Chinascope – Page 1327

Mainland Official Media Expected to Re-enter Taiwan

Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council is expected to pass a proposal to allow Xinhua and People’s Daily, two official news agencies from mainland China, to re-enter Taiwan and setup their correspondence stations before the end of June. The permit is for three months plus one extension. The Council is also expected to loosen up the requirements for mainland movie stars to perform in Taiwan.

Both agencies were asked to leave Taiwan in 2005 after Beijing passed the “Anti-Separation Law”. The agencies were said to have reported “biased and untruthful” news during that time.

Source: BBC, June 24, 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7470000/newsid_7472000/7472094.stm

Briefings | | June 25, 2008 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Research Report by Chinese Scholar: U.S. Food Weapon Is Approaching China

Xinhua newspaper International Herald Turbine reports: after one year’s research at the farms in the United States, Zhou Li, associate professor at the Institute of Agriculture and Development of China’s People’s University, has completed his report “The Food Politics and Food Weapon of the United States.” He concluded that in the current international food crisis, a well-schemed “conspiracy” (by the U.S) was neglected by the international media. He said that “the monopolized manipulation by the world’s food giants is the real reason behind the food crisis.” And “in the developed countries under the United States, the big food companies have formed ‘Food Empire’ and have controlled the politics and economy of many developing countries.” He believes that food crisis is the result of the Empire’s expansion and that U.S.’s food conspiracy has already affected China.

Source: Xinhua, June 18, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2008-06/18/content_8390549.htm

Briefings | | June 24, 2008 | US-China Relations

Sydney University Opens Confucius Institute

Chinese news website SecretChina quotes a report by Sydney Morning Herald that Sydney University has opened Confucius Institute the week of June 19, 2008. According to the report, 50 percent of the funding comes from the “Chinese Office” of China’s Education Ministry. Qiu Shaofang, general consular of the Chinese Consulate in Sydney, said that if the Confucius Institute supports those students and staffs who oppose Chinese Communist Party’s policy toward Falun Gong and Tibetans, Chinese government will not accept.

Originally, China planed to open 100 Confucius Institutes. So far, 227 such institutes in 66 countries have already established. China has set a new goal of having 1,000 Confucius Institutes worldwide.

Source: Secretchina.com, June 19, 2008
http://www.secretchina.com/news/250237.html

Briefings | | June 23, 2008 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua Article: Offense and Defense Switch Position in the China-U.S Economic War

In a report by Xinhua newspaper International Herald Turbine on the Forth China-U.S. Strategic Economic Dialogue held in Annapolis, Maryland (June 17 and 18), the article concluded that in The United States Naval Academy where the dialogue is held, the situation of “U.S. playing offense, China playing defense” is turning around. Different from the past dialogue that U.S. side repeatedly demanded China to “solve problems,” China now confidently talked to the U.S. side and proposed constructive suggestions. The article compared the dialogue as a show of “big countries dancing together.

Source: Xinhua, June 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-06/20/content_8405008.htm

Briefings | | June 23, 2008 | US-China Relations

Russian Survey Showed US as No. 1 Enemy; China Ranked No. 2 Ally

A survey results reported by a Russian newspaper suggested that 33.3 percent of surveyed consider US as its number one enemy to Russia and Sakartvelo ranked the second at 31 percent. Among the list of allies, 35.5 percent surveyed chose White Russia as number one and followed by China as the second at 18 percent. Germany ranked the third at 16.7 percent followed by Armenia at 12.7 percent, France 9.4 percent, and Italy at 9.1 percent.

Source: Xinhua, June 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-06/20/content_8399299.htm

Briefings | | June 22, 2008 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China to Increase Oil and Electricity Price

National Development and Reform Commission issued a notice stating that Oil and Electricity price will increase starting June 20. The notice said that the increase would exclude three provinces (Sichuan, Shanxi, and Gansu) which were affected by the earth quake.

China has been imposing the government controlled oil pricing system with supplemental funding from the government to keep the oil price low. The recent increase was resulted from the pressure of the worldwide oil price surge.

Source: BBC, June 19, 2008 http://news.bbc.co.uk/chinese/simp/hi/newsid_7460000/newsid_7464300/7464311.stm

Briefings | | June 22, 2008 | Economy/Resources

Reservoirs May Flood Yellow River This Year

The Yellow River is likely to flood this year, warned China Meteorological Administration on June 16, 2008. Rainfall is expected to increase by 20 to 50 percent compared with previous years. The last flood in the Yellow River occurred back in 1982. “The flood situation is very severe due to dangerous reservoirs and hidden safety crises,” said China Meteorological Administration. The Yellow River is China’s second largest with 5,464 km in lengths.

Source: Xinhua, June 16, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-06/16/content_8379394.htm

Briefings | | June 20, 2008 | Economy/Resources

State Imposes Coal Ceiling Price

On June 19, 2008 China State Development and Reform Commission announced temporary price ceiling for coal. Effective December 31, 2008, the June 19 settlement price for coal used for power generation will become the temporary ceiling price. The purpose of this price intervention is claimed to “prevent price hikes of coal and electricity, and to promote coordinated, stable and healthy development of coal and power industry.”

Source: Xinhua, June 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-06/20/content_8403443.htm

Briefings | | June 20, 2008 | Economy/Resources

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.”