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

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

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Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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Hu Jintao Emphasizes Three Loyalties to Local Officials

2011 will see a nationwide reshuffling of the officials of Chinese Communist Party committees, especially the leadership positions, at the local levels – in the provinces, cities, counties, and villages. At a Politburo meeting on March 28, Hu Jintao listed the criteria for selecting cadres as “being loyal to the Party, loyal to the nation, loyal to the people, and politically steadfast.”

Source: People’s Daily, March 29, 2011
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2011-03/29/content_781166.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Sees Grain Production and Financing as a National Security Issue

A China Review News article suggests that the rising price of grain is looming as a national security issue for China. The world is experiencing the most dramatic commodity price hikes in three decades. Grain prices, along with oil prices, are hitting record highs. Grain markets have become part of the composite global financial system, intertwining with markets for capital, foreign exchange, futures, and other financial derivatives. Grain prices are vulnerable to the global capital flow. The recent Middle East crisis is pushing the oil and grain price spiral even higher. The article suggests that China elevate grain production and financing to a national strategic level by applying tight control over the production and sales chain, gaining power over pricing, stipulating relevant policies, setting up a grain investment and reserve bank, and developing grain related financial markets.

Source: China Review News, April 1, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/4/6/5/101646552.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=101646552&mdate=0401085326

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Qiushi Forum: Internet Media Should Have a Gatekeeper

The website of Qiushi recently posted an article on its forum discussing the need for a “gatekeeper” for online media. It emphasized the growing importance of China’s online media, as the netizen population is 457 million, topping all other countries in the world. The author believes that the Internet has a large amount of “junk” information that pollutes people’s minds, especially young people. “Society needs a healthy, proactive, and high quality online environment, and needs ‘gatekeepers’ for online media.” The “gatekeepers” should “filter and monitor the accuracy, reliability, and objectivity of information, and select beneficial information for the audience from the jungle of cyberspace, so as to avoid a flood of information and misleading the netizens.” The “gatekeepers” include not only online journalists and editors, but also government supervision agencies. The netizens should also improve their capabilities of being “gatekeepers.” 

Source: Qiushi, February 21, 2011
http://bbs.qstheory.cn/bbs/thread-44727-1-1.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China Tibet Online: The Dalai Lama’s Retirement Is a Political Show

China Tibet Online, the government website for Tibet, recently published a commentary on the Dalai Lama’s announcement that he would retire. It mocked the retirement as a “political show.” The lengthy article made three main points: (1) His decision to “retire as a political leader” proves that Dalai Lama is a separatist instead of a pure religious icon; (2) His arrangements to retire are to prepare for the transfer of power – in case the Dalai Lama loses the ability to remain in charge; (3) The Dalai Lama may not be able to truly retire because a large number of “independent followers” may lose unity, courage, and direction. The commentary also quoted the Dalai Lama’s estimate of his own life span of 113 years and concluded with the belief that the “show” may not be over yet.

Source: China Tibet Online, April 1, 2011
http://www.tibet.cn/news/index/ydzl/201104/t20110401_980413.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Hu Jintao Signed off on Revised Regulations on Military Secrecy

Hu Jintao, chairman of the Central Military Commission, recently signed an order to promulgate the newly revised “Regulations of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army on Secrecy,” which will take effect on May 1, 2011. The new regulations redefine military secrets and require designated personnel to define, decode, and reevaluate security. They add a requirement to build an infrastructure to process security information as well as to ensure safety for Internet and mobile phone use. They establish guidelines for handling secrecy leaks based on job function and related law requirements. They also clarify responsibilities among security committee members, military personnel, and various management and administration levels.

Source: Xinhua, April 1, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-04/01/c_121259548.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

PLA’s Military Training to Focus on Information Technology

Guo Boxiong, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission, spoke recently at the PLA’s Military Training Program Reform meeting and asked for “conscientious implementation of Chairman Hu Jintao’s decisions and instructions on military training, … innovations in the training model, and development of the training system, given the conditions of information technology, … and continuous creation of great improvements in military training.” This is one of several recent high level instructions given on military training with a focus on information technology.

Source: Xinhua, March 30, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-03/30/c_121249897.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Cultural Performances Draw in Overseas Chinese

Since 2009, the State Council’s Office of Overseas Chinese Affairs, a government agency that seeks to engage overseas Chinese, has organized an annual New Year’s performance, “Cultures of China, Festival of Spring” in 49 cities on six continents, with an overseas audience of 1.75 million. Programs have included patriotic songs, ethnic dances, and acrobatics. 
The President of the New York based U.S.-China Cultural Exchange Association, Luo Man, said after watching the performance, “I have been immersed in the diverse culture of the U.S. for a long time, but my feelings always belong to the land where I was born and raised. This emotion is cast in blood and cannot be changed.”

The programs are designed to boost China’s global image, while winning the hearts of overseas Chinese. “As China’s economic and overall national power rises, so do the prejudices, misunderstandings, and mistrust of international society. When facing a complicated external environment, we must actively react to guide international society to form an objective and comprehensive ‘image of China.’” 

Source: Qiushi, April 1, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2011/201107/201103/t20110329_74424.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Globe: Chinese Banking Giants Intense Global Expansion

[Editor’s Note: An article from Globe, a bi-weekly publication of Xinhua News Agency, gives an account of how the expansion of Chinese banks overseas has been accelerating since the financial crisis. “Some people in the industry believe that, during the crisis, certain countries made it easier for foreign banks to set up shop in their countries in order to help their own financial industries. The relatively low cost of entering foreign markets provided a rare window of opportunity for Chinese banks.” Excerpts from the article are translated below.] [1]

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Reports | | |   Report