Grapevine - 4. page

On April 4, 2013, the website of Voice of Taoism published a report about Wu Bangguo, an acknowledged Marxist atheist. Soon after his retirement, Wu visited a Taoist temple seeking protection and wealth from Taoist deities. Chinese Internet users ridiculed his worship of Taoist deities, calling it an "ironic scene."

Wu is a former member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the Tenth National People’s Congress in China. He had vowed to adhere to the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Before he retired from his leadership position, he opposed any political reforms and universal values.

Source: Voice of Taoism, April 4, 2013
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2013/04/04/2321729.html
http://www.daoisms.org/plus/view.php?aid=8416

On January 27, 2013, smog was widespread over 1 million square kilometers in the mid eastern area of China. For the first time, China’s Central Meteorological Station issued a smog alert (blue level), which is separate from a fog alert. Visibility on some sections of road in Beijing was under 500 meters. The air quality across Beijing was in a state of “serious pollution.”   

Source: Reprint from Beijing News by China Gate, January 28, 2013
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2013/01/28/2203120.html

According to a statement the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau made on January 14, 2013, “Severe air pollution in Beijing won’t disappear soon.” From January 10 to 14, 2013, the air quality in Beijing remained at the level of "severe to serious" pollution.

Source: http://news.china.com.cn/, January 14, 2013
http://news.china.com.cn/live/2013-01/14/content_18176487.htm

Boxun, an online overseas Chinese news media, quoted a report from Hong Kong Cheng Ming magazine that the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is investigating the biggest securities fraud case in Chinese history; it amounts to over 1.2 trillion yuan (US$19 billion). Former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, Jia Qinglin, Huang Ju, Jiang Zemin’s son Jiang Mianheng, and Jiang’s nephew Wu Zhiming were all involved. The news came from a source close to Beijing’s high-level officials. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found in December 2002 that a huge sum of money, amounting to over US$20 billion came out of China and was  not claimed. Later, Liu Jinbao revealed from prison that Jiang Zemin had sent the money out because he was trying to prepare for the CCP’s 16th Congress in case of any unforeseen event. Liu Jinbao once served as the governor of the Bank of China’s Shanghai Branch. 

According to China’s Academy of Social Science’s Blue Book, China is experiencing its third large-scale overseas emigration. The affluent and the intellectual elite are the main groups leading the emigration process. China is suffering a wealth and brain drain. The findings were published on Monday, December 17, 2012, in China’s Annual Report on Chinese International Migration 2012. The number of overseas Chinese was reported to have reached 45 million in 2010, topping the world’s list of overseas emigres in absolute numbers. In 2011, over 150,000 Chinese became permanent citizens in major immigrant countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Of that number, 87,017 Chinese have been granted permanent residency in the United States.

Worldwide, international migration increased from 195 million in 2005 to 214 million in 2010, constituting 3.1 percent of the world’s population.

Source: China Review News, December 17, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1023/5/0/6/102350692.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=102350692&mdate=1217174755

On October 19, 2012, China Gate reprinted an article from another source titled “The Truth is Getting Closer: The Three Gorges Dam Project Is an Unexploded Powder Keg.” The article gave a comprehensive description of the dangers related to the Three Gorges Dam Project. It also pointed out that the Three Gorges Project has not achieved flood control; nor has it produced the navigation benefits the State Council claimed it would. Its only achievement is power generation.

Source: China Gate, October 19, 2012
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2012/10/19/2040930.html

On October 11, 2012, China Review News published an article titled, “New Buzzword: ‘How Much Advantage Have You Taken of the Country?’” During and after the eight day national holiday, many Chinese greeted each other starting with, “How much advantage have you taken of the country this time?” Everyone knows that, on the surface, this refers to the toll free policy on expressways for passenger cars under seven seats during the 8-day holiday, when traffic jams were everywhere.   

According to the article, on a deeper level, the new buzzword reflects the helpless protests of the Chinese people. The free toll policy is very rare. Most of time, the expressway charges are too high and too frequent.

Source: China Review News, October 11, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1022/6/3/8/102263813.html?coluid=6&kindid=29&docid=102263813&mdate=1011082911

An article titled “Five Secret Rules to Get Promoted in China’s Officialdom” has recently circulated widely on the Internet. Here are the key points of the five secret rules:

1) Brag and lie;
2) Develop a network of relationships;
3) Commit fraud;
4) Give many gifts;
5) Flatter the right people.

Source: China Gate, September 6, 2012
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2012/09/06/gossip-76411.html