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Chinese Lawyers Comment on Yang Jia Incident

A collection of a few Chinese rights lawyers comments on the execution of Yang Jia, a young man who stabbed six Shanghai policemen as revenge for police mistreatment:

Li Jinglin: The socially disadvantaged groups including the petitioners are also learning lessons. In real life, it is impossible for their legal rights to be effectively protected.

Li Xiongbing: The social conflicts such as the Yang Jia incident were solved in an extreme way because there are no other channels [for redress]. The unrest taking place in either Longnan of Gansu province or Weng’an of Guizhou province are inevitable due to the lack of a functioning judicial system. If there exists a fair and independent third party that can act as a mediator, then such violent confrontation will not happen.

Zheng Enchong: The government’s handling of Yang Jia’s case is self-contradictory. As a consequence, people will not trust the law.

Tang Jingling: Without a fair judicial system, it’s impossible for a rights [defense] movement to proceed peacefully. However, the government’s violence always prevails.

Source: Sound of Hope Radio, December 1, 2008
http://soundofhope.org/programs/162/111882-1.asp

The Struggling Chinese Village Elections

The following is the translation of a series of interviews Radio Free Asia (RFA) conducted on the general election of village heads in China. [1]
BEIJING — On November 4, 2008, the U. S. elected an African-American, Barack Obama, as the next President of the United State of America. Yet, in China, some of the websites were still discussing the issues related to the election of village heads, and the people sighed over the struggling village elections in China.

Guang Ming Daily, an official Chinese News website published an article Xu Xun-Lei titled, "The U.S. Presidential Election Versus the Election of Village heads in China." The author disclosed that in recent years, there have been a lot of issues with the election of village heads in China, including bribery, the Village Committee and the Village Party Branch of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fighting for interests and power, and the lack of the judiciary playing its role that has caused corruption among village officials. The author quoted some of well-known experts within the Party, "Despite of existing issues, the direct election of the villages needs to be extended to the township level. In recent years, there are many people requesting that the general election of officials [be expanded] from the village to the township level, but the Central Government and many local government officials have opposed such requests." The author believes that this has been an obvious obstacle for moving one-step, or even half-a-step towards democracy. The general election of village heads in China was piloted in the mid-1990s [but] until now, it is still very hard to move forward. Cheng Xiao-Nong, the Editor-in-Chief of "Contemporary China Studies," a magazine in the U.S., has been working for the Chinese Reformation Committee. He is very familiar with the problems of Chinese farmers. He expressed that, in fact, the general election of village heads in China is deviated; it cannot be regarded, in a sense, as a genuine form of democratic election.

The CCP has used some clever ways to maintain its power; as a result, the Village Committee Organization Laws have been short-changed. In the end, they have gradually become the CCP’s former local appointed organizations who appoint officials for the villages; then, a fake voting system is used to pass the nomination. First, competition is not allowed; second, all candidates must be approved by the CCP beforehand. Therefore, the general election of village heads is much less meaningful; it has returned into the CCP’s local organization for appointing the village officials.

Mr. Cheng believes that the reason for the general elections of village officials running into difficulties is that the CCP does not want to give up its power in a "One-Party-Totalitarian System."

"The earlier elections of the villagers, generally, were relatively clean and normal. To the CCP, on the one hand, it was desirable to have the villagers’ general election form; however, it cannot allow the officials who are elected to be out of the control of the CCP. Therefore, along the way, the basic direction of the local governments has been to reinforce the leadership of the CCP, and there has been a gradual manipulation of the elections mainly through intervention from local CCP organizations.

Li Hong Kuan, the past Editor-in-Chief of a U.S.-based online magazine, "Big Reference," regards the general elections in Chinese villages as not comparable to general elections in democratic countries.

"They are incomparable because they are from systems of a different nature. In the United State, at the general elections, the Executive Head of a government is elected, but not the village heads. Frankly, in a village, the Village Secretary of the CCP, picks a running dog, or a gopher as the Village Head to carry out the CCP’s Central Birth Policy. It was like in World War II, the Japanese selecting a Committee Head to govern the villages by the same token. The Head of the Committee had no authority; the main power was in the hands of the Japanese. The real power over the land and the allocation of benefits belongs to the Village Branch Secretary of the CCP."

According to "the Village Committee Organization Law," the Village Heads are directly elected by the villagers expressed Cheng Xiao-Nong. Any organizations or individuals cannot appoint or replace [the village head]; however, local organizations of the CCP often intervene in the elections in the villages. In some areas, it happens all the time that the local governments appoint or replace the village heads. Cheng believes that the root of the culprit is "the One-Party-Totalitarian System," of the CCP that has caused difficulties for the general elections in the villages.

Endnote:
[1] Radio Free Asia, November 6, 2008,
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xuanju-11062008110216.html

Xinhua: Japan Pursuing Space Diplomacy Is Meant to Compete with China

On November 27, Japan’s Strategic Headquarters for Space Development issued an outline for the future direction of Japan’s space strategy (equivalent to China’s space strategy). “Space Diplomacy” is a new concept proposed by Japan. Specifically, it is to utilize the Japanese government’s economic development aid (ODA) to enhance cooperation with developing countries from the Asian, African, and Latin American regions, strategically provide satellite information and space development technology to these countries in order to gain their understanding and trust.

Currently, under the direction of the Strategic Headquarters for Space Development, Japan has already initiated cooperation in satellite technology with Indonesia, Brazil, and Ethiopia. But from the Japanese government’s perspective, Space Diplomacy can not stop at a few individual countries. It has to expand in scope and form a whole Space Diplomacy System.

The article says that behind the system is a plan to compete with China.

Source: Xinhua, December 2, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-12/02/content_10443755.htm

Xinhua- susisan Media Says China Will Be the Third Largest Exporter of Multipurpose Fighter Plane

Russian magazine Arms Market published an article analyzing the situation of global market of multipurpose fighter plane during 2004-2013. The article says that global sale of multipurpose fighter planes will steadily increase in the next five years. The United States, Russia, and China will be the leading countries selling new fighter planes.
China’s rise to the third place is mainly due to its contract with Pakistan to provide 183 JF-17 “Thunder (Fierce Dragon)” fighter planes. In addition, other Asian and African countries who are China’s customers of traditional fighters are also potential new users of JF-17 “Thunder.” China’s new generation J-10 multipurpose fighter also has a high ratio of function/price. It is highly possible that J-10 will become a fierce competitor of U.S. and Russia’s third generation fighters in the global market.

Source: Xinhua, December 1, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-12/01/content_10437382.htm

Sarkozy Said to be Ungrateful for the Favor China Did Him in 2004

French President Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama has drawn attacks by media in China.  One example is an article by China Review News which described Sarkozy as a person who has "changed his face too many times and is ungrateful for the favor that China gave to him in 2004".

In the article, Cai Fangbo, China’s former ambassador to France disclosed that in 2004 when he was ready to run for president, Sarkozy, then the France’s interior minister, requested to have a meeting with Hu Jintao during his trip to visit China. Hu granted the request despite the difference in the political ranking. After Sarkozy was elected, he was said to "have repeatedly expressed his gratitude towards the favor he received".  "But in 2008, Sarkozy has held up the anti-China flag and led the France-China relationship downhill.  China has shown great tolerance to him but he hasn’t returned the favor.  Sarkozy uses tactics to gain political advantage and will eventually loss his credibility” the article wrote.

Source: China Review News, November 30, 2008
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1008/1/4/9/100814946.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=100814946&mdate=1130093321

Deutsche Welle: Dissatisfaction Deepens During the Economic Crisis

An article on the Deutsche Welle China section listed the number of protests held by various groups and warns of the consequences if no serious action is taken by the government.

As those whose houses were relocated, farmers who lost land, workers fighting for unfair wages, taxi drivers, property owners as well as the depressed stockholders join protests, the dissatisfaction towards the government has spread to the middle class now.

The article quoted an investigative report by Yu Jiarong, a sociologist, disclosing that the ever worsening anxiety over the economy has intensified the conflicts between the police and the protesters. Photos and videos spread through the internet are causing the incident to expand. “The expert has warned that if the government does no take any serious action, China will suffer bigger losses as anger continues to accumulate among the protesters.”

Source: Deutsche Welle, November, 26, 2008
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3822835,00.html

Xinhua: China’s Foreign Relations Entering Golden Stage

As part of the theme to celebrate the achievement of the open door policy adopted 30 years ago, Xinhua has been publishing a series of articles focused on the subject. On December 1, in its international section, Xinhua published a talk given by Wu Jianmin, a commentator for Xinhua, former Chinese ambassador to France and President of the China Foreign Affairs University who summarized the major changes that China’s foreign relations have gone through in the past 30 years ago.

Wu summarized the major changes in the following three areas: worldwide environment, policy adjustment, and the focus. He said that the world has transitioned from war and revolution towards an era of peaceful development. From 1949 to 1978, China’s foreign policy was focused on surviving the embargo from the western countries led by the US which was aimed at eliminating China. But since 1978, as China has adopted an open door policy and the Party has shifted its focus to economic development, there has been a need to maintain a good relationship with other countries. As a result, the guiding principle of foreign policy has changed to seeking the common ground with other countries. The focus of the policy has also shifted from fighting for survival towards building mutual cooperation since China has a need for it.

“Currently China’s foreign relations are entering a golden stage”, Wu said, “we have formed dynamic relationships with 172 countries that are the giants, neighboring countries, developing countries and maintained the multilateral foreign relations with them.”

Source: Xinhua, December 1, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-12/01/content_10436728.htm

Financial Risk Transfer – U.S. Kills Buddies

International Herald Leader under Xinhua published an article on October 6 on the U.S. economic policy under the situation of the world financial crisis. [1]
On October 3, the U.S. Congress passed the $850 billion financial rescue package. President Bush was relieved with a smile on his face, but led Chinese experts to worry.

US Assets Melting Down

 “The United States has always asked the whole world to bear the U.S. difficulties. It won’t be an exception for this time.” Zhou Shijian, Senior Research Analyst of the US-China Research Center of Qinghua University, told the reporter in an interview. Since the World War II, the United States has been issuing large amount of U.S. dollars (cash) and issuing national debt to resolve its economic crises. However, these methods, to certain extent, amount to transferring the risks to other countries including China.

Lu Qianjin, Associate Professor from Department of International Finance of Fudan University, said the main source of the rescue package issued by the United States was increasing national debts; it would make the financial deficit even worse, consequently, increasing the deficit in trade. It could hinder the growth of U.S. dollars and potentially force the dollar back to the depreciation track.

 “If the dollar depreciates, the price of the future oil products will remain high, and it poses the risk of asset melting down for the countries that hold U.S. assets.” Lu Qianjin said. At the same time, Lu said: “these countries will also face the same risk of asset melting down if the United States is to reduce its debt by depreciating the dollars.”

 “$850 billion rescue package is like purchasing medicines from the world to cure the U.S. disease.” Zhou Shijian told International Herald Leader. Currently, there is only one third of the U.S. dollars circulating within the United States. According to the report from the U.S. Treasury Department, China is the second largest holder of the U.S. debts.
   
Companies in China Are Suffering “US Default”

In reality, since the financial crisis started, the U.S. has been transferring its crisis to others. Zhou Shijian is using word of “killing buddies” to describe the U.S. behavior. “Europe has the best relationship with the United States, now Europe is in a crisis. The next is Japan, and then China” Zhou Shijian said.

Lu Qianjin said, China is not only facing the risk of dollar depreciation and bankruptcy of the U.S. financial institutes, it also faces the risk of the U.S. companies transferring their losses by defaulting on payments.

Currently, there are thousands of companies in Zhejiang Province facing default of the U.S. companies. The financial crisis has caused the decline in consumers’ spending in the United States.  Importers could not get their cash collected and the cash flow fell short. In addition, banks have tightened up their loans. Importers could not get their loans easily. Some importers announced bankruptcy after their cash flow broke, as a result, the companies in China could not get their payments for goods exported to the United States.

 “The U.S. companies have actually transferred their losses [to Chinese companies].” Lu Qianjin said.

Psychological Impact Could Not be Ignored

Tan Yaling, from the China financial research center of Beijing University, said in this financial crisis, through proactive adjustment, the U.S. has moved from reaction mode to pro-action mode and has transferred its loss to others.

 “The United States has a mature economy.  Many of its actions are strategic and foreseeing.  Sometimes, it uses the psychological factors to influence countries like China and to transfer its risks.” Tan Yaling said that  the U.S. stock market is going downward, however, the U.S. dollar index is going up.  “It is very abnormal. Therefore, you could see the U.S. strategies coordinate very well as planned.”

Tan Yaling said further that the dollar strengthening is to meet the need of inbound asset flow to the US. “It satisfies the market need in this special period,” at the same time, the U.S. is using the fluctuation of its stock market to throw the world into crisis. Even on the same day of the rescue package approval, the stock market dropped.

“Why it could be this way.  October 3 was Friday and the Chinese market closed for that week. On Monday before we open the market, we must check the U.S. market.” Tan Yaling said.

Tan Yaling told International Herald Leader, “by self-adjustment, the U.S. is using the psychological factors and policies to influence the market development in other countries.” The U.S. is not stronger than others, but rather behaved worse than others.

Or to Expand the Export of the Military Products

Because the rescue package costs $850 billion, the U.S. has to pay a huge amount of interest in the future. Lu Qianjin said that to make up this big hole, the U.S. could expand its export in military products.

 “There would be strong opposition if the U.S. government wants to tighten up the belt of its own people to solve the problem by increasing the taxes. One may have seen the opposition during the process of negotiating the rescue package.” Lu Qianjin said that another way of improving the economy and lessening the financial pressure would be to expand exports to increase income and tax revenue. “Especially expanding the export of military products is a fast and effective way of relieving the financial pressure in the US.”

Currently, the U.S. government has started to sell military products to Taiwan and the total amount will be $6.46 billion. “In the future, the United States may use future geo-political conflicts or the alleged potential military threats to expand exports of military products to certain countries and areas, hoping Exports of Munitions would alleviate domestic economic problems.” Lu Qianjin predicted.

Endnote:
[1] International Herald Leader, October 6, 2008  http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2008-10/06/content_10154827.htm