Government/Politics - 354. page

The root cause of the collapse of the former Soviet Union is not so much the one-man act of Gorbachev, but lies deeply in its system dating back to Stalin’s autocracy, according to a government think tank article published by the official Xinhua news agency.

From April to June, China’s high-ranking officials at the provincial and certain district levels were given complete physical exams. Over 90 percent of the officials were found to have "modern diseases" such as hepatic steatosis, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. Over 95 percent were overweight. An undisclosed number of officials had sexually transmitted diseases. The Chinese public often relates these modern diseases to government officials and even calls them "Luxury Diseases," "Bureaucratic Weight Gain," or "Symptoms of Corruption." [1]

"The most critical issue in China’s political reform is that we cannot openly tell our people that socialism is truly a mistake," according to Beijing University Law School Professor He Weifang. Nonetheless, he asserted: "It is high time that the anti-constitutional power structure be resolved."

According to the President of the Chinese Christianity Association, Cao Shengjie, Chinese religious groups will maintain independence in their development. China’s Christianity should insist on autonomy. China has a unique circumstance, so religious development in China should not be controlled by Christian groups outside of China.

Government training and research organizations such as the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC and the Development Research Center of the State Council are behind major Party and government changes.  They are dubbed as government official think tanks, an open yet secretive group.

While attending the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party in China (CPC), China’s first astronaut, Yang Liwei, indicated that a branch of the CPC would be set up in a space station to await China’s permanent presence in space. [1]

According to the Beijing Population Control Bureau, there are more than one million professional and volunteer security personell guarding the Party’s 17th Congress. The number includes 180,300 guard members, parking attendants, managers of the floating population and of house rentals, guarding cadres of various working units, and property security; 291,000 security and patrol volunteers; and 352,700 public security activists and other volunteers like Sanbao force. In addition, there are 60,000 security personnel in Dongcheng, Xicheng District and 120,000 in Haidian district. (The total number is 1.02 million.) There are also 1,200 secret police and 80 police dogs

China’s preparations for the 2008 Olympics have boosted the country’s human rights development and improved the welfare of the people, says Beijing. The remarks were made as an international campaign is unfolding to seek an end to human rights abuses in China.