Government/Politics - 323. page

Based on Chinese media sources, BBC Chinese reported on May 6, that the government of Hubei Province is investing 13 million RMB to rebuild the tomb of a famous person named Lian Shunbin. It is believed that Lian Shunbin is the ancestor of Lian Zhan, who is the former Chairman of the Taiwan Nationalist Party (Kuomintang, KMT) and former Vice President of the Republic of China.

Source: BBC Chinese, May 6, 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_8030000/newsid_8035100/8035143.stm Last Update (Monday, 11 May 2009 )

On the one year anniversary of Sichuan Wenchuan Earthquake, Xinhua’s front page carried a number of articles praising the Party’s earthquake recovery effort. While the state media continues to attribute the earthquake to natural disaster, building structure defects have remained a major outcry among the grieving parents, whose voices were completely suppressed by state media. According to VOA, of those who tried to conduct independent investigations of the earthquake, 80 percent have been summoned by the police. Some had their photos erased while in police custody.

Source:
Voice of America, May 9, 2009
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2009-05-09-voa31.cfm
Xinhua, May 10, 2009
http://www.xinhuanet.com/politics/xw.htm

The recent implementation of an Internet regulation in Hangzhou city Zhejiang province raised some serious concerns over the ordinance itself being too fuzzy and with much gray area.

There are specific technical problems in identifying and determining vaguely defined unlawful conducts. At the same time, the deficiencies in protection of civil rights will result in rights abuses and will inevitably lead to distortion in the implementation of the new regulation. In addition, since the existing legal system in general is inadequate in providing enough open channels of public expression; lawful citizens have been repeatedly reported and retaliated as consequences of legitimate expression, introducing such a specific legislation will inevitable harm freedom of speech, suppress the already restricted cyber space that many rely on for anonymous public expression of opinions.

Source: Nanfang News, May 4, 2009
http://big5.southcn.com/gate/big5/opinion.southcn.com/soc/content/2009-05/04/content_5119294.htm

The Ministry of Education and the People’s Liberation Army General Political Department jointly issued a few days ago the requirements for the national defense students.  Students are demanded to cultivate the “core values” which Hu Jingtao put forward as "loyalty to the party, love for the people, service to the country and devotion to the mission and upholding honor."

[Editor’s notes: National Defense students are college students who are selected by the military as reserve officers. They receive national defense scholarship during their study and will serve the military as an officer after graduating from college.]

Source: Xinhua News, May 7, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2009-05/07/content_11331589.htm

The Central Propaganda Department recently banned all Chinese media from reporting on Chinese officials involved in the recent international Siemens bribery scandal. Relatives of two members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee were on the bribery list.

Documents regarding the scandal that have been released by the US Justice Department revealed names of companies involved, including Chinese companies. Under US and German government pressure, Siemens also provided names to the involved governments, including China. The targeted media ban order was issued by Li Changchun, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau, the CPC Central Committee. However, Chinese media can freely report on the rest of the scandal story.

Source: Sina News, April 26, 2009.
http://dailynews.sina.com/gb/chn/chnnews/ausdaily/20090426/1711187101.html

Qiushi magazine published an article in its 9th issue on May 1 titled: "Why China Must Take the Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics as Its Only Solution." The article claims that "the path of socialism was a historic decision made by the Chinese people." "Socialist guidance for China’s development can never be allowed to be altered. China did not alter its socialist path in the past, nor will it do so in the future.”

Source: Xinhua, April 30, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2009-04/30/content_11289588.htm

The Party’s publication Study Times summarizes highlights of the recent guidelines that China’s General Administration of Press and Publications in China issued on April 6, 2009, to "further facilitate deepening reform of the press and publishing system." One, separate for-profit media companies from public interest media groups; two, encourage initial public offerings by media companies; three, acknowledge private publishing companies; and four, encourage media companies to go global.

Source: Study Times, April 27, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=0&id=2602&bid=6

The China Press, a US based publication sponsored by the Chinese government, reported that the Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong announced China’s support of the "800 Plan." The plan consists of: a scholarship for 800 people, an invitation to 800 US students to attend a summer camp in China and an invitation to 800 US education professionals to visit China every year.

The report suggested that the demand of learning Chinese is heating up in the States. It helps improve the strategic relationship between the two countries.

Source: The China Press, April 19, 2009.
http://www.chinapressusa.com/huajiao/2009-04/16/content_207951.htm

[Editor’s note: The plan is channeled through the Chinese state-sponsored Confucius Institute, which offers Chinese language courses with messages considered “positive” by the Chinese government.]