Geo-Strategic Trend - 211. page

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

On January 7, 2013, the International Herald Leader, a newspaper under Xinhua News Agency, published an article in which the reporter interviewed Major General Luo Yuan on the “probability of accidental discharges” involving neighboring countries. In the interview, Luo pointed out that many neighboring countries may declare sovereignty [over islands or border areas in dispute] and “some countries are good at sneak attacks.” Luo therefore foresaw the “probability of accidental discharges” occurring in 2013. Thus, he suggested, China must get ready.

Source: International Herald Leader, January 7, 2013
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2013/0106/145995.shtml

China’s International Migration Report (2012) was released in December 2012. The report showed that in China, among business owners with personal assets of more than one billion yuan (US$160 million), 27 percent have emigrated, and 47 percent are considering emigration. In the past three years, at least 17 billion yuan ($US2.7 billion) of capital has flown abroad.

The Blue Book shows that the emigration of the wealthy reflects, to a certain extent, the problem of capital flight. Some people transferred their "gray income" overseas to achieve tax avoidance and also to evade prosecution in accordance with the national laws. This capital flight has led to a huge loss of the nation’s wealth.

Source: Xinhua, January 6, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-01/06/c_124191693.htm

Senior Colonel Dai Xu, Director of the Marine Security and Cooperation Research Institute and a Professor a the National Defense University of the PLA China, recently published a commentary in Global Times (a division of People’s Daily). Dai recommended that China should develop a powerful air force to deal with the crisis in the open sea. He pointed out that "Japan has continuously dispatched F-15 fighters to intercept Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft and has deployed anti-submarine aircraft to harass China’s ocean surveillance ships.” “For Japan to send fighter jets is a qualitative change in diplomatic moves. … The Chinese Air Force has no choice but to come forward with equivalent or even greater efforts. The Chinese Air Force should develop a plan as soon as possible, have targeted training and deployment, make sure China is able to take immediate action when needed, and be able to win the war when in the fight.”

On December 12, 2012, the International Herald Leader, a newspaper under Xinhua News Agency, published an article titled, “Liu Minggfu: China Must Be on Guard against ‘Peace Disease.’” According to Liu Mingfu, a professor at the PLA National Defense University, we must firmly grasp the “Missile” (People’s Safety) and the “Egg” (People’s Livelihood) with both hands.

Liu stated, “The development of China’s military forces is behind China’s economic development; it lags behind what is needed for the Sino-US strategic competition. Therefore, China must increase military spending and speed up the pace of the army’s build-up.”

Source: International Herald Leader, December 12, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/1212/134491.shtml

On Dec. 16, 2012, China’s State Councilor, Liu Yandong, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the seventh conference of Confucius Institutes. According to Liu, who is also the president the Confucius Institute Headquarters Council, the Chinese government will actively support the steady development of Confucius Institutes, following the spirit of the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.

In 2012, 400 Confucius Institutes and over 500 Confucius Classrooms were in operation globally. They received about 655,000 registered students from 108 countries and regions. Liu encouraged Confucius Institutes to expand the coverage of their operations from major cities to other regions and from colleges to communities.

Source: Xinhua, December 16, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-12/16/c_114044652.htm