Briefings – Page 1224

Foreign Ministry Spokesman Opposes US Religious Freedom Report

China "firmly” opposes the “arrogant criticism” by a U.S. report on the religious situation in China. The annual report, released by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, constitutes a “malicious attack” on China’s policies on religious and ethnic minorities and is “gross interference” in China’s internal affairs, according to Qin Gang, the Foreign Ministry spokesman. It is a “fact and reality” that Chinese citizens of all ethnic groups enjoy full freedom of religion protected by Chinese law, the spokesman said, adding that the US report undermines China-US relations.

Source: Xinhua, May 6, 2008
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2008/05-06/1241094.shtml

Briefings | | May 6, 2008 | US-China Relations

Soft Spread of the Chinese Language Is a National Strategy

Xu Lin, director of China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, talked about the international spread of the Chinese language in an interview with Xinhua’s publication Outlook Weekly magazine. Xu said that the international spread of the Chinese language was a national strategy. To accomplish such a great venture, it must be done through the combined efforts of various departments of the government as well as the whole society. Xu emphasizes that the most pressing issue is to improve the ability for the Chinese language to spread [beyond the country]. China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language was established in 1987. It is made up of officials from 11 departments of the State Council. Its mission is to coordinate various ministries, treat the international spread of Chinese as a national issue, and spread it in a quiet manner. The headquarters of the Confucius Institutes established later is another face of the same office.

Source: Sohu, May 5, 2008
http://news.sohu.com/20080505/n256668069.shtml

Briefings | | May 6, 2008 | Government/Politics

Aba Autonomous Prefecture Government Mandates Lawyers to Be in Solidarity with the Party

On April 29, the Judicial Department of Aba Prefecture [Aba is the second largest Tibetan ethnic group in Sichuan Province] held a lawyers’ professional training conference. All 55 practicing lawyers in the region attended the training. During the conference, the lawyers were required to be in solidarity with the Party’s Unified Plan both in thought and action, to be sober-minded about the [political] climate, and to counter-attack the Dalai clique’s separation with concrete actions.

Source: Boxun, May 4, 2008
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/china/2008/05/200805040315.shtml

Briefings | | May 6, 2008 | Government/Politics

South Korean Media: Chinese State Agent Behind Violence during Olympic Torch Relay

The newspaper World Journal in South Korea reported on April 29, 2008 that a Chinese thug involved in the violence during the Olympic Torch Relay in Seoul had been identified as the head of the Chinese Students Association in Korea. The unnamed person is a PhD candidate in police administration at Dongguk University in South Korea. According to the report, he was an official from China Public Security prior to admission into Dongguk University and upon graduation, is scheduled to return for a professorship at the Public Security University in China.

South Korean MBC TV reported on April 28, 2008 that Chinese students studying in South Korea disclosed that several thousand Chinese students were brought from China to South Korea for the Olympics Torch Relay greeting teams.

Japanese Asahi Shimbun also reported that Chinese embassies organized, directed and financed “greeting teams” in the cities the Olympics Torch Relay passed.

Source: Epoch Times, May 2, 2008
http://news.epochtimes.com/gb/8/5/2/n2102399.htm

Briefings | | May 5, 2008 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Buddhist Monk Seeks to Enroll in Party School

On April 27 & 28, Monk Shi Qingming from Huang Long Temple of Yunnan Province sat in a two-day qualification test seeking to be enrolled into the Chinese Communist Party School of Yunnan Province. He learned about the party school enrollment notice in February and applied for the test in April. Monk Shi said that he intends to study the systematic teachings about the Party in order to accept the party leadership, follow the Party’s policies on religious practice and be part of the development to build a “Harmonious Society”.

Source: Yunnan Daily, April 28, 2008 http://search.yndaily.com/cgi-bin/detail.exe?133200+yndaily/news_99+59673+news_99+
@NEWSITEM+nobody+0+mark+%CA%CD%C7%E5%C3%F7,//%B5%B3%D0%A3%B5%
C4%BF%BC%CA%D4,////

Briefings | | May 4, 2008 | Government/Politics

First Confucius Institute Opened in Mongolia

On May 2, 2008, the opening ceremony of the first Confucius Institute of the National University of Mongolia was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

According to the statistics by the office of Chinese Language Council International, as of March 2008, 238 Confucius Institutes have opened in 69 countries and regions. The number has nearly doubled in two years from 2006 when 120 Confucius Institutes were established in 50 countries and regions.

Source:
Xinhua, May 2, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-05/02/content_8092008.htm
The office of Chinese Language Council International http://www.hanban.org/cn_hanban/content.php?id=3258

Briefings | | May 4, 2008 | Information/Technology

Briefings - 1224. page