An increase in the cost of feed coupled with a drop in the supply of pigs due to disease has made pork a top priority for the Chinese government. Pork is the most important staple meat for China’s 1.3 billion people. Any sustained interruption in supply would be a major political problem for the country. Premier Wen Jiabao provided confirmation of the crisis when he made a weekend visit on May 28, 2007, to a market in Shaanxi Province.
All posts by TGS - 169. page
Overseas Chinese Scholar on Democracy in China
On January 14, 2008, Study Times, the official publication of the Party School of the Communist Party of China, published an article by Wei-Wei Zhang, Senior Research Fellow at the Modern Asia Research Center in Geneva. The article entitled, “Reflections on Western Democracy,” affirms the current policies of the Communist Party.
Citing the failures of western democracy in developing countries, the article states that China has successfully maintained stability over the past 30 years and that living standards of Chinese people have significantly improved, coupled with a ten-fold increase in the economy. The article suggests that China should first focus on economic and educational development, followed by the rule of law and last by democracy.
Zhang served as senior English interpreter for Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese Communist leaders in the mid-1980s.
Source: Study Times, January 14, 2008.
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/txt/2008-01/14/content_9529161.htm
Mainland Scholars Call for Action to Oppose the CCTV Spring Festival Gala
On January 15, 2008, five Mainland scholars issued a joint statement titled, “Declaration of the New Spring Festival Culture.” The scholars expressed in the Declaration that the Chinese Spring Festival in itself symbolizes civilization and freedom and should not be subject to any political, economic or cultural restrictions. The scholars oppose the annual Spring Festival Gala held by the State television network, China Central Televison (CCTV), since that enables the Gala to be used as a propaganda tool to glorify the Communist Party.
The Communist regime re-named the Chinese New Year as the Chinese Spring Festival after its takeover of the Mainland in 1949. Every year, CCTV has a gala as the official State celebration. The Chinese New Year begins on February 7, 2008.
Source: Xinhua, January 17, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2008-01/17/content_7435231.htm
Zhong Ren Net, January 15, 2008
http://www.zhrnet.com/bbs/ShowPost.asp?ThreadID=1027
A Law Professor’s Last Class – The 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre
On January 3, 2008, at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing, Professor Xiao Han held his last class for the winter semester. In defiance of the Communist Party, the topic was the Tiananmen Square Massacre on June 4, 1989.
The Professor told everyone, “Many of them [the college students] left their blood behind on the square, the square on which only one dead body [Mao Zedong] now lies. The blood shed back then cannot possibly be washed away and will outlast any tangible tombstone.”
To future judges and attornyes, Prof. Xiao lectured on, “I hope you keep a lively, independent and free soul. Particularly I would like to wish everyone of you, despite the filthy and degenerated environment, please hold up your unblemished integrity.”
His lecture transcript entitled, “The Last Class: How Should We Live Our Lives?” was posted online and spread instantly among Chinese Internet users.
Source: The Epoch Times, Janaury 12, 2007
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/8/1/12/n1974905.htm
50,000 Residents without Clean Water for 5 Days
On January 7, 2008, water pollution caused by the discharge of industrial waste led to the shutdown of a water company. 50,000 residents in Chikan Town, Kaping City, Guangdong Province, went without water until the water supply finally resumed on January 11, 2008.
The electroplating workshop of at nearby company started discharging industrial waste into the river via a hidden duct, 100 meters from the intake pipe of the Chikan Water Plant. Residents waited in long lines for tanks of water transported from out of town. Others tried to hang on by cooking with bottled water and doing their laundry in the Chikan River.
Source: Xinhua, Janaury 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2008-01/12/content_7409587.htm
Communist Party School on the Important Issues of Building a Harmonious Society
Marxism remains the "guiding ideology" and "fundamental principle" for Chinese Communist Party and "the soul of social ideologies." In March 2007, a professor from the Party School of the Communist Party of China published a paper entitled "Important Issues for Future In-depth Studies on Building a Harmonious Socialist Society." Hu Jintao set forth the goal of a harmonious society at the Party’s Sixth Plenary Session held in October 2006.
A Brief Summary of China Africa Cooperation
After the cold war, China became the largest developing country in the world, while Africa, as a continent, encompasses most of the developing nations. Below are two exerpts from articles. One is about a review of the Forum of China Africa Cooperation. [1] It summarizes the investments that China has made in African countries. The other article is about the support that African countries have given China in return.
President of China National Defense University Re-affirms PLA Mission to Serve the Party
The June 2007 issue of Qiushi magazine of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China published an article by Ma Xiaotian, President of the PLA National Defense University. The article states that the People’s Liberation Army "is the military force that carries out the Party’s political tasks." The article calls for the Chinese military’s allegiance to Communist leader Hu Jintao. "We must closely unite together around the CPC Central Committee led by Comrade Hu Jintao as General Secretary."