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Briefings - 793. page

People’s Daily: U.S. 2013 NDAA Is a Gross Violation of China’s Sovereign Rights

Xinhua published a People’s Daily commentary that assailed the United States for aligning with Japan and for its possible arms sale to Taiwan. Before Christmas, both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2013. The NDAA contains two amendments related to China, both of which express “the sense of Congress.” One amendment recognizes Japan’s administration of the Senkaku Islands and that the U.S.-Japan Joint Security Treaty applies to the islands if they come under attack. This “constitutes a gross violation of China’s sovereign rights and domestic affairs.” The other amendment calls for selling advanced F-16C/D fighter aircraft to Taiwan, which “amounts to a blunt interference in China’s domestic affairs.”

Source: Xinhua, December 23, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-12/23/c_114123020.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Boxun: Jiang Zemin Involved in a 1.2 Trillion Yuan Securities Fraud Case

Boxun, an online overseas Chinese news media, quoted a report from Hong Kong Cheng Ming magazine that the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is investigating the biggest securities fraud case in Chinese history; it amounts to over 1.2 trillion yuan (US$19 billion). Former CCP leader Jiang Zemin, Jia Qinglin, Huang Ju, Jiang Zemin’s son Jiang Mianheng, and Jiang’s nephew Wu Zhiming were all involved. The news came from a source close to Beijing’s high-level officials. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) found in December 2002 that a huge sum of money, amounting to over US$20 billion came out of China and was  not claimed. Later, Liu Jinbao revealed from prison that Jiang Zemin had sent the money out because he was trying to prepare for the CCP’s 16th Congress in case of any unforeseen event. Liu Jinbao once served as the governor of the Bank of China’s Shanghai Branch. 

Source: Boxun, December 22, 2012 
http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2012/12/201212221155.shtml
Briefings | | |   Grapevine

China Can Take Advantage of the Limitations of the U.S.

Xinhua published an article in which Huang Renwei, Vice President of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, discussed how China could improve its development by taking advantage of the the United States’ limitations. Huang observed that China’s overall strategic strength is far weaker than the United States. However, the U.S. has limitations in certain areas. It is therefore realistically possible for China to constrain the U.S. by taking advantage of these strategic limitations. 

Huang listed five limitations that the U.S. has: 1) Constantly breaking the debt limit and devaluing the dollar is its biggest strategic limitation. 2) U.S. military power is on a relative decline. Due to substantial pressure from its domestic social security system, the percent of military spending in the fiscal budget is getting smaller and smaller. 3) The United States has cut science and technology spending. Insufficient funding for science and technology and for education will cause the U.S. technology advantage to weaken. 4) In 10 to 20 years time, the U.S. allies system will disintegrate. If The United States cannot provide public goods, which is their biggest need, for its allies, it will be difficult to completely control its allied countries. This will shake the United States’ position of global hegemony. 5) The United States has been using its geopolitical advantage to control the world. In the new geopolitical structure, geo-economic factors have more weight than geopolitical factor. When we put our money into Asian countries and establish an Asian network surrounding China, the geo-economy led by China will supplant the United States ability to dominate using its Asian geopolitical advantages. 

Huang concluded, “If we put these five limitations together, the great advantage of the United States will face enormous constraints. By firmly taking advantage of the U.S.’s strategic limitations, China can obtain a strategic balance against the U.S. with a relatively small effort and gain longer and greater strategic opportunities (for China’s development).” 

Source: Xinhua, December 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-12/20/c_124122632.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Abuse of Office: Deputy Had Eight Hot Baths in one Day

According to an article in Xinhua, the abuse of office increases as the end of the year approaches. “A county in Inner Mongolia is known for its hot springs. The deputy of the county magistrate in charge of external propaganda complained to the Xinhua reporter that, when the year end is just around the corner, many government departments come to visit the county to conduct inspections. One day, he received over a dozen official guests. What most of them wanted was to experience the hot springs. He ended up having eight hot baths that day. By the end of the day, he was almost dehydrated. For the last bath, he did not even bother to change clothes. He just waited right in the tub for his guests to join him.” In another county in Inner Mongolia, a county official told the reporter that, on that day, he had four breakfasts with those visiting officials.

Source: Xinhua, December 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2012-12/20/m_124120545.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Guangming Daily: Stepping up Internet Control

On December 19, 2012, the state media, Guangming Daily, published a commentary titled “Establishing the Bottom Line in Applying the Rule of Law to the Internet World.” The commentary proclaimed that there is an urgent need to regulate activities on the Internet. “People use the Internet as a tool in their livelihood and in production. Activities on the Internet reflect society’s activities. The Internet cannot and should not become an empire where there is freedom but no restraint. … After all, the Internet should  never be above the law. … For China, we must immediately implement the rule of law to re-enforce control over the Internet. … It is urgent that legislation be passed to regulate the Chinese Internet.”

Source: Guangming Daily reprinted by Xinhua, December 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2012-12/20/c_124121216.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China’s New Regulation Draft on Internet Control

On September 19, 2012, the State Council’s Legislative Affairs Office issued an “Approach to the Management of Internet Publishing Services” (draft version). The formal version is supposed to replace the existing “Provisional Regulations on Management of Internet Publishing” on January 10, 2013.

The “Approach” states that the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) is the agency that oversees Internet publishing services, which is also under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The “Approach” requires that all those providing services must obtain an Internet Publishing Services Permit. Such services include the digital publication of books, newspapers, periodicals, music and video products, and other “informative and thoughtful text, pictures, games, animation and original digital works.”

The draft version provides that the editor is responsible for the quality and legality of the contents. The “Approach” forbids contents that “oppose the fundamental principles of the Constitution,” “leak state secrets, endanger national security, or compromise national honor or interest,” “spread rumors, disrupt the social order, or sabotage social stability,” and “endanger social morality or good ethnic cultural traditions.”
 
The “Approach” forbids joint ventures or foreign operated identities from engaging in web publishing services. GAPP must approve the publication of online games authored by owners with foreign copyrights.

An annual check of web publishing identities is required. Violators of the regulation are subject to penalties including suspension of the permit, shutting down the website, or even criminal prosecution.

Source: Website of the State Council’s Legislative Affairs Office, December 19, 2012
http://www.chinalaw.gov.cn/article/cazjgg/201212/20121200379100.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Chinese Military Expert Calls for Immediately Establishing a National Coast Guard

Luo Yuan, Rear Admiral from the Chinese Academy of Military Science and Secretary-General of the China Strategic Culture Promotion Association, published an article in Xinhua in which he called for the establishment of a National Coast Guard that would counter the actions of countries that are in conflict with China in the East and South China Seas. 

Luo dismissed the idea that peaceful enforcement of Maritime law in the exclusive economic zone could occur simply by following the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. He asked, “Will the United States and other autocratic countries be able to comply with this principle? The United States hasn’t even signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, so how can it be a ‘nice girl’ [follow this principle]?" 
“Currently, our Maritime law enforcement forces are too scattered and thin. … Why not establish a National Coast Guard that would form a quasi-military force? This would not only provide greater leeway and actionable space for our diplomatic and military struggle, but it would also allow us to gradually take the controlling position in protecting our Maritime rights and in our law enforcement actions.” 
“Using our peaceful law enforcement to deal with the opponent’s armed law enforcement would not bring peace. The ‘asymmetric’ confrontation of our fishery boats and ocean surveillance ships against our opponents’ paramilitary forces would inevitably harbor a potential crisis. Therefore, the formation of a National Coast Guard is an urgent matter that requires immediate attention.” 
Source: Xinhua, December 14, 2012 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-12/14/c_124096812.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Daily Signals Tightening of Internet Blogging

On December 18, 2012, People’s Daily published an article titled “The Internet Is Not above the Law.” The article raised the issue that the Internet has been used for commercial fraud, malicious attacks, and rumor mongering. “[We] must be aware that the Internet is not above the law and that those who express themselves on the Internet may violate the law, knowingly or unknowingly. … An open China needs an Internet world that is civil, law-abiding, and healthy. Whether it is the government monitoring authorities or netizens themselves, we should all value this platform. It is unrealistic to require that every person’s remarks be correct and expressed in a right way; yet it is mandatory that people should be aware of the rule of law and be accountable for their own actions and remarks.”

Source: People’s Daily, December 18, 2012
http://society.people.com.cn/n/2012/1218/c1008-19929548.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics