Forced labor conventions; Jack Ma's business school; gig workers; saving water; burden reduction for students
Forced labor conventions; Jack Ma's business school; gig workers; saving water; burden reduction for students
Round-up of some recent China news
Beijing talks with ILO on the feasibility to ratify conventions on forced labor
Beijing vows to reduce K12 students’ burden, with implications for tutoring providers
More protection of gig workers - more social security payment from Big Tech?
Xi calls for toughening up water-saving rules, potentially benefiting companies with relevant expertise.
Jack Ma’s elite business school drops “university” from its name amid a nationwide campaign
***
Beijing talks with ILO on the feasibility to ratify conventions on forced labor
This statement was apparently under the radar, but Henry Gao, a law professor with Singapore Management University, discovered it
5月13日，人力资源社会保障部与国际劳工组织联合举办国际劳工组织《1930年强迫劳动公约（第29号）》及《1930年强迫劳动公约的2014年议定书》研讨会，深入研究讨论我国批准相关公约和议定书的可行性。会议采取线上线下相结合的方式，外交部、公安部、司法部、全国人大法工委、全国总工会、中企联等单位和国际劳工组织的相关官员、专家出席。
On May 13, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the International Labor Organization (ILO) jointly held a seminar on the ILO Forced Labor Convention, 1930 (No. 29) and the 2014 Protocol to the Forced Labor Convention, 1930, to thoroughly study and discuss the feasibility of China's ratification of the relevant conventions and protocols. The meeting was held in a combination of online and offline approaches, and was attended by relevant officials and experts from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Justice, the Legal Affairs Commission of the National People's Congress, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the China Enterprise Confederation, and the International Labor Organization.
多年来，人力资源社会保障部与国际劳工组织就批准强迫劳动国际劳工公约开展了密切合作，举行了一系列研究、研讨和调研活动。
Over the years, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has worked closely with the ILO on the ratification of international labor conventions on forced labor, holding a series of studies, seminars and research activities.
The China-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) which recently has been “frozen” by a European Parliament resolution, includes
each Party shall make continued and sustained efforts on its own initiative to pursue ratification of the fundamental ILO Conventions No 29 and 105, if it has not yet ratified them
This is one of the key points that the European Commission has highlighted against European - and U.S. - critics of the deal, with an anonymous Commission official telling Politico EU “the negotiated result is the most ambitious outcome that China has ever agreed with a third country.”
Gao, an expert on the WTO and China’s trade, recently published a paper that took issue with such a characterization.
In response to the European Parliament’s resolution, China's Ministry of Commerce, THE ministry that handles trade matters, published a one-sentence comment Friday
答：我们认为，中欧投资协定是一项互惠互利的协定，这样的做法不符合双方共同利益。
Answer: We believe that the China-EU CAI is a mutually beneficial agreement and that such an approach is not in the common interest of both sides.
***
Beijing vows to reduce K12 students’ burden, with implications for tutoring providers
When your Pekingnologist was in primary school, one of the hottest words among his peers and parents for some time was 减负 reduce burden, short for 减轻中小学生课业负担 reduce the homework burden for primary and secondary school students.
That is because, in June 1999, the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council jointly released 《关于深化教育改革全面推进素质教育的决定》 Decision on deepening education reform and comprehensively promoting quality education, which includes
减轻中小学生课业负担已成为推行素质教育中刻不容缓的问题，要切实认真加以解决。各级政府都要建立健全减轻学生课业负担的监督检查机制。
Reducing the burden of schoolwork on primary and secondary school students has become a pressing issue in the implementation of quality education, and should be effectively and seriously addressed. Governments at all levels should establish and improve the supervision and inspection mechanism to reduce the burden of schoolwork on students.
Fast forward two decades, the top leadership held a meeting on Friday, adopting 《关于进一步减轻义务教育阶段学生作业负担和校外培训负担的意见》 Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-Campus Training for Students in Compulsory Education
The readout (Mandarin) of the meeting mentions
会议指出，义务教育最突出的问题之一是中小学生负担太重，短视化、功利化问题没有根本解决。特别是校外培训机构无序发展，“校内减负、校外增负”现象突出。减轻学生负担，根本之策在于全面提高学校教学质量，做到应教尽教，强化学校教育的主阵地作用。要深化教育教学改革，提升课堂教学质量，优化教学方式，全面压减作业总量，降低考试压力。要鼓励支持学校开展各种课后育人活动，满足学生的多样化需求。要加强教师队伍建设，优化教师资源配置，提高教育教学水平，依法保障教师权益和待遇。
The meeting pointed out that one of the most prominent problems of compulsory education is the burden of primary and secondary school students is too heavy, and the problem of short-sightedness and seeking superficial benefits and fame have not been fundamentally solved. In particular, the disorderly development of off-campus training institutions, and the "in-school burden reduction, off-campus burden increase" are prominent. To reduce the burden of students, the fundamental solution lies in the overall improvement of the quality of school teaching, to teach (in school) whatever should be taught, to strengthen the role of schools as the main place of education. (We shall) deepen the reform of education and teaching, improve the quality of classroom teaching, optimize teaching methods, comprehensively reduce the total amount of homework, and reduce the pressure of examinations. (We shall) encourage and support schools to carry out a variety of after-school educational activities to meet the diverse needs of students. (We shall) strengthen the improvement of the teachers, optimize the allocation of the teachers, improve the level of education and teaching, and protect the rights and benefits of teachers in accordance with the law.
会议强调，要全面规范管理校外培训机构，坚持从严治理，对存在不符合资质、管理混乱、借机敛财、虚假宣传、与学校勾连牟利等问题的机构，要严肃查处。要明确培训机构收费标准，加强预收费监管，严禁随意资本化运作，不能让良心的行业变成逐利的产业。要完善相关法律，依法管理校外培训机构。各级党委和政府要强化主体责任，做实做细落实方案，科学组织、务求实效，依法规范教学培训秩序，加强权益保护，确保改革稳妥实施。
The meeting stressed the need to comprehensively regulate the out-of-school training institutions, adhere to (the principle of) strict supervision, and seriously investigate and deal with the institutions that have the problems in qualifications, chaotic management, taking advantage of the opportunity (of out-of-school) to grossly make money, false propaganda, collusion with (legitimate) schools for profit and other issues. (We shall) establish and clarify the standards of fee-charging of the training institutions, strengthen the supervision of pre-charges, strictly prohibit arbitrary capitalization (of these institutions), and cannot let an industry of conscience become an (irresponsible) profit-seeking industry. Relevant laws should be improved to manage out-of-school training institutions in accordance with the law. Party committees and governments at all levels should strengthen (and undertake) their responsibility, make realistic and detailed implementation of (relevant) plans, organize in a scientific fashion and achieve solid progress, regulate the order of teaching and training in accordance with the law, strengthen the protection of rights and interests, and ensure the steady implementation of reform.
It’s unknown if this is the document that the Reuters exclusive on May 13 refers to, but as the scoop rightly points out, this surely has implications for Chinese tutoring providers - some of them are publicly traded, including New York-listed New Oriental and peer TAL, as well as Tencent-backed Yuanfudao and main rival Zuoyebang. VIPKid, which recently kind of denied (Mandarin) reports of an IPO, also comes to mind.
(We shall) establish and clarify the standards of fee-charging of the training institutions - some of the fees charged are exorbitantly high;
strengthen the supervision of pre-charges - some institutions collect tuition for, say, six months, and closed shop after teaching for just one month, leaving students and parents in limbo
strictly prohibit arbitrary capitalization (of these institutions) - this is perhaps the wild card for these training institutions: does this mean mergers and acquisitions and perhaps IPOs will draw the ire of regulators?
The cultural background is education and teaching in Chinese culture is traditionally considered a noble course for public welfare, not making big money. A sentence from a poem is typically quoted to describe the noblest teacher in traditional Chinese imagination:
春蚕到死丝方尽，蜡炬成灰泪始干
Till the end of life, a silkworm keeps spinning silk. Till burning itself out a candle goes on lighting us
The poem, by 李商隐 Li Shangyin in Tang Dynasty, originally describes love, but somehow in Chinese history evolves to become a household metaphor for teachers - they are like the silkworm and the candle, tirelessly passing on knowledge to students at the expense of and till the end of themselves.
Coming back to the present, if one reads China news closely, there is this episode from the annual parliamentary session on March 7, where Xinhua (Mandarin) reports, in a meeting between Chinese political advisors and General Secretary Xi Jinping
基础教育也是总书记十分关心的问题。
来自北京市东城区史家教育集团的王欢委员谈到，当前“学生沉迷网络游戏”“校外培训机构乱象”等问题引发学生家长和社会高度关注。
习近平总书记指出，不仅是沉迷网络游戏的问题，网络上还有很多污七八糟的东西，未成年人心理发育不成熟，容易受到不良影响。
他又谈到“校外培训机构乱象”问题：“家长们一方面都希望孩子身心健康，有个幸福的童年；另一方面也唯恐孩子输在分数竞争的起跑线上。这些问题都属于社会性问题，不是教育部门单独可以解决的，需要社会各方面、各有关部门共同努力研究解决。”
Basic education is also an issue of great concern to the General Secretary.
Wang Huan, a (CPPCC) member from Shijia Education Group from Dongcheng District, Beijing, said that the current problems of "students being addicted to online games" and "chaos in off-campus training institutions" have aroused great concern among students' parents and society.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is not only the problem of being addicted to online games, there are also a lot of dirty things on the Internet, and minors are not mature in psychological development and are prone to be affected by the bad influence.
Xi also talked about the problem of "chaos in off-campus training institutions": "Parents want their children to be physically and mentally healthy and have a happy childhood on the one hand; on the other hand, they are afraid that their children will lose at the starting line in the competition of scores (from school examinations). These problems are social problems, and not something that the the education department alone can solve. There is the need for all aspects of society, all relevant departments to work together to study and solve."
To make this personal newsletter sustainable, please considerbuy me a coffeeorpay me via Paypal.
***
More protection of gig workers
As the example shown above, if you read the news really closely, you might be able to get a step ahead of the policy developments which may have implications for your interested sector.
So your Pekingnologists wants to highlight this one from a Xinhua (Mandarin) report on April 27, summarizing Xi’s inspection of Guangxi, where he said
要完善多渠道灵活就业的社会保障制度，维护好卡车司机、快递小哥、外卖配送员等的合法权益。
We shall improve the social security system for flexible employment in multiple channels, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of truck drivers, courier workers, and delivery workers.
In early April, a truck driver’s tragic and infuriating suicide over a hefty fine made national headlines. English-language coverage can be read on Sixth Tone, Global Times, Vice News, South China Morning Post, and some others.
Insufficient protection and benefits afforded to courier and delivery workers under the employment of - largely - Chinese Big Tech including Meituan and Eleme, has been repeatedly featured in Chinese media.
The most notable is, without doubt, the blockbuster feature 外卖骑手，困在系统里 (Mandarin) Delivery Riders, Stuck in the System (English translation via the ChinAI Newsletter ) by the Chinese 人物 People magazine.
Now that was April 27.
On May 12, the State Council’s executive meeting readout (Mandarin) says
灵活就业是群众就业增收的重要渠道，目前全国灵活就业人员达2亿人。会议确定了进一步支持灵活就业的措施。一是研究制定灵活就业人员参加城乡居民基本养老保险的兜底措施。推动放开灵活就业人员在就业地参加社保的户籍限制。二是开展平台灵活就业人员职业伤害保障试点，合理界定平台企业责任，探索用工企业购买商业保险、保险公司适当让利、政府加大支持的机制。三是抓紧清理和取消不符合上位法或不合理的收费罚款规定，为灵活就业创造好的环境。
Flexible employment is an important channel to increase the income of the masses. Currently, the country has 200 million people in flexible employment. The meeting identified measures to further support flexible employment. First, (we shall) study and develop baseline measures to support flexible workers to participate in the basic pension insurance for urban and rural residents. Promote the liberalization of household registration restrictions for flexible workers to take part in social security in the place of employment. The second is to carry out a pilot programme for flexible workers employed by (Internet) platforms in occupational injury protection, reasonably define the responsibility of the (Internet) platform enterprises, and explore the mechanism of the purchase of insurance by the employers with appropriate concessions by insurance companies and increased government support. Thirdly, to clean up and cancel the charges and fines that do not comply with the superseding law or unreasonable regulations, to create a good environment for flexible employment.
Implications for China’s gig economy, particularly the Chinese Big Tech which employs tens of millions:
They, at least if they are in the pilot program, will pay insurance premiums for occupational injury protection, per the readout.
2. Will they have to increase their social security payments on behalf of their - many of whom contracted - gig workers?
Last but not least: Currently, the country has 200 million people in flexible employment. It’s a huge number.
Presumably, they come from poorer regions to work in richer regions. If they pay basic medical insurance premiums and social security contributions to their place of employment instead of their place of household registration (usually hometown), that’s gonna be a big change to the structure of China’s existing system of basic medical insurance and social security.
That’s because the system so far is on a 地方统筹 regionally coordinated basis, meaning the province or the city collects the contributions, makes subsidies from their respective budgets, and pays out. Some provinces - those poorer ones - are already facing overall funding shortfalls (SCMP). If they lose more contributors to the richer provinces, a more robust, forceful balance may have to be struck nationally.
***
Xi calls for toughening up water-saving rules, potentially benefiting companies with relevant expertise.
Below are from a feature on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s recent inspection of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in Henan Province, authored and published jointly by Xinhua and the People’s Daily
“一方面是南水北调下一步怎么做，一方面是调过去的水怎么发挥最佳效应。好钢用在刀刃上，怎么把调过去的水用在刀刃上。”
节水，拧紧水龙头的事，是个等不得、拖不了的当务之急。一路走来，习近平总书记反复强调。
有省市负责同志发言说：“建议国家出台相关政策，激励南水北调沿线省市节约用水。”
总书记感同身受：“不能是会哭的孩子有奶喝。节水做得好，是否给予激励奖励？有的地方怎么浪费水都没感觉，花点小钱就打发了，那是不行的。要建立更规范、更严格的节水制度，把节水作为受水区的根本出路。”
有省市负责同志提到“受水区”和“送水区”的对口帮扶。
“我从看东线时就讲，滴水之恩涌泉相报。这哪是滴水之恩？是涌泉之恩啊。沿途吃水的人怎么涌泉相报？”习近平总书记娓娓道来：
“除了对口帮扶，最主要的措施是不辜负送水人的关怀。我们不能糟蹋水啊。南水北调沿线，无论城市建设、产业布局、农业生产，都要考虑节水这个因素。要更科学用水、更合理布局。”
These direct quotes attributed to Xi show
1) his instruction to make more standardized, strict rules on saving water;
2) his instruction to maximize the effects of the water transferred from South to North
3) his criticism of some regions that “spend some little money” in receiving the transferred water and went on to waste the water;
4) that he asks all regions along the South-to-North Water Diversion Project to take water-saving into consideration in terms of urban development, industry layout, and agriculture.
Following this, Beijing is likely to promulgate and implement rules along these lines. The water-saving industry looks set to benefit from potential wider if not mandatory adoption of relevant technology and equipment - what are the publicly traded and pre-IPO companies on this?
To make this personal newsletter sustainable, please considerbuy me a coffeeorpay me via Paypal.
***
Jack Ma’s elite business school drops “university” from its name amid a nationwide campaign
An elite business school, previously known as 湖畔大学 Hupan University and created by Jack Ma, has dropped all references to “university,” the South China Morning Post reported on May 17.
It was about the only English-language coverage by international media that your Pekingnologist came across, but there are numerous discussions on Chinese social media.
Earlier, Sun Yu and Ryan McMorrow of the Financial Times exclusively reported on April 6 that Beijing forces elite Jack Ma academy to halt new enrolments, but did not mention the potential name change.
The larger background, so far rarely mentioned in English, is that eight ministries headed by the Ministry of Education recently published a national regulation (Mandarin) that kicks off a campaign to comprehensively rectify what it says is chaos where the names 大学 “university” and 学院 “college” are misused
近年来，一些企业内设培训机构、社会组织，未经批准冒用“大学”“学院”名称，并对外开展宣传、招生等活动，造成社会公众误解，扰乱了教育秩序，产生了不良影响。为全面清理整顿“大学”“学院”名称使用乱象，规范名称登记使用行为，牢牢坚守社会主义办学方向，经国务院同意，现提出如下意见。
In recent years, some social organizations and some enterprises within training institutions used the terms 大学 "university" and 学院 "college" without authorization and have done so in external publicity, enrollment, and other activities, causing misunderstanding among the general public, disrupting the educational order, resulting in adverse effects. In order to comprehensively clean up and rectify the chaos of misusing “University’ and “College, standardize the use of (proper) names in registration, firmly adhere to the direction of socialist education, the following measures are put forward upon the agreement of the State Council
一、大学、学院是具有特定功能和作用的法人组织，应按照法律法规和国家规定的标准、程序审批设立，其名称经批准方可使用。大学由国务院教育行政部门依法审批或备案；学院根据办学层次、类型、法人性质等，由中央和国家有关部门或省级人民政府及其有关部门依法审批。
First, 大学 universities and 学院 colleges are legal persons with specific functions and roles, should be established in accordance with laws, regulations and state standards under (relevant) procedures for approval. Their names must be approved before use.
Universities shall be approved by the education authory under the State. Colleges, according to their level of education, type, the nature of the legal person, etc., shall be approved by relevant departments of the central and state departments, provincial-level governments or their departments.
In other words, the use of 大学 university and 学院 college in their names
1) are exclusively reserved for tertiary education institutes;
2) can only be used after official approvals. At the risk of oversimplification: you need a license.
The regulation further says
经审批设立的大学、学院，以及由其发起并依法设立的其他法人组织，在机构编制、民政、市场监管部门登记时可以对应使用“大学”“学院”字样。其他组织机构在登记时不得使用“大学”“学院”字样。
Approved universities, colleges, and other legal persons initiated by them and established in accordance with law can use the word "University" or "College" correspondingly in registering with the organization, civil affairs, and market regulation authorities. Other organizations in the registrations shall not use the word "University" or "College".
对企业设立的、无需审批登记的内设培训机构，有关部门要指导和督促其规范名称使用行为，不得使用“大学”“学院”字样的名称及简称开展任何形式的宣传等活动。
For the internal training institutions that are set up by companies and require no approvals (in their setting-up), relevant departments shall guide and supervise the standardization of the use of words in their names. They shall not use the terms that include the word "University" or "College" or relevant abbreviations to carry out any form of publicity and other activities.
The regulation further says the authorities will look through registered names with the word “university” or “college” and rectify any violations.
What (cases) specifically led to the regulation is not mentioned. But Chinese media including Xinhua (Mandarin) and broadcaster CCTV have recently highlighted a 中国国学院大学, China University of Guo Xue Academy - Guo Xue can roughly be understood as traditional, Confucius studies - to be a total fraud.
On May 16，焦点访谈, a high-profile show after the prime-time 7 p.m. 新闻联播 Xin Wen Lian Bo on CCTV, broadcasted a segment to the fraud, where conmen without any qualifications fabricated government documents to set up the “university.”
However, it is perhaps not fair to suggest Jack Ma’s elite business school is simply collateral damage.
侠客岛 Xia Ke Dao, an online offshoot of 人民日报海外版 People’s Daily Overseas Edition, has this to say recently:
一些企业给自己的内设培训机构起了“大学”“学院”的名字，做的主要是资本联合的事。来“上学”的人，更多的是想如何进圈子、扩人脉、找资源，这类“大学”并不能、也不想开展大学里应有的品德素质教育、政治文化学习。某种程度上成了固化圈层和利益联结的平台。
比如前几年，网约车行业接连出现问题，无辜生命逝去。整个社会都在讨论和反思行业存在的漏洞，呼吁改进，但某“大学”的企业家微信群里，学员们不仅不关注平台漏洞，反而列队为其负责人“加油”。这种不分是非、因圈层站队的言行，绝非我们提倡的“企业家精神”。
揭开虚虚实实的“大学”外衣，扯下遮遮掩掩的“学院”面具，一方面有助于企业端正思想、明晰社会责任，一方面有助于还大学以清正面目，廓清社会风气。
Some companies have given their own internal training institutions the name of "university" or "college", doing mainly the things of uniting capital. The people who “come to school" are more interested in how to enter the “circle,” expand contacts, and find resources. This type of "university" cannot and do not want to carry out the character education, political and cultural learning which a real university should include. To some extent, it has become a platform for solidifying “circles” and interests.
For example, a few years ago, there were a series of problems in the taxi-hailing industry, and innocent lives were lost. The whole society was discussing and reflecting on the loopholes of the industry and calling for improvements, but in the WeChat group of entrepreneurs of a certain "university", the students not only did not pay attention to the loopholes of the taxi-hailing platform, but lined up to "cheer" for the person in charge of the platform. This kind of words and actions, which do not distinguish right from wrong and take sides because of their “circle,” is definitely not the "entrepreneurial spirit" we advocate.
Unveiling the false veneer of the"university" and pulling off the mask of the "college" on the one hand help companies to correct their thinking and clear social responsibility; on the other hand, it helps to return the real university to the rightful place and correct the social climate.