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Briefings - 788. page

CRN: Keeping RMB Stabilized is a Long Term Strategy

China Review News (CRN) recently published an article discussing the current appreciation of the Chinese currency (the RMB), which has caught some people unprepared. The article expressed the belief that there are four reasons: (1) The U.S. dollar depreciated; (2) More capital flowed into the emerging markets; (3) Short-term domestic demand for RMB increased; (4) The Chinese central bank did not actively interfere with the RMB exchange rate. Since China is moving towards a market based RMB exchange rate management model, the author suggested that it is very important to ensure, as a long term strategy, that the RMB remains stable. It also serves as a foundation for the internationalization of the Chinese currency. All major international currencies such as the U.S. Dollar, the British Pound, the Euro and the Japanese Yen have this foundation. The article concluded that, although the RMB is currently going up, the goal for the long run should be maintaining stability.
Source: China Review News, November 8, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1022/9/5/9/102295964.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102295964&mdate=1108074009

Qiushi: The U.S. Election Is Not a Good Model for Democracy

Qiushi Journal, a bi-weekly magazine published by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, recently republished an article that called the U.S. presidential election a “money show.” Since the rules now allow Super Pacs, this year’s presidential election “burned” the largest amount of money in history (about $6 billion). The article suggested that the election was a good exposé of the so-called “every vote counts” hypocrisy. The “money election” essentially allowed the rich to control the United States. Meanwhile, 46 percent of the members of the House and the Senate own assets worth over one million dollars. The “capitalization of democracy” actually reflects the fact that Wall Street has hijacked the entire society. The author suggested that the widely established image of the U.S.’s “model democracy” turned out to be a lie. This whole corrupt, money-based “democracy” is the logical result of practicing capitalism. Every candidate tried his best to please the wealthy. "Payback time" is what will follow this election, when important government positions will be awarded to those with special interests. 
Source: Qiushi, November 7, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/gj/gjsdfx/201211/t20121107_192335.htm

Chinese Graduate Students Studying in the U.S. Showed Double Digit Growth Each Year for Seven Years

The U.S. Council of Graduate Schools reported on graduate school students from China who have gone to the U.S. to study. The report found that 37 percent of all international graduate students in the United States were from China; the number of students showed double digit growth each year for the past seven years. For the 2011-2012 school year, the number of international students studying in graduate programs in the U.S. for the first time grew by 8 percent over the previous school year. Among those, the number of graduate students from China grew by 22 percent.

The Council reported that the most popular majors for graduate study were business and engineering, which attracted 47 percent of the students.

Source: Xinhua, November 10, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/abroad/2012-11/10/c_123936803.htm

Delegates to the National Congress on Challenges and Threats to the Ruling Party

Xinhua published an article about the 18th National Congress, quoting comments that a number of the delegates to the Congress made on the issues and challenges that the Party faces.

Shu Bing, CEO of www.rednet.cn, stated that the most serious threat to the ruling Party is the Party’s detachment from the people. He wished that the Party would use the Internet to listen to people’s voices. Dai Yanqun, the deputy head of the Party School stated that, if the Party is not able to work with the people, it will eventually cause problems. Er Yuehe, a writer, believed that one of the biggest threats to the Party is the problem of maintaining the Party’s authority. One delegate noted that whether the Party can control corruption and fulfill the mission of serving the people is a test. Some delegates highlighted the issue of the widening gap between the income of residents of urban areas and residents of the countryside. Some expressed concerned about the quality of economic growth, as so much more attention has been paid to the rate and scale of China’s economic growth.

Source: Xinhua, November 10, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/18cpcnc/2012-11/10/c_113656697.htm

Google Service in China Seriously Disrupted

VOA reported that, on November 9, 2012, Google’s online service in China was seriously disrupted. According to Google, starting on Friday morning, Google experienced a sharp drop in the number of its online users. A consumer report from Google indicated that Google’s search engine and email service were down.

According to VOA, the disruption took place during China’s 18th Congress; nor was this the first time it happened. In 2010, after Google announced it would end its online filtering and censorship, its service in China was
shut down a number of times. In June 2012, Google warned its Chinese users that there were sensitive words and phrases that might cause the Internet police to investigate them.

VOA wrote that, even though Google openly challenges Beijing’s authority, its business in China continues to grow:  “Google has hired more engineers and sales force personnel and has continued to provide business and online advertising services to Chinese companies.”

Source: Voice of America, November 9, 2012
http://www.voachinese.com/content/google-20121109/1543059.html

Boxun Reports on Beijing’s Security for the 18th Congress

November 8, 2012, was the opening day of the 18th CCP Congress. On November 7, Beijing implemented the highest level of security to guard the event. Boxun, a Chinese news website based in North America, posted a group of pictures and videos showing the level of security in Beijing before the opening of the 18th Congress: A security guard with a professional red armband (wearing a professional inspection work permit) was placed on patrol in every cabin of every subway train; buses passing Tiananmen Square had their windows taped shut; there were more security personnel of all kinds than tourists and pedestrians in Tiananmen Square; A Boxun volunteer shot a video of a woman who looked like a petitioner being seized by two Tiananmen Square policemen and dragged into a police car; armed police and special police with weapons usually patrolled outside, in the open, but instead stayed inside their cars checking on people; selling scissors was forbidden in Beijing.

Source: Boxun, November 7, 2012
http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2012/11/201211080248.shtml#.UJtBJsVWq2o

Hu Jintao: Corruption May Lead to Collapse of the Party

In his opening remarks at the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing, Hu Jintao acknowledged that corruption presents a serious challenge to the Communist Party. He stated, “If we fail to handle this issue well, it could prove fatal to the Party and even lead to the collapse of the Party and the fall of the State.” He added that those who break the law will be brought to justice, "whoever they are and whatever power or official positions they have."

Hu emphasised, "[We] should ensure that the Party always remains a strong core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics."

Source: Xinhua, November 8, 2012
http://china.huanqiu.com/politics/2012-11/3257281.html

Disposable Personal Income Lagged Behind GDP Growth

On October 31, 2012, Securities Times published a report on the National Bureau of Statistics of China’s recently released statistics on China’s revenues. According to the statistics, during the 10 years from 2002 to 2011, the personal disposable income of urban residents increased 1.8 times. In the same period, national fiscal revenue increased 4.5 times and domestic GDP went up 3.6 times. “This wide gap shows that during the past 10 years, most of the newly created wealth was distributed outside the reach of China’s residents. Considering the multiple of 4.5 times in the increase in fiscal revenue, it can be said that the government received a much larger share of the benefits than ordinary residents. In fact, on average, urban residents’ income increased by 10 percent per annum, while fiscal revenue went up by as much as 20 percent per annum.”

Source: Securities Times, October 31, 2012
http://news.stcn.com/content/2012-10/31/content_7280245.htm