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Qiushi: The Trend of Communist Parties over the Last 30 Years

A Qiushi article discussed the trend of the world’s Communist Parties over the last 30 years. It stated that the Communist movement has been through major changes. At present, there are over 130 Communist Parties in the world with a total of just under 90 million members. China itself has over 74 million Communist Party members, accounting for 85% of the Communist Party members in the world. North Korea has about 4 million, Vietnam 3 million, Cuba 900,000 and Laos 100,000. The Communist Party is the ruling party in five countries with 83 million Party members, about 93% of the total in the world. It has six notable features. There is no more central leadership based on personalities; countries where the Communist Party is the ruling party, such as China and Vietnam, have made major achievements; now there are multiple Communist Parties in one country; gradual peaceful development is taking the place of violent revolution; the Communist Party is becoming the ruling party through elections such as in Moldova, Cyprus, and Nepal; and new international communication modes are replacing separate and isolated struggles for survival.

Source: Qiushi, December 5, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/zgtsshzyll/201112/t20111205_127728.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

IHL: China Should Build its Own Pacific Fleet

A special commentary in the International Herald Leader stated that to become a strong power in the Pacific, China should build its own Pacific Fleet. The article acknowledged that, compared to U.S. activities in the Pacific, China’s naval military exercises are too few and far between. “The objective of the U.S. and Japan is obvious; it is to contain and oppress China and to ensure the dominance of the U.S. and Japan in the Western Pacific region.”

The commentary stated, “The Pacific is not someone’s ‘private swimming pool.’” “Mutual respect, cooperation, and mutual benefit” can only occur when we have a strong Chinese navy. “On condition of anonymity a military expert pointed out that China should build its own Pacific Fleet, and that only then can China become a true power in the ocean and its navy be a true ‘blue water force.’”

Source: International Herald Leader reprinted by Xinhua, December 5, 2011;
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2011-12/05/c_131284309.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Guangming: Substantial Increases in Government Spending on Party’ Propaganda

According to Vice Minister of Finance, Zhang Shaochun, China has spent a significant amount of money on the development of culture. Since 2005, the overall government spending on culture, sports, and media has increased at an annual rate of 20.9%, while central government spending has grown at the rate of 25.4% annually. Money has been used for museums, memorials, and national centers for education in patriotism, all of which are free to the public. The government will continue to fund the national publishing foundation so it can contribute to the widespread publication of Marxist and Leninist works, youth publications, and all those issues that are a national priority. Zhang said that the Party’s newspapers, journals, radio programs, and TV stations will continue to be funded through “government procurement” to enhance their vitality.

Source: Guangming Daily, November 26, 2011
http://culture.gmw.cn/2011-11/26/content_3049558.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Red Flag Manuscript: the Non-State Sector Needs the Party’s Presence

A Red Flag Manuscript article concluded that, in order to promote the sound and rapid development of the non-State sector of the economy, an essential condition is to strengthen the Party’s development in non-State enterprises. The article expressed the belief, “It is futile to rely on corporate governance; it is the Party organization in the enterprise that plays the core political role.” The non-State sector needs many forms of support from the Party in order to grow, while the development and expansion of the Party relies on support from the non-State sector. “This is the root cause for the Party to play a core political role in non-State enterprises.” The synchronized coordination between the Party Committee and the board of directors of the enterprise is the key to Party’s development in the non-State sector.

Source: Red Flag Manuscript reprinted by Qiushi, November 29, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2011/201122/201111/t20111129_126337.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: What should China do about TPP?

A Xinhua article discussed China’s options regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). According to the article, on the one hand, in urging the TPP countries to increase their labor costs, the U.S. is attempting to increase the competitiveness of its manufacturing. On the other, it is pushing the TPP countries to purchase U.S. products so as to revive the U.S. manufacturing industry. What should China do? “We should be clear that without China, the TPP cannot represent the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. will receive no meaningful benefits. We have joined the WTO and have the FTA in place. Therefore, we will not lose anything if we do not join the TPP. However, without China, the TPP, not China, will be marginalized in international trade.”

Source: Xinhua reprinted by Guangming, November 29, 2011
http://big5.gmw.cn/g2b/world.gmw.cn/2011-11/29/content_3064085.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Companies Urge Chinese Government to Win over Libya’s Trust

The International Herald Leader published a report from Tivoli entitled “Chinese Companies in Libya in Critical Need of Help.” The article stated that the 7-month war in Libya inflicted immeasurable damage on Chinese companies in Libya and that the first step toward reconstruction of the companies is to learn how to deal with the new Libya government. Among the foes that they are facing, the Chinese companies are concerned that the position of Libya’s leaders toward China is not clear. “Some officials have even shown varying degrees of an anti-China tendency. Thus, Chinese-funded enterprises are at a relative disadvantage politically. Some of the Libya partners even half-jokingly warned that they will reduce cooperation with Chinese enterprises.” Further, China has few political advantages in comparison with the NATO countries that imposed the no-fly zone that led to the defeat of the Kaddafi regime. “Western companies are likely to have a larger piece of the pie during the upcoming Libya reconstruction.”

These Chinese companies recommended that the Chinese government offer low or zero interest rate loans to Libya as a means of winning the the new Libya government’s trust and support. For example, if China agrees to accept oil as in kind payment for its losses during the war and for the project funds that are overdue, it would be a win-win for all: Libya can proceed to complete unfinished projects; the Chinese government can win the trust of the new Libya and have access to more oil reserves; and Chinese companies in Libya can re-build the projects in Libya.

Source: International Herald Leader, November 21, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2011-11/21/c_131253008.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

The Number of Social Media Users Tops 300 Million

On November 21, 2011, the 11th China Internet Media Forum was held in Wuhan, Hubei Province. Over 300 representatives from the central government, Xinhua News, People’s Daily, China News Service, Internet media companies, and academia attended the forum. A Deputy Chief of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party Central Committee spoke at the forum. He stated that there are three trends worth noting: first is that the Internet is becoming more like media and increasingly impacts society; second, the Internet is getting more “mobile;” and third, micro-blogs and other social media are rapidly gaining momentum.

The statistics released at the forum show that the number of Internet users in China is approaching 500 million, that close to 350 million Internet users use cell phones to browse the Internet, and that 900 million cell phone users may be potential customers of the mobile Internet. The most significant trend in Chinese Internet is the burgeoning growth of the social media micro-blogs, with users topping 300 million. Led by the State media, the attendees adopted the Wuhan Declaration, a pact to “vigorously promote socialist core values.”

Source: China News Service reprinted by Huanqiu, November 21, 2011
http://china.huanqiu.com/hot/2011-11/2193180.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Outlook Weekly: Multi-sector Strategy of Culture Development Taking Shape

Outlook Weekly published a commentary that provided an overview of Chinese usage of the Internet, TV, and the radio.

As of June 2011, there were 485 million Internet users (36.2% of the population). About 318 million used a cell phone to access the Internet (65.5% of all Internet users). In the first six months of 2011, the number of mini-blog users accounts increased from 63.11 million to 195 million, a growth of 208%; about 40% of Internet users and 34% of cell phone Internet users have mini-blog accounts. During the same period, trojan or other viruses attacked 217 Internet users. 121 million found their account numbers or passwords had been stolen. About 8% fell victim to online fraud, which affected 38 million users.

As of the end of 2010, China had about 500 million radios and the same number of TVs, which meant that 96.78% of the population in China had access to a radio and 97.62% had access to a TV. Every day, on average, residents in Beijing watch TV for about one hour and 53 minutes, read newspapers for 22 minutes, and spend 33 minutes on the Internet.

Source: Outlook Weekly, November 14, 2011
http://www.lwgcw.com/NewsShow.aspx?newsId=24413

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology