On May 22, 2021, 21 runners died and eight were injured in a 100-kilometer mountain race at the Yellow River Stone Forest in Baiyin, Gansu. In early June, the General Administration of Sport suspended, “from today,” mountain trail running, Gobi crossings, wingsuit flying, ultra-long-distance running and other “emerging high-risk sports events with unclear management responsibility, imperfect rules and unclear safety standards.”
No More Exemptions
In September 2008, during the melamine scandal, China’s quality inspection authority ended the national inspection-exempt status of all food producers. Radio Free Asia reported that the exemption marks on their products became void at once.
Grounded by Six O’Clock
At 9 a.m. on March 11, 2019, after the crash of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8, the Civil Aviation Administration of China ordered domestic airlines to suspend commercial operation of the type by 6 p.m. that day. It cited the principle of “zero tolerance for safety hazards.” Both crashes of the type had involved newly delivered aircraft during takeoff. A deputy head of the administration said China was the first country in the world to do so.
Suspended for a Trial
Article 16 of China’s Legislation Law, as amended in 2023, lets the National People’s Congress and its Standing Committee authorize “the temporary adjustment or temporary suspension” of parts of a law “within a specified period and scope.” If practice proves it feasible, the law is to be revised. If not yet, the authorization can be extended, “or the relevant provisions of the law restored.”
On February 27, 2015, the Standing Committee used the same kind of power for rural land reform. It authorized the State Council to adjust or suspend provisions of the Land Administration Law and the Urban Real Estate Administration Law in 33 pilot counties, cities and districts, at first until the end of 2017.
Co-Investment at Vanke
In 2014, the property developer Vanke introduced gentou, co-investment, for its projects. As National Business Daily later described the scheme, the management of the local company and the project staff “must invest in proportion.” Other employees, except directors, supervisors and senior executives, could join voluntarily. The paper called co-investment the “cornerstone” of Vanke’s business partner system.
Owned by Employees
Huawei describes itself as a private company “100 percent owned by its employees,” through an employee shareholding plan. At the end of 2023, according to the Taiwanese site TechNews, the plan had 151,796 participants. The founder, Ren Zhengfei, held about 0.73 percent.
The Old Man Who Lost His Horse
In the Huainanzi, a man skilled in divination lives near the frontier. His horse runs off to the nomads. People console him. His father says: “How do we know this is not good fortune?” Months later, the horse returns with a fine nomad horse. People congratulate him. The father says: “How do we know this is not misfortune?” The son loves to ride, falls and breaks his thigh. The father says again that it may be good fortune.
A year later, the nomads invade. The able-bodied men take up their bows and fight, and nine in ten of the people near the frontier die. Because he is lame, the son is spared. “Fortune turns into misfortune, and misfortune into fortune. The changes have no end, and their depth cannot be measured.”
Sayings on Turning Fortunes
三十年河东，三十年河西 Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river. In chapter 46 of Wu Jingzi’s novel The Scholars, a character says: “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Thirty years ago, how grand your two households were. I saw it with my own eyes.”
胜不骄，败不馁 Not proud in victory, not disheartened in defeat. The Handian dictionary traces it to the Book of Lord Shang: “The army of a true king is not proud when it wins and not resentful when it loses.”
Down Three Times, Up Three Times
In the Jiangxi soviet, the Party’s leftist leadership removed Deng Xiaoping from his posts for supporting Mao Zedong’s line. After the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, he lost all his leading posts. He was restored as vice premier in March 1973. In April 1976, he was again removed from all posts. In July 1977, the Third Plenum of the Tenth Central Committee restored his former posts in the Party, the state and the army.
In 1985, according to The Paper, he described himself as “a man who has gone down three times and come up three times.”
Waiting for the Time
藏器待时 To keep one’s tools hidden and wait for the time. To build one’s abilities and wait for the moment to use them. The phrase comes from the Book of Changes: “The gentleman keeps his tools on his person and waits for the time to act.” (君子藏器于身，待时而动)