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Mingpao: Police System to Access Extensive Personal Information on National Database

On April 14, 2015, Mingpao in Hong Kong published an article introducing details on China’s new 21 regulations on social stability maintenance, especially commenting on the “One ID Card System.”
“A resident identity card in China will not only record the holder’s name, address, and date of birth; it will also link to his or her credit cards, hotel occupancy records, and records of travel via aircraft, trains, and high-speed rail trips. It will also record social insurance and other private information. It is called the “One Card for All.” All of the information recorded in the ID card will be linked to the national public security system’s internal database and will be available for thousands of police officers nationwide. They will be able to access the database to check on anyone at any time. One part of the content in the 21 regulations was called "Advice on Strengthening the Social Security Protection System." The General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the General Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China recently issued the policies to establish the system. 
In addition, the 21 regulations emphasized that the overall TV monitoring system coverage will increase in public places. Under the new stability maintenance policies, the authorities will be able to watch Mainland Chinese citizen’s very closely. 
Source: Mingpao, April 14, 2015
http://tinyurl.com/oucuq4g
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Caixin: Who Is the “Big Tiger” That the CCDI Talked About?

On its own website on February 25, 2015, the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published an article titled, "Problems with the Lifestyle of the Qing Dynasty’s ‘Naked Official’ Prince Qing." The article stated that Prince Qing (庆亲王) was the culprit who, in the late Qing Dynasty, created an extensive corrupt environment. He took huge bribes, sold official positions for money, put all his money in foreign banks, and kept bribing the actual ruler Empress Dowager Cixi. The whole nation followed his example. CCDI didn’t say who, in its eyes, todays "Prince Qing" is.

The term "Naked Official" (裸官, sometimes written as "luo guan" based on its Chinese pronunciation) used in the article refers to officials who save their money overseas and may also have their family members migrate overseas, while only they themselves remain in China at their official post. The article stated that Prince Qing was a "naked official."

On March 24, 2015, Caixin, which is said to have a close relationship with Wang Qishan the head of the CCDI, published an article in English titled, "Who Is Prince Qing?" This article stated that Zeng Qinghong is most likely the "Prince Qing" that CCDI mentioned in its article. It stated, "Who is the Prince Qing of the current anti-corruption campaign? Speculation is rife that Zeng Qinghong, former vice president and close adviser to ex-president Jiang Zemin, fits the bill, especially because his name contains the same character for Qing."

It also stated that back then Cixi "relied more on blood lineage" to rule the country. "Today the princelings tout their ‘red gene’ to justify their entitlement to power, status and wealth. The parallel does not escape notice." Again, this indicates that Zeng Qinghong, who is a princeling, fits the bill well.

The interpretation of some media was that Empress Dowager Cixi stood for Jiang Zemin.

Caixin didn’t publish a Chinese version of this article.

Sources:
1. CCDI Website, February 25, 2015
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201502/t20150215_51495.html
2. Caixin Online, March 24, 2015
http://english.caixin.com/2015-03-24/100794229.html
3. Eurasia Review, March 25, 2015
http://www.eurasiareview.com/25032015-china-xi-jinpings-anti-corruption-drive-to-net-more-tigers-analysis/

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: China to Establish One ID Card System to Document Each Citizen’s Daily Life Information

Recently, the General Office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the General Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China issued 21 regulations designed to strengthen the social security protection system. According to the new policies, China will establish a nationwide “automated security monitoring system” using “new Internet & networking technology, extensive data, cloud computing, intelligent sensing, remote sensing, satellite positioning, and geographic information systems.”

China will establish “One ID Card System” which will require each citizen to use his real name in his daily life activities. Citizens’ ID numbers will be the only unique code that connects them to the national population basic information database. In that database, the government will document all of each citizen’s personal information and daily activities.

Source: Xinhua, April 13, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-04/13/c_1114955339.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

A Large Wave of Government Officials Seen Leaving the Public Sector

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that a large number of people who serve in government positions are looking for jobs in the private sector. As an example, in a three week period, a Beijing-based online job site saw over ten thousand government officials posting their resumes looking for private sector positions. The actual number of government officials accepting private sector offers saw a year-over-year increase of 34 percent. Many analysts marked the recent anti-corruption movement as the top reason for this new wave of job movements. The “gray income” outside the normal government payroll has shrunk significantly. Many government officials saw an instant decline in personal income. As a result, the government job positions suddenly became less attractive. These new job movements are mainly in the industries of real estate, e-commerce, and finance. China has seen this type of wave twice already. The first time was at the beginning of The Reform led by Deng Xiaoping and the second wave was during 2002 to 2003, when China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Source: Sina, April 8, 2015
http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/chn/chnpolitics/chinapress/20150408/08556581564.html
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Hong Kong Media: Iron Hat Kings Coup Portends the Inevitable Decisive Battle between Xi and Jiang

On April 6, 2015, Hong Kong Oriental Daily Online published a commentary analyzing the current political situation in China using the historical analogy of the Qing Dynasty’s "Eight King Government" coup against Emperor Yongzheng. At that time corrupt officials had severely weakened the country. Yongzheng tried to push through new policies to rebuild the country’s wealth and to consolidate power. He then faced severe resistance from the officials. The "Iron Hat Kings" [1] even attempted a coup to nullify Yongzheng’s power. Eventually Yongzheng won the fight. 

According to the article, Xi’s situation is similar. The group of power holders apparently did not want to give up their vested interests, so, during Hu Jintao’s era, this group created the structure of nine members at the CCP’s power center – the Politburo Standing Committee – and let each member manage an area on his own. When Xi Jinping succeeded Hu, the "Nine Presidential System" or the "Nine Politburo Standing Committee Members System" was changed to the "Seven Politburo Standing Committee Members System," but still, those power-holders tried to block Xi from using his authority. 

Though Xi Jinping’s authorities have taken down Zhou Yongkang, Xu Caihou, Bo Xilai, Ling Jihua, and a number of others, "Xi has not dug out the mastermind who set up the ruling system of Nine Politburo Standing Committee Members for the purpose of manipulating the ‘Iron Hat Kings.’" If the new authorities do not take down the ‘Iron Hat Kings" that represent those power-holder groups and do not dig out the mastermind behind it, the anti-corruption campaign will not win a ‘landslide victory,’ and China’s new government will not move forward." "Right now, the Chinese people are looking forward to the early arrival of the (Xi Jinping’s) ‘landslide victory.’" [2]

The article stated that this power-holder group started in 1989, which implicitly but clearly indicated that Jiang Zemin, who moved to the top leadership position in 1989, was the culprit that created this system to restrain his successors.
Source: [1] See the Chinascope article at 
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/6907/40/

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Hu Shuli Criticized Ma Jian for Intervention in Judiciary; Implications for Jiang Zemin?

On April 6, 2015, Caixin Weekly published an article that Hu Shuli, the editor-in-chief of Caixin, wrote. The title was, "The Promise to Resist Officials’ intervention in the Judiciary." The article discussed the new policy that the Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission and the Office of the State of the People’s Republic of China issued and published on Xinhua on March 30, 2015. [1] The policy established a penalty, thereby preventing government officials from intervening in judicial activities and meddling with the judicial records of specific cases.

Hu pointed out in her article that Ma Jian, the former Deputy Minister of State Security, who used to support Guo Wengui (as discussed in previous ChinaScope briefings [2] [3]), has repeatedly intervened in criminal cases. Ma Jian was responsible to Zeng Qinghong, who was former leader Jiang Zemin’s top advisor. Hu Shuli stated, "Obviously, Ma’s purpose was to shelter their money-power trade network. However, a corrupt official whose rank and power was higher than Ma’s would have intervened more recklessly in the judicial system, and might even have done so in the name of strengthening the Party’s leadership over judicial work. Such acts have seriously damaged the judiciary, shaken citizens’ belief in the rule of law, and become the most dangerous viruses infecting China’s judicial system." [4]

The above-mentioned "higher-rank official" who "intervened more recklessly in the judicial system" "in the name of strengthening the Party’s leadership over judicial work" is likely to refer to Jiang Zemin, because he used that term, but his successors Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping did not.

Sources:
[1] Xinhua, March 30, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2015-03/30/c_1114812232.htm
[2] ChinaScope, "Big Fight May Be Going on between Zeng Qinghong and Wang Qishan" 
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/7047/40/
[3] ChinaScope, "Caixin Sues Guo Wengui and Hong Kong Media for Defamation"       
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/7046/40/
[4] Caixin Weekly, April 6, 2015
http://weekly.caixin.com/2015-04-03/100797262.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Ministry of Education Named Seven Most Corrupt Areas in Colleges and Universities

China Review News published an article on the recently held 2015 Ministry of Education video conference on the “development of the Party’s conduct and of an honest and clean government.” The anti-corruption effort in colleges and universities will be its key focus in 2015. Among the seven areas that have the most serious corruption, the article named building construction and purchasing as the top two. In addition, corruption has also been reported in such areas as admission, accounting, research funding, school-managed enterprises, and academic dishonesty.

The article named a few college officials who had recently been taken down from their posts. They include the party secretary of Jining Medical University, the Principal of Nanchang University, the Party secretary from Ling Jing University and several others. It also mentioned that Renmin University was reported as having committed 49 counts of violations including in the area of student admissions. The result was that 47 people will be going through legal proceedings, 114 have received the Party’s disciplinary fine, and 14 received verbal warnings.

Source: China Review News, April 5, 2015
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1036/9/7/1/103697173.html?coluid=241&kindid=13578&docid=103697173&mdate=0405094523

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Outlook Weekly: Four Groups That Resist Reform

Outlook Weekly published a commentary stating that Xi Jinping views four groups as being resistant to reform.

The first resistance group consists of strong special interests that interfere with or "misread" the top-level design of reform. 
The second resistance group consists of departments and local governments that, in the implementation of the reforms, selectively implement the decisions of the central government that support their own local interests. 
The third group is the grassroots cadres who “grab feathers from a flying goose.” They seize any opportunity for private gain and harbor fear and resentment. This “last mile” often becomes the bottleneck that breeds more “flies.”  
The fourth group of resistance is public opinion. Any major government initiative is a social hot topic that gathers public opinion that supports opposition to it. 
Source: Outlook Weekly reprinted by China Review News, April 2, 2015 
http://hk.crntt.com/crn-webapp/touch/detail.jsp?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=103693340
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics