Social Stability - 138. page

Qiushi published an article on on January 1, 2012, on moral issues in China titled, “Correctly Understand China’s Moral Status at the Current Stage of Chinese Society.” The article defended China: “China has achieved great development and progress in its overall social and moral status,” because of China’s economic growth.

However, it did mention the “moral challenges” the country faces. “Ethical issues exist mainly in some areas of the population. Firstly, the moral failure of some officials is prominent in that they seek personal interest and use their public positions, money trading, and corruption. Their behavior has a great negative impact on society. Secondly, the lack of morality in some enterprises and among businessmen is exhibited in their lack of good faith, swindling, and counterfeiting. Thirdly, the moral problem of some cultural celebrities is seen in their seeking fame, plagiarism, and sensationalizing. Lastly, the lack of civic virtue stands out in not abiding by public ethics, not offering to help when others are in danger, and returning evil for good.”

Source: Qiushi, January 1, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2012/201201/201112/t20111228_132528.htm

People’s Daily recently reported on the completion of a government funded two-year project to install a quarter million monitoring cameras in Wuhan, the largest city in central China. The camera network is built on three levels. The top level monitors major transportation spots, large squares, schools, and colleges. The second level monitors main connecting roads and district-level locations. The third level monitors 225,000 “social check-points.” The whole system is divided into layers of “cells” in a “grid.” Mobile monitoring cameras are also mounted on police vehicles. There are seven different types of cameras deployed and the vast majority of them provide high definition digital video. The police operate the central control of this monitoring network.

Source: People’s Daily, December 29
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/70731/16752912.html

Beijing News recently reported that, as the year end approached, the issue of whether migrant workers would receive their year-end wages on time once again became a focal issue. According to Qiu Xiaoping, Director of the Labor Relations Division of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2011 saw an increase in the number of arrears cases as a result of companies having financial issues. Qiu blamed the global economic downturn as the cause of the trouble some companies are suffering. Qiu also suggested that, under existing law, it costs little for companies to hold overdue wage payments because the penalty for arrears cases is low. He said the government is working on a new law to criminalize these cases and would soon provide more information on implementation details. He also called for enhanced government monitoring and labor arbitration services.

Source: Beijing News, December 26, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-12/26/content_304965.htm?div=-1

A reporter from Legal Daily did an analysis of corruption cases that occurred during 2011, which was on December 28. A prominent feature of the analysis was the high level of the officials involved in corruption. Officials at the ministerial and provincial levels who were prosecuted and sentenced during 2011 included: Zhang Jingli, the Deputy Director of the Food and Drug Administration; Xu Zongheng, the Mayor of Shenzhen City (Guangdong Province);  Li Tangtang, the Vice Chairman of the NingXia Hui Autonomous Region; and Zhang Chunjiang, the Vice President of China Mobile Communications Corporation. According to Professor Lin Zhe of the CCP Central Committee Party School, the main characteristics of the corruption cases since 2006 were that the level of corrupt officials was very high; the amount of money involved was astronomical; and officials were often involved in group corruption. The year 2011 involved a few new characteristics, including: 1) Corruption at state-owned enterprises was prominent; 2) The type of corruption officials were involved in became more unique, meaning the corruption became more specialized and insidious; 3) Corruption involved ant-like characteristics, meaning those at the bottom in terms of their level of power used their limited power continuously, day in and day out, to go after money; 4) “Photo-gate” type scandals involving government officials occurred frequently.

Source: Legal Daily, December 28, 2011
http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/bm/content/2011-12/28/content_3245984.htm?node=20738

On December 28, 2011, Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and head of the Central Political and Legislative Committee, met with the members of the Eighth Council of the All-China Lawyers Association (ACLA) in Beijing. In his speech, Zhou called on ACLA council members to unite and lead the country’s over 200,000 lawyers by "insisting on a correct political orientation.” The lawyers “should firmly maintain a correct political direction and play a bigger role in the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics. [They] should always adhere to the Party’s leadership, adhere to the socialist road with Chinese characteristics, arm themselves with the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, firmly establish the concept of the socialist rule of law, link their pursuit of personal values with the cause of the Party and the people, link their future with the future of the Party and the people, and unswervingly become legal workers for socialism with Chinese characteristics.” Meanwhile, Zhou stressed that Party committees and governments at different levels must strengthen and improve their leadership over the work that lawyers do.

Source: People’s Daily, December 28, 2011
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1024/16745186.html

On December 27, 2011, Qiushi Theory, a political theory periodical of the Chinese Communist Party Central Party School and the CCP Central Committee, reprinted an article from 2010 on how to deal with group protests in China. The article was first published in a journal of the CCP Sichuan Provincial Party School and Sichuan Provincial Cadre Education College called Theory and Reform. According to the article, group protests have recently been increasing rapidly in China. Although most “mass incidents” in China are just demands for self-interest rather than “anti-society,” they may “intensify existing social conflicts and cause chaos in the whole socio-economic system.” After an analysis of the costs (risks) and benefits of a “mass incident” to the organizers and participants, the article’s author proposed legalizing heavy punishments for the individual organizers and participants so that the high risk will discourage anyone from joining a protest. Meanwhile, the government must control the media and “correctly guide” the media so as to prevent more people from joining in.

Source: Qiushi Theory, December 27, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/yjzy/201112/t20111227_132035.htm

Guangzhou Daily recently reported that the government run social security system in half of the provinces has lost money. In addition, actual earnings of the social security funds are drastically below the rate of inflation. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security has published statistics that show the loss of social security funds in 14 provinces totaled 67.9 billion yuan (US$10.74 billion) in the year 2010. According to the rules set by the State Council, these funds can only be saved in banks or invest in bonds. Dai Xianglong, Chief of National Social Security Funds, commented recently that it might be a better idea for the social security system not to exist because expectations might be too high compared to the actual amount of money a person might receive if he needed it.

Source: Guangzhou Daily, December 26, 2011
http://gzdaily.dayoo.com/html/2011-12/26/content_1570672.htm

On December 13, Xinhua reported that Liu Weimin, the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave a briefing to the media on the subject of human rights. Liu suggested that the United States should stop pointing fingers at China and should do some introspection. Liu’s comment was in response to U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s recent speech about human rights and Internet freedom. The U.S. Ambassador to China Gary Faye Locke made similar comments not long ago as well. Liu also pointed out that the Chinese government protects the people’s basic human rights according to the law. He said that China’s human rights related efforts have achieved major accomplishments and that China is a country that exercises the rule of law. The U.S. cannot interfere with China’s internal affairs and judicial sovereignty. He also insisted that China manages the Internet according to Chinese law.

Source: Xinhua, December 13, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-12/13/c_111239921.htm