Chinascope – Page 675

Xinhua: Communist Party Plans to Establish Branches in Social Organizations

Xinhua recently reported that, on May 29, the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee decided to establish Party branches in the leadership sections of all levels of the government, people’s groups, economic organizations, cultural organizations, social organizations, and other organizations. The Communist Party is determined to ensure a strong organizational guarantee that it maintains overall leadership as well as central coordination. The Party expressed the belief that the new organizational model is required to deepen the nationwide reform and to ensure the rule of law. The Communist Party used to have similar guidelines but the newly reinforced rules changed the wording “could establish branches” to “should establish branches.” A new term “Social Organization” was added to the language of this new Party decision. Analysts suggested that a large number of new types of organizations have been established recently and the Communist Party does not have any presence in most of these social bodies. Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired the Politburo conference that passed the decision.

Source: Xinhua, May 30, 2015

http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201505/30/t20150530_5502293.shtml

Briefings | | June 9, 2015 | Government/Politics

China and Japan Are Negotiating an Extradition Treaty

Xinhua recently reported that China and Japan just completed a round of negotiations on signing an extradition treaty. The last round of negotiations took place in 2010 and was later paused due to the worsened relationship between the two nations. China has such a treaty with 38 countries but Japan only has extradition treaties with the United States and South Korea. Currently, China is the number one destination country for Japanese criminals to hide, so the Japanese authorities are very much interested in having such a treaty in place. The on-going anti-corruption movement in China also calls for legal tools to help capture corrupt officials who have escaped to Japan. However, some Japanese human rights advocates are against this initiative and have expressed their concern that China could abuse the concept of “criminal.” This recent round of negotiations has lasted for two days.

Source: Xinhua, June 5, 2015

http://china.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2015/0605/807284.shtml

Briefings | | June 9, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Huanqiu Commentary: The US Might Launch a War against China to Keep it from Surpassing the US

Huanqiu published an article that a professor from the PLA National Defense University wrote. The article stated that, ever since the U.S. launched its Asia-Pacific rebalance strategy, Asia has no longer been a peaceful region, especially in the South China Sea. The author expressed the belief that the U.S. only cares about its own interests and is determined to control the South China Sea in order to stop China from surpassing the U.S. Therefore, it couldn’t care less about the world’s peace and it might even launch a war in the regions surrounding China. The author suggested that China should remain calm and proceed with its original plan in the South China Sea while keeping a dialogue open with the U.S. China can let the U.S. know that its cold war mentality is outdated and that China’s intent is to cooperate and make it a win-win situation for both countries. Meanwhile, China should be ready to enter into a war with the U.S. The author said that the U.S. will not give up its urge to launch a war because launching a war is the best way to shift attention from the domestic conflicts it faces, such as economic depression and a high unemployment rate. The war can also stop other countries from investing in Asia and stop China from surpassing the U.S. Therefore China should be highly alert and be fully prepared.

Source: Huanqiu, June 5, 2015
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2015-06/6605704.html

Briefings | | June 8, 2015 | US-China Relations

The Legacy of the June 4th Movement – The Legacy of Jiang Zemin

Twenty-six years ago on the night of June 4, 1989, on Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) answered student’s hope for democracy with tanks and guns. That night, the Tiananmen appeal became the Tiananmen Massacre. Not only have many people’s memories of that night faded; any discussion of what really happened has become taboo in China. To those who live in China, but were born later, it never happened.

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Perspectives | | June 6, 2015

89 and 64 Became Taboo Numbers as the 26th Anniversary of the June 4th Student Movement Neared

Voice of America recently reported that, over the years, the numbers “89” and “64” have become sensitive words, blocked over the Internet in China, due to their being linked to the 1989 June 4th student movement in Beijing. This year, as the 26 year anniversary of the June 4th student movement approached, reports proliferated that people who tried to wire money found that, if the amount involved numbers such as “89” or “64”, the wire transfer would automatically be stopped and the customer will be notified that it was an “abnormal” transaction. In addition, the report said that the local media were strictly prohibited from mentioning the movement. People who held a ceremony, such as wearing white flowers or burning paper in honor of the dead during the June 4th anniversary, could also be subject to assault and arrest, and could be sentenced to jail terms.

Source: Voice of America, June 4, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-censors-money-transfers-on-tiananmen-anniversary-20150604/2807234.html

Briefings | | June 5, 2015 | Government/Politics

Ministry of Environmental Protection: Less than 10 Percent of Cities Passed Air Pollution Inspection

Xinhua reported on the 2014 Environmental Report that the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently published. Out of 161 cities in which the air inspection was conducted in 2014, only 16 cities or less than 10 percent of the cities, passed the inspection. Meanwhile soil contamination remains a serious concern. The article stated that, taking into consideration all of the land that was inspected, the soil erosion rate was at 31.12 percent. According to Ministry of Environmental Protection, the excess discharge of pollutants and a lack of control are the main reasons for the poor environmental quality.

Source: Xinhua, June 4, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2015-06/04/c_1115517511.htm

Briefings | | June 5, 2015 | Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: The U.S. Must Consider Two Big Factors in the South China Sea Issue

Shen Dingli, Associate Dean of the International Studies Institute of Fudan University, published an article in People’s Daily commenting on the U.S.’s position on the South China Sea. Below is an excerpt from the article.

“Regarding the South China Sea, the United States recently spewed forth a lot of noise against China. Some individual U.S. departments not only released harsh remarks; they also acted recklessly. The U.S. military first sent warplanes to conduct close surveillance of the reefs in our territory. Then it threatened to send warships to use force to enter the islands and reefs within the 12 sea miles of China’s territory.”

“Moreover, the U.S. is also developing partners and allies in the Indian-Pacific region, abetting some countries to provoke China with a number of its military alliances and partnerships and with the use of arms and military technology aid. To a large extent, the current situation in the South China Sea is closely associated with the U.S.’s unwarranted suspicion of China.”

“As the world’s only superpower, the United States hopes to maintain its long-term dominance of the world, which has long been clearly expressed in its many strategic documents. As for how to achieve this goal, the United States currently lacks rational thinking.”

“The U.S.’s recent South China Sea policy fully exposed the mindlessness of its dominant thoughts.”

“On the one hand, the U.S. completely turned a deaf ear to China’s sovereignty position in the South China Sea islands and reefs established in history and China’s demand for such a position in the middle of last century. The U.S. requires maintaining the ‘status quo’ in existence after 2002. The essence is to make China lose its sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and reefs forever.”

“On the other hand, the United States has recently paid a great deal of attention to China’s extension of some South China Sea islands and reefs, not only sending planes and ships to the close vicinity, but also ordering China to stop development as soon as possible. The U.S.’s biased and arrogant conduct on the South China Sea issue is the root cause of turbulence in the region.”

“For China’s development, there is the contribution from the U.S.’s cooperation, but the United States does not feel comfortable with the possible disruption of China’s rapid development of its own position. Therefore, it displays anxiety and reckless behavior, no longer appearing like the once calm supranational.”

“On the South China Sea issue, we remind the United States that it must always consider two big pictures. One is peace and stability and the other is the Sino-US relationship. A sober United States should recognize that it is the American’s biased treatment that causes instability of the South China Sea. China has been remaining low-key in international affairs for a long time, but will not back down in safeguarding its legitimate national rights. In the long run, challenging the bottom line of Chinese sovereignty over the South China Sea and undermining the overall Sino-U.S. relationship is likely to cause more damage to the United States.”

Source: People’s Daily, June 2, 2015

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2015/0602/c1002-27090380.html

Briefings | | June 5, 2015 | US-China Relations

China’s Water Pollution – More Than 60 Percent of Groundwater Not Suitable for Humans

On Thursday, June 4, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection (CMEP) published information quoting the "2014 China Environmental Bulletin," which said that it would not be good for humans to be in direct contact with nearly two-thirds of all groundwater and one-third of all surface water.

China will "declare a war on pollution," trying to reverse some of the environmental damage caused during the past 30 years of rapid economic growth. One of the biggest and most expensive challenges is processing polluted water. China classifies water quality into six grades. Of the 968 CMEP locations that monitored surface water last year, only 3.4 per cent found the water quality to be of the highest standard or "the first grade." CMEP said in its annual report that only 63.1 percent of the monitoring locations reached a water quality at or above the third grade, which is suitable for human intake. The rest were not totally unusable; they were only suitable for use as industrial water or irrigation water. As for the water quality, the 968 state-controlled surface water-monitoring stations (points) that are distributed across China’s 423 major rivers and 62 lakes (or reservoirs), carried out water quality monitoring last year. They found that water quality was between the fourth and fifth grade level and that those with a quality worse than Grade Five were as high as 27.7% and 9.2% respectively. Nearly 40 percent of water did not reach drinking water standards, and also was not suitable for aquaculture or swimming.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 4, 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/06/150604_china_water_pollution

Briefings | | June 4, 2015 | Economy/Resources

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.