Falun Gong Lawsuit against Jiang Zemin Appears on Baidu
Chinascope has been informed that on Baidu, the heavily censored Internet search engine, users can find extensive information about Falun Gong practitioners’ lawsuits against Jiang Zemin. When searching regarding the Spanish National Court’s indictment of Jiang Zemin and other CCP officials for persecuting Falun Gong, internet surfers used the search terms "the lawsuit against Jiang in Spain" (西班牙诉江); Baidu returned 450,000 results. When searching for “the lawsuit against Jiang in Argentina" (阿根廷诉江), a lawsuit which resulted in an arrest warrant for Jiang Zemin sent through INTERPOL by an Argentine judge, Baidu returned 179,000 results. In an initial scan of the articles, many were found to have quotes directly from Falun Gong practitioners.
With an extremely tightly controlled media, Baidu’s loosening up of information on lawsuits against Jiang is very likely to have complicated political maneuvering behind it.
Source: Reader’s feedback. September 3, 2010
China Requires a Real ID for Cell Phone Purchases
CCP Issues National Training Plan for Non-Party Personnel
PLA Live-Fire Military Exercise in Yellow Sea
Soaring Housing Prices Responsible for Rising Food Prices
The fundamental cause for rising food prices are the soaring housing prices, according to Yin Zhongli, official from the State’s think tank, the Institute of Finance and Banking, which is under the domain of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
He suggested, “Bad weather and international markets may have touched off the food price hike but the fundamental cause is soaring house values. Even when the weather improves, inflation is unlikely to improve. Housing prices driven by inflation are emerging.” He warns that if the housing prices remain unchanged, wages may double.
“Unless the authorities provide low-income housing, the housing prices driven by inflation will persist for a long time.”
Source: Caijing, August 30, 2010
http://blog.caijing.com.cn/expert_article-151340-10445.shtml
Urbanization Continues to Erode Farmland
More farmland will be lost as urbanization in China advances. The urban population, which is currently at 46.8%, will increase to 54% by 2015, to 65% by 2020, and close to 70% by 2030, according to Ma Xiaohe, Deputy Director of the State’s Academy of Macroeconomic Research under the National Development and Reform Commission.
“Given the reality of more people and less land, so many people moving into the city will certainly require a lot of land … Furthermore, due to the urbanization process, more highways have to be built, water and utilities are a great part of what is needed, and public service facilities have to be set up. This, in turn, will reduce farmland even further.”
He concluded that China is facing an unprecedented challenge in preserving farmland and preventing food shortages.
Source: Huanqiu, August 30, 2010
http://china.huanqiu.com/roll/2010-08/1058881.html
Another Round of Training for the Party Organizing Directors
Over 430 directors of the Party’s local organization departments from throughout China are gathering in Beijing for 4 days of intensive training. Senior leaders of the Organization Department of the Party’s Central Committee are responsible for the lectures. From September through November 2009, eight such training sessions were held. “After a recess of 9 months, a new round of training began. Such a short recess is rare.” In early 2010, the Organization Department of the Central Committee issued a directive that mandates annual training for local directors.
Source: News of the Chinese Communist Party, August 30, 2010
http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/164113/12574039.html