Government/Politics - 121. page

Mingpao published an article in its 2018 government work report delivered at the People’s Congress Conference of Guangdong Province which ended on Wednesday, January 24. According to the article there was no mention of the plan to achieve its poverty goal in 2018. The Guangdong provincial government body established the poverty goal back in 2015 after the Central Committee Political Bureau passed a “Decision on Winning the Tough Battle against Poverty.” The goal was to win the battle by 2020. The article reported that in 2015 Guangdong put pressure on itself and vowed to achieve the poverty goal by 2018, two years earlier. At the end of 2017, it gave up trying to achieve the goal due to personnel changes and a lack of experience in dealing with poverty issues. Xi Jinping also directed, during Lianghui in 2017, that the poverty deadline set by the central administration is 2020 and that the local municipal governments should be realistic and shouldn’t casually change the poverty deadline themselves.

Source: Mingpao, January 26, 2018
https://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20180126/s00013/1516904093908

Well-known Chinese news site Sina published an article on the members of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). There are 2,158 members on the list. Among them 99 are Chinese Communist Party members including Wang Yang, the only member from the Politburo Standing Committee and Xie Fuzhan, the Henan provincial party committee secretary and director of the Provincial People’s Congress of Henan Province. Xie is 63 years old and was born in 1954. He was promoted to the provincial party committee secretary in March 2016.

{Editor’s note: The Chairman of the CPPCC is always a CCP Politburo Standing Committee member. Given that Wang Yang is the only Politburo Standing Committee member on the list, he will most likely take the Chairman’s position and Xie Fuzhan is likely to be the Vice Chairman.}

Source: Sina, January 25, 2018
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2018-01-25/doc-ifyqyuhy6394518.shtml

Xinhua published an article in which it outlined three criteria that the Central Committee would use in the selection of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) name list. The list of these criteria follows:
1) Emphasize the party’s leadership. Adhere to the requirement that “those who make a recommendation should be responsible for the recommended candidate.” Be specific about who can make the recommendation; all candidates that the organization nominates should effectively play a leadership role in the party organization. All units should make recommendations carefully and responsibly after collective research and on the basis of deliberation.
2) Conduct thorough communication and consultation
3) Apply a strict selection criteria to the candidates. Follow the standards and apply strict selection to the candidates who can pass the political and integrity test with positive reputations. Pay attention to candidates’ political and work performance, their images and reputations, as well as their performance as Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee members. Those who cannot pass the selection criteria cannot be selected as candidates.

{Editor’s note: Observers have pointed out that Song Zuying (宋祖英) who has been a member of the 10th, 11th, and 12th CPPCC, is not in the 13th CPPCC list. Song, 51, is widely reputed to have been involved in an extramarital affair with former CCP leader Jiang Zemin.}

Source: Xinhua, January 25, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/2018-01/25/c_1122310656.htm

An article published on Haiwainet summarized the amendments to the constitution which were passed at the second plenary session of the 19th Party Central Committee held on January 18 and 19. According to the article, four revisions have been made since the first Constitution was adopted in 1954. They were in 1988, 1993, 1999, and 2004.

Below is a summary of the amendments made at the recent plenary session:
1) Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics was the result from the latest achievements of Marxism in China. It is 21st century Marxism and should serve as the guiding principal for the party and the nation to follow on a long term basis.
2) The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the greatest advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics. We must uphold and strengthen the party’s leadership over all work.
3) Form “five developments” in “economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization” by using the concepts of “innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing” to develop China into a Well-off Society by 2020, a basic socialist modernized nation by 2035, and a powerful modern socialist country by the middle of this century. At the same time, we also need to realize the great renaissance of the Chinese nation. It is of great significance to inspire and guide the entire party and the people as well as the people of all nationalities to make a concerted effort.
4) Adhering to the road of peaceful development, adhering to the opening-up strategy for mutual benefit, and promoting the development of a common community of human beings are of great significance in promoting the lofty cause of mankind’s peaceful development.
5) The reform of the state supervisory system is a major reform of the political system that is related to the overall situation. It is a major policy-making plan for strengthening the self-supervision of the party and the state. It is necessary to establish a law on an anti-corruption work organ under the unified leadership of the party; to establish a centralized, authoritative, and efficient national surveillance system; and to achieve the full coverage of all public officers exercising their public authority.

Source: Haiwainet, January 19, 2018
http://opinion.haiwainet.cn/n/2018/0119/c456317-31240914.html

Xinhua reported that, on January 11, Xi Jinping made an important speech at the second plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee. Xi analyzed the existing anti-corruption environment and vowed to continue to “fix the issue on the surface while looking for the root cause in order to achieve an overwhelming victory in combating corruption.” Xi listed the following six targeted areas:
1) Be persistent with zero tolerance on the anti-corruption effort and with 100 percent coverage. Where corruption is involved, apply restraint, pressure, and threats. Investigate both parties – those who offer and those who accept – bribes. Clean up past due corruption cases and minimize the increases in the number of corruption cases.
2) Change the focus of the anti-corruption effort so it shifts more towards the grassroots level and apply severe remediation on corruption cases among the officials who work closely with the general public.
3) Tackle gang organizations and the “protective umbrella” behind them.
4) Increase collaboration with international legal teams to threaten the corrupt criminals.
5) Make the officials fearful and conscious so they are afraid of corruption and don’t want to be corrupt.
6) Launch a reform of regulations and form effective systems to cut off the network among the interested parties while enforcing legal restrictions and supervision.

Source: Xinhua, January 19, 2018
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/2018-01/19/c_1122281826.htm