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August 19th, 2011 Author: Kam Wing Chan, University of Washington "In the popular media and the business world, urbanisation is often cited as the fundamental driver of global economic growth, especially for the next few decades. The assumption is that a rural-urban shift will transform poor farmers into industrial and office workers, raising their incomes and creating a massive consumer class. Imagine farmers who once led simple, subsistence lives becoming workers in the city, buying up apartments and furnishing them with appliances."

August 19th, 2011 Author: Kam Wing Chan, University of Washington In the popular media and the business world, urbanisation is often cited as the fundamental driver of global economic growth, especially for the next few decades. The assumption is that a rural-urban shift will transform poor farmers into industrial and office workers, raising their incomes and creating a massive consumer class. Imagine farmers who once led simple, subsistence lives becoming workers in the city, buying up apartments and furnishing them with appliances.

"Among all the ancient traditions that Chinese people observe during the lunar New Year, setting off firecrackers is the most controversial. Originally used to "drive bad luck away," firecrackers have been an intrinsic part of the Chinese New Year celebration for thousands of years. Yet, their contribution to air and noise pollution has always incurred debates about whether they should be banned. This year, the debate has been intensified by the severe air quality crisis many cities faced right before the festival. TLNLogo_Horizontal-215 MORE FROM TLN China Isn't Apple's Only Supplier A Confusing Flowchart for the Confused Chinese Traveler Chinese Web Users Weigh in on North Korea's Nuclear Test Towards the end of January, citizens in Beijing endured several waves of what many Western media outlets dubbed "airpocalypse." On January 29, the air quality index released by the U.S. embassy in Beijing peaked at 526, beyond "hazardous" and literally off the charts. Responding to the environmental disaster, many Web users spontaneously advocated to stop setting off firecrackers during the upcoming festival. A comment tweeted by Shi Shusi(@石述思), the editor-in-chief of the Workers' Daily, is representative. "Entering middle age, I suddenly realize that the majority of my family consists of seniors and children. So although I've loved firecrackers since childhood, I decided to quit using them for the sake of both tranquility for my family and clearer air. I request earnestly that everyone set off fewer firecrackers, and while doing it, try to keep your distance from seniors and children." As the anti-firecracker web users' voices multiplied, accounts of official media joined the campaign. China Central Television's Economics and Finance Channel (@央视财经) is one of them. "The air quality in Beijing has become poorer and poorer as we approach the New Year. If we still set off firecrackers, the air quality will not be not restorable. Here, our channel

Two events have taken place that will change the way the Chinese state tackles organized crime and corruption. Law reforms re-defining organized crime while strengthening judicial oversight and the apparent demise of 'hit black' (dahei) 'strike-hard' (yanda) style police campaigns of the kind practised in the Chongqing 'experiment' are new developments in China's evolving response to organized crime. The law reforms focused on enhanced punishments and new offences with respect to food adulteration, bogus medicines and criminal gangs, which had been at the forefront of public scandals that had threatened political stability and the legitimacy of police and judicial organs. The revision of Article 294 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China (PRC) specifically re-defined the elements of organised crime ('black societies'). It also addressed the role of public officials in the spread of such crime and was belated recognition that more needed to be done to reduce the penetration of business and the state by organised crime. The Chongqing approach to crime control was until recently touted as a model crime-fighting practice but is now criticized and in retreat, and its leaders are discredited. The widely publicized, Chongqing 'Red-Black' criminal 'gangland' trials involved high officials and high profile entrepreneurs mixed with vice and violence. The trials (2009-2011) became public spectacles that exemplified the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) determination to enhance public stability through clean government (Lam 2009, Liu 2011). In the vast municipality of Chongqing politburo member Bo Xilai and head of the municipal CCP had made "cleaning up the city" a key to his 'Five Chongqing' program that sought to restore party legitimacy in the face of massive inequality. Apart from a revival of Maoist values a major element was the relentless dahei anti-gang campaigns that exploited confessions to 'crack' cases. Many

China's Carbon Emission Trading: An Overview of Current Development. arl Hallding is interviewed about the SEI report China's Carbon Emission Trading: An Overview of Current Development. Source: SverigesRadio, Sweden Language: Swedish Format: Audio Listen to the interview»

4/09/2012 The Urban China Initiative (UCI) had its biggest event of the year on September 7th in Tsinghua Science Park - the 2012 Annual Forum, inspiring enlightening discussions among participants from public, private and academic sectors to develop policy thinking that will help address China's urbanization challenges. Themed "China's New Urban Era" as China's urban population surpassed that of rural areas for the first time in 2011, the event brought together about 50 urban leaders and more than 400 professionals from the urban field. The Forum consists of keynote speech, three plenary panels and three breakout panels. Keynote speakers include: Yang Weimin, Vice Minister of office of Central Leading Group on Finance and Economic Affairs; Gu Shengzu, Deputy Director of Internal and Judicial Affairs Committee at National People's Congress and Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association; Li Xiaojiang, President of China Academy of Urban Planning and Design; Li Dongming, General Manager, Urban Fund of China Development Bank Capital. The plenaries showcased three UCI flagship projects: urban citizenship of Chinese migrants; research on mega regions and the China urban indicators system. The three breakouts showcased UCI's five latest grant projects. The forum brought together leaders from UCI partners including the National Development and Reform Commission, local DRC, China Society of Urban Studies, Development and Research Center of the State Council, China Center for Urban Development, China Development and Reform Foundation, Chinese Academy of Urban Planning and Design, Chinese Academy of Urban Development, Fung Global Institute, New Cities Foundation, Rio Tinto, BMW, CDBC, Tsinghua, Columbia Global Centers and CITIC Property. To find more about the Forum: Highlights of the keynotes and forum news Research and speeches of the plenary and breakout panels Media report on UCI 2012 Ann