Government/Politics - 235. page

On January 16, 2013, China’s National Audit Office released its 2011 audit report on the implementation of the budget and on other revenues and expenditures of the central government. The audit report showed that, as of the end of last October, the 50 central government departments and their affiliates spent 10.281 billion yuan in violation of financial management regulations. “As for repeat offenders, the person-in-charge at the National Audit Office observed that every year the audit report covered the same audit targets with the same audit scope. Thus, to a certain extent, the audit led to the discovery of problems that were similar to those of previous years. This gave the public the appearance that it revealed the same old face and the same old problems."

Source: Huanqiu, January 17, 2013
http://finance.huanqiu.com/china/2013-01/3514269.html

The State Newspaper, People’s Daily (overseas edition), published a commentary criticizing the current appointment system for officials at central government-owned enterprises. The commentary was titled “Senior Executive Positions in Central Government-owned Enterprises Are a Means of Compensation; If One Cannot Become Deputy Provincial Governor, He Will Be Appointed Chairman of the Board.” The commentary stated, “Due to pressure from vested interests, the current personnel management at Central Government-owned Enterprises lacks a mechanism of constraints and incentives. Senior executives have become a privileged class, which has a significant negative impact on the national economy. It is imperative that this administrative appointment and dismissal system of personnel management be reformed.” The commentary called those highly paid executive positions “golden rice bowls.”

Source: People’s Daily, January 16, 2013
http://energy.people.com.cn/n/2013/0116/c71661-20219834.html

Huanqiu (Global Times) published an editorial trying to “clarify” and put an end to the Southern Weekend incident, which started when Guangdong Propaganda Department Chief Tuo Zhen re-wrote Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial. 

On January 8, 2013, the Epoch Times published an article titled, “Incidents of Censorship in China Offer Test of New Leadership.” At a December 4, 2013, political meeting, Party leader Xi Jinping said, “A country ruled by law should first be ruled by the constitution and lawful governance should be based on the constitution.” After the new year, two influential liberal publications, Southern Weekend and Yanhuang Chunqiu, published special editorials echoing Xi’s call for lawful governance based on the constitution. Both editorials were harshly censored.
 
In the case of Southern Weekend, provincial propaganda chief Tuo Zhen secretly re-wrote its special editorial. After the publication of the re-written editorial, the journalists from Southern Weekend went on strike. Hundreds of Chinese came to the newspaper’s offices, laying flowers and expressing solidarity with the journalists. In response, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on January 4, 2013, that China upholds press freedom and “there is no news censorship in China.” On January 7, 2013, the Central Propaganda Department officials handed down three instructions: “It is an unbreakable basic principle that the Party governs the media; Tuo Zhen had nothing to do with the changes made to Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial; the incident involved hostile foreign forces.”

Source: The Epoch Times, January 8, 2013
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/cases-of-censorship-in-china-offer-test-of-new-leadership-333760.html

On January 5, 2013, the Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping reiterated the Party’s determination to adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. He stressed that the issue matters for the success or failure of the cause of the future of the Chinese Communist Party. And the Chinese Communist Party must unswervingly adhere to the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

After 1978, Deng Xiaoping began to replace the Mao era socialism featured by “class struggles” with one centered around opening-up and reform. Many people believe there is a fundamental difference between Deng’s socialism and Mao’s socialism. Xi Jinping also stressed that one can neither use the historical period after the reform and opening-up to negate the historical period before the reform and opening-up, nor use the earlier period to negate the later period of reform and opening-up. "Socialism with Chinese characteristics is socialism and not any other doctrine. The basic principles of scientific socialism cannot be abandoned; otherwise it’s not socialism."

Source: Xinhua, January 7, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-01/07/c_124196084.htm

China’s state media Huanqiu (Global Times) published an article titled, “Establishing a ‘Maritime Ministry’ is in Line with China’s Grand Strategy.” The article discussed the need to form a ‘Maritime Ministry’ as part of the overall planning of China’s maritime strategy. The background of the discussion developed because of two facts. Starting in 2012, China and its neighboring countries have consistently had maritime disputes and in the 18th Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, China set the goal of “building a powerful maritime nation.” 

On December 31, the Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, issued a posting on its official blog announcing its expansion from 8 pages to 12 pages on weekdays and 4 pages to 8 pages on weekends. In addition, it added the statement, “In the new year, we will work hard to tell the truth and write the truth … making [our paper] more readable and viewable to truly serve our readers.”

Because of its insistence that it would "work hard to tell the truth," the posting has drawn a large number of sarcastic comments from Chinese netizens.

“I am surprised at this announcement. If it is true, it would be the first step that the People’s Daily is taking the lead to make the media move towards openness and its contribution should deserve recognition. If, however, this first sentence from the People’s Daily in the New Year is a true lie, what to do? How could the People’s Daily face its readers?”

“Does this mean that the Party’s official media has always been lying?”

“How come the Party’s newspaper must "work hard" to tell truth?”

“It is very hard for a newspaper belonging to the Party to speak the truth. Of course, it must work hard to do so.”

“When we were young, parents and teachers taught us not to lie. But after we grew up, [we] found out that one may lose his life just for telling the truth. …”
 
“Even the Central Government newspaper must work hard to tell the truth. Whether after the hard work, the truth is really told or not may never be known. …”

“Anything that requires ‘hard work’ is usually difficult. To call a deer a horse is normal. But to call a deer a deer requires hard work.”

Source: Official Blog of People’s Daily, December 31, 2012 (comments made as of January 3, 2013, at the blog)
http://www.weibo.com/rmrb

The state media Xinhua reported through its news wire that a protest was held in Hong Kong calling for the resignation of Leung Chun Ying. Leung, the pro-China Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, assumed office on July 1, 2012, with the endorsement of the Chinese Communist leaders. The Xinhua article said, “The protesters demanded that Leung Chun Ying step down, that all of the people receive full implementation of their retirement protection, and that freedom of speech be safeguarded.” A search of Xinhuanet.com did not return the report. No Xinhua report was available in English.

[Editor’s note: A Washington Post article stated, "Tens of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong to call for the city’s Beijing-backed leader to step down over allegations he was untruthful about illegal renovations at his mansion and to press for full democracy."]           

Sources:
Sina.com, January 2, 2013
http://news.sina.com.hk/news/20130102/-1-2861954/1.html
Epoch Times, January 2, 2013
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/13/1/3/n3767293.htm