Xinhua published a series of articles in its magazine Global Sphere commenting on Japan’s intention to resurrect its military. Below are some quotes from the articles.
Qiushi: The Party Does Not Allow Any Special Party Members
On September 1, 2015,Qiushi Journal, a mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article in its 17th journal of 2015 titled, “The Party Does Not Allow Any Special Party Members.” On the same day, the article was reprinted on the Pengpai website and the Sohu website.
According to the article, “Some leading cadres” just do whatever they want to do. They view themselves as “Special Party Members” and do not follow the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s rules and policies. In particular, some leading cadres completely ignore the Party’s rules and political rules because of their authoritative power and their high positions.
Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, warned the whole Party, “The Party will not allow any special Party members who are above the Party’s constitution and the Party’s organization.” “The fact that the CCP Central Committee has severely punished Zhou Yongkang, Bo Xilai, Guo Boxiong, Xu Caihou, Ling Jihua, and Su Rong [Editor’s note: All were members of the Jiang faction] demonstrates that tightening the Party’s discipline completely is not empty talk. The Party’s constitution is not a piece of blank paper. Within the Party, there must be no hiding place for corrupt officials and special Party members.”
Source: Qiushi Journal (the original is not available online), September 1, 2015
http://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1370485
http://star.news.sohu.com/20150901/n420205302.shtml
BBC Chinese: Human Rights Lawyer under House Arrest after Meeting with a U.S. Official
Global Times: Which Country Is the World’s Largest Democracy?
Chiefs of Official Website of People’s Daily Arrested
Local Government Debt Capped at 16 Trillion Yuan; Debt Ratio Lifted for Commercial Banks
People’s Daily reported that, on August 29, the National People’s Congress passed a resolution setting the cap for the government debt in 2015 at 16 trillion yuan (US$2.51 trillion). The number consists of 15.3 trillion yuan (US$2.4 trillion) for the debt existing at the end of 2014 plus 60 billion yuan (US$9.4 billion) of new debit from 2015. The report said that it is the first time that China has set a limit on what the local governments can borrow. The People’s Congress also revised the commercial bank regulation. Effective October 1, 2015, it eliminated the ratio of 75 percent of savings to borrowing. The article said that the ratio has been in existence for 20 years, but due to the slowdown in the economy, banks need to increase their support for the real economy. Moreover, since commercial banks have been commercialized and can assume all of the risks themselves, the limit is no longer needed.
Source: People’s Daily, August 30, 2015
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2015/0830/c1004-27531602.html
RFA: China Denied that Investing Trillions in Pension Funds Was to Save the Stock Market
RFA reported that China stated it had planned the investment of two trillion yuan in pension funds in the stock market in order to grow their value. It denied that the move was to save the stock market. The investment of pension fund money in China, until recently, was limited to bank savings and Treasury bonds. The new regulation allowed the pension funds to be invested in stock and in mutual funds but the ratio for investing in stock is capped at 30 percent of the total. RFA reported on interviews it had conducted on this issue. Some of those interviewed expressed concern about the corruption in the stock market. Some thought that it was a risky move because China’s stock market is just not well regulated. Another concern was that Chinese people don’t have control over how the pension funds are managed even though they are the beneficiaries. According to the 2014 Chinese Pension Development report that the China Academy of Social Science published, due to mismanagement, pension funds, social security funds, and savings have lost close to 17.5 billion yuan. Some reports indicated that the government used the pension funds for funding the government.
Source: Radio Free Asia, August 28, 2015
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jingmao/yl-08282015155834.html
China Formed First Alliance to Refute Rumors about Food Safety
Xinhua reported that, on August 28, the Chinese Alliance to Refute Rumors about Food Safety was formed in Beijing. The goal of the Alliance is to improve the overall image of Chinese food, build domestic and international branding, and promote global recognition of Chinese food. The responsibilities of the alliance include focusing on food safety issues; spreading scientific knowledge; safeguarding the image of the food industry; cleaning up online food safety rumors and promoting the healthy development of the Chinese food industry. According to the article, food safety rumors rank at the top of the list among the entire list of Internet rumors.
Source: Xinhua, August 28, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/food/2015-08/28/c_128177544.html