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CASS Blue Book: China’s Society Faced Five Big Challenges in 2010

On December 15, 2010, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) issued its blue book on society. The book pointed out that, while China’s economy is developing rapidly, it also faces challenges and social issues. The problems are particularly striking in the areas of income distribution, labor relations, and prices for goods and housing. The book summarized the five major issues and challenges for China’s social development in 2010. They were: 1) The economy is entering a new phase; the development model needs to be transformed. 2) Conflicts in labor relations have become evident; a new generation of farm workers has become the focus of attention. 3) Reform in the distribution of income has met heavy resistance; be aware of the “trap of middle-income nations.” 4) “Land urbanization” has become hot again; be aware of damaging farmers’ interests. 5) The semi-urbanization problem is very serious; villages are shrinking in some areas.

Source: China News Agency, December 16, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/2010/12-16/2724961.shtml

Jia Qinglin:Firmly Walk the Correct Path and Solve Ethnic Problems with Chinese Characteristics

Xinhua announced that an important article would be published in the 24th issue of Qiushi (Seeking Truth) Journal on December 16, 2010. According to Xinhua, the article, by Jia Qinglin, the ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chairman of the People’s Political Consultative Conference, stresses that China must firmly walk the correct path in dealing with ethnic problems and use solutions with Chinese characteristics. The article also emphasizes that it is imperative to constantly insist on and implement the Party’s fundamental ethnic theory and policy and take it as an urgent task to speed up the development of ethnic areas.

Ed: The Qiushi article was not available at the time of publication.

Source: Xinhua, December 15, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-12/15/c_12883250.htm

Hungarian Radio Station Starts Broadcasting Programs from China

The Hungarian “Classic” radio station and China Broadcasting Media International Management Company (CBMIMC) are cosponsoring two programs from China, "Chinese Music Time” and “Asian Culture Time.” The first broadcast was on the “Classic” station on December 15, 2010. Wang Genglian, Director of the China International Broadcast Radio Station, and his associates attended the opening ceremony of the broadcast in Budapest. Acting Ambassador Liang Caide of the Chinese Embassy in Hungary and CBMIMC CEO Zhao Yinong also attended the event.

Source: China News Agency, December 16, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/hr/2010/12-16/2726657.shtml

China’s Military Must Have the Confidence to Sink U.S. and South Korean Warships in the Yellow Sea

[Editor’s Note: The bbs site of China’s official website www.huanqiu.com published an article on November 29, 2010, titled “China’s Military Must Have the Confidence to Sink All U.S. and South Korean Warships in the Yellow Sea.” The article announced, “South Korea’s military exercises caused a gunfight between North Korean and South Korea. North Korea bombarded South Korean’s Yeonpyeong Island on November 23. South Korea and its master, the U.S., used this as an excuse to further intensify the atmosphere of war. The U.S. Commander in South Korea announced on November 24 that South Korea and the U.S. would hold joint military exercises from November 28 to December 1 in the South Korean western sea territory, which is China’s Yellow Sea. The USS George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, would sail to the Yellow Sea to participate in the exercises.”

The following is a translation of excerpts from the article, along with some online feedback from Chinese Internet users.] [1]

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Qiushi: Press Reform to Follow the Socialist Path

In an article in Qiushi magazine on December 1, 2010, Liu Binjie, the Minister of the General Administration of Press and Publications, stated that reform of the press will firmly follow the socialist path and increase the ability of the press to spread Marxism. Liu stated that there were 357,000 press and publication enterprises in China, 90.8% of which were not State-owned.

To speed up development, Liu wrote, “[We] should unswervingly deepen the reform of the institutional mechanisms of Press and Publications.” Specifically, “we should … firmly stay on track in the direction of socialist advanced culture, … to provide the ideological guarantee, motivation, and support of public opinion in order to open minds, achieve reform, scientific development, and social harmony. … [We] should increase our capacity to spread the theoretical achievements of Marxism. … [We] should capture domestic and international markets by using products integrated with advanced content and advanced technology”

Source: Qiushi, December 1, 2010
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2010/201023/201011/t20101126_57759.htm

Xinhua: New Regulation System for Auditing Senior Officials to be Expanded

The General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued a new regulation that expands the current audit system. Provincial level officials, ministers, and leaders of public institutions and State-owned enterprises will be subject to audit. During the audit of provincial governors and ministers, how they implement economic policies, and their handling of income and expenses, funding, and program management will all be examined. The outcome of the audit will be kept in the official’s file to allow for personnel actions such as performance assessments, promotions, or removal. Officials from the Party’s local disciplinary commissions and other departments will carry out the audits.

Source: Xinhua, December 8, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-12/08/c_12860568_5.htm

China Daily Expands in Asia

On December 10, 2010, China Daily, the state’s English-language daily, launched its Asian edition in Hong Kong. With circulation in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Japan, the publication seeks “primarily to serve Asian political leaders, experts and scholars, business leaders and other high-end readers. … In addition to information about China, the publication will also provide China’s perspectives, analyses, and editorials on issues concerning Asia, and will interpret the interactions between China and other Asian countries.”

Source: Xinhua, December 10, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2010-12/10/c_12868405.htm

Xinhua: No Large Interest Rate Hike

Xinhua quoted several government researchers, stating that China would not increase interest rates to counter inflationary pressure, since doing so would most likely attract international “hot money” to China and hurt China’s economy. Instead, China will rely on lending controls, such as increasing the ratio of lenders’ cash reserve requirements. On December 10, the Bank of China increased the reserve requirement ratio by another 50 basis points, which is the third increase in one month and the sixth in 2010.

In November, China’s CPI increased 5.1% over the same month in 2009. The CPI for food increased 11.7% over the same period last year. Since the global financial crisis began, China has added 17 trillion yuan (U.S. $2.6 trillion) in new loans and the supply of renminbi has reached 70 trillion yuan (U.S. $10.6 trillion).

Source: Xinhua, December 14, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2010-12/14/c_12879617_3.htm