According to the Beijing Higher People’s Court, trademark licensing cases have spiked in the past two years. Foreigners have filed half of them.
China to Construct Beidou Satellite Navigation System Reference Stations in Antarctica
On October 28, the China Polar Research Center issued a press briefing discussing China’s upcoming 31st Antarctic scientific expedition. The briefing stated that, during the expedition, for the first time, China will construct Beidou satellite navigation system reference stations in the Antarctic region.
New Rules to Battle Local Government Debts
On October 28, China’s Ministry of Finance issued the first of a series of directives on handing outstanding local government debt.
Xinhua Summarizes the CCP’s Decision on the Rule of Law
The Fourth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) passed the "CCP Central Committee Decision Concerning Some Major Issues on Comprehensively Advancing the Rule of Law (中共中央关于全面推进依法治国若干重大问题的决定)." Xinhua published an article listing 25 items to highlight the major points in the "Decision." A few points worth noting are:
12. Establish a mechanism to hold the decision maker accountable throughout his whole life [Editor’s Note: Implying even after retirement] for the major decisions he has made. Hold the administrative executive, other responsible leaders, and the related people who are legally responsible strictly accountable for decisions which involved a major mistake or which should have been adjusted promptly but were not and thus caused major damage or had a negative impact.
24. [China should] adhere to [the leadership of] the CCP’s Political and Legal Affairs Committee over the long-term. [Editor’s Note: It was Xi Jinping who took down Zhou Yongkang, the previous head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee.]
25. The Party’s regulations and the Party’s discipline should be stricter than the country’s law. Party organizations and members at all levels should not only obey the law of the nation, but also follow the Party’s regulations and the Party’s discipline.
Source: Xinhua, October 28, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/video/2014-10/28/c_127151833.htm
BBC Chinese: The UN Expressed Dissatisfaction with China’s Small Donation to Ebola Control
The United Nations criticized the Chinese government and Chinese billionaires for not giving enough financial support to control the spread of Ebola. China is a major investor in Africa. So far, China has only donated US$8.3 million while the UK has donated US$18.8 million and the U.S. government has donated US$200 million.
Source: BBC Chinese, October 22, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/press_review/2014/10/141022_press_un_china
Xinhua: Former Top General Xu Caihou’s Alleged Bribery Case Transferred over for Prosecution
On October 28, 2014, Xinhua published a short news release titled, “Xu Caihou’s Case of Alleged Bribery Transferred for Prosecution.” According to Xinhua, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Military Procuratorate has officially completed its investigation into Xu’s bribery case and will transfer his case over to process for regular prosecution (lawsuit). Xu confessed that he had taken “particularly huge bribes,” directly or through family members in exchange fot helping others gain job promotions and other personal interests. Xu Caihou is a former member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China, Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and General of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. His military position was just below the former top CCP chairman, Jiang Zemin, who was the CMC chairman.
Source: Xinhua, October 28, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-10/28/c_1113015334.htm