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China’s GAPP Reforms Publishers and Newspapers

In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Li Dongdong, Vice Chief of General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), discussed media reform. He said all of the country’s 580 publishers have finished the reform. Within three years, GAPP is to transform the 1,943 newspapers and 9,821 periodicals through merger, restructuring, and suspension. 

Source: CCTV, March 3, 2010 
http://news.cctv.com/xianchang/20100303/103601.shtml

Culture Ministry on Monitoring Internet CafÚs

Both government and business should work toward prohibiting people under age from visiting Internet Cafés, said a Culture Ministry official in response to proposals at the current sessions of the National People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Conference. 

Zhang Xinjian, a deputy director in charge of the marketing division of the Ministry, discussed a three-point solution: streamlining the management of Internet Cafes with government administration and corporate operation; hiring social workers as voluntary supervisors; using technology to strengthen the surveillance system and develop monitoring software. 
Source: Xinhua, March 5, 2010 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2010-03/05/content_13100264.htm

Rear Admiral Demands China’s Share of Arctic Ocean Exploration

At the Third Session of the Eleventh Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo asked China not to fall behind on Arctic Ocean exploration. 

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the North Pole and surrounding area are the common wealth of the world’s people and do not belonging to any country, said Yin Zhuo, a Rear Admiral and former President of the Chinese Naval Strategy Institute. Yin criticized that some countries are infringing upon other nations interests by fighting for sovereignty over the region, which reportedly has 9% of the world’s coal and a quarter of the global untapped oil and gas, together with abundant diamond, gold, uranium, and other resources. 
Having a belief in the future possibility of China’s regional war in the oceans, Yin proposed to establish a cross-agency commission focusing on strategic planning. 
Source: China News Service, March 5, 2010 
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2010/03-05/2154039.shtml

PLA Daily: China Should Guide the Public’s View of War

People’s Liberation Army Daily called for proactive guidance of the public’s view of war to ensure “the masses, the party, and armed forces maintain a high degree of unity in terms of ideology.” “The Public’s view of war" is an awareness that the masses can widely influence the public’s general knowledge and basic attitude toward war. “Particularly in national defense education activities, the Marxist view of war is an important component to be explained and spread in a comprehensive systematic and lively manner, to help the public have a more scientific knowledge and attitude on war activities, so as to lay a solid foundation for further improvement of the quality of national defense, and for curbing and winning future wars.”

Source: Xinhua, March 4, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-03/04/content_13093575.htm

China to Become the No. One Military Power?

Liu Mingfu, a senior colonel in the People’s Liberation Army and author of a new book titled "China’s Dream” reiterated in an recent interview that China must seek to rise to become the world’s number one military power. “We need the military to rise as well as the economy to rise.” “China’s military rise is an inevitable requirement of China’s national interest and an important guarantee when dealing with U.S. containment. China’s military rise is conducive to world peace, but will also help to change the serious imbalance in the world’s military structure.” According to a March 1 survey on the Global Times’ website, over 80% hold that China should seek to become the world’s number one super power.

Source: Xinhua, March 3, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-03/03/content_13087071.htm

Chinese Military Advocates Russia’s Tit For Tat Approach Against the U.S.

Luo Yuan, a major general in the People’s Liberation Army, made public remarks at a government conference that the U.S. has knowingly violated China’s core strategic interests in Taiwan, Tibet, and Xinjiang, which amounts to provocation against China. He stated that China should follow Russia’s tit for tat approach and counter the U.S. to show that China also has cards in its hand. Examples include Russia’s deployment of Topol M strategic missiles in Russia and deployment of short-range missiles at Kaliningrad.

Source: China Review News, March 4, 2010
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1012/4/7/4/101247486.html?coluid=1&kindid=0&docid=101247486&mdate=0304002941

Taiwan New Party Chairman: Taiwan Should Tone Down Relationship with U.S.

Yok Mu-ming, Chairman of the New Party in Taiwan said that Taiwan should sacrifice some of its relationships with the U.S. for achieving a better relationship with Mainland China. Yok said the Ma Ying-jeou administration should delay Taiwan’s spending on U.S. weapon purchases and instead use the money for social welfare projects. He claims that it is wasteful to buy U.S. weapons since the China-Taiwan relationship is developing peacefully. Yok said that during the upcoming municipal congress member elections the New Party candidates will speak out loudly about what the Kuomintang candidates dare not say

Source: Global Times, March 1, 2010
http://taiwan.huanqiu.com/liangan/2010-03/730177.html

Chinese Succumbing to Big Spending

In addition to having high mortgage payments for living quarters, the post-80s generation now also faces large expenditures for holidays, China News Service reported.

A website survey of white collar workers showed that, for the Chinese New Year in February, 55% spent more than 5,000 yuan [Ed: the average white collar worker’s monthly income is between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan]; more than 80% spent one or two months of their income; and 20% spent more than a quarter of their annual income.

Analysts claim that this has become a problem for all Chinese. Heavy spending is a reflection of the “face culture,” where each wants to outdo the other, including ones family members. The result is excessive financial burdens.

Nowadays, a common joke is, “I am short of nothing but money.”

Source: China News Service, February 25, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/sh/news/2010/02-25/2137081.shtml