Economic Observer News- China business, politics, law, and social issues

HOUSING: Housing Prices in 70 Cities Up 0.2% in October; In October, the housing prices of 70 big and medium-sized cities rose 0.2%. The growth rate is 0.3 percentage points less than that of September, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.; Xinhua News Agency | 2010-11-10

CIC: "CIC No.2" to be Established By End of 2010; Guoxin Asset Management Company, also known as "CIC No.2," will be established by the end of the year, according to Shao Ning, deputy director of the State-owned Asset Supervision and Administration Commission. He also said the next step to reforming the state owned enterprises is listing them on China's domestic stock exchanges.; Shanghai Securities News | 2010-11-09

POLITICS: State Council Will Support Media Attempts to Expose Illegal Government Activity; The State Council released notice yesterday that it will increase supervision of governments and improve the public reporting system. The notice states that the government will support media attempts to expose suspicious activity and urges governments to closely investigate problems raised by citizens. It also urges governments to publish the results of the investigations in a timely manner; The Beijing News | 2010-11-09

ADVERTISING: Over 12 Billion Yuan Spent at Annual CCTV Advertising Auction; China Central Television (CCTV) auctioned off 12.66 billion yuan worth of advertising time during yesterday's annual auction of advertising space on the country's largest television network, up 15.52% from last year. Analysts said the figure indicates that companies are confident about future economic growth.; CCTV Online | 2010-11-09

HOUSING: China to Issue Basic Public Housing Law; The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MHURD) has drafted a "Basic Housing Security Law" 基本住房保障法 aimed at standardising and improving regulation of China's public housing system. As the commercial housing market is unable to meet the demand of many of the country's middle and lower income earners, the central government will set standards in terms of the size, type and number of vari...; Jiefang Daily | 2010-11-09

CORRUPTION: Former Mayor of Shenzhen to be Sentenced to Death; According to reports in the Hong Kong media, the former mayor of Shenzen Xu Zongheng, is likely to be found guilty on several counts of corruption in the coming days and will likely receive the death sentence. It's alleged that Xu accepted over 2 billion yuan in bribes during his time as mayor. Xu's sentencing by a Nanning court will follow the earlier death sentence (with two-year reprieve - whic...; People's Daily Online | 2010-11-05

MASS INCIDENTS: Land Conflicts Account for 65% of “Mass Incidents” in Rural Areas; Land conflicts account for 65% of “mass incidents” in rural areas, Yu Jianrong, director of the social policy research center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with a reporter from the Beijing News.; The Beijing News | 2010-11-05