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31 Provinces Adopt Two Child Policy

On November 25, 2011, Henan Province joined 31 other provinces in allowing the couples who were both the only child in their families to have a second child. The change in policy came about because the “one child policy” had a number of negative effects, including an aging population, the quality of the population, and the gender mix.

According to statistics from the 6th census, published on April 28, 2011, China’s population increased to 1.339 billion from 1.265 billion in 2000. The census revealed that 13.3 percent were 60 years and older which was 3 percent higher than in 2000, while 16.6 percent were  under the age of 14 compared to 27.69 percent in 1990. It was predicted that China’s population will have a net increase of 200 million over the next 30 years reaching 1.5 billion by 2033. Experts are calling for a conservative approach to opening up the “two child policy.”

Source: Xinhua, November 27, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-11/27/c_122340832.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

State Council Information Office Held Training Sessions on Handling Public Emergency Incidents

From November 23 to 25, 2011, the State Council Information Office held training sessions in Beijing on the proper handling of “Public Emergency Incidents." Those attending included the spokesperson from the central media as well as the key personnel in charge of broadcasting local news.

Wang Guoqing, vice-minister of the State Council Information Office spoke at the training. He said the improper handling of sudden public events in the past resulted in negative media reports and unfavorable consequences. He stressed that the goal of the training was to study and learn from past examples in order to improve the media’s ability to handle public emergency incidents.

Source: People’s Daily, November 27, 2011
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/16402017.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

VOA: China to Recruit Technology Experts from Overseas

As China’s demand for technology experts continues to rise, Chinese leaders are more and more conscious of how important it is to have technology experts help China grow. The Chinese government has adopted a series of measures to attract Chinese students who have studied abroad to return to China. The “Thousand People Plan” was introduced at the end of 2008. If offers incentives to attract high tech expertise from overseas to work in China. In June 2010, the State Council issued a mid to long term plan to develop technology experts. At the 10th conference on the international Exchange of Professionals that was held in Shen Zhen on November 5, 2011, the Chinese government announced that it will allow foreigners to hold senior positions in the scientific field or state owned enterprises. It will offer them compensation to match the level of pay they would receive in the U.S. and provide them with long term visas to live in China.

Professor Yan Xuetong, the Director of the Institute of International Studies, Tsinghua University, predicts that the future competition between China and the U.S. will be in technology, education, and expertise. Yan said, “Whichever country can attract the experts will be the most powerful.” He also believes that China doesn’t just need technology experts; it also needs experts who are capable of strategic thinking.

Source: Voice of America, November 17, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111117-china-talent-war-134070808.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: Public Outcry over School Bus Tragedy in Gangsu Province

BBC Chinese reported that on the morning of November 16, 2011, a daycare school bus in Zheng Ning County of Gangsu Province collided with a cargo truck killing 20 children on the bus. The school bus, which had been converted from a 9 passenger vehicle, had 64 students on board at the time of the accident. The report stated that the daycare center had a total of 737 children, but only 4 school buses to use for pickup and drop off.

People were outraged by the tragedy and questioned, “Why do we have so many buses for public transportation but can’t afford a reliable school bus for our children? Our government should take financial responsibility for this.” The accident took place just before the Shenzhou Spacecraft No. 8 returned back to earth. Some people asked, “Why can we guarantee that Shenzhou Spacecraft No. 8 will lift off safely, but we cannot guarantee our children’s safety when they go to school?”.

Source: BBC Chinese, November 17, 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2011/11/111117_china_school_bus.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: Five Guidelines for Promoting Reform of the Culture System

Xinhua published an article that listed five guidelines for promoting reform of the culture system:

1) Stay firm in using Marxist theory as the guideline and be proficient in knowledge of the ideology that is based on socialist theory with Chinese characteristics in order to ensure that we are walking on the correct path.

2) Follow the advanced cultural character of socialism to serve the people and society and to promote an uplifting spirit and a healthy lifestyle.

3) Stay close to reality, life, and the people and encourage the people to play an active role in reforming the culture system.

4) Give the social effect a top priority. Culture products can educate people, provide social ideology with a guiding principal, and bring economic benefits. However when there are conflicts between social and economic effects, the social effect should prevail.

5) Be firm on the open door policy to promote Chinese culture to the world. Developing Chinese culture should strictly follow the right path particularly in establishing the Communist Party’s leadership, the government management body, social supervision, and the related laws.

Source: Xinhua, November 17, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-11/17/c_111173335.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

First Confucius Institute Opened in Switzerland

On November 8, 2011, the first Confucius Institute opened in Geneva, Switzerland, through the collaborative efforts of Renmin University and the University of Geneva. The City of Geneva authorized the Institute to locate its facility in a villa on the shores of Lake Geneva. Wu Ken, China’s ambassador to Switzerland; Jin Yeran, President of the Confucius Institute; Ji Bachen, the President of Renmin University; university officials from Geneva University; and Geneva state officials attended the opening ceremony.

Source: Xinhua, November 9, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-11/09/c_122252926.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Independent Candidates Cut from Running for People’s Congress in Beijing

In Beijing’s recent "election," many independent candidates ran to be nominated as representative to the People’s Congress; however, the Chinese authorities prevented their nomination. Many found their names had been eliminated from the final list of candidates. On November 8, when the election results for the nomination to the People’s Congress in Beijing came in, only the names the government authorities chose appeared. No independent candidates made the list.

Ms. Wu Qing, a professor from Beijing Foreign Language University, said that the election procedure violated the related laws. Wu told Voice of America (VOA), “They did not hold a pre-election but rather used the number of nomination votes each candidate received as the pre-election votes.” “Taking Beijing Foreign Language University as an example, some students were asked to sign a blank recommendation form and didn’t even know who they were recommending. The same thing happened at the China University of Political Science and Law. … Some employees who worked for State Owned Enterprises were fired because they didn’t recommend their company president.”

Wu also disclosed that university students received tremendous pressure from the university authorities. “There were security personnel, secret police, the regular police, and people from my neighborhood at the university. Many students felt unprecedented pressure… The hidden guidelines from the authorities insured that the candidates recommended by the grass roots masses would never make it to the final nomination list.” She said she has made the nomination list seven times in the past, but didn’t make it this time because she was considered “the most difficult People’s Representative to deal with.”

Source: VOA, November 9, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111109-BEIJING-ELECTION-133538593.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCTV to Broadcast in English in Washington DC

According to a VOA report, in 2012, China Central Television (CCTV) will establish a broadcast station in Washington, D.C. and will air 6 hours of English television programming each day. Many view the move as China’s effort to gain international discourse rights and as an investment in gaining soft power in the world.

Financial News also reported that CCTV rented 36,000 square feet of office space at 1099 New York Avenue, which is three blocks from Bloomberg News.

Source: VOA, November 9, 2011
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/news/20111109-cctv-us-133559953.html 

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations