The Sinocism newsletter is compiled by Bill Bishop, and republished here with permission. Be Informed About China. The Sinocism China Newsletter. Free.Will Bo Xilai go on trial today in Guiyang? Ta Kung Pao reported last week that he would and Reuters followed on with a story in which it wrote that:
A Beijing-backed Hong Kong newspaper, the Ta Kung Pao, reported on Friday that Bo's trial would begin on Monday in the southern Chinese city of Guiyang.
But the government has not confirmed or denied this, belying recent efforts to promote transparency and openness, and at least two well-informed sources said on Sunday the reports were not true.
However, a third source, who has ties to the leadership, said the trial would in fact begin on Monday in Guiyang.
The Global Times says Bo will not stand trial until sometime after the March NPC/CPPCC meetings:
The trial of Bo Xilai, former Party chief of Chongqing municipality, is expected to open after the "two sessions" in March, a source close to the country's top judicial body told the Global Times Sunday, denying rumors that the trial would start on Monday in Southwest China's Guizhou Province.
"The information in terms of the date and location for the trial will certainly be made public in advance, and it's unnecessary to make speculations," the source said.
We will find out today though given the recent precedents of Chen Xitong and Chen Liangyu I do not expect such an early trial, nor does Beijing need to rush things.
Meanwhile, Chongqing has moved on, according to Hang Qifan:
Chongqing's municipal government vowed Saturday it would shake off the impacts of the Bo Xilai scandal and make law-abiding governance the priority alongside further reform.
Huang Qifan, mayor of Chongqing, described 2012 as an "extremely extraordinary year" for Chongqing's development in his report on the work of the municipal government, at the opening ceremony of the 4th Chongqing Municipal People's Congress.
There have been rumors since the start of 2013 that the corruption crackdown would net a big fish near the end of January. Politburo member Li Jianguo may be that fish, as MingPao reports (Reuters) that he is under investigation. Li, a a protege of Li Ruihuan (Dr. Victor Shih on Twitter), was accused on Sina Weibo (South China Morning Post) in December of nepotism.
Today's Links:
*THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT*
Tripling in Debt to $1.7 Trillion Drags on Economy: China Credit - Bloomberg - Total short- and long-term borrowing by 3,895 publicly traded non-financial companies rose to almost $1.7 trillion in their latest filings, from $604 billion at the end of 2007, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Financing costs, including interest, on all forms of debt climbed to the highest level as a percentage of gross domestic product last year, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Bernstein says that means less cash for investment to fuel the world’s second-largest economy, while Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc says the threat of defaults will hold back interest- rate liberalization. The average 10-year yield for top-rated company bonds is near a 13-month high at 5.27 percent, compared with the 2.6 percent yield in a Bank of America Merrill Lynch global corporate index.
Hong Kong Journalists Plan Petition Against Privacy Law Proposal - Bloomberg - *a very bad sign for future of transparency and capitalism in Hong Kong if this passes*// The plans, put forward by the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the city’s Companies Registry to “enhance protection of the privacy of personal information,” were proposed in November as part of a consultation paper on a new companies ordinance. The move comes amid growing media scrutiny of the assets of China’s leaders.
40-day Spring Festival travel rush starts in China - Xinhua | English.news.cn -*wish the pundits and analysts who say China has too many railways and roads would travel in China this week...how does China efficiently build infrastructure when it has to plan for such tremendous surges in demand?*
陕西神木清理双重户口 当地富豪拥有多个户口_网易新闻中心 - *sounds like many people in Shenmu, Shaanxi, home of housing elder sister gong aiai, have multiple hukous...just shenmu? of course not? relentless media coverage of this case exposing serious corruption in the ministry of public security..zhou yongkang might not be pleased...*//核心提示：1月27日，记者从陕西神木县警方获悉，神木公安局近日开展重人重户清理整顿工作，全面清理双重户口的核查工作，公务员、企业老总、个体老板等成为清查重点对象。据知情人士透露，神木前几年户籍管理比较松，花数万元托关系，轻易就能办理双重户口。
Wastelands of Beijing | Danwei - This article is a tour through some of the more spectacular wastelands of contemporary Beijing, places that will surely be developed into something entirely different at some point in the future, when the interest groups that control the land and construction finally make a deal they can live with.
China’s population: Peak toil | The Economist - ON JANUARY 18th the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced that the number of working-age Chinese shrank last year by a total of 3.45m. In the slow-moving world of demography, that is a big turning point. The mobilization of Chinese labor over the past 35 years has shaken the world. Never before has the global economy benefited from such an addition of extra human exertion. Now the additions are over—and not just in China (see article).
The Tijuana Connection, a Template for Growth - NYTimes.com - But my company, like many manufacturers, is faced with a familiar challenge: its main competitors are Chinese companies that have the dual advantages of cheap labor and top-notch engineering. So, naturally, when we were raising a round of investment financing last year, venture capitalists demanded a plausible explanation for how our little start-up could beat its Chinese rivals. The answer was as much a surprise to the investors as it had been to me a few years earlier: Mexico. In particular, Tijuana.
军委“禁酒令”满月：不用为“喝什么酒”费心思 战斗力提高了-财经网 - 团保障部部长李锐深有感触：“以前应酬总少不了喝酒，耽误了不少工作。有了‘禁酒令’，我可以理直气壮地一头扎在车炮场，泡在修理间。不到一个月，某型火炮底盘的技术革新就取得了实质性的进展。得感谢‘禁酒令’！”
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