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SAPPRFT: Reporters Prohibited from Publishing Negative Reports without Permission

People’s Daily recently reported that the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) released an official announcement about the investigation of eight cases involving unlawful press activities. The announcement also required all news organizations to stop individual reporters and “reporting stations” from reporting on events that cross multiple industries or regions. They are also not allowed to report or to prepare a plan to report on any negative topics without receiving permission. At the same time, they cannot establish websites or publish special editions of the newspaper that cover negative topics unless they obtain approval first. The Administration required the news organizations to conduct a self-audit immediately to assure their compliance and to control their hiring processes strictly so as to ensure future compliance. The main substance of the eight cases in the announcement involved reporters accepting bribes for the removal of negative reports. 
Source: People’s Daily, June 18, 2014
http://bbs1.people.com.cn/post/129/1/2/139987704.html
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Beijing Announced Anti-Terrorist Measures

Guangming Daily published an article on a recent anti-terrorist conference held in Beijing. The conference announced that a series of anti-terrorist measures have been implemented in Beijing. They include a group of 100,000 members who will collect and report intelligence tips. A demonstration at the conference showed how a group of 2,400 building security workers used the social management surveillance system to report suspicious people or actions and how the system translated their voice recordings into words which were then uploaded onto the server. The conference also announced a cash reward of between 1,000 and 40,000 yuan (US$161 to $6,426) to be given for tips about terrorist threats. In addition, the armed police force will increase street patrols using motorcycles and surveillance dogs. It will also use five helicopters no less than 30 hours each week to provide surveillance from the air.

Source: Guangming Daily, June 22, 2014
http://politics.gmw.cn/2014-06/22/content_11682209.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

BBC Chinese: China’s Official List of Evil Cults Does Not Include Falun Gong

BBC Chinese recently reported that many Chinese netizens were surprised by the fact that Falun Gong is not in the official list of “evil cults” when, since 1999, the media has told everybody in China that Falun Gong was being persecuted because it is an “evil cult.” In the past few weeks, a wide range of key Chinese news agencies reported on the illegal activities related to “evil cults.” However, in the list that the media published, neither the Ministry of Public Safety nor the State Council had Falun Gong on their official list of “evil cults.” This triggered a large discussion online and many people, including lawyers, asked why the biggest so-called “evil cult,” Falun Gong, is not even on the list. For fifteen years, the popular spiritual movement (also known as Falun Dafa) has suffered the most brutal crack-down in China because it was named a so-called “evil cult.” Court rulings in China have frequently referenced Falun Gong as an evil cult. Some netizens suggested that the government “was just unable to wipe out Falun Gong and that Falun Gong had not really hurt society.” [Editor’s note: Falun Gong is a spiritual movement promoting the belief in Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance. Hundreds of thousands are believed to practice Falun Gong freely and legally outside of China in over 70 countries.]
Source: BBC Chinese, June 3, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/06/140603_china_cult_list_falungong.shtml
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

More High School Students Choose to Study Aboard

The “Gaokao,” China’s annual national college entrance exam, started on June 7 this year. Xinhua reported that over 9.39 million high school seniors participated in the three-day exam. The total number of Gaokao participants has been declining since 2008, but 2014 was the first year that saw an increase. The number increased by 270,000 from 2013. According to China Youth Daily, the Ministry of Education has worked with China’s National Development and Reform Commission to release the 2014 college admissions number. The number the 12th National People’s Congress approved for 2014 was 6.98 million. Of those 3.63 million are four year college students and 3.35 million are vocational school students. The local colleges are currently working on their 2014 admission plan based on directions from the Ministry of Education.

According to an article in Sina more and more high school students have chosen not to take the Gaokao and have instead applied to study aboard. The article said that the college admission process in China is highly competitive. The students get only one chance and their score from Gaokao determines their future. Moreover, colleges in China are often criticized for being bureaucratic, driven by economics, and having many cases of corruption both in the academic field and in the college admission process. The National Institute of Education Science released statistics on one million high school students who gave up the Gaokao in 2010. Of those, 201,100 or 21 percent did so because they chose to study abroad. That number is increasing by 100,000 each year. In Beijing and Shanghai, 20 to 25 percent of high school students choose to study overseas each year. The education community in China has a major concern that China is losing its elite students to overseas colleges. The article reported that many are calling for a reform of the college admission process in China.

Sources:
China Youth Daily, June 7, 2014
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2014-06/07/nw.D110000zgqnb_20140607_7-01.htm
Sina, June 9, 2014
http://news.sina.com.cn/o/2014-06-09/053030319964.shtml
Xinhua, June 7, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2014-06-07/c_126589298.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

BBC Chinese: The Chinese Authorities Are Cracking Down on Illegal Instant Messaging Activities

BBC Chinese recently reported that, on May 27, the Chinese authorities started a month-long legal campaign against illegal communications distributed across popular public instant messaging tools such as WeChat, which has over 300 million users. The China National Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Public Security are operating this campaign jointly. According to the officials in charge of this program, the primary goal is to crack down on rumors, violent activities, terrorism and pornography. In addition to those targets, this campaign also attacks “domestic and foreign hostile forces’ infiltration and sabotage activities.” Seven major Chinese instant messaging vendors volunteered to craft a joint agreement on establishing rules requiring users to use their real names, associating user accounts with cellphone numbers, restricting the size of online chat groups, and reviewing contents posted to the chat groups. The agreement also promised timely reports to be sent to the authorities as soon as “hot topics” gather substantial interest. 
Source: BBC Chinese, May 27, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/05/140527_wechat_governance.shtml
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China Vows to Increase Anti-Terrorist Efforts

In the wake of recent incidents in Xinjiang, Meng Jianzhu, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Politics and Law Commission, spoke at the anti-terrorist working meeting on May 30. Meng instructed all levels of law enforcement authorities to make the anti-terrorist effort their top priority. Meng requested the innovation of the intelligence work mechanism and improvement of early warning and precautionary capabilities. Meng also required intensification of street patrol efforts, combatting the organizers who smuggle groups across the border, and preventing the infiltration of the religious extremist ideology.

Source: China News, May 31, 2014
http://news.china.com.cn/2014-05/31/content_32539304.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Beijing Tightens Control in Anticipation of Social Unrest

On May 30, 2014, China Youth Daily reported that Beijing has increased the level of its security by deploying over 850,000 “security volunteers” throughout the city to assist the police. These “security volunteers” patrol the streets and monitor the activities of their neighbors. 

Beijing has also activated a community intelligence network that includes close to 100,000 security informants; the network covers the entire city. Starting in June, there will be 1,000 safety officers deployed on the buses and 866 security officers and guards at the bus terminals. 4,000 buses will be equipped with monitoring cameras on board. Residents who provide important leads about security risks may be rewarded a minimum of 40,000 yuan (about $6,413). 
Source: China Youth Daily reprinted by Xinhua, May 30, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2014-05/30/c_126564902.htm
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

People’s Daily: Over Ten Thousand People Charged with Corruption

People’s Daily recently reported that the Supreme People’s Procuratorate announced the numbers for corruption-related cases. In the first quarter of 2014, over ten thousand people were charged in over eight thousand criminal cases of corruption. Among these cases, over eighty percent are considered cases that involve major damages. In addition to the corruption cases, over three thousand people were charged in over two thousand cases of malfeasance, more than half of which were cases involving major damages. The number of people charged with corruption increased by nearly twenty percent compared to last year. The number of people charged with malfeasance increased by more than ten percent. The announcement also indicated that a large number of corrupt officials had been planning their final exit strategy to flee to a foreign country. They had been preparing for this exit for many years by transferring money to foreign banks and sending their family members overseas. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate plans to strengthen the efforts involved in overseas investigations. 
Source: People’s Daily, May 5, 2014
http://legal.people.com.cn/n/2014/0515/c42510-25020279.html
Briefings | | |   Social Stability