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Briefings - 1246. page

Looking Ahead: Overheating in 2008

In anticipation of more international conflicts, Xinhua publishes the focus of macro government policies for 2008 that include the following among others:

· Prevent overheating of economy through a variety of monetary and fiscal policies.
· Adjust structure of import and export to reduce trade surplus and avoid becoming the focal point of conflicts.
· Tighten cross-border capital flows and management.
· Promote real estate property tax reform.

Source: Xinhua, February 3, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2008-02/03/content_7559492.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

2007 Saw Rise in Economic Crimes in China

Wu Heping, the spokesman from the Ministry of Public Security, told reporters that there were 84,000 economic crimes out of 4.75 million criminal cases in 2007, an increase of 4.2% from last year. This is the fourth year in a row during which China had seen a marked increase in economic crimes.

Among the economic offenses, violations of company regulations and financial misconduct led the increase, rising 15% and 14% respectively.

Source: Chinanews.com, January 30, 2008
http://news.sohu.com/20080130/n254969860.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Beijing’s New Measures on Security

Legal Daily reported that new measures on security for large social activities in Beijing will take effect on March 1, 2008. An official from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau stated that professional firms will be set up to monitor and grant permission for large scale social activities in Beijing.

More than 10,000 policemen, security guards and volunteers will take part in security checking on more than 200 hotels and other public places during the 2008 Olympics.

Source: Legal Daily, January 31, 2008
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/0705/2008-01/31/content792072.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Member of Anhui Politic-Consultative Committee Wang Zhaojun Publishes Second Open Letter

On October 22, 2007, Wang Zhaojun, a delegate member of the Political-Consultative Committee of Anhui Province wrote an open letter and published it on overseas Chinese websites. In it he asked China’s top leaders, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, to stop the political persecution of the Chinese people and start political reform. Today, he wrote a second open letter to Hu-Wen calling again for political reform after his press conference about opening an environment protection website was blocked.

Source: Boxun, January 31, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/pubvp/2008/01/200801310202.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Pesticide-Contaminated Frozen Dumplings from China Cause 11 in Japan to Suffer from Food Poisoning

The BBC reported on January 30 that 11 people from three families in Japan suffered from food poisoning after eating frozen dumplings made in China. The dumplings were found to be contaminated with the pesticide Methamidophos. A five-year-old girl had the most serious symptoms, losing consciousness at one point. The problem food was from the China Tianyang Food Factory.

Source: BBC, January 30, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7210000/newsid_7217400/7217439.stm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

PLA Ceases Arms Purchases from Russia

China state-media Global Times quotes a January 29 article from the Russian newspaper The Independent that says that China, the biggest customer of Russian defense industrial products, is gone forever. Exports of national defense technology and products to China have recently been close to zero. The article says that Moscow is very concerned about the situation. It is also one of the major issues for the Russian Defense Minister’s visit to China.

Source: China News Agency, January 31, 2008
http://mil.news.sina.com.cn/p/2008-01-31/0733483714.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Transport System Crisis in Southern China Strands Migrant Workers

The Beijing-Guanzhou railroad, the backbone of China’s railroad system, died during the worst snow fall in half a century. Millions of migrate workers were stranded in train stations at Guangzhou and other cities were left in chaos. The government warned that the system would not be in order for the next few days and asked travelers to spend the Chinese New Year where they were. According to the Railroad Ministry, the number of stranded passengers exceeded .5 million in Guangdong Province alone. The statistics reported by the Hong Kong media indicated the number approached one million in Guangzhou and Shenzhen alone. The authorities in Guangdong announced that all of the stations in this province would stop selling tickets – the business windows would only handle ticket refunds, as they expect the crisis won’t end until Chinese New Years Eve (Feb 6). This triggered a lot of dissatisfaction among the travelers.

Source: Voice of America, January, 29, 2008
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2008-01-29-voa26.cfm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Shenzhen Per Capita GDP Surpasses US$10,000

Guangzhou Daily reported on January 29 that Shenzhen became the first city in mainland China to have surpassed US$10,000 in per capita GDP. The data was released by the Shenzhen Municipal Statistics Bureau yesterday, with the average GDP per person in 2007 being US$10628.

Source: Guangzhou Daily, January 29, 2008
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2008-01/29/content_118617.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources