Politics
Reuters
China has put Zhou Yongkang under virtual house arrest while the Communist Party investigates accusations of corruption against him.
Wall Street Journal - China Real Time Report
China eyes smoking ban within the next year.
Southern Metropolis Daily*
The event to commemorate Mao Zedongs's 120th birthday at the Great Hall of the People has been rebranded into a new year's gala.
Caixin
A party meeting on urbanization that has been postponed many times will be held after the Central Economic Work Conference.

Society
New York Times
Worker deaths raise questions at an Apple contractor in China.
Southern Metropolis Daily*
Gays, lesbians protest against "conversion therapy clinics".
The Economist
The ratio of taxpayers to pensioners is expected to drop from almost five to one to just over two to one by 2030.
China Post (Taiwan)
Among the 40 different indigenous languages in Taiwan only 22 have survived, eight of which are facing possible extinction.

Economy
Bloomberg
China’s new yuan loans and broadest measure of credit exceeded estimates last month in data at odds with indications that the government wants to curb borrowing.
Wall Street Journal
Investment-banking revenue in China this year has slumped to its lowest level since 2009.
The Globe and Mail
China Mobile is banking on a free mobile app to appeal to Chinese ex-pats and businesses in Canada.
China Car Times
In November, vehicle sales increased 5.8 per cent month to month and 14.1 per cent year on year.

Foreign affairs
New York Times - Sinosphere
“China doesn’t know how to conduct foreign relations,” said political scientist Xie Tao. “We have power, but don’t know how to use it."
Chosun Ilbo
North Korean Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong, a key confidant of ousted eminence grise Jang Song-thaek, is likely to face a recall soon.
Hürriyet (Turkey)
The decision by the US Congress to block funding to make Turkey’s planned Chinese air defense system interoperable with NATO assets could make the Chinese offer more expensive.
Eleven (Myanmar)
Four activists face charges of "harming state tranquility" for publicly burning a Chinese flag.