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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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Why Do More and More Chinese Get Cancer?

Vista Story Magazine published an article discussing the increase in the rate of cancer in China. According to the 2015 Cancer Registration Annual Report that the National Cancer Registration Center published, by 2011, China had 3.37 million cancer cases. That meant that, on average, a person would get cancer every six minutes. By 2015, the number of China’s cancer cases reached 4.29 million. Of these, lung cancer claimed the highest number at 733,300 cases.

Only less than 20 percent of cancers were due to heritage (occurred within families that had a history of cancer). Over 80 percent were due to lifestyle. In China, the causes for cancer included virus infection, smoking, insufficient fruit intake, drinking, insufficient vegetable intake, and work-related reasons. For example, smoking caused 30 percent of cancer cases and over 70 percent of lung cancer cases were related to smoking.

Some smaller samples showed that the polluted environment contributed to increasing cancer rates. However, due to lack of data, researchers cannot yet draw a decisive conclusion on a large scale about the environmental causes.

Source: Sohu.com, June 12, 2016
http://health.sohu.com/20160612/n454060450.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Epoch Times: Interview with a Princeling

On June 13, 2016, the U.S. Congress passed House Resolution 343 unanimously, condemning China’s "practice of state-sanctioned forced organ harvesting" and demanded "an immediate end to the 17-year persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice."

Epoch Times interviewed Luo Yu, the son of former Grant General (a military title only lower than Marshall) Luo Ruiqing, on the impact of the resolution. Luo Yu has published ten open letters to Xi Jinping, whom he called "brother" due to their princeling connections, urging him to adopt political reform and stop political persecutions.

Luo Yu said, "This U.S. house resolution will impact all Chinese. No Chinese, I believe, besides those criminals like Zhou Yongkang [who participated in the organ harvesting], would agree to the anti-humanity crime – conducting live organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners and criminals of conscience. Nobody would agree. Now the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has tried to block this information, but I don’t think it can block it. The Internet has been well developed. The more people know about this practice, the more people will oppose it.

"The U.S. represents the people’s opinions, ideas about democracy, and justice. It has a profound and long-term impact on China. Because there are always people speaking out in the world, there are always voices of the upright condemning these crimes. This is the meaning of the U.S. house resolution."

As to the Spokesperson, Zhu Haiquan of China’s Embassy to the U.S. claimed that all these [organ harvesting] accusations were groundless, Luo Yu observed, "When the U.S. Congress passes a resolution, it won’t, as China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said, only listen to lies. If it did not have evidence, it would not pass such a resolution. The U.S. Congress’s resolution makes the intellectuals of China understand that the whole world is watching it and moreover, that it is true.

Luo Yu called on Xi Jinping to stop the organ harvesting. "You are the General Secretary of the CCP. How can you let this heinous crime continue to happen in China? This did not start with Xi Jinping. It is actually [the former CCP leader] Jiang Zemin’s crime." "Now Xi Jinping promotes the rule by law. If you can’t stop live organ harvesting which obviously violates the law, how can you rule by law?"

Source: Epoch Times, June 21, 2016
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/16/6/20/n8018289.htm
 

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: Gao Zhisheng Published a New Book Overseas

BBC Chinese recently reported that former Chinese human rights attorney Gao Zhisheng published his new book in Taiwan. His daughter held a press conference in Hong Kong to announce the book [Stand Up China 2017 – China’s Hope: What I learned during Five Years as a Political Prisoner]. Gao described in this book the “kidnapping and torture” the Chinese authorities imposed on him. He, as a Christian, also predicted the end of the Chinese Communist rule in 2017, citing it as a revelation from God.

As an attorney, Gao defended many human rights victims, especially innocent Falun Gong practitioners, in court. He was arrested after his attorney license was revoked in 2006. He is currently under house-arrest after being released from multiple jail terms, some of which had no court ruling. It is still unknown how the content of the new book was handed to people outside of China.

A spokeswoman from the Chinese Ministry of Public Safety told AP that The Ministry was not directly involved in Gao’s treatment – only local authorities could respond to inquiries.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 14, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2016/06/160614_china_activist_gao
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Global Times: Did ASEAN Slap China in the Face?

Global Times recently reported that the Special China–ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Foreign Ministers Conference was held in Yunnan, China on June 13 and 14. This was an important meeting, while the heated international arbitration decision on the South China Sea issue was about to reported soon. It’s unavoidable that conferences like this might have disagreements. However, the Western media suddenly came up with the news of a so-called “ASEAN joint announcement” that criticized China and that “slapped China in face.” Global Times found out that there was no official announcement distributed to reporters whatsoever. This is yet another example of the West dreaming on the “isolated China.”
In a further development, on June 14, BBC Chinese reported that the Conference seemed to have suffered a rupture. The China-ASEAN Conference did not reach a consensus announcement between China and ASEAN. The ASEAN foreign ministers issued a separate announcement after the conference closure, with harsh statements. Later the Malaysian spokesperson explained to the media that the ASEAN Ministers decided to revoke the single-sided announcement because it needed “emergency amendments.”
Source: Global Times, June 15, 2016 
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2016-06/9041521.html
BBC Chinese, June 14, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2016/06/160614_china_asean_malaysia
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Cuba Lifted Ban on Google and Facebook

Major Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily recently reported that Cuba announced its decision to lift its ban on Google and Facebook. Google also announced a willingness to assist Cuba in providing free Internet access. Chinese mainstream media did not report this news, but on Mainland social media, it quickly triggered a nationwide discussion. The biggest topic was that there are only two countries left in the world that still ban Google and Facebook – North Korea and China. To avoid having the Chinese authorities delete their postings, many Chinese netizens “protested the world’s attempt to isolate China from using Google.” Some expressed their “concerns” about the possibility that “North Korea might undergo a reform at any moment.” The primary Chinese search engine is Baidu, of which the Chinese government is a partial sponsor; the government actively filters it for censored content.
Source: Apple Daily, June 15, 2016
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20160615/885948/
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China to Limit Airing of Foreign Imported Television Programs

Xinhua published an article reporting on a notice that the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued. The notice stated that, currently, original produced television programs are lacking in China and China is overly relying on programs imported from foreign countries. The notice said that more domestic original programs need to be produced, which will carry a heavier weight, versus imported programs that are aired during evening prime time. At the same time, it also initiated a plan to limit the number of foreign programs that China imports. According to the plan, foreign programs must go through a two month of advanced application and approval process. Collaboration work between China and foreign companies is treated a foreign program if China does not own 100 percent of the intellectual property. A limited number of foreign programs may be aired during evening prime time.

Source: Xinhua, June 19, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-06/19/c_1119070920.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

CCDI Calls for Solid Domestic Work in Tracking Corrupt Officials Overseas

On June 19, the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published an article addressing the importance of building a strong case in China when conducting an overseas pursuit of those corrupt officials who have already fled China. 

The article stated that, to track down corrupt officials who fled China with stolen funds, it is important to do ones homework well inside China. The first task is to get to the bottom of the facts. Only with accurate numbers and solid groundwork can the effort to track down the corrupt officials and stolen funds be effective. 
The article further stated that the Anti-Corruption Coordination Team of the Central Committee of the CCP has enhanced its command and coordination through the establishment of an International Office to Track Down Corrupt Officials and Stolen Funds and through that office’s counterpart at provincial levels. The Devil is in the details. 
“We should not only identify common patterns in all these cases and take targeted measures to prevent corrupt officials from fleeing China; we should also locate the loopholes in our surveillance system that allow them to escape."  

Source: The Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, June 19, 2016 http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/xsjw/series18/201606/t20160619_80624.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Guangming Daily: Real Name Express Delivery System Faces Obstacles

Guangming Daily recently carried an article which stated that, since June 1, the real name express delivery system has been experiencing challenges in its execution. The article said that most of the customers are concerned about the leakage of personal information and are unwilling to follow the new requirements. According to the article, 82.3 percent of the Chinese Internet users have personally experienced inconvenience due to the leakage. In addition, express delivery companies see the system as an extra step which slows down the process and upsets their customers. Therefore, they are not actively enforcing the policy. The article suggested that, in order to eliminate the concerns from both parties, there is a need to have a comprehensive systematic solution that will ensure a clear definition of roles and responsibilities while also ensuring personal information safety and building a trust between the different parties involved.

Source: Guangming Daily, June 16, 2016
http://tech.gmw.cn/2016-06/16/content_20571712.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics