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BBC Chinese: Internet Public Opinion Analyst Has Become an Official Career

BBC Chinese recently reported that the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security officially recognized a new career category called Internet Public Opinion Analyst and has started to issue certificates. These analysts are expected to collect netizens’ viewpoints and attitudes and then to come up with reports for government decision makers. It is estimated that there are around two million people currently performing this type of work in China. Some experts described it as “browsing the web for leaders.” The announcement triggered a widespread discussion on the Internet and many netizens called the new position “Professional 50-Cent Party Members.” [Editor’s note: It is well known that the Chinese government secretly pays people 50 cents per posting to post pro-government comments on the Internet. These people are considered members of the “50-Cent Party.”] Government experts suggested that the new job category is a direct result of the Internet’s impact on media that is traditionally government controlled. 
Source: BBC Chinese, October 4, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/10/131004_china_internet_analyst.shtml

122nd Tibetan Died from Self-Immolation

On September 29, one more Tibetan died after he self-immolated in Sichuan Province. According to RFA, he was protesting China’s policy of suppressing Tibetans. The victim was a 41 year old male Tibetan. He set himself on fire in front of his house and died on the scene. It was reported that he is the 122nd Tibetan who died as a result of self-immolation.

Source: RFA, September 28, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shaoshuminzu/dz-09282013160548.html

The Extreme Challenges Village School Children Overcome Every Day to Attend School

As urbanization is speeding up, more and more people are moving from towns and villages to counties [the equivalent of suburbs]. The number of school-age students in the rural villages has been declining, forcing more and more schools in the rural areas to close. The remaining school age children in the villages therefore face extreme challenges to go to school.

Xinhua
published a photo news report about the school children in Tongle Village, Weixi County, in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Yunan Province. They have to spend four hours each day climbing mountains and crossing rivers in order to go to school. The report said that they usually wear out at least two pair of shoes each month.

The report quoted a study published by the 21st Century Institute of Education which stated that, from 2000 to 2010, an average of 63 elementary schools, 30 teaching facilities, and three middle schools closed their doors every day. In that ten year time frame, the villages saw 229,400 of the elementary schools, or 52.1 percent, close down, while the number of teaching facilities declined by 111,000 or 60 percent.

Source: Xinhua, September 22, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/edu/2013-09/22/c_125419917.htm

Survey Results Show College Students Benefit from Microblogs

On August 19, Beijing Youth League and the Psychology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published the results of a survey on how Microblogs affect Chinese college students. The results showed that out of 10,686 students who took the survey, only 52.6 percent were satisfied with their life. In terms of the positive influence Microblogs had on the college students, close to 40 percent of the students found Microblogs helped them with their studies, 39.28 percent said it helped them to improve their job skills and 46.37 percent said it helped push them to explore opportunities to start their own business. Moreover, 68.12 percent of those surveyed think Microblogs enable them to participate actively in social welfare events, while 74.79 percent thought Microblogs bring positive energy to society.

The statistics from Sina Microblog showed that, by the end of June 30, one million account owners were college students. Of those 23.98 percent were around 20 years old or juniors in college. Guangdong Province ranked highest in the number of users, followed by Jiangsu, Hubei, Shandong Province, and Beijing.

Source: China Youth Daily, August 22, 2013
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2013-08/22/nw.D110000zgqnb_20130822_2-12.htm

Online Poll Shows People Want Checks and Balances and the Right to Criticize the Government

Since 2012, Professor Ma Deyong of Nan Kai University in Tianjin has been conducting a poll on the Internet. The results showed that 6.2 percent of Chinese netizens are leftists, 38.7 percent are rightists and 55.1 percent occupy the middle ground. The poll also showed that the Internet has become a major force in leading public opinion and is a platform where people can express their own thoughts. 

The total of Chinese netizens polled who believed that “whoever is in power, there must be checks and balances” was at 97.5 percent. Both leftists and rightists were on the same page on this issue. Those who agreed that “currently there is severe inequality in Chinese society” was at 97.2 percent. Ninety percent of leftists, rightists, and those in the middle, respectively, support “everyone has the right to criticize the government.” 
Ma initiated the online poll back in 2012 and continued into 2013. It used the Q & A at sina weibo, Tianya, and other websites where political issues are frequently discussed. The results of the poll were published on these websites. A total of 2,241 participated in the poll. 
Source: Nanfang Dushibao (Southern Metropolitan Daily), August 18, 2013 http://epaper.oeeee.com/A/html/2013-08/18/content_1917235.htm

Only One Quarter of Wealthy Chinese Are Very Confident in China’s Economy

On August 8, 2013, the World Journal published an article titled, “One Third of Chinese Millionaires Have Overseas Assets.” The article was based on The GroupM Knowledge – Hurun Wealth Report 2013. The report showed that only one quarter of China’s millionaires are very confident about the country’s economy in the coming two years, a decline of 3 percent from the previous year and one-half that from the year before. One-third of wealthy Chinese have overseas assets. This accounts for an average of 19 percent of their total assets. Nearly 30 percent of the Chinese millionaires who do not have overseas assets plan to make overseas investments in the next 3 years.

Since last year, over 80 percent of millionaires have planned to have their child educated outside of China. The major choices for foreign education are the US, the UK, and Canada. The main destinations for study abroad are also popular locations for them to purchase overseas residential properties. According to the "2013 Report on Private Wealth in China" jointly issued in May of 2013 by China Merchants Bank and Bain & Company – Management Consulting Firm, since 2010, about 60 percent of those respondents who have investable assets of more than 10 million yuan (US$1.63 million) have been considering or have already completed investment immigration. 

Source: World Journal, August 8, 2013
http://www.worldjournal.com/view/full_news/23395704/article-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E5%AF%8C%E8%B1%AA1-3%E6%93%81%E6%B5%B7%E5%A4%96%E8%B3%87%E7%94%A2?instance=m1b

The Expenses Some Government Leaders Have Posted Are Shocking

A Xinhua reporter conducted an investigation in Beijing, Hebei, Sanxi, Jiangsu, and other areas into government leaders’ expenses. He found that the expenses that some government leaders have posted were shockingly high.  The expense items are too many and diverse to enumerate, but the expense amounts are getting bigger and bigger. As an example, the report described how a retired provincial leader spent more than 3 million yuan [about US$500,000] in one stay in the hospital. 

Jia Kang, director of the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance, said that those in the municipal deputy position are spending more than 400,000 yuan per year. In more affluent areas, the expenses exceed 100 million yuan. According to many grassroots officials, this is just a basic amount to spend on their duties. A deputy position at this level is equipped with at least three vehicles, a sedan, an SUV, and a commercial vehicle. In addition, the position comes with a secretary, drivers, and private use of the vehicles. The waste is tremendously high.

Xinhua, August 16, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-08/15/c_125173077.htm?prolongation=1

CASS: The Labor Camp System is a Threat to People’s Freedom

People’s Daily recently reported that the Institute of Political Science of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Social Science Documentation Publishing House jointly released the 2013 Chinese Political Development Report (also known as the Political Development Blue Book). The key new finding of this latest Blue Book is that the Labor Camp System (also known as the Labor Reeducation System) has once again become a focal point for Chinese society. A general social agreement appears to be forming that the system must be reformed. The Labor Camp System grants the police the right to put someone in a jail-like facilities for up to four years without involving a court or any prosecution. It was originally designed for very light violation of laws. However the power of the system has been abused widely and for a long time. The Blue Book concluded that the system is “an enormous threat to the freedom of Chinese citizens” and that it is now time to reform the system.
 
Source: People’s Daily, August 6, 2013
http://gx.people.com.cn/n/2013/0806/c229247-19239074.html