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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

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

Zhou Yongkang Sentenced to Life in Prison

On June 11, 2015, Xinhua reported that China’s ex-security chief Zhou Yongkang was sentenced to life in prison. He is the most senior Communist official to face corruption charges. Zhou is 72 years old.

Xinhua reported that the Tianjin Municipal No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court held the on camera trial on May 22, 2015. The charges included taking bribes, abuse of power, and intentional disclosure of State secrets. For the charge of bribery, he was sentenced to life in prison, with his political rights deprived for life and his personal assets confiscated. For the abuse of power, Zhou also received seven years and for the intentional disclosure of State secrets, he received four years
Xinhua reported that the court found that on bribery, there were mitigating factors including his confession and his remorse; his abuse of power charge was particularly serious; intentional disclosure of State secrets was also particularly serious but there were not any particularly serious consequences. 
On July 29, 2014, Zhou had been placed under investigation on suspicion of "serious disciplinary violations." Zhou was expelled from the Communist Party and arrested in December 2014. On April 3, 2015, Zhou was charged with bribery, abuse of power, and intentional disclosure of State secrets. 
Source: Xinhua, June 11, 2015 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2015-06/11/c_1115590304.htm

Xinhua: How Can the Half Torn G7 Intervene in the South China Sea Issue?

Xinhua’s web magazine, International Sphere (Volume 551) published a group of articles commenting on the G7 summit’s joint statement about China’s actions in South China Sea. The editor added the following comment in the introduction, “Because of [Japanese Prime Minister] Abe’s plot behind the scenes, the just-concluded summit of the G7 issued a joint statement, irresponsibly commenting on the South China Sea issue. Japan coerced the G7 summit into placing the South China Sea issue on its agenda. Its attempt to instigate the Western countries to choose sides is all too clear. In the end, though, the statement did not name China, indicating that the European G7 countries are very clear that the remote South China Sea belongs to Asia and that the issue should be resolved among the related countries through consultation. What qualifications do outsiders have to criticize the involved country so recklessly? Meanwhile, the rich G7 countries’ club is no longer what it once was. It is in a semi-torn state on many issues. Even though the U.S. and Japan forcefully pushed the South China Sea issue, how will the European countries that are in a big mess and have a hard time taking care of themselves have the energy to interfere in the South China Sea, not to mention their becoming an enemy of China? This is by no means the best policy!” 

Source: Xinhua, June 11, 2015 
http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/jrch/551.htm

Central Bank Report: China’s Economy Is Slowing Down

The Chief Economist of China’s central bank led a number of officials from the bank in writing a research report predicting that China’s economy will continue to slow down for the rest of 2015. 

According to the report, in the first four months of 2015, industrial output continued to drop, while the downward pressure on the economy has been increasing. The report observed three new changes in China’s economy. Export growth has decreased significantly; real estate and manufacturing investment are slowing down faster than expected; and banks are now facing the problem of there being an insufficient demand for loans. 
The report adjusted its prediction for 2015 GDP growth downward from 7.1 percent to 7 percent. 
Source: ifeng.com, June 10, 2015 
http://finance.ifeng.com/a/20150610/13767943_0.shtml

China to Require Censoring Personnel for Internet Video Providers

On June 10, Beijing city’s local newspaper, Jinghua Times (京华时报), reported that the State Council Legislative Affairs Office called for public comment on the "Administrative Approaches to the Dissemination of Audio-visual Programs via the Internet or Other Information Networks (revised draft)" (hereinafter referred to as the "draft"). According to the draft, Internet video broadcasters should be staffed with professionals who review the program contents. If broadcasters do not do so, they should be given a warning for correction and subject to a fine up to 30,000 yuan ($US 4,834). In addition, the current affairs audio-visual news programs that the Internet service providers broadcast should be those programs that regional or city level radio stations or TV stations already produced and broadcast. This means that homemade current affairs news programs are to be banned from the Internet.

Source: Jinghua Times, June 11, 2015
http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2015-06/11/content_206133.htm

Li Keqiang: Cancel Household Register Restrictions and Diploma Requirements for Entrepreneurs

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang chaired a State Council Executive Meeting on June 4, 2015. To facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship in China, the meeting decided to cancel the household register restrictions and academic diploma requirements for entrepreneurs. However, residence restrictions in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen will not be canceled within a short period of time due to the limited capacity of these first tier cities. The 2nd and 3rd tier cities will take the lead to attract new entrepreneurs from outside, who may or may not have academic diplomas. “As long as you have the will and ability to start a business, no matter where are you from, and regardless of your educational level, the policies will support you.”

Source: People’s Daily, June 7, 2015
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2015/0607/c1001-27116255.html