Geo-Strategic Trend - 227. page

Outlook Weekly, a magazine under Xinhua News Agency, recently published a commentary calling for “ocean development.” The commentary suggested that the oceans will provide China’s future “living space.” To develop awareness and to improve the sustainability of the Chinese civilization, China must change its old fashioned “land centric” mentality. The author suggested that the oceans connect all continents and are the cheapest “highway” that needs no construction. If China uses the potential of the oceans, it immediately brings vast economic benefits. The commentary drew on Japan as an example to increase awareness of how it used the oceans to protect Japanese interests. It expressed the belief that China should have a strategic view of the oceans and should take full advantage of ocean development for solving the problems of growth, unemployment and lack of resources.

Source: Outlook Weekly, September 17, 2011
http://news.sohu.com/20110917/n319690526.shtml

China News Service published an article on the sixth International Forum for Chinese Media that was held in Chongqing, Sichuan Province from September 17 to 19, 2011. There were close to 600 participants from 50 countries and regions. The forum focused on the ongoing changes in the world’s media environment, transformation opportunities for Chinese media, and the scientific development of the social livelihood issues that Chongqing faces.

The “Chongqing Declaration” was released at the end of the forum. It focused on the subject of the roles that overseas’s Chinese media play on the world’s media stage. According to the Declaration, oversea’s Chinese media will have growing opportunities as “the western language dominance weakens on the world’s media platform.” The article stated that in order to make themselves known to mainstream society, oversea’s Chinese media need to rely closely on the overseas Chinese people to promote further cooperation with and development of the local economy. While the emergence of new media technologies presents both challenges and opportunities for oversea’s Chinese media, they should maintain close cooperation and connections with their home countries including the mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, so they can be an international media outlet that speaks for their country.

Source: China News Service, September 18, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/hr/2011/09-18/3335313.shtml

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