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Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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

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Olympics: Beijing Buses Exploded less than Two Days before the Opening

At 11 a.m. on August 6, a Route 205 bus reportedly exploded at the gate of Qinghua University. Three passengers suffered injuries. At 4:30 p.m. on the same day, a Route 10 bus exploded at Naoshikou Street near Changan Street, a famous street in Beijing that runs through Tiananmen Square.

Per photos taken by eye witness citizens, white powder was scatted everywhere. A middle aged woman suffered from a broken leg. Other injuries were not clear.

Source: EpochTimes.com, August 7, 2008
http://news.epochtimes.com/gb/8/8/7/n2220344.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Photos from Beijing Street: Security Warnings and an Olympic Traffic Lane

Boxun posted a group of photos from Beijing.

One photo of a poster contains warnings to residents of the 7th district living in the apartment complex of Chinese Academy of Sciences. The photo caption states that the 7th district apartment complex is located across the street from Beijing’s National Stadium [Bird’s Nest]. Through the east side windows, residents will be able to observe the VIPs pass as they enter the stadium.  The poster reads: “On August 2, 5, 8, 24, residents in the 7th district must bring your photo ID with you. For residents with windows on the east side of the building, do not open the windows. Stay away from those windows to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.”

Another photo displayed an Olympic designated traffic lane.  It took space from the regular traffic which has been ordered to be reduced to half of the regular volume. Traffic violators will be imposed with a warning and fines.

Source: Boxun, August, 5, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/08/200808050609.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Olympics: Beijing Citizen Protested in Tiananmen Square for Housing Dispute

Based on a BBC report, on Monday August 4, about 20 citizens who live near Tiananmen held a protest. They are unhappy about the unfair relocation compensation from government-backed developers.

One person said: the developer has no right to seize their properties because of the Olympics, and the citizens should not give up their rights for the Olympics.

The protesters were arrested quickly by the police.

Source:  Chine News Digest, August 5, 2008
http://www.cnd.org/my/modules/wfsection/article.php%3Farticleid=20243

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Gordan Chang: Chinese Pay More Attention to U.S. Election than Olympics

After a recent two month visit to four Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, China scholar and lawyer Gordan G. Chang gave a speech in New York on August 1. The author of The Coming Collapse of China noticed that the Chinese leaders appear to lack confidence about the upcoming Beijing Olympics.

Chang and his wife were also surprised by the lack of interest to the game among Chinese people. Many Chinese are more interested in the U.S. presidential election than the Games.

Per Chang’s observation, China’s post Olympic economic forecast is gloomy.

Source: Epoch Times, August 5, 2008
http://news.epochtimes.com/gb/8/8/5/n2216572.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua: U.S. Requiring China’s Military Air Route for Civil Use Is to Slow Our Military Advance

Pertaining to a report that one U.S. senior airline official said on August 4 that China should let more military air routes give way to civil use in order to comply with the explosive increase of civil demand, Xinhua’s Global Times published an article that says, “Like other countries, China’s government has set a limit for domestic and international air routes for the sake of State security.” The article quotes the opinion of a China expert on the issue saying, “ The purpose of tje U.S. requiring China to loosen up the control of the military area in the air is consistent with its overall strategy. On the surface, it is for the benefit of ordinary Chinese people. In essence, it has the intention of restricting and slowing China’s military modernization, and occupying China’s air market at the same time.”

Source: Xinhua, August 5, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-08/05/content_8968091.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Xinhua: U.S. Expansion of Air Force Base in Central Asia Puts Western China under Threat

Xinhua’s Global Times published a report today stating that the Northwestern region of Xinjiang is under U.S. threat due to the presence of a U.S. air force base in Kyrgyzstan’s Manas International Airport in its capital Bishkek. The article says, “It has never been heard of that a country’s capital airport be entered by a foreign country’s air force, civil and military planes sharing the same track. The author says that the U.S. hits three birds with one stone with the base: getting close to Russia’s soft part in the South; directly threatening China’s wester areas; and encroaching on Iran from another direction.

Source: Xinhua, August 5, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-08/05/content_8959634.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Olympics: Beijing’s Neighboring Cities Endure Power Outage

Villages, towns and cities in areas surrounding Beijing recently experienced frequent power outages. Before the 1980’s, the government used to shut off the electricity of nearby cities when major events took place in the capital. But the practice was all but abandoned in recent years, until now.

Rural areas were hit first and for the longest amount of time, followed by low income urban areas, high income districts were next, and government offices were the last to face the outage.

One city in Shandong Province experienced a power outage every other day, each lasting 10 hours.

Source: Boxun, July 31, 2008
http://news.boxun.com/news/gb/china/2008/07/200807310509.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Olympics: Woman Trying to Demonstrate in Designated Areas Arrested

Despite the promise to allow people to demonstrate in three parks during the Beijing Olympics, last week, the authorities arrested a woman who tried to demonstrate in one of the designated demonstration areas. The woman was detained and sent back to her hometown Suzhou on Friday August 1. Some anti-Japanese activists also saw their application denied.

People are skeptical and do not trust the government’s promise to allow freedom of speech. Beijing based journalist Ling Cangzhou said: “Everyone knows that in China, freedom and democracy are written in the Constitution. But how much can the Constitution be enforced is in question.”

Source: Voice of America, August 3, 2008
http://www.voanews.com/chinese/w2008-08-03-voa30.cfm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability