TGS – Page 88 – Chinascope

Nanfang Weekend: How Many Ministries and Ministers Are There in China?

Nanfang Weekend published an article which had an overview of ministerial level agencies and ministers of the Communist Party. Most of ministerial level agencies are under the State Council. The rest are within the Party system. Examples include the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Organization Department, the Publicity Department, People’s Daily, the Party School of The Chinese Communist Party, the Party Literature Research Centre, and the Party History Research Centre.

While there are at least 74 ministerial level agencies, there are more than 74 minister level cadres. Deputies may be minister level cadres and non-ministerial level agencies may be headed by minister level cadres. Examples of the latter include heads of liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau. The two Vice Presidents of China’s Supreme Court are also minister level cadres. Ten important social organizations are headed by minister level cadres including the Communist Youth League, the All China Women’s Federation, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese Writers Association, the Chinese Disabled Persons’ Federation, the China Society and Technology Association, and the All China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

Some of the leaders of state sponsored democratic parties are also minister-level cadres.

Source: Nanfang Weekend, February 16, 2012
http://www.infzm.com/content/70110

Briefings | | February 27, 2012 | Government/Politics

Qiushi: European Media are More Critical of China than U.S. Media

Qiushi published an article about China’s image in international communities. The article stated that Western mainstream reports tend to “demonize, marginalize, and mystify” China. “In the political arena, the BBC, CNN and other Western mainstream media are highly concerned about how the Chinese government handles emergencies [social unrest]. Positive comments on the Chinese government primarily focus on the speed and attitude of the Chinese government’s reactions. … Compared to the American media led by CNN, the Western European media, represented by the BBC, tend to do reports that are more critical of China. For example, the BCC favors subjects related to Chinese minorities and ecology. In particular, its ‘Hard Talk’ program centers on Tibet and frequently interviews advocates of Tibetan Independence.” The article cited the example of BBC reports on poor weather during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympics, which touched off one criticism after another of China’s environmental problems, “while in the U.S., ABC edited the footage of the Olympic opening ceremony and its effect was much more beautiful than that edited by China’s domestic media.”

Source: Qiushi, February 20, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/gj/zgwj/201202/t20120220_139574.htm

Briefings | | February 24, 2012 | Government/Politics

Half of High Ranking Government Officials May Have Their Children Live Overseas

China’s Academy of Social Sciences published a report on a survey that indicated that more government officials (38.9%) than those of the general public (34.2%) agree that their children can be citizens or residents of foreign countries. The report concluded that those government officials of higher rank are even more likely to agree regarding their children. The ratio of those officials at the provincial/ministerial level is 53.3%; for those at the level of department chiefs or city mayors, it is 53.4%; county chiefs, 51.7%, and at the level of township chiefs 49.6%. The survey on which the above conclusions were based was conducted among government officials in 23 provinces and cities.

[Editor’s note: In China, the government bureaucratic hierarchy is, ranked in a descending order, premier, followed by provincial governors or ministerial heads, and then city mayors, county, and township chiefs.]

Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, February 21, 2012
http://nf.nfdaily.cn/nfdsb/content/2012-02/21/content_38395262.htm

Briefings | | February 24, 2012 | Government/Politics

Qiushi: Negative Online Behavior Must be Punished

Qiushi published an analysis on the subject of state control and the behavior of Chinese Internet users. “At present, a number of Chinese Internet users play a destructive role. Sometimes, negative, extreme, shallow or one-sided information, along with bad sentiments, spread very rapidly on the Internet, exerting a strong destructive power.” As a result, when a social issue escalates on the Internet, serious conflict quickly develops and people become very emotional, forming an online “tyranny of the masses.” The analysis found that laws and regulations were insufficient, that implementation was ineffective, and that there was a lack of law enforcement on the Internet. The article recommended promulgation and implementation of additional laws and regulations to penalize those users who do not abide by the law. “If the online behavior of some users adversely impacts the lives of others or if they break the law, the user must bear the corresponding social and legal consequences of their behavior.”

Source: Qiushi, February 14, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/shzyzzzd/201202/t20120214_138512.htm

Briefings | | February 23, 2012 | Information/Technology

Chinese Publishing Companies Encouraged to Establish Roots in Foreign Countries

Liu Binjie, Director and Party Chief of China’s General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) stated that the priority for 2012 is to encourage China’s press and its publishing companies to establish a presence overseas. Liu suggested that that the focus of this work should be on three objectives. The first is to build brand names; the second is to expand the channels for international distribution; and the third is to adopt policies to encourage domestic media to publish and distribute Chinese domestic publications outside of China and to use every possible means to take root in foreign countries. GAPP has ensured that about 50 projects of the press and publishing companies receive state funds of close to 500 million RMB (US $78.5 million) for re-organization and capitalization.

Source: Xinhua, February 15, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2012-02/15/c_122706724.htm

Briefings | | February 17, 2012 | Information/Technology

China Remains Silent on Wang Lijun

Wang Lijun, the former director of public security and vice mayor of the southwestern China city of Chongqing, who disguised himself and went secretly to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu City, and who China’s State Security officials later escorted to Beijing, is now nowhere to be found. His relatives have sought information from the authorities about Wang’s whereabouts, but to no avail. Last Thursday, Xinhua said that the Chinese authorities were investigating why Wang Lijun, one of its top police chiefs, spent a day inside the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. Since then, there has been no official information from the Chinese authorities. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Ming Pao reported that Beijing has concluded that the Wang incident is a “very serious political problem.”

Sources:
Boxun, February 16, 2012
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2012/02/201202141723.shtml
Xinhua, February 9, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-02/09/c_122681189.htm
Ming Pao reprinted by Nanyang Post, February 14, 2012
http://www.nanyangpost.com/news/china/8717.html

Briefings | | February 17, 2012 | Government/Politics

Study Times: Control the Differences between China and the U.S.

Study Times published an article that advocated an approach to controlling the differences in the relationship between the U.S. and China. To implement the control approach, the article suggested that there must be a dialogue mechanism, a regular and systematic structure between functional departments of the two countries to assess and evaluate the differences, and a control mechanism. As the two countries distrust of each other is increasing, the ability to deal with conflicts is decreasing. Without effective control of the differences, the bilateral relationship may become more turbulent.

“At the official level, senior government officials should focus on the overall situation of bilateral relations and should not only refrain from making remarks that may result in a strategic misjudgment, but also prevent any expression of words and deeds that might result in damage to the strategic mutual trust between the two countries. At an unofficial level, [both countries] should actively guide or control the public opinion within the two countries, not allow the voice of those who advocate hostility to prevail, and avoid the expansion of misconceptions and the emergence of new misunderstandings.

Source: Study Times, February 13, 2012
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/2012/02/13/02/02_35.htm

Briefings | | February 16, 2012 | US-China Relations

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