NewsChina Chinese Edition

NewsChina Chinese Edition

August 18， 2014

Sick Society？

At the height of a particularly torrid summer this year， gory footage and images of bus explosions caused by arsonists in Hangzhou， Zhejiang Province and Guangzhou， Guangdong Province went viral online， spreading panic over the seeming arbitrariness of the carnage. Criminal researchers in many countries have suggested that violent crime tends to fluctuate seasonally， usually peaking in July and August. Others have also called attention to economic conditions， the prevalence of untreated psychiatric conditions， and societal attitudes to violence. In China， many blame widespread social injustice， an ever-widening income gap and the rigid nature of the social hierarchy for the rising violent crime rate. Moreover， despite its ubiquity， China’s police apparatus still relies on antiquated detection methods and heavy-handed tactics to identify would-be threats to public safety， hampering their ability to perform an effective role in society.

China Entrepreneur

July 25， 2014

Getting Lost

In an era of ongoing global financial crises， business performance tends to fall short of expectations， and for multinational companies in China， this situation is compounded by local conditions. Survival in a nation now questing after moderate， not breakneck， growth is now a major challenge for large international conglomerates. According to a survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China， a sense of pessimism is becoming prevalent as these market challenges show little sign of abating. The survey also showed that nearly half the multinational companies surveyed believed the “golden age”of doing business in China is already over. 33 percent of respondents revealed that their pre-tax earnings in China are lower than the global average. Excessive production， growing competition with State-owned and private enterprises， discriminatory market access and regulatory barriers all contributed to the plight of those still seeking their fortunes in the People’s Republic.

Caijing

August 4， 2014

Road to Reform

China’s central authorities released guidelines July 16 aimed at reforming the provision and use of government vehicles in a bid to slash excessive spending amid mounting public outcries over misuse of public money. Government cars frequently earn widespread criticism for their lavish brand names， regular road safety infractions， appropriation for private functions（such as ferrying cadres’ children to school） and contribution to urban congestion. Under the terms of the guidelines， China will scrap all vehicles currently in use for“regular government affairs，” retaining only those earmarked for “special services，”namely， law enforcement， intelligence services and emergency transportation. The central government will also issue subsidies to public officials for the purposes of selecting “their own means of transportation.” Central government agencies are required to complete the reforms by year-end， with local governments having until 2015 to scrap an estimated 90 percent of their private fleets.

Southern Metropolis Weekly

August 13， 2014

Seeing a Doctor Overseas

Growing awareness of shortcomings in China’s healthcare industry and the boom in private wealth have turned highend medical services into a highly coveted global commodity. Wealthy Chinese are increasingly heading to countries including the United States， Japan， Singapore， Thailand and South Korea for medical treatment. A more patient-centered service， better diagnosis and treatment， holistic rehabilitation programs and， in many cases， top-level cosmetic surgery clinics， are all major attractions. For some cancer patients， foreign hospitals are their only hope of securing the cutting-edge treatments they cannot find at home. Others simply seek cheaper prices， as China’s hospital bills become prohibitively expensive.

China Economic Weekly

August 9， 2014

Rotten Real Estate

On July 16 during a meeting on the ongoing nationwide investigations into official conduct， Wang Qishan， China’s anticorruption czar， named the country’s real estate industry as a hothouse of corruption. He added that the main goal of today’s anti-graft operations is to rein in official malpractice in mining， land and real estate development， construction projects and the illegal appropriation of public funds intended for poverty relief. As of the end of July， three rounds of inspections beginning in May 2013 had netted 19 provincial officials with ties to 34 provinces and work units， many of them heavily involved in the real estate industry. Corruption cases were reported in the real estate industries of all 21 provinces inspected， and the powerful Ministry of Land and Resources drew fire for its allegedly “lax”enforcement of existing regulations.