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

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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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Guangming Daily: Obama’s Speech is Worrisome to Humankind

Guangming Daily is a Chinese official newspaper geared toward intellectuals. Joining Beijing’s recent media campaign against the Western forces’ strikes on Libya, Guangming’s website published an article criticizing President Obama’s March 28 speech given at National Defense University. In provocative tones, the article, titled “Obama’s Speech is Worrisome to Humankind,” asks the Obama administration, “Who authorized you to play such a special role in global security? Does this special role mean using military force to bombard a sovereign country and kill innocent civilians?”

The author condemns the speech as “showing the ugly face of U.S. hegemony.” “The U.S. practice is extremely despicable, according to either the international community’s acknowledged rules or the common sense of human rights.”

Source: The Guangming Daily website, March 29, 2011
http://guancha.gmw.cn/2011-03/29/content_1769282.htm.

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

A Beijing Resident Privately Measured Nuclear Radiation in His Community

Although the Chinese government announced that the Japanese nuclear leak has had no impact on China, some people were still concerned. Weeks after the nuclear crisis occurred following the tsunami in Japan, a Beijing local resident, Mr. Chen Jin, spent 1,400 yuan (US$213) on a pocket sized portable device to measure the level of nuclear radiation in his community. He also borrowed larger U.S. made equipment for better accuracy. Chen posted his results online for his community to see. The equipment he used has consistently shown a normal radiation level. The Beijing News report also mentioned that a government expert suggested that Chen’s activities were unnecessary and might be unprofessional.
Source: Beijing News, March 23, 2011
http://epaper.bjnews.com.cn/html/2011-03/23/content_213370.htm?div=-1
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

People’s Daily: U.S. Funding of BBC Widely Questioned

People’s Daily recently published an article saying that the U.S. government plans to give funding to the BBC for the “fight against Internet censorship in Iran and China” and “spreading the value of freedom and democracy.” The funding, estimated to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, is supposed to be used for exploring anti-censorship technology, developing software, and “educating local Internet users on circumventing Internet and television censorship.” The article suggested that this is not the first time for the U.S. government to give funding to the BBC. The plan reportedly triggered “anger” from media sponsored by the U.S. government, such as Voice of America and Radio Free Asia. The U.S. State Department responded that the decision hadn’t been made yet. The article also mentioned that British media has widely criticized the BBC for overpaying its employees with taxpayer money.
Source: People’s Daily, March 24, 2011 
http://finance.people.com.cn/GB/14226532.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Mission in Libya: The U.S.’s Low Profile Leadership

A recent China Review News article analyzed the style the U.S. has demonstrated in the Libyan mission, calling its new strategy “low profile leadership.” Although the U.S. did not decide the timing, lead the attacks, articulate the goal of the mission, or ask for an increase in its military budget, the article disagreed with the opinion that this shows a decline in U.S. power. Instead the author believed this was just a change in leadership style, with the goal of improving the U.S. image, lowering “the cost of managing the world,” and leaving more room for diplomacy.
Source: China Review News, March 25, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1016/3/9/4/101639494.html?coluid=5&kindid=24&docid=101639494&mdate=0325142517
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Scholar Rebuts CASS’s Report on the Middle Class

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) recently issued a report claiming that the size of China’s middle class stands at a quarter of the population and is growing at the rate of one percent per year.

Cheng Xiaonong, a U.S. based China expert, commented that “The concept of ‘middle class’ is borrowed from the West. There is a serious problem with using it in China. … The government willfully categorizes some people as middle class, which then becomes a banner for the government to tout its achievements. Government think tanks such as CASS then begin to dance with the government, using a variety of statistical indicators to put people into the bucket of the so-called middle class. If you look at public opinion, most Chinese people do not consider themselves to be middle class.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, March 26, 2011
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/zhong-03262011011353.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Report Shows Housing Demolition and Anti-Corruption Drew the Most Attention Online

On March 24, 2011, IRI Consulting Group, a research institute affiliated with the Communication University of China, issued an Internet Real time Public Opinion Index (IRI) report. The report revealed that land confiscation and housing demolition, anti-corruption, and the image of the police are the three issues that have drawn the most attention from Chinese Internet users.

The report said, “2008 was the first year for the Internet to touch on political issues; 2009 saw a fast growth in public opinion; 2010 was the year of microblogging in China.” Faced with the fast growth and spread of cyber public opinion, government bodies and officials have started to use microblogs as a tool to deal with the public. Microblogs have grown to be the third most popular Internet opinion source following news and online forums. 

Source: Xinhua, March 24, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-03/24/c_121227816.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Huanqiu: Foreign Media Always Make Low Class Mistakes

An opinion article published on the website of Huanqiu, a bi-lingual newspaper owned by People’s Daily, complained about Western media’s coverage of China’s Jasmine Revolution.

Without giving details, the article claimed it had received tips from Internet users that the photos that some foreign media recently used on China’s Jasmine revolution came from unrelated events in the past. The author criticized the reporting as “unprofessional” and full of “hostility.” “The Majority of Western media portray China as awkward, lacking transparency, and always on guard against other countries. They are spreading a big lie." It also questioned why China gets the most criticism and is labeled a “totalitarian regime.” The article concluded, “Let me say something. … China’s Internet users understand many languages. They like politics, debate, and make good observations. No foreign media will get away with spreading rumors about China.”

Source: Huanqiu, March 26, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-03/1589974.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology