The New York Times reported on July 31 that the U.S. has decided to retaliate against China for the theft of 20 million American’s personal data from the Office of Personnel Management. One option under consideration is breaching China’s Great Firewall, the government imposed network of Internet censorship designed to control the information available to people inside China.
Google’s New Internet Domain Name Got Blocked Instantly
Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, as soon as Google’s co-founder Larry Page announced the restructuring of the company, within 24 hours, the Chinese ‘Great Firewall” blocked the new parent company Alphabet’s internet domain name www.abc.xyz. China’s official news media issued widespread reports on the restructuring event and even described the new domain name as “unusual.” However the Chinese netizens won’t be able to access the new website, although it only has a letter from Larry Page and a link to its investor relationship. Google has suffered a poor relationship with the Chinese government for long time because Google refused to implement the censorship that the Chinese government required. In 2013, Google decided to leave the Chinese market citing the censorship issue and the fact that the company had been hacked. Starting in 2014, the Chinese government has been blocking Google Mail, Google Translation, and Google Maps, in addition to Google Search.
Source: Sina, August 12, 2015
http://finance.sina.com/bg/tech/udn/su/20150812/16271314690.html
Global Times: China and Russia Conduct Joint Naval Exercises in the Japanese Sea
Global Times reported on August 15 that the Chinese Naval fleet left the Qingdao Naval Base for Russia to participate in this year’s second China-Russia joint naval exercises in the Japanese Sea. The exercises involve 23 surface vessels, 2 submarines, 15 airplanes, and 8 helicopters. The Chinese fleet includes 7 surface vessels, 5 airplanes, and 6 helicopters. These are from the Chinese Naval North Sea, the East Sea, and the South Sea fleets. All of the Chinese vessels are active main warships. This year’s first China-Russia joint exercises took place in the Mediterranean Sea in May. The key exercises included joint anti-air, antisubmarine, and anti-warship exercises, as well as joint defense and joint disembarkation. The joint naval exercises are based on the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Relationship. The exercises are not aimed at any third party or in response to any regional situation.
Source: Global Times, August 15, 2015
http://mil.huanqiu.com/china/2015-08/7280662.html
Xinhua: The Philippines Is Determined to Reopen the Subic Bay Base
Xinhua recently reported that the Philippines’ Defense Secretary stated that, even if the United States military won’t be able to be stationed at Subic Bay, the government has decided to rebuild and reopen the military base for its own military. The Subic Bay Base used to be the United States’ largest overseas military base. The U.S. closed and left the Base in 1992. In order to support the activities in the South China Sea, last year the Philippines government signed an agreement with the United States for its temporary use of the Base. The Philippines left-wing political party filed a claim in the Supreme Court charging that the agreement was a violation of the nation’s Constitution. The case is still pending a Supreme Court final ruling. Subic Bay is an ideal location for a naval base. Its location is strategic to the South China Sea region. Currently it is a free port, but the local authorities had an agreement with the domestic military to rebuild part of the military base for the Navy and the Air Force. The Defense Secretary of the Philippines called the nearby Chinese activities “a threat,” and that’s “why the U.S. presence is needed.”
Source: Xinhua, August 15, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-08/15/c_128132224.htm
Qiushi Theory: How Close Can the U.S. and Vietnam Relationship Be?
Qiushi Theory carried an article on the U.S. and Vietnam relationship. It relied heavily on quotes from an interview with Yuan Zheng, Deputy Director of the Division of American Foreign Policy Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article said that the relationship between the U.S. and Vietnam is warming up due to the economic and strategic benefits that both countries are seeking from each other. According to the article, the amount of goods traded both ways between the U.S. and Vietnam has increased from US$450 million in 1995 to the current annual amount of US$36 billion. In addition to maintaining the U.S. as the largest export market for clothing and shoes, Vietnam also wishes to benefit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership that the U.S. is working on. From a strategic perspective, Vietnam is trying to use the U.S. to balance China, while the U.S. effort to improve its relationship with Vietnam is an important part of the U.S. Asia and Pacific strategy. The article said that differences still exist between the U.S. and Vietnam as the U.S. will use human rights as an excuse to control Vietnam. Meanwhile there is no independent union in Vietnam, which will be a disadvantage for Vietnam during the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. The article also predicted that Vietnam still has reservations about the U.S. and that it is unlikely that it will lean totally towards the U.S.
Source: Qiushi Theory, August 11, 2015
http://www.qstheory.cn/international/2015-08/11/c_1116216614.htm
Huanqiu: Hong Kong is Less Appealing to Mainlanders
Huanqiu reported that Hong Kong has become less appealing to mainlanders as the number of immigrants from the mainland has been decreasing. The article said that Hong Kong has a quota of 50,000 for mainlanders to immigrate there each year. In the past, the quota has always been used up. However, this year, over 10,000 of the quota has not been used. This is an indication that Hong Kong is less appealing to mainlanders. Some experts are concerned that, due to the limitation of space in Hong Kong, it will be more difficult for Hong Kong to attract talent from other areas; this may impact its future development.
Source: Huanqiu, August 15, 2015
http://oversea.huanqiu.com/article/2015-08/7278880.html
50 Websites Punished for Spreading Rumors about the Tianjin Explosion
People’s Daily reported that, according to the Office of National Internet Information, 50 websites were under investigation for “spreading rumors” about the explosion in Tianjin. The article said that those websites published web articles with contents such as that “a minimum of 1,000 people died,” “no lives were found within 1 kilometer of the site of the explosion,” “Tianjin is in chaos; stores were being robbed,” and “the top leadership in Tianjin was being restructured.” The article claimed that some of them allow their users to upload “rumors from microblogs and WeChat” and have become the “harbor of the rumors.” “It has had a negative social impact.” The article said that 18 of those websites were ordered to be shut down permanently while the other 32 sites were to remain closed for one month.
Source: People’s Daily, August 15, 2015
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/0815/c1001-27467538.html
People’s Daily Summarizes Xi Jinping’s Diplomatic Concepts with 10 Key Ideas
On August 1, People’s Daily published a list of Xi Jinping’s core diplomatic concepts, which he presented as 10 key ideas.
1. The China Dream (中国梦)
2. An [Asian] community of shared destinies (命运共同体)
3. A New Type of International Relations (新型国际关系). Ruan Zongze, the Vice President of the China Research Institute of International Affairs expressed that the world is unequal right now. "The Western countries still occupy the high point of the international system. They dominate the international system. They have greater power over public opinion (the discourse right) than we do. Therefore, developing countries should be united to strengthen themselves and obtain a powerful voice through more practical cooperation."
4. The “One-Belt, One Road” [economic initiative] (“一带一路”): The Silk Road Economic Belt; the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road
5. [Strengthening] Connectivity [Partnership] (互联互通)
6. Correct ideas of righteousness and benefit (正确义利观): Achieving a balance between righteousness and interests
7. A New Security Concept (新安全观)
8. Chinese wisdom (中国智慧)
9. A Nation of maritime power (海洋强国)
10. Amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness (亲诚惠容): the principle for developing relations with neighboring countries
Source: People’s Daily, August 11, 2015
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/0811/c1001-27443651.html