<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4fff38206bb3f78569000028-590-443/china guards.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="China Sunset Guards Police Orange Cadets Chinese" width="400" height="300" /></div><p class="source">Feng Li/Getty Images</p></div>Over the past year the Chinese city of Chongqing has been hit by two enormous scandals — the city's party boss <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bo-xilai-neil-heywood-money-death-2012-4">Bo Xilai was ousted from power</a>, and then a few months ago an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lei-zhengfu-sex-tape-circulates-online-2012-11">incredibly graphic sex tape of another party official</a> was then released online, eventually <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chongqing-sex-scandal-officials-fired-2013-1">leading to more than 10 officials resigning</a> over a related <keyword id="46183" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Corruption">corruption</keyword> scam.</p>
<p>Part of the reasons both these scandals got so big is because of Chinese-language bloggers spreading these stories — stories that newspapers would never be allowed to touch — online.</p>
<p>In the case of the Bo scandal, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boxun-bo-xilai-watson-meng-china-hacked-2012-4">it was boxun.com who spread</a> many of the rumors. In the newer scandal, it was the Beijing-based blogger Zhu Ruifeng and his website <a href="http://www.jdwsy.com">jdwsy.com</a>.</p>
<p>Exposing scandals like this has it's risks, of course. Zhu, who says he has more damaging sex tapes that could be released, has been harassed by the police. From an article in the <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/police-visit-chinese-blogger-who-exposed-sex-scandal/2013/01/27/a09568c6-689e-11e2-af53-7b2b2a7510a8_story.html">Washington Post over the weekend</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">“They are standing outside my door right now, knocking and even kicking the door, telling me to open it,” he said in a frantic phone call to a reporter.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">As he talked, men could be heard shouting in the background. “I think they’re coming to take me away,” Zhu said. “I talked to too many in the media, and it must have irritated someone.”</p>
<p>The stand off lasted two hours, the Post reports, and Zhu agreed to go to the police station the next day. According to a <a href="http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/758803.shtml">later report in the state-run Global Times</a>, Zhu spent 7 hours negotiating with Chinese police on Monday, refusing to give over any more videos for fear of compromising his source.</p>
<p>Zhu told the Global Times that the officers had threatened to charge him for withholding evidence.</p>

A Terrifying Glimpse Into Life As A Chinese Whistle Blower

<p><img class="float_right" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50af93e2ecad044f6a000000-400-300/chongqing-sex-tape.jpg" border="0" alt="Chongqing Party Boss Sex Tape" />10 more government and Communist Party officials in the Chinese city of Chongqing have been fired for their role in a huge sex and corruption and scandal, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-01/24/c_124276060.htm">China's state news agency Xinhua reports</a>.</p>
<p>Members of the sex exhortation ring behind the scandal have been arrested, Xinhua reports.</p>
<p>The scandal made headlines around the world last year when a video of one local party boss, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lei-zhengfu-sex-tape-circulates-online-2012-11">Lei Zhengfu, having sex with his 18-year-old mistress</a> was widely circulated around the internet. Lei, somewhat understandably, was fired.</p>
<p>The Lei video was soon revealed to be part of a wider scandal — <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lei-zhengfu-sex-tape-circulates-online-2012-11">Lei was apparently being blackmailed by a local developer as he had become too rich for simple bribes</a>. Worse still, he wasn't the only one. The local journalist who <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/zhu-ruifeng-plans-for-more-videos-2012-11">broke the story has said he had five more videos to release</a>.</p>
<p><keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>’s <a href="http://www.weibo.com/2002435741/zg3HqDbjF#a_comment" target="_blank">Southern Metropolis Daily</a> reports that the man behind the extortion ring, Chongqing businessman Xiao Ye, is thought to have snared at least a dozen Chongqing officials with his “honey trap” tactic. <a href="http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1135952/businessman-blackmailed-officials-after-filming-them-having-sex">The South China Morning Post reports</a> that not all netizens are angry with Xiao. “Xiao is an anti-corruption hero,” said one, “Why arrest him?”</p>
<p>Chongqing, one of China's largest cities, was also the home of the now-notorious Bo Xilai, and many observers wonder if there was a link between Bo and the scandal. Many reports say that police had known about the videos for years, but they only became public knowledge due to the work of a local journalist. "The fall of Bo Xilai and Wang Lijun seem to have something to do with" how the videos emerged, Steve Tsang, an expert on Chinese politics at the University of Nottingham, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/25/chinese-sex-scandal-bo-xilai">told the Guardian</a>.</p>

Chinese Sex Video Extortion Scam Leads To 10 More Officials Being Fired

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<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54c75ad3eab8ea2a131b229d-472-354/apple-22.png" border="0" alt="Apple"><p class="source"><span>Apple</span></p>
<p class="caption">Apple has commissioned another piece of artwork for one of its new Chinese stores.</p>
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</div></div>Apple has commissioned another colorful mural in China. It's for a new retail outlet in Chongquing, set to open at the end of January, <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/01/26/retail-chongqing-mural/#more-362850">9to5mac reports.&#xa0;</a>
<p>The artwork covers a cylindrical entrance to the new store. It was designed by China-based painter Yangyang Pan and US photographer Navid Baraty, who collaborated on the piece.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.apple.com/cn/retail/">Apple has released a video</a><span>&#xa0;of the mural charting the process of its creation and the finished building in all its splendor.&#xa0;</span></p>
<p><span>And Baraty tweeted about the project.</span></p>
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<p>Apple flew me to China to collaborate with another artist and create work for a new store. They made a video of us: <a href="http://t.co/stLPJSurvv">http://t.co/stLPJSurvv</a></p>- Navid Baraty (@navidj) <a href="https://twitter.com/navidj/status/559827044691746816">January 26, 2015</a>
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<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">The mural shows a bright, bold cityscape with a cable car and abstract blocks of colour. It's a contemporary image amid the city's otherwise grey tower blocks and walkways.&#xa0;</span></p>
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<p><a href="http://www.apple.com/cn/retail/">The company has announced the unit, its 11th to open in China, on its website.</a>&#xa0;The description of the mural reads:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">To celebrate the opening of the new Apple Store retail outlets, we have invited international artists from Chongqing to Yangyang Pan, as well as award-winning international photographer Navid Baraty co-authoring a piece of art.&#xa0;This works not only convey the worth of Chongqing is a wonderful gathering of the city, also means that the new Apple Store retail world will be a fusion of art, culture, creativity and technology in one.</p>
<p>The artwork is the second to peak interest in China; Apple is trumpeting its Chinese expansion in style. Last week,&#xa0;<a href="http://www.apple.com/cn/retail/">Apple's Chinese website posted a video</a>&#xa0;of a mural on the outside of the company's new store in Hangzhou.&#xa0;To create excitement for the store's opening, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/meaning-of-mural-at-apples-new-china-store-2015-1">Apple commissioned famous calligrapher Wang Dongling to create artwork</a> for the outside of the store.</p>
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<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54c75a8a69bedda07687fe29-844-354/screen%20shot%202015-01-27%20at%2009.27.01.png" border="0" alt="Apple"><p class="source"><span>Apple</span></p>
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<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/01/26/retail-chongqing-mural/#more-362850">As 9to5mac mentions, </a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">the company's move into China is running at a quick speed. </span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-will-announce-it-has-sold-more-iphones-in-china-than-in-the-us-2015-1">Apple is reportedly now selling more iPhones in the county than in the US</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">, and the company is also</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/apple-retail-boss-angela-ahrendts-has-a-big-plan-for-apple-stores-in-china-2015-1"> recruiting US employees to boost the retail operation in China</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> and maximise reach.</span>
<p>The grand opening of the Chongqing site is at 10am on January 31. <a href="http://9to5mac.com/2014/07/20/apple-opening-new-store-in-chongqing-next-weekend-brings-china-store-count-to-eleven/">More stores are expected to be unveiled in 2015.&#xa0;</a></p>

Apple Has Revealed Another Mural For A New Store In China

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5158feeeeab8eade12000003-590-443/beijing-property.jpg?maxX=400&amp;maxY=300" border="0" alt="beijing property" width="400" height="300" /></div><p class="source"><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/beijing-resident-walks-through-a-construction-site-of-a-new-news-photo/90305059">Feng Li/Getty Images</a></p></div>A month ago, <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword> announced <keyword id="6354516" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="property">property</keyword> curbs including a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-property-stocks-tank-2013-3">20 percent capital gains tax on home sales</a>, that slammed Chinese stocks, and property stocks in particular.</p>
<p>Now, a bunch of local Chinese governments including Beijing and Shanghai have announced a follow-up to those measures.</p>
<p>First, here's a look at the announcements, <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/30/c_132273561.htm">via Xinhua.</a> Big cities will carry out the 20 percent capital gains tax on property sales.</p>
<p><strong>Beijing</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Single adults with a Hukou (residency permit) for Beijing, and who have not bought homes before, can buy one apartment.  </li>
<li>Down payments for second-home buyers will be raised.</li>
<li>A homeowner will only be exempt from the 20 percent capital gains tax if he/she is selling the only home they own, and if he/she has owned it for five years or longer.</li>
<li>Those who forge documents to purchase apartments " will not be registered for property ownership and will be banned from buying apartments in Beijing within 5 years."</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Shanghai</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Banks are banned from approving loans for homeowners looking to buy their third home or more. <strong> </strong></li>
<li>Down payments for second-home buyers will be raised.</li>
<li>Borrowers from other cities, foreigners, and borrowers that are divorced will face "greater scrutiny." [If the latter seems strange, it is because C<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-divorce-to-avoid-property-curbs-2013-3">hinese couples get divorced to take advantage of tax loopholes.</a>]</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Chongquing</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>The rate of growth in home prices will be maintained at a pace that is slower than per capita income growth.</li>
<li>Pre-sell permits will be suspended in the case of overpriced houses or those with surging prices.<br /><br /></li>
</ul>
<p>These property curbs are thought to be lacking in specifics, and <a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-03/31/c_132274879.htm">inadequate in cooling home prices.</a> Bank of America's Ting Lu writes that these follow-up measures are less strict than the markets had expected. </p>
<p>In terms of the policies for both cities, he writes that Beijing's restriction on home purchases is a bit of a surprise. Beijing however accounts for 4.5 percent of China's new home sales and therefore the "impact will be quite limited." Moreover, many of the smaller cities like Hefei and Dalian didn't even mention the 20 percent tax.</p>
<p>From Lu:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"The 'detailed measures' announced by local government this weekend reflect a tug-of-war between the local and central government (especially the previous one).</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Under China’s tax system, local governments get only 40% of capital gains tax on home sales but will bear the full brunt of falling land sales and other property-related tax, so they have little incentives in implementing overly restrictively property tightening measures including the 20% capital gain tax. We will perhaps have to wait for more details on 20% capital gain tax from the State Tax Bureau."</p>
<p>He expects that new home sales won't see a huge impact from these measures and existing home sales already surged in March to avoid the tax, these should slow in April. </p>
<p>The governments preferred method of lowering home prices seems to be <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bofa-china-economist-rail-stimulus-2012-9">through increasing land supply</a> as we have previously reported.</p>
<p>Chinese property stocks seem to be celebrating the news, with the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-property-stocks-rise-2013-3">SHPROP rising as much as 2.43 percent</a> today.</p>

You Searched For "Chongquing" and got 4 results

A Terrifying Glimpse Into Life As A Chinese Whistle Blower

Adam Taylor

Chinese Sex Video Extortion Scam Leads To 10 More Officials Being Fired

Adam Taylor

Apple Has Revealed Another Mural For A New Store In China

Joshua Barrie

Chinese Local Governments' Follow-Up Property Curbs Aren't Fazing The Market

Mamta Badkar