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Briefings - 1083. page

Adhere to the Position as a Developing Country and Remain Clear-Headed on China’s Responsibility

According to Xinhua on January 25, 2010, the first session of a series of seminars on the “Prediction of the 2010 International Situation” was held by Xinhua’s “Discussion of the World” Program in Beijing. More than 10 well-known experts and scholars gathered together, predicting international situations for 2010 and positioning China in the world.

In terms of China’s position in the world, the participants agreed that "the Westerners have switched from ‘Killing with a Stick’ to ‘Killing with Flattery’ following the international financial crisis. They have kept praising China, from ‘China’s Responsibility’ to ‘Sina-US Two Nations’, pushing China to the center of the world." However, “China must remain clear-headed, adhering to a strategic position as a developing country, safeguarding the interests of developing countries and striving to strengthen ourselves.”

Source: Xinhua, January 25, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-01/25/content_12870883.htm 

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

People’s Daily on Information Freedom in the U.S.

An opinion article published in the official People’s Daily on January 22 attacked the U.S. version of “Information Freedom.” 

Titled “Take a look at Information Freedom in the U.S.,” the article asked, “What is the so-called free flow of information? Is it something without restriction, the best and the most free? Has the U.S. achieved that?” 
“What’s behind the so-called information freedom of the U.S. is its blatant political motive. Where did the continuous domestic turmoil in Iran after the elections come from? It was because the U.S. launched an Internet war: Youtube videos and Twitter rumors drove a wedge between conservatives and reformists, changing patterns to incite the Iranian people, and resulting in large-scale bloodshed. If the U.S. really wants to pursue a free flow of information, why did Microsoft issue a high-profile announcement last year to stop MSN services in five so-called ‘hostile’ countries including Cuba?” 
Source: People’s Daily, January 22, 2010 
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/10828080.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Don’t Let U.S. Health Care Reform Plague China

“When you borrow 1,000 yuan from a bank, the bank is your boss; when you borrow 100 billion yuan from a bank, you are the boss of the bank. This is the ‘horrific’ financial balance between the U.S. and China,” commented a People’s Daily opinion on January 6, 2010. 

“China, the largest foreign debt holder of the U.S., has been accumulating U.S. Treasury bonds in recent years.” “At the critical moment of health care reform, the U.S. will certainly ask China to continue purchasing U.S. debts.” “As a matter of fact, the domestic struggle of U.S. health care reform has impacted China’s interests. Last summer, Obama won support from labor unions at the cost of Chinese businesses by imposing a tariff on tire imports. We have enough reason to believe that, in the future, Washington will sacrifice China on issues of trade, climate change, human rights, and arms sales to Taiwan.”
Source: People’s Daily, January 6, 2010
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/10714233.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua Commentary Faults U.S. for Internet Freedom Double Standard

Among an array of negative Chinese official media responses to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s speech on Internet freedom, one Xinhua article blames the U.S. for applying a “double standard.” 

The January 22 commentary titled “Don’t Practice a Double Standard on ‘Internet Freedom’” accused the U.S. government of censoring the free flow of information. It gave examples including the “Patriot Act,” U.S. national security agencies monitoring and cracking down on Internet terrorist information, and U.S.-based software to filter child pornography information. 
In June 2009, U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered the creation of a new military cyber command that will coordinate the Pentagon’s efforts to defend its networks and conduct cyberwarfare. The initiative is used by the article to declare the U.S. as the “base camp” for Internet hackers. 
Source: Xinhua, January 23, 2010 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2010-01/23/content_12861105.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

College Graduates Recruited to Become Military Officers

In 2009 twelve thousand college graduates joined the People’s Liberation Army. For the first time large numbers of college graduates are enlisting to become military officers. A professor at the National Defense University expressed that in the history of the PLA, large numbers of intellectuals or students joining the PLA has always brought about a quantum leap in military talent.

source: Xinhua, January 25, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-01/25/content_12869220.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Thousands of Local Government Representative Offices in Beijing to be Shut down

According to Xinhua, the Beijing authorities just issued a new red-letter directive that mandates the shutdown of several thousand representative offices in Beijing in the next 6 months. Currently there are 52 Beijing offices representing provincial level governments, 520 representing municipal level governments and over 5,000 representing county level governments. The number of representative offices exceeds 10,000 if it includes those for various government organizations, and liaison offices of state-owned enterprises. The assets of these representative offices totaled 10 billion yuan in 2001.

The function as outlined by the new directive for the representative offices includes carrying out tasks assigned by the Communist Party committees from the sending location, and by the Communist Party Central Committee and the State. Notably, these offices should assist the Beijing municipal government in maintaining social stability in Beijing.

Source: Xinhua, January 24, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-01/24/content_12863841.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Corruption Remains No. 1 Concern

In preparation for the upcoming “two conferences” (plenary sessions of the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference), the NPC is conducting a survey of the top ten most important issues. Currently, the top 10 issues, according to readers’s votes, are corruption, income disparity, land use for urban housing, government intervention in the housing market, democracy, judicial impartiality, medicare reform, education, unemployment, and retirement pensions.

Source: National People’s Congress
http://npc.people.com.cn/GB/28320/180060/index.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

US Air Force Visualizes China as Its Number One Imaginary Enemy

Xinhua republished a China Youth article reporting that the US Air Force visualizes China as its number one imaginary enemy for 2030. According to rhe article, the December 2009 issue of U.S. magazine “C41SR” disclosed that a research team, led by Dr. Werner  J.A. Dahm, the Chief Scientist of the U.S Air Force, identified four imaginary enemies for the U.S. The four enemies are: China, Islamic separatists, a country in distress, and Russia.

Dahm’s team suggested that when fighting with a big power like China and Russia, the U.S. must rely on an unsurpassable technological advantage, which puts to the test the enemy’s determination. Therefore, the U.S. Air Force has to maintain a superior technical leadership. Dahm identified three technical areas for the US Air Force to focus on over the next 20 years:  modular weapon systems, micro air vehicles, and hypersonic aircraft or missiles.

Source: Xinhua, January 25, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-01/25/content_12870424.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military