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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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Xinhua: Xi’s Amnesty in 2015 Shows Confidence

On January 25, 2016, Xinhua reported that, on August 29, 2015, before a national commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, President Xi Jinping signed an authorization of amnesty after whcih a total of 31,527 prisoners have been released.Xinhua reported that most of those released were juveniles when they committed their crimes.

Xinhua followed the report with a special commentary on the amnesty stating the move is “a successful example of how the Party rules.” It emphasized that this is the first time amnesty has been granted since the enactment of the current Constitution 33 years ago and that this “demonstrates one more time how governing and institutional confidence follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” 
Sources: 
Xinhua, January 25, 2016 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-01/25/c_1117889751.htm
Xinhua, January 25, 2016 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2016-01/25/c_1117889800.htm 
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Mingpao: Military Exercises near Taiwan Not Meant to Intimidate Tsai, the President-elect of Taiwan

On January 21, 2016, Mingpao, a pro Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Chinese language newspaper headquartered in Hong Kong, published an article titled, “CCTV Broadcasted the PLA Landing Exercises in Fujian after the Taiwan Election. Military Expert: Propaganda Mainly for Internal Audience Rather Than to Intimidate Tsai.” The original article was taken down from Mingpao’s main website on the afternoon of January 27, 2016. However, the article is still available online at Mingpao Canada and on some other websites which have republished it.

Five days after Taiwan’s presidential election, China Central Television (CCTV) broadcasted the news that the 31st Group Army of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), headquartered in Xiamen, Fujian Province, conducted large scale landing exercises with live ammunition. The 31st Group Army mobilized long-range rockets, howitzers troops, amphibious tanks, and helicopter landing forces. Before 1979, the 31st Group Army, clearly defined as “reuniting China by landing onto the main island of Taiwan,” used to perform shelling of the Kinmen island group and the Matsu Islands of Taiwan. Broadcasting the 31st Group Army military exercises on CCTV, the predominant state television broadcaster in mainland China, triggered much speculation outside of China.

In response, Wu Ge, a military commentator in Mainland China said, “This is a routine exercise. In general, it is mainly used for internal propaganda to satisfy sentimental needs of some extreme nationalists.” Mr. Wu further said, “Tsai Ing-wen has not assumed (the presidency of Taiwan) and has not proposed any policies yet. What made the army so anxious? The main reason was that Xi Jinping was in a tour outside of China. Someone took the opportunity to exaggerate the propaganda. The exercise did not target the Taiwan election. The main purpose of the propaganda targeted Taiwan.”

Source: Mingpao, January 22, 2016
http://www.mingpaocanada.com/VAN/htm/News/20160122/tcaa1_r.htm
http://news.mingpao.com/pns/dailynews/web_tc/article/20160122/s00013/1453398732530
http://www.e123.hk/ElderlyPro/details/453736/72
http://stock2.pchome.com.tw/news/cat8/20160122/14534206806688009003.html
http://news.pchome.com.tw/finance/cnyes/20160122/index-14534206806688009003.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: Putin Denounced Lenin

Chinese media reported that, within the past five days, Putin criticized Lenin twice at public gatherings. Xinhua’s report mentioned that the Russian Communist Party rebutted Putin, but Chinese media made no comments.

On January 25, Putin stated, “There is a time bomb buried under our country. Lenin supported the concept that the establishment of the State and the Soviet Union was based on the full equality of each member and each has the right to withdraw from the Soviet Union. This is a time bomb that lies beneath our country.” 
On January 21, the 92nd anniversary of Lenin’s death, Putin said at a presidential science and education council conference, "We did not need a world revolution." He also said, "Thought control moved in the right direction, but it needs to bring the right results, which should not be what Vladimir Lenin brought about. Lenin’s ideas eventually led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was like a nuclear bomb placed underneath the ‘Russian’ structure. Later the bomb exploded. " 
Sources:  
Xinhua, January 27, 2016 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-01/27/c_128675195.htm 
Sina, January 26, 2016 
http://news.sina.com.cn/w/zg/2016-01-26/doc-ifxnuvxc2009382.shtml#SI_FormList2
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Tsai Ing-wen’s Possible TPP Strategy: Taiwan Will Go to the World without Going through China

On January 19, 2016, Ettoday, a media in Taiwan, published an article on Tsai Ing-wen’s possible TPP Strategy. Ms. Tsai is the new president-elect of the Republic of China (Taiwan). While China and Taiwan’s cross-strait trade negotiations are all temporarily on hold before Tsai takes office, some people are worried that Tsai’s government may hinder Taiwan’s economic integration with other regions.

However, one official from the National Development Council in Taiwan released the information that the United States might help Taiwan to “by-pass” China by supporting Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) so as to counterbalance China. The TPP is a US-led trade agreement that includes twelve Pacific Rim countries. The treaty was signed on October 5, 2015, after 7 years of negotiations in which China was absent. A Taiwanese official who did not give out his name explained, “For Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan will go to the world without going through China.” 

Source: Ettoday, January 19, 2016
http://www.ettoday.net/news/20160119/633874.htm  
http://travel.ettoday.net/article/633874.htm
http://一頁.com/detail/1MeOchYM

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xi Jinping Pressures Ministry and Provincial Party Secretaries to Get on Board

China Disciplinary Inspection Supervision Newspaper published an article that had the purpose of pressuring the Party Secretaries of ministries and provinces to truly implement Xi Jinping’s policies. It asked the disciplinary inspection teams that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Commission on Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI) sent to each ministry and province to check the implementation and hold the Party secretary (the number one person in the organization) responsible.

"The common problem that disciplinary inspection teams found was that there was a big gap between the Party organs’ understanding/action and the Party Central Committee’s requirements or the spirit of the General Secretary’s (Xi Jinping’s) speeches. Our Party treats the high-ranking officials as politicians. For those Party organizations that report directly to the Party Central Committee, quite a few of their number one persons are Party Central Committee members or Alternate Party Central Committee members. They attended all Central Committee’s important meetings and listened to the General Secretary’s speeches. When they went back to their organizations, they simply read the materials to their people and made a claim that they would support them. However, they took no concrete action at all …"

"(The inspection teams) should focus on the Party Secretaries to see if they have fully implemented the spirit of the General Secretary’s speeches."

Source: China Disciplinary Inspection Supervision Newspaper Online, January 25, 2016
http://csr.mos.gov.cn/content/2016-01/25/content_26321.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xi Jinping’s Signed Article in Iran Newspaper

Xi Jinping published a signed article titled, "Work Together for a Bright Future for China-Iran Relations." It appeared in the Iranian newspaper Iran on January 21, 2016, during his state visit to the country.

In his article, Xi said, "Economically, our bilateral trade jumped from tens of millions of U.S. dollars in the 1970s to 51.8 billion dollars in 2014. China has been Iran’s largest trading partner for six years in a row."

"I think, the cooperation between China and Iran under the framework of the ‘One Belt, One Road’ Initiative can focus on the following areas:

"- Enhance political mutual trust and firm the foundation for cooperation. We will establish a comprehensive strategic partnership and increase exchanges between political parties, legislative organizations, and local levels. We will deepen our cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), and the U.N.

"- Pursue win-win outcomes and common prosperity. China has considerable strength in capital, technologies, equipment, and other areas. Iran has rich resources, an ample labor force, and a substantial market potential. The resource endowments and comparative advantages of China and Iran are highly complementary. The implementation of the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which includes China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States] will bring new opportunities for the growth of China-Iran relations. 

"- Promote connectivity and expand practical cooperation. Connectivity is the artery of the "One Belt, One Road" Initiative. In building connectivity, we should give priority to Asian countries and start with transportation infrastructure. China has a strong competitive edge in areas such as railway, electricity, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and construction materials. We committed US$40 billion to establish a Silk Road Fund in 2014 to support relevant cooperation projects in countries along the ‘One Belt, One Road.’ Iran is strategically located in the west part of Asia and has distinctive geographical advantages. China is willing to deepen cooperation with Iran on building roads, railways, sea routes, and the Internet; facilitate East-West connectivity in Asia; lower the cost of the cross-border movement of people, merchandise, and capital; and expand cooperation involving energy resources and industries.
"- Uphold openness and inclusiveness and encourage cultural exchanges. We need to strengthen exchanges in culture, education, news, publishing, tourism, and other fields and to encourage more exchanges between the youth and students."

Source: Xinhua, January 21, 2016
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2016-01/21/c_1117854563.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Military Hawk’s Opinion on Taiwan

Luo Yuan, a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) major-general and Chinese military theorist, published an opinion article on Huanqiu, a People’s Daily publication; in the wake of the recent Taiwan general election, Luo expressed the following:
“Despite the fortuitous development of the Taiwan issue, an iron principle should never be bent: to conform to the historical trend. … No matter what kind of twists and turns may appear, reunification with the motherland is a historical trend that no one can stop.
“We will respect public opinion, but there is a difference between a broad and a narrow public opinion. On the issue of national unity, one should only listen to the broad public opinion of the entire nation, instead of the narrow opinion of the people in one region. … The option of Taiwan’s reunification or independence can be decided only by the 1.3 billion Chinese people including those in Taiwan.
“We will weigh the pros against the cons, but there is a difference between major pros and cons and the small pros and cons. National unity is a serious matter. No cost can be weighed as being superior to the value of unification.
“We will act according to the law. There is a difference between the large law and the small law. On the matter of national unity, the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, the National Defense Law of the People’s Republic of China, and the Anti-Secession Law are the iron laws that establish the bottom line that no one should touch and the legal framework that no local laws can surpass.
“There is a difference between peaceful reunification and military reunification and we will make every effort to achieve a peaceful reunification. As long as the peace does not die, we will make a one hundred percent effort. In exchange for the best interest of a unified country, we will minimize the costs for the people on both sides. We have made the promise that ‘Chinese don’t fight Chinese,’ but if the ‘Taiwan independence’ forces drive us into a corner, we have no choice but the military solution. ‘If you want reunification, then peace; if independence, then war.’ One cannot draw an equal sign between independence and peace.”
Source: Huanqiu, January 25, 2016
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/1152/2016-01/8438331.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

AIIB: U.S. Dollar Will Be Used as Primary Settlement Currency

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) officially opened for business on January 16, 2016. In a media interview, the newly appointed AIIB President, Jin Liqun, commented on the Bank’s mission, organizational structure, and operational tasks. The interview touched a few sensitive topics such as the concern that the AIIB might become China’s “tool for foreign relations.” Jin suggested that there is “no need” to avoid acknowledging China’s significant role in the AIIB, which is just like the United States playing a special role in the IMF and the World Bank. Jin also said that the U.S. dollar will be used as the “primary currency” for loans and settlements. He explained that the U.S. dollar is still the “main currency in global trade” and it’s easy to exchange and to use when conducting banking business. However, he said other currencies from China, Japan, and Europe can “also play a role” upon “customers’ requests.”
Source: Sina, January 16, 2016
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2016-01-16/doc-ifxnqriy2985279.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources