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Briefings - 1055. page

CRN: Increasing Wage Rate is Now a Must

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

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Globe Magazine: Residents of Seven Cities Unsatisfied with Quality of Life

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

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

PLA Major General: We must request that the United States increase its transparency

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

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Institute of Marxism: International Socialism in the World Financial Crisis

On May 21, 2010, www.QStheory.cn published an article titled, “International Socialism in the World Financial Crisis,” by the Institute of Marxism, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The following are some points from the article:

The financial crisis has caused “a revival of Marxism” and made the world realize that the “China model will change the world.” We should take advantage of the financial crisis to:
1) Fully expose the facts that the Western development model is unsustainable and that the revival of Marxism in the West again highlights the immeasurable superiority of the socialist development path with Chinese characteristics;
2) Strengthen the education and propaganda of Marxist theory, and the basic experience and theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics so as to further firm up everyone’s confidence in the bright future of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Source: www.QStheory.cn, May 21, 2010
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2010/201010/201005/t20100521_30687.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Review News: China must expand the development of energy resources in foreign countries

On May 22, 2010, China Review News published a commentary giving ideas on how China can overcome its shortage of energy resources. It suggests China spend part of its huge foreign exchange reserves on investing in energy resources in foreign countries.   

“China must expand the development and reserves of energy resources in foreign countries. It must be involved in the production chains of the international energy resources from beginning to the end through shares, investment, acquisition, M & A and other methods so as to integrate one with the other and so they cannot survive without one another.”  

Source: China Review News, May 22, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1013/1/0/8/101310849.html?coluid=1&kindid=0&docid=101310849&mdate=0522002541

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Wenzhou City Openly Hires Party Secretaries

Wenzhou, a coastal city in Southeast China, is to openly hire 25 Party secretaries to be posted in local private companies, according to the city’s Party organization department. The secretaries, paid by the private businesses, will organize and expand the Party branches inside the companies. Ever since the fourth session of the 17th Congress of the CCP in 2009, nationwide private enterprises have been required to set up local Party organizations as part of the regime’s efforts to build up the Party. Usually the secretaries are appointed by superior Party cadres; Wenzhou’s move is an innovation because it is integrating the political process with the market mechanism. 

Source: Zhejiang Online (flagship website of Zhejiang Province), May 19, 2010http://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/05zjnews/system/2010/05/19/016618714.shtml
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

11 Provinces Plagued by Flooding

Since late April, repeated heavy rainfall has caused flooding in southern provinces including Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Anhui, and Yunnan. So far 15.179 million people have been affected and 101 have died, with direct economic losses of over 8 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion). 

Source: China News Service, May 17, 2010 
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2010/05-17/2287438.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s Luxury Consumption to Top the World in 5 Years

According to the Business Blue Book issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on May 19, China has a luxury consumption of US$ 9.4 billion. With 27.5% of the world’s total in this market, China has surpassed the U.S. to become the largest luxury goods consumer second to Japan. Within five years, it will top the world luxury goods market with US$ 14.6 billion spent on luxury goods. 

The Business Blue Book noted that China’s affluent consumers are generally younger than in other countries. A 2008 report from McKinsey, a managment consulting firm, said that 80% of China’s wealthy people are below 45 years old, while the ratio is only 30% and 19% in the U.S. and Japan. 
Source: People’s Daily, May 19, 2010
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/11641831.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources