Latest news with #NationalPeople'sCongress
Mint
7 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Fall of the ‘CEO Monk': Shaolin Temple's Shi Yongxin ousted over corruption, sexual misconduct, ‘secret' child
China on Wednesday, July 30, dismissed the abbot of the iconic 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple amid allegations of corruption, 'sexual misconduct' and fathering illegitimate children and appointed a new abbot. The previous abbot, Shi Yongxin – also known as the 'CEO monk' – has been under joint criminal investigation over alleged misappropriation of project funds and temple assets by multiple agencies. Buddhist monks in China are bound by a vow of celibacy, but Shi Yongxin, who led the Shaolin Temple for 25 years, broke monastic precepts by becoming embroiled in a sex scandal. He is accused of 'maintaining improper relationships with multiple women'. According to the temple, Shi Yongxin is also accused of fathering at least one 'illegitimate' child. '[Shi] is currently under joint investigation by multiple departments. Further information will be released to the public in due course,' the temple said. The Buddhist Association of China said Shi's 'behaviours are extremely deplorable in nature, have seriously damaged the reputation of the Buddhist community and tarnished the image of monks.' Shi faced similar allegations in 2015 which the temple called 'vicious libel'. He was accused of 'misconduct and improper sexual relations'. Shi Yongxin, formerly known as Liu Yingcheng, became a monk in 1981. He was handed over the affairs of the Shaolin temple in 1987 and was appointed abbot in 1999. In 2008, the temple launched an online store selling a variety of products, including shoes, tea, T-shirts, and a kung fu instruction manual priced at 9,999 yuan ( ₹ 1.21 lakh) – also the time he was accused of commercialising the temple. Its business ventures over the years also included book publishing, medicine, kung fu performances, film production, asset management and real estate. Also Read | 'Just a simple Buddhist monk': The Dalai Lama urges for peace, compassion ahead of his 90th birthday Shi was a delegate of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, for around two decades until 2018. He has also been deputy head of China's Buddhist association. Founded in 495 AD, the Shaolin Temple is situated in the foothills of Song Mountain in China's Henan province. It is regarded as the birthplace of Chan (Zen) Buddhism and Shaolin Kung Fu. It holds immense religious and historical significance. It is also a popular tourist destination and renowned worldwide as a hub for Chinese martial arts, drawing students from across the globe.
The Diplomat
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Diplomat
The Challenge to China's ‘Unified Big Market' Drive
The country's vast consumer base is the key to riding out Trump's tariffs. But China's internal market is riven by its own trade barriers. In April, U.S. President Trump announced his so-called 'Liberation Day,' slapping tariffs on nearly every country in the world. However, after Beijing retaliated, Trump made China his primary target. China has been widely viewed as 'well-prepared' for Trump's full-scale tariff war. It did not come as a surprise; Chinese economic officials and scholars had been discussing the possibility of renewed China-U.S. trade tensions since Trump's election victory in November 2024. Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, one of his top economic priorities has been to enhance the Chinese Communist Party's capacity to control and lead the economy while strengthening China's resilience to external shocks. The trade war during Trump's first term, along with the COVID-19 pandemic, further accelerated China's pivot away from reliance on international trade. Xi's strategy of economic self-strengthening – through technological nationalization and the promotion of 'dual circulation' – has made China less vulnerable to foreign economic coercion. The dual circulation strategy, introduced by Xi in 2020, prioritizes domestic economic activity over international trade. The goal is to increase the resilience of China's supply chains by reducing dependence on foreign technology. Xi's confidence rests on his belief in the strength of China's domestic market. He identifies China's vast consumer base – comprising over 400 million middle-class citizens – as the foundation of the national economy. As a result, strengthening the domestic market has become a top priority on Xi's agenda. During the most recent National People's Congress in March, Chinese leaders emphasized boosting domestic demand as the key to future growth, introducing new policies aimed at stimulating consumer spending and improving the domestic business environment. One example was the launch of a national subsidy program for major household purchases. Under this program, individuals buying cars, home appliances, and electronics can apply for price reductions. The goal is to encourage consumer spending and, in turn, stimulate economic growth through increased domestic consumption. The Chinese government is also advancing a major structural reform: dismantling internal market barriers. In the Government Work Report released in March, building a 'unified national market' was identified as a key policy objective. By breaking down regional trade barriers, policymakers aim to reduce logistics and other operational costs, thereby improving corporate profit margins and lowering consumer prices to boost domestic sales. Additionally, a unified market is expected to foster fair competition among businesses, enhancing the efficiency of resource allocation. More broadly, Xi envisions a system in which all factors of production – land, labor, capital, skills, and information – can circulate freely across the country. This nationwide integration, he argues, will maximize the use of resources and generate greater economic value. The root of China's 'dukedom economics' – a term coined by Chinese economists in the 1980s to describe the fragmented domestic market – can be traced to the growing power of local governments following the economic reforms. As part of the fiscal decentralization efforts in the 1980s, local governments gained control over their own budgets. In addition, they acquired authority over regional state-owned enterprises, effectively making them both regulators and entrepreneurs. The reforms also altered the incentives of local leaders: fostering local economic development became their top priority, as economic growth emerged as the most important criterion for cadre promotion. This shift gave rise to a tournament-style competition among localities, with each striving for rapid economic gains. As a result, local governments pursued aggressive investment strategies aimed at generating visible outcomes within short timeframes, often emphasizing self-sufficiency and local protectionism to achieve their growth targets. They are also incentivized to maximize the profits of local enterprises, which serve as their primary tax base. To protect these interests, many local governments established trade barriers to prevent local resources from flowing out and to block external goods from entering their jurisdictions. In recent years, the Chinese government has launched several major initiatives to dismantle internal trade barriers, including strengthened enforcement of anti-monopoly measures and regulations on unfair competition. These efforts specifically target local protectionist policies that discriminate against non-local firms. In June 2024, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) issued a policy document on fair market competition regulation, outlining the agency's responsibilities and enforcement powers. The document authorizes the SAMR and its local branches to investigate local laws and regulations that obstruct the development of a unified national market – particularly those involving discriminatory practices in subsidies, market access, and market entry and exit. Notably, the policy grants local Market Regulation Bureaus sweeping authority to scrutinize the policymaking processes of other local agencies and to strike down any regulations deemed inconsistent with the goal of building a unified national market. While China's recent reforms have significantly elevated the status of the Market Regulation Bureau – giving it more power within local governments – important exemptions remain in its authority. Specifically, policies that aim to 'protect national interests,' 'promote technological and innovation capabilities,' and 'provide public goods such as energy conservation, environmental protection, and disaster relief' are exempt from investigation. These broad exemptions leave the door open for local governments to continue offering subsidies to China's strategic industries, particularly the high-tech sector, including electric vehicles. In effect, local authorities can shield their own tech companies from both domestic and international competition, making market consolidation in China's tech sector more difficult. Regarding the national interest clause, an immediate question arises: Who holds the authority to define 'national interest'? Local governments – especially those at the municipal level – play a crucial role in the distribution of subsidies. While national and provincial governments formally own industrial policy subsidies, they typically do not engage in the detailed review and allocation process. For national subsidies, the central government allocates funds to provinces based on economic performance and other indicators. Provinces then distribute these subsidies to cities using similar criteria. It is the municipal governments that actually review companies' applications and decide on the final allocation of subsidies to individual firms. In addition to subsidies from higher levels, many cities also operate their own local industrial policy programs. There have been some attempts to centralize the distribution of subsidies. For example, last year Hunan province revised its industrial policy so that companies would submit subsidy applications directly to the provincial government, rather than through municipal governments. The goal was for the provincial government to review applications and allocate subsidies in a way that better reflected provincial economic priorities. However, the provincial government quickly found itself overwhelmed by the volume of applications, exceeding its processing capacity. Moreover, unlike municipal governments, which could conduct on-site visits to verify company information, the provincial government lacked the human and financial resources to carry out such reviews. As a result, the effort failed, and the Hunan government was forced to delegate the review and distribution authority back to the municipal level. By controlling the distribution of subsidies, municipal governments effectively gain the power to define 'national interests,' which often results in equating national interests with local interests. Consequently, city governments continue to use subsidies to protect local companies from outside competition. For example, Article 46 of the 'National Unified Big Market Construction Guideline' (全国统一大市场建设指引) states that local government cannot use local registration, subsidiary, and investment requirements to exclude companies from receiving local subsidies. But the local commerce bureaus, who are responsible for subsidies distribution, view this article as complete nonsense. 'Our job is to protect our [local] companies and promote our economic growth,' a Commerce Bureau cadre said, commenting on this requirement. 'If you don't contribute to our local economy, why do we give you our money?' 'We will try our best to carry out the rest of the document, but there is no way for us to implement this article,' he concluded. The SAMR is responsible for enforcing the unified national market, so the local Market Regulation Bureau is expected to monitor compliance. According to the cadre, the Commerce Bureau would likely receive a warning from the local Market Regulation Bureau. However, the Commerce Bureau would respond by invoking 'national interest' to justify its policy. In the end, the local Market Regulation Bureau is still part of the local government – its budget comes from the city – so it understands that it cannot act in direct opposition to local interests. The warning is therefore more symbolic than substantive; it serves primarily to demonstrate to the higher-level Market Regulation Agency that it is fulfilling its duties, rather than to enforce any meaningful policy change. The challenge to Xi's 'unified big market' vision will certainly hamper China's ability to weather the China-U.S. trade war. Without a massive boost to the domestic market as a buffer, China cannot implement a shifting export policy without experiencing short-term pain. However, the implications go far beyond the current trade war: Despite over a decade of power centralization under Xi, Beijing still faces pushback from its localities in implementing its vision.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Shaolin Temple's 'CEO monk' probed for embezzlement, relations with women
Find out what's new on ST website and app. FILE PHOTO: Buddhist abbot Shi Yongxin, a delegate of the National People's Congress (NPC), walks towards the Great Hall of the People for a plenary meeting of the NPC, China's parliament, in Beijing, China, March 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo BEIJING - The abbot of China's famed 1,500-year-old Shaolin Temple is under criminal investigation for alleged embezzlement, "improper relationships" with women and fathering illegitimate children, religious authorities said. Shi Yongxin, 59, previously a member of China's parliament, is "suspected of criminal offences, misappropriating and embezzling project funds and the temple's assets," the temple said in a statement, adding Shi is under joint investigation by multiple agencies. Shi could not immediately be reached for comment. The temple did not answer a call from Reuters. Nicknamed the "CEO monk" and known for his commercial ambitions, Shi sought to capitalise on the monastery's fame during his decades-long tenure at Shaolin Temple, the fabled birthplace of kung fu and the setting for many martial arts films in the central Chinese province of Henan. Shi has "seriously violated Buddhist precepts, maintained improper relationships with multiple women over a long period of time" and fathered at least one "illegitimate" child, the temple said in its statement released on its social media account on Sunday. In a statement issued on Monday, the state-supervised Buddhist Association of China said it approved the revoking of Shi's ordination certificate, adding that his "behaviours are extremely deplorable in nature, have seriously damaged the reputation of the Buddhist community and tarnished the image of monks." In 2015, a letter circulated online accusing Shi of misconduct and improper sexual relations. The temple denied the allegations at the time. Shi, known as Liu Yingcheng before he became a monk in 1981, has overseen the temple since 1987 and became its abbot in 1999, the temple's website showed. In 2008, the temple opened an online store, offering a range of goods including shoes, tea, T-shirts, and a kung fu instruction manual for 9,999 yuan ($1,395). Its business ventures over the years also included book publishing, medicine, kung fu performances, film production, asset management and real estate. Shi posted daily on his social media account on Weibo with more than 882,000 followers. Shi was a delegate of China's rubber-stamp parliament, the National People's Congress, for around two decades until 2018. He has also been deputy head of China's Buddhist association. REUTERS
West Australian
20-07-2025
- West Australian
Exhausted by the inexhaustible people of Qianmen Street
'The taste of childhood!' it says on the Beijing shopfront. And admittedly, as I bite into the candied haw, or Tanghulu, I am reminded of the toffee apples I once enjoyed as a child. However this traditional Chinese street food, made from skewering tart hawthorn berries on a bamboo stick before encasing them in sugar syrup, could not be more different. Neither could the bustling Qianmen Street and Dashilan be more different from Perth's Hay Street Mall. Beijing is home to nearly 22 million people. And right now, on a late Friday afternoon in summer, it feels like every one of them has converged on this popular cultural and commercial part of the city's Xicheng and Dongcheng districts. There is an old poem about Qianmen Street which goes: 'The green and the red are setting off each other on both sides of road; it is a busy street with happy and inexhaustible people.' It's these happy and inexhaustible people who still flock here in their thousands every day to enjoy the markets and other shops selling wares ancient and modern. Dongcheng takes in the eastern half of the old imperial city and many of Beijing's most famous landmarks including the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and a section of the Grand Canal. Xicheng district by contrast is home to many of China's most important government institutions, including the headquarters of the Communist Party of China, the National People's Congress, the State Council, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. So you could say there's a lot to see. Unfortunately my two travelling companions and I, who had just shut up shop at the Beijing International Book Fair before deciding we'd treat ourselves to a few hours sightseeing, hadn't fully comprehended the nightmare that is Friday peak hour traffic in Beijing. Therefore, a couple of hours later, we jump out at Qianmen Street and plunge into the vast sea of humanity, content to spend the next hour or so just taking in the sights and sounds here and in nearby Dashilan. The former dates from the Ming Dynasty; the latter, from the Yuan Dynasty, boasts Ming and Qing courtyard houses and hutongs, or narrow laneways. The former is famous, amongst many other things, for its Quanjde Roast Duck and its markets; the latter for Tongrentang (a Chinese medicine company) and such speciality stores as milliner Ma Ju Yuan and shoemaker Neiliansheng. Upon arriving, I also note the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower (1419), which lies at the southern end of Tiananmen Square along Beijing's central axis, and the northern end of Qianmen Street. Along with families, couples and others out for the night, we dart from shops specialising in pickles and books to purveyors of alcoholic beverages and cosmetics, stopping just long enough to grab another snack in the form of a Great Wall yogurt (delicious!) before calling for another taxi back to our hotel. Back in my room, I flop on the bed, utterly exhausted — but happy. + Will Yeoman travelled to Beijing as a guest of the Fableration Foundation. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Plea to Albo over Aussie jailed in China
Anthony Albanese has been urged to stop being 'too soft' on the Chinese government amid negotiations to free Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun from a Beijing prison, with a friend and support saying Chinese authorities have taken the 'good word of the Australian government' as 'a weakness'. Dr Yang, an Australian citizen, has languished in a Beijing prison cell since 2019, when he was arrested at Guangzhou airport and accused of espionage, before being given a suspended death sentence in February 2024. He has always maintained his innocence. Feng Chongyi, who supervised the father-of-two during his PhD at the University of Technology Sydney, said Dr Yang's health had continued to decline following seven years of detention and said he urgently needed to be released to Australia for medical treatment. Dr Feng said Dr Yang had been tortured and put through sleep deprivation, and has been unable to receive treatment for a 10cm kidney cyst. While he acknowledged the Australian government's involvement in Dr Yang's case, with the Prime Minister expected to continue conversations when he heads to China later this week, he said progress has been too slow and 'soft'. Mr Albanese has confirmed meetings with Chinese Communist Party President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and National People's Congress Chairman Zhao Leji. 'What is the criteria for progress? They sentenced Yang Hengjun to the death penalty? Is that a progress? I don't think so,' Dr Yang told NewsWire. 'The good word of the Australian government has been taken by Chinese authorities as a weakness.' Dr Feng suggested trade could be used as a leverage to promote, like reciprocal tariffs and refusing to export resources like coal, iron ore or rare earths. 'They took the soft approach to (get) goodwill with the Chinese government and in return they expect Chinese authorities to do something good for Yang Hengjun or release Yan Hengjun,' he said. 'It's been more than six years and the soft approach has not worked. The Australian government has leverage on trade … but if Australia is serious about human rights, or want to make the life of an Australian citizen as a priority, they could opt for a reciprocal approach.' In May, Dr Yang penned a letter to Mr Albanese marking his sixth year in jail, and described the 'unbearable suffering' he had faced and thanked the Australian government for doing the 'utmost to bring me home for medical care and reunification with my family'. 'I feel all of your support beside me as I stagger through the hardest and darkest chapter of my life, allowing me to immerse in the warmth of humanity,' he wrote. 'It has helped me to understand the value of words and deeds of a government of the people, by the people, for the people – to enable me to fully understand the true meaning of being an Australian citizen.' A spokesman for Mr Albanese said the government 'will continue to advocate for Dr Yang's interests and wellbeing at every opportunity'. In the days after Dr Yang was given the suspended death sentence, Mr Albanese said Australia had conveyed 'our dismay, our despair, our frustration … (and) our outrage at this verdict'. Most recently in May this year, he said he would 'advocate for Dr Yang's interests and wellbeing at every opportunity''. Foreign Minister Penny Wong has also reiterated the desire to see Dr Yang reunited with his family, and in February issued a statement stating Australia remained 'appalled' by the sentence. 'We hold serious concerns about Dr Yang's health and conditions. We continue to press to ensure his needs are met and he receives appropriate medical care,' he said. 'Dr Yang is entitled to basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment, in accordance with international norms and China's legal obligations.' Coalition foreign affairs spokeswoman Michaelia Cash said Mr Albanese's upcoming trip was the 'perfect opportunity' for conversations to be raised 'directly with the Chinese leadership'. 'It is incumbent on Mr Albanese to advocate at the highest levels for Dr Yang's release from the unjust detention imposed on him,' she said.
