Chinascope – Page 620

China’s Tibetan Scholar Criticized China’s Tibet Policy

[Editor’s Note: Jambey Gyatso (降边嘉措), a veteran Tibetan scholar in China published two articles to criticize two Chinese officials, Ye Xiaowen (叶小文), the former Director of the State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA), and Zhu Weiqun (朱维群), Director of the Ethnic and Religious Commission of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee.

Jambey Gyatso observed that, over the past decade, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) religious management group, of which both Ye and Zhu are key members, adopted the wrong policies to govern Tibet. Instead of separating religion from governance, Ye tried to replace Tibetan Buddhism with a new orthodox religion: the will of the Party’s religious office. Ye’s new policy of “certifying” Living Buddhas led to corruption in the Buddhist temples. Zhu tried to escalate this simple event to the level of the political, linking it to “Tibetan separation.”

It is rare to see a scholar, who has worked for several decades under the CCP’s system, be so open in criticizing the CCP’s religious policy and leaders.

The Paper, a media with close ties to Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan, reported on February 22, 2016, that Ye Xiaowen was removed from his latest official positions as the Party Secretary and Deputy Director of the Central Institute of Socialism. [1]

The following are excerpts from several articles about this development.]

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Reports | | March 10, 2016 | Report

Xi Jinping on the Private Ownership Economy

On March 9, 2016, People’s Daily published the full text of a speech that Xi Jinping delivered to a group of businessmen. On March 4, 2016, during the fourth session of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Xi gave a speech titled, “Unswervingly Adhere to Our Basic Economic System and Promote the Healthy Development of different Forms of Ownership.”

Xi stressed that the status and the role of the non-State [private] ownership economy in economic and social development has not changed. Likewise, the policies to encourage, support, and guide the non-State [private] ownership economy have not changed. Xi said that there are five priorities: to resolve fund-raising issues that mid-sized and small private businesses face, to open the market to them, to accelerate the construction of public infrastructure to serve these businesses, to guide them in mergers and acquisitions using their intellectual property as leverage to form conglomerates, and to expedite government approval of investments into these private businesses.

Source: People’s Daily, reprinted by the official website of the Communist Party of China, March 9, 2016
http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0309/c64094-28183110.html

Briefings | | March 10, 2016 | Government/Politics

China Times: Eye Banks across the Strait Suffer Severe Cornea Shortage

Chinese have a tradition to keep the body whole after death. As a result, cornea donations across the Strait have never been abundant. For many years, there have been more than 20 "eye banks" in mainland China. They are in a very awkward situation, like a library that has no books. In other words, there have been "no corneas in the banks," for a long time. Only less than two percent of the patients on the waiting list can get a cornea. In Taiwan, there are more than 10 times the number of patients on the waiting list for cornea donors.

There are about 20 eye banks in Mainland China. They are often in a "zero-inventory" status. The first eye bank in Dongguan (of Guangdong Province) was established at the Dongguan Guangming Ophthalmology Hospital in 2003. It was not until September 2007 that it had its first donor. Ironically, at that time, the donor’s family also strongly opposed the donation. Until last year, Dongguan had accumulated only two cases in which donations were made, and both of them involved donations to family members.

In Guangdong’s largest eye bank, the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Zhongshan Medical University, corneas are also in short supply. The hospital has an annual average of 4-5,000 people waiting for a cornea, but in 2014 it only accepted a little more than 800 cornea donations. 2013 was even worse; there were a little more than 100 cases. To get a cornea, patients have to queue up and wait at least two years.

In the two eye banks in Wuhan (the Capital of Hubei Province), the situation is more severe. Each year more than 4,000 people wait for corneas, but Tongji Hospital and the Air Eye Hospital had 10 years and 5 years of zero inventory, respectively.

Source: China Times, February 27, 2016

http://www.chinatimes.com/cn/newspapers/20160227000976-260301

Briefings | | March 10, 2016 | Economy/Resources

CPPCC National Committee Member Requested that the Detaining and Educating System Be Stopped

When attending the current CPPCC National Congress, Zhu Zhengfu, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee and Vice Chairman of the All China Lawyers Association, was about to submit a proposal to request the aboliton of the Detaining and Educating System.

Zhu had submitted the same proposal in March 2014, after December 2013, when the National People’s Congress abolished the forced labor camp system. He remembered, however, "The Ministry of Public Security sent officials to talk with me and provided a written response that they objected to the abolition."

In 1993, the State Council issued the "Measures on Detaining and Educating Prostitutes." It granted the police the power to take administrative action to put prostitutes into six months to two years of forced-education and forced-labor work without a court investigation or a trial.

Zhu pointed out that this detaining and educating system is, in essence, a forced-labor camp system for prostitutes. Thus, it should be eliminated completely.

Source: Caixin, March 3, 2016
http://topics.caixin.com/2016-03-03/100915310.html

Briefings | | March 9, 2016 | Government/Politics

Global Times: David Shambaugh Praised Xi Jinping

A year ago, the Wall Street Journal published an article by the renowned American Chinese expert, David Shambaugh, "The Coming Chinese Crackup," in which he stated that the regime under Xi Jinping was going south.

On March 1, Global Times published an exclusive report on the dialogue between Shambaugh and Wang Wen, Executive Director of the Chongyang Finance Institute of Renmin University of China. Shambaugh was much more positive about Xi Jinping.

According to Shambaugh, "In the past year, because of that article, many Chinese friends no longer treated me as an ‘old friend.’ Many Chinese media criticized me. No one invited me to visit China. All of these things upset me. … The title of that article was problematic. It was not from me, but the editor of the Wall Street Journal. They wanted to attract more readers’ eyeballs and create more profit for the newspaper. When I heard the title, I asked them to change it. They replied, ‘Sorry, David. It is too late, we’ve already gone to print.’"

"Another issue was the anti-corruption campaign. I have stated clearly that anti-corruption is good. I am all for it. It is the right thing to do and the public has received it very well. I give a thumbs up to Xi Jinping and Wang Qishan’s anti-corruption fight. Corruption is the cancer that erodes the Party, the government, the economy, and society. It must be taken care of; otherwise it will lead to the downfall of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)."

"The future reform in China should be reform of the structure, not like what China did 30 years ago. It is no longer an adjustment; rather, it is a systemic reform. For example, the financial area needs a thorough reform. However, there are quite a few people who feel that their interests have been impacted [and therefore, they resist it]. So, I agree, China’s reform needs the present strong leader."

Sources:
1. Global Times Online, March 1, 2016
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-03/8628170.html
2. Wall Street Journal Online, March 6, 2015
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-coming-chinese-crack-up-1425659198

Briefings | | March 9, 2016 | US-China Relations

Kyodo Chinese: Many Chinese Warships Gathered Around U.S. Aircraft Carrier

Major Japanese news agency Kyodo recently reported in its Chinese edition that the U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier USS John Stennis and its battle group fleet started its mission in the South China Sea. A large number of Chinese warships gathered to monitor them. Chinese media referenced this report rather widely. The report said, according to the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy Seventh Fleet, that the aircraft carrier battle group started its “routine exercises in the Western Pacific region.” Aircraft from the carrier had been sent out for certain tasks. This aircraft carrier mission was widely considered to be a response to China’s missile and radar deployments in the same region. USS Stennis Captain Hoffman told the reporter that he “had never seen that many Chinese warships gathered together.”

Source: Kyodo Chinese, March 5, 2016

https://china.kyodonews.jp/news/2016/03/115983.html

Briefings | | March 8, 2016 | Defense/Military

BBC Chinese: Moody’s Changed China’s Debt Outlook to Negative

BBC Chinese recently reported that Moody’s Investors Services, the well-known international credit ratings organization, changed the outlook from stable to negative on China’s government credit ratings. Moody’s explained that the decision was based on the ongoing and rising government debt, a continuing fall in reserve buffers due to capital outflows, and also on the uncertainty about the authorities’ capacity to implement reforms to address imbalances in the economy. In the past one and one-half years, China’s foreign exchange reserve declined by US$762 billion. Moody’s report also pointed out that the Chinese economy is still facing the risk of a continued significant slowdown due to high debt level having a suppressing effect on business investments. Moody’s expects the government debt level will continue to grow rapidly. [Editor’s note: One day later, Moody’s also changed the rating outlooks for 38 of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to negative.]

Source: BBC Chinese, March 2, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/business/2016/03/160302_moody_downgrade_china

Briefings | | March 8, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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