Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. China is on holiday until October 9 so the newsletter is very sporadic this week. There may be one more issue by the end of the weekend, then back to normal publishing next week.

Readers in DC may be interested in a talk by Lenora Chu  about her new book Little Soldiers: An American Boy, a Chinese School, and the Global Race to Achieve. She will be speaking October 10 at 7PM at Sidwell Friends. If you want to attend please RSVP here.

A signup link for the new Sinocism subscription service will go live after midnight on Thursday October 5. The daily newsletter will switch to a paid subscription in a couple of weeks.

The Essential Eight

1. Sun Zhengcai Kicked Out Of The Party, Chongqing Officials In Boiling Hotpot Water

Communist Party expels former high-flyer Sun Zhengcai in countdown to key congress | South China Morning Post:

in an unusual move, Xinhua issued a correction to its report late on Friday night, toning down the accusations against Sun. The state news …