Chinascope – Page 1059

SCO Conducts Second Joint Anti-Terrorist Exercise

On May 6, 2011, in Kashi, Xinjiang Province, China, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) launched a joint anti-terrorist exercise, “Tian Shan No. 2,” with the participation of China, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. This is the second of its kind following “Tian Shan No.1” back in 2006, in which China and Kazakhstan participated. The exercise included the following three areas: decision making, a hostage rescue force, and a fixed-point raid action. Law enforce officials from SCO member states observed the exercise, along with states with observer status.

Source: Ministry of Public Security, May 7, 2011
http://www.mps.gov.cn/n16/n1237/n1342/n803715/2773496.html

Briefings | | May 12, 2011 | Geo-Strategic Trend

PLA Female Singers’ Visit, Change in Taiwan Media

China News Service carried an article reporting on Song Zhuying, the PLA singer from the Naval Song and Dance Troupe, who recently visited Taiwan. Song is the second PLA singer allowed to perform in Taiwan. The first was Chen Sisi who visited Taiwan in 2009, when politicians in Taiwan expressed resistance and placed numerous restrictions on Chen’s visit. However Song’s visit encountered a dramatic change. Other than the pro-green Liberty Times, fewer media outlets mentioned Song’s connection with the PLA.

The article stated, “Looking back at the journey of the PLA singer’s visit to Taiwan, the political flavor of Taiwan’s media has decreased and the soft fascination with the songs has attracted more attention.”

Source: China News Service, May 9, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/tw/2011/05-09/3025655.shtml

Briefings | | May 12, 2011 | Geo-Strategic Trend

” ‘9.11’ Gave China a 10-Year Golden Opportunity to Regain Strength”

On May 7, 2011, China Review News published an article titled, “The More Anti-terrorism, the More Terror: ‘the Post-bin Laden Era’ Tests U.S. Strategy.” Citing comments from overseas and mainland Chinese media, the article portrays a dark picture for the future of anti-terrorism around the world and predicts that China will be the next target of U.S. anti-terrorism.

“Before ‘9.11’ U.S. national power could be described as having reached its highest point since the end of the Cold War. When George W. Bush was elected president, with his devout religious beliefs, he viewed China as the main strategic rival and exerted diverse forms of pressure. Relations between the two countries plunged to the lowest point since 1989. If this kind of aggressive offensive policy had continued, it would have greatly slowed the pace of China’s development, but right at that time, Osama bin Laden gave a vicious blow to the U.S. Seeing that it would have been impossible to deal with international terrorism without cooperation from China, George W. Bush became a different person and turned to cooperation (with China). In other words, ‘9.11’ fundamentally changed the foundation of Sino-U.S. relations, giving China a 10-year golden opportunity to regain strength.”

Source: China Review News, May 7, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/8/5/5/101685521.html?coluid=37&kindid=711&docid=101685521&mdate=0507075003

Briefings | | May 11, 2011 | Geo-Strategic Trend

In 2010 China Became the Third Largest Investor in Latin America

According to a recent report issued by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), a regional commission under the United Nations, in 2010, China became the third largest investor in Latin America and the Caribbean. Its direct investments of US$15 billion represented 9% of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the region. The U.S. remains the top investor bringing in 17% of FDI, followed by the Netherlands with 13% of the total.

Source: Xinhua, May 8, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-05/08/c_121390711.htm

Briefings | | May 11, 2011 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Religious Authorities Rebut U.S. Religious Freedom Report

On May 6, 2011, secretary-generals of China’s five state-sanctioned religious groups held a joint meeting to evaluate the annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. A written consensus was published on Xinhua on the same day.

The consensus states, “China is a country ruled by law and its citizens fully enjoy freedom of religious belief. … Religious followers in China have never been suppressed or restricted for conducting normal religious activities.” “The Chinese government has dealt with evil cults and cracked down on ethnic separatist forces according to the law. Such actions are fair, reasonable, lawful, and in accordance of the wishes of the Chinese people as well as our religious community.” “We have been in contact with many members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. Their views in the report are completely different from what they expressed when they were in China. This double-faced practice is puzzling to us. We hope the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom conducts a cool reflection. Always pointing fingers at others and making irresponsible remarks does not meet the true spirit of religion.”

Source: Xinhua, May 6, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-05/06/c_121388094.htm

Briefings | | May 11, 2011 | US-China Relations

Northern China Hit by Large-Scale Sandstorms

Starting on April 29, 2011, the northern part of China has been hit with large-scale sandstorms. The sandstorms were the strongest this spring, covering 10 provinces, including Gansu, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, Hebei, and Beijing, and 286 counties or cities (about 2.3 million square kilometers). The total population impacted by the sandstorms was 90 million. It’s the second time this year that Beijing and the Tianjin area were attacked by sandstorms. Downtown Beijing’s ground visibility was reduced to five kilometers. This round of sandstorms originated in Southern Mongolia and the South Xinjiang Basin. Coupled with low precipitation in the region, cold air was the main force that pushed the sand and dust south.

Source: China News Service, April 30, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2011/04-30/3009731.shtml

Briefings | | May 10, 2011 | Economy/Resources

“U.S. Has the Most Perfect Internet Control System in the World”

An article appearing in the news section of China.com states that the U.S. government employs technical methods to monitor and control Internet contents in the areas of child protection, national security, intellectual property, and computer security. According to the Internet Protection Act for Minors, the U.S. government exerts financial pressure on public schools and public libraries to force them all to filter their contents. The U.S. government also actively uses Internet blocking and wiretapping technologies to intercept and control international and domestic Internet communications in the name of national security. The Bush administration actively introduced laws to press content providers into cooperating. The article concludes that “the U.S. has the most perfect Internet monitoring and control system in the world.”

Source: China.com, May 1, 2011
http://news.china.com.cn/txt/2011-05/01/content_22472133.htm

Briefings | | May 10, 2011 | Information/Technology

China’s Red Song Singing Contest Expands Overseas

On May 3, 2011, the government kicked off a national singing competition – The “Red Song” Singing Contest. The contest focuses on singing “Red Songs” composed for the purpose of glorifying the Communist Party. This year, in addition to last year’s Australian and New Zealand sites, a new site will be added in Great Britain. The contest will mainly be broadcast on TV. However, more channels will be introduced this year, such as text messaging, the Internet, and microblogs. The contest has been going on for five years. The first international site, which was San Francisco, was introduced into the competition in 2009.

Source: China News Service, May 3, 2011
http://www.chinanews.com/cul/2011/05-03/3013588.shtml

Briefings | | May 10, 2011 | Government/Politics

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized