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All posts by TGS - 80. page

Officials Appreciate Petitioners’ Contribution to China’s GDP

According to a commentator at Canyu.org., “GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was originally an economic concept but in China it has become a political issue: everyone, from the central government to officials from local governments, is busy paying attention to GDP, day in and day out."

The Canyu commentator has personally met with several dozen victims of corrupt official’s abuse of power. These victims are called “petitioners” (访民). They have been visiting and mailing petition letters to governments at all levels for many years, asking the authorities to investigate the abuse. A few examples are Ms. Xia Shuli, who has been sending petitions for seven to eight years, Xu Jianjiao for seven years, Ding Yijuan for 16 years, and Shen Zhihua for 20 years. The Canyu commentator estimated that Ms. Xia Shuli alone has mailed 97 registered letters to the authorities in the last year. “Based on statistics, there are over 500,000 regular petitioners in China. If each one of them does what Ms. Xia has been doing, just in postage, these petitioners must cause GDP to increase by 625 million yuan each year. I wonder why the State doesn’t resolve petitioners’ grievances. One of the reasons is so that these petitioners can contribute to GDP.”

Source: Canyu, July 14, 2012
http://www.canyu.org/n53914c6.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

IHL: China Should Take a Tough Stance to Make up for Its Military Disadvantage

The International Herald Leader published an article advocating that China be aggressive to make up for its weak military position. The article stated that it is wrong for a weak party to avoid confrontation with a strong opponent. “Patience in the face of a powerful and strong-willed combative opponent is useless because the party that wants to avoid resolving the problem by force cannot prevent a war …” The appeasement policy may also encourage the opponent to take a tougher stance and resort to military action. If China were to wait for the time when it is stronger than the U. S. before taking action in the South China Sea, China would be tying its own hands and feet. “China should demonstrate sufficient resolve to confront the U.S. intimidation tactics, such as visits by U.S. warships to sensitive countries and bilateral and multilateral joint military exercises. It should not retreat when both parties are merely exchanging words in the conflict.” The article concluded with a quote from a military strategist, “If your sword is shorter, you should take a step forward.”

Source: International Herald Leader, July 12, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0712/60019.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

State-Owned Enterprises Warned of Upcoming “Winter Conditions”

Shao Ning, Vice Chairman of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), recently attended a management conference at which he stated, “After 30 years of rapid development, the Chinese economy has entered a period of contraction. State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) must prepare for ‘winter conditions’ in the next three to five years.” The first time that the SASAC discussed “winter” was last December when Huang Shuhe, a Deputy Director at SASAC warned twice that SOEs must be prepared for tough winter times in the next three to five years. SASAC Director Wang Yong made similar remarks last March. Wang stated that in a grim economic situation, the SOEs "should identify risk points by improving management and alleviating the bleeding.”

A China Entrepreneurs commentator stated that SOEs are not the only ones that must prepare for a cold winter. “Private enterprises, especially mid to small companies, need to do a better job of preparing for winter. When a cold winter comes, these companies will be the hardest hit as their struggle is in the midst of the market.”

Sources:
Xinhua, June 26, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-06/26/c_112287187.htm
China Entrepreneurs, July 9, 2012
http://www.iceo.com.cn/column/28/2012/0709/252364.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Sina.com Deleted Miniblog Account of the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai

Epoch Times reported that, in the morning on July 12, 2012, sina.com, a Chinese social media, removed the popular miniblog (weibo) account of the U.S. Consulate in Shangahi. A search by the Epoch Times staff of the weibo account at sina.com returned the following: “Search result cannot be displayed due to relevant law, regulations and policy.” Apparently the weibo account of the U.S. Consulate spokesperson was also deleted. Searches for “U.S. Consulate in Hong Kong,” “U.S. Embassy in China,” “Embassy in China,” and "Embassy” at sina weibo returned errors saying the search results could not be displayed.

Sources:
Epoch Times, July 12, 2012
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/7/12/n3634182.htm
http://t.qq.com/USConsulateShanghai

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

People’s Daily: What is the True Intent of Clinton’s Asian Visit?

People’s Daily published several articles on U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s Asian visit, that was due to take place from July 5 to 18, 2012, and cover 8 countries around China. “Looking at the itinerary, it appears that she will visit all of the countries that surround China. Such an itinerary is questionable. Is this a new trick for the United States to win over the small countries and to contain a large country?” On a follow-up commentary, People’s Daily stated that the United States should “exercise restraint over its impulse to preach democracy.” “The reality has demonstrated that it is precisely because some Asian countries copied the American democratic system that these countries now have serious problems, leading to slow development. Even today some of these countries have not yet recovered.”

Source: People’s Daily, July 12, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/BIG5/n/2012/0712/c1002-18500638.html
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2012/0712/c1002-18498337.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Faces an Irreversible Population Crisis

On July 10, 2012, Wang Feng, the Director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center, spoke at the 2012 Future China Global Forum that was held in Singapore. At the forum, Wang stated that China is trapped in a severe, irreversible demographic crisis.

According to Wang, the current ratio between the number of working-age people (age 20 to 59) and older people (60 and over) is 5:1. Wang predicted that the ratio will fall to 2:1 by 2030. More and more elderly families will have only one child. This will not only impact the labor market; it also will also have a political impact. It will require institutional innovation. Wang observed that, although investment in large projects and in infrastructure may bring short term results, the more important and urgent need is for improvements in public health-care and the social security system and for pressing ahead with institutional reform.

Source: Caixin, July 10, 2012
http://economy.caixin.com/2012-07-10/100409420.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Huanqiu: Shifang Protest is Not a Revolution

Huanqiu issued a commentary on the recent social unrest in Shifang City, Sichuan Province. The commentary said that, when defying a police order, high school students led a massive protest in tens of thousands against the opening of a molybdenum copper smelter. It further stated that students achieved the money driven goal of adults without serious casualties and that such student actions should not be encouraged, particularly regarding social unrest and political conflict.

Huanqiu pointed out that similar clashes between residents and the government on environmental issues are common in democratic countries. “It is certainly not a revolution.” Huanqiu criticized the interpretation of the government’s decision to shut-down the smelter as a victory for the common people. “Such a stretched interpretation is merely the wishful thinking of some people and not a reality in Shifang.” The Huanqiu commentary warned local and higher governments that they should not be fooled by such political fantasies and should not divert their focus from a proper aftermath of reflection and remedial action to vigilance for this “revolutionary” trend.

[Ed. According to the New York Times, security officers roughed up the crowd and "there were arrests, tear gas, stun grenades, riot police, guns, batons, blood." Some hyperlinks in the Times article showed bloodied victims and a woman in front of a riot squad, "evoking comparisons to Tank Man." A microblogger was quoted as saying, "America achieved independence and 236 years later, the Shifang people are fighting for their own rights and confronting the government.”]

Sources:
Huanqiu, July 6, 2012
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/1152/2012-07/2888065.html
New York Times, July 4, 2012
http://rendezvous.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/04/a-violent-new-tremor-in-chinas-heartland/

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The Communist Party Trains Religious Groups in Charity Work and Social Management

In 2012, the Communist Party Committee in Shenzhen plans to provide training for over 800 people from religious groups, exceeding the total for the past few years. The first class held its opening ceremony at Shenzhen City’s Institute of Socialism. Zhang Siping, a Shenzhen Party official, spoke at the ceremony. “Religions have the tradition and advantage of performing charity work for the public.” Zhang expressed that religions in Shenzhen should actively participate in social development and promote innovations in social management. Zhang further stated that religions should learn from the practice of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan to explore and expand social charities effectively.

Source: People’s Daily, July 4, 2012
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2012/0704/c70731-18444742.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics