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Xinhua: China’s Major-Country Relationships in 2014

Xinhua published an article reviewing China’s progress in developing major-country relations with Russia, the U.S., the E.U. and major developing countries.

Sino-Russia relations: "The relationship is the best it has been in the 65 years since China and Russia established diplomatic relations. The Sino-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership will be moving forward at a high level in 2015. In May 2014, the heads of the two countries signed the ‘Sino-Russian Joint Statement on the New Stage of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in Coordination.’ The two countries finalized a gas supply treaty. The two countries are working on reaching the goal of bilateral trade at $100 billion in 2015 and $200 billion by 2020."

Sino-U.S. relations: "Although there was friction in the relationship in 2014, the waves didn’t stop the voyage. In 2015, the two countries will continue developing their relations while controlling their differences. Xi Jinping and Obama not only met twice in 2014, but also called and sent letters to each other multiple times. A highlight in 2014 was the continuous military relations development. Military exchanges frequently got interrupted due to issues of the Sino-U.S. relations in the past, but the exchanges were strong last year."

Sino-E.U. relations: "Xi Jinping’s visit to Europe in the spring of 2014 set the direction for Sino-E.U. relations, and thus European scholars largely viewed his visit as a ‘milestone in the Sino-E.U. relationship.’ The European Commission and European Council went through an election. The new leaders expressed a desire to push for an E.U.-Sino comprehensive strategic partnership."

China and major developing countries: "China has an outstanding relationship with Brazil, India, and South Africa. It can be summarized as frequent top leaders’ visits, the development of practical cooperation, support for each other’s discourse rights, the enhancement of strategic trust between the different countries, and substantive improvement in connecting each other’s development strategies."

Source: Xinhua, December 16, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-12/16/c_1113667231.htm

BBC Chinese: Nicaraguans Protest China Funded Canal Construction Plan

BBC Chinese recently reported that the 16th protest against the Canal Construction Plan based on funds from China took place on December 10, which was International Human Rights Day. Thousands of Nicaraguans representing environmentalists, human rights protectors, women’s rights defenders, and other NGOs walked in the streets for a distance of 3 kilometers. The Canal is set to start construction on December 22. In 2013, the Nicaraguan Congress granted a China-owned company a contract to build and operate the Canal for 100 years. That decision triggered the numerous protests that have occurred since then. The protesters have called Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega Saavedra a traitor. The primary issues of the Canal construction are the lack of an Environmental and Ecological Assessment Report for the nearby lakes as well as the compensation price for land expropriation. The anti-China atmosphere has continued to spread.
Source:  BBC Chinese, December 11, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/12/141211_nicaragua_protest

Global Times: Fidel Castro Won the Confucius Peace Prize

Global Times recently reported that former Cuban leader Fidel Castro won the Fifth Confucius Peace Prize, which was announced in Beijing on December 9. A Cuban student in China accepted the Prize on Castro’s behalf. The Prize winner was selected after a three-phase process. The South Korean President as well as the UN Secretary General were also among the finalists. According to one of the founders of the Prize, Castro was honored for his contribution to world peace – he did not settle the hostile relationship between Cuba and the United States by force and war. Castro also made significant contributions to lower the risk of a nuclear war. Out of 12 judges on the final voting panel, nine voted for Castro. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Atta Annan and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also been winners of this Confucius Peace Prize. [Editor’s note: None of the winners of the Prize actually accepted the Prize in person.]
Source: Global Times, December 12, 2014
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2014-12/5234571.html

RTI: Lawyer Arrested in Court for Invoking the Constitution to Defend His Client

Radio Taiwan International (RTI), an official international radio broadcast agency funded by the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan, recently reported that the police arrested Chinese lawyer Zhang Keke right in court when he was representing his client, the defendant. Zhang was quoting the freedom of speech and the religious freedom sections of the Chinese Constitution to defend his Falun Gong practitioner client. The judge interrupted him and ordered him to be arrested. This incident triggered an open letter petition that over 260 mainland lawyers signed. They called for lawyer’s rights to be protected in court; the petition accused the judge and the police of abuse of power; the open letter also asked for an apology and the immediate release of Zhang Keke. In addition, the petition asserted that the government must deliver on its promise to implement the rule of law. Associated Press also reported on this incident.
Source: Radio Taiwan International, December 12, 2014
http://n.yam.com/rti/life/20141212/20141212744581.html

China is Promoting the BeiDou System in Cambodia

Xinhua recently reported that the launch ceremony of a demo version of China’s BeiDou Navigation Satellite System was held in Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh. BeiDou, a multi-satellite global navigation system is already operational but more components are still under construction. BeiDou is a Chinese rival of the U.S. government-run Global Positioning System (GPS). Those who attended the ceremony from the Chinese side included Li Chuanrong (李传荣), an official from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Xiong Wei (熊伟), the deputy head of Cambodian Office of the state giant China Electronic Technology Group (CETC, 中国电子科技集团). The Cambodian side had one official from the Cambodian Ministry Of Industry and Handicrafts and a senior manager from Khmer First Investment Holding Group Co.
According to Xinhua, “the promotion of BeiDou in Cambodia will help push forward the progress of Cambodia in the field of information technology.” The Cambodian government gave high praise to the Chinese government and CETC for their contributions and expressed the wish for further in-depth cooperation in satellite navigation and earth observation (remote sensing) technologies.
Source: Xinhua, December 12, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-12/12/c_127298982.htm

Xinhua: China has the Largest Number of Students Studying Abroad

Xinhua reported that from 1978 to 2013, a total of 3.06 million Chinese students studied overseas. The United Nations has ranked China as No. 1 in the world for students studying abroad. 

According to Xinhua, at the beginning of the open door policy, most Chinese students went to the United States, Japan and other developed countries. Now they are in over 100 countries. More Chinese students who have finished their studies have returned to China. In 2013, the total of such returning students reached 350,000, 30 times the number from the beginning of this century. 
China now has over 360,000 foreigners studying at over 700 universities and colleges in China. These foreign students are from more than 200 countries, compared to three countries in the 1950s. 
Source: Xinhua, December 13, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-12/13/c_1113631428.htm

Red Flag Manuscript: Urgent Need to Maintain Weibo Ideology Security

Red Flag Manuscript, a journal under Qiushi, published an article in its 2014 Issue No. 23 on the security of ideology on weibo (microblogging), titled, “Several Trends Must Be Corrected to Maintain Microblogging Ideological Security.”  

The article stated that in the open forum of weibo, various ideological views are in competition with one another. “Views that discredit China and deny the Party’s leadership and the socialist system have gone viral on weibo. Not only do they create a variety of discourses which include violence and rumors, but they also have had a serious impact on the mainstream socialist ideology. It has become urgent to maintain weibo’s ideology security and, in particular, to be vigilant and correct the following trends.” 
“1. To prevent being deceived by Western ideology cloaked as ‘universal values.’ 
2. To prevent being a ‘nice guy’ on major issues that are spread on weibo
3. To prevent hostile forces from using social emergencies to manipulate public opinion on the weibo platform. 
4. To prevent the ideological development work from being disconnected from weibo users.  
5. To prevent the privatization and marketization of weibo and other new media."   
Source: Qiushi, December 12, 2014 
http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/hqwg/2014-12/12/m_1113624984.htm

China’s Economic Roadmap for 2015

Xinhua reported that the Central Economic Work Conference, held from December 8 to 11, 2014, set new economic targets for 2015.

Xi Jinping spoke at the conference, giving an overview of the current economic situation and outlining the economic goals and tasks for 2015. Li Keqiang discussed the implementation of the economic priorities for 2015. 
Xinhua said, “Our economy still faces many difficulties and challenges. There is a strong pressure pushing the economy downward. We face growing pains from the economic structural adjustments, increasing difficulties for businesses, and a surge in some economic risks.” 
The major tasks for the economy next year are as follows: 
1. Strive to maintain steady economic growth. 
2. Actively search for and cultivate new growth points. 
3. Accelerate the transformation of the agricultural development mode. 
4. Optimize the pattern of geo-economic development. The overall strategy for regional development is to have the east lead, to develop the west, to revive the northeast, and to rise in central China. 
5. Strengthen the protection and improvement of people’s livelihoods. 
Source: Xinhua, December 11, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-12/11/c_1113611795.htm