THIS WEEK

LI MINGFANG

Country Folk Jubilee

A band from Puer, in southwest China’s Yunnan Province,pose for a photograph alongside a singer of a French band on November 21 during the fi rst China Puer International Country Music Festival.

The festival showcases more than 20 bands and singers from all over the world. The New Silk Road Miss World Contest will also be held among the festival’s array of scheduled events.

Other activities organized during the festival include a symposium on country music and an outdoor concert.

“China’s development in the future needs to be supported and guided by a powerful culture. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has recognized this importance,making it clear that we should share the richness of Chinese culture with the world.”

Zhang Yiwu, a professor at the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Peking University, speaking withBeijing Reviewon November 14

“The future of our society lies in the well-being of our children. Inadequate care for youth will one day bring harm to the nation.”

Li Hongbing, deputy chief of thePeople’s DailyShanghai bureau writing in a commentary published on November 20, following the deaths of fi ve “left-behind” children in Bijie, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, on November 16. The children had burnt charcoal to keep warm inside a roadside dumpster and died from carbon monoxide poisoning

“Government authorities should impose strict punishments on manufacturers found to be engaging in illegal activities.”

Dong Jinshi, Executive Vice President of the International Food Packaging Association, urging authorities to investigate the use of plasticizers found in almost all brands of Chinese liquor on November 19. Plasticizers are banned in China as food additives because the chemicals can cause male fertility problems and induce early female puberty

“The fi rst thing I do after class is rush to the bathroom, as females outnumber males by 4 to1 in my classroom.”

Wu Caiyun, a female student at the Chinese Language and Literature Department of Shandong Normal University, on November 20. Female students from 12 universities in China demanded more women’s restrooms in universities on November 19, the World Toilet Day

Climate Change Report

China on November 21 published a report outlining its plans to deal with global climate change.

The report, titled China’s Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change(2012), outlines actions taken by the Chinese Government to mitigate and adapt to climate change. It also documents measures to promote the building of low-carbon communities and advance international negotiation and cooperation.

During the 2006-10 period, the aggregate energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of the GDP ($1,605)dropped 19.1 percent from that of 2005, which is equivalent to a reduction of 1.46 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2)emissions. This indicates that China has accomplished its energy conservation goals listed in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10),according to the report.

By 2015, the nation aims to reduce energy consumption per 10,000 yuan of the GDP by 16 percent, cut CO2 emissions per unit of the GDP by 17 percent, and raise the proportion of non-fossil fuels in the overall primary energy mix to 11.4 percent, said the report.

In 2011, natural disasters caused by extreme weather and climate events affected 430 million people in the country and caused economic losses of 309.6 billion yuan ($49.7 billion).

New Entry Policy

A new plan for the college entrance exam policy for migrant children in Beijing will be worked out by the end of this year, the city’s education authorities said on November 16.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Education made the announcement in response to an application filed by migrant worker volunteers in October. The volunteers asked educational departments to publish the results of migrant children’s college matriculation research and measures for balancing educational resources.

The commission said that the new plan will provide equal rights to education and entry opportunities for migrant children.

However, it did not give a clear answer on whether migrant students who take the national college entrance exam in June 2013 could stay in Beijing for the exam.

Under current policies, children of migrant workers are not free to attend senior high schools or take the national college entrance exam outside of their home provinces.

Figures provided by the commission show that about 400,000 migrant children were studying at primary and middle schools in Beijing in 2011.

Safety Facilities

GOODBYE, CHINARussian fi gure skaters perform atthe closing ceremony of the Year of RussianTourism at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center onNovember 16

New Spokeswoman

Hua Chunying

was appointed the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman on November 16,becoming the ministry’s fifth spokeswoman since the post was created in 1983.

Hua, 42, is also Deputy Director of the Information Department of the ministry. She and spokesman Hong Lei will rotate their duties to address the ministry’s daily news conferences on weekdays.

Hua began her diplomatic career almost 20 years ago when she joined the former Department of West European Affairs of the Foreign Ministry in 1993. She worked for the ministry in the EU, Singapore and in the Department of European Affairs before joining the Information Department this year.

Hua is expected to balance and complement Beijing’s customarily masculine tone in China's complicated diplomatic environment.China has picked up speed in constructing “international safe communities” in line with standards set by the World Health Organization (WHO), according to a leading Chinese association.

The country now has 64 such communities, according to a statement released by the China Occupational Safety and Health Association (COSHA)on November 21.

The WHO’s safe community concept was formally launched at the First World Conference on Accident and Injury Prevention in Stockholm, Sweden in September 1989.

The Manifesto for Safe Communities states, “All human beings have an equal right to health and safety.” Regarded as a costeffective way of injury prevention, a safe community can be a municipality, a county, a city or a district.

A total of 1,589 communities in 22 Chinese provinces have started efforts to build safe communities, according to the COSHA,covering a gross population of 120 million.

Safe community efforts in Chinese urban and rural districts, enterprises and campuses have led to fewer accidents in terms of production, traffic, fire and social safety, said Zhang Baoming, COSHA Chairman.

Corporate-NGO Guide

A guidebook on communications between non-governmental organizations (NGOs)and corporations was published in China and posted online on November 21.

The Corporate Communications Handbook for NGOsis the fi rst guidebook in China written to direct local NGOs on how to work with corporations.

The handbook, jointly sponsored by the China Association for NGO Cooperation and the Heinrich Boell Foundation (HBF), uses 37 examples from NGOs, corporations, private foundations and a public incubator to illustrate common communication problems and solutions. The book also discusses NGOs’ social responsibilities in supervising corporations.

Michael Busgen, head of the HBF China Of fi ce, said that the guidebook, like theMedia Handbook for Grassroots NGOspublished in 2008, is part of an NGO capacity-building book series provided for free to NGO workers and those interested in the public sector in China.

TIGER DNA Tigers in the SiberianTiger Park in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province.The world’s largest Siberian tiger arti fi cial breeding base recently announced that all its 1,067 residents had received DNA tests

FUTURE AGRICULTUREVisitors learn about space horticulture at the 19th China Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Fair in Xianyang,northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, on November 20

More than 72 percent of overseas Chinese students have returned to China after fi nishing education abroad since the late 1970s, according to a report from a government-backed agency.

From 1978 to 2011, about 818,400 Chinese students returned home after studying abroad, said the report issued on November 18 by the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange, which is administered by the Ministry of Education.

In 2011 alone, nearly 186,200 chose to return, nearly 40 percent higher than in the previous year, said the report, adding that the center had offered services to 110,000 students.

Rail Insurance

China’s State Council, or cabinet, has decided to abolish a decades-long compulsory accident insurance regulation on railway transport in a bid to better protect passengers’ interests.

According to a statement posted on the Central Government’s website on November 16, the regulation, which enables railway operators to invariably charge all train passengers 2 percent of their ticket prices as accident insurance, will be annulled starting January 1,2013.

The regulation, created in 1951 and amended in 1992, placed a cap on the insurance compensation at 20,000 yuan ($3,210)regardless of the classes of passenger seats.

The stipulation had been widely criticized as unfair and contradictory to the country’s insurance law, which states that insurance contracts should be formed on a voluntary basis.

The country ended similar accident insurance for sea and air travelers in 1987 and 1989, respectively.

The statement also abrogated a provision in a railway accident emergency rescue regulation, which sets a maximum 150,000 yuan ($24,080)of compensation on accident casualties and 2,000 yuan ($321)on baggage losses for each passenger.

Road Safety Day

The Chinese Government has designated December 2 as the country’s Road Safety Day.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, China had 238 million vehicles and 256 million drivers by the end of October,with an average annual increase of more than 16 million vehicles and 20 million drivers during the last fi ve years.

More than 80 percent of the country’s road accidents are caused by violations of traf fi c rules, it added.

Anti-dumping Triumph

China’s leading shoemaker, Aokang Group Co. Ltd., has won a lawsuit against EU antidumping measures on Chinese leather shoes.

On November 18, the European Court of Justice overruled an earlier judgment by the General Court of the EU in April 2010, which dismissed Aokang’s action against the EU.

The court also ordered the Council of the European Union to pay the costs incurred by Aokang Group from the lawsuits.

The EU imposed a two-year 16.5-percent anti-dumping duty on imports of Chinese leather shoes in October 2006 and later decided to extend the duty until March 31 in 2011.

Five Chinese shoe companies including Aokang lodged a lawsuit against the EU measures to the General Court of the EU after the duties were imposed.

After the Chinese companies lost the fi rst round, Aokang decided to appeal to the European Court of Justice.

Despite the EU removing its anti-dumping duties in April 2011, Aokang continued with its lawsuit.

Experts said Aokang’s legal victory could bring the company more than 5 million yuan($801,600)in compensation for legal costs,and importers and exporters in trade relations with Aokang will get back the anti-dumping duties levied by the EU over the past six years.

Experts also believe the victory will set a legal precedent for Chinese shoemakers when facing international trade disputes in the future.

Home Price Rise

More Chinese cities saw home prices rise in October from September despite the government’s dogged efforts to curb property prices,said the National Bureau of Statistics on November 18.

In October, 35 of 70 major cities, up from 31 in September, recorded higher new home prices than a month earlier.

Home sales rose 5.6 percent year on year to 4.63 trillion yuan ($736 billion)in the fi rst 10 months, accelerating by 2.9 percentage points from the January-September period.

Home transactions have picked up over the past month, the traditional peak season for housing sales in the country, on the back of recent government policies to shore up growth, analysts said.

Yin Zhongli, a fi nance researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the government’s current measures showed that it has kept its vigilance against price hikes. The central bank has stopped introducing more easing measures since the interest rate cut in August for fear of re-igniting speculation fervor in the property market, he said.

Investment Condition

Foreign direct investment (FDI)in China dropped 3.45 percent year on year in the fi rst 10 months of 2012 to $91.74 billion, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM)said on November 20.

The drop was less sharp compared to the fi rst three quarters when FDI dropped 3.8 percent year on year to $83.42 billion.

On the other hand, China’s outbound direct investment (ODI)in non- fi nancial sectors surged 25.8 percent year on year to $58.17 billion during the fi rst 10 months.

The increase was slower than the 28.9-percent expansion seen in the January-September period, as the country’s economy slowed due to flagging property investment and exports, said Shen Danyang, MOFCOM spokesman, at a press conference on November 20.

Chinese mainland’s investment in Hong Kong rose by a stunning 42.6 percent during the first 10 months of the year, while the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States,Russia and Japan also saw double-digit growth in ODI from China.

AUTO SEASON People check out cars at the Third Harbin Autumn Automobile Exhibition in the capital of northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province on November 20. The one-week exhibition,along with the 10th Harbin Automobile Purchasing Week, will showcase over 400 new cars

Numbers

6,000

The number of micro-credit companies in China,with outstanding loans exceeding 540 billion yuan($85.7 billion), according to the China Micro fi nance Institution Association on November 17.

15.88 billion yuan

Sales for prime-time advertisements on China Central Television for 2013, the highest in 19 years,according to the TV station on November 18.

$1 billion

The annual investment that Royal Dutch Shell Plc.,Europe’s largest oil company, vowed to make in its upstream businesses in China, according to Peter Voser, the company’s CEO, on November 20.

20 billion yuan

The value of bonds that PetroChina Co., China’s biggest oil and gas producer, sold on November 21. The proceeds will be used to repay bank loans and replenish its working capital, according to a company statement.

AGRO EXPOA salesman from Fuping County, northwest China’s Shaanxi Province, shows fruit vinegar to attendees at the Exhibition ofAgricultural and Sideline Products from ShaanxiProvince held in HongKong on November 20

However, China’s ODI in the EU fell 20.9 percent year on year to $1.58 billion during the January-October period.

Corporate Governance

A survey on the corporate governance standards of companies listed in Hong Kong,which was released on November 20, found that current levels of corporate governance have improved signi fi cantly since 2009.

The Hong Kong Institute of Directors and the Hong Kong Baptist University jointly conducted the survey.

A total of 121 listed companies in Hong Kong are assessed based on the fi ve principles of corporate governance—rights of shareholders, equitable treatment of shareholders, role of stakeholders, disclosure and transparency,and board responsibilities.

Six out of the top 10 fi rms with the best corporate governance practices are stateowned or backed with funding from China’s mainland, reflecting that many large stateowned enterprises have devoted the time and resources needed to improve transparency, to clarify the power and responsibilities of the board of directors and to enhance corporate social responsibility.

The six firms from the Chinese mainland are Bank of China, shipping giant COSCO, China Life Insurance, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, PC maker Lenovo and marine oil producer CNOOC.

Liquor Stocks Slump

While China’s high-end liquor makers are enjoying intoxicating pro fi ts, they face a frustrated stock market partly due to government vows to control of fi cial spending on banquets.

Stocks tumbled across the liquor sector listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges on November 19, sparing only a few. Kweichow Moutai, Wuliangye and Luzhoulaojiao saw stocks fall by 4.6, 5.8 and 6.1 percent respectively as of the end of the trading day.

The net profits of Moutai surged 106.05 percent year on year to reach 3.42 billion yuan($543.41 million)in the third quarter of 2012.

Wuliangye Group, a major competitor of Moutai, also recorded a net pro fi t increase of nearly 90 percent in the third quarter, which the company attributed to price hikes and strong sales.

However, Moutai has gone through a string of price drops this year that have taken its average bottle price to around 1,500 yuan($240.75)from about 2,300 yuan ($369.15)at the beginning of 2012.

A Sailor Embarks

Chinese sailor Guo Chuan set out on November 18 from Qingdao,a coastal city in East China’s Shandong Province, for a solo, nonstop sail around the globe.

Guo, 47, aims to travel 21,600 nautical miles in about 130 days,navigating in a Class 40 boat named after his hometown of Qingdao. Guo will pilot his boat across the Pacific Ocean to Cape Horn in Chile, enter the Atlantic Ocean, then go on to the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa before crossing the islands of Indonesia to return to Qingdao.He will eat artificial dehydrated food during the voyage, and use a desalination unit for drinking water.

Guo is the first Chinese sailor to have taken part in the Clipper Round the World (2006)and the first Chinese to complete the Volvo Ocean Race (2008-09).

It is said that Moutai’s inventory has topped 20,000 tons. Industry insiders believe that uncon fi rmed information moved some dealers to lower prices in order to destock and cash in.

ITALY

A woman attends a pro-Palestinian demonstration in Rome on November 16 to protest against Israel’s airstrikes over Gaza

CANADA

A fl oat is on display at the108th Santa Claus Paradein Toronto on November 18.The parade attracted more than 1 million spectatorsalong the 5.6-km-long route in downtown Toronto

THE UNITED STATES

U.S. fi rst lady Michelle Obama hugs Wu Lianyun, a 13-year-old girl from China’s Dong ethnic group, as Wu accepts the International Spotlight Award for the 100 Dong Songs Program on November 19 at the White House in Washington, D.C. The program teaches hundreds of American youth to express themselves through traditional Dong music

PAKISTAN

A policeman displays a suicide bomber’s jacket at a news conference in Lahore on November 16. The authorities seized large quantities of weapons and ammunition and arrested 12 suspected terrorists in a recent operation in eastern Punjab Province

AUSTRALIA

Australian Environment Minister Tony Burke speaks to the media at the Sea Life Sydney Aquarium on November 16. Australia on that day declared the creation of the world’s largest network of marine reserves to protect more than 2.3 million square km of ocean environment

SOUTH KOREA

Volunteers make 140 tons of kimchi, a traditional Korean dish of spicy fermented cabbage and radish, in a park in Seoul on November 15. The kimchi was handed out to 14,000 low-income households at the start of the winter season