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Briefings - 808. page

Chinese People Continue to Petition for Press Freedom

On January 13, 2013, a group of people in Beijing held petitions in front of the office building of the Beijing News newspaper, expressing support for the editors and reporters of the newspaper who the authorities had disciplined. On January 12, dozens of people in Guangzhou gathered in front of the Southern Newspaper Group to express solidarity with the Southern Weekend and support the value of freedom of the press. On the same day, some of the residents of Suzhou City (in Jiangsu Province) arrived at the tomb of Lin Zhao, who died in the tragic persecution during the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the Cultural Revolution, showing banners in support of the Southern Weekend. These activities clearly relate to the incident of Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial being censored.

Li Xiaobing, a Professor and Director of the Western Pacific Institute at the University of Central Oklahoma, said that since the new Communist Party’s leadership of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, China has not seen real freedom of the press, but people want to have an independent media.

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 13, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/sd-01132013142859.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

People’s Daily: The China Model Is Smashing the Hegemony of (Western) Universal Values

People’s Daily (overseas edition) published a commentary touting how the China Model will transform the world’s universal values and establish the direction for the future of human civilization.

The article started by attacking the nature of Western values. It stated, “Once upon a time universal values became synonymous with the hegemony of Western values. … When the torch of Western civilization spread to the United States, it pushed the hegemony of Western values over the limit. The Western world, represented by the United States, in the name of the international community, monopolized the right to interpret the development model; so much so that American liberal capitalism has become the ‘ultimate goal.’" 
The article then claimed that China’s rise seriously challenges the validity of (Western) universal values. It said, "The rise of China, as the representative of the emerging economies, is severely impacting Western universal values. This has led to the spread of different versions of the ‘China threat theory.’ … For China, the only way to quash the ‘China threat theory’ is to realize ‘re-globalization.’ The current ‘globalization,’ in essence, is merely the ‘globalization’ of Western contents, system, and culture.” 
“In the new era, the world needs the Chinese dream, because the China model is enriching the fundamentals of universal values.” 
The article closed by stating, “Through China’s revitalization, [China] will Lead the ‘post Western era’ in order to achieve the sustainable development of human civilization; China will fundamentally be established as the legitimate world leader.” 

Source: People’s Daily, January 12, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0112/c1011-20179476.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

PLA: Get Ready for War

The General Staff Department (GSD) of the People’s Liberation Army has issued the 2013 military training instruction manual for the entire military. It stresses “getting ready for war” and “training to meet the needs of a war.”  People’s Daily reported the issuance using the title: Military Training Guide Issued; War-Fighting Has Become the Key Word.” According to the People’s Daily, the instructions “ask that all of the military forces and armed police strengthen their mental preparation for war; increase the sense of urgency, a sense of crisis, and a sense of mission; get ready for war, conduct difficult and strict training of troops based on the actual needs of war; improve the capability to fight war, …. adhere to the standards for war, and measure training effectiveness in accordance with the demands of an actual war.”

Source: People’s Daily, January 14, 2013
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0115/c1011-20198682.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Huanqiu Editorial: How Shall We View Staring a War after Nearly 30 years Peace?

On January 15, 2013, , Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an editorial titled, “How Shall We View ‘Staring a War’ after Nearly 30 years Peace?" According to the article, discussions about “starting a war” have appeared on Chinese media due to the tense situation in the Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea. The article stated that the United States is everywhere behind the hot spots around China.

It concluded, “China should continue to build up the power of its national defense so as to form a strategic deterrent against the United States, which is behind all of the above thinking. The stronger China’s economic strength is, the greater China’s influence will be in the world order. China must have sufficient military power to suppress the ambitions behind any attempt to use non-economic means to change the rules of competition .”

Source: Huanqiu, January 15, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-01/3494346.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China to Continue Its One-Child Policy

On January 14, 2013, Wang Xia, Director of China’s National Population and Family Planning Committee, said at an NPFP Work Conference that China will continue its one-child policy. He stated, “We will adhere unwaveringly to the Planned Parenthood Policy, China’s fundamental national policy, and maintain a low birth-rate.”

Source: China News, January 15, 2013
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2013/01-15/4487037.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Severe Air Pollution in Beijing Won’t Disappear Soon

According to a statement the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau made on January 14, 2013, “Severe air pollution in Beijing won’t disappear soon.” From January 10 to 14, 2013, the air quality in Beijing remained at the level of "severe to serious" pollution.

Source: http://news.china.com.cn/, January 14, 2013
http://news.china.com.cn/live/2013-01/14/content_18176487.htm

Briefings | | |   Grapevine

Xinhua: Stay Alert for U.S. Offline Network Attacks

Xinhua recently published an article analyzing strategic changes in U.S. network-based warfare. According to the article, the key focus should be offline attack technologies that can implant data, via wireless signals, into enemy systems that are not connected to the Internet. It was reported that the U.S. Army obtained this strategic technology five years ago. There are three other strategic changes mentioned in the article: (1) New network warfare rules; (2) Distribution of offensive network attack weapons instead of defensive ones; (3) An upgrade of the network warfare command center to the top level in the Army’s ranking system.
Source: Xinhua, January 7, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2013-01/07/c_132074516.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

RFA: 100 Times More Chinese Middle School Students Head for the US

Radio Free Asia (RFA) recently reported that, compared to the year 2006, 100 times more Chinese students attended U.S. middle schools in 2011. Many of these students studied at costly elite schools. The numbers are based on data released by the U.S. Department of Education. From 2005 to 2006, around sixty Chinese middle school students studied in the U.S. In 2011, the headcount reached seven thousand. The number of Chinese students that came to the United States in 2011 totaled 160,000, which made China number one in the number of international students coming to the U.S. Most of the Chinese middle school students attended private schools with costs higher than the average college. Many Chinese parents interviewed by RFA suggested that the primary reasons for sending their kids to the States were: first, nothing useful can be learned in Chinese schools; and second, the U.S. is safer than China.
 
Source: Radio Free Asia, January 11, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xql-01112013161340.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations