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A Beijing Journal Facing Scrutiny for Carrying Article About Former Premier Zhao Ziyang

In September, a Beijing journal called Yan (2) Huang (2) Chun (1) Qiu (1) (炎黄春秋) carried an article about the former Premier Zhao Ziyang. Written by a former editor in Chief of Xinhua branch office in Sichuan Province, the article was said to be the first positive article about Zhao since 1989. In mid-October, the Ministry of Cultural started to get involved because “a formal leader in the central government was uneasy about the article”. The latest development was that Ministry of Cultural requested the magazine to replace its leadership team because “they have exceeded the age limit”.

Yan (2) Huang (2) Chun (1) Qiu (1) is a monthly magazine started by a group of senior CCP officials in 1991. It is a self-funded business with readers among seniors in the party or intellectuals. The circulation is in the 80,000.

Source: Asia Weekly, Hong Kong, November 2008,
http://www.yzzk.com/cfm/Content_Archive.cfm?Channel=kk&Path=2203531622/46kk1a.cfm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Party’s Propaganda Chief Underscores Need for CCTV’s Domestic and International Expansion

In a visit to China Central Television (CCTV) on November 13, Li Changchun, one of nine members of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) standing committee of the Politburo and head of the party’s propaganda policy, emphasized the implementation of Hu Jintao’s speeches on ideological work, instructing the network on its domestic and global strategy.

During his stay, Li was shown a demo of web TV, podcast, cell phone TV, and in-vehicle TV. He also talked to Edwin Maher, a Western news anchor of CCTV International.

CCTV, as China’s state-run television station, should faithfully follow the right direction, said the senior party official. Li urged the network to step up the migration from a domestic oriented traditional media to a modern media with a global vision. Li told CCTV to expand international channels, facilitate its overseas access, and strengthen its appeal by studying the psychology of domestic and oversea viewers. At the same time, developing web TV was regarded as an important strategic task, with the goal of building a nationwide platform for web video programs.

Li’s visit was accompanied by Liu Yunshan, Head of the Publicity Department of CCP’s Central Committee, and Liu Yandong, another member of the CCP’s Politburo.

Source: Xinhua, November 13, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/13/content_10355067_1.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Government Banking Regulatory Body Warns Banks about International Financial Crisis

The China Banking Regulatory Commission requests that the banking sector monitor the international financial crisis and its adverse impact on China’s economy closely. The banks are requested to improve the forecast and management of major potential risks, and to monitor and control credit risks of crisis-stricken industries and related markets.

Source: Xinhua, November 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/12/content_10347102.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Declassifies Files

Ministry of Foreign Affairs officially has declassified files from 1961 to 1965, reported Xinhua.  The files declassified pertain to evolution of China-Soviet relationships and the breakup of the two Communist Parties.  Included also are those on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France and on No. 103 to 128 Ambassadorial talks between China and the United States.  

More than 41,000 files have been declassified since 2004.  3,400 persons/times have accessed the files.  Over 700 of them were from other countries.

Source: Xinhua, November 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/12/content_10347508.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Party Official Expelled from the Party

Zhejiang Provincial Communist Party Committee expelled from the Party Mr. Yang, a district Party Secretary in Wenzhou city.  The Party committee also fired him from his position on the Wenzhou City Standing Committee.   The disciplinary actions were prompted by Yang’s refusal to return to China from a September trip to Europe.  The Party Committee determined that his unauthorized stay in Europe was in serious violations of the Party rules and has created bad influence.

Source: Xinhua, November 12, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/12/content_10348515.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Web Photos: Chinese Taoist Under Military Training and Patriotic Education

Chinese internet users are stunned by web photos showing Taoists kicking goose-steps and saluting to flag-rising, wearing Taoist priest’s robe.

Wudang Taoist Academy is a three-year religious college recently approved by the State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA), located at the Wudang mountain, where famous Taoist temples are seated.

The kicking of goose-steps is part of the military training that all newly enrolled students ought to undertake. The flag-rising ceremony aims to cultivate the patriotic passion of the students, according to the Nanfang Daily report.

Source: Nanfang Daily, November 12, 2008
http://www.nanfangdaily.com.cn/tpxw/200811120056.asp

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Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Media Outlet Issues Mistresses Report

In a recent report published by China’s Nanfang People Weekly (or Nanfang Renwu Zhoukan), mistresses of corrupt officials were found least subject to legal punishment.

The report investigates 41 corrupted officials at the ranking of governorship in the Communist Party, Government, People’s Congress, Political Consultative Conference, and Judiciary Branch, spanning from 1998 to 2008. The sources used are public information from the court system and media interviews with the defense lawyers and family members of the officials.

36 out of the 41 investigated have at least one mistress. These officials aged 62 on average at the time of being prosecuted, with their legal spouses around 60. The mistresses are on average 11 years younger than the spouses, while the largest age difference being over 30. After a comparative study, the report concludes that the motives of possessing mistresses have shifted from seeking sexual pleasure toward mutual benefits. The special group of mistresses of high officials are de facto playing the role of money managers.

However, the mistresses are more or less risk free from among the group of investigated, as only 8 out of the 36 were put on trial and 5 convicted, shows the report.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 11, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/fubai-11112008110523.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Blacklisted Chinese Democracy Activists to Sue Netease

Finding their names blacklisted on an internet file of the company’s website, three democracy activists have asked for an open apology and plan to sue Netease Com Inc, a Chinese internet company listed on NASDAQ (code: NTES).

Zheng Cunzhu, a businessman in Anhui province and chairman of the board of Jiahe Food Inc. Ltd, was the first to find from the official website of Netease a file named "badwords.txt," where his name was placed aside a list of dirty words. Zheng also spotted the names of Wang Zhaojun, a member of the standing committee of the political consultative conference of Anhui province, and Guo Quan, a professor at Nanjing Normal University. The three of them intend to file a lawsuit in the U.S. against Netease, providing no apology is heard by Nov. 14.

Zheng, Wang, and Guo are famous as each of them wrote an individual open letter to the leaders of the communist regime, calling for political reform and criticizing the regime’s policy on  the 1989 prodemocracy movement and the Falun Gong religious group. Censored in the Mainland, the letters  spread widely on overseas Chinese websites.

Other forbidden words on the list discovered by Zheng include those related to democracy, religion, and the domestic civil rights movement. The lawsuit aims to call attention to freedom of expression in China, with the hope of reforming the political system.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 11, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/guoquan-11112008102038.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology