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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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China Youth Online: Military Staff Cut Has Started

China Youth reported that, as part of the military staff cut that Xi Jinping announced last year, China has started the first round of the retirement of officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

"The 21st Army of the Western Combat Theater, an air-defense unit of the Central Combat Theater, and an armored brigade of the Eastern Combat Theater all have recently held retirement ceremonies for the officers who are leaving the military."

One goal of Xi Jinping’s military reform was to shrink the PLA command structure. "Among the 300,000 military staff cut, half of them are officers."

Source: China Youth Daily, June 13, 2016
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2016-06/13/nw.D110000zgqnb_20160613_2-12.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Asia Pacific Daily: China Arrested a North Korean Spy

Asia Pacific Daily published a comprehensive article based on reports from several media that China arrested a North Korean spy at home in early June and confiscated 30 million yuan (US$4.6 million) and some gold bars.

The Yomiuri Shimbun, a Japanese media, which received information on June 11, first reported the news.

The South Korean media Chosun Ilbo reported, "The huge amount of cash and gold bars belonged to the North Korean military or the Worker’s Party."

The arrested spy was stationed in Dandong City, a city on China’s border with North Korea. He was referred to as "representative of the home country" and "General Manager." He was believed to have participated in the secret trade of materials that the United Nations embargoed against North Korean.

This arrest took place a few days after Vice chairman of the Workers’ Party Lee Yong-soo’s visit to China. Lee had a meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing and returned on June 2. The Yomiuri Shimbun believed that China arrested the spy in order to apply pressure to North Korea because Lee Yong-soo expressed, during his meeting, that North Korea would continue its nuclear development efforts.

South Korea’s media JoongAng Ilbo also reported that, in March, a North Korean official tried to carry 20,000 yuan (US$3,000) to North Korea but was stopped at China’s customs at Dandong. He ended up not going to North Korea. Some analysts suggested, "Since China does not allow wiring Renminbi from banks to North Korea , the North Koreans can only transport cash. If China strengthens currency control [at the border], North Korea may have [no choice but] to smuggle or use international postal delivery vehicles to send cash."

The United Nations Resolution 2270, which was passed on March 2, required all member countries to cut bank connections with North Korea within 90 days.

Source: Asia Pacific Daily, June 14, 2016
http://zh.apdnews.com/asia/neasia/423565.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CCDI: Some Countries Protect the CCP’s Corrupt Officials

On June 14, the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published an article asserting that some countries protect the corrupt officials who have fled China. 

The article observed that those countries believed that the corrupt Chinese officials who fled China to come to those countries were cards in their hands to play against China. However, they have now found out that these cards have become hot potatoes. In the past, the international communities applied a double standard to China. On the one hand, they criticized China for corruption; on the other, they protected the corrupt officials who fled China using the pretext of the law and human rights. “[We] must break through this ‘double standard’!” 

The article advocated that China should proactively inform the world of the anti-corruption campaign and related achievements in a systematic way. 
Source: The Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection reprinted by Qiushi, June 14, 2016 http://www.qstheory.cn/bwtj/2016-06/14/c_1119036319.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: China’s Anti-Graft Watchdog Criticized the Central Propaganda Department

According to a report posted June 8 on the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), the anti-graft watchdog of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), CCDI’s inspection team listed problems it had found when stationed at the Central Propaganda Department a few months ago.

The report cited CCDI member and lead investigator Wang Huaichen as saying that leaders in the department did not feel a sufficient sense of responsibility for undertaking ideological work.

According to the report, news propaganda was not targeted or effective enough. It identified the root cause as the weakening of the CCP’s leadership.

BBC Chinese cited AFP comments that this criticism indicated Beijing was attempting to continue tightening its control over the media and added that, based on other overseas analyses, this indicated the top Chinese leadership’s dissatisfaction with the propaganda department, which will probably lead to a restructuring of the department’s organizational hierarchy.

Source: BBC Chinese website, June 9, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2016/06/160609_china_anticorruption

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

EU Chamber of Commerce: Nearly Half of the Members Reevaluating Investments in China

Radio Free International (RFI) recently reported that the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China just released its 2016 Business Confidence Survey. The survey showed that 41 percent of its members are reevaluating their business in China and are planning to cut costs using such ways as layoffs. The report found the EU companies became pessimist because the Chinese government did not deliver on its promise to establish a more open and more competitive market environment. According to the report, 47 percent of the companies still intend to expand their Chinese operations. However, the same number was 86 percent three years ago. Among the members surveyed, 58 percent said the Chinese censorship of Internet access significantly impacted their ability to do business in China. This is a 17 percent increase from just last year.
 
Source: Radio Free International, June 7, 2016
http://rfi.my/1Uoopw8
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

CNR: The U.S. Unilaterally Terminated the High Speed Railway Project with China

China’s Central National Radio (CNR) recently reported that the U.S. company XpressWest unilaterally announced the formal termination of its joint effort with the China Railway International (CRI) to build a high speed railway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The contract was signed only nine months ago. XpressWest said that CRI was not able to deliver on its promises on time and could not obtain the required authorizations needed to build the trains. However, CRI explained in their response that XpressWest added new conditions into the signed contract and violated the contractual requirement that they not make public comments without mutual agreement. CNR found out from analysts that the primary road block was that the U.S. Federal regulations required the trains to be made in the U.S., and XpressWest could not get its train suppliers to meet the requirements on the degree of domestic manufacturing. The next step for China should be to take the legal approach since the United States claims to strictly follow the rule of law. In the meantime, China should be more careful about the impact of protectionism on the U.S. investment environment when it considers investing in the United States. 
Source: Central National Radio, June 11, 2016
http://china.cnr.cn/yaowen/20160611/t20160611_522367850.shtml
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

People’s Daily: ACT Cancelled the Exams in HK and Korea

People’s Daily recently reported that the U.S. ACT exams were unexpectedly cancelled in Hong Kong and South Korea only a few hours before they were supposed to start, impacting 5,500 students in 56 test centers. ACT suspected a wide-spread leak of the exam contents. This is yet another example of an “East Asian Cheating Epidemic” which is polluting the U.S. higher education system. In Korea, SAT leaks have happened for several years. Chinese students were found cheating on the SAT too. The report pointed out that the United States does not have a government run national college entry exam. The public has accepted the ACT and the SAT as recognized exams for college entry. The organizations running the exams are partially responsible for leaks – maybe their libraries of tests are not big enough and the test patterns are too obvious to discourage guessing. The SAT significantly increased the toughness of this year’s exams, which resulted in more students taking the ACT.
Source: People’s Daily, June 12, 2016
http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0612/c1002-28426642.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xi Jinping: No Excuses Allowed for Refusing to Take Demobilized Officers

Leading news portal Sina recently carried a report from Xinhua titled, "Xi Jinping: No Excuses Allowed for Refusing to Take Demobilized Officers." President Xi Jinping underscored the importance of providing demobilized military officers with civilian jobs. This is considered a political task and is closely linked to national defense and military reform. On Tuesday, June 7, Zhao Leji, head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee’s organization department, conveyed Xi’s comments on this issue in a speech he gave at a recent meeting of the Politburo standing committee at the 2016 National Conference on Employment of Demobilized Officers. Xi also noted that a long-term solution for arranging civilian jobs for demobilized officers would be deepened reform. He called for measures to improve the management of the security mechanism for demobilized officers and to perfect the public service system as well as relevant policies, laws and regulations. 

Xi added, "No matter what the excuse, refusing to provide positions for demobilized officers is not allowed." Xi also serves as chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC). In March 2016, The Paper, a Shanghai-based online site featuring news and analysis on current affairs, reported that Xi had announced last September, at a parade marking 70 years since the end of World War II, that the People’s Liberation Army would cut its personnel by 300,000. The scale of the PLA will gradually come down to 2 million from 2.3 million, as part of a modernization drive to shift focus from its traditional land forces to more advanced sea and air forces, which require fewer but better training personnel. 

Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo, also attended Tuesday’s conference. Liu underscored Xi’s comments. He also called for better services for officers who look for employment on their own. Also attending the conference were Xu Qiliang, CMC Vice Chairman; Zhang Yang, a member of the CMC; and Ma Kai, Vice Premier of the State Council. 
Sources: Sina, June 7, 2016
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2016-06-07/doc-ifxsvenv43574.shtml
The Paper, March 22, 2016
http://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1447218

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military