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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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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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Global Times Editorial: The Boundary and Focal Point of Sino-U.S. Cooperation in the Korean Peninsula

China’s State Media Global Times recently published a series of editorials on the North Korea nuclear crisis. Below is an excerpt from one editorial discussing the boundary of Sino-U.S. cooperation on this issue.

“Some of the strategic factors of the DPRK nuclear issue have changed, including that the scope of cooperation between China and the United States is expanding. China has not only strengthened the intensity of sanctions against the DPRK, but also will further strengthen the sanctions if the DPRK takes new important actions that violate the UN Security Council resolution. In addition, the United States has given up its ‘strategic patience’ policy and openly talks about the possibility of launching military attacks against the DPRK. It seems that this is not just a verbal threat.”

“China and the United States seem to have made a determination to become more active on the DPRK nuclear issue. The possibility of a DPRK nuclear issue is declining sharply. Pyongyang faces a strategic choice between confrontation to the end at the risk of survival and coming back to the negotiation table by abandoning its nuclear program.”

“Cooperation between Beijing and Washington will not be without principles. Beijing will insist on limiting Sino-U.S. cooperation to the goal of restraining North Korea’s nuclear-led activities. However, with the development of the situation, it is estimated that Beijing will agree to resort to the severe means of bringing down North Korea’s entire economic activities, such as stopping the majority of oil exports to the DPRK. If the United States implements the financial blockade, Beijing will also likely agree to cooperate.”

“In any case, Sino-U.S. cooperation will not be extended to the military threat to the DPRK. Beijing will never support or cooperate with the United States in taking military action against the DPRK; it will not support the United States in “expanding” its goal of overthrowing the Pyongyang regime.”

Source: Global Times (Huánqiú ) April 18, 2017
http://mil.huanqiu.com/strategysituation/2017-04/10493109.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China’s New Anti-Corruption Moves

Radio France International (RFI) reported that China has adopted two new anti-corruption measures that may be used against high-ranking officials.

The first one is that the Supreme People’s Procuratorate’s website for reporting corrupt officials allows people to report top ranking officials. The drop down list for the Official Rank field includes “state-level officials” which is the highest rank in China. At first, the options were “State-Level – Members of the Party’s Politburo Standing Committee,” “Vice State-Level – Members of the Party’s Politburo, Vice Premier, State Council Members,” … “Clerk,” and “Unranked Cadres.”

However, visiting the website now, the Official Rank field has been changed to an input box from the dropdown list. It is up to those making the report to write in the rank.

The second one is the re-issuance of “Regulations on Leading Cadres’ Reporting Personal Matters” and “Measures on Handling the Check Result of leading Cadres’ Reporting Personal Matters.”

Xinhua published an article with the Party’s Organization Department’s answers to some questions regarding the Regulation and the Measures. It said that “the Regulation is to focus on a ‘few key people,’ or the Party’s and government’s top officials.” “The other one is to focus on the family affairs and assets of the cadres. Family affairs include marriage, passports and visits to other countries for personal reasons, immigration to other countries, business, and whether they are under investigation. Family assets include income, proceeds from services, real estate, stock, mutual funds, insurance with an investment focus, business, and savings and investments overseas.

Sources:
1. RFI, April 20, 2017
http://cn.rfi.fr/中国/20170420-反腐新姿态-可举报常委级领导人-官员需报国外财产与家人
2. Xinhua, April 19, 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-04/19/c_1120839564.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Beijing City Encourages People to “Capture Spies”

Voice of America (VOA) reported that the Beijing Municipal State Security Bureau issued a regulation concerning, “Award Methods for Citizens to Report Spy Activities.”

“According to the regulation, citizens can communicate through a phone call, letter, or face-to-face reporting methods to ‘report spy activity to the Beijing Municipal State Security Bureau. If the clue is useful, those who report the information can receive awards ranging between 10,000 Yuan (U.S. $1,492) and 500,000 Yuan.’”

“However, this frightened many people who had experienced Mao Zedong’s time (the 1950s to the 1970s).”

“Mao promoted ‘anti-spy’ and ‘capture spy’ movements. During their peak time, thousands of spies from the U.S. and the USSR were ‘found’ and many families were torn apart. There was countless evidence proving that the then President of China Liu Shaoqi was a traitor and his wife was a strategic spy from the U.S.”

“After Mao’s death, the Communist Party obtained countless evidence that the previous thousands of spies were wrongfully indicted. Liu Shaoqi was not a traitor but rather a great leader of China and his wife was not a U.S. spy, either.”

Source: VOA, April 20, 2017
http://www.voachinese.com/a/news-beijing-offers-hefty-cash-reward-for-spy-tip-20170410/3803973.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

Did China Stop the VOA Interview of Guo Wengui?

China is reported to have interfered with a Voice of America (VOA) interview of Guo Wengui (郭文贵) and to cause VOA to stop airing its interview. Guo is a business tycoon who fled from China because he feared being arrested for bribing officials. Once he came to the U.S., on multiple occasions, Guo revealed the corruption of top level officials, including in the VOA interview.

The Chinese government has accused Guo of bribery and has tried to bring him back to China. After the VOA interview event, China aired a video recording in which Ma Jian, former Deputy Minister of State Security who had been taken down for corruption, confessed to receiving money from Guo.

On April 21, Lu Kang, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received several questions from Western media about this incident:

VOA reporter: During his interview with VOA, Guo Wengui brought up some sensitive things about sensitive people, including Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan. Is what he said true? Do you have any comments? Also, China issued a Red Notice on Guo Wengui to Interpol just before the interview. Was it a coincidence or was it on purpose?

Lu Kang: For the first question, we have said that Guo Wengui was a criminal suspect under Interpol’s Red Notice. So if you choose to believe what he said, that’s your thing. We don’t believe it. For the second question, Interpol is the second largest international organization among governments, with over 100 years of history and 190 members. We trust that it is serious about what it does.

BBC reporter: Just another follow up, again a point of clarification on the question that was already answered before. The question is about the VOA interview that was stopped and was kept from proceeding. Am I right in assuming that you are saying the Chinese government was not involved in it whatsoever?

Lu Kang: I think the VOA reporter asked the question just now and I have clearly answered it.

Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporter: The first one is to follow up on the previous question. It was reported that the Chinese embassy reached out to VOA and contacted them directly and asked them not to air the interview of Guo Wengui. So is that not the case? Can you confirm that?

Lu Kang: VOA itself did not ask this question. Why are you so interested in it?

{Editor’s note: Asia News reported, “Guo wanted to speak about corruption among China’s Communist leaders. Beijing got Interpol to issue an arrest warrant against him.”}

Sources:
VOA, April 21, 2017
http://www.voachinese.com/a/guo-wengui-interview-20170421/3820414.html
Asia News, April 22, 2017
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Voice-of-America-cuts-interview-with-Guo-Wengui-over-rampant-corruption-in-China-40542.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics US-China Relations

North Korean Official Media Criticizes China

Several Chinese media reported that, on April 21, the Korean Central News Agency, North Korea’s state media, published a commentary to criticize China. The article, titled, “Have the Nerve to Follow the Crowd?” did not mention China’s name directly, but it can be inferred to refer China.

The article stated, “Recently, a neighboring country of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) stayed quiet when the U.S. gathered an unprecedented military force around the Korean Peninsula and pushed the area to the verge of war, while it openly expressed the ‘taking of necessary actions’ against North Korea’s self-defense measures.

“That country even boasted that the DPRK would not (be able to) withstand ‘someone’s‘ economic sanctions and should re-consider how important (it is to maintain) the relationship with it. It could provide the needed support and help for North Korea’s security and economic development.

“On April 18, it claimed in its media that Pyongyang’s nuclear missile plan turned the U.S., its former enemy, into its collaborator.

“What should North Korea call it from now on? And how should North Korea treat it?

“North Korea’s soldiers and its people built its self-defense nuclear deterrent power at a great sacrifice in order to defend its national sovereignty. It is not for trade. …

“If it miscalculates the DPRK’s will, follows the other people, and insists on economic sanctions against North Korea, it may get some appreciation from the DPRK’s enemies, but it must prepare mentally for the disastrous consequences of (ruining) its relationship with the DPRK.”

Global Times, one of China’s state media, in its report, “North Korea Threatened to Sink the US Aircraft Carrier, Calling It a Plump Perverted Animal,” mentioned this article and referred to it as a criticism of China.

Source:
1. CanadaMeet, April 22, 2017
http://www.iask.ca/news/world/2017/04/431066.html
2. Huanqiu, April 24, 2017
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2017-04/10526651.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Caixin: Social Structure Study Found China’s Middle Class Collapsing

Well-known Chinese financial news media group Caixin recently reported that a recent professional social structure study called, “The Middle Class Transition Tier and The Edge Tier” found that 19.12 percent of China’s population is Middle Class. Of those, 73 percent are very close to the borderline that divides the Middle and the Lower classes. The study was based on a model established under the International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status (ISEI). The sample size was 683,291 employed people who are between the ages of 16 and 64. In addition to the Middle Class, China has an Upper Class of 5.62 percent of the population and a Lower Class of 75.25 percent. In the Lower Class, 4.4 percent (of the entire Chinese population) was in the “Transition Tier” that is very close to the Middle Class line, and in the Middle Class, 13.9 percent was in the “Edge Tier” that’s slightly above the same dividing line. The entire population’s 13.9 percent is 73 percent of the Middle Class population. The study also found that the bigger a city is, the more people are in the Middle Class Edge Tier. In cities with more than 10 million residents, 25.35 percent of the city’s population is in the Middle Class Edge Tier.

Source: Caixin, April 17, 2017
http://china.caixin.com/2017-04-17/101079210.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Social Stability

CNA: Northeast China Environment Monitoring Stations on Alert

The primary Taiwanese news agency CNA (The Central News Agency) recently reported that the Mainland’s Ministry of Environmental Protection sent internal orders to environment monitoring stations in Northeast China to establish 24-hour on-duty monitoring schedules for radioactive pollution signs. The scope of the internal orders covers the provinces of Jilin, Liaoning, Tianjin, Hebei and Shandong. According to leaked internal information, the Chinese government expected the upcoming sixth North Korean nuclear test to be several times the scale of the fifth. There is a good possibility that the North Koreans may test some new technologies, which have a higher risk of failure. Also, over 200 high ranking military officials were called to report to the Northern Military Theater Joint Command Center. The Military Theater has already come up with several detailed combat plans to respond to the North Korean crisis.

Source: CNA, April 17, 2017
http://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/201704170219-1.aspx

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

International Professional Journal Tumor Biology Retracted 107 Chinese Papers

Well-known Chinese financial news media group Caixin recently reported that the professional international journal Tumor Biology not long ago officially announced the retraction of 107 Chinese papers that had been published between 2012 and 2016, citing fraud that had occurred during the peer review process. The action was taken based on the recommendations that the global Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) had made. According to the publisher of Tumor Biology, Springer, the authors of these papers created fake email addresses using the names of specialists and experts in the field in order to provide positive reviews for these papers, without the knowledge of these specialists. The authors of these papers are from famous hospitals, universities, and institutes from several major cities in China. This is just the tip of the iceberg of the SCI (Science Citation Index) fraud that originated in China. Another example is, in 2015, the British journal BioMed Central retracted 43 papers, 41 of which were from China. Last year, Caixin sent undercover reporters to investigate the underground SCI fraud market and found that some Chinese journal networks that had ties with SCI member magazines actually conduct this type of fraud for profit.

Source: Caixin, April 21, 2017
http://china.caixin.com/2017-04-21/101081664.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability