Geo-Strategic Trend - 224. page

On September 22, 2011, Zhou Xishen, vice director of Xinhua, led a group consisting of leaders from 10 major Chinese media entities to tour Taiwan for an 8 day visit. China Times, one of the four biggest newspapers in Taiwan, arranged the tour. It included meetings with major Taiwan news media to establish future cooperation.

The media group included People’s Daily, Xinhua, Economic Daily, China National Radio, CCTV, and China Radio International. This is the third time that top Chinese central media have come together to visit Taiwan.

Source: Xinhua, September 22, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/tw/2011-09/22/c_131154634.htm

The Office of Overseas Chinese under the State Council of the Chinese government recently launched a Chinese language training camp at North Carolina State University. Organizers of the camp also include the Chinese School Association in the United States and the Cary Chinese School. The Office of Overseas Chinese dispatched three scholars and language experts to help local Chinese language teachers strengthen Chinese language education.

Source: China News Service, September 22, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/hwjy/2011/09-22/3347012.shtml

Beijing News recently reported that on September 16, 2011, the Vietnamese and Indian governments jointly announced that the two countries will jointly develop oil and gas in the South China Sea. India’s largest state owned oil company, OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd), has already invested US$225 million on the project. The Chinese Foreign Ministry commented that China is against any country’s involvement (in the South China Sea). The Vietnamese government said it “fully supports” India’s initiative. Earlier there were reports of military co-operation between the two countries as well.

Source: Beijing News, September 18, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-09/18/content_277041.htm?div=-1

Xinhua recently published an article that quoted a Times of India report that India has asked China to stop construction activities in Kashmir. Meanwhile India is also keeping a close eye on the fact that China is rapidly building “strategic roads, railways and airports” in Tibet and along the actual India-China border. The Indian Defense Minister wrote a letter to 19 congressmen suggesting that the Indian government is aware of the Chinese construction work on the Pakistani side of Kashmir and that the government has already expressed its concern to China. India is speeding up the process of increasing its military deployment along the India-China border. However the Indian Military has been complaining about a lack of funding. India’s annual military budget is US$32 billion while the disclosed amount that China has budgeted is US$91.5 billion.

Source: Xinhua, September 7, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-09/07/c_121989814.htm

On the 10th anniversary of 9.11, Xinhua published a series of articles reflecting on the impact of 9.11 on the United States and on the world. One of the articles was titled “9.11, Was It a Conspiracy or Reality?” According to the article, over the past 10 years, the conspiracy theory of 9.11 has never been laid to rest. Who was behind the hijacking of the airplanes? Was it 19 Arabs or the U.S. Government? The article said there was a group of 75 senior scientists and famous professors who came together to try to expose the truth of 9.11. Their theory was that 9.11 was an inside operation organized by a group of conservatives in order to come up with an excuse to attack Iraq and Afghanistan. The ultimate goal was for the U.S. to increase its world power.

The article disclosed additional sources supporting the conspiracy theory, including the results a Scripps Howard poll in 2006 which showed that 36 percent of Americans believe that the U.S. government participated in the 9.11 conspiracy. It also quoted a book titled 9/11: the Big Lie which sold over 200,000 copies in France. The book claimed that various 9.11 conspiracy theories are still surfacing in the U.S. They sew distrust between the people and the government and have caused a distraction in people’s lives.

Source: Xinhua, September 11, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-09/11/c_122017112_4.htm

Xinhua recently published an article offering a different angle on the Libya situation. The article expressed the belief that the key issue now in the Arabic region is that the young generation is expecting change, which should involve the mission of exploring and finding the right path that best fits their own country. The West is using this opportunity to package its own selfish interests (such as oil) along with so-called “universal” values such as democracy. The author tried to establish that, at this moment, there is no “ready-made example” that these West Asian and North African countries can use as a model. A new political system should adjust to and match the nation’s history and traditional culture. Otherwise, the world will have new “Afghanistans and Iraqs.”

Source: Xinhua, August 29, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-08/29/c_121923004.htm

A People’s Daily article analyzed the effects of the Libyan War. It said, “The war forcefully altered many factors affecting the situation in West Asia and North Africa.” “The Libyan war was started to effect UN resolution 1973. … On the surface, the war appears to have been a battle between Libyan opponents and the government. In reality, it had a strong shadow of big Western countries’ manipulation. If it weren’t for NATO’s large-scale and long-term air strikes, it would not have lasted over five months.”

“Gaddafi voluntarily gave up large-scale weapons of mass destruction in 2003, surrendering to the West both politically and economically, but the West still attacked militarily. [Therefore,] Iranian top leader Khomeini publicly stated that Iran’s decision not to give up its nuclear plan was absolutely correct. Russian leader Putin also claimed that the Libyan war showed how Russia had to focus intensely on developing its military force and enhancing its national defense. These examples show the negative side of the Libyan war and transmit a strong signal to countries and leaders not friendly to the West. Once on the opposite side of the West, the only way to be secure is either to give in completely or to develop one’s own “powerful weapons.” The later choice is advancing. As such, the risk of returning to ‘Jungle Politics’ will increase greatly.”

Source: People’s Daily, August 24, 2011
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/15492253.html

He Wenping, director of the African Department of the West Asian and African Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, wrote an article to explain China’s success in Africa. 

He said, “While the Western countries pay attention to ‘software projects’ such as ‘ability development’ and so on, China emphasizes roads, bridges, and other such visible and tangible projects, the “hardware projects,”  that benefit the local residents directly. So far, China has constructed more than 2,000 kilometers of rail lines, more than 3,000 kilometers of roads, over 100 schools, and over 60 hospitals. China has also reduced or cancelled 20 billion yuan worth of debt.”

“Due to financial constraints, Africa’s basic infrastructure development has a shortage of at least US$20 billion each year. These projects actually support China’s globally competitive construction enterprises which are implementing the ‘going overseas strategy.’” He said that each time she went to the capital of Ethiopia, the taxi driver would thank China for helping them to have such modern roads.

Source: Qiushi, August 29, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/gj/gjsspl/201108/t20110829_105813.htm