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Xinhua: The U.S. Election Exposes the Limitations of Its Democratic System

Xinhua recently published a commentary pointing out four major shortcomings of the U.S. democracy that deepens the division among U.S. voters. The author identified the number one problem as the fact that both parties’ leadership secretly manipulates the election process. The Republican leadership has done this more publicly than the Democrats. The second issue outlined in the commentary is the deeper and deeper influence that big money has had. Over the years, more and more money has been thrown into elections. The candidates are either rich or funded by the rich. The third negative shortcoming of the U.S. presidential election is that the majority of the voters do not welcome any candidate. According to a poll that Pew conducted, neither Trump nor Hillary had more than 35 percent of the people’s support. Finally, the commentary said that the kind of personal attacks seen in the U.S. election are a tragedy of our civilization.
Source: Xinhua, August 28, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-08/28/c_129258099.htm

Xinhua: Chinese Online Crimes Spread across Borders

Xinhua recently reported from the Fourth China Internet Security Conference that research showed online criminal activities are getting more and more pervasive and are spreading across borders. What is called the "Online Dark Industry" has established an entire “industrial profit chain” reaching a revenue volume of RMB 100 billion (around US$15 billion). Many Chinese online criminals have been setting up phishing sites in Europe and the United States and have conducted different types of fraud back in China. While the cross-country investigations are highly limited due to a lack of cooperation among governments, research has shown that the international online crime rate has increased by 80 to 100 percent over the past couple of years. The study pointed out that the Chinese “Online Dark Industry” had 1.6 million “workers” as of the end of 2015. Most of the activities in this “industry” involve stealing personal information. More and more damage has been seen in the banking industry as well as in the stock market. Experts are calling for a global joint effort to battle these online threats.
Source: Xinhua, August 17, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2016-08/17/c_129235090.htm

VOA: UN Rapporteur Reported Chinese Government Interference

Voice of America (VOA) recently reported that Philip Alston, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, told Reuters, after his nine-day trip to China, that the Chinese government interfered with his work. He explained that he had informed the Chinese government about the people he planned to meet during his UN mission to China and that this is considered the normal working procedure. However, the Chinese government did not arrange meetings with any of these individuals. When he actually communicated with some of his contacts, they told him that they had been advised to take a vacation during the time of his visit. Alston said that he never faced such a situation in any other country. As a UN Rapporteur, he is supposed to be able to visit any place and meet with anybody in any of the UN member countries. In his report, Alston also mentioned the serious corruption in China.
Source: Voice of America, August 24, 2016
http://www.voachinese.com/a/news-un-rights-envoy-says-chinese-authorities-interfered-with-his-work-20160823/3476510.html

Nationwide Study Shows Tens of Thousands of Children in Rural Areas Are Left-Behind

Xinhua published an article about a recent study of the children in rural areas who have been left behind. According to a notice from the Ministry of Civil Affairs, Education and Public Security, from March through July, 2016, a nationwide study was conducted on the left-behind children in rural areas. The data is being consolidated and will be published soon. The definition of left-behind children in rural areas refers to children living in rural areas who are less than 16 years old and who have been left behind when either or both parents left to work in urban areas or when one of the parents left but the other one is incapable of caring for the child. Based just on the data from Jiangsu, Fujian and Hubei provinces, the population of left-behind children was 242,000, 105,176 and 11,000 respectively in those provinces. Some of them were reported to be living alone by themselves. The article stated that each year close to 50,000 children die in accidents. Most of these are left-behind children. In recent years the media has reported cases of sexual assault, drug overdose, and suicide. At least 24 provinces and cities have published policies to protect these children and to require that children below the age of 16 years cannot live alone.

Source: Xinhua, August 28, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-08/28/c_129258642.htm

People’s Daily: SARFT to Set Limit on Excess Pay to Celebrities

On August 26, People’s Daily published an article reporting that the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) website posted a notice from the Party organization of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). The notice stated that a television station is not allowed to set the purchase price of a television program based on the status of the celebrities it uses in the program or on how famous they are. It cannot spend excessive marketing funds on the actors in the leading roles. The notice stated that, in addition, the movie and television industry should focus on the ideological values of the work and should also improve the cost structure of the production. It should also set requirements to limit the amount of music entertainment programs such as reality shows and also to limit the appearance of celebrities and their children who participate in the reality shows.

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White Paper Reveals Chinese Enterprises Unable to Make Their Social Security Insurance Payments

Xinhua published an article which reported that, according to the 2016 Chinese Enterprises White Paper, 74.89 percent of Chinese companies are not able to keep up with the payments on their employees’ social security insurance, while 20 percent of the companies are not even participating in the social security insurance program. The article pointed out, “It is a serious violation of employee’s rights.” “The statistics also revealed that the economic slowdown and the pressure to reduce costs have affected many of these companies."

Source: Xinhua, August 28, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-08/28/c_129258654.htm

Power Apple: Armed Troops Stationed in Hangzhou for the Upcoming G20 Summit

The 11th Summit of the Leaders from the Group of Twenty Countries (G20) will be held in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province in China in two weeks. At least two motorized armed police divisions with a variety of hand-picked offensive weapons and equipment have been stationed in Hangzhou including hundreds of armored vehicles, military vehicles, and patrol helicopters, all circumnavigating the city.

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