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China’s Scholar: Major Issues in Income Disparity

China Review News republished a People’s Daily article by Yang Yiyong, Director of the Social Development Institute, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In the article, Yang listed the major issues of income disparity in China:
– Disparity between urban income and farmland income;
– Disparity in farmland income between developed regions and under-developed regions;
– Disparity among different industries.

The gap in the initial income distribution is widening because state-owned enterprises’ monopoly power enables them to seek high profit and thus high income, and lower income and inadequate social protection to laborers who have a lower social status. The government also lacks an effective mechanism to achieve a balance in income distribution. That’s due to the lack of a well-established personal income tax system and social security system and the disparity in social welfare among different groups of people.

Source: China Review News, September 7, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1014/3/8/6/101438691.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=101438691&mdate=0907080330

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Top 10 Largest Chinese Enterprises All State Owned

Lianhe Zaobao reported that, in a recently published list of the 500 largest Chinese enterprises, state-owned enterprises occupied all of the top 10 positions. With 1.39 trillion Yuan ($207 billion dollars) in revenue, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation continued to hold the top position for the sixth year in a row. State owned companies dwarfed their privately owned counterparts. Among the 60 largest companies with over 100 billion Yuan ($15 billion dollar) in revenue, only five were privately-held, while all others were state-owned.

Source: Lianhe Zaobao, September 5, 2010
http://www.zaobao.com/zg/zg100905_001.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Falun Gong Lawsuit against Jiang Zemin Appears on Baidu

Chinascope has been informed that on Baidu, the heavily censored Internet search engine, users can find extensive information about Falun Gong practitioners’ lawsuits against Jiang Zemin. When searching regarding the Spanish National Court’s indictment of Jiang Zemin and other CCP officials for persecuting Falun Gong, internet surfers used the search terms "the lawsuit against Jiang in Spain" (西班牙诉江); Baidu returned 450,000 results. When searching for “the lawsuit against Jiang in Argentina" (阿根廷诉江), a lawsuit which resulted in an arrest warrant for Jiang Zemin sent through INTERPOL by an Argentine judge, Baidu returned 179,000 results. In an initial scan of the articles, many were found to have quotes directly from Falun Gong practitioners.

With an extremely tightly controlled media, Baidu’s loosening up of information on lawsuits against Jiang is very likely to have complicated political maneuvering behind it.

Source: Reader’s feedback. September 3, 2010

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

International Herald Leader: How Should China Expand Its Foreign Aid?

China’s foreign aid is to serve its national interest, and not to fulfill a so-called “international responsibility” that is “forcibly imposed” on China, an International Herald Leader article stated. It made this statement to rebut Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, who suggested China take more responsibility to provide aid to Pakistan after its flood catastrophe. The article argued that foreign aid is an important means of foreign diplomacy, and its target is selective and different from country to country. China should provide more aid to its close allies, so that it can attract more friends.

Source: International Herald Leader, August 30, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-08/30/c_13469316.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

New Public Service Officers Took Oath in Beijing

On August 31, 2010, the CCP Central Organization Department, Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security, and State Administration of Civil Service jointly organized an oath ceremony for new public service officials of the central government. More than 1,000 public service officials took the oath: “To support the leadership of the CCP; to protect national security, honor, and interests; …” They will each participate in one of 11 training sessions from July to September. The training’s main contents include: the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics and other public service topics.

Source: Xinhua, August 31, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-08/31/c_12503922.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Huanqiu: Be Alert to the U.S. Use of Its Hegemony to Reduce Debt

China Review News republished an article from Huanqiu warning that the U.S. is trying to use its dominant military power to reduce its debt. The article argued that the U.S. faces two issues: the crisis of the national debt and its over expanded military power. The U.S. is losing its political and economic dominance over the world. The only thing it has is the absolute advantage of its military. The U.S. is actually bankrupt in its fiscal budget. Its foreign policy’s mission is to attract U.S. dollar assets back to the U.S. to help it reduce the debt crisis. That means depriving other nations of wealth. The U.S. might also use its military power to achieve that goal.

Source: China Review News, August 31, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1014/3/1/6/101431617.html?coluid=148&kindid=0&docid=101431617&mdate=0831001542

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Wen Jiabao: Advancing Political System Reform

Wen Jiabao stated “(We) should not only advance economic system reform, but also advance political system reform. Without the guarantee of political system reform, the results of the economic system will be lost, and (China’s) modernization goal won’t be reached.” Wen made this speech when he visited Shenzhen City on August 21, 2010. China News Service reported that Wen’s “political reform” statement has profound meanings behind it.

The Epoch Times pointed out that Wen’s speech exemplified that the discord between the CCP “Reformists” and the “Conservatives” has surfaced amidst an intensified power struggle for the upcoming 18th Party Congress. The “Conservatives,” the majority of whom are the CCP “Princelings,” want to have Xi Jinping as the new President and Bo Xilai as the new Prime Minister. The “Reformists” wish to drive the Princelings out of the power center and endorse Li Keqiang as the President and Wang Qishan as the Prime Minister. Wen’s speech is a strong statement by the “Reformists.” Wen also talked about political system reform during his interview with NHK in Tokyo on June 2.

Sources:
1. China News Service, August 23, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/hb/2010/08-23/2483336.shtml
2. The Epoch Times, August 23, 2010
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/10/8/23/n3003233.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

PLA Conducting Information-Based Training

The PLA’s seminar and viewing activity, coded as “Sharpened Sword 2010,” on military training under information-based conditions, started in Beijing on August 23. It lasted for five days. More than 100 mid-level or senior officials from the PLA and the Armed Police will discuss major military issues, including how to improve combat capability over information systems and advance the transition of military training towards information-based training.

Since 2007, the PLA’s military training has been transitioning towards information-based training. It now includes base training, simulation training, and Internet training and focuses on being under complicated electro-magnetic conditions.

Source: Xinhua, August 23, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-08/23/c_12476015.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military