Chinascope – Page 1157

Loving One’s Country Does Not Mean the Same as Loving the Imperial Court

[Editor’s Note: On April 11, 2010, Nanfang Metropolitan, published an article by History Scholar Hong Zhenquai, “Loving One’s Country Does Not Mean the Same as Loving the Imperial Court.” The article suggested that nowadays many people misunderstand the relationship between the people, the country, and the imperial court (in the setting of current China, the imperial court can be understood as a metaphor for the Communist regime). A major reason was that the sitting government misleads people into believing that “loving the court represents loving the country.” Mencius, a philosopher from the fourth century B.C., who defended the teachings of Confucius against other philosophies, publicly discussed the correct relationship: “People are the most important, followed by the country, with the emperor coming last.” The article makes a case for people having oversight and control over the government. [1]

The article received a lot of compliments for its boldness, given the CCP’s media control. An unconfirmed blog message on Aiyuan said that Nanfang Metropolitan Editor Zhu Di was chastised (and lost her job) for publishing the article. The article is no longer available on the website of Nanfang Daily (Nanfang Metropolitan’s parent company), but can be found on many overseas Chinese sites. [2]

Nanfang Metropolitan is a newspaper under the Nanfang Newspaper Media Group, one of the most liberal state-owned newspapers, headquartered in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. When President Obama visited China in 2009, he gave an exclusive interview to Nanfang Metropolitan’s sister company Nanfang Weekend.

The article follows.]

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Reports | | May 23, 2010 | Report

China’s Luxury Consumption to Top the World in 5 Years

According to the Business Blue Book issued by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on May 19, China has a luxury consumption of US$ 9.4 billion. With 27.5% of the world’s total in this market, China has surpassed the U.S. to become the largest luxury goods consumer second to Japan. Within five years, it will top the world luxury goods market with US$ 14.6 billion spent on luxury goods.

The Business Blue Book noted that China’s affluent consumers are generally younger than in other countries. A 2008 report from McKinsey, a managment consulting firm, said that 80% of China’s wealthy people are below 45 years old, while the ratio is only 30% and 19% in the U.S. and Japan.

Source: People’s Daily, May 19, 2010

http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/11641831.html

Briefings | | May 21, 2010 | Economy/Resources

11 Provinces Plagued by Flooding

Since late April, repeated heavy rainfall has caused flooding in southern provinces including Guangdong, Fujian, Guangxi, Hunan, Jiangxi, Hubei, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Anhui, and Yunnan. So far 15.179 million people have been affected and 101 have died, with direct economic losses of over 8 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion).

Source: China News Service, May 17, 2010

http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2010/05-17/2287438.shtml

Briefings | | May 21, 2010 | Economy/Resources

Wenzhou City Openly Hires Party Secretaries

Wenzhou, a coastal city in Southeast China, is to openly hire 25 Party secretaries to be posted in local private companies, according to the city’s Party organization department. The secretaries, paid by the private businesses, will organize and expand the Party branches inside the companies. Ever since the fourth session of the 17th Congress of the CCP in 2009, nationwide private enterprises have been required to set up local Party organizations as part of the regime’s efforts to build up the Party. Usually the secretaries are appointed by superior Party cadres; Wenzhou’s move is an innovation because it is integrating the political process with the market mechanism.

Source: Zhejiang Online (flagship website of Zhejiang Province), May 19, 2010http://zjnews.zjol.com.cn/05zjnews/system/2010/05/19/016618714.shtml

Briefings | | May 21, 2010 | Government/Politics

Inflation Worse than the Official Consumer Price Index

Inflation in China has become a very serious problem despite the moderate official numbers, according to an article by Shanghai Business Daily. The official CPI released in April was at 2.8%, showing a mild upward trajectory. However, the paper reports, "the true inflation level has by far exceeded what the CPI reflects. If one takes into consideration various economic inflationary indicators or listens to the experiences of everyday people, the real inflation level has reached serious proportions.” If the government applies macro controls this year, the economy will come to a standstill, but without such control there could be chaos, says the article.

Source: Shanghai Business Daily reprinted by Nanfang Daily, May 13, 2010
http://gcontent.nddaily.com/d/2a/d2ac71782272659e/Blog/ac5/9e958b.html

Briefings | | May 20, 2010 | Economy/Resources

Government Employees Subjected to Loyalty Training

Over 6 million Chinese government employees have attended various political training sessions over the past five years. Intensive orientation training of these “civil servants” includes indoctrination in Party tradition, loyalty pledges, and military boot camp. It is rumored that the training has been effective in improving the political awareness of these trainees and their thinking is now in line with the directives of the Communist Party. In recent years, topics such as social unrest and State security have been added to this on-the-job training. Government employees have also taken training overseas. Such training has been institutionalized and without the training, the employee cannot be promoted.

Source: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China, May 17, 2010 http://www.mohrss.gov.cn/Desktop.aspx?path=mohrss/mohrss/InfoView&gid=792b0119-2f0e-41ed-b168-6a64a362378a&tid=Cms_Info

Briefings | | May 20, 2010 | Government/Politics

China to Register and Manage All Religious Practitioners

On May 12, the State Administration for Religious Affairs held a video/audio conference on implementing the “Regulations on Religious Affairs.” 1700 religious affairs officials from all provinces participated in the conference. The Administration decided to complete the “Religious Practitioner Registration Practice” in three years, so that it can systematically and dynamically manage them over the Internet. It will also implement the “Financial Supervision and Management Practice for Religious Activities and Sites” in three years. For the remainder of 2010 and early 2011, local officials will start trial implementations.

Source: People’s Daily, May 14, 2010
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1027/11601559.html

Briefings | | May 19, 2010 | Government/Politics

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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

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