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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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Massive Firework Displays Staged in Beijing for APEC, but No Frying Fritters Allowed Outdoors

Beijing’s leaders put in place the maximum possible measures to ensure their capital’s skies were clean for the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit from November 5 to November 11, 2014. The sky in Beijing did turn blue (called APEC blue in China) for a few days until November 10, when smog crept back again. Beijing then exercised its final step to "monitor" the air pollution by censoring the data of the PM2.5 danger level on the U.S. Embassy website in Beijing, which would have showed “unhealthy” if not censored. On the evening of November 10 (air pollution data censorship night), Beijing staged massive fireworks displays. The launching devices were placed in the range of a radius of 2.5 km to entertain foreign leaders.

During the APEC summit, almost every area of ordinary Chinese people’s daily lives were affected:

  • Factories were closed and/or restrictions were placed on manufacturing in six provinces.
  • No heat was provided or allowed for ordinary people in Beijing and Tianjin. Even gas for cooking ran out because the large vehicles that were used for gas delivery were restricted. Fresh milk delivery also stopped.
  • Half of Beijing’s cars (single or double digits of license plates in turn) were barred from the streets in Beijing.
  • Burning was absolutely illegal including no frying fritters outdoors and no burning of funeral incense, straws, leaves, or waste in Beijing and in the surrounding areas. One guard was placed on duty for every 100 mu of land (1 mu = 66,666.67 square meters) and stood ready to extinguish any possible flames in Baoding city.  
  • One week of mandatory holidays was put in place and schools were closed.
  • Six cities and provinces held daily air quality and monitoring meetings during the APEC period. If any companies did not take enough action to ensure the sky was blue, the responsible leaders were punished, detained and/or fined.

Source: Cankaoxiaoxi, Epoch Times, Hong Kong Economic Journal Instant News, Radio Free Asia and Huanqiu, October 30 – November 12, 2014
http://china.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2014/1030/546603.shtml
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/14/11/10/n4292070.htm
http://www2.hkej.com/instantnews/current/article/930895/
http://mandarin.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/huanjing/yf2-11112014101530.html
http://world.huanqiu.com/photo/2014-11/2752046.html
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/14/11/12/n4293731.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: Attempt to Establish Antarctic Marine Protected Areas Failed Again

BBC Chinese recently reported that the 25 established members of the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources failed for the fourth time to reach an agreement to establish two Marine Protected Areas in East Antarctica to preserve the original ecological environment. Most of the members of the Convention supported the proposal that the United States and New Zealand submitted. However, since the passage requires approval of all member countries, the proposal was dropped after Russia and China vetoed it. Australia, France and the European Union jointly submitted another proposal for a smaller protected area, but it was also rejected. The Antarctic Ocean Alliance, which represents several environmental protection organizations, said that the Russian and Chinese obstruction “shocked” them. As a result, they expressed doubt that the Convention would ever have the ability to deliver on any promises. 
Source: BBC Chinese, November 1, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/science/2014/11/141101_australia_environment_antarctica_conservation
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: Major Online Sites Signed Self-Regulation Agreement

Xinhua recently reported that the State Council Information Office held an Online Forum Reply Posts Management Conference. A total of 29 major Chinese sites jointly signed the Self-Regulation Agreement on Managing Online Replies and Comments. The purpose of the Agreement is to ensure that online opinion exchanges are reasonable and friendly. The Agreement requires the sites to ensure that real names are used for user registration and to prohibit activities that go against the basic principles set in the Constitution, such as, endangering national security, leaking national secrets, attempting to overthrow the government, undermining national unity, inciting racial hatred, breaking laws, destroying the public social order, or distributing false information. The Agreement also laid out how violators will be punished. Examples include permanent closure of an account or invocation of a government investigation. The Deputy Director of the State Council Information Office suggested that many well-known international websites have imposed detailed rules on commenting. Media self-regulation is an important element of Internet governance. 
Source: Xinhua, November 6, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-11/06/c_1113149824.htm
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

People’s Daily: PLA Audit Bureau Now under Central Military Commission

People’s Daily recently reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), issued a military order that assigned the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Audit Bureau to report directly to the CMC. The Audit Bureau used to report to the General Logistics Department of the Military. The Deputy Chairman of the CMC announced the order during a conference. The purpose of the new arrangement is to improve the prevention and punishment of corruption in the military. It gives the military audit function more independence in its operations. At the conference where the announcement was made, Deputy CMC Chairman Fan Changlong also suggested that the military anti-corruption movement has reached a key turning point. He asked the Audit Bureau to adjust its work practices quickly and improve the audit system so that the Bureau can better serve its mission in an orderly fashion.
Source: People’s Daily, November 7, 2014
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/1107/c1011-25990809.html
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Occupy Central Participants Denied Entry into Mainland China

According to VOA, on Sunday, November 9, a member of Scholarism, a Hong Kong student association, was denied entry into Shen Zhen, a border city next to Hong Kong. Since the member carried winter clothes and a yellow umbrella in his luggage, he was accused of conspiracy to go to Beijing for the umbrella movement. Just a couple of days earlier, on November 7, another low key Scholarism member, who used to travel between the mainland and Hong Kong, was denied entry when he tried to meet a friend in Shen Zhen. The article expressed the belief that the tightened security was related to the upcoming week long APEC meeting to be held in Beijing starting on Monday. The article also expressed concern that the mainland has put forth much effort to collect information on those who were involved in the occupy central movement and has since compiled an extensive blacklist.

Source: VOA, November 9, 2014
http://www.voachinese.com/content/hk-activist-china-20141109/2513569.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Guangming Daily: 30 Percent of Online Products Failed the State Inspection

Guangming Daily reported that the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has been conducting random inspections of online products this year. The AQSIQ recently published a report on its findings that close to 30 percent of the online products failed the inspection. Of the products inspected, shoes had the highest failure rate followed by toys made with flannel material. The report also named a certain brand of cashmere products that contain only Angora hair. Other materials include down jackets that contains fake down. The Administration claimed it will conduct an inspection again in November and will take necessary actions to deal with the manufacturers who make defective products.

Source: Guangming Daily, November 6, 2014
http://tech.gmw.cn/2014-11/06/content_13773599.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Xinhua Article on China’s Current Manufacturing Model

Xinhua published an article on the current manufacturing model in China. The article said that manufacturers do not invest sufficiently in research and development and do not have the urge to transition from a traditional manufacturing company into one that conducts its own technological innovations. Because Chinese manufacturers don’t own the core technology and can only make a small profit, they have lost their competitive advantage in the international market. The article also pointed out that the contribution from China’s scientific research remains low. The rate at which a research concept is actually converted into the final product is at less than 5 percent. At the same time, China is losing most of its elite talent to foreign countries. According to the article, the statistics available during a recent international optoelectronics expo held in Wuhan City suggested that 77 percent of the world’s cell phones are made in China each year. However, China only owns less than 3 percent of the chip technology. Therefore it has to spend over US$200 billion a year on cell phone chip imports.

Source: Xinhua, November 10, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/info/2014-11/10/c_133778091.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: What Does China Expect to Get from Xi-Obama Meeting during APEC?

Ahead of the meeting between the Sino-U.S. heads, Chairman Xi Jinping and President Barack Obama, during the APEC meeting in Beijing, People’s Daily (overseas edition) published an opinion article commenting on what China would like to see from the meeting. The article was titled, “What Does the World Expect from Xi Jinping and Obama’s Meeting [during APEC]?” 

The article stated that the first Xi and Obama meeting last June in California set the tone for the development of Sino-U.S. relations. One year later, both countries have made new progress in Sino-U.S. cooperation in a number of fields. At the same time, there is no denying that the U.S. has digressed from the direction set in the first meeting. Some remarks that the U.S. made have not had the right tone. The road leading to great power relations between the two countries has hit some bumps. Pragmatic cooperation between the two countries has increased. However, there are danger signs that mutual strategic trust is decreasing instead of increasing. 

The article stressed that during the remainder of Obama’s term as President, Sino-U.S. relations need to adjust to ensure that both sides have better control of their differences and make big efforts to allow the two sides to have more sincere cooperation and less suspicion. 

The article also stressed that the international community looks forward to Sino-U.S. relations continuing to improve and develop. Because China and the United States are countries with huge body masses, not only will cooperation benefit them while confrontation will hurt both countries, but also, regarding other countries, better Sino-U.S. cooperation will be a booster and stabilizer for world peace; otherwise the world will not have peace. 

Source: People’s Daily, November 7, 2014 
http://cpc.people.com.cn/pinglun/n/2014/1105/c78779-25977571.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations