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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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Xinhua: More Countries Voicing Support for China on Tibet. Sudan among the Latest

Xinhua reported today that more countries have expressed their support for China’s actions in handling the “severe and violent criminal incident” in Tibet. The governments of Sudan, Mauritius, and another eleven countries are among the latest, according to Xinhua. “A government has the responsibility to take necessary action to maintain social stability and security when facing violent incidents created by domestic separatists who are incited by foreign forces,” the report said. Xinhua also cited a statement from the government of Sudan openly expressing support of China’s “necessary actions."

Source: Xinhua, March 23, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-03/23/content_7840257.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Eyewitness: Tibetan Holding Knife was a Police Officer

A Thai Chinese woman who had witnessed the protests in Tibet has identified a Tibetan shown holding a knife in a picture released by the Chinese government as a policeman, according to a spokesperson for the Dalai Lama on March 18, 2008. This Thai Chinese woman was detained with other foreigners at the Bajiao Street police station on March 14, when a group of Tibetans were detained and escorted into the station. She saw one of them, a man with a knife in his hand, take off his Tibetan robe and change into a police uniform. She was later forced to leave Lhasa and went to India via Nepal. Once in India she identified the person she had seen change into a police uniform as the same person in a picture released by the Chinese government as evidence of violence during Tibetan protests. The picture was also broadcasted by the BBC.

Source: Sound of Hope, March 20, 2008
http://soundofhope.org/programs/162/88669-1.asp

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Sino-Peru Joint Press Communique Signed in Beijing

On March 20, Beijing published a Sino-Peru Joint Press Communique during the State visit of the President of Peru Alan Garcia Perez to China from March 18th to 21st. The Communique states that the Peruvian government supports the one-China policy and opposes Taiwan’s referendum on UN membership. Peru acknowledges the “market economy” status of China, with its bilateral trade volume exceeding 6 billion USD. China and Perus will engage in cooperation on mining, energy, telecommunications, electric power, and fishery. Peru highly appreciates China’s important aid. China wishes Peru’s success as host of APEC in 2008. Peru wishes China’s success as host of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2010 Shanghai World Expo.

Source: Xinhua, March 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-03/20/content_7829153.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Beijing’s New Central Task Force for the Olympics Security Operation

Under the guidance of Opinions on Deepening the “Olympics Security Operation” throughout the City [of Beijing], a commanding and coordinating task force for the “Olympics Security Operation” has been set up by China’s Central Government. The director is Jiao Huancheng, Deputy Secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the State Council, Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council, Director of the Bureau of Government Offices Administration of the State Council, and Director of the Social Security Comprehensive Control Office of the Central Government. The two Deputy Directors of the task force are Deng Xujun, Deputy Secretary of the State Organs Work Committee of CCP, and Gao Xiang, Deputy Director of the Government Offices Administration of the State Council. Other members of the team come from various central Party and government offices.

Source: Xinhua, March 20, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2008-03/20/content_7827267.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua Lists Governments Supporting Beijing’s Policies in Tibet

On March 21, Xinhua reported that some governments openly supported the Chinese government’s “handling of violence” in Tibet, and opposed the actions of “Tibetan separatism” and the politicizing Beijing Olympic Games. Those countries include Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Lesotho, Singapore, and Arab countries. A spokesperson for the Russian government said that Russia hoped the Chinese government would take all necessary measures to end the illegal actions, and it recognized that handling the relationship between Beijing and the Dalai Lama was China’s internal affair, according to Xinhua. The report also said that the diplomatic representatives of Arab countries to Beijing expressed “shock” after learning about the violence in Tibet, and said they stood against any “plot” to link the incident with the Beijing Olympic Games.

Source: Xinhua, March 21, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2008-03/21/content_7829931.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Government Think Tank: the U.S. to Bring Down Other Countries?

Li Shen, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences stated on March 17 that the last 10 years of economic boom experienced in the U.S. after the end of cold war was not the result of information technology development, but because the U.S. had brought down the economies of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. “Will the U.S. heading into recession repeat history and mobilize all its energy to bring down the world’s other major countries or major powers?” questioned Li.

Source: Xinhua, March 19, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2008-03/19/content_7820222.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

More News on Military Hotline With Russia

On March 14, 2008 the first military hotline between China and Russia was put to use, said the International Herald Leader, published under Xinhua.  It is meant to send a signal to the United States that there is much more trust between China and Russia.  A military hotline with the U.S. is expected soon.  However Chinese military experts have said that the two hotlines serve different purposes. The China-Russia military hotline is to improve communications and coordination on major international and regional issues, while the China-U.S. military hotline is to establish a dialogue to resolve potential crises between the two.

Source: Xinhua, March 18, 2008
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2008-03/18/content_7811142.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

A Study of Chinese Leaders’ Name Ordering

It is not an easy matter to understand Chinese official media reports, yet the Chinese populace has, over the years, learned how to predict upcoming changes in the political landscape by reading between the lines. These indications include the frequencies of a leader’s media appearance, the page on which a report appears (whether it’s front-page headline news), font size, picture size, article length, whether or not the name is mentioned in official news or documents, TV news report length, the change of wording in supplemental notices, adjectives used to describe a leader, and so on, to mention just a few. One notable indication is the name ordering of leaders. Below is an unabridged translation of the Chinese Leaders’ Name Order Study originally published on the news website, Boxun.com. [1]

When Chinese leaders attend public events, sometimes the list of names put out by the official Xinhua News Agency is longer than the news content itself. Although it annoys overseas media and populace, for the local Chinese media and populace who know the secret, they are the delight of talks. From it, one can predict the change of the status of a leader.

Li Keqiang Placed After Xi Jinping

During the Culture Revolution, people’s study of the name ordering of Party and national leaders reached a peak. A person’s name suddenly missing implies that he has been overthrown. A person’s name suddenly advancing in the ordering means he was promoted. This kind of ordering convention is in use today. Every major media has an ordered referential list of leaders’ names, and every provincial-level media also has an ordered referential list of provincial leaders. However, there are still times when editors and reporters misplace a leader’s name out of negligence. They are penalized.

Last October, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 17th Congress selected a new leadership group. The ordering of Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, new standing committee members of the Politburo, confirmed that “group faction” favorite Li Keqiang was no match for the “Crown Prince Party” Xi Jinping. It is believed that they will be the respective successors of Party General Secretary Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

Because Vice President Zeng Qinghong, Vice Premiers Wu Yi and Zeng Peiyan, and so on resigned their Party posts, and new successors have to wait for their confirmation during next month’s National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Political Consultative Conference, the present name ordering of Party and national leaders has now become most complex. The author, through a Baidu (a popular Chinese search engine) search, found only one complete list of 219 incumbent and retired officials published by official media since the beginning of the year. It appeared in an obituary of Zhang Lichang, former secretary of Tianjin Municipal Committee of the CCP, as a list of leaders expressing their mourning and saluting [his] family members.
{mospagebreak}
Jiang Zemin Ranks Second, Respected by Hu and Wen

From this list, the order of leaders are as follows: members of the Standing Committee of Politburo, members of the Politburo of the CCP Central Committee, retired members of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, members of the Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee, vice chairman of the NPC, state councilor, president of the Supreme People’s Court, procurator-general of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), retired members of the Politburo and the like, members of the Central Military Commission, and retired members of the Central Military Commission.

At the present, because the change of new and old leaders has not been completed, there are some exceptions to the rule. The first eleven rankings are Hu Jintao, Jiang Zemin, Wu Bangguo, Wen Jiabao, Jia Qinglin, Zeng Qinghong, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, He Guoqiang, and Zhou Yongkang. Jiang Zemin continues to place second, indicating that Hu and Wen respect him. Zeng Qinghong places sixth; Wu Yi and Zeng Peiyan rank among the other members of the Politburo members, [and are] still integrated into the sequence of incumbent leaders.

It should be pointed out that although the appointment of the CPPCC vice premier needs confirmation from the NPC, because the vice premier is concurrently a member of the Politburo, his rank surpasses that of the NPC vice chairman. This also shows NPC’s rubber stamp status from another angle.

Endnote:
[1] Boxun News, February 28, 2008
http://www.peacehall.com/news/gb/pubvp/2008/02/200802280112.shtml

Reports | | |   Report