Chinascope – Page 696

PLA General Political Department Revised Guideline on Recruiting of Party Membership within PLA

Xinhua reported that Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, recently approved a revised guideline on the development of Party membership work within the PLA. The PLA General Political Department then published the guideline. The article said that the guideline had been revised so that it would be tailored specifically for the PLA. It provided more “strict, concrete and scientific” requirements on recruiting qualified Party memberships. It also emphasized developing members based on quotas and discouraged new members from submitting false claims.

Source: Xinhua, April 12, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2015-04/12/c_1114941365.htm

Briefings | | April 13, 2015 | Defense/Military

PLA Used Its Online Purchasing Website for Its First Online Purchase

Xinhua reported that, on April 7, the PLA announced that five manufacturers won the bidding, totaling 90 million yuan (US$14.48 million), to supply general and maintenance equipment to the PLA. The article said that these were the first purchase orders that the PLA received since it launched its military equipment purchasing website in January. The site is at http://www.weain.mil.cn/. The PLA claimed that it saved close to 12 million yuan (US$1.93 million) compared to the list price. The purchase order consisted of items such as containers for maintenance equipment and tools, gas masks, carrier cases, and army field lighting. The article said that the PLA equipment purchasing website was launched on January 4. On February 25, the PLA General and Maintenance department made a public announcement on the website calling for bids. On March 19, the public bidding was held at Ordnance Engineering College in Shijiazhuang City of Hebei Province. Over 20 manufacturers submitted bids and 5 of them, including some privately owned companies, won the bidding.

Source: Xinhua, April 12, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/info/2015-04/12/c_134143641.htm

Briefings | | April 13, 2015 | Defense/Military

Huanqiu: The U.S. and Japan Are Wrong

Huanqiu published an editorial on U.S. Defense Secretary Carter’s trip to Asia. The editorial stated that, considering China’s economic approach in establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the U.S. and Japan are wrong in their strategy of engaging in military development.

The editorial stated, “It is certain that the deployment of the U.S. high-altitude defense ‘Sade system’ in Korea will deal a heavy blow to the good will that the Chinese public opinion has built over the years toward Korea and will weaken the foundation of the bilateral relationship. Seoul should not take any chances.”

The editorial expressed that the communications between Carter and Japan about the Diaoyu Islands and the South China Sea assume, directly or indirectly, that China is their adversary.

The editorial stated that the U.S. is bucking the trend as it is strengthening and expanding its military alliance in the Western Pacific. “China has embarked on a win-win cooperation path in Asia and the world. We have established the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, rendering traditional geopolitics useless and without direction. It is time for the U.S. and Japan to do some serious reflection.”

Source: Huanqiu, April 10, 2015

http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2015-04/6145333.html

Briefings | | April 10, 2015 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Hong Kong Media: Iron Hat Kings Coup Portends the Inevitable Decisive Battle between Xi and Jiang

On April 6, 2015, Hong Kong Oriental Daily Online published a commentary analyzing the current political situation in China using the historical analogy of the Qing Dynasty’s "Eight King Government" coup against Emperor Yongzheng. At that time corrupt officials had severely weakened the country. Yongzheng tried to push through new policies to rebuild the country’s wealth and to consolidate power. He then faced severe resistance from the officials. The "Iron Hat Kings" [1] even attempted a coup to nullify Yongzheng’s power. Eventually Yongzheng won the fight.

According to the article, Xi’s situation is similar. The group of power holders apparently did not want to give up their vested interests, so, during Hu Jintao’s era, this group created the structure of nine members at the CCP’s power center – the Politburo Standing Committee – and let each member manage an area on his own. When Xi Jinping succeeded Hu, the "Nine Presidential System" or the "Nine Politburo Standing Committee Members System" was changed to the "Seven Politburo Standing Committee Members System," but still, those power-holders tried to block Xi from using his authority.

Though Xi Jinping’s authorities have taken down Zhou Yongkang, Xu Caihou, Bo Xilai, Ling Jihua, and a number of others, "Xi has not dug out the mastermind who set up the ruling system of Nine Politburo Standing Committee Members for the purpose of manipulating the ‘Iron Hat Kings.’" If the new authorities do not take down the ‘Iron Hat Kings" that represent those power-holder groups and do not dig out the mastermind behind it, the anti-corruption campaign will not win a ‘landslide victory,’ and China’s new government will not move forward." "Right now, the Chinese people are looking forward to the early arrival of the (Xi Jinping’s) ‘landslide victory.’" [2]

The article stated that this power-holder group started in 1989, which implicitly but clearly indicated that Jiang Zemin, who moved to the top leadership position in 1989, was the culprit that created this system to restrain his successors.

Source: [1] See the Chinascope article at

http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/6907/40/

[2] Hong Kong Daily Online, April 7, 2015:
http://hk.on.cc/cn/bkn/cnt/commentary/20150407/bkncn-20150407000317701-0407_05411_001.html

Briefings | | April 9, 2015 | Government/Politics

Qiushi: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank Redefines How the International System Changes

Qiushi, published a commentary article on the impact of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) that China is heading up. The writer was YANG Guangbin, a Professor of Politics at Renmin University of China and Executive Dean of the National Institutes of Management.

The article said, “Other than the fact that the AIIB marks a new milestone in international relations …, it has more far-reaching political significance in the world. That is, it rewrites the way that the international system goes through transformation.”

“In recent history, the formation and change of the international system has always been a recombination following the total destruction of the previous order. That has been typical of system alteration. The international systems after the reorganization have always been the ones of Western-centrism.”

“The AIIB rewrites the way that the international system changes. First, the AIIB that China leads is a new force born within the established international order. China’s rise and the role it plays are completely different from those ways familiar to Westerners. Although it is a forced product resulting from the pressure of the U.S., it is also a result of the conditions that were ripe for the formation. Second, it is the first Asian-dominated international system change. Now the theory of international relations should be corrected. Almost all popular theories of international relations are based on the history of Western international relations. It is a discourse system of Western centrism. This time, the little brothers of the "Group of Seven" have squeezed into the AIIB’s founding members one after another. Such an action of rewriting history will also rewrite the theory of international relations. Third, the AIIB has no Ideological boundaries. Fourth, the change is a gradual one.”

Source: Qiushi, April 3, 2015

http://www.qstheory.cn/international/2015-04/03/c_1114862108.htm

Briefings | | April 9, 2015 | US-China Relations

Hu Shuli Criticized Ma Jian for Intervention in Judiciary; Implications for Jiang Zemin?

On April 6, 2015, Caixin Weekly published an article that Hu Shuli, the editor-in-chief of Caixin, wrote. The title was, "The Promise to Resist Officials’ intervention in the Judiciary." The article discussed the new policy that the Office of the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission and the Office of the State of the People’s Republic of China issued and published on Xinhua on March 30, 2015. [1] The policy established a penalty, thereby preventing government officials from intervening in judicial activities and meddling with the judicial records of specific cases.

Hu pointed out in her article that Ma Jian, the former Deputy Minister of State Security, who used to support Guo Wengui (as discussed in previous ChinaScope briefings [2] [3]), has repeatedly intervened in criminal cases. Ma Jian was responsible to Zeng Qinghong, who was former leader Jiang Zemin’s top advisor. Hu Shuli stated, "Obviously, Ma’s purpose was to shelter their money-power trade network. However, a corrupt official whose rank and power was higher than Ma’s would have intervened more recklessly in the judicial system, and might even have done so in the name of strengthening the Party’s leadership over judicial work. Such acts have seriously damaged the judiciary, shaken citizens’ belief in the rule of law, and become the most dangerous viruses infecting China’s judicial system." [4]

The above-mentioned "higher-rank official" who "intervened more recklessly in the judicial system" "in the name of strengthening the Party’s leadership over judicial work" is likely to refer to Jiang Zemin, because he used that term, but his successors Hu Jintao and Xi Jinping did not.

Sources:
[1] Xinhua, March 30, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2015-03/30/c_1114812232.htm
[2] ChinaScope, "Big Fight May Be Going on between Zeng Qinghong and Wang Qishan"
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/7047/40/
[3] ChinaScope, "Caixin Sues Guo Wengui and Hong Kong Media for Defamation"
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/7046/40/
[4] Caixin Weekly, April 6, 2015
http://weekly.caixin.com/2015-04-03/100797262.html

Briefings | | April 9, 2015 | Government/Politics

Communist Youth League to Recruit 10 million Volunteers for Cyber Civilization

The Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (CYL), the Chinese Communist Party’s youth organization, issued a directive in February of this year, requiring its nationwide subordinate organizations to recruit 10.5 million "young volunteers for cyber civilization" by the end of June. The date of the issuance was February 13, 2015. The title was, "The notice of the Communist Youth League about establishing teams of young volunteers for cyber civilization on a large scale, and advancing the operations of young volunteers for cyber civilization."

The document was issued to all CYL committees in provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities, CYL committees at national railway and civil aviation authorities, organs under the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, CYL’s working committees at central government agencies, and large state-owned enterprises.

According to the Notice, these "young volunteers" are in charge of promoting positive energy online, and actively participating in the CYL Central Committee’s "Sunshine posting" operations, as well as pro-actively resisting negative energy in cyberspace. They are required to participate in at least three major activities in 2015.

The 10.5 million volunteers include four million from Chinese colleges and universities. Every higher education institute is required to submit the number of its volunteers. For example, Guangzhou based Sun Yat-sen University is supposed to supply 800; a demand was made that mainland campuses of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Baptist University must provide 800 and 100 each.

Source: BBC Chinese, April 7, 2015

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/04/150407_china_youth_internet

Briefings | | April 9, 2015 | Information/Technology

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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