A4 Monday, September 3, 2012 FromThat sinkingpets to pests FOCUS feeling Why floats in Hong Kong are Release valve Yosemite avalanche Japan sink six-man HK heading for a post-Sars nadir China’s leadership transition Judges to take earlier role in Calls from worried tourists Sevens defeat comes after Growing> MONEY POSTnumber PAGE of 4 exotic pets RIGHT-HAND MAN child custody cases to speed around world flood US park Alex McQueen sin-binned dumped as owners lose interest process and reduce acrimony over cases of deadly virus with only a minute to go > CITY C3 > LEADING THE NEWS A3 > WORLD A13 > SPORT BACK PAGE Ling Jihua started out in the youth league with Hu Jintao, and rose to power as his personal secretary

...... Keith Zhai CONTINUED FROM A1 PUBLISHED SINCE 1903 / VOLUME LXVIII / NO 245 Monday, September 3, 2012 / See live updates at www.scmp.com [email protected] SUBSCRIPTION COPY ONLY – NOT FOR SALE Around midnight, an observer privileged enough to gain access Crash cover-up 18TH PARTY CONGRESS DIGEST to the secretive General Office of Win-win situation the Communist Party’s Central Committee in Beijing would threatens career Beijing ire after Diaoyu often find the lights on in the survey by Japanese office recreation room. Inside, one of the country’s HU’S AIDE Beijing has lodged another most powerful but least-known of Hu’s top aide strong protest with Tokyo after a men would likely be engaged in Japanese boat carrying more something of a ritual: playing than two dozen experts and table tennis. After a long day, Ling the man who died was Jia’s illegit- lished. Another version of the Tokyo city officials made a nine- Jihua liked to release imate son, the official said. crash also emerged recently in AND THE hour survey trip around the some stress with a late-night Some have speculated that it the Hong Kong media, saying disputed Diaoyu Islands match – and Ling had his share of was a deliberate choice to throw that Ling Gu was indeed killed. yesterday. > CHINA A6 stress. people off track. But sources said But it went on to report that he As chief of the General Office Jia was angry that his name was was not the driver or the owner of and President Hu Jintao’s implicated in the scandal and the Ferrari and that no sexual personal secretary until last ordered a secret investigation, escapades had been going on in CAR CRASH Loans, bonds to fund week, Ling oversaw many of the which quickly established that the Ferrari before the crash. Nexen deal, not shares affairs of Beijing’s highest lead- the driver was Ling’s son. Also in June, postings on polit- ers, from their paperwork to their The investigation report was ical gossip websites and maga- The funds to finance CNOOC’s doctor’s appointments to, per- quietly forwarded to former party zine articles began to appear US$15.1 billion takeover of haps most importantly, their se- chief Jiang Zemin – Jia’s alleging that Ling Jihua’s wife, Gu COVER-UP Canada’s Nexen are not to come curity. Ling was on Saturday re- political patron and key ally. Liping , used a charity to from a new share issue, but from shuffled to lead the party’s Jiang, who is retired but still reap profits – contributing to a How scandal over death of playboy son in US$5 billion in bank loans, the United Front Work Department. HenryIllustration: Wong wields a great deal of influence at sudden storm of negative public- issuing of US$5 billion of bonds At first, Ling’s subordinates the highest level, is competing ity surrounding Ling. a wrecked Ferrari is threatening to scupper and from the company’s own found his nightly ping-pong ses- with Hu in deciding the final Despite the mudslinging, Hu reserves. > BUSINESS B1 sions endearing, something that line-up of the next generation of appears to have made up his career of president’s ally ahead of congress humanised his demanding work leadership. mind to back Ling. ethic. That was, until they real- In a telling development, On June 12, days after Ling Gu ...... ised that he usually intended to Jiang reportedly sat on the report was identified by Boxun, Hong Staff Reporters Media-shy tycoon return to his desk after match for nearly three months before Kong’s pro-Beijing Wen Wei Po attacks glass ceiling point. taking it to Hu at a meeting. newspaper reported that Ling A speeding black Ferrari hit a wall “Ling never gets rest,” one of Beijing media sources said Jihua had been elected a party on Beijing’s North Fourth Ring Orient Group’s Zhang Hongwei his subordinates said. “He always they had known for a long time congress representative after Road in the early hours of March Hong Kong struck gold and silver at the Paralympic Games final. It was the city’s first Paralympic gold in London and is impatient for Beijing to break works until midnight and plays that Ling Gu was killed in the capturing all the votes in his con- 18, then rebounded and crushed yesterday after Wong Ka-man (above) overcame teammate marked the first Hong Kong 1-2 in table tennis Games history. the glass ceiling preventing table tennis for about half an accident, but blanket censorship stituency, made up of agencies a railing on the other side of the Yeung Chi-ka in a thrilling women’s Class 11table tennis singles Wong won 6-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10. Photo: Xinhua private firms from investing in hour. In the beginning, we was immediately imposed. and organisations directly under road. industries dominated by state- thought: ‘That’s the end of a long “It was a gag order at the high- the central government. A half-naked man in his 20s owned firms, a development he day.’ But then he comes back to est level. I have never seen any car A day earlier, Xinhua pub- died immediately and two young China’s leadership says could give the flagging the office and works for another accident that deserves an order of lished a speech by Ling after his women – one naked, one semi- transition EDUCATION economy a much-needed short- few hours.” this level,” a senior Beijing state election. naked – were seriously injured. term jolt. > BACK TO BUSINESS Despite his powerful position, media source told the Post. Observers see the timing of Photos of the wreckage circu- relatively little was known about Curiously, the English-lan- the Wen Wei Po report as a sign lated online and many internet In a few weeks, more than 2,200 the intense, driven man who sat guage edition of the Global Times that Hu is backing Ling to sail users took it as another drink- delegates to the 18th National Housing supply will at the right hand of the president. – run by the party mouthpiece through the political storm. A day driving accident involving the Congress of the Chinese Hunger strikers issue deadline People’s Daily – did carry a report earlier, Xinhua published a “second-generation rich”. Communist Party will convene double, says minister about the accident on March 19. speech by Ling after his election. People speculated that the in Beijing for the most It confirmed all the basic de- Sources said that after the young man, reportedly sur- important gathering in a Activists say they will continue their protest schools are said to have collected sian College and SKH Lam Woo Hongkongers wanting to buy a tails of the accident but stopped accident, Ling reportedly argued named Jia, was the illegitimate decade, when a new generation thousands of signatures de- Memorial Secondary School. home should bide their time, Ling was a short of naming the victim. that he spent all his time serving son of Chinese People’s Political of leaders will be ushered in to indefinitely if national education not axed today manding the government put its At the City Forum yesterday, housing minister Anthony It reported there was a blanket Consultative Conference chair- guide the world’s second biggest plans on hold. An online petition Professional Teachers’ Union Cheung Bing-leung says, as the pleasant, dapper gagging order on the media and ...... man Jia Qinglin , who economy for the next 10 years. change views with one another,” organised by former pupils of Di- education research director measures revealed last week to even quoted a “local resident” as Stuart Lau, Tony Cheung ranks fourth in the Politburo Today sees the start of our pre- he said. ocesan Boys’ School submitted Cheung Yui-fai called on teach- boost supply and cool the little man. questioning why such great Phila Siu and Johnny Tam Standing Committee. conference package on China’s Chief Secretary Carrie Lam 330 signatories by early last night. ers to dress in black today to ex- market will see 16,000 new flats a He knew how efforts were being made to sup- The power Wild stories began to spread leadership transition. Cheng Yuet-ngor said in a radio Other petitions were organ- press their objection. year for the next few years – press the information. It quoted that the trio were playing sex Activists camped outside the gov- programme the project did not ised by graduates of Diocesan double the average supply of the to please the resident as saying it proved struggles are so games in the car when the acci- ernment offices in Admiralty to “erupt out of a piece of rock all of Girls’ School, St Mary’s Canos- > MY TAKE A2, HARRY’S VIEW A16 past four years. > CITY C1 only that the victim “must have a dent took place. Different ver- huge setback to Hu’s camp amid protest against the national edu- a sudden, [as] all school organisa- the leaders special background”. intense that any The two women, one Uygur sions of who was driving and who frenzied jockeying for position cation programme have vowed tions were informed”. She called A RETIRED OFFICIAL small issue will was in the front and back seats ahead of the party congress. to continue their hunger strike the hunger strike a “radical” act. and one Tibetan, both attended became the subject of gossip in One of the bright spots of Hu’s indefinitely if the authorities The three-year “introductory Minzhu University, for students be amplified Beijing’s corridors of power. reign as party chief and state refuse to abandon it by 5pm period” of the subject begins to- Although he often accompa- from ethnic minorities. One was CHEN ZIMING, POLITICAL ANALYST But the accident, which hap- president has been his relatively today. day as students return to classes nied Hu on official trips, photo- paralysed and the other was seri- pened just three days after Bo clean image. He has always want- But the chief executive for the new school year. Detrac- graphs of Ling were rarely ously injured. Xilai was sacked as party ed to be remembered as an showed no sign of giving in to the tors say they fear the subject published. The cover-up is reminiscent Hu and had no time to look after chief of Chongqing , has honest, graft-fighting leader, ultimatum. would be an attempt to indoctri- But those who watched him sonal assistant. Officially, Ling of the botched attempt to hide his son properly. But the damage taken on a deeper significance. intolerant of corruption. While 10 students and educa- nate students with blind patrio- rise from a tiny village in rural was appointed head of the Gen- the murder of British business- has already been done. Ling was It could become a political The suspicious circum- tionalists continued a hunger tism. According to the govern- Shanxi province to a key eral Office’s research office, man Neil Heywood in Chong- once tipped as a “dark horse” for powder keg in the run-up to this stances surrounding the death of strike started on Thursday by ment’s plans, the curriculum will place in the influential Commu- which prepared reports and qing in November. elevation to the Politburo Stand- autumn’s 18th party congress, set his most trusted aide’s young son three teenage activists, and for- be compulsory in primary nist Youth League by his early 20s speeches for members of the all- It led to Bo Xilai’s downfall ing Committee at this autumn’s to produce a new generation of threatens to tarnish that image. mer students of elite schools schools from 2015 and in second- would not be surprised by his powerful Standing Committee. after his top aide, Wang Lijun party congress, which would leaders for the next decade. People will ask how Ling Gu launched online petitions, Chief ary schools from 2016. ascension to the inner reaches of Hu has kept Ling close ever , attempted to seek asy- have ensured Hu maintained his That’s because the real father could have afforded a 5 million Executive Leung Chun-ying re- Led by the secondary pupil power in Beijing. since. The president, like many lum at the United States consul- influence after his retirement. of the victim is not Jia – and the yuan (HK$6.1 million) luxury stated that the government had group Scholarism, activists have Neighbours and family party officials of his generation, is ate in Chengdu , Sichuan But analysts said the best Ling scandal poses a grave threat to sports car in the first place. “no motive” to brainwash pupils. camped outside the government friends describe Ling, 55, as an avid table-tennis player and province, in February. could hope for now was to be- another key player in the high- And it will only confirm the “No matter which way people offices at Tamar since Thursday. someone who, even as a boy, dis- Ling is reportedly one of his Heywood’s murder un- come one of the 24 full members stakes power game. public belief that the children of chose to express their opinions, A demonstration on Friday was played an unusual passion for three brothers were named Lux- likely in an effort to appear more favourite partners. leashed the biggest political fire- of the Politburo. Saturday’s A mainland official and sev- senior officials have rich and they should act rationally and ex- followed by an evening rally on study and a determination to ian , “direction”; Zhengce modest. 1995 In 1999, after Hu’s ascension storm on the mainland for dec- reshuffle seemed to suggest even eral Beijing media sources have decadent lifestyles beyond the Saturday. succeed. The fourth son of a revo- , “policy” and Wancheng His father’s lessons appeared to vice-president, he took Ling ades, with Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai this has become difficult. told the South China Morning wildest dreams of the people. A stream of well-wishers lutionary father, he always ap- , “completion”. His elder to resonate with Ling. A high- The year that Ling first with him to lead his office. Later , found guilty of the crime. “This accident will have a rela- Post that the young man was Hu’s credibility and prestige through the day paid their res- peared eager to please and sister was Fangzhen , school classmate described the starting acting as personal that year, Ling was appointed to Bo, who had been regarded as tively large impact on Ling Jihua actually Ling Gu , the son of would suffer collateral damage. pects to the 10 hunger strikers, showed a flare for executing any “guideline”. younger Ling as an especially dili- assistant to Hu Jintao be the youngest deputy chief of a strong contender for promo- because his portfolio is not strong Ling Jihua , chief of the Ling is also a key chess piece in who vowed to extend their fast task exactly as expected. Linghu was also close friends gent student with a natural inter- the General Office, the powerful tion to the Politburo Standing enough to enter the Politburo General Office of the Communist Hu’s succession planning as he “indefinitely” unless authorities A retired official remembers with fellow Shanxi native Bo Yibo est in political science. agency that he led until last week. Committee, saw his own political Standing Committee anyway … Party’s Central Committee and prepares to step down as party shelved the subject. Ling as an ever-smiling young , the revolutionary father “He worked so hard,” the Back in Ling’s hometown career cut short. it will be difficult, no matter how President Hu Jintao’s chief, and was expected to hold Hungry and tired, Linda cadre in his native Pinglu county. of recently ousted Chongqing classmate said. “I remember League committee for Pinglu Gezhao, some complain that Another scandal of that mag- hard his mentor [Hu] tries,” polit- principal aide until last week. strategic positions to ensure Hu’s Wong Sui-hung, who is also a “Ling was a pleasant, dapper party boss Bo Xilai . The once looking at Ling’s textbook county. Within four years, at the Ling has forgotten about them nitude would throw the once-a- ical analyst Chen Ziming Ling is considered an impor- continued influence. barrister, made a counter-sug- little man,” the ex-official said. pair were so close that, according and being surprised at the age of 23, Ling had secured a po- since becoming powerful. One of decade power transition into said. “Now, after this incident, tant member of Hu’s camp and It is perhaps for these reasons A hunger striker at the gestion to the administration. “He knew how to please the lead- to family friends, the elder Bo amount of highlighted text, and sition in the propaganda depart- the villagers interviewed said total chaos. The leadership there will be a negative impact to was being groomed to become that the mainland official said an government HQ. Photo: Nora Tam “What if the government organ- ers and could always fulfil their once tried to convince Linghu to how many footnotes there were.” ment of the youth league’s cen- Ling only returned once after his appears to be ill-prepared to deal his image. The power struggles one of the People’s Republic’s elaborate scheme was painstak- ised a rally for those who support needs.” let him adopt one of his children. After graduating from high tral committee. appointment to lead the General with another crisis. are so intense that any small issue sixth generation of leaders in ingly stitched together to hide the the curriculum? I’d like to see Indeed, one could say it was Linghu politely declined. school in 1973, Ling served in a lo- It was a fateful promotion, as Office. Whether Hu was informed will be amplified, not to mention another 10 years. real identity of the tragic young how many would show up,” said Ling’s destiny to become the Linghu divorced his first wife, cal printing factory and soon had the youth league would soon However, the retired county about the case before his meeting such a serious incident.” In a strong sign that the crash man in the crash. Wong, a spokeswoman for the president’s taskmaster, the man a midwife with whom he had more responsibilities in county come under the leadership of an official said the village’s native with Jiang is unclear, although As well as criticising Ling and scandal has hurt Ling’s chances The name that eventually Parents’ Concern Group on Na- who made sure every event and fathered a daughter, and married government. The retired official up-and-coming cadre named Hu son would always be welcome. one rumour claims Hu was in the his wife for the playboy image of of securing a seat at least on the appeared on the death certificate [If there was a tional Education. trip went exactly as expected. His the woman who would become who worked with Ling recalls the Jintao. The league and its young To make his point, he pointed out dark until Jiang briefed him their late son, political rivals also Politburo, a reshuffle on Saturday of the driver was a fake. rally] to back the Joshua Wong Chi-fung, given name translates roughly to Ling’s mother. In the early 1960s, young man being so driven that officials would form a key base of a modern highway being built about Jia’s report. attacked them for putting on saw him take over as head of the It remains unclear if it was a Scholarism’s lead activist, like “planning”. he moved the family back to his he refused to turn on the heat in support for the future president over what for generations was a It may never be known how poker faces and going to work the United Front Work Department, coincidence that the surname curriculum, I’d dozens of his followers, begins Ling’s father was a doctor hometown of Gezhao village. winter. and general secretary. dirt road. The highway will be fin- much truth there is in that gossip, day after he died. a largely symbolic post. used was “Jia” – pronounced the classes as a fifth-former today but named Linghu Ye, who joined the During the 1960s,Linghu “He told us the chill in the air The first clue that Ling was ished by the end of this year. but it was only in early June that Ling also accompanied Hu to What is at stake is not just same as the Putonghua word for like to see how will return to the demonstration Communist Party while at its gained a reputation in Gezhao for kept him sober, so that he could destined for the upper echelons “This is dedicated to Ling,” overseas gossip portals began to South Korea, Cambodia and Ling’s personal career. If the “fake”. But the choice of the sur- many showed up after school. base of Yanan in the late being a demanding father and an absorb more knowledge,” the ex- of power came in December the official explained. “If he wants identity the victim as Ling Gu. India less than two weeks after scandal becomes public knowl- name led to the online gossip that Meanwhile, former pupils 1930s. Filled with party zeal, he aloof neighbour. At some point, official said. 1995, when Hu – then serving as to return home with honour after Overseas rumour mills, which the accident. edge on the mainland it will deal a > CONTINUED ON A4 LINDA WONG SUI-HUNG from several of the city’s top named each of his children after Linghu changed his family’s By 1975, Ling had been admit- head of the Central Secretariat – becoming a member of the Polit- have increasingly become plat- But a businessman who has pillars of its philosophy. Ling’s name to the more common Ling, ted into the Communist Youth tapped him to serve as his per- buro, he is always welcome.” forms for different party factions close ties with senior Beijing offi- to throw mud at each other, took cials said Ling was depressed for a Two images showing the usually different stances. long time afterwards. CHINA WORLD ASIA low-profile Ling Jihua (at left on The overseas Chinese portal Johnny Lau Yiu-siu, a Hong left, and second from left on Boxun released several articles in Kong-based political analyst, right) with Hu Jintao. Photos: CNS June saying the man who died in said Hu would not have had Crackdown Obama’s beer Koran girl’s the crash was Ling Gu. enough influence to help Ling But several days later, Yazhou jump the queue and enter the adds honey Zhoukan, a Hong Kong-based Politburo Standing Committee on subway accuser political magazine, published an even if the crash had not hap- article denying Boxun’s reports. pened. But the crash would not beggars to campaign arrested It said Ling Gu, who allegedly give Ling’s rivals the leverage to used the pseudonym Wang Ziy- topple him completely, either. un while studying, was “In the end, compromise will Shanghai’s railway police use Recipe for White House Pakistani imam accused of still alive. Yazhou Zhoukan’s play a more important role in microblog posts to shame brew sweetens his pitch for adding Koran pages to those article was deleted from its web- Chinese politics,” Lau said. repeat offenders > PAGE A10 working-class vote > PAGE A15 Christian girl burnt > PAGE A12 site not long after it was pub- Friday, November 2, 2012 A3 Forward Bound LEADING THE NEWS thinker for HK? WINE POLITICS The young design guru who put In rare agreement Good chemistry Mainlanders take fright Burberry back on the front foot Strategies of Obama, Romney Artists drawn by old-world Two-thirds put plans to buy After surge to No 2, Hanson mulls LAM ‘REJECTED to engage and contain China charm of Yau Ma Tei breathe HK flats on hold over new > LIFESTYLE PAGE 6stop for UBS Open to topple McIlroy differ only in the detail new life into community tax, estate agency’s poll finds > SPORT BACK PAGE > WORLD A12 > NEIGHBOURHOODS C5 > BUSINESS B1 OFFER HK$1m HIGHER FOR FLAT’

Property agent’s claim comes as Exco man gives ity for environmental protection. He said earlier he turned down a new version of dealings that led to sale of some offers because they includ- home before new cooling measures kicked in ed certain conditions, such as a completion period of around 10 PUBLISHED SINCE 1903 / VOLUME LXVIII / NO 305 months. He did not disclose the Friday, November 2, 2012 / See live updates at www.scmp.com ...... tember 20. On September 14 sec- size of the offers. SUBSCRIPTION COPY Yvonne Liu and Phila Siu ONLY – NOT FOR SALE retary for Housing and Transport Ricky Poon, executive direc- Anthony Cheung Bing-leung an- tor of residential sales at property Executive councillor Franklin nounced the government could agency Colliers International, DIGEST LEADERSHIP TRANSITION POLITICS Lam Fan-keung rejected an offer bring in more initiatives after the said it was rare for a buyer to ask that was about HK$1 million Hong Kong Monetary Authority for such a long transaction period higher than the price he finally announced new mortgage tight- when buying a second-hand flat Tory rebels humiliate accepted for one of his Mid- ening measures the day before. since the government imposed Cameron over EU cuts Don’t fly colonial Levels flats, a property agent who Last Friday the government the special stamp duty in No- approached Lam told the South introduced a stamp duty of 15 per vember 2010. Until last Friday, Fifty-three rebels in the China Morning Post. cent on non-permanent-resi- this meant buyers had to pay a Conservative party have Meanwhile, Lam gave a new dent and corporate buyers. It also levy if they sold the flat within two flag, Leung urges version of his dealings with an- raised and extended the special years. The levies are now payable humiliated Prime Minister David Cameron by delivering his other agent who sold the flat. Ear- stamp duty payable on quick re- on resales within three years. most significant defeat since he Chief executive says there is no need for people lier, he said he told the agent he sales. Lam said on a radio show yes- came to power in 2010. They could pocket the difference be- Lam said in a statement last terday he offered to let the Centa- rejected the seven-year EU to take such action to vent their frustration A couple drink to the opening of the Hong Kong Wine and Dine Festival at West Kowloon Promenade yesterday. Photos: K.Y. Cheng tween the asking price and the night he had donated “excess line agent pocket the difference price paid for the Casa Bella flat proceeds” of HK$70,000 arising between the price he asked for budget freeze he favours and ...... helped pass a parliamentary 14B. from the sale of flat 14B to a char- and the actual price flat 14B sold Joshua But and Tony Cheung motion urging him to insist on Lam said the Centaline agent for to encourage the agent. real cuts. One newspaper rejected his offer and suggested “But the agent suggested the described it as a “Halloween People unhappy with the govern- Drinkers look for value in Bordeaux the money be given to charity. money should be donated to horror”. > WORLD A14 ment don’t need to wave the Brit- Lam said he agreed and charity,” Lam said. He and his ish flag to express discontent, planned to donate the difference wife then decided to donate the Chief Executive Leung Chun- Wine lovers are finding that a good bottle from ment of the 10 most recent vin- sun, caused uproar in the region, to the Centaline Charity Fund, set HK$70,000 in difference to the Appeal for region to ying said yesterday. tages of Bordeaux first growths, Haushalter said Bordeaux always up by Centaline’s founder, Shih Centaline Charity Fund. His appeal, echoed by some their favourite region needn’t cost the earth rose fourfold from January 2005 welcomed foreign investment. Wing-ching. He said he set his asking price to June 2011. Since then it has There was a cultural differ- for the flat about 2 to 3 per cent help fleeing Rohingya Beijing-loyalist lawmakers, fol- Leung Kwok-hung hurls plastic ...... Lam put two Mid-Levels flats The mainland imported 38 dropped by about a third. ence between the two regions, he up for sale just weeks before the lower than the market price, lows heated comments associat- faeces in Legco. Photo: K.Y. Cheng Amy Nip per cent more wine in terms of Hong Kong used to focus a lot said. government introduced mea- which was HK$9.88 million. A search was under way for ing the waving of the flag with de- [email protected] survivors after a boat carrying mands for independence. value and 55 per cent more in on top wines, Haushalter said. “The [Catholic] church used sures to curb property prices. Franklin Lam sold two flats Lam said he did not write in 130 Rohingya fleeing Leung, in his second ques- mainland. Competition for land, terms of volume, with the total The average price per bottle of to own the chateaux in Burgundy He denies knowing such mea- the contract with the buyer that persecution in Myanmar sank tion-and-answer session in the housing and infant milk formula Hongkongers are no longer the reaching 15 million bottles, worth Bordeaux wine in the city is now before the French revolution, sures were imminent, but the the difference between his asking on the way to Malaysia. The Legislative Council, said the had strained relations. world’s biggest spenders on ¤350 million, over the past year. ¤21, still much higher than the while the peasants bought them Democratic Party has filed a price and the selling price would tragedy, with only six survivors handover in 1997 was “a matter of Lu Ping , former director Bordeaux wines but are opting The figures show Chinese global average of ¤7.40, he said. It afterwards. In Bordeaux, the cha- complaint with the Independent go to his agent or any charity. by last night, came amid appeals fact” and “the regional flag of of the State Council’s Hong Kong for more affordable bottles. drinkers are diversifying from the is ¤5.10 on the mainland. teaux were set up by entrepre- Commission Against Corruption. He was speaking after Demo- by refugee agencies for the Hong Kong features a bauhinia and Macau Affairs Office, has Over the past year, the city im- priciest wines to cheaper ones, Haushalter said it was natural neurs.” Centaline Property Agency The agent cratic Party chief executive Lam country’s neighbours to help flower”. He added: “It is under- called for those who do not rec- ported and re-exported Bor- said the council’s president, to see an adjustment after a rapid, Haushalter said efforts were said yesterday it would not suggested the Cheuk-ting made a complaint to fleeing Rohingya. > ASIA A11 Paramilitary policemen on duty near Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, where the 18th party congress will open on Thursday. Photo: AP standable that the population of ognise that they are Chinese to deaux wines worth ¤300 million Georges Haushalter, who is in strong price growth over the past being made to guard against fake accept Lam’s donation. the ICAC on Wednesday. seven million in Hong Kong renounce their Chinese national- (HK$3 billion), a 12 per cent drop Hong Kong for the four-day Wine three years. To move ahead, mer- wines on the mainland. Bor- A property agent who re- money should The former ICAC investigator share different opinions on the ity. Communist Party newspaper year on year. In contrast, import and Dine Festival. The four-day chants would put stronger em- deaux is now registered as a quested anonymity said several be donated said Lam could have violated the The deadly gauntlet government. But in any case they the Global Times has called the volumes climbed 16 per cent to event started on the West Kow- phasis on mid-range wines cost- brand under the State Adminis- offers were made for flat 14B, the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance do not need to wave the colonial notion of an independent Hong 15 million bottles, according to loon Promenade yesterday. ing from as little as HK$50. tration of Industry and Com- last one of about HK$11million in to charity if he did not let the buyer of flat of a Syrian cabbie flag to vent their frustrations.” Kong a “false proposition”. the Bordeaux Wine Council. “It’s a normal process in a ma- “We will help people learn merce, meaning there is legal early September. Lam sold the 14B know that part of the money During a stormy session, Analyst Johnny Lau Yui-siu The city is now third in terms ture market. People start to no- about wines, so they can discover basis to prosecute copycats. flat for HK$9.95 million on Sep- FRANKLIN LAM, EXECUTIVE COUNCILLOR would go to an agent. Abu Mohammed is just one of OLD GUARD TO DOMINATE “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, said the pro-independence no- of import value, after the United tice there are not only five, but new chateaux and diversify their untold taxi drivers who risk their chairman of the League of Social tion had hit the nerves of some Kingdom and the mainland. 10,000 chateaux in Bordeaux,” tastes,” he said. lives daily ferrying passengers Democrats, was ejected from the hardliners, but that might not be Haushalter said. Meanwhile, mainlanders’ across the front lines of Syria’s chamber after throwing plastic the mainstream view in Beijing. Since Hong Kong abolished passion for Bordeaux has broad- civil war. On one trip in Aleppo, faeces at Leung to protest at what Labour Party lawmaker Cyd duty on wine in 2008, it has be- ened from buying its bottled a sniper’s bullet whistled past his PARTY’S INNER COUNCIL he said was a lack of integrity Ho Sau-lan said: “Hong Kong come an auction centre for fine wines to snapping up chateaux. head and injured his passenger. among senior officials. people are asking for social jus- wines. Chinese collectors’ pas- Only two chateaux were Chinese- He is afraid for himself – and for Leung declined to comment tice and officials should face the sion for Bordeaux wines has owned three years ago. Now two sons doing national service Conservatives show they still hold sway as , 64, long tipped to be- cessor, Jiang Zemin , and on remarks by former secretary real problem.” pushed up prices, especially for there are 30, with 25 transactions with the army. > WORLD A17 come China’s next economic tsar several other retired party leaders for justice Elsie Leung Oi-sie, a But Wong Kwok-kin, of the Chateau Lafite Rothschild, to his- over the past two years. reform-minded candidates lose out in the latest as executive vice-premier, will be in behind-the-scenes jockeying vice-chairwoman of the Basic Beijing-loyalist Federation of toric highs, but the market has While the purchase of Cha- cooled considerably since last teau de Gevrey-Chambertin in line-up for Politburo Standing Committee elevated to the Politburo Stand- to secure the promotion of his Law Committee, about the city’s Trade Unions, said: “The colonial Month on, pain of ferry ing Committee, which has been supporters. judiciary. Last month she said the flag should not be brought out … year. Burgundy by Louis Ng Chi-sing, A light show launched the Wine The Liv-ex Fine Wine 50 In- right-hand man to Macau gam- ...... downsized from the current nine “I guess we can confirm that legal profession lacked under- you can also express discontent disaster runs deep They said the biggest surprise members to just seven, but will Hu was a far weaker ruler than we standing of the relationship be- by waving the Hong Kong flag.” and Dine festival. dex, which tracks the price move- bling tycoon Stanley Ho Hung- Shi Jiangtao in Beijing was the omission of two reform- be given the lesser job of party ever knew,” said Professor Kerry tween Hong Kong and Beijing. [email protected] As relatives of National Day ferry minded protégés of party general discipline chief. Brown, a specialist in Chinese Leung said he was working on > EDITORIAL, HARRY’S VIEW A20 disaster victims spoke yesterday secretary Hu Jintao – Vice-President Xi Jinping > CONTINUED ON A3 problems of integration with the > CY WON’T PRESS LEGISLATORS C1 of their struggle to come to Conservatives appear poised to party organisation department , 59, and Executive Vice- CONTINUED FROM A1 terms with their loss, rescue dominate the line-up of the head Li Yuanchao , who Premier Li Keqiang , 57, workers recalled the life-and- Communist Party’s new leader- turns 62 this month, and Guang- are already Politburo Standing death decisions they had to ship as furious horse trading con- dong party chief Wang Yang Committee members. make amid the panic. > CITY C1 tinues ahead of next week’s , 57 – mainly due to their rel- The supposedly conservative Party’s old guard retains its grip transfer of power in Beijing. ative youth and opposition from make-up of the new leadership The latest consensus among conservative party elders, includ- has dashed hopes that the party outgoing leaders, their immedi- ing former premier Li Peng . might have been prepared to politics at the University of Syd- become NPC chairman or vice- close to Jiang, will become execu- ate successors and influential Vice-Premier Wang Qishan push for bold political reforms ney. “That he cannot prevail president, but is believed to have tive vice-premier in charge of FOCUS party elders is that the party’s after learning a bitter lesson from against the 86-year-old Jiang is been edged out after the gather- economic affairs. innmermost circle may still be the downfall of former Chong- amazing.” ing in Beidaihe in early August. Li Yuanchao, the party’s top subject to last-minute changes LIKELY LINE-UP qing party chief Bo Xilai Professor Steve Tsang, direc- Li Peng is rumoured to have personnel official, is also a ahead of the 18th congress start- ,a one-time contender for tor of the University of Notting- initially blocked Yu’s nomination princeling but owes his rise to his ing on Thursday, according to a top leadership post and an ham’s China Policy Institute, said to the Politburo Standing Com- links with Hu’s power base, the sources close to the inner-work- Xi Jinping Party General advocate of an ultra-leftist it could be seen as another big mittee at Beidaihe, citing another Communist Youth League, and ings of the once-a-decade gener- Secretary approach. failure for Hu’s faction in “de- unwritten party decision in the his failure to make the seven- ational transition. Li Keqiang Premier Sources confirmed that due to fending its turf”. 1980s soon after the defection of strong top table is widely seen as However, the sources said Zhang Dejiang NPC Chairman rifts within the leadership a con- Analysts said the promotions Yu’s brother, Yu Qiangsheng an embarrassing defeat for Hu. that the Politburo Standing Com- Yu Zhengsheng CPPCC Chairman sensus reached at the secretive of Yu, Zhang Dejiang and Liu – , a senior intelligence Sources said party elders had mittee’s likeliest line-up was now Liu Yunshan Head of the summer conclave of current and who have served two five-year officer. argued that Li Yuanchao and packed with conservatives in- secretariat of the Central retired party leaders at the Hebei terms in the Politburo – resulted Liu, close to current ideology Wang Yang still had good cluding Vice-Premier and Committee (in charge of beach resort of Beidaihe from an unwritten party rule tsar Li Changchun – an- chances of rising to the top eche- Chongqing party chief Zhang De- ideology) had to be scrapped which favoured seniority over other ally of Jiang – will be in lon of power in the next reshuffle, THE DEADLY jiang , 65, propaganda Zhang Gaoli Executive vice- following the latest changes to competence. Meanwhile, Zhang charge of ideology and is also when five of the seven Politburo chief Liu Yunshan , 65, premier in charge of economic the Politburo Standing Commit- Gaoli, a Politburo member for tipped to become vice-president Standing Committee members FRONT LINE OF Shanghai party boss Yu Zheng- affairs tee line-up. one term, had apparently bene- and chief of party affairs as head will have to retire due to age limits sheng , 67, and Tianjin Wang Qishan CCDI chief (party Analysts said the make-up of fited from the repositioning of of the powerful secretariat of the governing retirement. HEALTH CARE party chief Zhang Gaoli discipline chief) the new leadership showed that Wang Qishan. elite, 370-strong Central Com- Analysts said they believed , 65. Hu, 70, has lost out to his prede- Chen Ziming , a Bei- mittee. Wang Qishan’s repositioning > PAGE A4 jing-based analyst, said the eleva- The sources said Zhang Gaoli, was largely due to concerns that tion of the two Zhangs and Liu, all a former Shenzhen party chief he could overshadow Li Keqiang, staunch conservatives, had Hu’s most trusted ally. WORLD turned the leadership reshuffle Chen said Wang’s likely new ECONOMICS into an anti-climax. Using the age post as head of the Central Com- factor to edge out younger re- mission for Discipline Inspec- formers, Chen said, was a telling tion, the party’s top anti-graft Row erupts proof that the party leadership body – making him No 7 in the Mainland factories bouncing back had no real intention of pursuing party hierarchy – might not be a a democratic reform agenda, de- bad thing. He had earlier been after shark’s ...... The HSBC purchasing Bank of America Merrill spite recent speculation. Zhang rumoured to be in line for the Victoria Ruan managers index for China rose to Lynch, forecasting no interest Dejiang, who was parachuted post of CPPCC chairman. fin victory [email protected] an eight-month high of 49.5 from rate cut and at most one more re- into Chongqing after Bo’s sack- “At least Wang will have real, 47.9 in September, indicating serve ratio cut this year, said: ing in March, will replace Wu substantial power, rather than a Bangguo as chairman of purely advisory role, and he will Vancouver activist accused The mainland’s manufacturing only “marginal” contraction. The “Though we don’t expect a big sector has shown signs of recov- final reading came in better than stimulus, policy easing/stimulus the National People’s Congress be able to do something, such as of not understanding his ery, helped by new orders, raising the preliminary result of 49.1. is more likely to continue as in March. Zhang, a former nailing down more corrupt offi- Chinese heritage > PAGE A16 hopes of a rebound in economic Investor confidence has im- growth recovery is not solid yet.” Guangdong party chief who is cials like Bo,” he said. growth in the fourth quarter. proved, pushing the Shanghai Economic expansion sank to closely linked to Jiang, will be- Whether Hu would retain his Beijing is likely to keep poli- stock market to gain 1.72 per cent a14-quarter low of 7.4 per cent in come No 3 in the party hierarchy, top military post as the chairman WORLD cies in place to boost domestic to close yesterday at 2104.43. the third quarter. But economists after Xi and Li Keqiang. That con- of the Central Military Commis- demand and combat external widely believe decline in growth trasts with the current hierarchy, sion is also a subject of heated de- headwinds, though economists has bottomed out. in which the NPC chairman is bate among analysts. believe the likelihood of stronger HSBC said the government’s ranked ahead of the premier. Chen and Tsang agreed that The old stimulus measures has fallen. financial spending may quicken Yu, a veteran princeling – the the new line-up meant Hu was Manufacturing businesses in the fourth quarter, supporting son of a revolutionary elder – more likely to retain his military money of expanded in October after two industrial production growth of famed for his strong connections post but other analysts believed months of contraction, accord- % around 10 per cent after a rise of and his ability to manoeuvre be- Hu could seek full retirement as tween party factions, will become 67 he had lost the fighting spirit. ing to the purchasing managers 9.2 per cent in September. Europe 7.4 chairman of the Chinese People’s “If Hu cannot hang on to this index yesterday from the Manufacturers may begin to The age of Shanghai party boss [military post], he and his col- National Bureau of Statistics, Mainland economic expansion restock soon, as the new orders Political Consultative Confer- Yu Zhengsheng, oldest of the leagues are likely to want to fight which hit 50.2, up from 49.8. for the third quarter of index rose above 50 for the first ence (CPPCC), a top advisory seven men now seen as the Salt built fortune of 7,500- back over the distribution of A figure above 50 indicates ex- 2012, the lowest in three time since May to 50.4, while a body, and No 4 in the ruling hier- likeliest PSC members year-old town where huge pansion, while below 50 indic- and a half years gauge of output rose to 52.1, the archy. standing committee seats,” haul of gold found > PAGE A15 ates contraction. official data showed. He was previously tipped to Tsang said. A window Last hope Covert oops! into China Olympic dream CIA director Why foreign hinges on David Petraeus celebrities are Smoke signals election of new quits after wired on weibo Pollution linked to ISF chief today affair exposed rising birth defects > POST MAGAZINE on mainland > SPORT PAGE 1 > NEWS PAGE 3

> CHINA PAGE 9

PUBLISHED SINCE 1903 / VOLUME LXVIII / NO 314 Sunday, November 11, 2012 / See live updates at www.scmp.com/ HK$10

POLITICS SOCIETY INSIDE China’s newest drone set for public debut HUNAN BOSS China is set to unveil its latest drone, expected to rival US and Israel models, at this week’s air show in Zhuhai . The 1.1- tonne, HK$1 million unmanned TIPPED TO craft costs much less than a US drone but can perform the same civilian or military tasks. BECOME > LEADING THE NEWS PAGE 3 Free ride is over for Clockenflap fans

After allowing music fans to TOP JUDGE come for free last year, organisers of the Clockenflap Rise of Hu protégé to court president means he music festival have won government approval to charge is likely to miss out on Politburo seat; analyst for the event, with tickets as much as HK$590. > HONG KONG cites his mishandling of the Li Wangyang case PAGE 6 > THE REVIEW PAGE 4 Gay lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen (centre) and singer Denise Ho (to his left), who came out at the rally, join other artists on the march ...... president of the top from Victoria Park to Central to demand equal rights for people of all sexual persuasions. Photo: Nora Tam Choi Chi-yuk and Keith Zhai court, could be Trailwalker race loses among Zhou’s rivals The leader of the province where for the post, the army for 2012 leg June 4 activist Li Wangyang sources said. Coming out of the shadows, and proud of it mysteriously died in June Zhou The court posting The People’s Liberation Army, Qiang is likely to become China’s next would almost cer- ...... which has dominated Oxfam’s top judge as part of the leadership tainly mean Zhou, come to our parties in the past groups to come to Hong Kong to- ers,” she said. “Now it is easier for Trailwalker and raised the Joanna Chiu and Christy Choi transition under way at the 18th who has long been considered a few years,” said Betty Grisoni, co- gether, often staying in the city for lesbians to organise public activ- event’s profile since 2009, will party congress, sources said. rising political star with a good founder of Les Péchés, a non- a few days,” she said. ities as long as we’re cautious, but not be joining this year. But this Zhou Qiang , party chief chance of ascending to the new When Fanta, 25, from Shenzhen, profit organisation that runs Connie Chan Man-wai, or- Hong Kong is still a much freer does not mean the 100-kilometre of southern Hunan , is ex- Politburo, has missed his chance. attended her first Les Péchés social events for lesbians and bi- ganiser of the yearly Hong Kong society.” race on Friday will be less of a pected to be appointed president The new Politburo is expected to party in a Lan Kwai Fong night- sexual and transsexual women. Pride Parade, which took place About 4,000 people marched battle for some 5,000 of the Supreme People’s Court be unveiled on Thursday. club last year, she was not even “Women find out about our yesterday, said more mainland from Victoria Park to Central yes- participants. > HONG KONG next March when the transition is Analysts say Zhou’s perfor- sure she was a lesbian. events on Facebook and organise lesbians were joining in. terday, up from 2,500 last year, PAGE 8 > SPORT PAGE 4 completed at the annual parlia- mance in Hunan can be des- “But the people here are so “They’re not allowed to or- Chan said. They strutted their mentary session, four sources cribed as “mediocre” at best, and welcoming, it totally changed my ganise marches at home, so they way down Hennessy Road wear- told the Sunday Morning Post. the mishandling of the Li Wang- life and I became very comfort- see Hong Kong as the only place ing tutus, tights and all manner of Mo Yan works on Zhou, one of President Hu Jin- yang case may have damaged able with my sexual identity,” she in China where they can publicly rainbow-hued clothing. tao’s top protégés, had Zhou’s image and undermined said last week while dancing with support the LGBT movement,” Singer and actress Denise Ho moves for Nobel event his chances of further promotion. local and expat friends at the she said. Wan-sze surprised many by get- A public outcry erupted in monthly event. % Yue Li, a sociology doctorate ting on the stage at the Chater Mo Yan is looking to put Hong Kong after Li was found Party organisers say more gay 9.56 student who volunteered with Garden venue and declaring she his best foot forward at the hanging from the window in his women from the mainland are Beijing-based lesbian rights was a lesbian, marking a high- Nobel awards ceremony in Shaoyang hospital room, coming to Hong Kong to attend An average of several studies groups, was among the crowd light of the event. Sweden next month by learning If Zhou fails to with his feet still touching the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and shows this percentage of this year. As the crowd gathered after ballroom dancing with his wife make it in the ground, days after giving a defi- transsexual) events. men and 4.75pc of “In 2004 police shut down a their hour-long march, they had to “fit in” to the grand occasion, ant interview to Cable TV ahead “We have definitely had many women are gay queer movie festival in Beijing a message for legislators who his older brother has disclosed. Politburo, it’s of the city’s June 4 candlelight more women from the mainland and arrested some of the organis- > CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 > CHINA PAGE 11 vigil. because of his Hunan authorities’ verdict bad record with that the blind-and-deaf activist had committed suicide only COURTS Li Wangyang brought further outrage. “Jockeying for power in the JAMES SUNG LAP-KUNG, CITY UNIVERSITY leadership reshuffle was particu- larly fierce this time, and, if Zhou previously been under consider- fails to make it to the Politburo, HK fugitive in ation for the weighty job of it’s probably because of his bad Chongqing party chief, a record in the Li Wangyang case,” post that would guarantee him a said Dr James Sung Lap-kung, a Spanish prison seat on the powerful Politburo. City University political analyst. “Word has changed recently – Tang Jingling ,a around one month ago. Party Guangzhou-based rights activist personnel officials said Zhou who provided legal advice to Li, ‘could be freed’ may become top judge,” said a doubted Zhou was experienced source close to the leadership of enough to serve as the country’s Changsha , the capital of top judge. Lawyer for the former Grant Thornton partner Hunan. As one of Hu Jintao’s best- A legal source who is also known protégés, Zhou’s failure to says the city has no power to order extradition based in Changsha said local secure Politburo membership ...... judicial circles were already would provide further evidence Martin’s claim Niall Fraser buzzing with gossip that Zhou of the outgoing president’s de- comes ahead of a visit and Miguel Carbonell in Madrid was the leading choice to be the clining ability to get loyalists into to Madrid on Thurs- high court’s president. key party posts. day by Chief Secre- Cao Jianming , 57, the “That would mean Hu is not A former top Hong Kong accoun- tary Carrie Lam country’s top prosecutor, and strong or influential enough to tant who has spent the past two Gabriel Cheng Yuet-ngor, Shen Deyong , 58, a vice- get his man in,” said Sung. years battling extradition to the Azedo during which she is city from Spain could be freed due to finalise an from prison “within two or three agreement between Hong Kong months’’, according to one of his and Spain on the return of sen- lawyers. tenced prisoners between the FOCUS Gabriel Ricardo Dias-Azedo, two jurisdictions. 66, a former Grant Thornton While the agreement is un- MAO SYMPATHISER, partner who fled Hong Kong in likely to have a concrete effect on CONTROVERSIAL 2009 after allegedly fleecing cli- Azedo’s case, the fugitive ac- ents of HK$94 million, has been countant’s return to Hong Kong WRITER, ICON: held in a Spanish jail since 2010. is expected to be discussed by He is waiting for the country’s Lam and Spanish legal officials. HAN SUYIN’S MANY- highest court to rule on a claim by Macau-born Hong Kong resi- SPLENDOURED LIFE his legal team that he cannot be dent Azedo, a racehorse owner sent back to the city to face fraud and former president of the Hong > PAGE 4 charges because only Beijing has Kong Portuguese community’s the power to issue extradition or- Club Lusitano, is being kept in ders and his safety cannot be the Estremera prison near Ma- guaranteed on the mainland. drid after being arrested in Sala- One of Azedo’s lawyers, manca, Spain, in 2010. Rodrigo Martin, told the Sunday Documents seen by the Post SCIENCE WORLD Morning Post that Spain’s Consti- this year, which were presented tutional Court “has no other to the Spanish courts by Hong choice but to rule in their favour Kong police, show that Azedo al- because there is no possible ex- legedly funnelled millions into A matter of Pitfall for tradition to an ‘almost state’ like bank accounts and offshore Hong Kong”. companies linked to his wife and life and death Chinese coal He said that Azedo could be himself. out of jail within “two or three He is also suspected of using months’’. millions more to pay off credit in Lung Mei project Hong Kong officials reject this card debts and money owed to, claim and say he can be returned among others, Betty da Silva Fei Conserving this beach, and Canada mounts review after under the United Nations Con- Po-ki, the wife of Archie da Silva, vention against Corruption, owner of what is arguably Hong many like it, is vital to our job ads favour Chinese over which has been signed by both Kong’s most famous racehorse, planet’s survival > PAGE 15 local workers > PAGE 14 jurisdictions. Silent Witness. Monday, November 12, 2012 A3 They’reGet your cut LEADING THE NEWS ECONOMY all toast How to shop around for the BBC faces radical overhaul Hungry for energy Olympic about-turn Japanese inventions best performing Broadcaster in turmoil after Lured by Canada’s stability Hongkongers headed for Rio that never saw success YUAN SCHEME QUOTA TO BE TRIPLED MPF funds ‘shoddy’ journalism forces and openness, Chinese after windsurfing restored to director general to quit investors buy into oil sands 2016 Games programme > MONEY POST PAGE 4 Policymakers agree to allow more foreign institutional investors to take General secretary and presi- It would take time to solve the The former CIA director David > ASIA A9 dent Hu Jintao had said problems,” he said. Petraeus, who has now quit > LEADING THE NEWS A3 > BUSINESS B1 > SPORT BACK PAGE part in mainland stock markets, but capital flow restrictions to stay on Thursday that China would While the economy expanded ...... “gradually achieve” full yuan 7.7 per cent in the first nine a press conference on the side- come, he said, as they were more convertibility under capital ac- months of the year, the Shanghai Jane Cai in Beijing lines of the 18th party congress. mature and had more expertise counts and develop a “multi- ¥ Composite Index lost 5.8 per cent [email protected] Lover’s The pilot programme, than individuals, who make up level” capital market. 200b as chronic problems including launched last December, allows 84 per cent of the mainland’s But the international board, corruption, insider trading and China will soon more than triple for yuan-based funds raised in stock market participants and allowing foreign companies to Amount by which the RQFII weak protection for small inves- emails led the quota for the renminbi qual- Hong Kong to be invested in the whose irrational transactions ex- list yuan-denominated A shares, quota would be expanded tors remained untackled. ified foreign institutional investor mainland’s stock and bond mar- acerbated price fluctuations. would not be launched in the from the current Guo said he launched investi- FBI to scheme to accommodate rising kets within a certain quota. “We are loosening restrictions near future, Guo said. 70 billion yuan gations after receiving com- demand from Hong Kong inves- The increase was initiated by to allow more institutions to take Beijing had in 2009 an- plaints about cadre corruption. tors, but restrictions on capital the Hong Kong authorities, Guo part in the RQFII scheme,” said nounced it would establish an “I’ve heard rumours that you Petraeus inflows and outflows will remain. said, because the current quota Guo. “But it is unrealistic to international board on the the plan was shelved due to con- have to pay 300,000 yuan to invite PUBLISHED SINCE 1903 / VOLUME LXVIII / NO 315 Monday, November 12, 2012 / See live updates at www.scmp.com Policymakers have “agreed in did not match demand. expect all restrictions to be Shanghai Stock Exchange, allow- cerns of market impact, saying an IPO division head of CSRC to SUBSCRIPTION COPY principle” to expand the quota of “Last week, before the 18th removed.” ing foreign corporate giants such the capital pool backed by the dinner, and 500,000 yuan to treat Affair exposed after ONLY – NOT FOR SALE the RQFII programme by 200 bil- party congress started, three The regulator also said the as HSBC Holdings to list A shares. Chinese people’s massive sav- an IPO bureau head,” he said. “I lion yuan from the current 70 bil- main Hong Kong government of- quota for the QFII scheme – the But worries of a market down- ings was big enough. “The intro- have probed into it. The finding is probe into mistress’s lion yuan, said Guo Shuqing ficials in charge of financial issues original dollar-denominated turn prevented the CSRC from duction of the board would con- most of our staff are clean.” harassing messages DIGEST 18TH PARTY CONGRESS TAXATION , China Securities Regula- raised the issue,” he said. Institu- programme – could be lifted if its giving the go-ahead, sources said. cern different laws, accounting tory Commission’s chairman, at tional investors were most wel- 80 billion yuan limit was reached. Guo dismissed rumours that rules and supervision problems. > STUCK IN A RUT? A13 to her apparent rival China to boost foreign investor scheme quota HK and Canada ...... BROADCASTING Associated Press in Washington China is to increase the quota for Hu decision the renminbi qualified foreign The plot surrounding the resig- in deal to end tax nation of CIA chief David Pe- institutional investor scheme from 70 billion yuan to 200 enables a traeus over an extramarital affair billion yuan to satisfy rising thickened yesterday with reports demand from Hong Kong double whammy smoother that his alleged lover had sent e- investors. “We are loosening mails to a second woman seen as restrictions to allow more a threat to her love interest. institutions to take part in the Trade and investment expected to be boosted transfer The scandal started with ha- RQFII scheme,” China Securities rassing e-mails sent by Petraeus’s Regulatory Commission as city signs agreement No 26 on taxation biographer and paramour, Paula > CONTINUED FROM A1 Broadwell, to another woman, chairman Guo Shuqing said...... “But it is unrealistic to expect all There are more than 16,500 who was reportedly so frightened Colleen Lee restrictions to be removed.” Canadians in the city – the congress. Many previously that she went to the FBI several [email protected] > LEADING THE NEWS A3 eighth-largest expat community believed the key reason for Hu to months ago for protection and to – while 500,000 people of Hong retain the top military job was his help track down the sender. Hongkongers working in Canada Kong descent call Canada home. much- rumoured failure to sec- An FBI probe led agents to Appeal for aid to and Canadians employed in Chan said the agreement ure the promotion of his allies in Broadwell’s e-mail account, Hong Kong will have their tax would strengthen economic and the battle for top office that will which uncovered the relation- hearing impaired burdens eased after the two gov- trade ties. He expected it to pro- effectively decide the country’s ship with Petraeus, 60, a former ernments signed a deal to avoid vide an added incentive for firms direction in the next decade. four-star general who earned ac- A group representing students double taxation. in Canada to invest in Hong “For whatever reasons Hu claim for his leadership of the with impaired hearing urged the Currently, income earned by Kong, and vice versa. chooses to relinquish his power, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. government to subsidise Canadians in Hong Kong is tax- The pact will come into force it would be an important incre- The identity of the other maintenance of the external Liang Wengen , the mainland’s richest man and chairman of the Sanyi Group, a machinery manufacturer in Hunan , has called able both here and at home. after both sides complete ratifica- mental step that helps set a new woman and her connection with devices used with cochlear for more participation of private entrepreneurs like him at future party congresses. Liang is a delegate to the congress. Photo: Simon Song Under the deal, the tax they pay tion procedures. The Chief Exec- precedent pointing to smooth Broadwell, 40, a graduate of the implants, which could cost up to here can be offset against tax pay- utive-in-Council will make an or- transfer of power,” said Chen US Military Academy and an HK$60,000. While the Education able in Canada. der under the Inland Revenue Ziming , a Beijing-based Army Reserve officer, were not Bureau provides hearing aids for The same applies for Hong- Ordinance to put it into law, un- political observer. known. According to the Wash- schoolchildren, it says the kongers working in Canada and less the Legislative Council op- Despite talk of the institution- ington Post, the second woman Hospital Authority should be Hong Kong companies with a poses the order. alisation of the succession pro- did not work at the CIA and her responsible for the maintenance permanent base in Canada. The Canada’s withholding tax on cess since the days of Deng in the relationship with Petraeus re- of the devices used with cochlear HU JINTAO SET TO STAND taxes they pay will also be allowed Hongkongers’ investment inter- 1980s, the leadership shake-up mains unclear. implants because it carries out as a credit against tax payable in ests will be capped at 10 per cent, this year was largely chaotic due However, the e-mails indic- the implant surgery. > CITY C1 Hong Kong. Currently, they are down from 25 per cent. to the lack of transparency and ated that Broadwell saw her as a taxed in both places if the income Hong Kong-based airlines checks and balances, he noted. threat to her relationship with the is Hong Kong-sourced. that fly to Canada will be taxed at “This is definitely Hu’s bold- spymaster, the paper said. Strong quake rocks ASIDE AS MILITARY CHIEF The pact was sealed yesterday Hong Kong’s corporate rate of est push for political reform, Concerned that the e-mails during Canadian Prime Minister 16.5 per cent and will not be taxed which has been stuck in an im- Petraeus exchanged with Broad- northern Myanmar Stephen Harper’s visit to the city. in Canada. passe during his tenure.” well raised the possibility of a se- Outgoing leader decides to retire and clear way Hu, who Deng anoin- ers, including retired elders, did It was Hong Kong’s 26th such Patrick Wong Lung-tak, man- Apart from securing his place curity breach, the FBI brought About 12 people were feared ted to succeed Jiang. not want it to become the norm, deal. Professor Chan Ka-keung, aging practising director of ac- in history, Hu’s move would also the matter up with Petraeus dead after a 6.8-magnitude for Xi Jinping, breaking from the unpopular Hu is said to be keen- the sources added. Secretary for Financial Services countancy firm Wong Lam help salvage the image of the directly, according to an official. The FBI approached the CIA earthquake struck northern precedent set by his predecessor Jiang Zemin ly aware of the high There had been rumours Hu and the Treasury, signed the pact Leung & Kwok, said the move scandal-plagued party, which Myanmar 120 kilometres north stakes in his decision would follow Jiang’s precedent to with Canada’s trade minister would benefit the aviation indus- has been mired in the worst polit- director because his e-mails in President try as carriers could save money ical crisis in decades unleashed the matter were in most in- of the country’s second city, ...... whether to retain the cement his legacy, with some Edward Fast. Mandalay. The underdeveloped Marking the first clean trans- Hu Jintao post as CMC chair- saying he might even stay on for Harper, who witnessed the and would no longer have to by the downfall of former Polit- stances sent from a personal ac- Staff Reporters region is a centre for minerals fer of power the Communist man. five years until the next party signing ceremony with Chief work out how much profit was buro member Bo Xilai count, not his CIA one. and gemstones and several Party has seen in two decades, As was the case 10 > CONTINUED ON A3 Executive Leung Chun-ying, generated from flights to and and the blanket of secrecy sur- Major ATV shareholder Wang Zheng and the gang get in the groove during the televised rally staged to fight new free-to-air licences. Photo: Felix Wong Petraeus quit on Friday, end- mines were reported to have Outgoing President Hu Jintao Hu’s move will break with a years ago, the decision has be- said: “This will increase trade and from Canada. rounding generational leader- ing a high-profile career that collapsed. > ASIA A9 will formally relinquish precedent his predecessor Jiang come a centrepiece issue in the > YUAN QUOTA RAISED A3 investment flows while reducing Cathay Pacific said such pacts ship change. might have seen a run for the his position as military chief at Zemin set 10 years ago. once-a-decade leadership suc- > MORE REPORTS A6, A7 incidents of double taxation and had “a positive impact on the Both Chen and Zhang Lifan presidency, a notion he was be- the end of the 18th party congress In 2002, Jiang chose to cling to cession that remains shrouded in > HARRY’S VIEW A12 tax evasion.” business environment”. , a Beijing-based histor- lieved to be considering. HTC, Apple seal deal this week, according to sources. the top military post for two more uncertainty due to factional rifts ian, believed the retirement deci- ATV makes a song and dance about licences The House intelligence com- His decision to opt for com- years after his 13-year reign as and intense horse trading. sion was more to do with person- mittee chairman, Mike Rogers, that ends all litigation plete retirement surprised many party chief ended. Hu did not The sources said the image- al reasons, such as the possibility and the ranking Democratic analysts, who had expected him take over control of the military conscious Hu wanted to avoid that Hu may have lost his fighting Private guards block lawmakers from Tamar Asia beauty contestants strutted that ATV’s resistance stemmed City Telecom, along with i- member, Dutch Ruppersberger, A deal that includes a 10-year to keep the top job at the party’s until September 2004. such controversy and leave be- spirit, than another much-specu- their stuff on a catwalk. from its position as an also-ran in Cable Communications subsid- will meet the FBI deputy director, licensing agreement over Central Military Commission. The decision proved to be im- hind a good reputation, knowing lated scenario that he had been while major investor rails against new operators Wong, surrounded by a sea of the market. “Should there be iary Fantastic Television and Sean Joyce, and the CIA’s acting [television stations] weeded out, PCCW Interactive Media firm HK director, Michael Morell, on patents has brought to an end all Hu, 70 next month, will also mensely unpopular and fuelled he may have more to lose than to upset about his defeat by per- ...... reporters, said: “To issue new lic- what they called a “private ences means the start of a disas- ATV will be the last one. I’m not Television Entertainment, ap- Wednesday to ask questions, in- litigation between Taiwanese step down as party chief at the fierce criticism both inside and gain if he had followed Jiang’s Stuart Lau, Colleen Lee event”. ter.” He said “Taiwanisation” and afraid of losing money. I’m pre- plied in late 2009 and early 2010 cluding how the investigation smartphone maker HTC and congress and as president in outside the party. Many accused precedent. Hu wants to give up and Lo Wei technology giant Apple, HTC March, to make way for his desig- Jiang of jeopardising leadership power and go into full retirement, Pan-democratic lawmakers “politicisation” of the media pared to make profits.” for the licences. came about, according to a se- chief executive Peter Chou said, nated successor Xi Jinping succession plans envisaged by according to the sources. tried to walk into the crowd. But should be avoided. ATV is the lesser-watched of ATV staff members denied nior congressional staffer. without providing any further when the congress con- late paramount leader Deng Jiang’s prolonged stay had set This is Hu’s ATV rallied its staff outside the as Claudia Mo Man-ching, of the Wong dismissed suggestions the two free stations, behind TVB. they had attended under pres- Petraeus has been married for details. > BUSINESS B1 cludes on Wednesday. Xiaoping and upstaging a bad precedent and party lead- Admiralty government head- Civic Party, approached key Asia Shing said issuing new lic- sure. “I’m here voluntarily,” said 38 years to Holly Petraeus, the boldest push for quarters yesterday for a live Television investor Wong Ching, ences went against the develop- Lydia Luk, a veteran member of daughter of the West Point super- broadcast to oppose a “disas- a dozen Mr Asia contestants, all ment of new media. “Why don’t the production team. intendent when he was a student political reform, trous” pledge by the former ad- in tight T-shirts, formed a human [the other companies] develop To Yiu-ming, an associate at the New York school. which has been ministration to issue new lic- wall in front of him. the online platform instead?” he professor of journalism at Baptist Steve Boylan, a retired army EDUCATION ences for free television broad- Mo asked if ATV had breached Should stations said. University, said he believed officer and former Petraeus in an impasse casting. broadcasting rules by broadcast- He questioned whether the ATV’s survival was at risk. spokesman, said: “He is truly re- ATV staff were reportedly ing the protest, which was “pure- be weeded out, market could accommodate “We can experiment with morseful about everything that’s CHEN ZIMING forced to join the protest, for ly based on political messages”. ATV will be the more than two free-to-air sta- having a few more free stations happened. He screwed up, he ESF chief to retire as subsidy row drags on which the station deployed its Asia Club, an ATV subsidiary tions, citing the failed Commer- and see what the market reaction knows he screwed up, now he’s ceived rivals, such as Jiang. “[Un- own security guards to keep or- that organised the rally, put the last one. I’m cial Television in the 1970s. is,” he said. got to try to get past this with his ...... subvention, to the Tong, to recruit a new chief exec- person replacing her will be more like Jiang,] Hu has never been a der at the government offices. number of participants at 400, The rally was organised after A spokesman for the Com- family and heal.” Phila Siu not afraid of ESF, which has been utive officer. reasonable,” parent Christian very ambitious leader who ag- The private guards barred leg- about the same estimate as given City Telecom (HK) said last week merce and Economic Develop- Additional reporting by Agence [email protected] in place since the ESF Some ESF parents were Mueller said. gressively promotes personal islators and teenage counter- by police. losing money that it might seek a judicial review ment Bureau said it was consid- France-Presse was established by happy about Du Quesnay’s im- A member of the ESF Con- agenda,” Chen said. protesters – who supported more The station’s artists sang on the government’s delay in ering the applications “expedi- The chief executive of the English the government in pending exit, saying it was mostly cerned Parents Group, who Zhang also said Hu appeared free-TV licences – from entry to 1990s Canto-pop songs while Mr WONG CHING issuing new licences. tiously and prudently”. > GENERAL LET GUARD DOWN A11 Schools Foundation, Heather Du Heather Du 1967. Parents have her fault that the ESF had failed to asked not to be named because to have been exhausted after a Quesnay, will leave her post next Quesnay criticised ESF’s man- press the government for the his child still studies at ESF, said decade in power. year at a time when the founda- agement for failing to continuation of the subvention. there had been many misman- “I don’t think Hu is really tion is struggling to press the gov- strike a deal with the “I’m happy about it. I hope the agement issues under Du Ques- competent to be a supreme MEDIA ernment to continue its HK$284 government. nay. He criticised the manage- leader, but back then he had little million-a-year subsidy. ESF chairman Carlson Tong ment for offering ESF teachers option as he was hand-picked by An ESF spokeswoman con- Ka-shing stressed that Du Ques- high pay rises while at the same party elders to take up the de- firmed Du Quesnay would leave nay was retiring because she will time increasing fees. manding job,” he said. “Hu may after her contract ends in August. be 65 when her contract ends. Before joining ESF in 2005, Du have been fed up with the seem- Patten says BBC must have The spokeswoman stressed it “Our normal retirement age is I’m happy about Quesnay was chief executive of ingly endless intrigue and power had nothing to do with parents’ 60 but it can be extended on a it. I hope the the UK’s National College for struggle and just wanted to en- dissatisfaction at the progress of case-by-case basis up to 65. School Leadership. She was also sure a safe landing for himself.” ‘thorough, radical overhaul’ negotiations on the subsidy with Heather’s contract was renewed person replacing director of education for Hert- Analysts said while Hu may the Education Bureau. last year by the board for a two- fordshire County Council and the use his full retirement to broker “It’s not because of that. She is year term to August 2013 when her will be more London Borough of Lambeth. better deals for the promotion of simply retiring,” she said. she reaches 65,” Tong said. reasonable his allies, the impact of his depar- As director general steps down after ‘shoddy’ long-time star presenter had personality in the 1960s, 1970s The Education Bureau insists The board has already formed > INSIGHT A13 ture on the balance of power been a paedophile. In his depar- and 1980s, had sexually abused it will phase out the subsidy, or a selection panel, chaired by ESF PARENT > MONITOR, BACK TO BUSINESS among various party factions re- journalism, head of ruling body seeks changes ture statement he said the unac- young girls. Suggestions then surfaced of a mains unclear at the moment...... ceptable standards of the New- “But I think the implied mes- A senior figure in the Conser- snight report had damaged the paedophile ring inside the BBC at Reuters in London sage behind his move is loud and vative Party, and the last gover- public’s confidence in the 90- the time, and a cover-up. Police CHINA BUSINESS clear: he will fully retire and so nor of Hong Kong, Patten told the year-old BBC. George Entwistle and Chris Patten at BBC headquarters Photo: AP have launched an inquiry. FOCUS should other party leaders of his Britain’s BBC must undergo a BBC: “Does the BBC need a thor- “As the director general of the The knives were out for Ent- generation, and particularly radical overhaul in the wake of ough structural radical overhaul? BBC, I am ultimately responsible wistle on Friday after the BBC Jiang and other party elders who “shoddy” journalism which led Absolutely it does and that is for all content as the editor-in- bloated while cash was cut from BBC was that there were more se- apologised for the mistaken alle- Windfall for Gordon Wu constantly try to wield their influ- to the resignation of its chief or its what we will have to do.” chief, and I have therefore decid- programme budgets. nior leaders in the BBC than there gation that an ex-politician had ence long after their retirement,” future will be in doubt, Chris Pat- The BBC director general, ed that the honourable thing for Paxman said Entwistle “has were in the Chinese communist abused children. mainland’s still blazing Chen said. ten, the head of the state-funded George Entwistle, resigned late me to do is to step down,” he said. been brought low by cowards party,” Patten said. The last straw came when SHANGHAI’S But there is little doubt that broadcaster’s governing body, on Saturday just two months into Patten joined critics who said and incompetents.” Entwistle succeeded Mark Entwistle was forced to admit Hu’s departure would be good said yesterday. the job, after the corporation’s a complex hierarchical manage- Patten, in charge of finding Thompson only in September that he had not been told about JAUNDICED EYE unmarried trails at 76 news for incoming leaders. Patten, chairman of the BBC flagship news programme aired ment structure at the BBC was Entwistle’s successor after des- and almost immediately faced the Newsnight report before it “The full retirement of Hu and Trust, said opponents of the BBC, mistaken allegations of child sex partly to blame. One of the BBC’s cribing the Newsnight journalism one of the biggest crises in the aired, nor known or asked who ON THE SKY other leaders will help strengthen especially Rupert Murdoch’s me- abuse against a former leading most prominent journalists, as “shoddy”, said changes need- history of the BBC. the alleged abuser was until the Shoppers cash in on big Hopewell Holdings founder the scope for their successors to dia empire, would take advan- politician. Jeremy Paxman, a Newsnight ed to be made. “One of the jokes I This was the revelation by name appeared in social media. > PAGE A4 discounts offered to mark tackles phase two of Mega run the country the way they in- tage of the turmoil to increase the Entwistle was already under presenter, said that in recent made, and actually it wasn’t all rival broadcaster ITV that the late Singles’ Day > PAGE A8 Tower > BACK TO BUSINESS tend,” Zhang said. pressure on its long-term rival. pressure after revelations that a years management had become that funny, when I came to the Jimmy Savile, a major television > 54 DAYS OF SCANDAL A10 Calls for Patten’s head Rocky path to power Renhe, Lampard in talks BBC chairman faces growing Row with Rothschilds could Chairman of high-flying Frozen passion anger over child-sex scandal derail Indonesian Aburizal Guizhou club confirms Lack of facilities chokes ice hockey’s expansion and director’s £1.3m payout Bakrie’s presidential hopes contact with Chelsea star > HEALTH POST PAGE 6 > LEADING THE NEWS A3 > ASIA A10 > SPORT BACK PAGE

PUBLISHED SINCE 1903 / VOLUME LXVIII / NO 316 Tuesday, November 13, 2012 / See live updates at www.scmp.com / HK$8

DIGEST Room to move 18TH PARTY CONGRESS Blue Book takes fire for British Council claim Already under investigation for a FERRARI SCANDAL claim about Chinese University, the Baptist University-initiated publication Blue Book of Hong Kong is under fire for another claim. It says the native English- MAY COST HU ALLY speaking teacher scheme should be abolished because the British Council’s role in hiring teachers for it from overseas has altered the city’s social and political TOP PARTY POST landscape. The council ceased that role in 1997. > CITY C1 Competitive elections to Central Committee cast to help get Ling re-elected as the Central Committee member, Veterans turn on Ma more uncertainty over future of Ling Jihua, the Ling may still face internal inves- president’s tainted ex-chief of staff, say sources tigation and have to deal with over plan to cut bonus harsh criticism within the party...... But if Hu decides not to help, it Taiwan’s veterans have will leave an embarrassing im- Staff Reporters threatened to unseat President pression that, after staying in Ma Ying-jeou as Kuomintang power for a decade, he cannot chairman and not to vote for The ruling Communist Party is protect his own protégé. KMT candidates in elections set to make the election of its elite Analysts say the increased until a cabinet plan to cut year- Central Committee more com- competitive margins in the pri- end bonuses for retired military petitive, which may cast further mary elections of the Central staff is dropped. > CHINA A7 An estate agent marks down the asking price of a flat in Quarry Bay yesterday. Sales have doubt over the political futures of Committee were a step in the slumped since cooling measures kicked in, despite owners cutting prices. Photo: Sam Tsang several controversial candidates, right direction, but they also not- including Ling Jihua , out- ed the formal election of the Cen- Mainland lending going President Hu Jintao’s Ling Jihua, whose son was killed tral Committee tomorrow was HOUSING former chief of staff, in a crash involving a sports car. unlikely to be competitive. More hits 13-month low sources said. importantly, there is no sign that Nine per cent of the nominees the party will extend the compet- New lending by banks on the are expected to be eliminated the once-in-a-decade leadership itive elections to the Politburo mainland was down last month during the primary elections for succession, especially in the and its Standing Committee. by 13.9 per cent on a year ago, Mid-Levels Gehry flat full membership when the con- wake of the downfall of ex-Polit- Beijing-based analyst Chen the lowest level in 13 months gress Presidium announces the buro member Bo Xilai . Ziming said that without and below the median estimate exact margin today, the sources Although the prospects of sufficient transparency and of 28 analysts, but monetary sets price record for Asia familiar with the party’s inner- Ling, once tipped as a contender openness, the significance of policy is unlikely to be eased workings said. for a seat at the top table of power, such progress was not great. further as the recovery gathers According to delegate Han were dimmed when he was “Although it is nominally pace. > BUSINESS B1 Luxury Opus Hong Kong apartment goes for Spain and the Walt Disney Con- Guiqing , president of the transferred to head the party’s competitive elections, they are cert Hall in Los Angeles. Agricultural Science Institute in United Front Work Department, held separately and behind HK$455 million, or HK$68,000 a square foot Despite the luxury residential Heilongjiang province, he has so far been exempt from closed doors among dozens of market taking a hit from the gov- Blackrock seeks safe ...... who was speaking on the side- formal investigation. delegations and the results will Conduit Road in Mid-Levels ernment’s new measures since lines of the party congress, 19 Party elders and Bo’s support- not be made public before they Yvonne Liu Asian healthcare stake West, which sold for HK$360.7 the record-breaking deal was candidates were eliminated in ers argue that Ling and Bo, who are approved by the Presidium. [email protected] million, or HK$63,999 per sq ft in signed, Poon said he did not the primary elections yesterday. was expelled from the party and What’s more, no one knows how Blackrock, keen for exposure to April last year. expect the buyer to cancel. “I The current Central Committee is facing criminal charges, should the Presidium works or whether the Asian healthcare sector but A buyer has paid HK$68,083 per Ricky Poon, executive direc- don’t think Swire would cut their has 204 full members and 163 not be treated differently. it will overrule the primary elec- wary of stocks’ volatility and square foot for a luxury flat at tor of Colliers International’s resi- asking prices for the remaining alternate members. “Hu has been put in a delicate tion results,” he said. vague corporate governance, Opus Hong Kong, the new Frank dential sales department, be- flats. They would rather keep the Competitive voting margins situation,” one said. plans to gain access indirectly by Gehry-designed residential lieves the buyer was willing to pay flats for leasing. And luxury resi- for the Central Committee at the Even if Hu uses his influence > MORE REPORTS A5-6 investing in US and European building in Mid-Levels East, a a record-breaking price because dential prices have dropped a few previous two party congresses firms with stakes in the Asian record for an apartment in Hong there is a lack of flats bigger than per cent only and the buyer did were 8.3 per cent in 2007 and a healthcare sector. > BUSINESS B4 Kong and Asia in terms of price 6,000 sq ft and it is the latest luxu- not need to pay the new buyer’s little over 5 per cent in 2002. per square foot. ry development in the city. stamp duty and new rate of spe- The 247-member Presidium Data from the Lands Registry The price is almost 6 per cent cial stamp duty,” he said. will review the results of the pri- CITY show the flat, on the 9th floor of higher than that paid for a flat on However, Poon said, sales of mary elections and decide the the building at 53 Stubbs Road, the 8th floor at Opus Hong Kong, luxury flats have dropped signifi- candidates who will enter the for- was sold for HK$455 million on which sold for HK$430 million or cantly since the end of October as mal vote tomorrow at the con- October 17, nine days before the HK$63,657 per sq ft in August. the new stamp duty had kept cluding session of the congress. Big jump in government announced mea- The 12-storey Opus Hong many mainland buyers away. The sources said Ling, once sures to curb property specula- Kong, developed by Swire Prop- “Transaction numbers will drop one of China’s most powerful commercial tion. There is no information on erties, provides 10 flats and two a further 30 to 40 per cent in the men, was in danger of being the buyer. double-level garden apartments coming three to six months and edged out because of dissatisfac- e-mail fraud The 6,683 sq ft flat offers a view with private swimming pools. prices will fall 10 to 15 per cent in tion among more than 2,200 of the city and Victoria Harbour. The flats are 6,000 to 6,900 sq ft. the coming six months,” he said. party delegates about the alleged The price beat the previous Gehry’s previous designs include cover-up of a Ferrari crash that Companies conned out of record, set by a duplex flat at 39 the Guggenheim Museum in > SALES SLUMP A3 killed his son on Beijing’s North Fourth Ring Road and seriously HK$113 million as number of injured two young women. Al- cases quadruples > PAGE C3 though the accident occurred in March, the news emerged only in September. Despite persistent WORLD rumours Beijing has swept the scandal under the carpet, ignor- ing calls for an inquiry into Ling’s role in the incident and its subse- Protesters quent cover-up. This is largely for fear of its to occupy Opus Hong Kong, outside and inside: the costliest per square foot in Asia. Photos: Nora Tam, Felix Wong potentially damaging impact on Starbucks EDUCATION Hijacking of British outlets to highlight tax avoidance by American chain > PAGE A12 Public exams being devalued, principals warn

...... international schools or give former at his school was admit- Almost a quarter of English Linda Yeung extra tutorial support for their ted to HKU’s faculty of medicine Schools Foundation graduates [email protected] children to take international ex- this year on the strength of his this year went on to local univer- aminations?” the chairman of the GCSE A-level results. sities. School principals fear Hong Grant Schools Council, George HKU registrar Henry Wai Students are worried about Kong universities will take in Tam Siu-ping, said. Wing-kun said the university’s their chances of getting into uni- more pupils who have studied He said that ultimately the percentage of first-year degree versity under new admission re- international curriculums at the government should provide places reserved for non-Jupas ap- quirements since the launch this expense of those who take local more university places. plicants had been stable for five year of the Hong Kong Diploma public exams. Tam, who is also the principal years “but it has gone up from a of Secondary Education exam. CITY The University of Hong Kong of Wah Yan College, said a sixth- decade ago, when there were “Parents find it more viable reserves about 20 per cent of its fewer international schools and for their children to do the GCSE first-year degree places for those students doing international cur- and come back via non-Jupas,” taking non-local exams, while the riculum”. said Ronnie Cheng, principal of Mobile firm Hong Kong University of Science Besides those in international the elite Diocesan Boys’ School and Technology has stuck to a fig- schools, non-Jupas candidates (DBS), echoing Tam’s concern. refuses billing ure of 15 to 20 per cent. include those who take associate Kenneth Fung, a fifth-former Students who study interna- % degree programmes and stu- at DBS, is studying to take GCSE A transparency tional curriculums do not go 30 dents in local schools who have Level exams early next year, as are though the local Joint University taken international exams such a number of other pupils in his Programmes Admissions System The percentage of DBS’s IB as the General Certificate of Sec- class. CSL fights customer’s bid to (Jupas) and are known as non- graduates this year who ondary Education (GCSE) or “It seems hard to get good Jupas students. went on to local International Baccalaureate (IB) grades in the diploma,” he said. force it to charge only its “How many families can af- universities curriculum offered at some direct published rates > PAGE C4 ford to send their children to subsidy scheme schools. > FOCUS A4