Chinascope – Page 623

New Round of Anti-Corruption Inspections Launched for 2016

On February 23, 2016, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Chinese Communist Party announced that it will start its first round of 2016 inspections to look into corruption and the abuse of power. Inspection teams will be dispatched to 32 Communist Party and government departments. At the top of the list are the Publicity Department of the Communist Party, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice.

Wang Qishan, a standing member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, and head of the CCDI, spoke at the kickoff of the first round of inspections. He stressed that the inspections should highlight the Party’s leadership and reinforce Party discipline. He called on inspection teams to study and understand speeches by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and “resolutely safeguard the centralized and unified leadership of the Party’s Central Committee.”

Source: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Chinese Communist Party, February 23, 2016 http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/xwtt/201602/t20160224_74842.html

Briefings | | February 25, 2016 | Government/Politics

Phoenix: China Experts Advised to Attack Taiwan and South Korea’s THAAD Base

As the U.S. is sending more military forces and the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea, Phoenix, a Hong Kong based media with strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), reported that Chinese experts have recommended using force on Taiwan and attacking South Korea’s THAAD base to counter the U.S.’ threat of using force against North Korea.

On February 6, Phoenix interviewed Yu Yingli, an Asian Pacific expert in Shanghai. Yu said, "I think if the U.S. wants to take the unilateral path of using force, actually we in China should consider tying the Taiwan issue to the North Korean nuclear issue. If the U.S. does not want to rule out the military option on the North Korean nuclear issue, our position on Taiwan, actually, has always been that we do not rule out the option of using force."

Then on February 19, Phoenix quoted military expert Wang Yunfei as saying. "[We] should warn South Korea that, if there is conflict between China and the U.S., the THAAD base, power plant, supply base, and other related facilities in South Korea will be the first target that China’s military will take on. As these facilities are based in South Korea, South Korea should hold the U.S. responsible for the resulting losses and deaths."

Sources:
[1] Phoenix Online, February 16, 2016
http://phtv.ifeng.com/a/20160216/41551232_0.shtml
[2] Phoenix Online, February 19, 2016
http://news.ifeng.com/a/20160219/47493071_0.shtml

Briefings | | February 24, 2016 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Major General: “Kill the Enemy to Open a Bloody Path” for Military Reform

Xinhua republished an article from Guangming Daily on military reform. The author Zhang Chuanjia, a Major General and a consultant to the Central Military Commission’s Military Reform Leading Group, indicated that military reform is facing severe obstructions.

Zhang stated, "Any existing system that has formed has a structure in which vested interests co-exist within that structure. This [military] reform intends to break that structure apart. From past experience, we have seen that almost all excuses given for blocking reform had the intention of covering up the real motivation, which was to protect vested interests. Therefore, if we don’t show the determination to ‘kill the enemy in order to open a bloody path,’ we can’t cut down the fence protecting the vested interests and we can’t make progress on military reform."

Zhang, in the later part of his article, stressed that carrying out military reform should be viewed as a political battle.

Source: Xinhua, February 18, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2016-02/18/c_128729392.htm

Briefings | | February 24, 2016 | Defense/Military

BBC Chinese: Chinese Import/Export Volume Dropped Sharply in January

BBC Chinese recently reported that, based on data released by the Chinese General Administration of Customs, China’s January total import/export volume was RMB 1.88 trillion (around US$289 billion). The number represents a decline of 9.8 percent, year-over-year. January exports declined by 6.6 percent and the import volume declined by 14.4 percent, year-over-year. Compared to December 2015, the January import/export total declined by 23.9 percent, month-over-month, which included an export decline of 19.8 percent and an import decline of 29.6 percent, month-over-month. Data analysis further showed that, in January, the total trade volume between China and its largest trade partner, the European Union, declined by 9.9 percent. The total trade volume between China and the United States also declined by 9.9 percent. China’s exports of mechanical and electrical products as well as textiles and clothing are the biggest categories that suffered the declines.

Source: BBC Chinese, February 15, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/business/2016/02/160215_china_trade_january

Briefings | | February 23, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua: ICBC Madrid Branch Searched for Suspected Money Laundering

Xinhua reported on February 18 that Spain’s National Guard and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office searched the Madrid Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). Five of the ICBC branch managers were detained. The Spanish police expressed its belief that the ICBC branch was involved in money laundering activities worth at least 40 million euros. One of the Spanish investigators thought that the ICBC branch has a full-blown criminal network. The search is the result of a case involving Chinese smuggling gangs that the government investigated last year. ICBC is the largest commercial bank in China and the Madrid branch is its first branch in Spain. The Chinese Embassy in Spain said that there had been no official communication from the Spanish government regarding the search. The Embassy found out about it through the public media.

Source: Xinhua, February 18, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/finance/2016-02/18/c_128729569.htm

Briefings | | February 23, 2016 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: The U.S. Is the Thief Crying about Theft in the South China Sea

Xinhua recently published a commentary responding to the U.S. accusation about China’s militarization of the South China Sea. The United States mentioned several times recently that China has been deploying missiles on the Island of Yongxing. However, the commentary referred to an old Chinese saying to describe the U.S. as “the thief crying about theft,” meaning the United States has been the one frequently patrolling the region with its military forces. In the past year, the United States sent the P8 reconnaissance aircraft, B52 bombers, the USS Lassen Aegis destroyer, and the USS Curtis Wilbur missile destroyer to the South China Sea. The author expressed the belief that, if there is anyone who is militarizing the South China Sea and is exacerbating regional tensions, it is the United States. The commentary questioned the U.S. by asking why the U.S. has to send military vessels to the South China Sea instead of business vessels if the right the U.S. is trying to exercise is just freedom of navigation? The article ended with a call for an immediate stop to the U.S. saga of “muddying the waters.”

Source: Xinhua, February 19, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-02/19/c_1118102857.htm

Briefings | | February 23, 2016 | US-China Relations

Xinhua: Xi Jinping Met with Media Workers from Three Central News Media

Xinhua reported that, on February 19, Xi Jinping visited three central news media: People’s Daily, Xinhua, and CCTV. Following his visit, Xi hosted a forum with the media workers. The article said that during the forum, Xi stressed several points: that the fundamental principal of the Party’s media work is to be persistent in the Party’s leadership over the media; that the media is the propaganda platform of the Party and the government; and that the media must serve the Party. In addition, Xi emphasized the importance of innovation and development in the areas of technology and contents, especially in the online area which is the news source for most of the younger generation. Xi also directed that China should build an elite class media group in order to improve China’s international discourse right overseas.

Source: Xinhua, February 22, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-02/22/c_128739415.htm

Briefings | | February 22, 2016 | Government/Politics

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.