[Editor’note: After the death of Arafat — the Palestinian President, major Chinese newspapers widely reported the news with lengthy feature articles. Xinhuanet, the official website of xinhua news agency, the Chinese government news agency, published on November 12, 2004, a report that quoted Chinese President Hu Jintao in his condolence letter. Hu said that president Arafat made great contributions to consolidating and developing the friendship between the two nations.  Arafat’s passing away is not only a great loss for Palestinians, but Chinese people also lost a great friend.  The following contains excerpts from this and other feature articles related to this topic.] Continue reading →

[Editor’s note:  During the U.S. 2005 presidential election, China’s state media reported the whole process very extensively. Those reports reflect, to certain degree, the attitude of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the election and  how CCP would like to influence the Chinese people. Below is a commentary article published on Xinhuanet on Bush’s inauguration speech. The titles of related articles are also listed.] Continue reading →

Lured by a seemingly attractive investment opportunity, Ying Jiuqing, a wealthy individual from Suzhou, a charming ancient city 50 miles away from Shanghai, China, spent close to 5 million yuan (US$570,000) to purchase 190,000 admission cards issued by the Oriental Pearl’s “Space City,” an entertainment outlet that claimed Joan Chen, a Hollywood actress whose stardom budded in Shanghai, as one of its investors.  What he did not expect was that, instead of raking in millions of dollars as he had dreamed, he woke up to a six-year-long nightmare with no positive end in sight.  These little plastic cards with a magnetic stripe would wipe out all his savings, suck up his business, and drag him into a government sanctioned fleecing of consumers.
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On January 12, 2004, the outgoing secretary of commerce Don Evans made a visit to China.  Among other things, one of his major issues was asking China to stop product piracy, which is estimated to cost U.S. companies 3 billion dollars a year.

The number sounds alarmingly serious, but the reality is even far crueler.  Product piracy and fraud in China is so widespread that it can be found almost everywhere, and in nearly all categories.  As a popular saying describes, “everything is fake in China, only swindlers are true.”

The poster is meant as a joke, but sadly it also happens in real life. On January 15, China’s Quality News Network (http://www.cqn.com.cn) exposed the “Big Ten product quality frauds in 2004 (in China).” Below are some highlights:
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In China, people often refer to the Chinese National Congress as a rubber stamp.  People regard the Congress as no more than an official title, a body with no real legislative power. But the lameness of the Congress does not carry over to its delegates, who are treated as privileged authority figures.  Even powerful officials of the public security system sometimes have to defer to C.N.C. delegates.

The social status of a Congressional delegate is illustrated by this story that was published in a Chinese newspaper and is often cited on Chinese websites:
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[Editor’s Note: Former head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Jiang Zemin launched the persecution of Falun Gong, a mind-body spiritual exercise in China, in July 1999. The following are the original documents of Jiang Zemin’s order to crack down on Falun Gong.] Continue reading →

[Editor’s Note: A university researcher at Beijing who is a Falun Gong practitioner, described the speeches by Ye Xiaowen, Director of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, regarding religious freedom that contradicts the Constitution.]

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[Editor’s note: Radio Free Asia reported on November 21 that The China Aid Association released a long awaited, secret document by top Chinese government and Communist Party departments. This document was obtained from a current, high-ranking Communist Party official, who is extremely unhappy about the repressive party policy toward religious groups in China. This document, entitled “Notice on Further Strengthening Marxist Atheism Research, Propaganda and Education” dated May 27, 2004, is a notice named “Zhong Xuan Fa [2004] No.13” issued jointly by the Department of Propaganda of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Department of Propaganda of the Central Committee of the CPC, the Office of the Central Steering Committee on Spiritual Civilization Construction, the Communist Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC and Ministry of Education, as well as the China Academy of Social Science.  It is classified as a “secret document.”

This secret notice was issued to “further boost Marxist atheism research, propaganda, and education.” It reflects a new assessment from the top Party leaders, in light of “the new situation to target ‘Falun Gong,’ and various pseudo-sciences and superstitions, and represents a new trend of denigrating Western ‘hostile’ forces attempting to ‘westernize’ and ‘disintegrate’ China, in the name of religion”. It mandates that Marxist atheism propaganda and education be integrated into all sectors of society throughout the country, at all levels. All efficient measures shall be taken to “ban all uncivilized conduct in spreading superstitions,” in order to assist “peoples’ minds to be educated, spirits enriched, and their state of thought improved.”]

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