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Briefings - 1236. page

US Press Freedom High on Water Content

This front page commentary, cited in Wen Hui Bao a Hong Kong based newspaper backed by Beijing, characterized press freedom in the US as “High on Water Content” (a Chinese saying meaning having surface value but little substance). According to the article, under high pressure and an unseen hanging rope, the US media have become reluctant to either criticize the government or discuss the legitimacy of the Iraq war. The media does not have any means to force the government into releasing more information and for a long period of time it has not dared to challenge the government’s propaganda policy. The end result has been to accept and encourage the government’s news which in effect has made the US media unknowingly a propaganda tool for the US government.

Source: China News, March 19, 2008
http://www.chinanews.com/gj/xwbj/news/2008/03-19/1195717.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Rejects “Groundless Accusations” by EU on Human Rights Violations

China firmly rejects the "groundless accusations" by the European Union and NGO’s on China’s human rights record, according to the official Chinese delegate attending the 7th Session of UN Human Right Conference in Geneva. For the past thirty years, China’s democratic and judicial system has been constantly improving, the level of human rights enjoyed by the people is steadily rising, and the government policy on human rights has been "whole-heartedly" supported by the people, according to the official statement. It suggests that EU members should check their own human rights records before accusing others.

Source: Xinhua, March 17, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-03/17/content_7805168.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China Issues Secret Order to “Strike Hard against Falun Gong as Olympics Approach

Minghui, the official website of Falun Gong, reported that the Political-Legal Committee of Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee issued a secret document entitled “Working Suggestions for Maintaining Social Stability, Ensuring the Security of the Beijing Olympics” on February 19, 2008. The document was sent to all the provincial “Political-Legal Committees” and the corresponding "Offices for the Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues.” The document mandates that between March and September of 2008, relevant departments should “focus the time and manpower on implementing activities solely to exclude and dissolve conflicts;” “strengthen the management of foreign journalists reporting on the Olympic Games;” and “strengthen the management of Internet and mobile phone short messages.” The document especially emphasized the need to “strictly prevent and strike hard against Falun Gong.” According to the report, kidnapping and deaths cases of Falun Gong practitioners due to persecution have increased significantly following the issuing of the document. The report listed six confirmed deaths between February 23 and March 9 of this year in addition to multiple kidnapping cases.

Source: Minghui, March 17, 2008
http://www.minghui.ca/mh/articles/2008/3/17/174530.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China-Russia Military Hotline Formally Opened for Conversation

International Herald Leader, a newspaper owned by Xinhua News Agency，reported that on March 14, 2008, a China-Russia military hotline formally opened for communication between the two countries. In the first telephone conversation over the line, Chinese Defense Minister Cao Gangchuan talked to his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov. The report says that China-Russia military hotline beat out the China-U.S. hotline as China’s first such telephone line linked to a foreign country, which reflected a higher level of political trust and strategic coordination between China and Russia.

Source: Xinhua, March 18, 2008
http://www.xinhuanet.com/herald/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Mainland Chinese Media on Protest in Tibet

According to the  Hong Kong-based Apple Daily, as of March 15, the second day of reported protests in  Tibet, Mainland Chinese news media outlets were mostly silent about it. The official Xinhua news agency only reported on the protests on its English site.  At one point, Xinhua reported shooting by local police on its English site, but soon took the notice down.

Chinese Central Television (CCTV) aired some video footage about Tibet on its evening news on March 15, which only contained scenes of a group of young people burning stores or attacking civilians. It did not mention an earlier peaceful demonstration or the arrest of protesters by the local police. CCTV’s evening news called the protest “a riot that was carefully organized by Dalai Lama with the intention of damaging social stability.”

In the afternoon of March 15, major mainland Chinese websites and newspapers started to carry an article by Xinhua titled “Q&A issued by officials of the Tibet Autonomous Region about a small group of people creating social disorder” but the web link for posting comments was disabled.

Source: Boxun, March 16, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/03/200803161002.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Shanghai Jiefang Daily: U.S. Has Two Faces on Human Rights Issues

The Jiefang Daily criticized the U.S. of having a double standard when it issued its 2007 human rights report on other countries. The article said that “while the U.S. pays close attention to human rights violations by other countries, it was blind to its own deteriorating human rights record.” The article stated that there has been a 25 percent increase in cases of personal rights infringement by the executive and judicial branches from 2001 to 2007; The U.S.-lead Iraq war has caused 660,000 casualties with 90 percent of them civilians; and the [Abu-Graib] prisoner abuse scandal has become a symbol of the U. S. The article suggested that U.S. should mind its own business before pointing fingers at others.

Source: Xinhua, March 14, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-03/14/content_7786747.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Tibetan Organizations: Beijing May Have Staged Street Riots

According to the website Tibetan Pages, overseas Tibetan organizations warned the international community not to be taken in by March 14 street violence staged by Beijing, citing the lesson they learned from the 1989 Lhasa protest when “Communists sent 300 state agents into Lhasa disguised as residents and monks to cooperate with the plain clothed police from the public security bureau” by burning and ransacking stores. The website was created at the request of the Dalai Lama.

Those who participated in last week’s violence have until midnight March 17 to surrender, said a joint notice issued by the Chinese-controlled Tibetan government police and judicial authorities. The notice was issued a day after the city erupted in riots against China’s control of the Himalayan region, with crowds setting fire to businesses and vehicles.

Source: Tibetan Pages, March 16, 2008
http://www.xizang-zhiye.org/b5/xzxinwen/0803/index.html#080316.4
China Tibet Information Center, March 15, 2008
http://tibet.cn/news/zfzx/zfgg/t20080315_299364.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Military Playing Crucial Role in the Olympics

According to Beijing Communist Party Secretary Liu Qi, the Chinese military will play a crucial role in the Beijing Olympics on issues related to construction, security, anti-terrorist operations, performances and translation services. Earlier, the Communist Party committee in the Hebei military district had listed providing security to the Olympics as one of its top five priorities for the year 2008.

Beijing Olympic Security Command Chief Tian Yixiang stated in June 2007 that the primary threats to the Games include East Turkistan terrorist groups, pro-Tibet independence groups and Falun Gong.

Sources: Xinhua, January 21, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/sports/2008-01/21/content_7463404.htm
Hebei Daily, January 14, 2008.
http://www.heb.chinanews.com.cn/news/szdt/2008-01-14/20392.shtml
Voice of America, June 29, 2007
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/archive/2007-06/w2007-06-29-voa10.cfm?CFID=28130922&CFTOKEN=57196252

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics