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A Showdown and a Face-off

By Dr. Shizhong Chen

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Many who have been holding their breath over the intense showdown in Hong Kong probably missed a leisure moment of entertainment in Beijing.

They should not, for the event in Beijing gave clues to discern the forces that are trying to direct the outcome of the Umbrella Movement.
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Analyses | | |   Opinion

Huanqiu Assails How Freedom House Ranks China on Internet Freedom

Freedom House recently issued the "Freedom on the Net 2014" report, which states that, around the world, the freedom of the Internet continues to backslide, with China, Syria, and Iran ranked at the bottom of the 65 countries and regions that the U.S. human rights organization monitors. As a routine practice, China’s state newspaper Global Times (Huanqiu) retaliated with criticism against Freedom House. Its response follows.
"Western media reported that most of the funding for the organization (Freedom House) is from the United States government and it has a close relationship with the Department of Defense."
"Now that Transparency International’s recently published 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index dropped China’s rank by 20 places, this is another act of Western organizations to make China sick by using ridiculous rankings. However, because this approach completely disregards the bottom line, the intention of these ideological attacks is easily discernable. Such a negative ranking of China has ruined the reputations of Western organizations among the Chinese People."
"After all, Freedom House’s accusation about China’s lack of network freedom is a reflection of the old-fashioned differences in values and politics between the West and China. Such an accusation can also expand to include ‘lack of press freedom,’ ‘deterioration of its human rights record,’ and so on."
"The U.S. based Freedom House takes a country that has achieved one of the most effective developments of the Internet around the world and ranks it third from the bottom. It’s hard to tell whether this is a real shame of China, or of its own. In any case, the Chinese people’s care for the freedom of the Internet is far more than the ‘concerns’ of some Western organizations. Let’s guess: Freedom House is just a front for the United States to influence China’s own policy."
Source: Huanqiu, December 6, 2014
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2014-12/5229589.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

People’s Daily Accuses Britain of Having a “Colonialist Mentality”

China recently blocked a group of British MP’s from traveling to Hong Kong. While British Prime Minister David Cameron views China’s decision to block the politicians as “a mistaken one,” the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily hurled back criticism, accusing the U.K. of having a "colonialist mentality."
"Whether it is a democracy or not is not for the British to say. The British are interfering with the Hong Kong issue using the excuse of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom.’ When answering questions in parliament, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the Sino-British Joint Declaration provides the Hong Kong people with freedom of speech and  publication, the freedoms of assembly, association, travel, and strikes, while claiming that Britain should support the rights of Hong Kong people. … The problem is that no one can use the excuse of democracy and freedom to break the law. ‘Occupying Central’ disturbs the social order and impairs the overall interests of Hong Kong, but Britain turns a blind eye to it. The British government is more concerned about its own interests, rather than the true interests of the Hong Kong people."
"Frequently interfering with the internal affairs of other countries, forcing the Western values and ideology upon others, and behaving irresponsibly in bilateral relations are all practices that reflect the legacy of a ‘colonialist mentality.’"
Source: People’s Daily, December 4, 2014
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/1204/c1002-26146739.html  
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Signed a $12 Billion Railway Project in Nigeria

On November 20, China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) signed a formal commercial contract to construct the Nigerian coastal railway project in the Nigerian capital city Abuja. The contract is for a total amount of US$11.9 billion.
It is understood that the coastal railway starts from the Nigeria "economic capital" of Lagos in the west, crosses 10 states including Lagos, Delta, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River. It ends at Calabar in the east. The railway, passing the oil producing Delta region, has a total distance of 1402 km, including 22 stations, with a designed speed of 120 km per hour.
On May 5, 2014, the day before Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s official visit to Nigeria, the two sides signed a framework contract for the project with an amount of US$13.1 billion. Later Nigeria adjusted the design and modified the contract amount to US$11.9 billion.
In the past decade, Nigeria has maintained an annual average economic growth of 6.8 percent, becoming Africa’s largest economy. Analysts have noted that the Nigerian coastal railway project marks the Chinese railway construction’s overseas expansion on a larger scale and at a higher level.
Source: China News Service, November 20, 2014
http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2014/11-20/6796906.shtml
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Academy of Engineering Academician: Cyber Security Is the “Fifth Territory”

Ni Guangnan, a computer expert and academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said in a lecture that "Cyberspace has become the fifth territory after land, sea, air, and outer space. Like the other territories, cyberspace must also reflect the country’s sovereignty. To protecting cyber security is to protect national sovereignty."
In his view, both offensive and defensive sides to network security and information security exist. In this sense, independent ownership and control of core technology and equipment, information products, and services are a precondition to ensuring network and information security.
Source: Xinhua, November 11, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/tech/2014-11/11/c_1113196301.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China to Build High-speed Rail in Mexico

On November 4, Xinhua reported that the Mexican Transportation & Communications Ministry announced that an international consortium led by China’s state giant China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) won the bid to build Mexico’s first high-speed rail connecting the capital, Mexico City, with Queretaro. According to Xinhua, this will be the very first 300 kph overseas high-speed rail that is designed and constructed by China, adopting Chinese standards and equipment.
This is Mexico’s largest infrastructure project so far. The high-speed rail connecting Mexico City and Queretaro will be 210 kilometers in length, with a designed speed of 300 kph. The project is planned to be finished within 40 months, with an additional 60-month period of operation maintenance and technical services. The contract amount is US$4.4 billion. The consortium led by CRCC will undertake the design, construction, equipment manufacturing, installation and testing, and maintenance services.
At present, CRCC’s international operations reach 77 countries and regions. The first quarters of 2014 saw new overseas contracts of 114.7 billion yuan (US$18.8 billion), a year-over-year increase of 243.99 percent. The CRCC-built Turkish high-speed rail between the capital city Ankara and the largest city Istanbul was put into operation this year.
Source: Xinhua, November 4, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-11/04/c_1113103242.htm
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

The U.S. Again not Satisfied with China’s RMB Exchange Rate

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the United States government once again expressed to China that it was dissatisfied with the Chinese currency exchange rate, saying the RMB to U.S. Dollar exchange rate was lowered artificially. In a recent meeting in Beijing, the U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin asked the Chinese Finance Minister Lo Jiwei and the Chinese Central Bank Governor Zhou Xiaochuan to have the market determine the RMB exchange rate. The Chinese government tightly controls the RMB exchange rate. Every morning the Chinese central bank sets the central parity of the RMB against the U.S. dollar. However some analysts suggested that China’s purpose in artificially pushing down the Chinese currency is to raise the bar for speculators, not to use it as a weapon in trade.
Source: Sina, October 22, 2014
http://finance.sina.cn/?sa=t74d13992368v39&pos=108&vt=4
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

BBC Chinese: UN Human Rights Committee Called for Universal Suffrage in HK

BBC Chinese recently reported that the United Nations Human Rights Committee officially called for the protection of universal suffrage in Hong Kong’s political system. The committee has a working group that includes 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Hong Kong signed. All 18 members agreed to the Committee’s position. The UN Committee expressed the belief that it is crucial to protect universal suffrage, especially for the right to vote and the right to establish candidacy. Over the past month, tens of thousands of Hong Kong residents took to the streets to protest Beijing allowing only yes-men to become candidates for the head of the Hong Kong government. A member of the working group, French judge Christine Chanet, said that the Committee does not want to see a filtering mechanism for candidacy. China signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1998 as well. 
Source: BBC Chinese, October 23, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/10/141023_un_human_rights_hk
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics