Weekly Readings
APEC has Beijing in a tizzy (for those that are still stuck there), so for this week's reading we present President Xi Jinping's opening speech. The link below takes you to the speech and video.
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U.S. Official Watch
Secretary of State John Kerry spoke on Tuesday about U.S.-China relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Secretary Kerry reiterated the U.S. call for an inclusive vision of a stable Asia-Pacific: "The goal of the rebalance is not a strategic initiative to affect one nation or push people in any direction. It is an inclusive invitation to join in this march towards prosperity, dignity, and stability for countries." Kerry also stated explored the meaning of his two pillars of the U.S.-China relationship, namely "constructively managing our differences" and " coordinating our efforts on the wide range of issues where our interests are aligned."
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 Weibo Watch
Apple CEO Tim Cook came out as gay in a Businessweek article last Thursday. "I'm proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me," Cook wrote. His announcement stirred lively debate on a Sina Tech (新浪科技) Weibo thread, where commenters disparaged, praised, and poked fun at Cook in equal measure (http://www.weibo.com/1642634100/BtYP2xeXK).
"I can't discriminate," says 乌江鱼夫, "but I hope 'comrades' don't become too high-profile!" ("Comrade" 同志 is slang for a homosexual person of either sex.) Violim writes, "Homosexuality is too common in foreign countries!"
Comments like these got strong pushback. "Homosexuality is just a different sexual orientation," argues 鄭峻. "This is a diverse world. I hope people can be more tolerant." 郭子阳 laughs, "I have half a mind to take the phones and computers from the homophobes and smash them!"
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Xi Jinping's speeches
啃硬骨头
kěn y�ng gǔtou
Translation: similar to "crack a hard nut"
For his opening speech to APEC yesterday, Xi Jinping
spent much of his time stressing Beijing's commitment to economic reform. He used the phrase 啃硬骨头。This was meant to emphasize his willingness to take on tough problems.
原文： 我在去年工商领导人峰会上说过，中国改革已进入攻坚期和深水区，我们要敢于啃硬骨头，敢于涉险滩，敢于向积存多年的顽疾开刀。中国共产党十八届三中全会就全面深化改革作出总体部署，涉及15个领域、330多项重大改革举措。目前，这些改革举措正在逐项落实。开弓没有回头箭，我们将坚定不移把改革事业推向深入。
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 Video of the Week
This week's video is Voice of America's program 焦点对话 discussing the APEC summit in Beijing. The program is a moderated discussion between four commentators from the media and academia examining Xi Jinping's diplomacy, great power relations, and how to view this APEC meeting. Also, we include an interview with Ely Ratner of the Center for a New American Security.
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