Issue No. 176 | Oct. 24, 2019
Dedicated to the development of the future stewards of U.S.-China relations
Weekly Reading
According to Richard McGregor in The Guardian last July, "The party’s efforts to place itself inside private companies have been, according to its own figures, very successful..." with a consistent aim "to ensure that the private sector, and individual entrepreneurs, do not become rival players in the political system."

To take a closer look at the latest on "party building" work in private companies, check out this long read with a 3-minute intro video. It is p art of a人民网 series called "70年70问." The 问 in this article is " 中国的民营企业为什么要加强党的建设?"

For even more background, here is an infographic summary of Xi Jinping's lengthy October 2 article on Party Building published in the 19th issue of Qiushi .
俗语 from Xi Jinping's Speeches
非一日之功
fēi yī rì zhī gōng

Meaning: Cannot be done in one day, e.g. Rome was not built in one day (罗马非一日之功)

Original: "推动黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展,非一日之功。"

Xi Jinping used this suyu in a speech at a forum about the protection and development of the Yellow River on September 18th, 2019.

Here's another similar, commonly used expression:
冰冻三尺非一日之寒
bīng dòng sǎn chǐ fěi yǐ rì zhī hán

Meaning: ice three feet thick can't be frozen in one day.
HK Media
According to Nieman Reports , the Hong Kong protests "have been a major boon for independent media outlets, namely: Hong Kong Free Press, Stand News, Initium Media, and CitizenNews. As fundraisers and subscriptions show, a free press remains a core public value, especially as the protests have introduced a new level of physical threat."

For those of you interested in reading Hong Kong-based media in both traditional and simplified Chinese, consider checking out Initium Media (端傳媒) as a resource.

You can also listen to these English-language podcasts about Hong Kong: Hong Kong on the Brink by CSIS and the latest episode of This American Life, ' Umbrellas Up .'
Video
The second season of the stand-up comedy competition series 脱口秀大会 (Rock & Roast) has quickly become one of the hottest reality TV shows in China.

In each weekly episode (10 total), seven contestants perform 10-minute stand-up routines, which are ranked by the celebrity judges and the audience. Comedians with the most votes then enter the final round to become the ultimate champion.

According to a Chinosity review of the show, "all performers  use comedy to address social issues  in China."

To watch the first episode on YouTube , skip the commercials to 02:43 for the opening reel. Program begins at 04:42 . All 10 episodes are available on YouTube , Tencent video , or iQiyi .
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