Monthly Brief Recap of Hot Events in Recent China, Issue One, January 2024.
In a few hours, it will be the Year of the Dragon in China. I hope for world peace and wish the country prosperity and the people peace and happiness.
Recent China News in Sports
The corruption scandal involving Li Tie, the former head coach of the Chinese national team:
- Li Tie was found to have bribed Chen Xuyuan, the former chairman of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), and Liu Yi, the former secretary-general of the CFA, with a total of 3 million yuan to secure his position as the head coach of the national team.
- Li Tie was also involved in manipulating numerous fake matches in the second-tier league, spending millions of yuan to influence opponents, referees, and players to help his clubs advance to the top-tier league.
- Li Tie abused his authority as head coach by favoring players from his former clubs and signing a 60 million yuan contract with one of them in exchange for personal benefits.
ZZYY: Despite inventing football (then known as “cuju”) over 2000 years ago, China currently ranks outside the top 80 globally. With a population of 1.4 billion, the failure to produce a competitive football team may be attributed to systemic issues within China’s football infrastructure.
Recent China News in Entertainment
In 2023, China’s box office revenue reached 54.9 billion yuan, nearly doubling from 29.9 billion yuan in 2022, marking a significant rebound in the industry. Notably, all top ten-grossing films were Chinese productions, signaling Hollywood’s declining influence in the Chinese market. The highest-ranking American film was “Fast and Furious 10,” ranked 12th.
ZZYY: Disparities in film special effects have narrowed. Hollywood’s lack of innovative storytelling and audience fatigue have contributed to the rise of Chinese cinema in recent years, with improved overall quality and more engaging narratives that respect the audience’s intelligence.
Recent China News in Business
Alipay, Hengseng Electronics, and China Taiping Insurance, previously controlled by Jack Ma and associated parties, have transitioned to having no controlling shareholder.
Recent China News in A-Shares
In January 2024, the A-share market experienced a historic crash, with an average stock price decline of 21.31%. Of the listed companies, 1697 experienced declines of over 30 percentage points, while 3574 saw declines of over 20 percentage points, with a median decline of 25.75%.
Recent China News in Livelihood
In Qingdao, Shandong Province, a security guard fatally stabbed a food delivery worker. The victim’s parents worked in restaurants and as a maid, borrowing 1 million yuan to send their child to study in Australia in hopes of changing their fate. However, upon returning, the child faced difficulties in employment and entrepreneurship, resorting to food delivery to make ends meet, only to be killed after six days on the job at the age of 32.
Recent China News in Education
Tencent Games announced a limit of 16 hours of gameplay for minors throughout the winter vacation period.
ZZYY: With approximately 50 days of winter vacation, averaging 16 hours amounts to less than 20 minutes of gameplay per day.
Recent China News in Population
According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the number of births in 2023 decreased by 5.64% compared to 2022, while deaths increased by 6.62%. The population experienced a net decrease of 2.08 million. Additionally, a report from the National Research Center predicts that China’s population will decline by one million every decade.
Recent China News in Economy
On January 30th, Shanghai announced the opening of home purchases for single individuals without local household registration outside the outer ring road. On the same day, Suzhou fully lifted its home purchase restrictions, with no limits on size or quantity. Several days prior, Guangzhou also announced that homes larger than 120 square meters would no longer be subject to purchase restrictions.
