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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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CAS Antibiotic Pollution Map Revealed Concerning Facts

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu reported that a recent Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) study released a Chinese Antibiotic Pollution Map. The map revealed dangerous facts about the results of the industrialization of livestock farming. According to the study, tens of thousands of tons of antibiotics have entered the human population as well as the water and soil ecosystem in China. The pollution has covered the entire regular food chain including chicken, duck, pork, beef, and fish. From normal adults to new born babies, researchers discovered a wide range of antibiotics in their bodies, even if the individual was not taking any medicine at the time. This has resulted in widespread drug resistance issues across China. Illegal use of antibiotics across the industries of biotechnology, feed products, medicine manufacturing, and farming have developed the full cycle to deliver a large amount of antibiotics through the human digest system and the natural environment, such as rivers and even seas. Doctors have fewer and fewer options when treating diseases.

Source: Sohu, February 16, 2019
https://www.sohu.com/a/295162096_658124?sec=wd

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China’s Official PMI for February Recorded Three-Year Low

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that China’s National Bureau of Statistics just released its official February numbers for the manufacturing industry sector. The manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.2, which is the lowest since March 2016. Some experts suggested that the February Chinese New Year was the cause. However, the PMI decline this year is worse than it was for the Chinese New Year months in the past three years. This is also the first time since February 2009 that the official manufacturing PMI has gone below 50. The latest numbers showed very low new orders on the import side. New export orders also reached the lowest since March 2009. Almost all analysts pointed out that the new PMI numbers do reflect a continued pressure on the Chinese economy. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.

Source: Sohu, February 28, 2019
http://www.sohu.com/a/298199657_114986

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Ford is Cutting Headcount in China

The Shanghai-based Chinese financial news site East Money recently reported that Ford is cutting its headcount in its joint venture Company in Xi’an, China. The total amount of workers being “quietly” laid off is in the thousands. There is no precise report on the actual count, but among the five factories Ford has in Xi’an, the shifts have been reduced from three per day to one. The three large assembly factories in Chongqing also lowered their output to one fifth of their capacity. The Chinese automobile market shrank in 2018, seeing the first decline in sales since 1990. With the increasing pressure from transportation infrastructure and tough emission standards, it is widely expected that China’s automobile market will continue to suffer over the next few years. Ford is not the only automobile manufacturer that is facing market pressure. Nearly all major players are seeing declines. Analysts expect that the Chinese automobile industry will have more challenges in 2019.

Source: East Money, February 28, 2019
http://finance.eastmoney.com/a/201902281056249338.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Jiangxi to Introduce “Red Culture” Textbooks across the Province

According to an article Sohu published, starting this spring, all schools in Jiangxi Province will introduce “red culture” courses, and use the “red culture” textbooks that the Ministry of Education Development Research Center, the Jiangxi Provincial Party Committee Education Working Committee, and the Provincial Department of Education developed jointly. This set of textbooks ranges from kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school and also including secondary vocational schools, to college including higher vocational colleges. This will be the first set of “red culture” textbooks in China.

Yu Weiyue, deputy director of the Department of Basic Education of the Ministry of Education, stated that the purpose of the preparation of “red culture” textbooks is to “plant the seeds of love for the party, patriotism, and the people in the hearts of children; to apply these sentiments to their daily behavior, and to have them become part of their lifelong values.”

Deputy Governor of the Jiangxi Provincial Government said that Jiangxi Province will take the lead in the country to promote the “red culture” in the campus and the classroom, and strive to spread the “red culture” education to the rest of the country.

Source: Sohu, March 2, 2019
https://www.sohu.com/a/298566425_267106?scm=1002.44003c.fd00fe.PC_ARTICLE_REC&spm=smpc.content.fd-d.16.1551398400023WRl5Apr

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xi Jinping Emphasizes Faith in Marxism

Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has recently focused on ideology. Not long ago, at the Politburo’s “Democratic Life Meeting,” Politburo members were told to submit a written “performance report.” On February 28, the CCP released, “Opinions on strengthening the political construction of the Party.” On March 1, at the Central Party School’s opening ceremony of the “training session for young and middle-aged cadres, Xi Jinping gave a speech.

Xi said that it is “a big event” to train and select outstanding young cadres, which matters for the destiny of the party, the country, and the nation, as well as for the well-being of the people. The cadres, especially young cadres, must maintain “loyalty to the party, gratitude to the people, an enterprising spirit for their work, and a sense of respect for the law and for discipline.”

Xi added that being politically steadfast cannot be separated from “being firm on theory.” The ideals and beliefs of the Chinese Communists are based on a profound understanding of Marxism. With firm ideals and convictions, the cadres can adhere to the correct political direction. “Once you have set your mind on a faith, you have to believe it throughout your lifetime, otherwise there will be big problems.” He said that the key to measuring whether a cadre has ideals or not depends on “whether he is loyal to the party.” “Leading cadres must be loyal and clean.” “Loyalty is always of the foremost importance.”

Source: Central News Agency, March 1, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201903010218.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Internet “Clean-up Campaign” Shuts Down 490,000 Accounts in Two Months

The Central News Agency reported that, in the past two months, the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission has closed more than 490,000 illegal accounts and thousands of websites. According to the article, as of February 25, a total of 44.37 million internet messages were cleared, more than 490,000 illegal accounts were closed, and 1,462 registered websites were removed.

Source: Central News Agency, February 27, 2019
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201902270380.aspx

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Beijing’s Ten Years of “Festival of Spring” Global Tour

On the evening of February 25th, at Warner Theatre in Washington DC, the American Troupe of “Festival of Spring” completed the final performance of its global tour. China National Opera & Dance Drama Theater, a subsidiary of the Chinese Ministry of Culture, put together the show of “Festival of Spring.” The presenters included the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese. The former is also an office under the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Work Department; the latter is a liaison organization between the CCP and the overseas Chinese community.

For the season of 2019, six troupes of the “Festival of Spring” program were reported to have travelled to 29 cities in 16 countries with 33 shows, including Medan (of Indonesia), Barcelona, New York, Nairobi, Suva (of Fiji), Philadelphia, and Washington D.C.

According to People’s Daily, since 2009, the program of “Festival of Spring” has toured overseas every year during Chinese New Year holiday season. So far, it has dispatched 75 arts groups and done 450 performances in 331 cities across five continents, with nearly 7 million theater or public square audience members.

Tang Cuiying, head of the American Troupe of “Festival of Spring” and a board member of the China Overseas Friendship Association, a CCP led United Front Work organization, stated, “The overseas performances are to bring the blessings and greetings from the homeland to the overseas Chinese, so that they can enjoy the melodies and love from the homeland in an atmosphere of reunion and happiness.” Tang is also an official at the Bureau of Overseas Chinese Affairs under the CCP’s United Front Work Department.

Source: People’s Daily, March 1, 2019
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2019-03/01/nw.D110000renmrb_20190301_2-20.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Local Government Initiates “Wartime Mechanism” for Maintaining Stability during the CCP’s “Two Conferences”

China’s national “Two Conferences” (the National People’s Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference) are coming again. The capital, Beijing, and other places have initiated stability-maintenance mechanisms. In addition to the usual double safety check for the trains traveling to Beijing, the express mail, and the interception of petitioners coming to Beijing, the  Political and Legal Committees started the “wartime mechanism” (of stability maintenance).

From February 22 to 23, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security, Zhao Kezhi, spent two days in Tianjin, mainly to check the safety work relating to the “Two Conferences,” including high-speed rail stations, logistics transceiver stations, command center joint operations, and other places.

According to a report, Zhao Kezhi said, “We must deploy the ‘Capital Moat’ with the most thorough and the most stringent measures.”

In Xingyang City of Henan Province, which is more than 700 kilometers away from Beijing, the local Political and Legal Committee issued a notice announcing that, from February 22 to March 17, the City will adopt the “wartime mechanism” during the “Two Conferences.” It will also report on the situation of the “targeted persons” who are under control and on the “situation of groups of petitioners traveling to the provincial capital and to Beijing” on a daily basis.

Source: creaders.net, February 25, 2019
http://news.creaders.net/china/2019/02/25/2058713.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability