anti-Semitic undertones, and because he thinks in general that the press is making too big of a deal of his book. Li says he had no ulterior motive, and that his publisher and a staffer came up with the idea for the book over a piss and then hired Li to write it.

As for any anti-Semitism, I should have given more perspective in my original post beyond that it contains “an undercurrent of anti-Semitism”. Apparently some Chinese people think that Isreali Shar Pei dogs are an especially smart breed. In my experience, Chinese tend to like Jewish people because they believe that the stereotypical Jewish person places very high value on family, education and money–just like Chinese do. In fact, some of my friends have told me that if their daughters have to marry a foreigner they hope he is Jewish. As anyone who has lived in China knows, the Chinese are very open about discussing other races and religions, sometimes pejoratively, sometimes not.

Growing up I was taught to try to avoid viewing people through racial or religious prisms. Maybe that makes me too sensitive, or maybe not. I read through this book and thought about the firestorm that would erupt if Matt Taibbi or others had written about Goldman Sachs and said they had the IQ of Israeli Shar Pei Dogs (p. 26), referred to founder Marcus Goldman as having Bavarian Jewish blood (p. 217), or described J. Aron as a firm “with pure Jewish bloodlines” (p. 249). And these are just references I found skimming through a handful of chapters in the book; there are no doubt more.

To my Jewish readers, do you think this has anti-Semitic undertones? Or are these just innocent descriptors used by Chinese with no inhibitions discussing foreigners?

The bigger issue I have with the book is the very strong nationalist sentiment, and especially the idea that Goldman is out to get with China. That just does not conform with reality. People who know me know I am no Goldman defender, but if an author is going to bash the firm I hope they at least do so with facts, of which there are plenty to justify attacks on the bank.

I purchased the official copy at a state-owned Xinhua bookstore. There is also at least one pirated version available online that does not contain any reference to Israeli Shar Pei dogs. As for calling this a bestseller, the rule of thumb as I understand it is that for every official copy sold in China there are probably 10 pirated versions read. Assuming 100,000 sold, that would mean 1 million or more people have this book. No matter what the government thinks of Goldman Sachs, more and more Chinese think they are anti-Chinese banksters. And that can’t be good for Goldman’s business in China.

Read the rest of this entry »

Credit Suisse has published a report that tries to quantify the scale of hidden, or unreported, income in China. The bank sponsored Professor Wang Xiaolu of the China Reform Foundation for this report, his second study of China’s grey income and income distribution.

Professor Wang makes some startling and conclusions that if accurate have significant ramifications for how we should view China’s economic development, Chinese consumption activity (see Pettis today for his dim view of Chinese consumption; not sure he has seen this report) the possible existence of property bubbles, the chances for a devaluation of the Renminbi if the Yuan were liberalized, and the challenges the Chinese government faces in maintaining social stability. If his data is correct, it may also mean that many of the concerns about Chinese government debt are overblown, as the government has much greater potential than expected increase revenue in the future, through optimizing the tax code and tax collection. Professor Wang concludes that:

Almost Rmb10 tn in hidden income, or 30% of GDP. Based on a creative survey technique focusing on the correlation between income and spending patterns, and with over 4,000 samples across 19 provinces in China, Prof. Wang estimates that the per-capita disposable income of urban Chinese households in 2008 should be Rmb32,154, 90% above the official data. Total hidden income could total Rmb9.3 tn, 30% of GDP, with about 63% of hidden income in the hands of the top 10% of urban households.

The potential of China’s consumer market is even bigger than we expected. Most investors are aware that Chinese income statistics are underestimated, but the exact amount is subject to much speculation. The size of grey income revealed by Prof. Wang is striking and could help investors to understand the rationale of the Chinese government’s recent strong push for faster wage growth and a more equitable income distribution pattern – which would also help boost overall consumption.

The report further states that:

The analysis shows that the top-10% of households should have a per-capita disposable income of Rmb139,000 in 2008, instead of the official data of Rmb44,000. High income households (the top 20-30%) should have a per-capita disposable income of Rmb55,000, instead of the officially announced Rmb26,000. Some 80% of hidden income, not reflected in the official survey, belongs to the top 20% of households. Two thirds of the hidden income comes from the top 10% of households.

After including the hidden income, urban disposable income per capita reaches Rmb32,000, almost double that of the official data. Total household disposable income in 2008 is estimated to be Rmb23.2 tn, Rmb9.3 tn higher than the Rmb14 tn calculated based on the official NBS household income survey and Rmb5.4 tn higher than the Rmb17.9 tn total calculated by the Flow of Funds (FOF) accounts in the Economic Census This Rmb5.4 tn is referred to as grey income.

Compared with the adjusted household income in 2005, both the hidden income (Rmb9.3 tn) or grey income (Rmb5.4 tn) in 2008 doubled, rising at a much faster pace than nominal GDP between 2005 and 2008. Due to the existence of grey income, GDP and national income could be underestimated. According to our estimation, grey income in 2008 should total around 15% of national income, up from 13% in 2005.

The existence of hidden income has expanded the income gap remarkably, in our opinion. The per-capita income gap between the incomes of the top 10% and bottom 10% of urban residents rose from 9x (based on the official data) to 26x, after the adjustment. The per capita income gap between the top 10% of urban households and bottom 10% of rural households is adjusted from 23x based on the official data to 65x. Taking into account the existence of hidden income, the Gini coefficient of household income distribution is remarkably higher than the 0.47-0.50 calculated by different experts.

Such a concentration of hidden income in high-income groups demonstrates that much of it is not about simple statistical problems in the household survey but potentially income from illegal sources. Such income includes income without clear definition under laws and regulations in addition to its legitimacy, as well as income from an unidentifiable sources which is practically illegal. The facts show that grey income has its origins in the misuse of power and is closely connected with corruption.

The widespread existence of grey income has significantly distorted national income distribution and reveals the lagging development in social reforms compared with economic reforms. Once government power is united with capital, the free competition of the market economy begins to be replaced by a monopoly of crony capitalism, leading to disparity in income and property distribution, lower economic efficiency and acute social conflicts.

Professor Wang’s conclusions cast doubt on much of the arguments that China is in the throws of a epic property bubble. As he writes:

based on the official average urban income from China’s National Statistics Bureau (NSB), China’s current affordability ratio is 8x (that is, it takes eight years’ average income to buy an average residential property unit) – lower than for city states, such as Singapore (probably not a relevant comparison), but significantly higher than for large and developed continental nations such as the US. However, if we consider the impact of the grey income, China’s national affordability ratio drops to 4x –similar to that in the US. If the effect of grey income is included, China’s Gini index is likely to be more than 0.55 – similar to many South American countries’. This raises the question over whether strong housing demand in China is mainly driven by self-use or investment by rich people. We think both are important drivers.

Professor Wang recommends a combination of wage increases, which i already happening, and reforms to the tax system:

China should not only raise wages, but optimise its tax system to narrow the wealth gap. For example, we expect the government to implement property tax, which should increase the holding costs for rich people’s property investments.

This is important work. You can view the entire report here:

Read the rest of this entry »

The Atlantic Monthly has a must read cover story on the possibility that Israel may attack Iran within the next year-The Point of No Return. The author-Jeffrey Goldberg–had remarkable access to both US and Israeli policy elite. If you take the time to read Goldberg’s long article I urge you to read both Glenn Greenwald’s critique of Goldberg and this story and Jim Fallows’ very thoughtful defense.

But this is a blog about China, so I will get to the point. What I found remarkable about Goldberg’s opus is that there is not a single mention of China, its interests in the Middle East, its relationship with Israel, its commercial and diplomatic relationships with Iran, or its role in keeping sanctions against Iran relatively weak.

An attack on Iran would be devastating to China’s economy and thus its political stability. As Goldberg writes, such a strike, among many bad outcomes, would likely cause “the price of oil to spike to cataclysmic highs, launching the world economy into a period of turbulence not experienced since the autumn of 2008, or possibly since the oil shock of 1973.”

Israel has tried in the last few months to impress upon the Chinese the seriousness of their intentions to never allow an Iranian nuclear bomb, and the possible consequences for China in the event of an attack. To lobby China for support for tougher UN sanctions, Israel in April sent Major-General Amir Eshel, chief of the IDF’s Planning Directorate, to “warn China of the international consequences of military action, particularly the potential disruption to oil supplies on which much of China’s manufacturing and international trade depend.”

Will Goldberg’s article make a positive contribution to efforts to convince the Chinese government that the Israelis feel threatened enough to attack, China and the world’s economies be damned, and so they need to agree to serious sanctions against Iran? Or do the Chinese have no real understanding of Israeli psychology and the historical forces that make many Israelis think an attack on Iran is justified, without regard for global consequences?

Goldberg’s discussion of how an attack might unfold is also a stark reminder that in spite of China’s increasing economic and diplomatic clout, the US remains the world’s only superpower. China has minimal force projection capabilities, no meaningful military presence in the Middle East, and no likely military role in the event of war after an Israeli attack, other than making lucrative arms sales (probably to many participants).

If the US-led diplomatic efforts to force Iran to renounce nuclear weapons development fail and Israel attacks, China risks being seen again as a less than responsible stakeholder in the international system, whether or not you believe Israel is justified in such an attack. China’s support of North Korea in the wake of the Cheonan attack has demonstrated once again to many neighboring Asian countries that China can not be relied upon. As with North Korea, most people believe China could play a very positive role in pushing Iran towards a “good” outcome, but that it refuses to do so, for commercial reasons as well as very narrow and likely miscalculated “strategic” gains at America’s expense.

In March 2010 the Jamestown Foundation published an interesting article on the China-Iran relationship, in the context of a possible Israeli attack–Hobson’s Choice: China’s Second Worst Option on Iran. The author, Yitzhak Shichor, argues that China will ultimately be willing to side with the international community in favor of tougher Iran sanctions. He wrote this piece before the last round of disappointing sanctions, and his conclusion, that “compelled to make a choice between sanctions and war, Beijing may ultimately prefer the former to the latter”, was premature. But it is not too late, and we should all hope that China understands the determination of the Israelis, and their willingness to possibly plunge the world into war and another Depression.

Please tell me what you think in the comments.

If you use RSS you can subscribe to this blog’s feed here, and if you use Twitter you can follow my more frequent updates @niubi, and if you use Sina Weibo you can follow me here. You can also follow my blogging on digital media and the Internet in China at DigiCha.

Read the rest of this entry »

I came across an article today in the Chinese press about an 81 year old man who has collected over 10,000 Chairman Mao badges, and how he even rejected an offer of 5 million RMB to sell his collection. His collection is impressive but no where near the biggest or the best in China. After seeing this article,  I decided to Google “Chairman Mao Badges“.

In 1991-92 I collected about 3,000 badges while living in Beijing. I stopped in 1993 when it became apparent that a lot of reproductions were hitting the market, and I don’t think I have bought one in 15 years. I thought they would be a good investment (so far not really; stamps or propaganda posters would have been better ones), but that was a secondary reason for collecting them. I thought that through these badges I could get a much better understanding of the insanity of the Cultural Revolution and of the people who participated in it and suffered from it.

I ended up writing a long paper in graduate school, under the guidance of my advisor Alice Miller, about Mao badges. I was happy to see that said paper is still the top result in the above Google search. I believe that my (now quaint and somewhat embarrassing 1995 grad school paper) was the first long-form English-language essay on the Mao Zedong badge phenomenon. It did turn out to be an excellent way to learn a lot about the Cultural Revolution, as well as the psychologies (pathologies?) that both precipitated it and were caused by it. I tried to get it published in a scholarly journal but was rejected. So much for a budding academic career…

Subsequently, Melissa Schrift wrote her doctoral dissertation and Mao badges, which then become a very interesting book-Biography of a Chairman Mao Badge: The Creation and Mass Consumption of a Personality Cult. The British Museum sponsored a research project in 2007 that culminated in an excellent book-Chairman Mao badges: Symbols and Slogans of the Cultural Revolution.

For nostalgia purposes, I dug up my original paper, reformatted it as best I could, and uploaded it to Slideshare. It was written pre-Google and Wikipedia, and the software I used had no capacity for inputting Chinese characters. Frankly I don’t expect anyone to read it, nor would I encourage you to unless you have run out of Ambien, but I thought it would make sense to take ownership of the hosting of this paper.

Please tell me what you think in the comments.

You can subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed here,  get my more frequent Twitter updates @niubi, and see my Sina Weibo updates here. You can also follow my blogging on digital media and the Internet in China at DigiCha. And if you want cupcakes or custom cakes in Beijing, please check out my girlfriend’s CCSweets bakery. CCSweets has locations in Central Park in CBD and the Village North in Sanlitun, and you can always order online.

Last week I participated in a Sinica Podcast on issues surrounding the South China Sea and the fallout of North Korea’s sinking of the South Korean Navy vessel the Cheonan. From the introduction:

Are Chinese-American maritime relations running aground? The recent sinking of the South Korean corvette the Cheonan, most likely by China’s unruly client state North Korea, has led to the U.S.S. George Washington participating in naval exercises off the Korean coast. Heightening tensions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, appearing at an ASEAN forum in Hanoi, challenged China’s long-standing claims to the Paracel and Spratly Islands — small reefs and assorted flecks of coral that happen to sit atop rich hydrocarbon stores in the South China Seas.

This week, the Sinica gang takes a lively look at Beijing and Washington’s maneuverings in China’s troubled coastal waters. Appearing with Kaiser are regulars Jeremy Goldkorn, Gady Epstein, and Bill Bishop. Joining us as well is special guest Stephanie Kleine-Ahlbrandt, the North East Asia project director for the International Crisis Group.

You can listen to the podcast here. One special note, listeners can enter into a drawing to win one dozen free mini-cupcakes from CCSweets, Beijing’s best cupcake shop (and owned by my girlfriend). And thanks of course go to the folks at Popup Chinese, probably the best online system for learning Chinese.

While we did not mention it in the podcast, for those interested in learning more about the history of the Korean War, I higly recommend Bruce Cumings’ new book-The Korean War: A History.

Read the rest of this entry »

• begging 4 leniency in beijing courtyard in trial over fatal kindergarten fire 女童被烧身亡老师跪求轻判_北京_新京报网 http://bit.ly/c5zM1T #
• Same CEQ also has essay by Scott Kennedy http://bit.ly/cuC44d on indigenous innovation. Says Amcham report bit hyperbolic #
• l8est issue of China Economic Quarterly out. urs truly has essay on China's Internet-Invisible Birdcage http://bit.ly/b52dDM but not online #
• Bernanke Says He Failed 2 C Financial Flaws – NYT http://nyti.ms/cj6Lvs fail big, keep ur job/get promoted. The New American way $macro #
• India OKs $6.5B Plan To Build Stealth Destroyers – Defense News http://bit.ly/9AX1Vp #
• Letter from China – A China Newly Rich and Still Quite Poor – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/9UIjQt #
• SpyTalk – Li Fengzhi, Chinese spy who defected to U.S., facing deportation http://bit.ly/bGOkbJ sent as PhD student he claims #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• Goldman Sachs invests to get its image right in China – Telegraph http://bit.ly/bOWXm6 $gs hires brunswick #
• Whalen Says Forget QE, Get Tough With Banks « naked capitalism http://bit.ly/90DsNv gr8est theft in history still ongoing #
• 神秘“一滴香” 清水变高汤__土豆网视频 http://bit.ly/a6bsRw #
• just how sleazy is roth capital when it comes 2 listing chinese firms in us? “贩壳圈”生态：中国概念股涉假链条调查 http://bit.ly/9I6sSv $onp $chbt $cga #
• 21cbh looks at sleazy world of using shell companies 2 list Chinese firms on Nasdaq “贩壳圈”生态：中国概念股涉假链条调查 "贩" http://bit.ly/9I6sSv #
• The British Tabloid Phone-Hacking Scandal – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/aqno8n done by Rupert murdoch's "journalists" in Britain #
• LRB · Tony Wood · Frozenology. Siberia is Melting http://bit.ly/d0DgCP #
• Gertz on Chinese Satellite Tests http://bit.ly/bJwseD #
• Beijing to have 4.5 million vehicles this week http://bit.ly/9uszCV 2000 new a day #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• Fictionaut http://bit.ly/cUhuxf #
• FT Alphaville » Morgan Stanley’s Chinese irony http://bit.ly/9Wb5KA $ms #
• Trial opens over sale of substandard material to cctv tower 央视大火案施工方涉嫌销售伪劣产品罪受审 http://bit.ly/9FWddL #
• Official in beijing's tonzhou under investigation for corruption 北京通州区原国资委主任仇春利涉嫌受贿 http://bit.ly/9yM11p #
• The "nobody-could-have-known" excuse and Iraq – Glenn Greenwald rips in2 nyt john burns http://bit.ly/dBFtJY no elite accountability #
• SpyTalk-Mosque rhetoric boosting Taliban, report says http://bit.ly/cYwPRd Pam Geller & her supporters r killing American troops #
• U.S. turns down China currency probes in two cases – Yahoo! News http://yhoo.it/dtz9ps red meat 4 congress? #
• Ex-Dow Scientist Charged With Stealing Trade Secrets for China, U.S. Says – Bloomberg http://bit.ly/dzoRLy #
• Dreaming in Chinese: Mandarin Lessons In Life, Love, And Language: Deborah Fallows http://amzn.to/brS6ke sounds like interesting book #
• U.S. Concerned About Taiwan Ex-Generals' China Visits: Report – Defense News http://bit.ly/cboQX8 #
• China’s Secret Satellite Rendezvous ‘Suggestive of a Military Program’ | Danger Room | Wired.com http://bit.ly/bAIxrl #
• Markets Ignore U.S./China's Zhou Xiaochuan Rumor (for a Change) – China Real Time Report – WSJ http://bit.ly/bQdNGa #
• @carney mayb a positive-Internet May Be The Largest Industry In China Not Dominated By State-owned Firms | Sinocism http://bit.ly/b7Sova #
• "As long as China maintains its own currency and denominates all domestic transactions in RMB, the PBoC reserves cannot be used in China" #
• @carney @thestalwart this pettis worth reading as u speculate on UST and China » What PBoC cannot do w its reserves http://bit.ly/bck1hC #
• The Winners And Losers In Chinese Capitalism – Gady Epstein – Beijing Dispatch – Forbes http://bit.ly/aCjp2Y #
• AFP: China denies central bank chief has fled http://bit.ly/dDh5e2 #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• North Korean Pair Viewed as Key to Secret Arms Trade – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/d8Scjn office 99. no mention of super-notes #
• After 'hidden income' claims, stats bureau vows to improve measurements – PD http://bit.ly/br81uf admission CSFB closer 2 right than wrong #
• FT Alphaville » Where’s Zhou Xiaochuan? http://bit.ly/d0ikzQ sad FT runs such a stupid post on this. they should know better $macro #
• ACLU Sues U.S. Over Targeted Killing of Citizens – Bloomberg http://bit.ly/9MrESV #
• Andy Xie "High Altitude, Low Visibility" China's "ascent..concealed many flaws" http://bit.ly/94Y5lW any serious still listen? seems angry #
• NYT Story on Wall Street’s Fallout with Obama Misses the Dead Bodies « naked capitalism http://bit.ly/c0SVep looting wasnt enough #
• Yuan Set for Biggest Monthly Drop Since '94 as Economy Slows, Dollar Gains – Bloomberg http://bit.ly/b9Ion4 #
• 城管局长李润华任公安副局长 -头版-新京报电子报 http://bit.ly/94bjkJ #
• First steps toward political reform – China Media Project http://bit.ly/8XaafN #
• Japan Confirms Meeting Central Banker Zhou Amid Speculation He Left China – Bloomberg http://bit.ly/92NwP4 $macro #
• The $15 Trillion Home Equity Question-Rick's Picks http://bit.ly/cGIfWw interesting points on china housing h/t @wolfgroupasia $macro #
• Canada Burnishes Position as Arctic Power-WSJ http://bit.ly/aK6wJd ? when will US annex. would solve many of US' problems #
• New U.S. Sanctions Aim at North Korean Elite – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/9PAfMQ #
• $hpq HP Holds Navy Network ‘Hostage’ for $3.3 Billion | Danger Room | Wired http://bit.ly/cA86Sx send in the marines #
• SpyTalk-China bank official's defection rumors quashed http://bit.ly/cmdUUL c stratfor ceo spin. zhou's name not blocked on baidu $macro #
• Garnaut on overseas resource investing-Chinese dragon could get burnt – | Stuff.co.nz http://bit.ly/dxc7ym #
• China's Party Newspaper Calls for Stricter Property Measures | iMarketNews.com http://bit.ly/bq3YxK $macro #
• 周小川吁建“法治央行”搞好金融改革_网易财经 http://bit.ly/aBrE9x Chinese press reporting on a Zhou Xiaochuan talk to PBoC Party committee on August 30 $macro #
• Original Rumor /PBoC Governor Zhou Xiaochuan Has Defected After 500B In UST-Related Losses | zero hedge http://bit.ly/bQ16UU /who planted? #
• from 2 yrs ago, another fake story @ economist given way 2 much credence @ewsn The Fictive Wu Jinglian Spy Case http://bit.ly/angY6Z #
• Stratfor @zerohedge and others who published this are looking mighty irresponsible #
• 遭虚假新闻冒用名义 《明报》发声明澄清并报警_资讯频道_凤凰网 http://bit.ly/c2bpTI Mingpao issues statement that purported Mingpao statement on Zhou Xiaochuan is fake #
• Minxin Pei CV 82009.doc – Powered by Google Docs http://bit.ly/92cJCC #
• FT.com / Comment- Minxin Pei – Obama is right to be hard-nosed on China http://bit.ly/aqJJ81 #
• From Reform 2 Revolution: Demise of Communism in China & Soviet Union Minxin Pei 16 years ago. http://amzn.to/c9Xx70 wrong or way early? #
• per capita carbon emissions by province, shanxi #1 专家摸底各省碳排放“家底” 山西占据碳强度榜首 http://bit.ly/dvdI8Z #
• China warships dock in Burma, rattling rival naval power India – CSMonitor.com http://bit.ly/bBerXN #
• Wapo SpyTalk- CIA training Sudan's spies as Obama officials fight over policy http://bit.ly/cYLOrs wonder what china thinks #
• How Obama Got Rolled by Wall Street – Newsweek http://bit.ly/cVahnF Draft Bloomberg 2012. Competence we can believe in $$ #
• Backlash over China curb on metal exports – Telegraph "escalating in2 serious diplomatic & trade clash w US & others" http://bit.ly/bqZ0vV #
• 影响未来住房价格的几个重要因素_潘石屹_新浪博客 http://bit.ly/aMDCS4 #
• Internet May Be The Largest Industry In China Not Dominated By State-owned Firms | Sinocism http://bit.ly/b7Sova #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• China’s Policies Ensure State Enterprises Grow – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/dnNMc4 #
• Senior Researcher with the SIPRI China and Global Security Programme — http://www.sipri.org http://bit.ly/cHpqzp #
• Beijing Opera, a Historical Treasure in Fragile Condition – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/ceowwN #
• China not a bubble says Shaun Rein – CNBC.com http://bit.ly/dgKM1I 3:30 on @shaunrein shreds shrill andy xie @xie_guozhong #
• Baidu Launches Software Search Engine | DigiCha http://bit.ly/a3kYFX $bidu #
• Cannibal Chinese, Starved by Mao, Ate Earth, Bartered Sex for Food: http://bit.ly/dfsSbv Mao's Great Famine http://amzn.to/aWpWgk #
• journalist Li Delin threatened over his coverage of Huang Guangyu case? 严正声明：国美内斗，疯狗别再威胁，老子谁都不支持，再威胁将报警-李德林-搜狐博客 http://bit.ly/aux2Pm #
• Was Essay a Bank Chief’s Plea for Reform? – China Real Time Report – WSJ http://bit.ly/bdbiAl #
• In China, Western Firms Keep Secrets Close – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/dnMxcz how do staff background checks? #
• 27岁太早? 买房年轻化折射全民心态及体系软肋_中国经济网——国家经济门户 http://bit.ly/aWHexr #
• Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium – Telegraph http://bit.ly/9e1vb2 #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• 10yrs supply in Beijing's Tongzhou suburb, expect home prices 2 drop… 北京通州存量房够卖10年 新盘单价最高降1万_中国经济网 http://bit.ly/cdEJqM #
• China, Anti-Semitism and the "Goldman Sachs Conspiracy" | Sinocism http://bit.ly/bMFHSE $gs prob stepping i2 something here #
• China Banks Cut Back on Loans to Local-Government Entities – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/awBELZ #
• Op-Ed Columnist – The Billionaires Bankrolling the Tea Party – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/cNFale Rupert Murdoch & the Kochs #
• Chinese navy to hold live-fire drills in Yellow Sea – Yahoo! News http://yhoo.it/amsFxj #
• PLA Navy to conduct live-ammunition drill in Yellow Sea – People's Daily Online http://bit.ly/b06s8B #
• New video game pits grunts against Chinese army – Marine Corps Times "‘Operation Flashpoint: Red River,’" http://bit.ly/aq7Ynb #
• Lixin Fan, Trailing Chinese Migrant Workers – NYTimes "quietly devastating documentary “Last Train Home”" http://nyti.ms/aTmf3c #
• Graft-Fighting Prosecutor Fired in Afghanistan – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/9UtFXq Vietnamistan #
• New Dissent in Japan Is Loudly Anti-Foreign – NYTimes.com http://nyti.ms/bBIKt3 #
• High-speed railways in S China 2 exceed 5,000km http://bit.ly/bQHsKu & no Mr Pettis it is not wasteful as u argue http://bit.ly/2Z1AAJ #
• N. Korea Vows to Use Nuclear Weapons If Attacked – Defense News http://bit.ly/dn1E7H #
• We must act quickly on political reform – China Media Project http://bit.ly/9rwfKK #
• Beijing Party Secretary Liu Qi pledges no wavering from tightened real estate policies 北京市委书记刘淇强调坚持房地产调控政策不动摇 http://bit.ly/9RyOHL #
• relocation compensation 4 Beijing CBD phase 2 set at 35k rmb/m min. CBD核心区二期 拆迁补偿基准价每平米3.5万元 http://bit.ly/b4KblQ prices not dropping soon #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• Xinhua-Financial Times: Western comments on China-Africa ties "largely misplaced" http://bit.ly/9oKvv2 #
• Opinions clash on China unreported income levels http://bit.ly/9fU8y0 #
• US Military turns to acupuncture as alternative to prescription painkillers http://bit.ly/aCxr43 #
• Chinese Women Go Shopping http://bit.ly/aDLQso quotes @shaunrein /analyzing Macro data sets (w bad data) not best way 2 understand China #
• CFM » Have we underestimated Chinese consumption? http://bit.ly/9YHL2B Pettis says no, problem worse than he thought. He get out much? #
• @gadyepstein Li Delin talks about us on his blog, says Americans "2 sensitive" 美国人别激动，那只是一泡尿的创意-李德林-搜狐博客 http://bit.ly/cLPitF #
• TechCrunch-Wow. If You Think Quitting Booze Freaks People Out, Wait Til’ You Quit Twitter http://tcrn.ch/cZpuyn would b liberating #
• Zijin Group admits vain attempt to bribe journalists http://bit.ly/baWTlt #
• 1st Tribunal Case Could Hurt US Reputation "child soldier whom US interrogator implicitly threatened w gang rape" http://nyti.ms/cAU2oA WTF? #
• the return of Bruno Wu 吴征复出之谜 "21世纪经济报道 -核心提示：陈天桥让吴征出任董事长，意在利用吴征制定战略的能力，加上李善友的执行能力，一起带领酷6前行。" http://bit.ly/bJxbW1 #
• Who We Are – Lantern Films http://bit.ly/cW0NXf #
• Ghost Town (废城) – Lantern Films http://bit.ly/cf03Ze wish i could buy this on itunes #
• Russian subs stalk Trident in echo of Cold War – Telegraph http://bit.ly/aCkwCd wonder when Chinese subs will do this, if arent already #
• FT.com / Companies / Automobiles – China flies Red Flag of high-end nostalgia http://bit.ly/d7sUN5 #
• Letter from China – My Ill-Fated "Xiangqin" Experience http://bit.ly/98l8D1 not just some Chinese guys have "issues" w smart women #
• Shining Light On China’s ‘Gray Income’ – China Real Time Report – WSJ http://bit.ly/cpDiKv #

Powered by Twitter Tools

• Gradualism: An explanation of some Chinese political contradictions | East Asia Forum http://bit.ly/9Jn2bD h/t @mirandabencomo #
• The Secret Blacklist of Developers Hoarding Property- Economic Observer News- http://bit.ly/bKsG6k #
• Marijuana Strains and Guide- Leaf.ly http://bit.ly/dr3GtD h/t @maoxian wonder who investors r. Legalization will not help compete w china #
• China warns US against selling Taiwan radars – Yahoo! News http://yhoo.it/dweiuo #
• Bruce Gilley: The Strife of the Party – 2 weak China politics WSJ entries in a row http://bit.ly/d2w3xl #
• What Happened 2 Alleged Cabbie-Stabber Michael Enright in Afghanistan? http://bit.ly/c0DjJc #
• Analysis: China Pushes Social Housing as Econ, Social Fix | iMarketNews.com http://bit.ly/a0GLhF #
• 妙峰山采药记—认药篇(上)_徐小周_新浪博客 http://bit.ly/ct4w4y nice pics expedition to pick chinese medicine on mountain outside beijing #
• @tomlasseter Author Yu Jie takes on China’s premier, aware that free speech has a cost | McClatchy http://bit.ly/9qfPAs #
• American Furkan Dogan Killed on Gaza Aid Flotilla – ABC News http://bit.ly/9NcaTt executed w 4 shots 2 head by IDF #
• Amazon-Egg On Mao by Denise Chong http://amzn.to/cH3Ex9 #
• Book Review: Egg On Mao by Denise Chong | CNReviews http://bit.ly/beRXzN sounds interesting #
• AP-China Sets up New Battle Over Computer Security http://bit.ly/aWJDg9 #
• would US buy Chinese products 4 critical cyber infrastructure? /Policy Could Force Foreign Security Firms Out-NYT http://nyti.ms/brlQ3x #
• Spending by Women Jumps – China Real Time Report – WSJ http://bit.ly/a0hfmw and they love cucpakes. http://bit.ly/d3jeQD already swamped #
• 60% of 2nd home purchases on Beijing now paid in all cash 北京二手房市场全款购房比例升至6成_中国证券网·http://bit.ly/cwXOIf not like US bubble $macro #
• 房地产贷款超常规增长 工行、中行否认停贷 http://bit.ly/axrbu4 #
• 北京朝阳空置率达39.2%? “空置房”标准又打架 http://bit.ly/aMIRqf #
• Take a ride on the Beijing love bus http://bit.ly/aVu87D “love on the 3rd ring road” #
• 20m Whale shark strangled by fishing net off Zhejiang http://bit.ly/b8pSi3 edible? #
• Charge of Hate Crime in Muslim Taxi Driver Slashing http://bit.ly/8Yvl4h this loser should have many years in jail to think @ next film #
• ISLAMOPHOBIA SWEEPS THE US (Video from Taiwan) http://bit.ly/dhzOON #
• Documents Tie German Company to Chinese Subsidiary That Produced Defective Drywall – ProPublica http://bit.ly/9On4ek #
• On Doomed Rig’s Last Day, a Divisive Change of Plan – WSJ.com http://bit.ly/aoUvv6 #
• BP executive says blowout preventer was not connected properly http://bit.ly/9jLK9d #
• China plants flag in south sea amid disputes | China Military Power Mashup http://bit.ly/caeRN6 #

Powered by Twitter Tools