Chinascope – Page 1203

China Daily: Harper Gave up Hugh Rights for Economic Development

China Daily commented on Harper’s visit to China, saying that after years of being firm concerning human rights issues, Harper finally saw the light, became realistic and traded it for economic cooperation with China.

The commentary said that Canada’s support for Falun Gong, the Taiwan question, and the Tibet issue has greatly hurt the Sino-Canada relationship. On the contrary, the U.S. was quite pragmatic. Bush raised Sino-US ties to their best period in history, and Obama downplayed ideology and declared to respect other countries’ choices concerning internal matters. Finally, the economic pressure drew Harper to mend his China policy.

The commentary said “… if Canada respects China over issues concerning China’s core interests, bilateral ties could realize sound development.”

The Chinese version listed meeting the Dalai Lama in 2007 and refusing to attend the Beijing Olympic Games as Harper’s transgressions, which were not mentioned in the English version.

Source: People’s Daily, December 2, 2009
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/10494985.html
China Daily, December 2, 2009
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2009-12/02/content_9098381.htm

Briefings | | December 10, 2009 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China Held Central Economic Work Conference

The Central Economic Work Conference took place in Beijing from December 5 to December 7. Xinhua reported that all nine members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, nearly all members of the Political Bureau and many other high rank officials attended the meeting.

Hu Jintao gave a speech on the current internal and global economic status and the importance and urgency of accelerating the transformation of China’s economic development. Wen Jiabao laid out the economic development plan for 2010.

Source: Xinhua, December 7, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-12/07/content_12605370.htm

Briefings | | December 10, 2009 | Government/Politics

CASS: 85% of Families in China Cannot Afford Housing

Housing prices in China have risen through the roof and are outside the range of any reasonable income, leaving 85% of families in China unable to buy a residence, disclosed the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) in its 2010 Economic Blue Book. Government land supply policy and developers holding land for profit are blamed for the rise in housing prices in 2009.

The blue book indicated a reasonable ratio between house prices and resident’s income is between 3 and 6. However, in 2009, that ratio between city housing and city residents is 8.3, 22.08 for off farm workers, and 29.44 for farmers.

Source: Xinhua, December 7, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/2009-12/07/content_12604520.htm

Briefings | | December 10, 2009 | Economy/Resources

Wen Jiabao: Some Countries are Restraining China’s Development

Xinhua Net reported on Nov. 30 that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao commented on international trade after the China-Europe Summit. Wen said that it was unfair to ask China to increase the RMB exchange rate while applying protectionism against China. He believed the request was actually an effort to restrain China’s development. Wen also suggested that keeping the Chinese currency stable benefits the Chinese economy as well as the recovery of the world economy.

Source: Xinhua, November 30, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2009-11/30/content_12564226.htm

Briefings | | December 9, 2009 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua: Hollywood Changing Attitude

Xinhua Net recently republished an article by Globe Magazine, which is a branch of Xinhua News Agency, on recent changes in Hollywood. The article stated the belief that the recent popular movie 2012 signals Hollywood’s changing attitude towards China. The change started from Kungfu Panda in 2008. In both of the movies, China had a positive image. The article concluded that there are three reasons for Hollywood’s change: (1) China is a rising world power; (2) The U.S. is facing challenges around the globe; (3) Hollywood cannot ignore the Chinese market.

Source: Xinhua, December 1, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/globe/2009-12/01/content_12570710.htm

Briefings | | December 9, 2009 | US-China Relations

Xinhua: What’s behind the “Made in China” CNN Commercial

The Chinese government recently delivered a “Made in China” commercial via CNN. The 30-second commercial took one and half years to prepare. It was paid for by multiple government-controlled chambers of commerce and reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Commerce. CNN was selected to run the commercial because it has the “biggest influence.” The total cost of the commercial was estimated to be tens of millions in RMB. The idea is to cleanse the image of “Made in China,” especially after western media’s widespread reports on the poor quality of Chinese products.

Source: Xinhua, December 3, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-12/03/content_12580786.htm

Briefings | | December 9, 2009 | US-China Relations

Minister of Public Security: Internet a Major Tool of Anti-China Forces

In a recent article in Qiushi Journal, publlished by the CCP’s Central Committee, Meng Jianzhu, the Minister of Public Security and a State Councilor, claimed that the Internet has become a major tool of anti-China forces.

Meng considered current Chinese society to be characterized by intensified conflicts among the people, high incidents of criminal offenses, and complex struggles against the enemy. “The Internet has become an important means used by anti-China forces to infiltrate, sabotage, and amplify destructive damage, posing new challenges to the public security authorities in safeguarding national security and social stability.” Meng demanded strengthened development of six networks so as to achieve full range of control over the dynamic society, including a street-level prevention and control network, a community prevention and control network, a workplace prevention and control network, a video surveillance network, a regional police cooperation network, and “virtual society” prevention and control.

Source: Qiushi, December 1, 2009

http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2009/200923/200911/t20091127_16024.htm

Briefings | | December 8, 2009 | Information/Technology

New PLA Command Regulations Cover Emergent Reactions

Chinese President and Chairman of Chinese Communist Party’s Central Military Committee, Hu Jintao, recently issued new PLA command regulations for all branches of the army. The regulations give clear stipulations for commands at all levels and all branches geared toward “new situations and new requirements of the military struggles in the new era.” In particular, the new regulations include the PLA’s responses to multi-level security threats, combat situations involving information warfare, organization, and command operations in response to emergent incidents.

Source: Xinhua, December 2, 2009

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-12/02/content_12573997.htm

Briefings | | December 8, 2009 | Defense/Military

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

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