Today's Links: A million what-if's, subsidies for rural transport and Chinese military openness

• What if Beijing is right? [IHT]
  What if the doubters have been wrong all along? What if big government and an all-powerful state are good, not bad? What if the business cycle, hitherto thought to be inevitable, if completely unpredictable, could be repealed? These are the questions that Howard French of the IHT asks in his latest Letter from China.
• China's 1st lunar probe to reach moon orbit Monday morning [Xinhua]
  
• China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1, will reach the moon's orbit this morning and currently, it is traveling on the expected trajectory, scientists said Sunday.
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  Plan to Open Hong Kong Market To China Investors May Be Delayed [WSJ]
  A landmark program to allow mainland Chinese investors to trade directly in Hong Kong shares could be delayed further, possibly threatening some of the strong stock market gains that anticipation of the program has helped drive here over the past two months.
• China urges local governments to keep prices stable following oil price hikes [Forbes]
  China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planning body, urged local governments to take measures to maintain stable market prices overall after it raised refined oil prices by 10 pct last week.
• China subsidizes rural transportation, urges aid for urban poor following fuel price hike [AP]
  China's central government has subsidized transportation in rural areas and urged local officials to help the urban poor after it raised fuel prices by nearly 10 percent this past week, state media reported.
• U.S. defense secretary to press for military openness in China [IHT]
  The U.S. defense secretary, Robert Gates, arrived in Beijing late Sunday to open two days of talks with senior leaders, and senior officials said he planned to press for a more open dialogue on the Chinese military while discussing ways to build trust and cooperation.

Photo of lakes at the foot of Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, Yunnan, from Slow Boat to China