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Briefings - 816. page

China Review News: Low-Cost and High Return Will Gradually Disappear in China

On December 9, 2012, China Review News published an article discussing the transformation of China’s economy over the next decade. Over the next ten years, China will gradually lose the advantage it has of a high rate of return on capital because of low-cost. According to the article, China’s huge consumption potential can gain new impetus for China’s economy. However, the transformation of the direction of China’s economy should focus more on key technology development, technology upgrades, and product upgrades.

Source: China Review News, December 9, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1023/3/5/6/102335601.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102335601&mdate=1209080504

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Government Policy Results in Blind Development of Wind and Photovoltaic Power Industry Sectors

On December 9, 2012, China Review News published an article analyzing why the development of the wind power and photovoltaic industry sectors in China are slowing down.

According to the article, the government’s “one size fits all” policy is one of the most direct causes of the excessive and blind development of these two sectors. Any enterprise that invests in these two sectors can obtain very generous government funding support and policy support. Attracted by such direct benefits, investors have completely ignored the risks and any possible vicious competition.

Source: China Review News, December 9, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1023/3/5/6/102335616.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102335616&mdate=1209081902

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xi Jinping: China Must Develop a Strong National Defense and a Strong Army

From December 8 to 10, 2012, Chinese Communist Party leader and military head Xi Jinping conducted an inspection tour of the Guangzhou military base. While addressing the local military leaders, Xi emphasized that “the greatest dream of the Chinese nation in modern times is the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The dream is a dream of a powerful nation. To the army, it is also the dream of a strong army.” Xi further stressed that to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, (we) must adhere to unifying the efforts to empower the nation by empowering the army; (we must) strive to develop a strong national defense and a strong military. 

 Source: Xinhua, December 12,2102 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-12/12/c_114003822.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Daily: Government Taxes and Fees Take Seventy Percent of the Cost of Housing

People’s Daily recently published a report on the result of research on the cost of housing. International Finance News, which is owned by People’s Daily, conducted the research, which delved into the full cost chain of the housing market from establishing the construction project to the final delivery to the ultimate buyer. The research showed that the entire process involves seven categories of government taxes and fees. These break down into thirty seven accounting cost items. The total cost of these government taxes and fees amounts to seventy percent of the price of the property. Different provinces may have some differences in those fees. In Beijing, the housing development process involves over twenty government agencies. In Guangzhou, this number is over thirty. Experts suggested that the real number would be higher than seventy percent if one considered upstream and downstream costs outside the scope of the construction project. 
Source: People’s Daily, December 8, 2012
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2012/1208/c1004-19832473.html
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

WCIT2012: China and Russia Called for New Internet Rules

The Shanghai based newspaper Dongfang Daily recently published a report on the World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 (WCIT2012), which started on December 4 in Dubai and will last 12 days. Government representatives from over 193 countries attended the event. During the event, the Internet governance issue once again became a big topic. China and Russia called for a new UN-based governance structure for the Internet instead of the current system managed by the US-based non-profit organization ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). China and Russia expressed the belief that all Internet member countries should have equal rights to Internet management. The United States and some other countries in the West took a strong position against any measure that would allow governments to monitor what people read and say online. Large Internet companies such as Google also stood against the new proposal. The WCIT2012 host, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU – a UN branch), suggested that everybody should focus on the fact that there are still 4.5 billion people who couldn’t even connect to the Internet.
[Editor’s Note: Media later reported that, on the afternoon of December 10, China, Russia, and other countries with poor records on freedom of expression withdrew their proposals.]
Source: Dongfang Daily, December 4, 2012
http://www.dfdaily.com/html/51/2012/12/4/904561.shtml

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

National Bureau of Statistics: November CPI up 2 Percent Compared to the Same Period Last Year

According to statistics reported by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the November CPI was up 2 percent when compared to the same period last year. The CPI grew 2.1 percent among urban residents and 1.9 percent in the countryside. The report said that the price of food went up 3 percent while the price of non-food items went up 1.6 percent. The price for consumables was up by 1.9 percent and the service sector was up 2.3 percent.

Compared to October, the November CPI was 0.1 percent higher. The CPI in urban areas went up by 0.1 percent, while the countryside went up by 0.2 percent; the price of food was up by 0.4 percent and non-food prices were flat. The price of consumables was up by 0.3 percent while the prices in the service sector were down by 0.3 percent.

Source: Xinhua, December 9, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-12/09/c_124068137.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua: The Dalai Lama Orchestrated the Self Immolation Incidents in Sichuan

According to Xinhua, the Public Security Bureau of Sichuan Province arrested two suspects from Ngawa County. One suspect was a monk from Kirti Gompa temple who "admitted" that he received direct orders from the Dalai Lama Group, which persuaded eight civilians to commit self-immolation, resulting in three deaths. The police in Sichuan stated that they will “conduct further investigations and severely punish those criminal actions that incite, instigate, and coerce innocent civilians to conduct self-immolation.”

Source: Xinhua, December 9, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2012-12/09/c_113960646.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

RFA: Rights Lawyer Prohibited from Giving Media Interview

Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported that, in August of 2012, Wang Chen, a rights lawyer from Hang Zhou, Zhejiang Province, initiated a petition campaign calling for an end to the labor camp system. Recently, Wang mailed the petition, which had over 10,000 signatures, to the People’s Congress and the State Council. Wang told RFA on Monday, December 3 that, when he was about to leave for an interview with a Hong Kong media on November 30, the police blocked him from leaving his house. They later summoned him to the police station for “Inciting subversion of state power.” Wang told RFA that the signatures he collected came from people from all walks of life, including lawyers, business owners, farm workers, public servants, people who had been locked up in labor camps, and some famous public figures, including Ai Weiwei, Jiang Tianyong, Li Heping, Li Fangping, Xu Zhiyong and Ten Biao.

Source: Radio Free Asia, December 3, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/ql1-12032012094501.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability