Close to 50 Percent of Real Estate Development Companies Went Out of Business in the Past Five Years
Guangming Daily recently published an article about real estate development companies. The article stated that by the end of 2013, the number of real estate development companies registered in China was 42,000, which was 36.6 percent lower than the number in 2010 and 50 percent lower than 2008. The article said that, because the current real estate market continues to be soft, most of the small to mid-size real estate development companies face serious cash flow issues. Some of them have a debit ratio close to 120 percent, while the short term liquidity ratio and total Asset Turnover are getting worse as well. In addition, the on-hand inventory level continues to grow. The article said that the only solution to the problem is to have an aggressive sales strategy and to use the income from sales revenue to pay back the debts.
Source: Guangming Daily, October 17, 2014
http://economy.gmw.cn/2014-10/17/content_13565131.htm
Art Expert: We Lack Art Works That Can Truly Represent China
China Economy reported on a research and study forum on contemporary art that was held in Wuhan city in Hubei Province on October 17. During the forum, an art expert in attendance there said that 3,000 art exhibits had been held in China in 2013. However, very few of those displayed high quality art works or could be used for research purposes. The art works lacked depth or creativity. There was also shortage of artists and art works that could truly represent China or its culture, or which had any ethnic significance.
Source: China Economy, October 18, 2014
http://www.ce.cn/culture/gd/201410/18/t20141018_3727568.shtml
People’s Daily: Xi Jinping Discusses Negative Trends in the Culture Industry
People’s Daily published an article in which it discussed an important speech that Xi Jinping delivered during an arts and cultural forum held in Beijing on October 15. The article said that Xi not only laid out the Party’s expectations about cultural work in the current age; it also criticized certain phenomenon in the culture industry. It listed five major negative trends in the culture industry. According to Xi, the problem with art and cultural works include the following. They have become a slave to the market and only seek economic benefits. Those who work in the field only seek fame and success but are not willing to work earnestly on creativity. They are copycats of each other, focusing only on quantity but not quality. They are distant from reality, are filled with off-color humor and have vulgar contents. Finally, those who work in the field lack professional ethics and have a poor public image.
Source: People’s Daily, October 20, 2014
http://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/1020/c87423-25865500.html
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Health Authorities: Temperature of Nigerian Quarantined Earlier Returned to Normal
In news related to the Ebola virus, on October 17, 2014, the Municipal Health Bureau in the city of Ningbo announced that the temperature of the Nigerian man who had been quarantined earlier returned to normal. On the afternoon of October 16, after landing from Taiwan around 6:00 pm local time, the Nigerian man was found to have a slight fever and was taken to a Ningbo hospital for observation.
Medical Facilities to Conduct Self-Examinations of Readiness for Ebola
On October 16, 2014, China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission issued a directive requiring that, by October 31, hospitals, clinics, and emergency centers are to complete a self examination of their readiness for handling Ebola.
China’s State Media Touts Three “Highlights” of Li Keqiang’s Russian Visit
China’s state media, People’s Daily published a commentary on Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Russia to attend the 19th regular meeting between the prime ministers of China and Russia. The article touted the strategic cooperation between China and Russia. It listed three highlights of the visit’s accomplishments. The first highlight was that "the potential for Sino-Russian relations is far from exhausted. Take the economic and trade exchanges [as an example]. Russia expects that, next year, trade with China will reach US$100 billion; it will reach US$200 billion by 2020. Mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation is just one of the highlights of Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Russia."