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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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BBC Chinese: Kenyan Authorities Arrested 77 Chinese Suspects

BBC Chinese recently reported from Nairobi, Kenya that the police arrested 77 Chinese citizens for online criminal activities. The police expressed the belief that this criminal group hacked into bank accounts, mobile banking networks, and ATM equipment and networks. They also accused the group of attempting to break into Kenya’s national communications system. The suspects have admitted wrongdoing and turned in the plan they had to attack the national communications system. The prosecutors have sued the members of the group for illegal residence and illegal use of radio equipment without a permit. The Kenyan government contacted the Chinese Embassy to see if the Ambassador was aware of the group’s activities or not. The Chinese government promised to send investigators to assist in the Kenyan investigation. The Chinese Embassy in Kenya proposed that the Chinese government help find out the identities of these suspects. Based on the local reports, the criminal group was producing bank card chips and ran a “command center.”
Source: BBC Chinese, December 4, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/12/141204_kenya_chinese_crime
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

US Retailers Warned of Alibaba’s Impact on Local Businesses

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that a U.S. business union named Alliance for Main Street Fairness has asked the U.S. Congress to eliminate the special tax benefits afforded to online retailers such as the Chinese vendor Alibaba. In September, Alibaba drew the attention of the U.S. public when it had the largest IPO in U.S. history. The Alliance has the backing of many famous U.S. retailers who are members such as Best Buy, Target, and JC Penny. They are currently running a TV and radio campaign against obvious targets such as Alibaba. Alibaba’s annual online retail sales volume is larger than the two top U.S. market leaders, Amazon and eBay, combined. The large U.S. retailers in the Alliance warned that if Congress does not “plug the hole” in online taxation, Alibaba and company may pretty soon “end” all U.S. local retailers. Alibaba’s core market is Mainland China. It is currently selling products to U.S. consumers via its Aliexpress website. Alibaba pointed out some time back that its focal point is still the Chinese domestic market. As of now Alibaba has not responded to the advertising campaign that its U.S. competitors have launched.
Source: Sina, December 2, 2014
http://finance.sina.com/bg/juhengwang/20141202/00401170031.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Zhou Yongkang Expelled from the Party and Under Arrest

On December 6, 2014, People’s Daily reported that Zhou Yongkang was expelled from the Communist Party of China (CPC), and is now under arrest as the prosecutors launched an investigation against him. According to People’s Daily, on December 5, 2014, after reviewing the investigation report of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) against Zhou, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee reached the decision to expel him. 

Back on December 1, 2013, the CCDI briefed the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee about the indications pointing to Zhou’s disciplinary violations. They made a decision to conduct a further examination. On July 29, 2014, the Politburo filed a case for investigation. 
According to a statement that the Politburo issued on December 5, 2014, the CCDI investigation found “Zhou has been in serious violation of the Party’s political, organizational, and confidentiality discipline. He used his official positions to seek personal gain for himself and others and accepted huge bribes personally and through his family. He abused his power to help relatives, mistresses, and friends make huge profits from business activities, resulting in significant losses of state-owned assets. He leaked the Party’s and State’s secrets. He seriously violated self-disciplinary regulations and accepted a large amount of money and property personally and through his family. He committed adultery with a number of women and traded his power for sex and money.” The statement added that the investigation uncovered leads indicating he may have committed other crimes. 

On December 6, 2014, China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a statement that it has opened an investigation into Zhou’s suspected crimes and decided to arrest him according to the law. 

Sources: People’s Daily, December 6, 2014 
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2014-12/06/nw.D110000renmrb_20141206_5-01.htm http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2014-12/06/nw.D110000renmrb_20141206_3-01.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

What State Secrets did Zhou Yongkang Leak?

One of the findings that the Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) made in its investigation report against Zhou Yonkang is that Zhou leaked Party and State secrets. As China’s former security czar, what State secrets did he leak? 

Some analysts believe that it refers to Zhou’s leaking information about the corruption of his opponents to the media. It may also include Zhou’s attempt to create chaos and organize counterattacks against his opponents. It could also refer to his immediately giving information to Bo Xilai about Wang Lijun having sought refuge in the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. Some others thought that the findings referred to Zhou Yongkang leaking state secrets to North Korea’s Kim Jong-un in order for them to collaborate in creating international tensions. 

Source: Epoch Times, December 7, 2014 
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/14/12/7/n4312884.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Huanqiu Assails How Freedom House Ranks China on Internet Freedom

Freedom House recently issued the "Freedom on the Net 2014" report, which states that, around the world, the freedom of the Internet continues to backslide, with China, Syria, and Iran ranked at the bottom of the 65 countries and regions that the U.S. human rights organization monitors. As a routine practice, China’s state newspaper Global Times (Huanqiu) retaliated with criticism against Freedom House. Its response follows.
"Western media reported that most of the funding for the organization (Freedom House) is from the United States government and it has a close relationship with the Department of Defense."
"Now that Transparency International’s recently published 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index dropped China’s rank by 20 places, this is another act of Western organizations to make China sick by using ridiculous rankings. However, because this approach completely disregards the bottom line, the intention of these ideological attacks is easily discernable. Such a negative ranking of China has ruined the reputations of Western organizations among the Chinese People."
"After all, Freedom House’s accusation about China’s lack of network freedom is a reflection of the old-fashioned differences in values and politics between the West and China. Such an accusation can also expand to include ‘lack of press freedom,’ ‘deterioration of its human rights record,’ and so on."
"The U.S. based Freedom House takes a country that has achieved one of the most effective developments of the Internet around the world and ranks it third from the bottom. It’s hard to tell whether this is a real shame of China, or of its own. In any case, the Chinese people’s care for the freedom of the Internet is far more than the ‘concerns’ of some Western organizations. Let’s guess: Freedom House is just a front for the United States to influence China’s own policy."
Source: Huanqiu, December 6, 2014
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2014-12/5229589.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Yuan Peng: Sino-U.S. Relations Have Undergone Four Fundamental Changes

Xinhua‘s international channel conducted an interview of Yuan Peng, Associate Dean of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) regarding the direction in which Sino-U.S. relations are heading. In the interview, Yuan said that "since China launched a new round of reform and opening up, China-U.S. relations have indeed undergone major changes. The three joint communiqués and three joint declarations that guided Sino-U.S. relations in the past may not be sufficient guidelines for the next 35 years."  

Yuan Peng said, "Sino-U.S. relations have undergone four fundamental changes. The first is the change in the balance of power between China and the U.S. China’s GDP jumped from tenth (in the world) at the beginning of the reform and opening to the current second place. The power shift between China and the U.S. is in transition from a quantitative to a qualitative period."  

"The second is the U.S. strategic change. The U.S. has moved its strategic center from Europe to Asia. Despite the Middle Eastern chaos and the Ukrainian crisis, the U.S. has only made some policy adjustments. The ‘Asia-Pacific rebalancing’ change is not merely a tactical one, but a fundamental, strategic change." 

"The third is the change in the strategic foundation for Sino-U.S. relations. China and the U.S. jointly coped with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Sino-U.S. relations after the Cold War have consisted of economic and trade interests. Now the issue is that the foundation will change and both sides are still struggling to find a new strategic foundation. As of the present, a similar new strategic foundation has not appeared." 

"The fourth is a change in the strategic environment. The external environment of Sino-U.S. relations has become more complex and varied, subject to the influence of third party factors such as the Diaoyu Islands, the Ukraine, Russia, and others."

Yuan Peng said, "Putting the four changes together, we can draw the conclusion that a major, even a radical change in Sino-U.S. relations, unlike any in the past 35 years, is now emerging. China must make a fundamental strategic adjustment."


Source: Xinhua, November 28, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-11/28/c_127259937.htm
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Registration of Real Property Rights to Pave Way for Taxation

China Securities Journal under Xinhua reported that the authorities have started a pilot program in several cities to register real property rights. Nation-wide implementation may unfold next year. 

Real property rights that must be registered include usufructuary rights. The owner of a usufructuary right has the right to possess, utilize, and obtain the profits from the real property owned by others. Generally, land in China is owned by the State. The usufructuary rights include the right to use state-own land, the right to occupy buildings, as well as the right to use farm land, pastures, forests and seas. Earlier this year, it was announced that all real property rights must be registered within three years. 
Analysts observed that the registration is a fundamental component of China’s land reform. Further, completion of registration is a pre-requisite to legislation and implementation of real property tax. 
Source: China Securities Journal reprinted by Xinhua, December 2, 2014 http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-12/02/c_127267878.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily Accuses Britain of Having a “Colonialist Mentality”

China recently blocked a group of British MP’s from traveling to Hong Kong. While British Prime Minister David Cameron views China’s decision to block the politicians as “a mistaken one,” the Chinese Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily hurled back criticism, accusing the U.K. of having a "colonialist mentality."
"Whether it is a democracy or not is not for the British to say. The British are interfering with the Hong Kong issue using the excuse of ‘democracy’ and ‘freedom.’ When answering questions in parliament, British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the Sino-British Joint Declaration provides the Hong Kong people with freedom of speech and  publication, the freedoms of assembly, association, travel, and strikes, while claiming that Britain should support the rights of Hong Kong people. … The problem is that no one can use the excuse of democracy and freedom to break the law. ‘Occupying Central’ disturbs the social order and impairs the overall interests of Hong Kong, but Britain turns a blind eye to it. The British government is more concerned about its own interests, rather than the true interests of the Hong Kong people."
"Frequently interfering with the internal affairs of other countries, forcing the Western values and ideology upon others, and behaving irresponsibly in bilateral relations are all practices that reflect the legacy of a ‘colonialist mentality.’"
Source: People’s Daily, December 4, 2014
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/1204/c1002-26146739.html  
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend