Chinascope – Page 673

Qiushi: Promote Positive National Image of China in Multiple Ways

On June 3, 2015, Qiushi, the Chinese Communist Party School and the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s political theory website, republished an article from Chinese Social Sciences Today, titled, “Avoid Single-Mode Propagation of China’s National Image.”

According to the article, Western countries have a serious misunderstanding of China’s national image due to the fact that China’s official media always exaggerate the positive aspects of China and the Chinese government. To display a responsible, positive, and pragmatic national image of China, China’s official media may sometimes, at the same time that they showcase the greatness of China’s achievements, “skillfully and appropriately” present some problems, difficulties, or even failures that China faces so as to demonstrate to the world that China is willing to be humble, accept well-intentioned criticism, and be active in solving problems. In addition, the article recommended using movies, TV operas, books, performances, cultural exchanges, and activities to further promote China’s national image.

Source: Qiushi, May 3, 2015
http://www.qstheory.cn/international/2015-06/03/c_1115495442.htm

Briefings | | June 17, 2015 | Government/Politics

With No Confidence in the Future, the CCP Departmental and Regional Officials Stay Idle at Work

On May 20, 2015, People’s Tribune, which is under People’s Daily online, published an in-depth analytical article on why Chinese Communist Party officials do not take action in applying the CCP Central Committee’s policies, why they are waiting and remaining idle, and why they have the mentality of not causing problems or not messing things up.

The reasons behind the officials’ inaction are:

1) They lack political confidence in China’s future.
2) As the anti-corruption movement continues, they are uncertain about their own futures.
3) They find the policy changes and current comprehensive reforms too confusing.

Source: People’s Tribune, May 20, 2015
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmlt/html/2015-05/20/content_1574755.htm

Briefings | | June 17, 2015 | Government/Politics

RFI: China Issues Internet IDs to Chinese Citizens

Radio France International (RFI) Chinese Edition recently reported that the Chinese government has initiated a program of rapid issuance of “Internet IDs” to its citizens at a speed of 100,000 issued per day. The “Internet ID,” also known as the “eID,” will be integrated into the Ministry of Public Safety’s Citizen’s Online Identification System and the personal identification systems of the banking industry. The eID system was certified by the National Passcode Administration in 2013, with a pilot program going into effect in the City of Karamay in Xinjiang. Starting in 2012, the Ministry of Public Safety worked closely with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to use a “strategically” embedded eID in the ICBC-issued IC (Integrated Circuit) debit cards and reached its capacity of producing 300,000 cards daily. In the market value of its assets, ICBC is generally considered the largest bank in the world.

Source: Radio France International, June 9, 2015

http://tinyurl.com/p3lt529

Briefings | | June 16, 2015 | Information/Technology

Xinhua: China Sternly Refuted the Philippines on the South China Sea Issue

Xinhua recently reported that, at the 25th Conference of the Member Countries of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, held in New York on June 12, the representative from the Philippines delivered harsh criticism against China. The Head of the Chinese Delegation, Wang Min, “sternly refuted” the Philippines’ accusations. Wang stated that China’s land reclamation activities in the South China Sea are exercised solely under China’s sovereignty and that the purpose was to improve the living conditions of China’s citizens as well as to provide better maritime search and rescue missions. China considers these to be its international responsibilities. The construction work will also improve the freedom of navigation for all countries. China was also against any “single-sided” maritime arbitration – Wang called for peaceful nation-to-nation negotiations based on international laws to resolve all South China Sea related issues.

Source: Xinhua, June 13, 2015

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2015-06/13/c_1115605446.htm

Briefings | | June 16, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

EU Chamber of Commerce: A Quarter of EU Companies in China Are Pessimistic

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, not long ago, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China released its annual report on business confidence. The report showed that the EU companies in China are reconsidering their strategy in the Chinese market. The report pointed out that the continuing top challenge remains the on-going slow-down of the Chinese economy. More and more EU companies are laying off people based on their pessimistic expectations. According to the report, around a quarter of the companies surveyed expressed deep concern about their profitability in the near future. Among the industrial companies, only 13 percent of them expected growth and 28 percent expected profit over the next two years. The top three categories of companies, including machinery, legal, and transportation/logistics do not expect to expand their businesses this year. Around 39 percent of the EU companies in China are planning on cost-cutting activities. The Chamber sent their survey to 1,474 EU companies currently doing business in China.

Source: Sina, June 11, 2015

http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2015-06-11/011631936498.shtml

Briefings | | June 16, 2015 | Economy/Resources

SOE Reform: The Party Must Assume the Responsibility for Managing SOEs

People’s Daily carried an article which Outlook Weekly had originally published. The article stated that, recently, the Central Leading Group for Comprehensively Deepening Reforms passed two opinions on State Owned Enterprise Reform. One is called the “Opinion on Being Persistent in the Party’s Leadership and Development during State Owned Enterprise Reform.” The other is called the “Opinion on Strengthening and Reform of State Owned Enterprise Asset Supervision and the Prevention of State Owned Enterprise Asset Loss.” The article stated that these two Opinions have set the tone from the central administration and provided a timely guarantee to ensure the smooth progress of State Owned Enterprises reform.

According to the article, of the two opinions, the Opinion on “Party Must Assume Responsibility for Managing SOEs” attracted the most attention but it was not the first time that it was brought up. The article listed similar proposals made in the Fourth Conference of the 16th Congress of the CCP in 2004 and the National Party Development within State Owned Enterprise Conference in 2009. Based on the comments from the research experts quoted in the article, defining the Party’s legal position within the company is very sensitive because the current company structure has a board of directors as the core leadership team. Therefore company policy may need to be modified to define the Party’s legal position within the corporation. It is expected that more policies on this subject will be introduced in the near future.

Source: People’s Daily, June 14, 2015
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/0614/c1001-27150930.html

Briefings | | June 15, 2015 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily Opinion Article: U.S. Can’t Forcibly impose its Democratic Values on Other Countries

People’s Daily published an opinion article that attacked the U.S. for exporting its democratic values to the world and said that the U.S. should not forcibly impose its democratic system on other countries. The article stated that a number of the countries that had color revolutions had encountered such economic and social issues as slow economic growth, a high unemployment rate, and extreme domestic conflicts. The article said that, since World War I, the Western countries, especially the U.S., have constantly tried to export the value of democratic freedom to the world. By doing so, the U.S. has interfered in the internal affairs of other countries and forced its democratic values on others. The article listed the “theories and strategies” that the U.S. uses to launch color revolutions in other countries. It also quoted media articles to show that democracy will not solve all (these countries’) problems; democracy also has its dark side and forcibly exporting democratic values is an act of barbarism. The article concluded that each country has its own uniqueness and can’t blindly borrow experiences from other countries. Imposing democratic values on others would only cause chaos, social instability, and economic recession and would not serve any purpose in promoting world peace.

Source: People’s Daily, June 14, 2015
http://opinion.people.com.cn/n/2015/0614/c1003-27150413.html

Briefings | | June 15, 2015 | US-China Relations

VOA: Chinese Diplomat Calls on Chinese Media to Break the Foreign Media Barrier

Voice of America carried an article that quoted comments that He Yafei, Chinese diplomat and current Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, gave at a recent talk. He spoke at a “China and External Communication Forum” held in Chongqing on June 11. The article said that He called on the media in China to break the barrier of foreign media. According to He, even though China has made a large investment in building its propaganda team overseas, China’s voice is too weak and is limited in disseminating its story. Close to 50 Western media outlets account for 95 percent of the world’s media market and only 20 percent of the people from foreign countries have gotten to know China through Chinese media. He said that the Western media initiated propaganda promulgating the China Threat and the China Collapse theories. They constantly impose its own value system on others. As to the attacks and negative comments on China, He said that China needs to have an open dialogue and clarify the facts.

Source: Voice of America, June 12, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/media-watch-20150612/2819105.html

Briefings | | June 15, 2015 | Government/Politics

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.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.