On May 25, Xinhua announced that the Chinese Communist Party issued the “United Front Work Regulations of the Chinese Communist Party (trial version).” The regulations became effective on May 18, 2015. They are the first ever regulations on managing relations with people who are not members of the Communist Party. The regulations cover relations with individuals and organizations who have social, commercial, or academic influence, both inside and outside China, with the goal of ensuring that these groups are supportive of and useful to the Communist Party rule’s (which is called united front work).
Chinese Hackers Broke into the Communist Youth League’s Database and Exposed Fifty Cent Party Info
According to Voice of American, Chinese hackers recently claimed that they had hacked into the databases of the Shanghai and Chongqing Communist Youth League (CYL) organizations on May 25, 2015. They exposed that the Chinese CYL Central Committee requires colleges and universities in different locations to organize Internet propaganda teams. The hackers released statistical information on different activities, the personal information of the Internet propagandists, instructions from their superiors, audio files of meetings, and other documents. A “Report on Public Opinion on the Internet” from Donghua University on April 4th of this year contained instructions on what to post on the Internet on an extensive number of subjects, including military, political, and commercial topics. Shanghai University requires that Internet propagandists (who are also called the “Fifty Cent Party” because they are paid 50 cents per post and receive 600 yuan per month as a base stipend) monitor and follow students’ thought processes and group activities during the period of the anniversary of the June 4th Tiananmen Square Massacre.
Reports indicate that Mainland China has nearly 650 million Internet users. According to Ming Pao on April 6, 2015, the CYL Central Committee has decided to recruit 10.5 million Internet youth propagandists, mainly from colleges and universities. The allocated quota is 100 Internet propagandists from the Shenzhen Campus of Hong Kong University and as high as 9,000 propagandists from Zhongshan University in Guangzhou.
Source: Voice of America, May 25, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-internal-documents-hacker-exposure-fifty-cent-instructions/2789365.html
http://www.voachinese.com/content/article-20110808-world-press-coverage-on-china-127268478/785852.html (Introduction on Fifty Cent Party)
Huanqiu Withdrew Its Editorial Ridiculing Chinese Students’ Open Letter on the June 4th Massacre
On Tuesday, May 26, 2015, China’s official media Huanqiu (the Chinese Edition of Global Times) published an editorial in which it ridiculed a group of overseas Chinese students born in the 1980s and 1990s who jointly signed an open letter in the United States. The letter told students in China the truth about the “Tiananmen Massacre” that happened 26 years ago on June 4, 1989. Although the open letter did not get much attention in the first place, it aroused widespread interest after Huanqiu openly scorned it. Those who signed the open letter stressed that they do not expect the CCP to redress the democratic movement on Tiananmen Square in 1989, since the executioner is not qualified to rehabilitate the victims. However, "the butcher must stand trial. Until justice is done and as the persecution continues, forgetting represents an infidelity to history; forgiveness represents injustice for the dead.”
It is noteworthy that, on the same day, Huanqiu deleted the editorial from its website. The title was, “Foreign Forces Attempt to Incite Those Born in the 1980s and 1990s.”
Source: Voice of America, May 26, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/group-students-20150526/2790651.html
Chinese Scholars on the Sino-U.S. Relationship
Chinese Review News hosted a forum at its headquarters in Beijing on, "The Development and Deepening the Sino-U.S. Relationship." Below are some scholars’ comments.
Shi Yinhong of Renmin University of China: Since he took the top leadership position, Xi Jinping has changed the direction of China’s foreign policy. He has expanded military power and promoted China’s ocean sovereignty. This has gained him the people’s support and the consolidation of his power within China. However, it came at quite some cost [with the U.S.].
Lv Dehong of the China Foundation for International and Strategic Studies: The U.S.’s biggest problem in its Sino-U.S. policy is that it does not see its own problem. It has long insisted on its own viewpoint, its own logic, and its own policy. It pursues its own interests. It has done many things that hurt others, because its policy does not recognize the interests of other countries.
Yuan Zheng of the China Academy of Social Science: [I would like to make] a few points on the direction of China’s foreign diplomacy. First, China’s nationalism will continue to rise and its foreign policy will take a more hardline approach. Second, as China’s power continues to rise, China will have a greater influence in international affairs. Third, the U.S. thinks that, though China is more active in diplomatic activities, China’s current and future focus is still China. Fourth, the U.S. is worried about China’s recent actions.
Liu Feitao of the China Institute of International Studies: The public in the U.S. is more concerned than the government about the military side of the Sino-U.S. relationship. No matter which party in the U.S. wins the next election, it will take a harderline approach towards China. The U.S. has more strategic worries about China than China has about the U.S.
Source: China Review News, May 21, 2015
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1037/6/1/0/103761001.html?coluid=1&kindid=0&docid=103761001&mdate=0521001004
People’s Daily: The U.S. Military Hurried to Replace IBM Servers
Britain Seized Fake Cosmetic Products Made in China
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Urged the U.S. Not to Complicate the Situation
Xinhua: What Is Japan Trying to Do in Asia by Plunging into a US$100 Billion Investment?
Xinhua published a group of articles on its International Channel under the title, “What Is Japan Trying to Do in Asia by Plunging into a US$100 Billion Investment?” In the editorial summary, it said, “Japan plans to invest about US$100 billion over the next five years to support infrastructure development in the Asian region. The amount of the investment is comparable to the amount that China proposed to establish the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Analysts have said that Japan’s move was intended to improve its image for its continued existence. However, [if Japan is] trying to use the 100 billion dollars to ‘rival’ the AIIB, it will do no good for itself while it will be hurting others. The AIIB has 57 founding members and can drive trillions of dollars of investment. If Japan is maliciously bidding, it will only keep exhausting its resources and its mental health. China will not respond or launch a bidding war with Japan. Therefore, if Japan wants to ‘to suppress China’s influence’ with the US$100 billion investment, it will be nearly impossible for it to succeed even if it tries so hard that it will be vomiting blood.”