September 2013

A Goodbye to the Magistad

By Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn & more on September 6, 2013

Can it have been merely a few weeks ago that we sequestered Evan “The Turncoat” Osnos in our studio and grilled the celebrated writer on his decision to leave China for what must have myopically seemed like greener pastures? At the time, we intended our podcast to act as a deterrent against further defections among the Beijing literati and set a forceful example of why journalists should love China and stop hurting the feelings of the Chinese people.

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Beijing Toughens Pollution Rules to Clean Up Air

on September 5, 2013

In a five-year clean air action plan (2013-2017), the Beijing municipal government said 1,200 polluting companies will be ordered to upgrade or close parts or all of their facilities in the coming years to 2016.

Energy, Environment, Law

Pollution, Beijing, Air Pollution, PM 2.5

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An Inside Look at China’s Censorship Tools

By Paul Mozur on September 5, 2013

To get inside the system, professor Gary King and two Ph.D. students started their own fake social network over the past year, which—while it never formally went online—allowed them to reach out to some of China’s many companies offering censorship software.

Business, Technology

Internet Censorship, Social Media

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Deng Xiaoping’s Lessons for Today’s China

on September 5, 2013

The earthy Deng, father of reform-era China, favored a Chinese phrase to describe the current anti-corruption maneuvers being undertaken at Xi Jinping’s behest: killing a chicken to scare the monkeys.

History, Law, Politics

Deng Xiaoping, Xi Jinping, Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Charles Xue

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China’s Corruption Purge Continues Against Zhou Yongkang

By Wenguang Huang and Pin Ho on September 5, 2013

As the Chinese public is eagerly awaiting the verdict of Bo Xilai, China’s anti-corruption agency is taking down another target: the 70-year-old Zhou Yongkang, dubbed by overseas media as China’s security tsar, has been put under house arrest, says a source in Beijing.

Law, Military, Politics

Zhou Yongkang, Anti-Corruption

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Bribery in G.S.K. China Was Coordinated at Company Level

on September 5, 2013

A Chinese police investigation into drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline has discovered that alleged bribery of doctors in China was coordinated by the British company and was not the work of individual employees, state media reported on September 3.

Business

GlaxoSmithKline, Pharmaceutical Companies, Corruption, Anti-Corruption

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Bribery Charges in China for Official Whose Child Worked for JPMorgan

By Neil Gough on September 5, 2013

State prosecutors have accused former Minister of Railways Zhang Shuguang of accepting graft payments of around 47 million renminbi, or nearly $8 million at current exchange rates, according to reports.

Anti-Corruption, Zhang Shuguang, Ministry of Railways

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Activist’s List of Chinese Political Arrests

By Patrick Boehler on September 5, 2013

Wen Yunchao, who has been monitoring arrests and convictions in this year in China from New York City, insists his records show a growing trend of repression under Xi Jinping.

Law, Society

Dissidents and Activists, Detention, Xi Jinping

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Why Do Pandas Have Such Difficulty Breeding in Zoos

By David Owen on September 5, 2013

Giant pandas in captivity are described as simply “reproductively incompetent” by David Wildt, the head of the Center for Species Survival at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. What will it take to get them to bone up on their sex ed?

Environment

Giant Panda

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A Yang Fudong Retrospective at the Berkeley Art Museum

By Blake Gopnik on September 5, 2013

Yang Fudong is known for using the illogic of European art film (think of Antonioni, Resnais or the later Fellini) to talk about how China’s traditions clash with its modern realities. The retrospective runs through December 8.

Arts

Film, Yang Fudong

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