Chinascope – Page 628

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mentioned the Taiwan “President”

Taiwan’s China News Agency (CNA) reported that China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website used the term "Taiwan ‘President’" for the first time.

A news reporter asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson whether the mainland government supported the cyber-attack from mainland China on "Taiwan ‘President’" Tsai Ing-wen’s Facebook page. The Ministry spokesperson denied it.

The CNA article stated that the interesting thing was that the official transcript published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website used the term "Taiwan ‘President.’"

"The Mainland government has long been cautious about words related to Taiwan’s sovereignty. Taking the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an example, it always used ‘Taiwan Leader’ or ‘Leader of the Taiwan Region’ to describe the President of the Republic of China. Even when a news reporter used ‘President’ in his question, the term ‘President’ would not appear in the official transcripts." [Editor’s note: the Republic of China is the governing authority over Taiwan. The People’s Republic of China is the governing authority over mainland China.]

As of February 9, the official transcript still had the term, "Taiwan ‘President.’"

Sources:
[1] Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, February 5, 2016
http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/web/fyrbt_673021/t1338806.shtml
[2] CNA, February 5, 2016
http://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/201602050351-1.aspx

Briefings | | February 10, 2016 | Geo-Strategic Trend

92 Chinese Cities Suffered from Heavy Air Pollution on Lunar New Year’s Eve

Reports from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) have indicated that fireworks and adverse weather conditions intensified the air pollution in China during the Lunar New Year’s Eve. An official from the Ministry said that from the 2016 Lunar New Year’s Eve until New Year’s day, among the 338 cities that implemented the new air quality standards, 67 cities had good air quality. The remaining 271 cities were below par. Of these, 92 were reported to be heavily polluted.

Heavy air pollution is distributed mainly along the Yangtze River, in Beijing and the surrounding areas, the Northeast region, the Sichuan Basin, and the North China Plain. The primary pollutants, except for PM10 in a few cities, are PM2.5. The number of heavily polluted cities increased by 54 in comparison with last year. The average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were 148 and 210 micrograms/cubic meter respectively, an increase of 27.6 percent and 23.5 percent each from last year. [Editors note: PM2.5 is particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or less.]

Source: Xinhua News, February 8, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2016-02/08/c_1118015119.htm

Briefings | | February 9, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Global Times: Park Geun-hye Received Happy Birthday Greetings from China

Global Times recently reported that South Korean President Park Geun-hye celebrated her 64th birthday on February 2. She received a greetings letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi hand-wrote the letter himself. The two presidents have been exchanging birthday greetings letters every year since they took power. The latest letter from Xi was shortly after the North Korean nuclear test. In the letter Xi also invited Park Geun-hye to visit China and attend the APEC leadership summit. Xi and Park developed a good relationship about ten years ago, in 2005, when Park was the South Korean opposition party leader and Xi was the Party Committee Secretary of Zhejiang Province. President Park Geun-hye also received birthday presents from her Chinese grass-roots fan club as well. The club has 23,000 members across China.

Source: Global Times, February 2, 2016

http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2016-02/8487834.html

Briefings | | February 9, 2016 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: China Plans to Build Several National Labs

Xinhua recently reported that China is actively planning to build several national labs in some areas of key innovation. This is considered a major change in the Chinese national science research structure. The Chinese Academy of Science just hosted a forum with well-known national lab managers from the U.S., Germany, Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, and Singapore. China’s plan is to concentrate the nation’s talent in the establishment of a series of cross-field and integrated research bases, which are aligned with China’s national goals and strategic needs. The large-scale and comprehensive national labs are first set to establish the Comprehensive Experimental Device in Extreme Conditions, Advanced Light Sources, and the Digital Earth Simulation System. The planned national labs will also cover the research areas of clean energy, materials genome, environmental science, brain science, accelerators and X-ray technologies. The mission of the labs is to address science and technology related needs that may impact national security or national economic and social development.

Source: Xinhua, February 2, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-02/02/c_128696147.htm

Briefings | | February 9, 2016 | Information/Technology

Djibouti: China Will Soon Start Naval Base Construction

BBC Chinese recently reported that Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh told the media that China will soon begin construction work on China’s naval base. The Northeast African country of Djibouti is located on the west bank of the Gulf of Aden, which holds the entrance to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. It’s a country with strategic geographic importance. Both the United States and France have naval bases in Djibouti, which supports the mission of battling the Somali pirates. However, Djibouti is one of the poorest countries in Africa. It is expecting to attract US$12.4 billion in investments in order to achieve the goal of becoming an international transportation hub. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs once explained that China’s plan in Djibouti also involves providing logistic supplies to its fleets fighting the pirates. At this moment, there are no further details on the timing of the construction and on the scale of China’s personnel deployment.

Source: BBC Chinese, February 3, 2016

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2016/02/160203_djibouti_china_military_base

Briefings | | February 9, 2016 | Defense/Military

Retired Officials Urged to Follow Party’s Disciplinary Regulations

On February 4, 2016, Xinhua reported that the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of State Council issued a new directive on retired officials.

According to the new directive, retired officials are required "to keep the political character of loyalty to the Party at all times and to conscientiously maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party’s Central Committee headed by Xi Jinping, in their thoughts, in their political views, and in their actions."

The new directive requires that retired officials be guided "to establish a firm sense of discipline and of the rules, and to abide strictly by political discipline and political rules." Retired officials must conduct themselves in compliance with the Party’s charter and disciplinary regulations and must stand firm on major issues.

Source: Xinhua, February 4, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2016-02/04/c_1117995803.htm

Briefings | | February 8, 2016 | Government/Politics

Caixin: China’s January Manufacturing PMI Remains Low

Well-known Chinese financial site Caixin recently released its official Chinese Manufacturing PMI index number for January 2016, which remained below 50, at 48.2. Caixin PMI was formerly known as HSBC PMI, which was a well-respected economic indicator monitored globally by financial institutions. The Caixin manufacturing PMI has remained below 50 for eleven consecutive months. The index showed that the domestic market is a weakening. New orders shrunk, which caused the manufacturers to reduce production for the month. However, internationally, new orders have increased slightly. In January, employers in manufacturing continued to reduce headcounts. In the meantime, the Chinese manufacturing PMI number reported by the National Bureau of Statistics was also below 50, at 49.7, which was the lowest number from the Bureau in three years. PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.

Source: Caixin, February 1, 2016

http://pmi.caixin.com/2016-02-01/100905659.html

Briefings | | February 8, 2016 | Economy/Resources

Is Xi Thinking About Political Reform?

Xinhua and other Chinese media recently reported, with great calm, “Putin criticized Lenin. He said, ‘Lenin’s ideas eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.'” [1]

The report of Putin’s statement may turn out to be an event of some consequence in China’s ideological history. Lenin was the founder of Communism in Russia and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) inherited that legacy. To the CCP conservatives, criticizing Lenin is the same as denouncing Mao Zedong, the first generation leader of the CCP. It undermines the very pillar of the CCP’s legitimacy. Thus it is definitely a taboo in China.

Continue reading →

Perspectives | | February 5, 2016 | Opinion

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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

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