You ready for the Super Bowl? No? Here are some China links

Picture via China Smack

The infamous -- and now viral -- Zhu Yufu poem in full. Someone may well have reported on this earlier, but I got this from Seeing Red in China:

It's Time

It’s time, Chinese!
The time is now
The square belongs to all, and the feet are yours
It’s time to walk to the square to make a choice

It’s time, Chinese!
The time is now
The song is for all, but the throat is yours
It’s time to sing the song from the bottom of your heart

It’s time, Chinese!
The time is now
China belongs to all of us, but the choice is yours
It’s time for you to choose the future of China

Although methinks Zhu Yufu is late. The Chinese have chosen, and now they're wiping the KFC grease off their fingers.

Is Wu Ying being scapegoated... with the death penalty? There's so much corruption in Chinese business that I find myself unable to buy any other explanation for why Wu Ying is getting the death penalty other than the one supplied by Ye Kuangzheng: "The government officials' joint letter demanding Wu Ying's death is not just to silence her but to threaten others." [Global Voices]

Jim Yardley on basketball in China: "The N.B.A. Is Missing Its Shots in China." [NY Times Magazine]

Another good read from Sinostand. "But in spite of what many Chinese and most foreigners seem to think, China has one of the weakest central governments in the world. It must oversee tens of thousands of local fiefdoms, so even when the top leaders try to do the right thing, their orders get diluted, reinterpreted or ignored through multiple levels of corrupted bureaucracy. // Like most groups throughout history though, the party is reluctant to give up any of its absolute power. It clings to the notion that it can use its power to launch internal crackdowns and scare corrupt officials straight. But this approach has been failing for decades. For every situation it rectifies, dozens more pop up. // Only by outsourcing its supervisory role to commoners and media empowered by a rule of law enforced from the top can China’s model become sustainable. China is the frog in heating water and time is running out. Hopefully the laobaixing will realize stability at all costs is usually the most potent recipe for chaos." [Sinostand]

Two shorties but goodies from China Hearsay: "Irresponsible Reporting on Apple-Foxconn" and Hong Kong vs. mainland. [China Hearsay]

Slightly late with this, but it's quite good. Begin reading here: "The older generation -- which largely controls the Chinese Communist Party -- is worried that it is losing control of the media and is trying to bring television back to its traditional socialist roots. Under this paradigm, the function of the media is not to entertain the masses, but to educate the people, build social solidarity, and bolster state power. For these individuals, Chinese television has grown too western and culturally degrading. // There seems to be a very real fear among Beijing's elite that if left unchecked, television programming could lead to Chinese cultural decline. Some may quickly dismiss or even ridicule this concern, however it becomes more understandable if we consider the content of much of American television programming today -- such as Jersey Shore, Jerry Springer, Mob Wives and Toddlers and Tiaras.... The officials in Beijing look at the United States and see a nation with a failing economy, a burgeoning deficit, and a dysfunctional political system. They also see an American media replete with trashy television, scandal-prone Hollywood stars, and drug addicted pop stars. Although many Americans may not necessarily see a connection between the two, the officials in Beijing do." [Daniel Wagner and Michael Doyle, Huffington Post]

"Well, we’d rather die in Beijing than live in Shanghai." Well said, Jonny White. [the Beijinger]

NON-CHINA READ: "If [Israel attacks Iran] does happen, many Americans will undoubtedly be entirely supportive because they know (at least the ones who read American newspapers and listen to their government officials) that Iran is the Evil-est since Saddam’s Iraq." [Glenn Greenwald, Salon]