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Politburo Group Study on Safeguarding State Security

On April 25, the Politburo held the 14th group study on safeguarding the State security. Xi Jinping spoke again to repeat his emphasis on the issue. Earlier, on April 15, at the first session of China’s newly established State Security Committee, Xi had hosted the meeting and given a speech on State security. 
A Study Times article described the concept of State security as "a complete system including State security in eleven main areas: politics, homeland, military, economic, culture, social, technology, information, ecology, resources, and nuclear."
The article continued that China’s State security has its "domestic and foreign elements that are more complicated than at any other period in the history." "China is facing a dual pressure. Internally, it’s about political security and social stability; externally, it includes pressure on national sovereignty, state security, and its interests in development."
Source: Study Times, May 12, 2014 
http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20140512/4927.shtml

Huanqiu on Corrupt Chinese Officials Hiding in the U.S.

Huanqiu published a report on corrupt Chinese officials who have fled China. The report was titled, “U.S. Media: China Has Provided a List of a Thousand Corrupt Chinese Officials Who have Fled to the U.S.”

“Since the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, China’s anti-corruption and clean government measures have attracted attention both at home and abroad. One hot topic is how to bring those criminals who are corrupt officials and have fled China to justice. The U.S. media said that China has provided the U.S. with a list of such corrupt officials. The list contains the names of more than 1,000 people. Although from time to time the United States publishes the so-called news that ‘the U.S. will help China arrest corrupt officials,’ due to the lack of an extradition treaty and because of the complexity and the lengthy judicial procedures, apprehending those corrupt officials hiding in the United States faces numerous difficulties. In the past 10 years, only two people were repatriated from the United States to China, while recently, the exodus of corrupt officials has been speeding up. Some U.S. law enforcement officials and legal professionals have told the Global Times reporter that China and the U.S. should truly carry out judicial cooperation through diplomacy and bring these corrupt officials to justice. At the same time, China and the U.S. should pay attention to the new characteristics of the funds from corruption that are fleeing China and close the loopholes in surveillance and control that have allowed these corrupt funds to escape from China.” 
Source: Huanqiu reprinted by Xinhua, May 12, 2014 
http://zgws.xinhuanet.com/info.aspx?id=48790&typeid=20

Global Times: There Is No Person in the Military That We Can’t Touch

Global Times published an article promoting the anti-corruption campaign in the military. The article stated that, although the public received the Xi Jinping-headed anti-corruption campaign very well, recently some voices have suggested that this kind of anti-graft action will create chaos in the military. The fallacy was even put forth that "the military can lead the spiritual civilization campaign, but not the anti-corruption campaign."

The article rebutted these views by stressing that only a clean army can defend the country well. "There is no person in the military that we can’t touch [with a corruption charge]."

The article acknowledged that the anti-corruption campaign is a tough job and suggested three areas to focus on: (1) the officers, (2) the two fields where corruption is intense – personnel management and military property management, and (3) the cause of corruption – low moral standards and wrong ideology.

Source: Global Times, May 12, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-05/4992407.html

Qiushi Theory Commentary on Regulatory Challenges that WeChat Faces

Qiushi Theory published a commentary discussing WeChat and listing a number of unprecedented regulatory challenges that WeChat faces as compared to traditional media. First, the commentary compared WeChat with traditional media whose contents the government is able to control. WeChat was developed as a private friends channel and the role of the government was missing from the very beginning. Second, compared to traditional media, WeChat’s contents and coverage are hard to measure and monitor, while the content that traditional media publishes can be determined by which media published the contents, what the length of the contents is, and when it was published. Third, WeChat can penetrate large circles where the government will not be able to influence or evaluate the contents. According to the commentary, if there is lack of control over WeChat, then, when a crisis takes place, its social influence will be hard to control.

According to Wikipedia, WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging communication service developed by Tencent in China. It was first released in January 2011. Wikipedia reported that, by January 2013, it had 300 million users, making it the largest social network in the world.

Source: Qiushi Theory, May 8, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2014/201409/201405/t20140508_347251.htm

Qiushi Theory: Western Discourse Cannot Depict the Real China

Qiushi Theory published a commentary titled, “Western Discourse Cannot Depict the Real China.” The commentary stated that, of all the theories that the many foreign scholars have developed about China, whether it includes praise, questions, or disapproval, those are all based on the Western analytical style and cannot depict the real China. Therefore China must gain its own discourse rights in the midst of the “China Fever.” According to the commentary, China should also “reexamine the different understandings that foreign scholars have, develop a broader view, combine the development of China with Chinese characteristics with [an understanding of] world affairs, and let the world know that the matters that concern China also affect the rest of the world.”

Source: Qiushi Theory, May 9, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/wz/shp/201405/t20140509_347419.htm

Academician Ni Guangnan: There Will Be No National Security without Network Security

People’s Daily interviewed Ni Guangnan, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and professor at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, about network security issues. Ni pointed out that without network security there would be no national security. This is the Chinese government’s point of view today. Ni stated that network security is by no means a purely technical issue and China must raise it to the national strategic level.

Ni said, "Apple, Google, and Microsoft have monopolized the operating system running on intelligent terminals including desktop PCs, notebooks, and smart phones. If China does not have the core technology of the smart terminal operating system, it is impossible to safeguard network security."

Ni also said, "All of the Internet’s root servers are in the hands of the United States and several of its allies. The United States has the actual control. Over the years, a number of countries, including China, have repeatedly asked for ‘international co-administration’ of the Internet, but the United States does not agree. … Therefore, to truly safeguard China’s network security, we cannot have any illusions. We should earnestly take action through the development of future networks; ultimately we must solve the problem that the Chinese public network is dependent on other [countries]."  

Source: People’s Daily, April 29, 2014
http://it.people.com.cn/n/2014/0429/c1009-24953592.html

National Security Blue Book Proposes: China “Unite with Russia, Win over Europe, Harness the U.S.”

On May 6, the "National Security Blue Book: Chinese National Security Research Report (2014)," prepared by the International Center for Strategic and Security Studies of the Institute of International Relations, was released in Beijing. This is China’s first National Security Blue Book. The book reviewed and analyzed China’s national security situation over the past year and proposed measures on how China should handle the security challenges it faces. 

At a news conference announcing the release, a number of experts made recommendations for China’s national security strategy. Feng Zhongping, Deputy Director of the Institute of Contemporary China’s International Relations, stated that a number of issues have developed into China’s biggest security threats. These include the strategic competition between international powers, the U.S. and Russia and the EU’s attitudes and policies towards China, as well as China’s territory and maritime interests. 

From a strategic level, China should “unite Russia, win over Europe, and harness the U.S." "Unite Russia" means to consider Putin’s proposal to establish a Sino-Russian political alliance. "Win over Europe" means to increase the strategic content of China-EU relations beyond the trading relationship so as to deter and balance the United States’ strategy. "Harness the U.S." refers to establishing a "new type of great power relations" between China and the United States. 

 Source: sina.com, May 7, 2014 http://dailynews.sina.com/bg/chn/chnpolitics/phoenixtv/20140506/14305696805.html

China Released the First National Security Blue Book

According to Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern Metropolis Daily), the first China national security blue book, the China National Security Research Report 2014, was released on May 6, 2014. It was prepared by the Strategic and Security Research Center under China’s Institute of International Relations. The Report reviewed, evaluated, and analyzed the national security issues of the past year and proposed countermeasures to the security challenges that China faces. 

The report found that China’s terrorist activities showed a pattern of geographic expansion, with government agencies and police as the main targets of attacks and the use of rudimentary tools as weapons. There were 10 terrorist attacks in 2013. 
The report stressed that relying on only some of the traditional government bodies cannot effectively curb the terrorist attacks due to their profound international background. The newly established State Security Committee (SSC) is “a strategic move to safeguard national security effectively.” 
The report stated that, based on the Party’s documents, "The SSC is the highest decision making body on national security. It is also the executive and coordinating body of the highest authority.” 
According to the report, the SSC will coordinate both domestic and overseas security. It has four functions: the development and implementation of a national security strategy, the promotion of the rule of law in national security, the development of national security policies, and the conduct of studies to solve major national security issues. 
Source: Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern Metropolis Daily), May 7, 2014 
http://epaper.oeeee.com/A/html/2014-05/07/content_2067051.htm