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Tencent's WeChat super-app enables its Chinese users to chat, play games, shop, read news, pay for meals and much more, providing unparalleled convenience for its one billion users. However, Chinese workers are finding that such convenience comes at a price as company bosses increasingly use WeChat to assign tasks to their employees.<br /><br /> Now authorities in the <keyword id="7629652" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Xiangzhou-district">Xiangzhou district</keyword> of the southern Chinese coastal city of Zhuhai are pushing back with proposed measures designed to separate work from play on the app. "No working messages should be sent to WeChat working groups during non-working hours," according to a proposal announced earlier this month on the district's official WeChat account.<br /><br /> The proposal comes at a time when communicating via WeChat has become an extension of daily life for most Chinese people due to the dominant position of the Tencent-owned app in providing social media services.<br /><br /> WeChat representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.<br /><br /> "WeChat groups originally served to improve working efficiency but [with more and more groups forming] it has become a heavy working burden to employees," said the proposal. "In principle, one company can only form one WeChat group [and] the group for a project should be disbanded after it is done."<br /><br /> <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/apps-social/article/2186962/tencents-wechat-super-app-focuses-offline-services-address-changing">Tencent's WeChat super app by the numbers</a><br /><br /> The proposal also suggested that workers should not randomly send messages or post emojis in the WeChat group unless it is related to important new information about the project.<br /><br /> The discussion went viral on the internet and struck a chord with Chinese netizens, most of whom said they were dealing with the same problem.<br /><br /> "I really envy the people who work in Xiangzhou," said one netizen. "I hope the measures will be widely applied to all companies."<br /><br /> "We have to respond to working messages every minute of the day," another complained. "The boss knows I am always on WeChat, so he expects me to respond immediately, even on the weekend." Some netizens were pessimistic that the measures in the proposal would be carried out by companies. "You are too naive if you believe it," said another.<br /><br /> WeChat, or Weixin as it is known in China, has amassed 1 billion users since it was launched by Tencent in 2011. Over the past decade it has come to dominate Chinese people's daily lives, offering the ability to chat to family and friends, shop online, play games, read the news, make doctor appointments, and even book a time slot to file for divorce at the civil affairs authority.<br /><br /> In recent years the app's reach has expanded to workplace environments. Although designed as a mobile app, the number of people who logged into WeChat on a computer increased almost 10 times in 2018 compared to 2015. When logged into WeChat, employees can build work groups for assignments, share content, conduct video chats, take part in surveys, make group buying purchases, and even send money to group members.<br /><br /> This article originally appeared on the <a href="http://www.scmp.com">South China Morning Post (SCMP)</a>, the leading news media reporting on China and Asia. For more stories, please download our <a href="https://go.onelink.me/3586748601?pid=3rdpartycontentexchange">mobile app</a>, follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/scmpnews">Twitter</a>, and like us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/scmp">Facebook</a>.<br /><br /> Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.<br /><br />

Zhuhai district government proposes ban on WeChat work group messages sent after hours

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Adnan Abidi</span></p><p class="caption">People hold national flags and placards as they celebrate after Indian authorities said their jets conducted airstrikes on militant camps in Pakistani territory, in New Delhi, India, February 26, 2019.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>India launched airstrikes on Pakistan on Tuesday in response to a terror attack that killed 40 Indian troops, and people across India are celebrated what they saw as vengeance.</li><li>On the Pakistani side, the airstrikes represent a deeply embarrassing military defeat, even though they claim the airstrikes missed and killed no one.</li><li>India didn't just bomb the disputed border zone between the two countries, it entered Pakistan's actual air space with virtual impunity.</li><li>Pakistan's <keyword id="6354810" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="defense">defense</keyword> minister said Pakistan would have responded with jets, but it was dark, prompting intense mockery in India.</li><li>But the clash is no joke. Pakistan's military has incredible sway in the country and may now feel forced to retaliate against India, its nuclear rival. </li><li><strong>With China closely backing Pakistan and the US supporting India, Pakistan and India's rivalry has long been seen as a potential flash point for a global nuclear conflict.</strong></li></ul><p>Pakistan on Tuesday hinted at a possible nuclear retaliation to Indian airstrikes in its territory, which came as a great embarrassment to Islamabad, where the politically powerful military apparently failed to do anything about an outright attack from its chief rival.</p><p>India bombed Balakot, Pakistan, in response to a terror attack that killed 40 Indian troops in the disputed region of Kashmir, which India and Pakistan both claim but jointly administer.</p><p>"What happened is embarrassing," Asfandyar Mir, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, told Business Insider.</p><p>"The fact that India was able to intrude into Pakistani airspace, not into the disputed region, but into the country, very close to the place where the US raid to kill Osama Bin Laden happened... this is embarrassing for domestic audience," said Mir. </p><p>Pakistan vowed retaliation at a time and place of its choosing, which it said would come as a surprise to India. Pakistan even called a meeting of their National Command Authority, or the group that makes the calls on when to use nuclear weapons, and hinted it was mulling a nuclear strike.</p><p>But in other ways, Pakistan's response furthered the shame of the attack. </p><h2>Pakistan being trolled online</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Stringer</span></p><p class="caption">Pakistani air force personnel check a JF-17 Thunder fighter jet ahead of the China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, or Zhuhai Airshow, in Zhuhai in China's Guangdong province, October 31, 2018.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span>"Our air force was ready but since it was night they could not assess the damage so they waited and now there is clear direction that if there is any other similar attack, we will respond adequately," Pakistan's defense minister said at a press conference. </span><a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/68174996.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&amp;utm_medium=text&amp;utm_campaign=cppst"></a></p><p><span>Indians on social media latched on to the first part of the quote, which appeared to make an excuse for Pakistan's inaction in face of the attack and viciously mocked Pakistan.</span></p><p><span>Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, the spokesperson for Pakistan's military, said that Pakistan's air force did indeed respond and chased away the Indian jets, but the Indian side totally refutes this. </span></p><p><span>Ghafoor t<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pakistan-hints-nuking-india-after-airstrikes-escalate-white-hot-feud-2019-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weeted pictures of cratered patches of dirt and twisted metal</a> which he said was evidence of India's failed attack, but this didn't blunt the gleeful and taunting response from Indians online. </span></p><p><em><strong>Read more</strong>: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pakistan-hints-nuking-india-after-airstrikes-escalate-white-hot-feud-2019-2">Pakistan hints at nuking India after cross-border airstrikes roil the white hot feud</a></em></p><p><span>Both sides agree that India struck Balakot, but the results of the strike remain unclear and hotly disputed, with India claiming that as many as 300 militants were killed, and Pakistan saying only trees and some houses were hurt. </span></p><p><span>Around the country, Indians celebrated what they saw as vengeance for the terror attack earlier in February. </span></p><p><span>But there's reason to believe that the online mockery could lead to real life bloodshed.</span></p><h2><span>Online mobs and blood lust</span></h2><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro </span></p><p class="caption">A Pakistani flag flies on a mast as paramilitary Frontier Corps soldiers talk while guarding at Karachi's District Malir prison, August 23, 2013.</p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>Mir said that there will be intense pressure on Pakistan, both Prime Minister Imran Khan and the military, to strongly respond. In the immediate aftermath of the Indian airstrikes, reports of gunfire across the line of control in Kashmir and fighter jets flying above Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, flooded Twitter.</span></p><p><span>On Facebook and other social media platforms, both Pakistan and India have fielded intensely bloodthirsty online commenters that constantly mock and antagonize the other side. </span></p><p>"The online militias, they are certainly representative of the sentiment on the ground. In many ways, they are also stoking nationalism," said Mir. </p><p>In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party faces a looming reelection, and in Pakistan, the military faces pressure from young nationalists to look powerful after being caught off guard. </p><p>Mir said that Balakot is close to Abbottabad, the location of the US Navy SEALs raid that killed Osama Bin Laden, which also shamed Pakistan.</p><p>'This is the second time Pakistani air defenses were caught sleeping, at least as known to the Pakistani public," said Mir.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashmir#/media/File:Kashmir_region_2004.jpg">CIA via Wikimedia Commons</a></span></p><p class="caption">Political map of the Kashmir region districts, showing the Pir Panjal range and the Kashmir valley or Vale of Kashmir.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>"India is not the US. Pakistan might be discouraged by what the US might do next should it bring down a US aircraft," but "the Pakistani military is likely to see that as more of an insult than an American incursion."</p><p>And it matters what Pakistan's military thinks.</p><p>Pakistan's military wields significant political power in ways likely unimaginable to those in the West, where militaries labor to do the bidding of civilian leadership.</p><p><strong>Read more:</strong> <em><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subterranean-combat-gear-for-us-military-to-fight-underground-2019-2" data-analytics-position="14">The US military is getting ready to fight underground - here are 10 things it'll need for subterranean combat</a></em></p><p>"Pakistan has seen four bouts of military rule after the British gave India and Pakistan independence," said Mir. </p><p>"In the Pakistani context, the military is the most important political entity. Even at times when there is a civilian government in charge, the military tends to have enormous power," he continued, adding that Pakistan's prime minister cannot act independently and would need the consent of the military before making any bold moves. </p><h2>Nuclear conflict unleashed</h2><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Public Domain</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Not only does Pakistan's military likely feel the need to strike back to save face, India completely unleashed its military to freely conduct war in retaliation for the terror attack. </p><p>Normally the US would step in and intervene to urge calm and an end to fighting, but this time around the US has done no such thing.</p><p>Mir said that with the US's State Department's Southeast Asia division busy negotiating a peace deal with the Taliban and guiding a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, there's little focus on this conflict between two nuclear-armed states. </p><p>The one notable comment the US did make defended India's right to self-defense while placing the blame on Pakistan for harboring terror groups. </p><p>With China closely backing Pakistan and the US supporting India, Pakistan and India's rivalry has long been seen as a potential flash point for a global nuclear conflict.</p>      <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-el-chapo-joaquin-guzman-really-like-cartel-wives-2017-10">What El Chapo is really like, according to the wife of one his closest henchman</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Pakistan clings to its nukes after embarrassing air battle beating and intense mockery from India

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source">Feng Li / Getty</p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>The spectacular rise of the Pearl and Yangtze River deltas over the past several decades has inspired city leaders around the country to try and emulate their success by building up city clusters of their own. The national capital has proved to be no exception. For years, plans to develop a greater <keyword id="1333" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Beijing">Beijing</keyword> area were toyed with but never formalised. This may now finally come to pass. According to local media, a plan for the economic integration of Beijing, Tianjin and the surrounding province of Hebei may be announced early next year. The merits of centrally planned regional integration will be tested.</p>
<p>During <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>'s reform period in the late 1970s and early 1980s, emphasis was placed on labour-intensive manufacturing for export to boost growth. Special economic zones were established to attract much-needed capital, technology and management know-how. The resulting inflow of foreign direct investment ended up being a boon not only for core cities such as Shenzhen, but also for their surrounding areas. As cities like Guangzhou matured, the more polluting, lower-value-added industries within the core were pushed out, first to the suburbs and then to surrounding regions outside city borders, providing neighbouring cities with the opportunity to industrialise.</p>
<p>A paper published in 2011 by the Japan Research Institute showed that the contribution of the core areas-defined as Shenzhen, Zhuhai and Guangzhou-to manufacturing sector added value in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) fell from 54.4% in 2005 to 50.4% in 2009. In the same period, the contribution from the outer-core areas-defined as Dongguan, Foshan and Zhongshan-rose from 34.8% to 37.4%. The paper also showed a shift toward services in the core.</p>
<p>Seeing the success of city clusters in the Pearl and Yangtze River deltas, China's authorities now push city integration schemes in regional development plans. These plans are consistent with the country's fixation with "balanced and co-ordinated regional development", especially between core cities and surrounding smaller ones.</p>
<h2>Horse trading</h2>
<p>Such attention was only paid to the national capital in the 2000s, however, as the economic void between the northern coastal area and the south-eastern coastal regions could no longer be ignored. There were steadily mounting concerns that Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei were all competing for industrial supremacy, with very little co-ordination between them.</p>
<p>In 2004 the State Council (China's cabinet) set up a working group to draft a development plan. A draft report put together by a government think-tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was completed in 2006. The plan called for the creation of a metropolitan area covering the municipal city of Beijing, Baodi and Wuqing districts and Ji county in Tianjin, and six cities in Hebei province: Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Baoding, Langfang, Tangshan and Qinhuangdao.</p>
<p>After almost a decade and repeated revisions, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei conurbation plan has yet to progress further. Lacking a suitable mechanism, the area remains very difficult to co-ordinate. Conflicts of interest between the three local governments abound, as they are unable to agree on their respective roles. When the initial draft was first put forward, key industries in all three areas were very similar, concentrated on steel, construction materials, cars and heavy machinery. This made any realignment of industry difficult. A final blueprint will require the involvement of various central government departments, as local leaders look unlikely to be able to design and manage the project themselves.</p>
<p>The question of which Hebei cities should be included in the economic circle serves as another sticking point. At present, six cities are listed. However, the provincial authorities hope that more cities, such as Hengshui and Cangzhou, can be included, as they could then benefit from more economic support.</p>
<p>Any plan is likely to prioritise Beijing-centred integration, as the capital continues to radiate into Hebei and Tianjin. Beijing's central business district, in the eastern part of the city, has been expanding further east towards Hebei. Some of Hebei's counties and cities have become de facto satellite towns of the capital; around 200,000 residents in Hebei's Xianghe county and Yanjiao town work in neighbouring Beijing. However, Tianjin is unwilling to take a back seat. The municipality, whose Binhai New Area has been given priority since 2006, aspires to develop as an economic centre in its own right.</p>
<h2>Get it together</h2>
<p>As discussions continue, events on the ground seem to be driving towards a final settlement. China's president, Xi Jinping, visited Tianjin in May and urged the three provinces to push forward with regional co-operation. Tianjin and Hebei set up a bilateral co-ordination group, with a vice-governor and a vice-mayor in charge, to "break institutional barriers". In August local media reported that a plan would be released by early 2014, and in September the State Council released an action plan for the prevention and control of air pollution, addressing Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei as one region.</p>
<p>But even without a comprehensive plan, the process has already begun. At its simplest, the initial draft plan envisaged Beijing focusing on services, Tianjin providing port facilities and Hebei managing industry. This is already taking place, to a certain extent. Leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing worked hard to get rid of its older, highly polluting industries. More than 3,000 enterprises have relocated to the city's fringe districts since the 1990s, including some to Hebei. Shougang, a major steel company, closed its final Beijing production line in December 2010, effectively marking the end of a transition of heavy industry from Beijing to Hebei. In 2012 the capital's growth was driven primarily by services, led by the financial services, retail and information technology sectors.</p>
<p>The question is then whether a centralised plan covering the three provinces will have much of a positive impact. One concern is that Hebei's relative poverty and underdevelopment will pose a drag on the two municipalities. Hebei has yet to develop the mass of suppliers that the PRD has built up to support its main industrial clusters. For example, 80% of the parts supplying the automotive industry in Beijing and Tianjin are manufactured outside the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei zone, mostly in the Yangtze River Delta industrial belt.</p>
<p>This suggests that Hebei, the intended workshop for its urbanised neighbours, lacks the capabilities and capacity to deliver what they need. Furthermore, efforts to build up this capacity will be expensive. Directing people and business to certain areas requires the use of public resources, which would otherwise go to improving infrastructure and public services in existing metropolitan areas that are already in higher demand. Local leaders might do well to recall that the PRD was built on the back of market-oriented reforms, not a detailed plan.</p>
<p>Click <a href="http://www.store.eiu.com">here</a> to subscribe to <keyword id="425741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-Economist">The Economist</keyword></p>
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Zhuhai district government proposes ban on WeChat work group messages sent after hours

SCMP

Pakistan clings to its nukes after embarrassing air battle beating and intense mockery from India

Alex Lockie

China's Fuzzy Vision For Greater Beijing

The Economist

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