politics - Has 9/11 changed everything?

I missed the essay by Michigan-historian Juan Cole in Foreign Policy, but a translation in one of the Dutch dailies pointed me in this direction. In his effort to debunk common misunderstandings about 9/11 he unfortunately sets off with a wrong example:

Decades-old flash points remain. China and Taiwan still stare at each other suspiciously across the strait.

The Cross-Strait relations have been changed dramatically since 9/11. Until that moment the US-administration saw China as the preferred arch-enemie. Anti-Chinese retoric had become very common and on a partical level we as internet users in China even got daily help from the CIA to circumvent the Chinese censor.
After 9/11 China found itself suddenly in the camp of the friends, fighting terrorism. Although not all of the very conservatives liked that change of policy, George Bush sticked to it. Since then, when Taiwan made sounds Beijing did not like, Taipei did no longer get the support from Washington but were more than once told they would be on their own when they tiggered off hostilities with the mainland. And on a partical level, after one month we had to look for our own proxies as the CIA was ordered to cease its actions against the Chinese censorship.

media - On making money
Frank Dai at Global Voices has a go at the Chinese media and answers the question he poses himself:

Is our press, including websites, newspapers and TV networks, only a timid coward, waiting for instruction and orders from the government on what and how to report? When national sensation s, celebrities gossip and overheated patriotism mix together, stirring up the “journalist’s instinct”, that’s another story. The press will never hesitate a minute to follow up such a story without any authorization from the authorities. The reasons? The press simply wants to make money and the readers want that story.

internet - Between freedom and control

I just received the book "The Internet in China. Unlocking and Containing in the Public Sphere" by Johan Lagerkvist of the University in Lund. I'm currently wading through business plans and other proposals (hence the light blogging too), but the introduction is already very promising. It deals with the - almost ideological - views on how the internet in China is developing, on one hand offering a much wide freedom to much of its citizens, on the other hand is becoming more sophisticated in containing the freewheeling discussions.
Lagerkvist's two questions:

1. How can Internet use contribute to an unlocking of the public sphere, making it more unfettered and independent from party-state control?
2. While generally promoting Internet use throughout the country how are agents of the Chinese part-state explicating containment of this use, for themselves and to the larger population, as part of their efforts to maintain control over politics in a locked-in publis sphere?

Will keep you updated as I move on.

internet - Remember the SKII scandal?

I just got a comment from Rozlyn Vidal on the SKII-scandal last year. Since that comment might be buried on my weblog by time and many other consumer related scandals, I reproduce it here.

I am from Australia.Your report on skII was so informative and answered many questions.I have had a severe reaction to the essence and am still suffering 1 week later after taking antihistamines each day.My next step is prednilisone!!!!!.My face is still swollen,bright red,very sore and feels badly burnt.I am concerned that I will have long term side effects.

Now, I was wondering if anybody has been following what has happened to the SKII since then. Would nice to get an update in stead of running from one scandal to another.

Update I: the uproar of the day: Meng Guangmei and her toiletgate.
Update II: Sorry, the uproar of the hour. Bingfeng Teahouse points at the weblog of actress Xiao Gong, who accuses CCTV director Lao Chao to exchange sex against a job. Lao Chao defends himself.

Chen Liangyu

politics - Shanghai party chief "ready for promotion"

Shanghai's party chief, Chen Liangyu, is - as commentator Victor Shih notes - "ready for promotion" as the Beijing team investigating the pension scandal in Shanghai winds up its investigations. Only Chen's former secretary Qin Yu has been arrested in the investigation, suggesting that Chen is still a step too high.

internet - Also sex in Beijing

After weeks of uproar on sex in Shanghai, rumor goes they have also sex in Beijing. At least, Danwei suggests this in a pre-announcement of Danwei TV's "Sexy Beijing"

labor - The helping government

Richard Spencer of The Telegraph writes a touching story of a lonely migrant worker who actually died while working in a factory. He then discovers that a local government official went to the company to get a compensation for her family, successfully. He then visited the official back in their home village.

This man was happy to meet me and take me back to the flat which doubled as his office, and show me all the paperwork. (Nb, of course, none of this was set up through the official channels, yet this government employee was eager to help.) He'd done a thorough job - interviewed hospital, workmates and her family (she was married with a child, and had called home feeling sick), prepared a proper assessment of the compensation he thought the family was due, and argued the company for it.

It shows a part of the systems in China labor market that are often ifgnored, mostly because they are harder to identify. It is still treated as an exception, an official who is simply doing his work.

This guy was young and smart, but no ambitious young crusading idealist. When we finished, he said "any time" and sloped off to the local park with his girlfriend.

media - "Even our highest leaders can make mistakes"

Jane MacCartney of The Times has an amusing story about the interview she was granted with premier Wen Jiabao, ahead of this trip to Europe. Almost a day later she gets the official transcript of the meeting that differs from what all those crews have been recording.
It reminded me of an interview I had with what was called a diplomatic reporter of the state news agency Xinhua, already quite some time ago. In those days few people would understand Chinese and that was fortunately, said our reporter, since "even our highest leaders can make mistakes" when they talk to foreign guests. In most cases the translators would cover that and tell the audience what their leader should have told. Even those translators were not perfect, he said, so sometimes the journalists would rewrite also the translations.

labor - The latest trend: Chinese au pairs, IHT
The International Herald Tribune reports on the latest trends in hiring au pairs in the US: get a Chinese.

Au Pair in America, the 20-year-old agency that sponsored the two young women in Connecticut, had received no requests for Chinese au pairs until 2004, said Ruth Ferry, the program director.

Since then, it has had 1,400.

media - The 'banned' Lonely Planet

There is a lot of nonsense going around concerning China and mostly I try to ignore it. But you might have heard the urban myth that the famous Lonely Planet has been banned.As most people living in China know that is not true, but it has not stopped the debate on the evil Chinese government even banning a useful tool for travelers as the Lonely Planet.
The Bingfeng Teahouse noted this picture by Brendan O'Kane that shows his friends in Beijing with the Lonely Planet and a list of bookshops where the 'banned' book is available.

politics - Shanghai hit by scandals and possible shake-out

The signs a new phase in China's politics is arriving have been all to omnious in the past few months. High-end politicians mixed up in a pension-scandal. The powerful company Shanghai Electrics Groups has been investigated. Howard French summerizes the fall-out here for the International Herald Tribune. He draws some conclusions domestic media cannot, although they have been giving uncommon many details about the investigaton.
Three years after Jiang Zemin resigned from power, his Shanghai bulwark is being dismantled. While most media tend to look at the puppets at the top, the real powerstruggle takes places a few echalons lower in the hierarchy. A similar shake-out would not have been possible earlier.
The expectation is that this scandal might go very high to the current leadership in Shanghai.

internet - Is Shanghai's IPTV going to work?

The Shanghai Media Group (SMG), one of the country's largest media conglomerates, has been getting some publicity after it officially launced its IPTV-service, together with China Telecom. The deal bowls down to a China Telecom broadband connection, costing about 120 Renminbi per month, and an additional 'service package' by SMG, ranging between 60 and 100 renminbi per month. The users would get a set-up box, costing about 1,500 Renminbi, but it is unclear whether they get this for free or have to pay an installation fee.
Now an average household would pay about 20 renminbi for a cable connection and in Shanghai - depending on where you exactly live - you can get over 90 broadcasting stations. The number does not matter that much, since most of the broadcasts are equally boring. In the exceptional case a regional broadcaster has a commercially smart idea, like the "Super Girl" competition, the dinosaurs of the censorship move in to kill or at least tone down such a smart plan.
So, will the new service offer anything the Shanghainese are going to pay for? I do not think they will do this in large numbers. SMG is rather modest in their estimations too: they expect this year between 60,000 and 100,000 customers.
At the end of 2006, beginning of 2007 tough competition for IPTV will emerge as China's telecom companies start rolling out the third generation mobile communication that will provide wireless broadband connections to the whole country. China Mobile has already started with a 'trial' in the six Olympic cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, covering much of the more lucrative market already with the TD-SCDMA, China's own standard. Later in 2007 other telecoms including China Telecom will get licenses for their own networks.
Also in this case, technology, pricing and content will be the three deciding factors over success or failure of the new technology. The targets for the 3G-deployment are a bit more agressive than those of the IPTV. China's telecom's expect to sign up each year about 33 million users, allowing them to offer their technology at a rather discounted price. Unlike SMG the new parties have to tradition of killing creativity through censorship, making their offer at least in theory more exciting.
I would not put my money in IPTV.

internet - government turns to e-business

A curious announcement from Xinhua today: the Chinese government has started its own e-business portal, China Suppliers. In that way an entity just under the State Council enters direct competition with both domestic and global e-business services like Alibaba and Global Sources. Those commercial services have been rather succesful and suddenly have to confront this government-funded competition.
Now, that used to be standard procedure in the past and is still a problem in a country where a neat division between the government and economic activities are lacking. But such a head-on competition on the highest level might send out a very wrong message.

Update: Here, even China Post, who has been notorious for mixing up business and politics, will be separating both. At least that is what they promise.

media - Foxconn signs peace treaty

Bingfeng breaks the news that Foxconn and the China Business News have - literally - signed a peace treaty over their high-profile brawl. It looks very much like this sudden breaks has been triggered off by some arm twisting on both sides by related government departments. The comment section of the weblogs at Sina have been closed, writes Bingfeng who cannot believe that this part of the soap opera could be over that easy.
When the court case against the two reporters is called off, that would be the end of this part. But the rather emotional outcry has again raised severe doubts about the working conditions at Foxconn's facilities. I do not believe that this part can be called off that easy.

labor - Foxconn sues two former staffs for US 8.75 million

The Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn has turned again to the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court to sue two former employees, who joined another company, for breaking their contract, writes the People's Daily.
The case seems at this stage not connected with the other high-profile court case against journalists of the China Business News.
Foxconn accuses the two former employees, who joined the Byd Battery Co., of infringement of its trade and technology secrets. Labor contracts in China have a standard paragraph banning employees from joining a competing company within one year of termination of the labor contract, but it is a longstanding tradition that this paragraph is rather meaningless.
Last year, in another high-profile case, Microsoft tried to prevent a former employee, Kai Fu-Lee, to become the Google CEO for China. After some heavy-handed exchanges the case was in the end settled out of court and Kai could start his job.

It starts to look like Foxconn has hired a new legal councel who has to work on a per-piece basis too.