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Briefings - 1010. page

State-Owned Enterprises Under Tighter Control

The Communist Party issued a new regulation that requires unanimous consent in the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises. Decisions on major matters are defined to include the appointment of key executives. Large projects and investments must be unanimously approved by the Party leadership and the Board of the enterprise, said a statement released by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the General Office of the State Council. Programming development strategies, filing for bankruptcy, restructuring, mergers and acquisitions, transfers of ownership, and overseas investment are also subject to such “collective decision making practices,” said the statement.

Source: People’s Daily, July 16, 2010
http://npc.people.com.cn/GB/12161327.html

China Developing State Image Promotion Ads

China has hired a media company to help it create two advertising videos to promote its state image, Global Times reported. China will broadcast these videos on the major media all over the world around October 1. The article further explained China’s self promotion strategy. The state image promotion is to demonstrate China’s “soft power” to the world, a continuation after the 30-second “Made in China” self-promotion ad on CNN in 2009. In addition to relying on international main stream media to “make a sound,” China also works on developing its own power media to send China’s voice overseas. That includes CCTV’s addition of Arabic and Russian channels from last year, and the launch of China Xinhua News Network Corporation (CNC), a 24-hour news channel under Xinhua, on January 1, 2001.

Source: Global Times, August 3, 2010
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-08/980773.html

China Review News: China Has Labor Shortage for Agriculture

According to China Review News, several media reported that China’s total grain production in the summer of 2010 showed a 0.3% decrease from last year, because the good laborers have migrated to the cities. China Review News observed that the pay for basic labor jobs in cities is much higher than for agricultural work. Therefore many young and strong farmers have migrated to the cities, leaving only the old, the weak, women, and kids at the farms. Also, the low education level in villages makes it hard to adopt mechanization in farmlands, even though it could be a way to make up for the loss of strong laborers.

Source: China Review News, August 2, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/9/9/7/101399784.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=101399784&mdate=0802073818

Liu Yunshan: Culture Development Should Follow the Party’s Direction

On August 1, 2010, Liu Yunshan, Head of the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP stressed the importance of culture development. He stated that China should treat China’s traditional culture with respect, resolutely hold up to Marxism, and cherish the revolutionary culture that the communist party has developed. He also stated culture development should focus at the grassroots level, including villages, rural and poor areas, and minority regions.

Source: China Review News, August 1, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/9/9/0/101399079.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=101399079&mdate=0801090336

Xinhua: IEA Number not Believable

Xinhua recently reported on a swift Chinese response to the IEA’s (International Energy Agency) published number regarding Chinese energy consumption in 2009. The Chinese National Energy Administration (NEA) commented that the IEA number is “inaccurate.” IEA believed that China’s energy consumption in 2009 was the equivalent of 2.252 billion tons of oil, which was the highest in the world and was 4% higher than the United States. Chinese NEA official suggested that IEA is a “rich countries’ club,” and its number “cannot be believed.”  According to the number published by the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, the figure was 2.132 billion.

Source: Xinhua, July 20, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-07/20/c_12354029.htm

Renmin: Punishing Failures in Guiding Public Opinion

The National Conference on Propaganda Work in the Court System was held on July 27. The Supreme People’s Court required a risk assessment system to be established on the issue of public opinion. The system is to control the initiative taken on guiding public opinion. In the meantime, a corresponding performance evaluation mechanism will be established as well; rewards and penalties will be granted accordingly. For those who are responsible for a major negative impact caused by their failure to control public opinion, punishment will be meted out. The Political Department of the Supreme People’s Court is planning training sessions for spokesmen and propaganda workers across all levels of the court system nationwide.

Source: People Net, July 27, 2010
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/12267442.html

CRN: Chinese Army Transporting Mechanized Equipment via Highway

China Review News recently reported that, for the first time, the Chinese Army used the highway system to transport mechanized equipment. The Beijing Military Region was the one that managed this mission. Heavy equipment was loaded onto Rubble Wheel Heavy Equipment Transportation Vehicles with design capabilities of 555 kilometers. This latest type of vehicle has a maximum capacity of 50 tons. The equipment transported on this mission ranged from 12.8 tons to 38.5 tons. The mission did no damage the highway’s surface. Traditional Chinese Army land transportation methods are limited to equipment self-mobility, which damages the road, as well as railway transportation, which has a big range limitation of railway system coverage.

Source: China Review News, July 30, 2010
ttp://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/9/8/3/101398319.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=101398319&mdate=0730232332

Su Hao: The U.S. Is Conducting Investigations and Research on China and the Countries around China

On July 21, 2010, Huanqiu, the Chinese edition of Global Times, published an article by someone called Su Hao, who claimed that he had recently visited the U.S. State Department and talked with Washington D.C. officials, think tanks and some U.S. scholars.

Su Hao said, “The U.S. is ‘taking action quietly,’ enhancing America’s influence in East Asia and especially Southeast Asia. … The U.S. is conducting a lot of investigations and doing research on China and the countries around China.”

According to Su Hao, "The hidden activities that the U.S. is conducting”  are aimed at weakening China’s influence in East Asia, damaging relations between China and its neighboring countries and eventually constructing a U.S. led international order in the Asia-pacific region.

Source: Huanqiu, July 21, 2010 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-07/945457.html