China news round-up: China posts big trade surplus, Japan's press discuss war prospects

Trending topics on weibo
Nelson Mandela's death
Darío Conca leaves Guangzhou Evergrande
Soccer World Cup team groups
Foreign languages in gaokao exam
Spring Festival train tickets

Politics
Beijing Times*
The crime of "soliciting underage prostitutes" should be abolished, the Supreme People's Court said.
The Economist
Mao Zedong's 120th birthday celebrations this month will put President Xi Jinping to the test.
Times of India
The Supreme People's Court bats for India-style public litigation.
Caixin
"Chinese 'patriots' are a prickly problem for Beijing", writes columnist Song Wenzhou.

Society
Global Voices
Chairman Mao is greater than Nelson Mandela, Chinese leftists say.
New York Times
The New York Times report on Wen Jiabao's family fortune caused the Chinese government to shut down The Times’s website in China at a cost of about US$3 million in lost revenue so far.
Radio Free Asia
Chinese police have detained two popular Tibetan singers in Tibet's Biru County.
Financial Times
Shark fins and Samsonite suitcases are caught in China austerity drive.

Economy
Wall Street Journal
China posts biggest trade surplus in nearly five years.
New York Times
JPMorgan's "Sons and Daughters" hiring programme "seemed to have been an open secret at the bank’s headquarters in Hong Kong".
China Economic watch
"Don’t expect the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to become a Trojan horse for liberalizing the entire financial sector," writes economist Nicholas Borst.
Southern Metropolis Daily*
The average pay of executives in financial listed companies is four times higher than that of their counterparts in non-financial listed companies.

Foreign affairs
Japan Times
Five out of nine weekly magazines that went on sale last week in Japan contained scenarios that raised the possibility of a shooting war.
Radio Australia
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop downplays diplomatic spat with China over new air defence zone.
Cambodia Daily
China’s state news agency Xinhua slams Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Agence-France Presse
Dalai Lama will not attend Nelson Mandela's funeral.

* denotes articles in Chinese language.