https://www.scmp.com/rss/318080/feed The annual Chinese "lianghui" of 2015, or plenary meetings of China's top legislative and consultative bodies, the National People's Congress and the National People's Consultative Conference, takes place in Beijing in early to mid-March. It is one of the most important opportunities to observe China’s political, economic and social trends. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com For many foreign journalists in China, the biggest surprise of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's annual press conference last Sunday may not have been his statements on China's economic outlook, but the choice of a reporter from the digital-only Huffington Post to ask a question. Li's choice of the Huffington Post made the American media organisation -- founded by influential public figure Arianna Huffington about ten years ago -- the first foreign digital-only media outlet allowed to ask a question... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/1740965/how-foreign-media-engages-beijing-and-vice-versa-li-keqiangs?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/1740965/how-foreign-media-engages-beijing-and-vice-versa-li-keqiangs?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Mar 2015 10:00:00 +0000 Hours after the curtain came down on the annual session of China's national parliament, news emerged of the arrests of two more senior officials in the sweeping crackdown on corruption. The fall of the deputy party chief of Yunnan province and the chairman of the country's largest carmaker served as a reminder, after all the rhetoric in and around the National People's Congress about economic reform aimed at achieving sustainable growth, that the political agenda of rooting out corruption... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1739617/encouraging-entrepreneurship-key-meeting-chinas-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1739617/encouraging-entrepreneurship-key-meeting-chinas-challenges?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Mar 2015 17:00:30 +0000 China was still a developing nation, Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday amid international concerns that the rising economic power is challenging the United States. Observers say Li's remarks signal that although China is poised to take a more active part in international affairs, its priority will be on internal development rather than setting a new international order. Li said China was already engaged in many international affairs and denied that it was a "free rider". But China's per capita... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738652/china-still-developing-nation-says-premier-li-keqiang-he-signals-countrys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738652/china-still-developing-nation-says-premier-li-keqiang-he-signals-countrys?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 21:35:36 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang's media conference after the annual National People's Congress plenum yesterday did not play out entirely according to script. As host Fu Ying thanked Li and the journalists present at the press conference's close, some reporters stood up and shouted for Li's thoughts on the tense stand-off at the China-Myanmar border, where bombs killed five Chinese on Friday. "Please answer a question about Myanmar," one journalist called out. Li took just two questions related to diplomacy... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738753/chinese-premier-li-keqiangs-presser-eager-reporters-stop-playing-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738753/chinese-premier-li-keqiangs-presser-eager-reporters-stop-playing-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 21:35:36 +0000 China is studying further changes to its population control policy, Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday, amid intense speculation and debate over whether the country will completely throw out the one-child policy. Renewed discussion got off to a start at the annual parliamentary sessions, when for the first time since 1988, the premier's annual government report did not mention the clause "the birth-control policy remains the fundamental state policy of China". Instead, Li said in his report that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738648/is-it-time-end-one-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738648/is-it-time-end-one-child-policy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 21:30:30 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang has dismissed as "unnecessary" worries that Beijing is tightening control over Hong Kong, telling journalists that the policy towards the city "cannot be changed at will". He added that the central government was committed to the consistent and full implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle. But Li sidestepped Hong Kong electoral reforms and did not mention the Occupy protests when he took a question from a Hong Kong reporter about Beijing's treatment of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1738662/fears-beijing-tightening-grip-hong-kong-unnecessary-li-keqiang?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1738662/fears-beijing-tightening-grip-hong-kong-unnecessary-li-keqiang?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 20:30:30 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang admitted yesterday that China would face difficulties meeting its growth target but vowed to press ahead with "painful reforms" to cut red tape and spur growth through innovation. Speaking to the world media at the annual press conference to wrap up the national parliamentary sessions, Li said it would be "by no means easy" for the country to achieve its 7 per cent growth target in gross domestic product for 2015 - the lowest in 15 years. The economy dominated the otherwise... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738660/taking-knife-ones-flesh-li-keqiang-vows-push-painful-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738660/taking-knife-ones-flesh-li-keqiang-vows-push-painful-reforms?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 20:30:30 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang yesterday urged Japan to face up to its past militarism and said this year, the 70th anniversary of the end of the second world war, would test bilateral relations. "The crux of the issue is how the war and that part of history are viewed," Li said. Political leaders should not only respect the achievements of their predecessors but also bear responsibility for their "crimes committed in the past," the premier said, noting that the war imposed by "Japanese militarists" brought... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738305/face-your-wartime-past-chinas-premier-tells-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738305/face-your-wartime-past-chinas-premier-tells-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 07:45:15 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang has dismissed fears that Beijing will tighten its control over Hong Kong, saying it will strengthen its support for the Special Administrative Region and that it fully backs the city’s government and its chief executive. Li, however, sidestepped questions about the lingering dispute over Hong Kong electoral reforms and the election of future chief executives that led to huge pro-democracy protests last year. “It is the basic state policy of the Chinese government to adhere to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738289/premier-dismisses-fears-beijing-wants-curb-hong-kongs-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738289/premier-dismisses-fears-beijing-wants-curb-hong-kongs-autonomy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 07:09:10 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday that China would resolutely protect its borders after its military alleged that a stray bomb from a Myanmese aircraft killed five of its citizens. Li told a press conference at the end of the National People's Congress in Beijing that he was saddened by the deaths on Friday. "We have the responsibility and the capacity to firmly safeguard stability in the border area between the two nations and protect the life and property of our people," he said. In a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738272/china-will-resolutely-protect-borders-says-premier-after-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738272/china-will-resolutely-protect-borders-says-premier-after-allegations?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 06:15:45 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang has given a press conference to mark the end of China's annual parliamentary sessions in Beijing. Here's a brief guide to what he said - and what he sidestepped, during the question-and-answer session with journalists from China and around the world.   Things missing in the press conference: No mention of Occupy Central and political reform in Hong Kong, although he did talk about “one country, two systems”. No mention of Tibet and Xinjiang No mention of human rights No... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738253/what-premier-li-keqiang-said-and-sidestepped-national-peoples-congress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738253/what-premier-li-keqiang-said-and-sidestepped-national-peoples-congress?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 05:30:30 +0000 Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday that the government was committed to tackling smog, but avoided a direct answer to a direct question on a blocked air pollution documentary and its claims that oil companies were dragging their feet over the introduction of cleaner fuels. Li said air quality had so far not improved as much as the public had expected, but that the issue was still a top priority for the government. "I said in last year's government report that China will declare a war on smog. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738240/war-pollution-still-priority-says-chinese-premier-after-air-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738240/war-pollution-still-priority-says-chinese-premier-after-air-pollution?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 05:00:00 +0000 The annual parliamentary sessions that took place in Beijing this month have been billed as the most media-friendly government event of the year in a country where the press is tightly controlled. The intention may be to at least appear more open and transparent, but old habits die hard in China, it appears. Organisers of the meeting of the National People's Congress and the nation's political advisory body used a website-based system for reporters to request interviews with delegates. Reporters... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738202/reporters-notebook-china-has-way-go-holding-media-friendly-npc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738202/reporters-notebook-china-has-way-go-holding-media-friendly-npc?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 04:15:00 +0000 China faces an uphill task to meet a lower economic growth target of 7 per cent this year, Premier Li Keqiang told a press conference at the end of the National People's Congress.  The world's second-largest economy is facing more pain because of the economic slowdown as it tries to rebalance its economy to produce more sustainable growth, Li said. “It will by no means easy to meet this target," he said. “The pain is still there and the pain is becoming even more intense,” Li told... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738207/china-faces-painful-times-ahead-amid-economic-slowdown-says-premier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738207/china-faces-painful-times-ahead-amid-economic-slowdown-says-premier?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 03:30:00 +0000 The annual legislative session is usually the premier's time to take centre stage, opening the meetings with a state-of-the-union-style policy speech and capping the 10-day gathering with a televised press conference. Yesterday was Premier Li Keqiang's third encounter with journalists from the world's major media outlets in the Great Hall of the People, but he failed to live up to expectations. The world had expected the most important news conference of the year by the leader of the world's... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738179/premier-shadow-powerful-president?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1738179/premier-shadow-powerful-president?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Mar 2015 02:15:30 +0000 Delegates to China's top legislative and political advisory bodies have criticised tycoons who took advantage of the annual assemblies over the past two weeks to lobby government support for their businesses. Though supposedly there to speak as legislators or political advisors, several billionaire delegates used the sessions, attended by the country's most powerful officials, to speak to the media at length about their companies' new projects or products. Last week China's new richest man Li... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1737938/cppcc-delegates-slammed-promoting-own-companies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1737938/cppcc-delegates-slammed-promoting-own-companies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2015 23:00:30 +0000 Cynics may scoff at China's ritualistic annual parliamentary session, saying that few questions of any real import arise as delegates' feel-good rhetoric dispels any gloom about the country's prospects. Yet this year, an apparent slip in the rhetoric led to a tough question about President Xi Jinping's political theory: quite how many "comprehensives" are involved in the so-called "Four Comprehensives" theory? The answer's not so obvious. Most people had thought the leadership had ordered the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1737954/chinese-president-xi-jinpings-comprehensive-list-fails-add-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1737954/chinese-president-xi-jinpings-comprehensive-list-fails-add-national?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 14 Mar 2015 16:15:45 +0000 In a departure from previous years, military corruption is being discussed at the parliamentary sessions in Beijing, with several PLA delegates conducting high-profile media interviews describing examples of misconduct in striking detail. Avoiding the topic completely would have been a challenge given the widening scope of the crackdown, which has claimed dozens of leading officers in recent months. On March 2, three days before the sessions opened, the defence ministry named 14 generals who... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1737132/breaking-rank-military-graft-no-longer-taboo-topic-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1737132/breaking-rank-military-graft-no-longer-taboo-topic-china?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2015 17:15:30 +0000 China should have no more poor counties – at least by government standards – within 15 years, a top official on poverty alleviation says. Liu Yongfu, head of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, told the Southern Metropolis News that hundreds of counties in China that were officially designated as poor would be lifted out of poverty by 2020. If the government was to meet its target of “comprehensively” building a moderately prosperous society within five... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736661/china-should-no-longer-have-poor-counties-within-15-years-top-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736661/china-should-no-longer-have-poor-counties-within-15-years-top-poverty?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2015 05:30:00 +0000 If you want to know which Chinese government officials are popular among journalists and which aren't, you'll find out at the north gate of Beijing's Great Hall of the People during the nation's annual parliamentary sessions. Like celebrities sashaying down the red carpet for the Oscars in Hollywood, officials and delegates entering the Great Hall from the north gate have to walk down a corridor - dubbed the "ministers' corridor" - surrounded by eager journalists and cameras snapping away. With... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736269/great-halls-red-carpet-puts-chinese-officials-popularity-test?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736269/great-halls-red-carpet-puts-chinese-officials-popularity-test?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 20:45:15 +0000 The central government is expected to ramp up efforts to link local governments with the ancient Silk Road. Many local governments have already proposed plans for the "One Belt, One Road" concept - a strategy aiming to link China with Europe through rail and maritime connections. But centralised planning by top government leadership is needed to make the effort more concrete to other nations. In his government work report delivered at the annual parliamentary session last week, Premier Li... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736270/details-needed-join-dots-silk-road-project?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736270/details-needed-join-dots-silk-road-project?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:45:15 +0000 The Silk Road Fund will invest in projects that guarantee returns, its chairman said on Thursday amid concerns that it would be hard for the fund to yield profit because of high geopolitical and commercial uncertainties. Jin Qi said market-oriented principles would apply in the operation of the US$40 billion (HK$310 billion) fund and shareholders' interests would be considered when making investment decisions. "The fund is not an aid agency," she said on the sidelines of the National People's... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736264/chinas-us40-billion-silk-road-fund-will-be-driven-profit-says-its-chief?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736264/chinas-us40-billion-silk-road-fund-will-be-driven-profit-says-its-chief?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:30:45 +0000 The mainland convicted and sentenced 712 people for terrorism, separatism and related crimes last year, the top court said yesterday, adding that such offences were its top priority this year. Violent attacks and unrest have been on the rise in Xinjiang , home to the mostly Muslim Uygur minority, and Tibet , where reports of self-immolation in protest against Chinese rule often make global news. The mainland has vowed to step up punishment of what it calls "violent terrorists" and is drafting... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736268/chinas-top-court-makes-dealing-terror-crimes-its-priority?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1736268/chinas-top-court-makes-dealing-terror-crimes-its-priority?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:30:30 +0000 Film star Jackie Chan declined to read out a speech at a panel discussion at the annual meeting of China’s political advisory body because reporters were in the room. Chan said he had prepared a long speech for a cultural panel at the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in Beijing yesterday, but felt uncomfortable reading it out in the presence of the media. “Look, there are so many journalists. What should I say? I don’t even dare make a speech,” he said during the meeting, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735864/bashful-jackie-chan-declines-read-out-speech-political-conference-front?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735864/bashful-jackie-chan-declines-read-out-speech-political-conference-front?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 06:00:00 +0000 China’s national anthem should be better protected by law to stop it being performed at “inappropriate” occasions that lessen its dignity, according to a delegate attending the annual session of the national political advisory body in Beijing. Yue Hai, a senior conductor with the Military Band of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, said playing the anthem at weddings and funerals was “blasphemy”, the Huashang Bao newspaper reported. The government has issued regulations to limit the occasions... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735765/blasphemy-pla-band-leader-calls-tougher-laws-protect-chinese-national?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735765/blasphemy-pla-band-leader-calls-tougher-laws-protect-chinese-national?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 03:45:00 +0000 The mainland's chief justice and chief prosecutor have pledged to keep a closer watch on law enforcers to root out miscarriages of justice stemming from forced confessions and other prejudiced investigations. The Supreme People's Procuratorate was pushing for a mechanism that authorised it to give police directives and advise on major cases during their investigations, chief prosecutor Cao Jianming told the annual plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing yesterday. "Any... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735744/chinas-top-judge-and-prosecutor-both-vow-beef-fight-against-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735744/chinas-top-judge-and-prosecutor-both-vow-beef-fight-against-corruption?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 12 Mar 2015 03:15:00 +0000 More than 4 per cent of Shenzhen's GDP, or about 64 billion yuan (HK$80.46 billion), was invested in research and development last year, its mayor said yesterday. The city had made remarkable progress with innovation-driven development, mayor Xu Qin said on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary sessions in remarks to the online news portal affiliated with People's Daily. Shenzhen had filed 116,000 patent applications under the international system, accounting for half of the nation's total,... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735363/shenzhen-invested-64b-yuan-fostering-innovation-mayor-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1735363/shenzhen-invested-64b-yuan-fostering-innovation-mayor-says?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2015 19:12:42 +0000 An expert on China’s social security system has described the government’s plans to raise the retirement age to cope with the nation’s ageing population as unwise, according to a newspaper report. Tang Jun, a researcher at the Institute of Sociology at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, warned the government could not be too careful when introducing the policy of raising the retirement age and forcefully pushing through the plans would lead to “worrying consequences”, the Huashang Daily... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734960/raising-retirement-age-china-unwise-says-expert-government-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734960/raising-retirement-age-china-unwise-says-expert-government-think-tank?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2015 03:30:45 +0000 China’s work safety boss says he dreams of replacing most of the nation’s coal miners with robots to cut the number of deaths in accidents in the industry. “I had a dream one night,” Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety told a press conference at the National People’s Congress in Beijing. “All the workers in coal mines had been replaced by robots.” For all the latest news from China’s parliamentary sessions click here Yang said his dream was rooted in a form of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734921/chinas-work-safety-boss-dreams-robots-replacing-miners-cut-number-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734921/chinas-work-safety-boss-dreams-robots-replacing-miners-cut-number-deaths?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Mar 2015 02:45:00 +0000 President Xi Jinping has reshuffled the Central Security Bureau that is in charge of his personal safety, three separate sources have told the South China Morning Post. Major General Wang Shaojun, the executive deputy commander of the bureau, has been promoted to lead it and also the Central Guard Regiment. The bureau's incumbent commander, Lieutenant General Cao Qing, is being transferred to the Beijing Military Area Command as its deputy commander, the sources said. The powerful Central... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734712/president-xi-reshuffles-elite-unit-guards-communist-party-leaders-safety?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734712/president-xi-reshuffles-elite-unit-guards-communist-party-leaders-safety?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 17:30:45 +0000 President Xi Jinping grew determined to shake up the army after he saw first-hand how his predecessor Hu Jintao was treated as a mere figurehead by his deputies, sources told the South China Morning Post. Xi, who became the Central Military Commission's third vice-chairman in 2010, witnessed how his fellow vice-chairmen Xu Caihou and Guo Boxiong took over the army's staff affairs right under Hu's nose, a military source said. China watchers had long suspected Hu's grip on the army was weak. He... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734663/hu-jintaos-weak-grip-chinas-army-inspired-president-xi-jinpings-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734663/hu-jintaos-weak-grip-chinas-army-inspired-president-xi-jinpings-military?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 16:00:15 +0000 President Xi Jinping has been an avowed soccer fan since his chilldhood. So when he spoke about Chinese soccer last week during the annual parliamentary meetings, fans of the sport pricked up their ears, hoping to find out which local team he supports. Xi had had a brief chat with National People’s Congress delegate Chen Xuyuan, who is chairman of Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG) and one of China’s best-known soccer diehards, last Thursday. For all the latest news from China’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734264/reporters-notebook-rival-chinese-soccer-teams-keen-claim-president-xi-one?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734264/reporters-notebook-rival-chinese-soccer-teams-keen-claim-president-xi-one?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 08:00:45 +0000 Militants from Xinjiang who had joined the Islamic State group in the Middle East have been arrested after they returned home, the autonomous region's top official says. "I believe there are extremists from Xinjiang who have joined Islamic State," Xinjiang Communist Party boss Zhang Chunxian said yesterday. "We have recently arrested some groups who returned [to Xinjiang] after joining the group," he added without elaborating. Zhang was speaking during a meeting of the Xinjiang delegation at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734203/islamic-state-members-arrested-xinjiang-says-chinese-government-official?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734203/islamic-state-members-arrested-xinjiang-says-chinese-government-official?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 07:00:00 +0000 China will roll out a detailed plan by 2017 to raise the retirement age as it copes with the costs of its rapidly greying population. There will be an average of 1.3 people of working age for every retired person in China by 2050, human resources and social security minister Yin Weimin told a press conference at the National People's Congress yesterday. There are currently just over three working-age people for each retired person. And by 2050, people aged over 60 will make up 39 per cent of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734181/china-roll-out-plans-raise-retirement-age-within-two-years-cope-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734181/china-roll-out-plans-raise-retirement-age-within-two-years-cope-ageing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 05:45:45 +0000 Protestors fighting plans to build chemical plants in China often act through lack of scientific knowledge and their actions can damage the country’s development, according to one of the nation’s leading climate change scientists. Qin Dahe, the vice president of the China Association for Science and Technology, said the protests against paraxylene plants, or PX, were borne of the belief that the factories were highly dangerous, the Beijing Times reported. “[The protests] caused the embarrassing... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734154/chinese-chemical-plant-protestors-demonstrate-ignorance-says-scientist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734154/chinese-chemical-plant-protestors-demonstrate-ignorance-says-scientist?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 05:22:28 +0000 China’s controversial Buddhist monk, who earned himself the nickname of “CEO monk” after being accused of running the Shaolin Temple like a business, no longer likes the title. “Don’t call me a CEO,” pleaded Shi Yongxin, abbot of the temple, during the National People’s Congress parliamentary session in Beijing. Shi, who is an NPC delegate and was speaking on the sidelines of the meetings, told Henan Business Daily that addressing a monk with secular titles such as “general manager” and “chief... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734156/chinas-controversial-buddhist-abbot-shaolin-temple-turns-his-back-title?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734156/chinas-controversial-buddhist-abbot-shaolin-temple-turns-his-back-title?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 05:00:00 +0000 The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, is profaning Buddhism by suggesting he will not be reincarnated when he dies, the Chinese-appointed governor of Tibet said yesterday. The comment's by Padma Choling are some of China’s strongest comments to date on the subject. Tibetan Buddhism holds that the soul of a senior lama is reincarnated in the body of a child on his death. China has said the tradition must continue and it must approve the next Dalai Lama. For all the latest news from... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734073/china-says-dalai-lama-profanes-buddhism-doubting-his-reincarnation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1734073/china-says-dalai-lama-profanes-buddhism-doubting-his-reincarnation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Mar 2015 02:45:30 +0000 China is highly sensitive to any negative news concerning its leaders, and maintains the tightest of procedures for the release of such information. However, there might be change afoot. At the annual session of the legislature, journalists have received confirmation of several politically highly sensitive rumours from officials - something that rarely happens before developments are confirmed through official lines. Officials commented on rumours that have been spreading in overseas media for... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733736/going-record-those-rumours?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733736/going-record-those-rumours?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:15:15 +0000 President Xi Jinping has revealed his curiosity about China’s wildlife, including Siberian tigers. Xi asked a string of questions today, including: “How many Siberian tigers are there?, What do they eat?”, “Can their population expand? and “Do wild boars live in the Changbai Mountain?”, during a panel discussion with Jilin deputies at the annual political meetings. He posed his questions after a delegate from the northeastern province praised the local area’s countryside, xinhuanet.com... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733520/what-do-chinas-siberian-tigers-eat-asks-curious-president-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733520/what-do-chinas-siberian-tigers-eat-asks-curious-president-xi-jinping?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 09:30:30 +0000 Former basketball star Yao Ming says he is envious of the amount of support senior government leaders are giving to soccer in China. Yao, who is a delegate on the national political advisory body that is now holding its annual meeting in Beijing, told reporters: “As somebody from basketball, firstly I would like to express my envy. I very much hope that in the near future there will be a plan to promote basketball in schools, too.” State media announced last month that President Xi Jinping, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733474/basketball-star-yao-ming-envious-government-support-given-soccer-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733474/basketball-star-yao-ming-envious-government-support-given-soccer-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 08:30:15 +0000 Opinion within China’s central government is divided over the issue of property tax, says a former senior government public finance scholar. One group of legislators backed imposing payments based on the size of properties, while the other wanted people to be taxed on the number of properties they own, said Jia Kang, a former director of the Ministry of Finance’s Research Institute for Fiscal Science. Jia, who is a delegate on the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, said both... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733380/chinas-legislators-divided-over-how-impose-property-tax-ex-finance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733380/chinas-legislators-divided-over-how-impose-property-tax-ex-finance?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 06:00:45 +0000 The State Administration for Industry and Commerce has pledged to intensify the crackdown on the sales of fake products online in China. The remarks by the regulator’s head, Zhang Mao, came after a high-profile spat between the government body and the e-commerce giant Alibaba earlier this year. “Market order can only be regulated if we increase the penalties for selling fake goods, making traders who sell such goods unable to continue operations, or go bankrupt,” Zhang said during a press... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733376/chinese-government-pledges-step-crackdown-selling-fake-goods-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733376/chinese-government-pledges-step-crackdown-selling-fake-goods-online?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 06:00:45 +0000 Officially there are 11 taboo topics for proposals made to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference - so much so, it seems, that many delegates attending this year's plenum in Beijing have never heard of them. The constitution states that the political advisory body has the right to take part in the political process and discuss state affairs. But only up to a point. Proposals cannot broach Communist Party or state secrets, or topics banned by the state; suggestions about personnel... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733359/names-people-facing-graft-probe-among-eight-banned-topics-during-annual?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733359/names-people-facing-graft-probe-among-eight-banned-topics-during-annual?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 05:30:15 +0000 China’s legislators have called for the government to reduce its intervention in university management, which they warned will pose an obstacle to technological innovation. Excessive government interference on university campuses had led to frequent personnel changes, costly, eye-catching projects and overstated enthusiasm among professors in pursuing administration positions, delegates from central Anhui province told yesterday’s National People’s Congress panel discussion. In this year’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733284/chinese-government-interference-universities-limits-technological?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733284/chinese-government-interference-universities-limits-technological?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 03:30:15 +0000 China Unicom chairman Chang Xiaobing has seen his monthly take-home pay shrink by about a fifth since salary reforms for top executives at state-owned enterprises took effect. At a panel session for the Tibet delegation to the National People's Congress yesterday, Chang said he used to earn about 10,000 yuan (HK$12,580) a month but now earned about 8,000 yuan after tax, amid greater public scrutiny of SOEs. "We have to respond to new expectations of the market. It will be difficult for us to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733238/ive-had-massive-pay-cut-says-chinese-power-grid-boss?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1733238/ive-had-massive-pay-cut-says-chinese-power-grid-boss?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Mar 2015 01:45:00 +0000 China aims to expand its influence abroad by mediating in international conflicts and having a more active role in the United Nations, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said yesterday as he outlined the nation's diplomatic agenda. Observers said the remarks reflected Beijing's growing ambition to set the rules in global diplomacy, even though Wang stressed that China was not seeking to create a new world order. On the sidelines of the National People's Congress meeting in Beijing, Wang said China would... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732959/china-seeks-bigger-role-peace-broker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732959/china-seeks-bigger-role-peace-broker?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2015 19:45:30 +0000 Actor Chen Daoming would appear a man of many talents - not only is he a famed thespian and delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he seems to have turned his hand to news editing. A reporter with state-run news agency Xinhua prompted controversy on the weekend by releasing an interview with Chen, admitting she had let him edit it "with his own hand". Journalist Wu Yu was upfront about how her report had gone through substantial changes by Chen, even bragging about... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732937/actors-cut-xinhua-reporter-lets-chen-daoming-edit-his-own-interview?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732937/actors-cut-xinhua-reporter-lets-chen-daoming-edit-his-own-interview?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2015 17:00:15 +0000 President Xi Jinping has given the head of Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party little option. Analysts say that in the run-up to the island's presidential election next year, Dr Tsai Ing-wen, the DPP's chairwoman, will have to spell out where she stands on independence and a two-decade-old deal after Xi sent a clear message last week - recognise the informal 1992 agreement on "one China" or watch tensions rise. In pointed remarks apparently aimed at Taiwan's main opposition... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732939/xi-and-li-paint-dpps-tsai-independence-corner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732939/xi-and-li-paint-dpps-tsai-independence-corner?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2015 17:00:15 +0000 When we found out that neither the Jiangsu Communist Party boss Luo Zhijun nor its governor Li Xueyong would be attending yesterday's open session, reporters at the Great Hall of the People started to sniff around, eager to dig up the reason. Jiangsu is among the provinces that have been at the centre of the anti-graft crackdown over the past two years. In the provincial capital Nanjing, both the city's party chief and its mayor have been snared by investigators. The well-off eastern province... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732938/reporters-notebook-trail-missing-officials?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732938/reporters-notebook-trail-missing-officials?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2015 16:45:00 +0000 China and Canada will grant each other's citizens visas valid for up to 10 years, Beijing's foreign minister announced yesterday. The agreement, which goes into force today, comes as Western countries increasingly seek Chinese business and investment, and mirrors one with the US announced last year. "China and Canada have just reached an agreement issuing visas to each other's citizens with the validity period of up to 10 years," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on the sidelines of the National... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732935/china-and-canada-seal-deal-10-year-visas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1732935/china-and-canada-seal-deal-10-year-visas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Mar 2015 16:15:45 +0000