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.
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
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
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
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
The CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Bypasses the Central Propaganda Department
Oriental Daily published an article in Hong Kong on May 31, 2015, saying that the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), which Wang Qishan heads, has bypassed the CCP Central Propaganda Department and established its own publicity department for the purpose of publishing independent anti-corruption news reports. The official website of the CCDI (http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/) has announced a lot of news on important anti-corruption cases and arrests of high ranking officials. People’s Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and CCTV, the three top mouthpieces of the Chinese Communist Party, have to get the latest anti-corruption news from the constantly refreshed CCDI official website.
Source: Oriental Daily, May 31, 2015
http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/news/20150531/00184_002.html
Three Major Ideological Trends That Challenge Marxism with Chinese Socialistic Characteristics
On May 27, 2015, DWnews.com, a Chinese website headquartered in New York City, republished an article titled “Three Current Ideological Trends in China.” People’s Forum under People’s Daily had previously published this article last year on May 14, 2014. According to the article, three major ideological trends – Liberalism, Confucian Conservatism, and Dogmatic Marxism – have challenged and criticized Chinese Style Marxism (Marxism with Chinese socialistic characteristics). Those who promote Chinese Style Marxism have kept silent in the ideology arguments. The writer of the article attempted to teach the Chinese Marxists how to respond to the other three ideological trends.
According to the article, 1) Liberalism is based on the Westernized universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Liberals believe that it was a “historical mistake” for China to have imported Marxism and Leninism. China should conduct a thorough reform and get rid of Marxism and use Westernized liberalism to replace it. 2) Confucian Conservatism is based on Confucianism. Confucians believe that Marxism has ruined the Chinese culture and Marxism is the culprit to blame for the moral decay in China. 3) Dogmatic Marxism is based on the theories in Marx, Lenin, and Mao’s books. Dogmatic Marxists promote having another, thorough revolution by mobilizing the masses from the bottom up so as to establish true faith in Marxism and Communism. The author of the article concluded that none of the three ideological trends are good.
Sources: People’s Daily and DWnews, May 14, 2014 and May 27, 2015
http://www.rmlt.com.cn/2014/0514/268403.shtml
http://opinion.dwnews.com/news/2015-05-27/59656517.html
PLA Major General’s Ten Questions to U.S. Defense Secretary Carter
In response to U.S. Defense Secretary Carter’s demand that China stop building islands in the South China Sea and his announcement that U.S. warships and planes will continue to patrol that area, the Global Times published an article with ten questions that Luo Yuan, a PLA Major General, would ask Carter.
1. Since war is the continuation of politics, has the South China Sea political game come to the point where the U.S. and China must now have a hard clash with each other? Since the U.S. suffers no fundamental damage to its core interests in the South China Sea, why does the U.S. want to sacrifice her own soldiers for another country?
2. If indeed there is a fight, is the U.S. absolutely sure that it will win?
3. Even if the U.S. wins an accidental fight, is it prepared for the escalation and a long-term war, if China does not want to accept the loss?
4. The battle between China and the U.S. will mean the world order needs to be rebalanced. Is the U.S. ready for that?
5. Is it beneficial to the U.S.’ national interest to change the Sino-U.S. relationship from cooperation to confrontation?
6. The economic interests of China and the U.S. have been tightly woven together. To hurt China is to hurt the U.S. Also, China has more economic cards than the U.S.
7. If there is a conflict between China and the U.S., the Chinese people will have a strong anti-U.S. sentiment.
8. Japan expanded its islands in the East Sea and some other countries changed the islands in the South China Sea. Why didn’t the U.S. ask them to stop?
9. The Asia-Pacific region is the world’s economic growth engine. If there is turmoil, is it a good thing for the world and for the U.S.?
10. On the U.S. strategic balance, which one is heavier – China or some small countries that only care about their own interests and fight for nonsense?
"The above [questions] are not threats, but kind reminders. They are the logical consequences of Carter’s hard words. The U.S. is a practical country. We hope it will think twice before taking any action."
Source: Global Times Online, June 1, 2015
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2015-06/6559888.html