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Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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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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Chinese Economists on Compensation Reform in State Owned Enterprises

China Economic Online published an article on the general concern that reform is needed in setting the annual compensation scale for the top managers in State Owned Enterprises (SOE). According to the article, those managers are paid, on average, five times more than their peers in private sectors. In addition, their compensation does not line up with their job performance. The SOE’s are also under the management of the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC). The article said that the commission’s effort to reshape the board of directors in SOE’s has been unsatisfactory so far. It quoted one Chinese economist who stated that the compensation adjustment effort will involve changes in other areas first: who should set the pay scale and who can make the final call – the board of directors or SASAC? According to the economist, it requires that the government function should be separated from the enterprise management. "The enterprise should be under the management of diversified equity and mixed ownership." He recommended that, "The board members in the SOE’s should be independent, professional, and have accountability."

According to the article, based on the list of compensation in 2013 for the board of directors of the SOE’s, as published by China Economic Research Institute, 259 SOE’s are publicly traded companies. The average annual compensation in 2013 for 83 of the chairmen of the board who received compensation was 840,630 yuan (US$136,894) while 19 of them had annual compensation of over one million yuan (US$162,853). The top management in the financial and banking industry had the highest pay with annual income averaging 940,000 yuan (US$153,077), while the chairmen of the board and bank CEOs were paid at 1.71 million (US$ 278,470) and 2.35 million (US$382,692) respectively.

Source: China Economic Online, September 21, 2014
http://www.ce.cn/cysc/newmain/yc/jsxw/201409/21/t20140921_3570080.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

China National Coal Association Will Continue to Limit Production and Reduce Imports in Q4

China Financial and Economic News reported that, according to China National Coal Association, the coal industry in China continues to suffer hardship. Currently close to 70 percent of the coal enterprises have to make pay cuts and 30 percent of the coal companies are in arrears on paying wage. With 300 million tons of coal in their inventory on hand, the Association said it will continue to limit production in Q4 in order to bring the coal price back up, hopefully by 20 percent. The association also proposed to reduce coal imports by 20 million tons in the 4th quarter of 2014. According to the statistics, coal production in the first 8 months of 2014 was 2.5 billion tons, down 1.44 percent from the same period in 2013; sales were 2.4 billion tons, down 1.62 percent from the same period in 2013.

Source: China Financial and Economic News, September 22, 2014
http://economy.caijing.com.cn/20140922/3705114.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

State Language Affairs Commission: 30 Percent of Population Not Able to Speak Mandarin

Xinhua published an article on September 21 in which it reported on the status of the promotion of the Mandarin language. According to the article the Ministry of Education, the State Language Affairs Commission, and the Hebei provincial government jointly hosted Speak Mandarin Week in Luanping County of Hebei Province. According to the State Language Affairs Commission, Mandarin language promotion began 17 years ago, but there are still 400 million people, amounting to 30 percent of the population, who are not able to communicate in Mandarin. The language experts who participated in the event said that promoting Mandarin was not meant to eliminate local dialects but rather to promote more social exchange by breaking through dialect barriers.

Source: Xinhua, September 21, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2014-09/21/c_1112564719.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Further Tightening Control of Internet TV Industry

On September 18, 2014, China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) asked all Internet video companies to remove video applications from their offerings so that they will no longer be available for mobile phone users to download them. 

This is not the first time that the State regulatory body ordered the shelving of video applications. Industry analysts in China observed that SAPPRFT has been attempting to stop many online video companies from walking a fine line and continuing to offer the applications. This action is an attempt to have blockage occur at the source in order to prevent Internet contents from being seen on the TV screen altogether. 
 IQIYI, one of China’s leading online video portals, stated that on September 1, it notified its third party online application stores to remove video applications from their offerings. On the same day, LETV, another leading online video company, also took action to follow the SAPPRFT order. On September 18, Youku’s XL application for Android users was no longer available for download. The application cannot be found at Baidu and Tencent stores either. According to one of Youku’s third party application stores, Wandoujian, the application had been downloaded 720,000 times. 
Reports indicate that the authorities are preparing tighter implementation guidelines to target the Internet TV industry, potentially with a focus on the hardware. 
 Source: Caixin.com, September 18, 2014 
 http://companies.caixin.com/2014-09-18/100730563.html
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua Commentary: [U.S.] Should Not Use a Double Standard to Combat Terrorism

Xinhua published a commentary article on the United States’ effort to combat the cross-border extremist terrorist organization "Islamic State" through establishing an anti-terror coalition with 40 countries participating. 

The article said, “There are inherent vulnerabilities in the anti-terrorist coalition that the United States advocates. The purpose and motivation behind it is also suspicious. This is bound to have a serious effect on the future joint efforts of the international community in the fight against terrorism. 
The article indicated that the U.S. is applying a double standard in combating terrorist extremist organizations. It said, “The United States claims to be seeking to set up a broad international coalition to fight against the ‘Islamic State.’ However, when choosing allies, the United States is partial to the ones it likes, allowing the ones that are in line with U.S. interests to join the coalition. If they are not, they will be excluded.” The article expressed its opinion by quoting the statement that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made at the international conference on Iraq on September 15, "[We] cannot accept using double standards on the issue of combating terrorist organizations in Iraq and Syria." 

The article further commented, “Counter-terrorism should not be used as a political tool to serve one’s national interests and ideology. It cannot be allowed to become a cheap excuse to interfere with the internal affairs of other countries.” 

Source: Xinhua, September 16, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-09/16/c_1112506622.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Huanqiu: ISIS May Have Some Rational Elements

On September 17, Huanqiu published a commentary stating that it is not clear whether ISIS is a terrorist group and that therefore China does not need to participate in the effort to fight ISIS. 

The commentary stated, “ISIS is more focused on challenging the bottom line of U.S. interests. Therefore, China has no need or capability to mind others’ business.” 
The commentary questioned, “If ISIS did not have any rational elements, there would be no way to explain why ISIS has been able to gain ground in Iraq and Syria so quickly. Currently, the Western media blindly exaggerate the extremist side of ISIS killing captives and beheading Western hostages, but they rarely mention other sides of ISIS.” 
“According to the sporadic information that has been obtained, ISIS provides utilities, pays wages, controls traffic, and manages bakeries, banks, schools, courts, and mosques in the occupied territories. Therefore, it is difficult to determine whether ISIS is a heinous terrorist organization or the inevitable product of the current political developments in the Middle East. Since this key issue is not resolved, it is premature to rush to participate in military strikes against ISIS. China’s cautious attitude demonstrates the exact reason that China is a ‘responsible power.’” 
Tian Wenlin, author of the commentary, is an associate research fellow at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations in Beijing. It is affiliated with China’s Ministry of State Security, while the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China oversees it. 
Source: Huanqiu, September 17, 2014 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/opinion_world/2014-09/5140290.html
Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

PLA Issues “Opinion on Nurturing the Fighting Spirit”

On September 11, after the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Xi Jinping approved it, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) General Political Department (GPD) issued the "Opinion on Nurturing the Fighting Spirit." The Opinion asked to implement CMC Chairman Xi Jinping’s instructions, to further promote the nurturing of the fighting spirit, and to make arrangements for a long-term mechanism. 
The Opinion stated that nurturing the fighting spirit is an important part of building combat capacity and the basic work and eternal subject for forging troops that can win the war. … Nurturing the fighting spirit under the new situation is about educating and guiding the officers and soldiers so that they inherit and carry forward their dauntless and heroic spirit and courageous fighting style. They will have the strong confidence and courage to defy the enemy and fight for victory in an era of information. They will also have a strong awareness of combat readiness so that the troops can be called upon immediately to fight and to be able to win. Officers at all levels should fully understand the importance and urgency of nurturing the fighting spirit and effectively making it a strategic initiative for building a strong army and being ready for combat.
Source: Xinhua, September 11, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-09/11/c_1112447771.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

The Chinese PLA’s Confidential “Fast Boat Plan”

Guangming Daily, citing a report from Taiwan Defense Magazine, revealed a Chinese PLA combat plan — the Fast Boat Plan. The plan is about how the Chinese can quickly fill a void in their future combat in case a satellite of theirs is destroyed. The plan includes two parts: one is to use mobile launchers with the PLA’s Dongfeng 21 and Dongfeng 31 missile carriers, carried by motor vehicles. The other is that, within one hour, they can quickly complete a satellite installation and then launch it into space. [Therefore], they can quickly fill the gap in the PLA’s detection, positioning, and other functions in case their satellite is destroyed. 

Source: Guangming Daily, September 16, 2014 
http://tech.gmw.cn/newspaper/2014-09/16/content_100898513.htm
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military