Government/Politics - 230. page

According to an article in Xinhua, the abuse of office increases as the end of the year approaches. “A county in Inner Mongolia is known for its hot springs. The deputy of the county magistrate in charge of external propaganda complained to the Xinhua reporter that, when the year end is just around the corner, many government departments come to visit the county to conduct inspections. One day, he received over a dozen official guests. What most of them wanted was to experience the hot springs. He ended up having eight hot baths that day. By the end of the day, he was almost dehydrated. For the last bath, he did not even bother to change clothes. He just waited right in the tub for his guests to join him.” In another county in Inner Mongolia, a county official told the reporter that, on that day, he had four breakfasts with those visiting officials.

Source: Xinhua, December 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2012-12/20/m_124120545.htm

On December 19, 2012, the state media, Guangming Daily, published a commentary titled “Establishing the Bottom Line in Applying the Rule of Law to the Internet World.” The commentary proclaimed that there is an urgent need to regulate activities on the Internet. “People use the Internet as a tool in their livelihood and in production. Activities on the Internet reflect society’s activities. The Internet cannot and should not become an empire where there is freedom but no restraint. … After all, the Internet should  never be above the law. … For China, we must immediately implement the rule of law to re-enforce control over the Internet. … It is urgent that legislation be passed to regulate the Chinese Internet.”

Source: Guangming Daily reprinted by Xinhua, December 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2012-12/20/c_124121216.htm

On December 18, 2012, People’s Daily published an article titled “The Internet Is Not above the Law.” The article raised the issue that the Internet has been used for commercial fraud, malicious attacks, and rumor mongering. “[We] must be aware that the Internet is not above the law and that those who express themselves on the Internet may violate the law, knowingly or unknowingly. … An open China needs an Internet world that is civil, law-abiding, and healthy. Whether it is the government monitoring authorities or netizens themselves, we should all value this platform. It is unrealistic to require that every person’s remarks be correct and expressed in a right way; yet it is mandatory that people should be aware of the rule of law and be accountable for their own actions and remarks.”

Source: People’s Daily, December 18, 2012
http://society.people.com.cn/n/2012/1218/c1008-19929548.html

On December 12, 2012, the Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development co-hosted the fifth Beijing Forum on Human Rights. On December 13, Xinhua published a commentary and stated that the forum “has had a significant impact in urging exchange and collaboration of the international community in promoting human rights; it also demonstrated the progress China has made in this area.”

As to the criticism that China has received from foreign media and from some Chinese people about its human rights record, the commentary stated that some are constructive while more are “one-sided and lack fairness.” The commentary also noted that China’s human rights are not perfect, just like the U.S., the human rights preacher, whose record is often criticized. The commentary further asserted that China should be recognized for the significant improvements it has made on human rights issues.

Source: Xinhua, December 13, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2012-12/13/c_114017998.htm

According to Xinhua, the Public Security Bureau of Sichuan Province arrested two suspects from Ngawa County. One suspect was a monk from Kirti Gompa temple who "admitted" that he received direct orders from the Dalai Lama Group, which persuaded eight civilians to commit self-immolation, resulting in three deaths. The police in Sichuan stated that they will “conduct further investigations and severely punish those criminal actions that incite, instigate, and coerce innocent civilians to conduct self-immolation.”

Source: Xinhua, December 9, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2012-12/09/c_113960646.htm

On December 5, 2012, the new Communist Party General Secretary and Central Military Commission Chairman, Xi Jinping, met with representatives of the Second Artillery Force of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). During the meeting, Xi ordered the Chinese military to build a powerful and technological missile force. He told those present, “The Second Artillery Force of the PLA is the core of the strategic deterrence forces, the strategic support of China as a major power, and an important cornerstone for safeguarding China’s national security.” Xi stressed the need to uphold the Communist Party’s absolute control of the military and to ensure the absolute loyalty of the military to the Party.

According to China’s Ministry of Defense, the Second Artillery Force is a strategic force under the direct command and control of the Central Military Commission. It is mainly responsible for deterring other countries from using nuclear weapons against China, and for conducting nuclear counterattacks and precision strikes with conventional missiles.

Sources:
Xinhua, December 5, 2012.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-12/05/c_113922221.htm
China’s Ministry of Defense
http://eng.mod.gov.cn/ArmedForces/second.htm

On December 6, Xinhua announced that the Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection confirmed that Li Chuncheng, the Deputy Communist Secretary of Sichuan Province, is being investigated for “suspicion of serious discipline violations." The one sentence announcement did not offer details. Later Xinhua published a follow-up commentary which stated that the anti-corruption campaign is unfolding from the central government to local governments. Huanqiu, which is under People’s Daily also published a commentary. It stated that official media tend to categorize reports on corruption as being “sensitive” and that in every case in which official media delay or maintain a low profile when handling the publication of such reports, it creates the appearance of a cover-up. Li is the first senior party official to be investigated for corruption since the new Party General Secretary, Xi Jinping, took over from Hu Jintao in November.

Sources:
Xinhua, December 6, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-12/06/c_113923447.htm
Xinhua reprinted by Guangming Daily, December 6, 2012
http://legal.gmw.cn/2012-12/06/content_5920335.htm Huanqiu, December 6, 2012
Huanqiu, December 6, 2012
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2012-12/3349303.html