chinesejail coverage by Shanghaiist

China's rivers of cash flowing wrong way [Sydney Morning Herald] "On Thursday, the National Bureau of Statistics spokesman Li Xiaochao had been comfortably batting away curly questions from the international media about what lay beneath China's spectacular headline GDP growth of 8.9 per cent through the year. But one question from Shanghai's Oriental Post tied him hopelessly in knots: "What is the amount and growth rate of consumption expenditure for government administration, compared with last year?" The journalist was asking how much of China's spectacular retail sales growth - 17 per cent after adjusting for falls in prices - was simply the bureaucracy taking advantage of the fiscal stimulus to spend more money on itself."
Salute All Cars, Kids. It’s a Rule in China [NY Times] "All the students at Luolang Elementary School, a yellow-and-orange concrete structure off a winding mountain road in southern China, know the key rules: Do not run in the halls. Take your seat before the bell rings. Raise your hand to ask a question. And oh, yes: Salute every passing car on your way to and from school."
China and America: The odd couple [The Economist] "IT HAS become a tedious tradition for Westerners dealing with China to garnish their speeches with wisdom from the Chinese classics. Barack Obama, addressing Chinese and American leaders in July, used not just a banal quotation from Mencius, a Confucian sage, but a punchier one from Yao Ming, a Chinese basketball player: “No matter whether you are new or an old team member, you need time to adjust to one another.” Though it is 30 years since the two countries re-established diplomatic ties severed by the Communist takeover, both sides still badly need to adjust…"

Continue reading "Today's Links: Cash flows, car salutes, and corny sayings"