The Guangdong Provincial Supreme Court and the provincial social stability office jointly released a statement that local courts, police, and community stability offices will join hands to resolve “civil disputes” at a “one-stop” at the local level. They initiated a streamlined process of mediation, summons, execution and post-judgment stability.
Source: Guangdong Daily, May 25, 2010
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2010-05/25/content_974950.htm
According to a reliable source, China’s 610 Office, specifically created to deal with Falun Gong, issued a top-secret document on how to manage the court trials of Falun Gong practitioners. The document has been sent to local public security bureaus, procuratorates, courts, judicial bureaus, and 610 offices. Highlights of the document are:
1. Get well prepared, including coordinating among all parties; get the family members of Falun Gong practitioners to cooperate; and carefully select the staff, time, and location (relatively isolated and far from downtown) for the court trial.
2. Control the court trial procedures and do not to leave any excuse for criticism, including that the procurator is not to debate on the nature of “Falun Gong” and the judge is not to let the defendant’s attorney debate.
3. Control the court’s security, including limiting the number of the defendant’s relatives attending the trial, and arrange trusted people from the street residence committee, policemen, and the 610 office staff to attend, so as to obtain a 2:1 majority.
4. Control the defendant’s relatives and social connections.
Source: A source in China who requires anonymity.
As it has become impossible for China not to talk about the planning and execution of building overseas bases, China should just open its plan to and conduct public diplomacy with the world. Global Times published an article by Liu Zhongmin, a professor at the Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University, on opening such a discussion. Liu argued that such establishments are needed for both China’s own interests (trade, energy resources, investment, and overseas Chinese) and the broader international responsibilities that the international community asks China to take on. China’s good relationship with countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa makes it possible for China to move to the Indian Ocean. The short-term goal of overseas bases is to support the escort at the Gulf of Aden. For the long-term, the strategy should focus on the security of China’s energy resources path and China’s overseas interests.
Source: Global Times, May 20, 2010
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Exclusive/2010-05/821889.html
All nine politburo members attended the Central Work Conference for Xinjiang, which was held in Beijing from May 17 to 19. Hu Jintao stressed the importance of economic development and stability maintenance in Xinjiang. Wen Jiabao talked about the economic development plan.
On the afternoon of May 19, Politburo member and Party Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee Zhou Yongkang hosted a conference on implementing the Central Work Conference policies. The CCP Organization Department, the Propaganda Department, the United Front Work Department, the Political and Legal Committee, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Security, and the heads of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps attended the meeting. Zhou stressed the implementation of stability controls.
Sources:
1. China Review, May 20, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/2/8/9/101328927.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=101328927&mdate=0520223200
2. China Review, May 22, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/3/0/4/101330453.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=101330453&mdate=0522084843
Shanghai Securities News recently reported on the guidelines by the State Council on private investments in the petro energy field. The report focused on three primary obstacles: (1) Zones and blocks available for prospecting have all been registered, leaving nothing for private investment; (2) state-owned companies have little interest in cooperation with private partners because they do not lack either technology or funds; (3) Even in the business of oil storage and transportation, private companies do not have any pricing power. They have no control over the products that they have to purchase from the state-owned monopolies, while the governement determines the end consumer price.
Source: Shanghai Securities News, May 14, 2010
http://www.cnstock.com/paper_new/html/2010-05/14/content_20726.htm
China Review News reported that the official National Labor Union, led by the Communist Party, recently called for an immediate wage increase and described it as a must-do. The ratio of wages to GDP declined from 56.5% in 1983 to 36.7% in 2005. Meanwhile, the rate of return on capital rose by 20% in GDP. Typical working class citizens suffer a lower rate of wage increase. They are not only behind the rate of economic development, but they are behind the consumer price increase and the increase the rate of taxes as well. The report quoted Henry Ford’s 100-year-old comment on wages: “There is nothing more important than the labor wage, because most people rely on it for a living. Increasing people’s quality of life determines the prosperity of our nation.” The report called for sharing the fruit of The Reform with the people.
Source: China Review News, May 15, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/2/3/0/101323092.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=101323092&mdate=0515083737
Globe Magazine, a branch of Xinhua News, published a recent poll of seven cities on the quality of life. The results show that 70% of the people are unsatisfied and only 10% are satisfied. The number one cause of the problem is high consumer prices, especially housing prices. Other reasons include: the growing wealth gap, the worsening environment, poor social security, disorderly city planning, low transportation efficiency, high unemployment pressure, a low safety index, and overly rapid urbanization. Among the top expectations are “more time to enjoy life” and a “harmonious society.” According to the poll, only 10% voted for Beijing and Shanghai as having a high quality of life. Principles of the New Jersey State Planning are widely acknowledged as a positive model.
Source: Xinhua, May 12, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2010-05/12/content_13478247.htm
On May 21, 2010, Xinhua reprinted an article from Global Times by a PLA Major General, who said, “Sino-US security relations and positive interaction cannot depend on China unilaterally displaying ‘transparency’ to the United States.”
“We must give tit for tat by requesting that the United States increase the transparency of its strategic positioning of China’s security as the whole, and its overall safety policy direction, as well as the deployment of its military forces around China. This should be done so as not to let the United States lay a strategic military siege against our country in the name of guarding against the DPRK, or strengthen its military pressure on China through bilateral and multilateral military alliances and joint exercises. We must request that the U.S. reduce the "close-up surveillance" of our territorial waters and airspace through its warships and planes.”
Source: Global Times, May 21, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-05/21/content_13534659.htm