Caixin
May 8, 2017
Costly Rescue
Since April 10, business has been sus-
pended for restaurants, inns, hotels
and shops around Erhai Lake, the
second-largest freshwater lake in southern Yunnan Prov-
ince, pending a pollution inspection. The move was one
of the local government’s measures to control the heavy
blue-green algae pollution in the lake, reportedly caused
by agricultural pollution from local farms, domestic sew-
age and the emissions from businesses in the region. Ac-
cording to the government, the relevant businesses are not
allowed to re-open until their sewage facilities have been
examined and certified as meeting government standards.
Meanwhile, local farmers in the affected region have been
forbidden from raising cows and planting garlic, and
the local fishermen are banned from fishing, in order to
prevent further ecological damage. These harsh measures
have sparked waves of complaints from the affected locals
- who say it was the government who encouraged them to
take up these practices in the first place. As Erhai is on the
brink of losing its capacity to clean itself, say experts, many
locals are about to lose their livelihoods for good.
China Economic Weekly
April 17, 2017Ali Opens New “Silk Road”
AliExpress, a sub-platform of China’s largest online shopping
website Alibaba, launched for foreigners to buy made-in-
China products, had reportedly collected over 100 million
users by April 10. Thanks to the convenience and the vast va-
riety of products, AliExpress is highly popular in many countries and has expanded
to many of the countries and regions taking part in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
To better serve users, AliExpress has urged many less-developed countries to up-
grade infrastructure and greatly promoted online payment, which Ali believes will
one day totally replace cash payments. More importantly, as many foreign investors
have exited China due to rising labour costs and as China is making efforts to up-
grade its manufacturing, AliExpress provides a good channel for Chinese enterprises
to export their products. AliExpress’s general manager Shen Difan told media that
their long-term goal is to build a series of Chinese brands and to enhance the inter-
national image of Chinese domestic products.Economic Weekly
April 21, 2017Larger Markets for Stand-Up
Stand-up comedy in China has become popular over the
last six years. The format won more fans when online pro-
gramme Roast, copied from the Comedy Central Celebrity
Roast format, allowed comics to test their sharp tongues on
each other. China’s comedy pioneers are seeking to rocket to the top by using the
Internet – but the industry, according to insiders, is sluggish, and many people
are leaving. Low incomes, a lack of clubs where comics can hone their talents, and
the limited options available to promote their work are just some of the problems
comics face. Censorship is another obstacle; for political safety, Chinese comics
rarely talk about politics or the news, but focus on celebrity gossip, leaving their
work shallow and anodyne.Economy & Nation Weekly
April 19, 2017Green Cars Face Challenges
According to the China Association of Automobile Manu-
facturers, China produced 517,000 new-energy vehicles last
year, and over 98 percent of them have been sold. That’s a
growth of 51.7 percent year on year in the number of vehicles produced. Govern-
ment incentives are believed to be the biggest driver – but the subsidies are so large
that some manufacturers have been taking advantage of them by producing cheap
“green” cars. Miao Wei, China’s industry and information technology minister, has
warned that the Chinese new-energy vehicle industry is both overproducing low-
end cars and lacks advanced technology. According to analysts, the industry has
come to a turning point that focuses on the development of core technologies, such
as batteries and smart technology. Otherwise it will end up with the same problem
as the regular domestic car industry; big, but uncreative and backward.A series of stories about how environmental law enforcers were ob-
structed or even illegally detained by the enterprises they were inspect-
ing has alerted the government to the difficulties of enforcing the new
environmental law which came into force on January 1, 2015. Although
the new law increases penalties, many suspects prefer to violently resist
the law than pay the fine – due to the lack of power among enforce-
ment officials. The enforcers’ only recourse at present is the local courts,
which leaves the polluters plenty of time to destroy evidence, or even
escape punishment by shutting down their business and reopening
under a new name. In response to the difficulties, many cities have now
set up police teams to help them with enforcement. Many insiders are
hoping for better cooperation between the government departments
involved, since it should be the responsibility of all the authorities, not
just the environmental protection department.
ChinaReport, Chinese Edition
May 5, 2017
Environmental Protection