Government/Politics - 182. page

On April 28, 2015, the China National Internet Information Office issued the “Working Regulations on Interviewing Internet News Information Services,” which will be effective on June 1, 2015.

Qiushi Theory published an article on the challenges to socialism with Chinese characteristics. The article summarized three challenges that the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics will inevitably face. 

The first is external Pressure. The article said that Western countries take the growth in China as a threat to their value system. Therefore, they have strengthened their effort to prevent the infiltration of Chinese ideology. A number of conflicts also exist in China’s neighboring countries. China needs to have superior wisdom in order to face these challenges.

The second is growing Pains. The article stated that, as China grows, it faces new challenges and risks in its economic development and reform. Different social issues exist, which affect whether China advances or retreats. Therefore, China must have the courage to deal with these growing pains. 

The third is major tests for the country’s leadership. The article said that how the Party manages the major tests and risks it is facing is a key to how the Party accomplishes its goals. Therefore the Party must be determined while increasing its effort to enforce strict discipline within the Party.

Source: Qiushi Theory, April 23, 2015
http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/hqwg/2015-04/23/c_1115069787.htm

China Review News Agency carried an article titled, “Why China Is No Longer the Largest Holder of U.S. Debit.” The article said that, in February, Japan surpassed China and became the largest holder of U.S. debit. The article called it good news because China has found a better way to invest its money elsewhere. It is an indication that China is trying very hard not to be trapped in U.S. treasury bonds. The article stated that the reason for China to reduce its holding of shares of U.S. Treasury Bonds is that China has shifted its investments into other assets that have a better return. Meanwhile China plans to make investments in other areas, including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Silk Road fund, and BRICS (an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). In addition, China also needs to protect the stability of its own currency. The article predicted that holding U.S. debit will remain as the largest share of China’s foreign reserve. It could also go up if needed but the overall trend will decrease.

Source: China Review News Agency, April 26, 2015
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1037/2/6/7/103726774.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=103726774&mdate=0426080653

On April 20, 2015, Boxun republished a news article from The Trend Magazine in Hong Kong on the current intense anti-corruption campaign in Shanghai, where former top leader Jiang Zemin has been for many years (the original article cannot be found online). Several high ranking political officials and business executives are already under investigations. Wang Qishan, Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), said that they “cannot afford to lose” in the anti-corruption effort and “vowed to break through Shanghai.” The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is now investigating the Shanghai Politics and Law system.

Many serious corruption cases involved the Shanghai Politics and Law Committee. Most of these cases happened when Wu Zhiming, Jiang Zemin’s nephew, was in charge. Wu was the former Party Secretary of the Shanghai Politics and Law Committee and is the current chairman of the Shanghai Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). “What Wu Zhiming faces is far from a soft landing as outsiders have speculated.”

Source: Boxun, April 20, 2015
http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/04/201504201500.shtml#.VTfMrWfYq3M

"The Western countries have been on high alert about China’s State-Owned-Enterprises (SOEs). The U.S. and other countries have been promoting the ‘Competitive Neutrality’ rule in bi-lateral and multi-lateral trade treaties and have tried to adopt it in the TPP negotiations. [Editor’s note: Competitive neutrality is the recognition that significant government business activities which are in competition with the private sector should not have a competitive advantage or disadvantage simply by virtue of government ownership and control.] A Qiushi article stated that, whether or not China joins the TPP negotiations, the ‘Competitive Neutrality’ rule will create challenges for China’s SOEs to carry out the ‘Going Abroad’ strategy."

The article suggested the following solutions to enable China’s SOEs to deal with this restriction:

1. Let the SOEs experiment with competition involving this principle (without the government’s subsidies and backing) in China’s Free Trade Zone (e.g. Shanghai) to gain experience.

2. Expedite "Going Abroad" activities. SOEs should take advantage of China’s "One Belt, One Road" strategy and other economic collaboration plans with Asian and African countries. This will enable them tom expand overseas quickly before the "Competitive Neutrality" term becomes a global rule.

3. Compete for international discourse power. Actively seek to control the discourse power and the right to define terms. Try to narrow the applicability of the "Competitive Neutrality" rule, reduce [other countries’ imposed] restrictions on China’s SOEs, request a longer grace period [for the government to stop supporting them], and tie the applicability of the "Competitive Neutrality" rule to match the economic development level of the emerging economies.

On April 20, 2015, Boxun republished a news article from The Trend Magazine in Hong Kong on recent attempted assassinations against Wang Qishan, Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). The original article in The Trend Magazine is not available online.

From the beginning of 2015, Wang has narrowly escaped assignations in Shanxi, Tianjin, Henan, and other places. In the assassination attempt in Shanxi, two killers were former provincial armed police officers who had been expelled from their positions. Both of them committed suicide after biting their poisonous collars. Since 2013, Wang Qishan has suffered assassination attempts over 12 times.

Source: Boxun, April 20, 2015
http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2015/04/201504200306.shtml#.VTfgO2fYq3M

People’s Daily reported that, last December, the State Council issued provisional regulations on real estate registration. Local cities and counties were to launch the regulations but have been seriously behind in doing so. Therefore, the Ministry of Land and Resources and the State Commission Office for Public Sector Reform recently issued another round of directions targeting the delays. The article quoted a representative from the Ministry of Land and Resources who stated that, out of over 300 cities and 2800 counties in China, only 16 percent of the cities and 4 percent of the counties had formed a designated department to handle the real estate registration process in their area. According to the representative, the delays have seriously hindered the progress of the real estate registration process.

According to Xinhua, the State Council, China’s Cabinet, issued the provisional regulations on real estate registration. The regulations provided that all governments above the county level shall designate special departments for registration in their areas, which would then follow instructions from higher governments. The regulations will cover collective ownership of land, ownership of buildings and forests, contracted land management rights, and rights to the use of land for construction, homesteads, and maritime areas.

Sources: 

At the Executive Meeting of China’s State Council on April 15, Chinese Premiere Li Keqiang criticized some ministries and local governments for having burdensome bureaucratic processes and called for an immediate streamlining of the process and for speeding up decentralization.