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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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Xinhua: After APEC, the Haze Came Back

Xinhua recently reported that, starting November 19, the northern part of China, including Beijing, has once again been covered in the heavy haze of pollution. As a result of a number of different mechanisms that the government imposed in order to reduce pollution during the APEC Summit, which just concluded, Beijing enjoyed two weeks of unusual blue sky. The blue sky was so rare that the locals named it “APEC Blue.” Now that the haze has returned, people have gone back to their "mask-wearing" life. Many citizens are calling for a government funded benefit plan called a “haze allowance.” The idea triggered a large social debate on who should pay for it and on fairness in distribution. Most people argued that they would rather have the money spent on reducing pollution and bringing back the blue sky than on paying people to continue breathing poisonous air. 
Source: Xinhua, November 22, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/energy/2014-11/22/c_127239972.htm
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

BBC Chinese: The Control of Access at the World Internet Conference Got Attention

BBC Chinese recently reported on the First World Internet Conference, held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province. The conference covered global Internet governance, online business, network security, Internet anti-terrorism, and new media. China is currently the largest internet market; it has 630 million online users, who represent one-fifth of the entire Internet population. However, China is also considered one of the nations having the tightest governmental control of the Internet. Regular Chinese Internet users have no access to well-known sites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Ironically, one of the primary sponsors of this conference is the State Council Informatization Office, which is in charge of China’s Internet censorship. At the conference, the Chinese authorities also announced the expansion of censorship to smartphone apps. For three days, the conference area was the only public place in Mainland China where people had full access to the Internet. At the same time, the government denied the applications of many international media reporters who applied to report on the conference. 
Source: BBC Chinese, November 19, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/11/141118_internetconference
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Xinhua: Party Members Must Maintain the Sense of Crisis

Xinhua published an article listing the reasons that Party members must constantly maintain a sense of crisis. According to the article, the Party has always been dealing with complicated and arduous situations both domestically and internationally. It said that after the Party took power from the Nationalist Party, it had to solve such domestic problems as feeding the people while constantly dealing with threats and embargos that the U.S. directed from the West. Now, even though China has achieved advanced economic improvement, the Party should remain humble because it still faces different types of issues that have arisen due to economic reform. The article also said that the Party has suffered losses due to complacency but has also had success stories from overcoming complacency. It must continue its tradition of guarding against conceit and complacency in this new historical era. The article also quoted a speech that Xi Jinping gave during the "mass line" campaign at the grassroots level, saying that, if the Party can’t succeed, it will face the danger of elimination.

Source: Xinhua, November 23, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-11/23/c_1113365498.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Omissions Result in 2.4 Million Yuan in Bank Fines in Shanghai

Xinhua published an article on the Shanghai Banking Regulatory Commission’s fines issued to seven banks in Shanghai. The article said that the fines indicate that there are omissions in the bank’s credit card approval process. The seven banks in Shanghai included six Chinese banks and one foreign bank, the Citi Bank in China. The total amount of fines was 2.4 million yuan (US$391,849). The article listed the three types of omissions that had the highest rate of occurrence in the banking industry. These were a lack of control in approving credit card applications, a generous credit line, and a lack of strict control in dealing with abnormal transactions.

Source: Xinhua, November 23, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-11/23/c_1113362910.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China’s Forestry Industry Suffers Major Losses Due to Alien Insects

Xinhua reported on the recent forest pest control conference held in Changshai City of Hunan Province. A major issue discussed at the conference was that the infected forestry in China has grown from 120 million mu (19.7 million acres) in 2000 to 180 million mu (29.6 million acres) in 2013. The direct economic loss has grown from 80 trillion yuan (US$13 trillion) to 110 trillion yuan (US$18 trillion). The article said that, currently, there are over 8,000 types of alien insects in China and over 40 million trees die from as of result of insect infestation with two-thirds of the loss due to alien insects. According to the article, in the year 2000 foreign insects were intercepted at the border 500 times. By 2013 the number had grown to 610,000. At that time, 25 types of pests had invaded China; by 2013, the number grew to 38 different types.

Source: Xinhua, November 22, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-11/22/c_1113359472.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

National Defense Reference: The True Intention of the U.S. in Handling the Islamic State”

National Defense Reference, a magazine under the PLA Daily, published a commentary talking about the U.S.’s intention in handling the "Islamic State." Below is an excerpt from the article: 

“More and more facts prove that, for the ‘Islamic State’s organization to be able to develop to where it is today is inseparable from the United States’ indirect support.” 
“Why has ‘Islamic State,’ an extremist organization, been able to grow so rapidly in recent years? In fact, the rise of the "Islamic State" is mainly due to the following four factors. First, the years of war and unrest in Syria and Iraq, that the United States supported and plotted provided the soil for its religious extremist ideology. Second, the ‘Islamic State’s new generation of leaders in the ‘base’ organization have a higher IQ. Most of them received their education in the United States and Europe. The U.S. and its allies trained the key members. Third, the U.S. and its allies have been supporting Syrian opposition groups all along. Many of the personnel and weapons have flown into the ‘Islamic State’ organization. Fourth, many members from foreign countries joined the organization, including European and U.S. citizens.” 
“In fact, as early as 2003, when the U.S. launched the Iraq war, it already anticipated the rise of terrorist forces more dangerous than the ‘base’ organization in the region. Because the U.S. was too eager to overthrow Saddam, it did not develop effective countermeasures to prevent and suppress the terrorist forces, which allowed the ‘Islamic State’ organization to flourish and grow.” 
“In the current situation, despite the fact that the ‘Islamic State’ poses a huge threat to the United States and other Western countries, the United States will not use all of its forces to deal with the ‘Islamic State’ and slow down its ‘Eastward Strategy.’ Its eyes are still on the Eastern part of the world. There is reason to believe that, regardless of the past, present, or future, the United States will not really want to completely eliminate the ‘Islamic State.’ Its real purpose is to break up the extremist groups through air strikes and let the members of the extremist organizations further flock to Syria and Turkey and to return to Europe, Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, which serves its "strategic Eastward" and ‘Asia-Pacific rebalancing.’” 

Source: National Defense Reference, November 15, 2011 
http://reader.chinamil.com.cn/gfck/2014-11/15/content_6224730.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

New Urban Planning Guidelines Mean Fewer Super Large Cities

On November 20, 2014, the State Council announced new guidelines on the classification of cities based on the size of their population. 

According to the new classifications, cities with a population of over 10 million are "super large cities." Those having a population between 5 million and 10 million are called "extra large cities." "Large cities" have a population from 1 to 5 million; "medium cities" are between 500,000 and 1 million; and "small cities," have a population under 500,000. As a result, most cities will be downgraded. The number of super large cities will be reduced from the current 140 to 16. The new classifications are meant to redirect the flow of migrants from large cities to smaller cities. 

Source: Beijing Times, November 21, 2014 
http://epaper.jinghua.cn/html/2014-11/21/content_145671.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Huanqiu: The UN Attempt to Bring Kim Jong Un to Justice Is Absurd

On November 21, 2014, Huanqiu published an editorial titled, “The UN Attempt to Bring Kim Jong Un to Justice Is Absurd.” The editorial stated that bringing the North Korean human rights problems to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and trying its leader is a very extreme approach. It would provide new excuses for North Korea to re-enforce its hostility toward the international community. Rather, the key may be to encourage it to open up to the world. To this end, “the United States, Japan, and others must change their posture of intimidation and endeavor to assure Pyongyang that it is safe.” The editorial expressed that, since he has less than three year in power, holding Kim Jong Un accountable for North Korea’s problems is not fair. 

Source: Huanqiu, November 21, 2014 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2014-11/5210224.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend