Chinascope – Page 1092

China High Speed Rail to Meet Military Requirements

On December 7, 2010, Xinhua reported on the Chinese military’s participation in the design and planning of China’s high speed railway. Military requirements have become part of the rail development. In the Chengdu Railway Bureau, 14 military officers have been appointed to lead positions in key departments and at major stations. “Military transportation departments are riding the momentum and proactively coordinating railway planning, design, construction, and other departments. They propose the timing of the requirements and track the implementation. Military requirements were incorporated into the planning even before the start of construction. The high speed rail links Chengdu, Xi’an, Lanzhou, Guiyang, Kunming, Wuhan, Beijing, Tianjin, the Pearl River Delta, and the Yangtze River Delta.

Source: Xinhua, December 7, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-12/07/c_12853822.htm

Briefings | | December 9, 2010 | Defense/Military

Huanqiu: Put a Question Mark by WikiLeaks

An editorial that appeared on Huanqiu on December 2, 2010, questions the background of WikiLeaks. “The biggest question: How can a website that is dedicated to exposing American scandals survive in the Western world?” ”The scandals created by WikiLeaks release of information are either old stories or irrelevant gossip; the United States has quickly digested the ‘negative impact’ they brought about. … If the authority of WikiLeaks is established, it may just be banter in Western countries, but in the non-Western world, leaking unverifiable documents could subvert the State.”

Source: Huanqiu, December 2, 2010
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-12/1308891.html

Briefings | | December 9, 2010 | US-China Relations

China-Latin America Cooperating When It Comes to the Question of Oil

[Editor’s Note: The following article, published in China Review News, was written by a research analyst from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article summarizes how China and Latin America have been cooperating with regard to oil supplies.] [1]

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Reports | | December 8, 2010 | Report

International Herald Leader: U.S. Should Take Responsibility in Dealing with North Korea

The International Herald Leader published an article on December 3, 2010, about the U.S. lack of responsibility in dealing with North Korea. While China suggested the six-party talks, meant to resolve the crisis of the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. was not interested. The article stated that the U.S. response showed that the U.S. does not want to pay its due, but instead wants China and Russia to “control” North Korea. It wants South Korea to bear all the risk for the failure to control North Korea. The article also stated that the U.S. joint military exercise with South Korea and Japan had no impact on North Korea. “Now North Korea is certain that the U.S.-South Korean joint military exercise won’t turn into a military attack against North Korea,” so the U.S. just saved face without any great effect.

Source: International Herald Leader, December 3, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2010-12/03/c_13633559.htm

Briefings | | December 8, 2010 | US-China Relations

Study Times: Government’s Public Power Misused for State-Owned Enterprises

Study Times, a weekly Chinese Communist Party School newspaper, published an article pointing out problems with State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), especially those with monopoly positions in China. It argued that many of these SOEs lack core competitiveness in the international market and damage fair competition in China. “With the government’s subsidies, their employees receive large salaries even though the company loses money.” “After recent reforms and reorganizations, the SOEs have become larger and their market dominance stronger, making it impossible for privately owned companies to compete with them.” This is the result of the SOEs misusing the government’s public power. Some large SOEs have financial power and economic influence as significant as that of a provincial government. The article didn’t offer any solutions.

Source: Study Times, December 6, 2010
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2010/12/06/12/12_47.htm

Briefings | | December 8, 2010 | Economy/Resources

CCP Politburo Meeting on Next Year’s Economic Work

A Chinese Communist Party Politburo meeting was held in Beijing on December 3, 2010. Hu Jintao presided over the meeting, analyzing the economic requirements for the coming year. The meeting’s outcome stipulated “this year, the economic development environment in China has been extremely complex, with many natural disasters and major challenges.” It also concluded that “China will face many difficulties and challenges in the coming year.” For next year, “(China) should continue to strengthen and improve its macro-economic control, adjust the short-term and long-term priorities … not only solve the current issues, but also advance on solving the deeper conflicts and resolving potential risks … ” It outlined many directions, including increasing internal consumption and raising income for the low to mid-level income group, preventing blindly repetitive government investments, stabilizing consumer prices, developing energy-saving industries, expanding exports, and so on.

Source: Xinhua, December 3, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-12/03/c_13633917.htm

Briefings | | December 8, 2010 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily: Correctly Understand the Culture Industry’s Functions

People’s Daily recently published an article on the importance of having the right understanding of the functions performed by the culture industry. The article suggested that the culture industry is an emerging industry that has both an “entertainment function” and an “education function.” The author explained that the “education function” is about providing “social benefits” that actually refer to guiding public opinion. The article called for “insisting on an advanced socialist culture direction” and “emphasizing government guidance." The goal of the culture industry’s “education function” is to establish “the core value system of socialism.”

Source: People’s Daily Online, December 3, 2010
http://theory.people.com.cn/GB/13383723.html

Briefings | | December 7, 2010 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: Hu Jintao Held a Symposium for Non-Party Personnel

On December 3, 2010, Xinhua reported that Chinese President Hu Jintao had met with non-Party personnel in the format of a symposium on November 30 and delivered an important speech. Members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CCP Central Committee, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinling, Xi Jinping, and Li Keqiang, attended the symposium. Some non-CCP political leaders expressed fundamental support for the CCP’s economic policies and offered a few suggestions. In Hu’s speech, he admitted that China’s economy had some serious problems and described the domestic and international situation as “complex and volatile.” Hu pointed out six areas to focus on next year: 1) improve macroeconomic control; 2) emphasize agriculture; 3) speed up adjustments to the economic structure; 4) push hard on focal reform areas; 5) actively participate in the global economic reform; 6) enhance social control. Finally, Hu called for non-Party assistance to connect “the Party and the Government” with the people.

Source: Xinhua, December 3, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-12/03/c_13633909.htm

Briefings | | December 7, 2010 | Government/Politics

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

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

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