Chinascope – Page 637

A Corrupt Official’s Last Words before His Execution

[Editor’s Note: Wen Qiang (文强), former Deputy Director and Deputy Party Secretary of the Chongqing Police Department, was sentenced to death in 2010. He was charged with the crimes of accepting bribes, protecting and conniving with mafia-like organizations, possessing a huge number of assets whose sources could not be explained, and rape.

Wen Qiang started as a local policeman in Ba County, Chongqing and gradually moved up the ranks. Before he was taken down, he had solved several big cases and was highly regarded as a top police chief in China.

Bo Xilai, then head of Chongqing took Wen Qiang down. He later started a high profile campaign to “strike the black” (attack the mafia in Chongqing) to build his personal fame so that he could eventually seize the top leadership position in China from Xi Jinping. Critics alleged that many victims of his campaign were businessmen who were falsely accused so that Bo could take over their properties.

An article with what was said to be Wen Qiang’s statement before his execution spread widely over the Internet. He admitted that he had accepted bribes and had improper sexual relations with many women, but he claimed that corruption is a nationwide, systemic problem. Not only would any official in his position have done the same thing, but the officials criticizing him were also corrupt.

Though Wen was executed on July 7, 2010, his last words can serve as a good reference in the current anti-corruption campaign in China. It sheds lights on the breadth and scale of the official corruption problem in China.

The translation of his last words follows:] [1]

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Reports | | December 29, 2015 | Report

China News: Chinese Government Encourages Reasonably Lowering Housing Prices

China News recently reported that one of the key 2016 goals set by the Central Economic Work Conference is to absorb the housing market inventory. The Conference clearly pointed out that real estate developers are encouraged to “reasonably” reduce the prices of commercially available assets. In the meantime, the government will discontinue “some outdated” policy constraints. The pricing recommendations are also to allow mergers to happen among real estate developers to improve “industrial concentration” in that market segment. In order to build up a new buyer’s base in the housing market, the central government is relaxing the restrictions that traditionally barred the agricultural population from gaining city resident status. However, the Conference warned that farmers working in industrial sectors in cities may have limited buying power – and they should not be pushed too hard into taking out loans for real estate purchases.

Source: China News, December 21, 2015

http://www.chinanews.com/cj/2015/12-21/7681286.shtml

Briefings | | December 29, 2015 | Economy/Resources

BBC Chinese: The U.S. Gravely Concerned about the Chinese Anti-Terrorism Law

BBC Chinese recently reported that the U.S. State Department has expressed its “grave concern” about the fact that the Chinese Congress is going to pass its Anti-Terrorism Law. The U.S. has criticized this law multiple times before and observed that the proposed new Chinese law further limits the freedoms of speech, association, assembly, and religion. In addition to that, the new law will require foreign companies operating in China to provide the Chinese government with trade secrets such as sensitive computer network information. U.S. President Barak Obama has expressed his concern directly to Chinese President Xi Jinping on this law several times already. However, the Chinese government advised that many Western countries, the U.S. included, have also required Chinese companies to provide encryption keys. Industrial and human rights experts pointed out that the new Chinese law has a very vaguely defined concept for “terrorism,” which grants the Chinese government unlimited power to tighten up and control people’s freedom.

Source: BBC Chinese, December 22, 2015

http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2015/12/151222_us_china_terror_law

Briefings | | December 29, 2015 | US-China Relations

EU Investigates Chinese Credit Rating Company

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, for the last two and a half years now, European Union regulators have been investigating Dagong Europe, a branch of the Chinese credit rating company Dagong International. The EU discovered that the company’s internal inspection and balancing system has defects. The confidential investigation that the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has been conducting is still on-going. ESMA was concerned that the company did not fully comply with the EU regulations on credit rating agencies. One of the conditions under which Dagong was issued its operating license was to avoid a conflict of interest with the licensee’s customers. The investigation was triggered when a fund named Mandarin Capital Partners, who was one of the initial investors in Dagong Europe, filed a complaint. Dagong Europe is the first Asian competitor in Europe that the top three American rating agencies (Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s) have had to face.

Source: Sina, December 23, 2015

http://finance.sina.com/bg/economy/sinacn/20151223/08121390239.html

Briefings | | December 29, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Anti-Terrorism Act to Be Effective January 1, 2016

On December 27, 2015, Xinhua reported that, effective January 1, 2016, the "People’s Republic of China Anti-Terrorism Act," which the National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed on December 27, 2015, will become the law. The Anti-Terrorism Act has 10 chapters and 97 articles covering identification of terrorist organizations and personnel, security, intelligence information, investigations, response, international cooperation, safeguard measures, and legal responsibilities.

The Deputy Director of the National Counterterrorism Office and the Ministry of Public Security Anti-Terrorism Bureau Chief, An Weixing, said that the promulgation of anti-terrorism law is to meet the needs of the ongoing campaign against terrorism and to meet our international responsibility. Terrorism is defined as “ideas and behavior that, through violence, destruction, intimidation, and other means, create social panic, endanger public safety, violate persons and property, or coerce State organs and international organizations, in order to achieve their political and ideological purposes."

Source: Xinhua, December 27, 2015

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-12/27/c_1117591851.htm

Briefings | | December 28, 2015 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: Xi Jinping Met with HK Chief Executive Chun-ying Leung

Xinhua recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Hong Kong Chief Executive Chun-ying Leung on December 23, 2015. Leung was visiting Beijing for a debriefing. In this meeting, Xi emphasized that, in recent years, Hong Kong’s “one country, two systems” policy faced “a new situation.” He made clear that the central government is “unflinching” on this policy and will “comprehensively and accurately” ensure that the practice of this policy will not suffer “deviation or deformation.” Xi added that this established policy will “always advance following the right direction.” In the meeting, Xi also pointed out that developing the economy, maintaining stability, and promoting harmony are the common aspirations of the people of Hong Kong. Those should also be the primary tasks for the Hong Kong government to work on. He expected the government to unite the communities in Hong Kong and safeguard social and political stability in the city.

Source: Xinhua, December 23, 2015

http://news.xinhuanet.com/mrdx/2015-12/24/c_134946317.htm

Briefings | | December 28, 2015 | Government/Politics

Xi’s Camp Hinted That the North Korean Music Troupe Incident Was a Planned Scheme.

On December 18, 2015, Caixin (http://www.caixin.com/), a Mainland China media that is closely related to Xi Jinping’s leadership camp, published a commentary on the cancellation of a North Korean’s music performance in Beijing. This original article was removed from the online site, though the title of the article can still be found on Google.com (朝鲜演出事件与中朝关系_观点频道_财新网). However, before the removal of the article, some overseas Chinese media had soon reprinted it and added their comments.

On December 18, 2015, creaders.net published an article titled, “Xi’s Camp hinted that the North Korea music troupe incident was a planned scheme.” Caixin’s article, according to creaders.net, implied that the cancellation of the North Korea concert was due to North Korea’s announcement of having developed a hydrogen bomb on the same day when the music troupe arrived in Beijing. This must be the scheme planned by the fraction of Jiang Zemin, who was the former top leader of China. Jiang’s faction attempted to tie up Xi Jinping’s authorities with the North Korean dictatorship.

Jiang’s faction is very close to North Korea’s Kim’s family. Inviting the North Korean troupe to China and announcing having H-bomb in the same period of time could be a scheme plotted by Liu Yunshan, who is Jiang’s follower. On October of 2015, Liu Yunshan, Head of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department and a member of the Standing Committee of the CCP, attended North Korea’s celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Kim’s ruling party. Having Xi Jinping’s authorities and North Korea tied up would benefit North Korea on the one hand and attack Xi Jinping on the other hand. Liu Yunshan might have manipulated the Mainland Chinese media to promote the North Korean concert heavily when the troupe arrived.

Source: Creaders.net, December 18, 2015
http://news.creaders.net/china/2015/12/18/1619338.html

Briefings | | December 24, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

The Economic Observer: Do Online Stores Drive Retailers Out of Business?

The Economic Observer, a weekly, Beijing-based national paper that features economic developments, published a commentary on its website which discussed a government commission’s concern that online e-commerce stores are driving retail stores out of business.

While the Central Economic Work Conference, which started on December 18, 2015, was underway, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), directly affiliated with the State Council, submitted a report to the central government. The NDRC report noted, "Despite the fact that online stores, courier delivery services, and associated new lines of business have created some jobs, one must not ignore their impact on physical retail stores, which are being replaced."

While people have been cheering the record setting one-day sale of RMB 91 billion (US$14.05 billion) on November 11 at the Tmall online website, which the Alibaba Group owns, retail outlets for books, clothing, and household appliances have been hit very hard. There are even cases in which retail stores have closed en masse. Some traditional department stores have also lost their appeal. This trend has negatively impacted the employment outlook in areas where it has occurred.

On the one hand, the commentary did not challenge the claim that Ma Yun (Jack Ma), chairman of the board of the Alibaba Group, made. Ma claimed that Alibaba’s online e-commerce platform has 8.5 million active vendors, who directly created 10 million employment positions and indirectly created 3.5 million more. Ma categorized this group as "online merchants." They include merchants with well-known brands; vendors specializing in channel marketing and logistics; and indirect participants doing outsourcing work in communications, design, and sales.

On the other hand, the commentary focused on the retail sector, spanning urban communities as well as rural areas. It raised the question about whether those who the e-commerce platform, such as Tmall, has displaced are in any position to get into logistics, manufacturing, or name branding due to such barriers as technology and intellectual property.

The commentary looked to the government to offer assistance to people losing their retail jobs.

Source: The Economic Observer website, December 21, 2015

http://www.eeo.com.cn/2015/1221/281974.shtml

Briefings | | December 24, 2015 | Economy/Resources

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.”