Highlights from the EO print edition, Issue Wrap No. 479, July 26, 2010

New Huadu's Tang Jun Experiment
Front page, Headline
~ In an interview with the EO, a senior manager at New Huadu Industrial Group Company said that although the 'diploma dispute' is a personal problem for the company president, the company's image has suffered a lot from the dispute.
~ Fang Zhouzi, China's most well-known crusader against fraud in academia and the public sector, recently questioned the authenticity of New Huadu company president Tang Jun's PhD diploma received from the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) which was referred to in Tang's autobiography, My Success Can Be Copied, published by CITIC Publishing House.
~ The New Huadu Industrial Group Company is a family firm created by Chen Fashu, who along with his family members hold nearly all of the company's shares.
~ From 1997, Chen Fashu planed to reform the company's family management and began to bring in professional managers like Tang Jun to run the company.
~ A source from the New Huadu Industrial Group Company said that Chen Fashu continued to have the final say on important decisions even though Tang Jun is the company's president.
~ Tang actually did not have any real power in the company as Chen's family members manouvered him into a figurehead position.
~ Examining the past two years, Tang did not push forward the transformation of the company from a family-run company to a company with a more modern approach to corporate governance. Instead, the controversy surropunding the veracity of Tang's diploma has harmed the reputation of the company.
Original article: [Chinese]

Introduction of New Regulations on Housing Demolition No Longer a Priority for State Council
Front page
~ Although six months have passed since the State Council announced the "Regulation Governing Requisition and Compensation of State-Owned Land (Draft)" in late January, the State Council has yet to give a timetable for when the revised regulations will be enacted.
~ A source from the Office of Legislative Affairs at the State Council told the EO, the amendment to the demolition regulation is not a priority for this year.
~  Amendment to the existing“Regulation Governing Housing Demolition in Urban Areas" is therefore likely to be delayed.
Original article: [Chinese]

Falsified Flight Reciepts
News, page 6
~ Some ticketing agencies are able to receive an inflated 10 percent share of the profits made on the sale of airline tickets by falsifying receipts so that it appears they paid a higher price for the original booking than they really did.
~ In addition, some agencies also fabricate receipts to make it appear that they actually paid less for their wholesale tickets in order to maintain relationships with their long-established clients. For instance, they buy first-class seats at a high price and then sell to "special clients" at a reduced price in what equates to a bribe.
~ On July, the China Air Transport Association announced that it has established a special team to investigate the falsification of flight receipts by ticketing agencies.
Original article:[Chinese]

Managing the Environmental Concerns of China's Coastal Petrochemical Industry
Nation, page 9-10
~ According to a plan aimed at reviving China's petrochemical industry issued by the central government, refineries tends to be concentrated in coastal areas.
~ The biggest difficulty for coastal areas in developing their petrochemical industry is how to protect the local environment and achieve sustainable development.
~ However, despite these concerns, given the over ten billion yuan in investment and the large stimulus effect that a heavy chemical project usually brings to local economic growth, many local government officials still vie to win these projects.
Original article: [Chinese]

Protecting Cantonese
Nation, page 12
~ A recent proposal to use Mandarin instead of Cantonese in TV news programs in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province, has been strongly opposed by local residents.
~ The proposal, brought up at the city committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on July 7, advised Guangzhou TV to use Mandarin more in its news programs or launch a new Mandarin channel.
~ Some local residents have used social networking sites as a platform to gather support for a campaign to protect the Cantonese language.
~ In addition, local residents expressed their opposition to the proposal via online forums and blogs.
~ In response, Su Zhijia, deputy secretary of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party, stated that the government did not intend to abolish or undermine Cantonese.
Original article: [Chinese]

Household Registration Reform in Sichuan
Nation, page 12
~ On July 13, the Sichuan provincial government announced that the local public security department will initiate the implement reform of the household registration system.
~ Based on the reform scheme, which has already been made public, the government will begin to allow people to register their households based on their location of residence on the condition that they possess a fixed, legal residence and a stable job.
~ However, the EO learned that according to the draft of the implementation scheme, which is still unfinished, important differences still remain in terms of how the definition of what constitutes fixed, legal residence applies to local residents and immigrants.
~ People who come from other provinces must purchase homes in Sichuan province in order to be able to register their household in the cities of Sichuan, while local residents can still register without purchasing a home, they only need to show that they've rented a place for an extended period of time.
Original article: [Chinese]

New Measures to Supervise the Issuance of Housing Loans
Market, page 17
~ In early July, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) issued a notice to trust companies requiring them to conduct stress tests on their real estate investments.
~ Before the end of July, all trust companies have to submit data related to their real estate investments to the CBRC.
~ A source close to the CBRC told the EO, "The supervisor hopes to get a clear picture of risk tolerance for trust companies with exposure to real estate loans."
~ In the future, trust companies may become more prudent in issuing trust products related to the real estate.
Original article: [Chinese]