Chinascope – Page 633

People’s Daily: Obama’s State of the Union Address Painted a Rosy Soft Picture

People’s Daily recently published a commentary on U.S. President Barak Obama’s last State of the Union Address. The commentary suggested that lame duck presidents typically provide nothing constructive in their last State of the Union Address. Instead they prefer to focus on their legacy. However, President Obama took painting this kind of “political soft picture” to the next level by describing an optimistic future that he cannot deliver to his people due to his term limitation. The author expressed the belief in the commentary that the general American middle-class is actually in a state of “anxiety and unease” – and Obama’s speech was trying to persuade people to believe that there is hope. With the currently rising “Trump Phenomenon,” the American public is largely in agreement that the nation is on the wrong path. Even the economic recovery is very questionable. Obama seems to realize that there is a gap between reality and people’s expectations. In his speech, he tried to prove that what he has done set the stage for a better tomorrow.

Source: People’s Daily, January 14, 2016

http://world.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0114/c1002-28052874.html

Briefings | | January 19, 2016 | US-China Relations

Chinese Official’s Oath of Allegiance Omits Loyalty to the Party

China has established a new procedure. Before assuming office, each official will go through the process of taking an oath of allegiance to uphold the Constitution. The 70-Chinese letter oath states that the official is to "be loyal to the Constitution," "be loyal to the country," and "be loyal to the people." It does not mention being "loyal to the (Communist) Party."

On January 13, at the Supreme People’s Court, more than ten new judges took this oath for their first time.

According to the "Decision of the National People’s Congress on the Implementation of Taking an Oath (of allegiance) to the Constitutional System," starting January 1 of this year, all government employees, including those who work at the People’s Congress, the government, the People’s Court, and the People’s Procuratorate, will take this standard oath.

The oath, when translated into English, states:
"I pledge: (I will) be loyal to the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, safeguard the Constitution’s authority, perform obligations as required by law, be loyal to the country, be loyal to the people, be committed to my duty, be honest on my job, accept the people’s supervision, and work hard to build a socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious."

Source: VOA Chinese, January 14, 2016
http://www.voachinese.com/content/voa-news-chinese-judges-vow-to-constitution-20160113/3143616.html

Briefings | | January 18, 2016 | Government/Politics

Chinese Military Experts Reveal the Secret of Deterrence Strategy in Cyberspace

Yuan Yi, a military expert from the Chinese PLA Military Academy of Sciences, published an article discussing the strategy of cyberspace deterrence.

The author stated, “As human society’s dependence on cyberspace is deepening, cyberspace is becoming the ‘second living space’ of human beings and the ‘fifth-dimensional battle space’ of military confrontation. Surrounding the controlling power over cyberspace, countries throughout the world are competing fiercely. Competition in cyberspace has reached a level equivalent to survival involving a country’s fate and the success of its military struggles.”

Regarding how to develop cyberattack deterrence, the author emphasized long-term preparation. The article said, “‘Rome was not built in a day.’ The successful implementation of cyberspace deterrence requires a combination of peace and war. It is [important] to have detailed preparation on an ongoing basis. First, we must conduct a comprehensive and thorough network reconnaissance, gradually find out the basic situation of the enemy’s network, draw a topology map, and find out all the vulnerabilities of both the software and hardware systems of the enemy. Second we must to carry out a large number of effective strategic presets. Using hacking tools, we must secretly penetrate into the enemy’s various networks, leaving the back door [open], set the stepping stones, and plant logic bombs and Trojans, so as to leave breakthrough points for launching future cyberattacks. Third, to minimize losses, we must have prepared cyber defenses in case of the enemy’s revenge.”

Talking about the strategy for cyberspace deterrence, the author summed it up as "show but not declare; declare but not show." "‘Show but not declare’ is, by utilizing the fact that it is difficult to track the location of cyberattacks, to launch cyberattacks on specific targets but not announce one’s own identity. By doing so, it shows one’s ability but, at the same time, the enemy can only speculate as to the source of the attack and cannot come up with evidence. "Declare but not show" is to publicize or ‘inadvertently’ disclose one’s own research or advanced network warfare equipment such models, performance, and features, while deliberately exaggerating their operational effectiveness. Thus the enemy will be unable to figure out our true strength and this will produce a deterrent effect. Cyber warfare operations are difficult to trace and it is difficult to find evidence. Therefore, the initiator can choose to admit, totally deny, or put the blame on civil hackers.”

Source: People’s Daily, January 6, 2016

http://military.people.com.cn/n1/2016/0106/c1011-28020408.html

Briefings | | January 15, 2016 | Defense/Military

CCDI: Major Hidden Political Threats Have Been Removed

The sixth plenary session of the 18th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of Communist Party was held from January 12 to 14, 2016. Xi Jinping spoke at the meeting. Other senior Party leaders including Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan, and Zhang Gaoli attended the session.

The communique released after the conclusion of the session summarized the achievements of China’s anti-corruption efforts in 2015, including intensified supervision and disciplinary inspections at all levels. “The Party Central Committee’s disciplinary investigations of Zhou Yongkang and Ling Jihua removed major hidden political threats in the Party and demonstrated the CPC’s commitment to govern itself strictly.”

According to analysts, while the term, “hidden political threats,” was used before, the linking of major hidden political threats to identified individuals is very rare.

Source: The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of Communist Party, January 14, 2016

http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/xwtt/201601/t20160114_72851.html

Briefings | | January 15, 2016 | Government/Politics

CCDI Publishes Xi’s Articles on Political Discipline

Recently, the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Commission on Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published a collection of Xi Jinping’s speeches on disciplinary issues. In addition to corruption, Xi also heavily criticized those officials who violated political rules.

Starting on January 9 and for four days in a row, the CCDI website published one article per day, each having one of Xi’s quotes in them. This might hint that Xi will expand the anti-corruption campaign to include a political violation campaign.

The following are the titles of these articles:

"Some People Have Come to an Unscrupulous, Reckless Point" – January 9.
"In Politics There Are Some Things One Should Absolutely Never Do; Otherwise, One Must Pay for it." – January 10.
"Some Cadres Put Themselves above the (Party) Organization: I Am the Biggest One in the World" – January 11.
"There Should Not Be All Kinds of Political Interest Groups within the Party" – January 12.

Source: CCDI website, January 9 – January 12, 2016
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201601/t20160108_72292.html
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201601/t20160108_72293.html
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201601/t20160108_72294.html
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201601/t20160112_72582.html

Briefings | | January 15, 2016 | Government/Politics

Xi Jinping: Anti-corruption Campaign Has No Quota or Ceiling

On January 11, 2016, Xinhua published additional highlights from the speeches Xi Jinping has given in recent years on his anti-corruption campaign. On furthering the anti-corruption campaign, it quoted Xi as saying, “There will be no quota or ceiling.”

Xi said, “Corruption is a social cancer. If corruption is allowed to intensify, the Party and the country will die.” In criticizing senior corrupt officials, he observed, “Some people have become so wanton and reckless!“

Xi vowed that, “There will be zero tolerance of corruption.” Once identified, every case will be investigated and handled. “There will be no quota or ceiling. Oppose all forms of corruption and wipe out all evils.”

Source: Xinhua, January 11, 2016

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-01/11/c_127376996.htm

Briefings | | January 14, 2016 | Government/Politics

Former Party Theorist on Universal Values

On January 5, Caixin published an interview that Global People Magazine had conducted of the scholar, Yu Keping (俞可平). Yu is a former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official and theorist.

On the question of what Western theories can be applied in China, Yu replied, "First, (China) has treated certain common values that human beings share, such as democracy, liberty, equality, the rule of law, and good governance, as unique Western factors and has rejected them. Actually, it is normal for these universal values to have some different characteristics in different countries. … But it should not be because the West has accepted them first that we then do not want democracy, liberty, or the rule of law. We already have deep lessons to learn on this issue."

Yu served as the Deputy Director of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau that focuses on ideology and theory research. He resigned from that post to become a political science professor at Beijing University. Caixin introduced Yu as a "famous scholar and political scientist" and mentioned that his article "Democracy Is a Good Thing" had resulted in a lot of discussion in China.

Source: Caixin, January 5, 2015
http://opinion.caixin.com/2016-01-05/100896025.html

Briefings | | January 14, 2016 | Government/Politics

Wang Qishan: Continue the Anti-Corruption Work

The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) website reported that Wang Qishan gave an important speech on the future of the Anti-Corruption Campaign. The speech was given at a forum with some provincial Party Secretaries, the CCP Central Committee’s Departmental Party Secretaries, Heads of CCDI Inspection Teams, and scholars in attendance.

Wang stated, "The anti-corruption struggle should not decrease its intensity, change its rhythm, or loosen its standards. It needs to maintain high pressure on corruption."

"(The campaign) should firmly hold onto the Primary Leader’s Accountability and focus on cadres."

"Mobilizing people a thousand times is not as effective as holding them to account (punishing the violators) once."

Source: CCDI website, January 7, 2016
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/xxgk/ldjg/wqs/zyhd/201601/t20160108_72287.html

Briefings | | January 13, 2016 | Government/Politics

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

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.”