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Briefings - 1252. page

China, S. Africa Establish Strategic Dialogue Mechanism

China and South Africa established a strategic dialogue mechanism on Monday, January 7, during Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi’s visit. Yang and his counterpart Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma agreed on the mechanism aimed to enhance high-level exchanges and promote long term political and economic cooperation. 10 years ago, S. Africa broke ties with Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China. The visit marks the first African tour by China’s top diplomat in his post. It will be followed by trips to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi and Ethiopia.

Source: Voice of America, January 8, 2008
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2008-01-08-voa49.cfm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Bird’s Nest Designer Blasts Olympic Opening Ceremony

Ai Weiwei (艾未未), who contributed to the design of the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics, also known as the “Bird’s Nest,” said of the ceremony, “I’m afraid it’s going to be awful.” He was speaking in an interview for Friday’s issue of a German newspaper Hessische Allgemeine. “The Chinese government has chosen choreographers and directors who sacrificed their so-called art in favor of propaganda,” the artist and architect said. “They were taking part in a grand manipulation of the public.”

Source: Min Pao News, January, 5, 2008
http://www.mpinews.com/htm/INews/20080105/ca61452a.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Singapore and China Signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement

On Monday, January 7, 2008, in Beijing, Singapore and China signed a bilateral agreement on defense exchanges and security cooperation, formalizing on-going activities between Singapore’s Ministry of Defense (MINDEF) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). MINDEF says that it “marks a significant milestone in Singapore’s bilateral defense relationship and is a testament to the growing defense ties between Singapore and China.” The new agreement, written by Permanent Secretary for Defense Chiang Chie Foo and PLA’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General (LG) Ma Xiaotian, also includes new areas of cooperation such as Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. The deal was signed at the end of the inaugural China-Singapore Defense Policy Dialogue (DPD).

Source: Central News Agency, January, 7, 2008

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Beijing Requires Migrants to Register Their Political Identity

Radio Free Asia reported on January 7, 2008, that according to a notice issued by the China Central Organization Ministry and the Public Security Ministry, migrant residents are required to register their political identity (i.e., whether they are members of the Chinese Communist Party or the Party’s associated organizations) along with their application for temporary resident status. The notice asks that all related departments and organizations take care of the migrant Party members.

According to independent analysts Zhu Jianguo and Chen Yongmiao from Shenzhen (southern China), such tactics are a way of using sthe Party’s old-fashioned methods to try to control the migrant population. Chen believes that such control will not have any effect because nowadays being a Party member has a very negative connotation. When people call one’s name, they call the whole family are “Communists.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 7, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/01/07/immigrants/

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua Publishes Article Attacking Western Democracy

On January 5, 2008, Xinhua published an article titled “Western Democracy Is Failing Globally” by Fang Ning, deputy director of the Politics Institute of the National Academy of Social Sciences. In the article the author used Russia, Latin American countries, and South Korea as examples to support his point. Fang concluded that protecting rights and centralizing power are essential for developing a countries’ political structure and that western democracy is not a universal value. The article hinted that China’s communist system is the model for other countries to follow. The website also listed four other related articles under the title to reinforce Fang’s statement from various angles.

Source: Xinhuanet, January 5, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-01/05/content_7366065.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Requires Migrant People Register Their Political Identity

Radio Free Asia reports on January 7, 2007, that in a notice issued by China Central Organization Ministry and Public Security Ministry, migrant residents are required to register their political identity (i.e., whether they are members of Chinese Communist Party or the Party’s associated organization) along with their application for temporary resident status. The notice asks that all related department and organizations take care of the migrant Party members.

According to independent analysts Zhu Jianguo and Chen Yongmiao from Sunzhen (southern China), such tactics is a way of trying to control the migrant population with the Party’s old-fashioned method. Chen believes that such control will not have any effect because nowadays being a Party member has a very negative connotation. When people call one’s name, they call the whole family are “Communists.” 

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 7, 2008
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/shenrubaodao/2008/01/07/immigrants/

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua Publishes Article Attacking Western Democracy

On January 5, 2008, Xinhua published an article titled “Western Democracy Is Subjecting Failure Globally” by Fang Ning, deputy director of Politics Institute of National Academy of Social Sciences. The article used Russia, Latin American countries, and South Korea as examples to support his point. The Author concluded that protecting rights and centralizing power are essential for developing countries’ political structure and that western democracy is not an universal value. The article hinted that China’s communist system is the model for other countries to follow. The website also listed four other related articles under the title to fortify Fang’s statement from various angles.

Source: Xinhuanet, January 5, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-01/05/content_7366065.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China’s Toy Exports Grew In 2007

China’s toy exports totaled US$ 7 billion from January to October of 2007, a 20.1 percent increase from the year before. The official statistics showed that following the large scale of toy recall, toy exports were down 6.2 percent in September. The number then rebounded back to 21 percent, consistent with the growth in the first ten months. The European Union and the US are two of the largest markets and account for 67.6 percent of toy exports. It has been predicted that the increasing cost, operation model and reduced export taxes may affect future toy exports. China remains the world’s largest toy export country.

Source: BBC Chinese.com January 6, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7170000/newsid_7173600/7173685.stm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources