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All posts by TGS - 168. page

Looking Ahead: Overheating in 2008

In anticipation of more international conflicts, Xinhua publishes the focus of macro government policies for 2008 that include the following among others:

· Prevent overheating of economy through a variety of monetary and fiscal policies.
· Adjust structure of import and export to reduce trade surplus and avoid becoming the focal point of conflicts.
· Tighten cross-border capital flows and management.
· Promote real estate property tax reform.

Source: Xinhua, February 3, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-02/03/content_7559492.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

210 million Internet Users – a Tremendous Force that Can Guide China

According to China Internet Network Information Center, as of December 31, 2007, the number of Internet users in China had reached 210 million. According to The Beijing News, "This is a tremendous force that can guide and push China towards democracy and freedom." The most challenging task is not the Internet, but the authorities’ attempt to control it. The article is critical of the practice of putting someone in jail because of what that person writes. It suggests that the authorities should be open and treat Internet users with kindness – one should go along with “the grand trend of human civilization” instead of bucking it.

Source: The Beijing News, January 19, 2008
http://www.thebeijingnews.com/comment/shelun/2008/01-19/014@014708.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Remaking Defense Industry within Next Five Years

In 2008, China will accelerate the privatization reform of state-owned Chinese defense industrial enterprises and plans to complete the reform within the next five years. According to  officials from the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense of China (COSTIND), the anticipated capitalization will amount to close to 100 billion RMB.

In 2007, 18 public companies (formerly state-owned defense enterprises) requested to increase market capitalization and 10 of them applied for an Initial Public Offering. COSTIND officials encourage both domestic and foreign participation in the privatization reform.

Source: Xinhua, January 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-01/20/content_7454122.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Xinhua Accuses VOA of Maliciously Distorting Facts

On May 5, 2007, Xinhua, the Chinese Communist official news agency, issued a statement accusing Voice of America of maliciously distorting facts about Xinhua’s September 10, 2006 regulation "Measures for Administering the Release of News and Information in China by Foreign News Agencies." In an article published on May 1, 2007 Voice of America reported on this regulation and commented, according to Xinhua, that this regulation "restricts the development of foreign media."

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Ministry of Health Requests Police Force Be Deployed to Hospitals

In recent years, the conflicts between hospital’s medical staff and patients have been intensifying. Patient’s violent attacks have frequently resulted in the hospital staff being injured. The spokesperson from the Ministry Of Health recently requested that police be depolyed to the hospitals to protect the hospital staff. Analysts pointed out that the basic cause of tension between doctor and patient is the inadequate healthcare system and China’s declining moral values.

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China: an Increasingly Erotic Society

According to the official statistics, currently there are more than 370 million porn websites in China. Each day about 20,000 erotic photos are posted on the Internet, and 144 million poeple surf the web. Of those, 20 million are adolescents under 18. A speaker from the Public Security Bureau of China, Mr. Heping Wu, reported that 80% of the crimes that youth commit are due to the temptations from the web. The erotic information on the web indulges them and erodes their morality. As a result, they commit crimes and even large crimes. The majority consist of defrauding others, rape, robbery and stealing.

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

The Olympics: China’s Ministry of Public Security Issued Directive on Barring Groups

China’s Ministry of Public Security issued an internal secret directive that lists 43 categories of people who will be investigated and barred from the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Some examples of included groups are overseas hostile forces, counter-revolutionary figures, the Dalai Lama and affiliates, Falun Gong, religious groups and individuals who instigate disapproval of the Chinese Communist Party through the Internet.

Briefings | | |   Social Stability