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All posts by RWZ - 234. page

Ministry of Health: Accommodating Police Operations in Level 2 Hospitals and Above

On May 4, 2012, Xinhua reported  that the Ministry of Health was sending out an emergency notice to require government health care units at all levels to cooperate with the police system to establish permanent police operation units in all level 2 hospitals and above. (Level 2 hospitals, as defined in a Chinese sense, are hospitals that provide medical treatment and care to residents in multiple communities and that conduct certain medical research. Generally speaking, hospitals at the county and city levels are all level 2 and above.) The emergency notice claimed that this order was to enhance safety for both doctors and patients and to maintain a “normal order of health care.” The notice also required all affected hospitals to install necessary equipment to enforce 24 hour security monitoring and to implement a 24 hour patrol duty system. The Ministry also required improvement in the training of health care workers, the standardization of service procedures, and the enhancement of the capability to handle emergencies.  

Source: Xinhua, May 4, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-05/04/c_111891413.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: Fighting Internet Rumors is an All Encompassing Battle

Xinhua recently published a short commentary on the importance of fighting “Internet rumors.” The commentary suggested that Internet based rumors spread more widely and faster than “traditional” rumors that spread by word of mouth with people talking to one another. The author expressed the belief that the battle to fight Internet rumors requires the involvement of many layers of society and the use of three important means: (1) The government should introduce systematic and routine Internet monitoring procedures and prosecute those who distribute rumors. (2) The use of cutting-edge technologies should be increased. For example, advanced data mining technology can be employed to analyze Internet user’s behavior and distribution models like the U.S. researchers did to analyze high volume Twitter traffic. (3) Traditional media should adjust to the era of new technology to provide better guidance in the formation of public opinion. This is considered a good way to limit the room for rumors to develop.

Source: Xinhua, May 3, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2012-05/03/c_123073264.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China Economy: China should Attack the Philippines Militarily

Zhou Erquan, an associate professor at the College of the Air Force Command, recently wrote an article that was published in China Economy. Zhou called for a military attack against the Philippines, “Otherwise they will not awaken.” He suggested that the Philippines is still trying to make the situation in the South China Sea worse. "They figure that the United States is a country they can count on to be reliable.” The article expressed the belief that the United States will not engage militarily. Instead, the U.S. is only interested in muddying the waters and playing the role of judge. The author also suggested that China’s relationship with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will not be damaged by a small military conflict because most of the ASEAN countries would continue doing business with China. Zhou concluded that too much “peace talk” would send the wrong message, namely, that China lacks confidence. He recommended the strategy of “attack early, attack quickly, and attack heavily.”

Source: China Economy, May 3, 2012
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201205/03/t20120503_23291697.shtml

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Local Governments Face High Pressure as Debts Mature

SecuTimes recently reported on the issue of local governments facing pressure due to debts that will mature at a peak time in 2012. According to the National Audit Office, it is estimated that local government debts amounting to RMB 3 trillion (US$477 billion) are expected to mature this year. With the adjusted interest rate, 2012 is the year in which local governments face the highest risk of defaulting on their debts. By the end of 2010, total local debts reached RMB 9.67 trillion (US$1.54 trillion). In fact, local governments never planned to pay off their debts with budgeted fiscal funds. Instead, nearly all expected payments were based on anticipated land sale income that was not included in the official budget. However, the cooling housing market has caused a significant decline in land sales. It is estimated that the funding gap for these debts is about RMB 500 to 1000 billion. In the meantime, local governments are required to fund housing construction plans for low income families. This will further increase the likelihood of a debt crisis.

Source: SecuTimes, April 28, 2012
http://news.stcn.com/content/2012-04/28/content_5510372.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

East Day: China May Have Built a Carrier Electromagnetic Catapult System

East Day, the large news site based in Shanghai, recently republished a Russian report on the successful completion of building the Electromagnetic Catapult System for Chinese aircraft carriers. The Chief Designer, Ma Weiming, received honorable recognition from the Central Military Commission. Ma got his Doctor’s degree at Tsinghua University in 1996 and was elected a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2001. According to the report, the Carrier Electromagnetic Catapult System is more than 100 meters in length and has a sophisticated power supply and command system. Its key component is an energy storage system that can accumulate enough energy in 45 seconds. Each Catapult System may consume 4 MW of power. An aircraft carrier with 4 Catapult Systems may need 60 MW to power all systems. This suggests that China’s future aircraft carriers may have to employ nuclear power.

Source: East Day, April 28, 2012
http://mil.eastday.com/m/20120428/u1a6520067.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Ministry of Commerce: First Quarter Foreign Trade Slowed Down

China Economy recently reported that the Ministry of Commerce released a first quarter foreign trade review showing the market’s movement in six key areas: (1) The import and export growth rates significantly slowed down, which was a continuation of the direction established in the last quarter of 2011. (2) Chinese exports to Europe suffered a decline, while trade with emerging markets showed rapid growth. (3) Labor-intensive products (such as shoes) recorded very slow growth, while mechanical and electrical products exhibited healthy growth. (4) Coastal provinces reported much slower growth than the Middle West provinces. (5) Private companies were responsible for more than half of the growth in foreign trade. (6) Import growth significantly slowed. Some commodities were produced in much larger quantities, with lower prices.

Source: China Economy, April 27, 2012
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201204/27/t20120427_23280625.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Global Times: Increased Activity at Chinese Naval Bases

On April 20, 2012, Global Times reported that, given the background of the recent conflict with the Philippines, the South China Sea Fleet of the Chinese Navy is reportedly having much more activity in the region. The Chinese Navy is improving the underground ammunition repository and new construction is being completed. Also, at least one of the three 094 nuclear submarines based in the Sanya Naval Base is leaving the base for the South China Sea patrol. Both the President and Defense Secretary of the Philippines recently called for taking a firm stand against China.

Source: Global Times, April 20, 2012
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Observation/2012-04/2642808.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

BBC: China’s Macroeconomic Numbers Show Irregular Combination

BBC Chinese recently reported on the macroeconomic numbers that the National Bureau of Statistics released on China’s first quarter of 2012. The GDP growth of 8.1% is lower than the market expectation of 8.4%. However it is better than the annual expectation of 7.5% that the government predicted. Another important number also released was the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of 3.8%, which is considered high even though it is below the government goal of 4.0%. Well-known economist Dr. Zhang Wei, from the University of Nottingham, suggested that it is more important to examine the fact that the combination of the GDP and the CPI numbers is irregular. Usually a lowered growth rate is coupled with a lowered inflation rate. However the latest Chinese number showed that a lowered growth rate actually brought about higher inflation. He believed that this means the central government’s economic policies will become harder to implement and the Chinese economy is facing a much bigger challenge.

Source: BBC Chinese, April 13, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/04/120413_china_economy.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources