Chinascope – Page 1208

Li Changchun: Vigorously Propagandize Our Success in Coping with the International Financial Crisis

According to Xinhua on November 22, 2009, Li Changchun, who is a member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Political Bureau, made a speech during his visit to Guangzhou, Dong-wan, Shenzhen, etc. where he was accompanied by Wang Yang, the Party secretary of Guangdong Province from November 18 – 22, 2009.

Li Changchun stressed that the propaganda and ideological battlefront staff must conscientiously implement the Party Central Committee’s decisions, and propagandize our country’s successful practices in coping with the International financial crisis and in maintaining stable & rapid economic development, so as to mobilize and inspire a majority of the cadres and the masses to make an effort to achieve this year’s economic and social development goal.

Source: Xinhua, November 22, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/22/content_12521126.htm

Briefings | | November 25, 2009 | Government/Politics

Eight-Episode TV Documentary Series: Preparing For Danger In Times Of Safety, Episode Six

{Editor’s Note: In June 2006, Beijing released an eight-episode TV documentary series: Preparing For Danger In Times Of Safety – Historic Lessons Learned from the Demise of Soviet Communism. It was a research project conducted by the government think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Science. Afterwards, the Chinese Communist Party instructed party members across the nation to watch the series and launch serious discussions. The script of the prelude of the documentary quotes Hu Jintao’s words, “There are multiple factors contributing to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a very important one being Khrushchev throwing away Stalin’s knife and Gorbachev’s open betrayal of Marxism-Leninism.” The full text of the narratives has been translated. What follows is the sixth episode.}

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Reports | | November 24, 2009 | Report

China Rises As Largest Shipbuilder

State media Huanqiu issued a report quoting a U.S. source that China has currently replaced South Korea as the leader in the world shipbuilding industry.

The report claims that the China shipbuilders, with orders as high as 54.96 million CGT, have surpassed the 53.63 million GCT of South Korea and grabbed 34.7% of the world market. In recent years, China was said to have invested a huge amount of money and manpower to expand its commercial shipbuilding industry, so as to build up its warship capacity.

The report also pointed out that China is still falling behind in electronic, mechanic, and weaponry systems that are necessary for building warships. [Ed" Chinascope cannot locate the original U.S. source, mentioned in the report as “Global Strategy Net”]

Source: Huanqiu, November 20, 2009

http://mil.huanqiu.com/china/2009-11/638668.html

Briefings | | November 24, 2009 | Defense/Military

President Omar al-Bashir Praises 50-Year Friendship With China and Zhou Yongkang’s Work in Sudan

In Sudan, on the evening of November 17, according to the website of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s International Department, the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had a meeting in Khartoum with the CCP’s chief of legal affairs and Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang.

Zhou restated the friendly relationship between the two countries over the past 50 years, and attended an opening ceremony of a Confucius Institute at the University of Khartoum. Al-Bashir praised China as Sudan’s real friend and partner and praised Zhou as the person behind the Sino-Sudan oil deal. Al-Bashir hoped to strengthen agricultural cooperation with China.

Source: website of Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s International Department

http://www.idcpc.org.cn/dongtai/091120.htm

Briefings | | November 24, 2009 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Wen Jiabao Says No G2 Likely to Develop

China does not welcome the idea of a G2, said Premier Wen Jiaobao when meeting with U.S. President Obama on November 18, according to Xinhua.

The state media listed three reasons for this position: firstly, China is a developing country with a huge population. It has to keep a sober mind, remembering the long journey, so as to build a modern country; secondly, China follows an independent and peaceful foreign policy by forming no alliance with any country or blocs of countries; finally, China advocates that world affairs should be collectively decided by individual countries, instead of one or two powers.

Source: Xinhua, November 18, 2009

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2009-11/18/content_12485552.htm

Briefings | | November 24, 2009 | US-China Relations

Nanfang Weekend Newspaper Blanks Page to Protest Censorship of Obama Interview

According to overseas Chinese media, Nanfang Weekend newspaper blanked out half a page to protest the CCP Propaganda Department’s censorng its articles. According to Epoch Times, during his meeting with Hu Jintao on November 17, Obama requested an interview by the Nanfang Weekend, a relatively liberal state-owned newspaper. Hu arranged it. However, Li Changchun, a Jiang Zemin loyalist, and member of the Standing Committee of the CCP’s Central Committee Political Bureau, in charge of propaganda, was annoyed that Hu bypassed him. He therefore ordered that the interview not be printed. Then after pressure from the US Embassy, the interview was allowed to be printed, but with certain sections cut out. The Propaganda Department also disallowed two other articles about Obama. In protest, Nanfang printed the newspaper with half a page blanked out (the newspaper page can be seen at http://www.mitbbs.com/article2/Military/32884503_1463.jpg).

This is a rare case of a state-owned media printing a blank newspaper page in protest.

Sources:
1. The Epoch Times, November 21, 2009
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/11/21/n2729468.htm
2. MIT BBS, November 20, 2009
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Military/32884503.html

Briefings | | November 23, 2009 | US-China Relations

China Youth Daily: Employment Termination Announced at a Professor’s Sick Bedside

China Youth Daily published a news report on November 18, 2009, on Zhang Zaiyuan, a former Wuhan University professor and an internationally renowned architect. Prof. Zhang has been suffering from a rare motor neuron disease since October 2007. On April 30, 2009, Wuhan University sent four people to his bedside to read a "Termination Certificate of the Employment Contract." He lost his position as the Dean and as professor of the Urban Design College at Wuhan University as well as his medical insurance and assigned apartment. His wife, a housewife, recently found that Wuhan University had withdrawn all the salary that he had saved from his account, a total of over 500,000 yuan. She was told that the university used it to pay his medical expenses.

Source: China Youth Daily, November 18, 2009
http://law.cyol.com/content/2009-11/18/content_2942016.htm

Briefings | | November 23, 2009 | Grapevine

Xinhua: China and Iran Increasing Investment and Trade Cooperation

On November 20, 2009, Xinhua reported that China is Iran’s largest trading partner. In 2008, the direct bilateral trade amounted to 27.6 billion U.S. dollars. The trade volume from January to September this year has already reached 15.4 billion U.S. dollars including 5.5 billion U.S. dollars in exports and 10.0 billion U.S. dollars in imports.

In November 2008, China and Iran signed an “Understanding Memorandum on Sino-Iranian Investment.” From January to September this year, Iran has invested $67.0 million in China; China has invested $159 million in Iran. Iran is China’s third largest crude oil importer. In 2008, china imported 21.3 million tons of crude oil from Iran, accounting for 12% of China’s imported crude oil.

Source: Xinhua, November 20, 2009.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2009-11/20/content_12512183.htm

Briefings | | November 23, 2009 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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