Chinascope – Page 1291

Phoenix TV CEO Receives International Emmy Directorate Award

On November 24, the U.S. Secretary of Labor Department Elaine Chao handed the Directorate Award from the International Emmy Awards to Hong Kong Phoenix TV’s CEO Liu Changle, as a compliment to his work of bringing Phoenix TV to the TV network of more than 150 countries and areas.

[Chinascope note: Pheonix TV has received the nickname of ‘little CCTV’ in some circles, as it shares similar reporting principles on many topics. Because it is based in Hong Kong, viewers in mainland China may regard it as an overseas TV station that is more independent though it follows the Party line on many topics.]

Source: Xinhua, November 25, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2008-11/26/content_10414412.htm

Briefings | | November 25, 2008 | US-China Relations

People’s Daily: U.S. New Star Wars Plan Points to China

A blogger of the “Great Nation Forum” from the People’s Daily website published an article discussing the intention of a U.S. plan for developing a space missile defense system. The article says, “U.S. Congress granted five million dollars recently to fund independent research for developing a space missile defense system. The analyst here believes that once the plan is started, it means the "Star Wars Plan” from the 1980s is coming back. This time, the Pentagon’s putative enemies are not only Russia, or Korea and Iran, but also China."

Source: people.com.cn, November 25, 2008
http://military.people.com.cn/GB/42969/58519/8403479.html

Briefings | | November 25, 2008 | US-China Relations

Russian Natural Gas and Oil Industrial Company Will Ship 1.2 Million Tons of Oil to China

Deputy General Manager of the Russian Natural Gas and Oil Industrial Company said the company is planning to export 1.2 million tons of oil to China while he was interviewed by Siberia Oil magazine. He said that the company will increase oil exports to China in the future through Kazakhstan, and the Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline.

Source: people.com.cn, November 25, 2008
http://world.people.com.cn/GB/57507/8402100.html

Briefings | | November 25, 2008 | Economy/Resources

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Rejects U.N.Torture Accusations

In responding to the recently published conclusions by the UN Committee Against Torture where China was reported to have a “large number of torture cases”, Qin Gang, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the claims calling them false accusations. “A few individuals in the ‘Committee Against Torture’ used unverified or fake sources to purposefully politicize the entire process. They have added a large amount of slandering facts and false accusations which we are completely against.” Qin said, “we will continue to be firmly devoted in protecting human rights. We are also willing to engage in international cooperation which will be based on equal rights and mutal respect so as to promote developments in the human rights field."

Source: People’s Daily, November 23, 2008
http://world.people.com.cn/BIG5/8212/9491/113836/8389641.html

Briefings | | November 24, 2008 | Government/Politics

Shanghai Rights Lawyer Openly Renounces Membership in Communist Party youth organizations

On November 20, Zheng Enchong, a prominent Shanghai rights lawyer made an open speech to quit the Communist Party young pioneers and youth league. Zheng said he wanted to publicly make the announcement because it was the fourth anniversary of the book “Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party” being published. Zheng also recognized that since the book was published, there have been 45 million Chinese people who have renounced their membership in the Chinese Communist Party [and related youth organizations].

In his speech, Zheng said that he was inspired to quit the party because he found himself being misled by four big lies made by the Chinese leaders. The latest taxi driver strikes in Chongqing and Sanya as well as the social unrest in Longnan Gansu Province have demonstrated that Chinese people have regained the conscience to fight for their rights. He believes that China’s only hope is to have peaceful elections.

It was four years ago in September of 2005, two months after he was released from prison that Zheng read the book called the “Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party”. He asked his friend to use a fake name to quit from party organs (the youth league and young pioneers) for him. The recording of Zheng’s announcement was aired during a rally to celebrate 45 million Chinese people quitting the Chinese Communist Party and related organizations held in Hong Kong on November 23, 2008.

Source:

The Epoch Times, November 20, 2008
http://epochtimes.com/gb/8/11/20/n2335631.htm

Sound of Hope, November 23, 2008
http://soundofhope.org/programs/162/111255-1.asp

Briefings | | November 24, 2008 | Government/Politics

China Faces Soil Erosion over 40% of Its Territory

A three-year government expedition survey shows soil erosion of 3,569,200 square kilometers. This includes water erosion of 1,612,200 square kilometers and wind erosion of 1,957,000 square kilometers. The ramifications of soil erosion on China’s economic and social development are “far-reaching and even irreversible.” The three-year survey was the largest since 1949 with over 800 participants traveling 140,000 kilometers (315 counties) and analyzing nearly 200,000 questionnaires.

Source: Xinhua, November 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-11/20/content_10389295.htm

Briefings | | November 21, 2008 | Economy/Resources

Close to Twenty Thousand Party Officials Fled China with Billions of Funds Since Mid 90s

The Beijing Municipal People’s Procuratorate’s Office announced that Party officials fleeing China have reached between 16,000 to 18,000 since the mid-1990s taking over 800 billion Yuan overseas. The money was primarily misappropriated from major projects such as land development, tax revenue, loans from financial institutions, funds allocated for government expenditures and national economic programs.

In the past 30 years, the Beijing Municipal People’s Procuratorate has prosecuted over 16,000 cases of corruption and bribery. The Beijing Municipal People’s Prosecutor’s Office was established in January 1951 and closed down in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution. It was reopened in July 1978.

Source: Xinhua, November 9, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-11/09/content_10329946.htm

Briefings | | November 21, 2008 | 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