On February 16, 2011, Xinhua reported that, in recent years, due to the great efforts that organizations in the public security system have made nationwide in developing the “Golden Shield” project (also known as the Great Firewall of China), the basic infrastructure for the public security information network has been almost entirely completed. Currently, the network covers 32 provincial bureaus, 478 city bureaus, 3,361 county branches, and more than 70,000 grass roots stations. The coverage is over 99 percent.
Source: Xinhua, February 16, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-02/16/c_121089330.htm
Guangming Daily reported on the 2011 Investigation Report of the International Business Survey issued by Grant Thornton China on February 16, 2011. According to the survey, following the global economic recovery, Chinese enterprises’ intentions to expand have markedly increased. It showed that 45 percent expect to be involved in M&A activities in the next three years. That is an increase of 19 percent over last year’s 26 percent. It is also higher than the global average of 34 percent. Among the enterprises surveyed, 26 percent anticipate acquiring companies overseas in the next three years, the highest level since 2008. Overseas acquisitions have increased rapidly in recent years. Since the start of February of this year, Chinese companies have spent over US$10 billion on acquisitions. At the moment, large state-owned enterprises are responsible for most overseas acquisitions. Due to opposition from hostile overseas forces, many face obstacles and failure. Thus many private enterprises and other economic entities have been driven to join the acquisition activities.
Source: Guangming Daily, February, 17, 2011
http://economy.gmw.cn/2011-02/17/content_1624010.htm
On February 17, 2011, People’s Daily reported Finance Ministry Spokesperson Yao Jian’s comments on Finance Minister Chen Deming’s visit to three African countries (Morogo, Equatorial Guinea, and Ghana) from February 13-17. Yao said the visit carried special meaning because it took place against the backdrop of the 55th anniversary of China-Africa cooperation and the full-scale implementation of the eight new strategies put forth by the fourth minister’s conference of the China-Africa cooperation forum. The China-Africa cooperation forum was established in 2000. Over the last decade, the scale of cooperation has steadily increased. The amount of bilateral trade has increased from US$10 billion in 2000 to US$126.9 billion. Investments cover the areas of mining, manufacturing, agriculture, and so on. Since July 1, 2010, China has reduced its customs duty by 60 percent for 26 African countries. China also encourages and supports Chinese enterprises to increase investment in Africa, and expand in the areas of agriculture, manufacturing, finance, commerce, and environmental protection.
Source: People’s Daily, February, 17, 2011
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/13942743.html
Qiushi, the core publication of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party published an article on its website warning that urbanization at the current excessive rate is posing a serious threat to China’s food supply. The threat is three-pronged: a reduction in the farming population, in farmland itself, and in government funds. “This will inevitably lead to the food crisis arriving much sooner than anticipated.” The article stated that the authorities have manipulated the composition of the price index by increasing the weight of housing prices and expenditures on education. Their objective is to reduce the impact of food prices and ease the public’s concern over inflation. “This is just like a thief, who covers his ears when he steals a bell. It will not allay fears of inflation. It may, instead, conceal the impact of over-urbanization on the supply of food.”
Source: Qiushi, February 16, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/lg/zl/201102/t20110216_68361.htm
"The Chinese Communist Party is working directly with local organizations and businesses in Taiwan, looking for agents, instead of dealing with the Nationalist Party leaders (the Kuomintang)," said Wu Zhaoxie (Joseph Wu), a research fellow at National Chengchi University’s Institute of International Relations. “Further, there are more political parties [in Taiwan now] … about 140 of them. Most of them are one person or three to five-person parties, funded by Taiwan businesses or Mainland civic groups or organizations. Actually the Chinese Communist Party is behind them.” Wu made this statement on February 15, 2011, during an interview with Epoch Times after the Taiwan Cross-strait Business Relations Forum.
As the former head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington, D.C.,Wu was the chief representative of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the United States.
Source: Epoch Times, February 15, 2011
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/11/2/15/n3171118.htm
After the United States witnessed the critical role that Facebook played in assisting people to bring down the totalitarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt, it began using Twitter to encourage the opposition in Iran, said Xinhua in an article titled “The U.S. Uses Twitter to Stoke Fires in Iran.” “On February 13, the U.S. Department of State started posting messages in Persian to two Twitter accounts. One message said, ‘We hope to join your dialog.’ The other said, ‘The U.S. calls on Iran to allow people the universal right to peaceful assembly and to hold protests.”
Source: Xinhua, February 16, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2011-02/16/c_121087738.htm