Xinhua News Agency, Jinan, April 17th　Title: Small speculators claim to have invested 1 million yuan and earned 1 million yuan-revealing the speculation behind "garlic is cruel"

　　Xinhua News Agency "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Yuan Junbao and Liu Jinhui

　　Recently, "garlic you malicious" once again. According to the investigation of Xinhua Viewpoint reporters in Jinxiang, Shandong, Zhongmu, Henan and other major garlic producing areas, the decline in output and market supply and demand are the decisive factors of this wave of "garlic you are ruthless" market, but there are also many speculators who add fuel to the flames.

　　In the eyes of speculators, garlic market is like a casino. If you bet right, you can get rich overnight and return home in a luxury car; If you make a mistake, you will lose everything, and the debt collector will make it difficult for you to return home. Speculators influence prices through various means. Some small speculators bluntly said that "they invested 1 million yuan this year and almost earned 1 million yuan", and the funds of large speculators even exceeded 100 million yuan.

　　"Once in heaven, once in hell" is a big casino speculator with funds exceeding 100 million yuan.

　　"The world garlic sees China, and China garlic sees Jinxiang". In Nandianzi Garlic Market on Jincheng Road in Jinxiang County, hundreds of garlic brokers gather every day. It is known as "Garlic Wall Street" in the industry, and the garlic price in the whole country and even the whole world is dominated by it.

　　Jinxiang is one of the main garlic producing areas in China. The garlic in Jinxiang and several surrounding counties and cities accounts for more than half of the garlic production in the main garlic producing areas, and the inventory is more than 60%. Here, it is no secret that "garlic is fried". Sometimes a batch of garlic is changed hands several times without moving in the cold storage. Driven by the "garlic you are malicious" market, many investors become rich overnight.

　　"I invested 1 million yuan this year and almost earned 1 million yuan." Lao Cheng, a garlic merchant in Mamiao Town, Jinxiang County, said that he is only a small family, and the funds of more than 10 million yuan are considered medium, and some large families have funds of over 100 million yuan. Lao Cheng saved 200 tons of garlic last year, which was about 5 yuan/kg at the time of collection, and this year’s selling price was about 12 yuan/kg. Excluding the storage cost of 1 yuan per kg, he earned almost 5 yuan per kg.

　　Mr. Sun, a garlic investor in Linyi, Shandong Province, regretted not investing in garlic this year. "A friend earned 4 million yuan and just drove back a Mercedes-Benz with more than 1 million yuan two days ago."

　　It is understood that in July last year, when jinxiang garlic began to purchase and put into storage after harvest, the price was about 4.7 yuan/kg, but it reached 12.8 yuan/kg in mid-March this year, up 170%. "The highest price this year has exceeded the high point in 2010." Yang Guihua, executive director of Jinxiang Garlic Industry Information Association and secretary general of China Garlic Industry Information Alliance, said. 2010 is the year when "garlic is cruel" was widely known.

　　Huge profits also mean huge risks. The price of garlic peaked in 2010, 2012 and 2016, while it was lower in other years. Especially at the end of 2008, the price of garlic once fell to only a few cents or even a few cents a catty.

　　Zhongmou county, Henan Province is also an important garlic producing area. Mao Xiaoan is a garlic broker in zhongmou county, and has been working for 20 years. "I lost almost all my money in 2008, and I didn’t pay off the loan until last year." He said. Lao Cheng also told reporters that in 2012, the price of garlic fluctuated greatly, and he lost more than 600,000 yuan. Half of the money invested is your own, and the other half is raised by relatives and friends.

　　In 2012, a foreigner named "Zhu Laosan" came to Jinxiang. "At that time, he brought hundreds of millions of yuan of funds. As a result, after a large number of purchases, the price rose rapidly in the short term but fell quickly, but lost more than 100 million yuan." An industry insider in Jinxiang County said.

　　In the eyes of some garlic merchants, investing in garlic is gambling. Although they know that there are huge risks, garlic merchants still enjoy it. "If you earn money, you want to earn more, and if you lose money, you want to make money."

　　"Fried garlic" such as "stock trading" runs through the whole cycle of production, warehousing and sales.

　　According to Cui Xiaona, an agricultural product analyst at Zhuo Chuang Information, there are three reasons for this round of garlic price increase: First, the output has declined; Second, the demand for domestic demand and exports has not decreased or even increased; The third is hype. "In 2014, the national output decreased by about 8%-10%. The heavy snow and cold wave at the end of 2015 and the beginning of this year aggravated the expectation of garlic production reduction this year."

　　In the eyes of most garlic merchants, market supply and demand are the most fundamental factors that determine the price of garlic. "There are more garlic, and it is difficult for you to fry again." However, they also admit that speculation has played a role in fueling the flames, intensifying the fluctuation range of prices, and "anything can be used" in the process of speculation.

　　"At present, traditional business is not easy to do. Some big speculators, such as some real estate developers in Northeast China and Shanghai, who hold capital, have a hand of 30,000 to 40,000 tons. When there was less garlic on the market in March and April of the following year, they began to drive up the price and create the expectation that the price of garlic would rise sharply. " Liu Shaochen, president of zhongmou county Refrigeration and Preservation Association, said.

　　The reporter’s investigation found that the general expectation of garlic production reduction this year was the initial factor of garlic price increase, but in the process of news dissemination, some of them were exaggerated or even artificially used. "At that time, in the garlic exchange group, some people released news of garlic production in some areas, but it was later confirmed that it was not so serious." A garlic operator in Jinxiang said that especially at the end of February this year, garlic merchants held a fresh-keeping industry conference in Shandong. The data from the meeting said that the national inventory was only 600,000 tons. Since that day, garlic has started a "crazy rise" mode.

　　In addition to making a fuss about the true and false news, according to many insiders, in the process of price manipulation, big garlic merchants have many means, one of which is to buy and sell themselves, create price illusions, and guide other garlic merchants to follow suit; Second, when preparing for shipment, we bought it at a higher price, but the actual purchase volume was small, and at the same time, we secretly signed a large number of orders for shipment. "It is very similar to stock trading, and various methods and means are used, even more." An industry insider said.

　　According to industry insiders, in recent years, in order to ensure the source of garlic, garlic merchants have generally begun to "secure land" before garlic goes on the market, that is, to buy future garlic in advance at a certain total price. "Gambling garlic has run through the whole cycle of garlic production, warehousing and sales."

　　When does Garlic City Casino close?

　　Although the price of garlic has skyrocketed, for many garlic farmers, the direct benefits are few. Chen Dongfeng, a garlic farmer in Yuzhuang Village, Wang Pi Town, Jinxiang County, said that he had to put it in storage before September of the previous year. The price he sold was 4.4 yuan/kg, and it didn’t matter how it rose after that. All the people who made money were fried garlic.

　　With the listing of new garlic in various places, the price of jinxiang garlic has dropped to about 8.4 yuan/kg. Experts in the industry said that the most fundamental thing to reduce the skyrocketing garlic is to stabilize the planting area and output, and on this basis, increase the release of authoritative information, increase market transparency and reduce the space for speculation.

　　It is understood that Jinxiang County has introduced garlic price insurance to promote the enthusiasm of garlic farmers. Yang Guihua said that the insurance price is determined by the average price in previous years, planting cost and other factors to protect the interests of garlic farmers. Chen Dongfeng and other garlic farmers said, "This is a good guarantee for us."

　　Some insiders believe that it is difficult to identify and supervise garlic speculation. On the one hand, there are still different views in the industry on whether the phenomenon of hoarding goods and reluctance to sell goods belongs to market behavior or artificial manipulation; On the other hand, even if large merchants are United, it is difficult for relevant departments to grasp specific evidence.

　　How can we reduce hype? Yang Guihua and others believe that authoritative information release should be increased to reduce unreasonable expectations. Some insiders suggest that on the basis of standardization, futures trading should be moderately carried out to achieve an effective balance of multiple short positions, so as to stabilize the price of garlic.

On June 10th, a large number of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) groups and their supporters held a grand rally in Tel Aviv, Israel’s most prosperous city. They marched along the main streets of Tel Aviv waving rainbow flags symbolizing minority groups. The "Pride Parade" held in Tel Aviv every summer is one of the most well-known events in Israel. Its scale is famous in the world, and sexual minorities from all over the world come to participate every year. Tel Aviv is one of the most friendly cities to LGBT people in the world. Every year, when the pride parade is held, almost the whole city of Tel Aviv enters carnival activities, and the streets and alleys are filled with rainbow flags.

However, in the holy city of Jerusalem, which is only an hour’s drive from Tel Aviv, its world-famous theme is always religious conflict and conservatism. Jerusalem has the largest orthodox Jewish community in the world, and the voices of sexual minorities are rarely heard. But what most people don’t know is that the "pride parade" has also been going on in Jerusalem for twenty years.

Different from the tolerance and revelry of freedom and openness of sexual orientation shown in Tel Aviv’s parade, the pride parade in Jerusalem is always carried out in protest and shouting. The author participated in the "Pride Parade" in Jerusalem this year, and deeply felt that the theme of this parade was not simply to support LGBT groups, but a struggle between a few Jewish secularists living in Jerusalem, the city known as "Israel’s eternal capital", and left-wing groups.

国旗游行 VS “骄傲游行”

就在特拉维夫“骄傲大游行”举行的十天前，6月2日星期四下午，众多以色列性少数群体，及持性开放态度的自由主义者在西耶路撒冷的自由钟公园（Gan HaPa’amon）集结，他们同样盛装打扮，同样挥舞着各式各样的彩虹旗与标语向耶路撒冷市中心最繁华的乔治王大街与独立公园（Gan HaAtsmaut）进发。

6月2日，耶路撒冷性少数群体的游行队伍。 本文图片均为 作者供图

对特拉维夫这样一座标榜国际化、自由化与世俗主义的现代都市来说，当彩虹旗挂满大街小巷时，标志着特拉维夫进入了狂欢节。同样的符号在耶路撒冷却完全不适用。但耶路撒冷也不甘寂寞，耶路撒冷的狂欢节便是以色列国旗飘扬在耶路撒冷全城之日。每年5月份左右，在耶路撒冷会举行盛大的国旗游行，以纪念1967年第三次中东战争以后以色列从阿拉伯人手中兼并东路撒冷，东西耶路撒冷重新合并为一个城市。理所当然，国旗游行的主题便是宣示以色列对耶路撒冷的主权，以及耶路撒冷是以色列“神圣而不可分割”的首都。

On the day of the national flag parade, the annual mandatory event is that a large number of young Israelis wave the national flag of Israel’s blue and white satellite and flood into Damascus Gate, the Palestinian-inhabited area of Jerusalem, and cross the Muslim area of the old city to reach the Western Wall, the holy place of Judaism. The whole process vented contempt and hatred for the Palestinians. On May 29th this year, a grand flag parade was just held in Jerusalem.

It seems that there are some feelings of singing against the national flag parade. Just five days later, on June 2, the "Pride Parade" followed in Jerusalem. However, unlike the flamboyant style and joyful atmosphere of the national flag parade, the "Pride Parade" appeared tense and angry in the holy city. In order to ensure the safety of the "Pride Parade", the Israeli police blocked all intersections along the parade, and they were guarded by police at intervals. A friend who took part in the parade told me, "I feel that there are more policemen in Jerusalem than people who took part in the parade."

Such a large-scale police protection is due to the fact that in the "pride parade" in Jerusalem in previous years, ultra-orthodox Jews often attacked the "pride" who participated in the parade. They thought that support for homosexuality was not allowed in religion, and these "unclean" people marched in the holy city completely blasphemed God and defiled the holy city. Even the "proud people" who participated in the parade were killed by Jewish orthodox extremists who opposed the parade.

Police on the streets of Jerusalem

Therefore, very different from Tel Aviv, the "Pride Parade" in Jerusalem not only has strict security measures, but also the participants’ emotions are mainly anger, and the slogan also highlights the "equal rights" for sexual minorities.

The slogan most frequently shouted in this parade is "Achad Shtaim Achad Shtaim Ga ‘avah Beyerushalaiim". The implication of this slogan is self-evident, that is, in ordinary times, sexual minorities are not proud in Jerusalem, but live in verbal abuse and personal attacks by various religious groups. Many slogans related to religious issues were also displayed in the procession, such as "Experience the Magic of Creation" and "Chaviv Adam SheNivrah BeTselem". There were also marchers who changed the small round hat (Kippa) worn by Jewish men, one of the symbols of Judaism, into a rainbow color. Obviously, this kind of parade is a protest and demonstration against the religious conservative groups that dominate in Jerusalem. The purpose of the marchers is not only equal rights for sexual minorities, but also the pursuit and maintenance of the secular lifestyle.

A rainbow-colored round hat (Kippa)

It’s not just about the LGBT community

What is even more shocking to the author is that this demonstration shows not only the resistance of secularism and religionism, but also the sympathy for the Palestinians. There are also people in the parade shouting "Enough military occupation!" (Daii LeKibush), "It is illegal to expand settlements!" (Ma’achaz Lo Chuqi) and other slogans of the Israeli left-wing camp. These slogans reflect the affirmative movement pursued by this March, not only for Israel’s sexual minorities, but also for the wider oppressed Palestinians.

These slogans also give us a deeper understanding of this pride parade: that is, different attitudes towards LGBT groups are a microcosm of Israel’s complicated and divided internal politics.

The pride parade in Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv people’s support for the parade not only represent Tel Aviv’s opening and internationalization, but also represent the opposition of secularist groups and left-wing political groups symbolized by Tel Aviv to religious groups and right-wing political groups represented by Jerusalem. Israeli society can also maintain its own pluralism and democracy in such polarization and opposition. In order to vividly describe the extreme division and diversification of Israeli society, some scholars have put forward the concepts of "internationalized Tel Aviv" and "jihadist Jerusalem".

This year’s pride parade in Jerusalem can show the momentum of tit-for-tat with the flag parade, and it is also related to the great changes in Israeli politics.

In June last year, the new Israeli government was established, which ousted former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his conservative right-wing political and religious ruling Coalition, and formed an "all-political spectrum ruling Coalition" that transcended the ideological dispute between the left and the right. Holovitz, the current Israeli Health Minister, fully demonstrated the political significance of this "Pride Parade". Because Holovitz himself is a homosexual and the leader of the left-wing Jewish party Meretz.

Holovitz’s political party is one of the important members of the current government and controls the Israeli Ministry of Health. At the moment when the epidemic is raging, the first important thing that Holovitz did after he became the Minister of Health was not to target Covid-19, but to approve the inclusion of blood donation of healthy homosexuals in the blood bank. This policy fully shows that one of the aims of Meretz Party is to strive for equal rights for LGBT groups and eliminate discrimination against sexual minorities in Israeli society. What’s more, another aim of the party is to pursue the coexistence of Arabs and Jews and peace between Israel and Palestine.

The sympathy of the "proud people" for the Palestinians has indeed won many Palestinians’ recognition of Israel. Because in Palestinian society, like orthodox Judaism, Islam’s attitude towards sexual minorities is extremely conservative and strict. Therefore, some Palestinian sexual minorities choose to embrace Israel in pursuit of personal freedom and normal life. I once interviewed a Palestinian student studying in Hebrew University. He came from a traditional Muslim family in East Jerusalem. His grandfather was a Palestinian refugee in exile in the Gulf countries, and he was able to return to Jerusalem with his family in the 1990s. However, he abandoned these "proud" identities of many Palestinians and chose to apply for Israeli citizenship. The reason he told is simple: "Because I am a homosexual, I am very sad to live the life I want in the Palestinian community. I prefer the Israeli society because it is more friendly to homosexuals."

It sounds like he can be a "real pride" in Israel. Therefore, it may not be difficult for us to understand the increasing number of Palestinians applying for Israeli citizenship every year released by some Israeli institutions in recent years. These people may not all be LGBT groups, but they are more likely to be individualists who pursue secular life. They may think that in another more diversified and open society, they can have more opportunities to pursue the secular lifestyle they want.

(Liu Bingchen, Ph.D. student, Department of Political Science, Hebrew University, Israel)

　　In 2016, we not only witnessed the continuous innovation of motorcycles in China, but also ushered in the first year of the development of domestic ADV models. In this year, many excellent independent brands, joint venture brands and imported brands launched a variety of new cars, which covered all the cars. Now 2016 has become history. In 2017, there will be a number of newly listed models to meet with domestic riders. Let’s take a look at what new models below 500cc will be listed this year.

　　This article includes eight new cars under 500cc that riders are most concerned about. Except for the off-road version of TRK502, all other models are brand-new and debut (note: the following introduction order is not ranked).

　　Haojue Suzuki DL250:

　　DL250 caught fire at Chongqing Mobo Fair. Although it was not as beautiful as its cousin GSX250R, it left a deep impression on people. This car comes from the same platform as the familiar GW250, but its appearance has changed greatly. The overall style of the car body inherits the design characteristics of Suzuki V-Strom family models, and there are huge V-Strom logos on both sides of the "bird’s beak" of the DL250.

　　Estimated listing date:Spring and summer of 2017

　　Estimated selling price:27,000-30,000 yuan

　　Vehicle type:Multifunctional station wagon; Adventure car

Click to view the real shot of Haojue Suzuki DL250 adventure car at Chongqing Mobo Fair.

　

Benagli TRK502 off-road version:

TRK502 is a blockbuster that Benagli dropped on the domestic ADV market in 2016. It can be said that the appearance of TRK502 completely activated the wave of domestic ADV, and the appearance designed by the Italian design team fascinated countless domestic consumers. The gold displacement of 500cc double cylinders also lowered the threshold for owning it. If there is anything missing from TRK502, it is that the off-road version that consumers are most looking forward to has not arrived. The TRK502 cross-country version has 19-inch spokes and 17-inch spokes, and at the same time, the position of the exhaust pipe is improved, so that the cross-country ability of the whole vehicle is improved to a certain extent.

Estimated listing date:The second half of 2017

　　Estimated selling price:37,000-40,000 yuan

　　Vehicle type:Adventure car

Click to view the test drive experience of Benagli TRK502, the most popular rally car.

　

Benagli Leoncino (lion cub)

The cub is the first Scrambler in Benagli built by the 500cc twin-cylinder engine on TRK502. The biggest highlight of this car lies in its slightly retro appearance. The spokes and wheels in the front 19 inches and the rear 17 inches are matched with off-road tires, which makes people think of Ducati’s Scrambler. The two cars are similar, but the cub looks more "wild". Scrambler style became popular at the end of 2016. Last year, even BMW’s R nineT launched the corresponding Scrambler model, so in the foreseeable future, the cubs will gain a good market share in China.

Estimated listing date:The second half of 2017

　　Estimated selling price:35,000-38,000 yuan

　　Vehicle type:Scrambler； Street car; Retro car