Today's Links: Grads in rural China, explosions in Songjiang, and TNT in Tibet
- Graduates retreat to rural China [Financial Times] "The Communist party has a long tradition of sending young intellectuals into China’s vast rural hinterland, often causing terrible suffering and disastrous economic consequences. But Chinese officials and analysts insist that, this time, things are different."
- Taxi agents threatened with violence [Shanghai Daily] "Wu Runyuan, a spokesman for the Shanghai Traffic Law Enforcement Team, said illegal taxi drivers had bribed janitors and the owners of small stores near the watchdog's office to tip them off when the traffic law enforcement team was going out on a raid. 'We even found a makeshift GPS system had been installed by a worker under one of our cars while it was in for routine repairs, so illegal drivers knew where the vehicle was at all times,' Wu said. 'Again, he was paid to do it.'"
- Chinese airline chief goes missing [Financial Times] "The head of a privately owned Chinese airline has disappeared after takeover talks with flag-carrier Air China broke down and Beijing grounded its fleet. The case is raising fears of a trend towards renationalisation in some sectors in China as state groups use their clout to swallow struggling private competitors."
- Explosion in Songjiang, Shanghai residence [Netease] "This morning at around 6:05am, an explosion rocked Shanghai's Songjiang New City Court, a residency located in the Songjiang district. One security guard was killed and three people were injured. Shortly before the explosion, residents complained of a gas smell."
- Case packed with TNT found in Tibet capital: report [Reuters] "Chinese security forces recently destroyed a case filled with explosives found in Tibet's regional capital of Lhasa, and broke up a group behind an attempted attack, an official newspaper said Wednesday."
- Japanese court turns down lawsuit by Chinese laborers [China Daily] "The court said that individual Chinese have no right to demand compensation from Japan as the right was abandoned under the 1972 Japan-China Joint Communique, in which Beijing "renounced its war reparation from Japan." However, it acknowledged that forcibly taking the Chinese to coal mines in Fukuoka Prefecture and making them work there was an illegal act committed jointly by the state and the companies."
- China protester found guilty [BBC] "A British man has been found guilty of causing a public nuisance after hanging banners on a Hong Kong bridge in protest at China's human rights record."
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