A Guide To Contemporary China

Tax Breaks For Women Friendly Companies

China’s tax authorities will study the feasibility of offering preferential rebates to companies with a significant female workforce. The response from the State Taxation Administration on July 27 came after delegates from the National People’s Congress proposed the initiative earlier this year to support women professionally and encourage companies to hire more female employees. This is a bid to change the culture of Chinese companies that are seen to discriminate against women, either by disqualifying prospective new mothers from the application process or firing pregnant women to save expenses.

Source: Sixth Tone

Music Festivals Shut Down To Curb Delta Variant Cases

The nationwide recent spike of Delta variant cases is not only taking lives but playing havoc with entertainment. It has led to the cancellation or postponement of many concerts and music festivals across the country. According to a list compiled by Chinese search engine Baidu, more than 50 performances have been cancelled or postponed. The cancellations have shocked the public as the country was believed to have the pandemic under control and travel and normal life had largely resumed.

Source: Radii China

Govt Cracks Down On ‘Distorted Fan Culture’

Authorities are disturbed by a trend they term “distorted fan culture.” It describes an invisible culture which encourages young fans to spend money and behave irrationally. Case in point is that of Kris Wu. Fan groups have appeared on social media and its members are posting comments such as “let’s break into prison to rescue Kris Wu.” He is a Chinese-Canadian pop idol detained by Beijing police for suspected rape. In response, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China, published an article saying the Kris Wu incident shows that distorted fan culture must be rectified, and that creating a clean and upright cyberspace for netizens, especially young people, requires the “joint efforts of society.”

Source: Global Times

Parents Opt For ‘Shared Grandmothers’

The elderly have thought up a novel concept to help working parents called “shared grandmothers.” It is being tried out in Chongqing where female retirees, aged between 66 and 74 years of age, pick up children from school, help them with their homework and accompany them in entertainment activities. The concept is the brainchild of the Chongqing Amber Social Work Service Center. Others are on the anvil.

Source: China Daily

Xinjiang Grand’s Bazaar ‘Helps’ Uyghurs

China has spared no opportunity to tell the outside world just how much their development efforts are benefitting the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, for example, the Xinjiang International Grand Bazaar in Urumqi. Covering an area of 100,000 square meters, the Grand Bazaar is the largest of its kind in the world, with six main buildings and a 80-meter-high tour tower. Local authorities say that on average, 50,000 tourists visited in July to buy heritage products. Seventy percent of the 1,480 store owners are Uyghurs. The authorities claim that the Grand Bazaar has become a “window for Xinjiang’s tourism industry to showcase its diverse culture.”

Source: People’s Daily

Govt Draws Up Guidelines For Literary Criticism

Literary criticism needs to be guided and regulated in the digital age or so the authorities think. This is why guidelines have been jointly issued by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and three other departments to promote “the healthy and prosperous development of socialist literature and art.” In this regard, it was important for scholars to bear in mind that their criticism should provide “correct guidance, value social effects, and not add fuel to vulgar works and pan-entertainment,” says the document. While it cautions against sensational scholarship that panders to online traffic the document states that the government will also make efforts to leverage new media platforms and build a team of online literary and art critics.

Source: Xinhua