In its publication on May 1, Qiushi Journal, the official publication of the Chinese Communist Party, carried an article written by Chen Yuanzhang, a Lieutenant General and Deputy Political Commissar of the Jinan Military District in Shandong Province. The title of the article is: "Strengthening the Loyalty of Chinese Communist Party Members." [1] The article called for an alert to the declining loyalty among party officials. Other news sources, including Xinhua, widely quoted the article [2].
Government/Politics - 341. page
Reports about Vice-Premier Huang Ju’s Death
On May 9, 2007, The Times (London) reported, "Huang Ju, China’s vice premier in charge of economic reform, the sixth most powerful official on China’s ruling Politburo Standing Committee, died this morning at the age of 69 after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer." [1] Around 7 pm, Hong Kong based Phoenix TV, a TV station close to Beijing issued the same report of Huang’s death. That day, other Hong Kong media and international news agencies such as Reuters also carried the news.
Later that night, when Reuters called the State Council Information Office for confirmation, the State Council dismissed the news: "It is our understanding that news regarding comrade Huang Ju’s death is totally unfounded." [2]
China: an Increasingly Erotic Society
According to the official statistics, currently there are more than 370 million porn websites in China. Each day about 20,000 erotic photos are posted on the Internet, and 144 million poeple surf the web. Of those, 20 million are adolescents under 18. A speaker from the Public Security Bureau of China, Mr. Heping Wu, reported that 80% of the crimes that youth commit are due to the temptations from the web. The erotic information on the web indulges them and erodes their morality. As a result, they commit crimes and even large crimes. The majority consist of defrauding others, rape, robbery and stealing.
Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju dies
Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju, a protege of former President Jiang Zemin, died in Beijing early morning of June 2, 2007 after a long illness, the official Xinhua news agency reported. Huang ranked number six in China’s Communist political hierarchy. His death may intensify frictions between former President Jiang and those loyal to current President Hu Jintao.
Former Head of China’s Food and Drug Administration Sentenced to Death
Beijing First Intermediate Court sentenced Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to death on May 29, 2007 for taking bribes totaling 649,000 RMB (US$848,366) from eight pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies and illegally approving their products. The unusual sentence is perceived as a political bid to rein in rampant corruption in China and as a means of dealing with foreign complaints about China’s corrupt pharmaceutical sector.
Overseas Chinese Scholar on Democracy in China
On January 14, 2008, Study Times, the official publication of the Party School of the Communist Party of China, published an article by Wei-Wei Zhang, Senior Research Fellow at the Modern Asia Research Center in Geneva. The article entitled, “Reflections on Western Democracy,” affirms the current policies of the Communist Party.
Citing the failures of western democracy in developing countries, the article states that China has successfully maintained stability over the past 30 years and that living standards of Chinese people have significantly improved, coupled with a ten-fold increase in the economy. The article suggests that China should first focus on economic and educational development, followed by the rule of law and last by democracy.
Zhang served as senior English interpreter for Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese Communist leaders in the mid-1980s.
Source: Study Times, January 14, 2008.
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/txt/2008-01/14/content_9529161.htm
Insider Trading a Serious Problem
The Communist Party’s Central Commission for Inspection and Discipline reported that China will crack down on insider trading by government officials as part of the Party’s renewed effort to limit corruption. Officials and their families who use their positions to profit from insider trading, construction bids, land sales, and trading of property rights will face legal action. Xinhua reported that 25,654 officials were indicted for corruption in 2006 and 23,144 from January to November in 2007. This figure included several high-profile investigations, such as ones that toppled the communist party chief in Shanghai and the former head of the Chinese Food and Drug Administration.
Source: Xinhua, January 17, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-01/17/content_7436405.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2008-01/14/content_7415885.htm
Mainland Scholars Call for Action to Oppose the CCTV Spring Festival Gala
On January 15, 2008, five Mainland scholars issued a joint statement titled, “Declaration of the New Spring Festival Culture.” The scholars expressed in the Declaration that the Chinese Spring Festival in itself symbolizes civilization and freedom and should not be subject to any political, economic or cultural restrictions. The scholars oppose the annual Spring Festival Gala held by the State television network, China Central Televison (CCTV), since that enables the Gala to be used as a propaganda tool to glorify the Communist Party.
The Communist regime re-named the Chinese New Year as the Chinese Spring Festival after its takeover of the Mainland in 1949. Every year, CCTV has a gala as the official State celebration. The Chinese New Year begins on February 7, 2008.
Source: Xinhua, January 17, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2008-01/17/content_7435231.htm
Zhong Ren Net, January 15, 2008
http://www.zhrnet.com/bbs/ShowPost.asp?ThreadID=1027