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VOA: What Is the Fate of the Arts and Entertainment Industry in China?

Voice of America (VOA) published an article on the development of the socialist arts and entertainment industry in China. The article stated that the Political Bureau recently passed an opinion based on a talk that Xi Jinping gave during the culture industry conference held in Beijing last year. The opinion was intended to provide guidance for the development of the arts and entertainment industry and to enable it to provide “positive energy” to the China Dream. VOA reported on some interviews it conducted on this topic. Some had a concern that the opinion emphasized Party leadership as the fundamental guarantee of the “prosperous growth of cultural development.” The concern was that, because the industry would be under the influence of Party ideology and have to meet the Party’s requirement to “provide positive energy,” it would lack high quality and creative products. Some felt that in this diversified Internet era, China still uses the old fashioned approach which involves a clear lack of public trust and creativity. As to the fact that the opinion indicated that the Party will encourage the development of Internet arts and entertainment, a concern was that the real intent of the Party was to control the people who have the talent and prevent them from using their own ingenuity to produce the material. Currently the biggest challenges that Internet artists face include that they lack copyright protection, their online browsing is limited, and the Internet writers’ human rights could be violated.

Source: Voice of America, September 11, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-socialist-art-20150911/2961033.html

The CCP Central Committee Is Working on a Code of Conduct for High Ranking Senior Party Leaders

On September 9, 2015, Sohu.com published an article titled, “Who Are the High Ranking Senior Party Leaders for Whom the CCP Central Committee Is Setting up a Code of Conduct?” The article was based on another article, “The Party Central Committee Is Working on a Senior Party Leaders’ Code of Conduct,” which Southcn.com and then Beijing Daily had originally published.

At “the Chinese Communist Party and the World Dialogue 2015” on September 8, 2015, Li Jun, the former vice president of the Party School of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, revealed, "As a result of the anti-corruption campaign that has been taking place since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhou Yongkang, Xu Caihou, Ling Jihua, Su Rong and other senior leaders were arrested for corruption. The CCP Central Committee then started to study and ponder how to manage well those senior CCP cadres who are in high ranking positions in the Party and the nation." 

According to Li Jun, "The result of that thinking is: ‘If China goes wrong, the problem is within the Chinese Communist Party.’” “The current serious challenge is who will be able to investigate those Party members who have high ranking leadership positions in the Party and in the nation?”

The Party Central Committee is now working on the first code of conduct for the high ranking leaders to follow. The high ranking leaders include not only the provincial and ministerial level officials but also the Party and the state officials who are Politburo Standing Committee members and the Politburo members of the CCP Central Committee. 

Actually, after the CCP’s 18th National Congress in 2012, Xi Jinping sent out the message to “set up rules” for high ranking officials. Xi emphasized, “Never allow the abuse of power for personal gain; never allow the cadres to enjoy privileges.” “Pay particular and serious attention to Xu Caihou’s case. Learn the lessons and reflect deeply. Completely eliminate any impact.” 

Sources: Southcn.com, Beijing Daily and Sohu.com, September 9, 2015
http://www.bjd.com.cn/jryw/gnxw/201509/09/t20150909_10035863.html
http://news.southcn.com/china/content/2015-09/09/content_132440961.htm
http://news.sohu.com/20150909/n420764694.shtml

Citic Securities, China’s National Stock Market Rescue Team, Turned out to Be a Real Troublemaker

Chinese police have been investigating Citic Securities. According to a report from Stock Times CN on August 28, 2015, it was Citic’s illegal securities trading and its “malicious short-selling” that caused China’s stock market slump. Citic Securities is China’s largest investment bank and was also China’s “national stock market rescue team.” Ironically, the so called “national team” that was supposed to be the main force to rescue China’s stock market from its slump turned out to be a real troublemaker.  

Eight people from Citic Securities have been investigated for possible involvement in illegal securities trades. A staff member surnamed Wang from Caijing magazine is also being probed for spreading false information on securities and transactions. Among the eight investigated officials, three of them are members of the Executive Committee of Citic Securities. Xu Gang, the former chairman of brokerage development and head of the research department at Citic Securities, is among the detainees.

Source: Stock Times CN, 证券时报网, August 28, 2015
http://company.stcn.com/2015/0828/12429493.shtml

China’s Forex Reserves Posted Biggest Fall

On September 7, the Bank of China announced that, in August, its foreign-exchange (forex) reserve dropped by $93.9 billion to about $3.6 trillion. It is the fourth consecutive monthly drop and the biggest ever monthly decline. 

China’s forex reserves hit a record high of nearly $4 trillion in June 2014. It has since fallen from the peak by a total of $435.8 billion, indicating the trend of money leaving China has continued steadily. 
Guan Tao, former Director at the Balance of Payments Department in the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, expressed that it will be the new norm that the reserves’ fluctuation is more volatile in the short term than in the long term.  
Source: Beijing Youth Daily, September 8, 2015 
http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2015-09/08/content_152558.htm?div=0

China Trade Sinks as Economy Weakens

On September 8, China’s General Administration of Customs released trade data which showed that, in August, total import/export trade shrank by 9.7 percent in yuan with exports down 6.1 percent and imports down 14.3 percent. The trade surplus grew by 20 percent. 

The released statistics also showed that in terms of the yuan, the total trade for the first eight months so far sank by 7.7 percent compared to same period last year. Exports were down 1.6 percent and imports were down 14.6 percent. The trade surplus increased by 80.8 percent. Reports indicated that exports were more competitive thanks to the depreciation of the yuan. However, exports continued to slide for six consecutive months, indicating exports in the fourth quarter will be under significant pressure. 
Source: Xinhua, September 9, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-09/09/c_128209990.htm

Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015

Recently the Hurun Research Institute released its Hurun Global Chinese Rich List 2015, a ranking of the richest Chinese in the world, sponsored by China-based asset manager Hanya Capital.
Spread out over 18 countries and regions, Hurun Research found 1577 individuals with wealth of CNY 2bn. Of those, 302 were from outside of mainland China. The total wealth came to a staggering US$2.1 trillion, the equivalent of the GDP of Russia, or 1.5 times that of South Korea.
Of these individuals, 1,254 live in mainland China and have a total wealth of US$1.4 trillion. They represent 67 percent of the total list. 99 live in Hong Kong, with a total wealth of US$290 billion. 89 were born and grew up in Taiwan. 
Real estate is the main resource for the wealth of the listed billionaires from non-mainland China, representing 24 percent of the list. The manufacturing industry follows, with 16 percent. IT and food & drink each comprise 9 percent of the list, ranking third. 
Source: Xinhua, September 10, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/bj/2015-09-10/c_128214025.htm

A Sampling of How Xinhua’s International Sphere Reports World News

International Sphere, an online magazine under Xinhua, is dedicated to reporting on international topics under a major theme in each issue. It has published 615 issues so far. Below is list of the titles of the most recent issues: 

09/09/2015 [issue 615]: Can the U.K. and France’s Bombing of IS Solve the Refugee Crisis? [The Answer is no.] 

09/08/2015: “Opening the Door” for Refugees. Will Europe Be Able to Resolve the Crisis? 

09/07/2015: The Death of a Little [Boy] Refugee Raises Questions about U.S. Tyranny and Indifference 

09/06/2015: The World’s Praises: China’s Military Parade Is All for Peace 

09/03/2015: Behaving Willfully. What Is [Shinzo] Abe’s Administration Up to?  
09/02/2015: The European Refugee Crisis: The Struggle between Morals and Ability 

09/01/2015: A Million People Protesting. Is Abe Deaf? 
08/31/2015: What Is Japan Hiding behind the “Revival” of the Warships That Invaded China? 
08/28/2015: With the Backing of the U.S., the Philippines Can Act at Will? 

08/27/2015: What Is the Intention in Making Irresponsible Remarks about the China-Russia Military Exercises? 

Source: Xinhua, September 9, 2015 
http://www.news.cn/world/hqlft.htm

Caixin: Chinese Manufacturing PMI Numbers Dropped

Well-known Chinese financial news site Caixin Media recently released its official August numbers for the Chinese manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index), which was formerly known as the HSBC PMI. The August Manufacturing PMI dropped to 47.3. Both total new orders and new export orders declined. Manufacturers are reducing procurement of materials while customer demand is going down. Employment in August also continued its decline. Caixin Think Tank Chief Economist He Fan suggested that macroeconomic adjustments need to continue and that structural reform must accelerate. 
 
In the meantime, well-known Chinese news site Sina reported on the government’s official PMI numbers released by the National Bureau of Statistics, showed that August Manufacturing PMI was 49.7. This is the lowest government PMI in three years. Normally the government PMI stays above 50. PMI is an indicator of financial activity reflecting purchasing managers’ acquisition of goods and services. A PMI number below 50 typically reflects a decline.
Sources: Caixin, September 1, 2015
http://economy.caixin.com/2015-09-01/100845536.html
Sina, September 1, 2015
http://finance.sina.com.cn/china/20150901/090023135412.shtml