China abroad | China at home According to the Beijing News , a meeting of propaganda department heads was held yesterday to unveil the city's latest plans to control online content, plans which place microblogs firmly at the centre of propaganda efforts. Those in attendance, the newspaper writes, were told by Beijing propaganda chief and deputy mayor Lu Wei to mobilise the city's combined force of over 2 million propaganda workers in opening accounts on microblog sites to spread "positive energy" , a mission described in the report as the guidance of online discussions of sensitive topics in a "positive" direction. At the same time, officials were told to closely monitor sentiment on microblog sites involving any sensitive issues, starting with the city's upcoming mobile phone real-name registration policy. Other hot topics listed as in need of opinion guidance include social transition and economic fluctuation, food prices, unemployment, housing prices, and income distribution. Keeping in line with current internet regulation practices, those at the meeting were told to maintain efforts to "purify" the online environment through crackdowns on harmful and vulgar information. In comments on the news on Sina Weibo this morning, many seem confused by references to the existence of 2.06 million propaganda workers in the city, a figure explained only as comprising just over 60,000 people directly employed by various propaganda bodies with the remaining 2 million "outside the system". All government agencies, media outlets and administrative offices at every level in the city will be required to open microblog accounts under the plan, according to the report. China abroad Kyodo -- Abe calls China's claim over Senkakus "illegitimate": Thai paper In an interview with the Thai daily Matichon published Thursday, Abe said the Senkakus have been under Japanese administration and are part of the country, and that there has been "no doubt" about that in terms of history and international law. Quartz -- No longer factory of the world, China is now its banker Chinese outward foreign direct investment increased 28.6% in 2012, to $77.2 billion, as Chinese investors put money into over 4,400 companies in 141 countries and regions. By contrast, investment into China fell 3.7%, to $111.7 billion, for the full year. World Affairs Journal -- Strange Bedfellows: China’s Middle Eastern Inroads The Chinese designed their mission in Algeria to be low profile, avoiding the pitfalls of Ugly Americanism. But many of the country’s domestic problems have followed its workers there. China at home Bloomberg -- Iron Man Joins China’s TCL to Challenge Apple Smartphones In a product-placement deal for Paramount Pictures Corp.’s third Iron Man movie, Robert Downey Jr.’s character Tony Stark will battle his latest nemesis, the Mandarin, using TCL’s products. Some real-world features, such as handheld devices interacting with televisions, will be replicated on-screen. Huffington Post -- 'Skyfall' Censored: China Chops Scene, Alters Dialogue of Bond Film The altered dialogue appears later in the film, when Bond asks Severine (Berenice Marlohe) about whether or not she was forced into child prostitution. Curiously, the movie's audio is reportedly intact, with invented subtitles that don't match the spoken words. Quartz -- In 2012, China produced twice as many apps for iPhones and iPads as the entire US app store Of course, Xinhua’s source is the China Academy of Telecommunication Research under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, so it’s possible that it measures the number of apps published in China differently from how AppsFire does. Tea Leaf Nation -- Will Growing Online Consensus Against China’s One Child Policy Have an Effect? One person commented on Mao Yushi’s blog, “Reproductive rights are God-given. Only the most evil of societies would forcibly restrict reproduction.” Some argued that China’s population problem has made the restrictions a necessity. Another wrote, “It’s almost too expensive to raise even one kid these days. Who would dare to raise several?” Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy -- TCHRD releases 2012 Annual Report on Human Rights Situation in Tibet Despite heavy surveillance and restrictions, individual Tibetans continued to let the world know about the real situation in Tibet often at great personal risk.