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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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People’s Daily: Profoundly Comprehend and Grasp The Great Struggles in the New Era

People’s Daily published an article that explained “The Great Struggles in the New Era.” The author, Han Qingxiang, is Deputy Superintendent of Education and Professor of the Central Party School. The article stated, “Our [Communist] Party’s task is that ‘[we] must prepare for great struggles with many new historical features.’ This is based on the scientific judgment of a series of major challenges, trials, and dangers that our Party faces at this stage.” 

The article listed the following forms of “the great struggles” that the Chinese Communist Party currently faces:　　 
The first is the competition for resources. The second is the currency war. On the issue of the statehood that is being established, the United States and other Western powers pay special attention to financial strength; they strongly defend their world dominance with their own countries’ or regional currencies. It is an indisputable fact that, after the 2008 international financial crisis, some Western countries tried to suppress the renminbi. Research shows that currently some Western countries continuously stir up trouble in our neighboring countries. One of the main purposes in doing so is to stimulate money flowing to the hegemonic countries. The third great struggle is to grab the market. The fourth is the ideological struggle. The countries involved in power politics and hegemony intend to fight a "war of no smoke" with our country. They use "freedom, democracy and human rights" as their banner to penetrate our country ideologically. Fifth is the conflict over territories. Sixth is the anti-corruption struggle. Seventh is the struggle over cyberspace. The competition for users between “angels" and "devils" in the cyber world has become increasingly prominent. The struggle in the real world is also reflected in the cyber world. Eighth is the fight against ethnic separatism. Our country is a multi-ethnic country. Western hostile forces never give up the thought of sabotaging our country. They often stir up all kinds of trouble in the country, create ethnic rifts, and engage in ethnic separatism. 
Source: People’s Daily, July 23, 2014 
http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2014/0723/c40531-25323333.html
http://www.qstheory.cn/zhuanqu/zywz/2014-07/23/c_1111748748.htm
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Security for Public Transportation in Beijing Is at Its Highest Level

Hours after the announcement that Zhou Yongkang was arrested, Xinhua reported that Beijing elevated the security level of its public transportation to the highest level. Anyone who refused to accept a security inspection would face penalties. 

According to Xinhua, each security checkpoint at an underground subway and at suburban railways is manned with four or five security personnel. Each station has security personnel providing on-site inspections. Security inspections are conducted every 15 to 20 minutes for the key parts of the subway such as trash bins. Around the clock, every bag is subject to a security check and whenever there is any suspicion, there will be a thorough security check. Security officers are conducting security checks on passengers at the bus stations and in the bus compartments. At the long distance bus stations, the recording of incoming passengers and the searches of incoming cargos has been tightened. 
Source: Xinhua, July 29, 2014 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2014-07/29/c_1111852903.htm
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Conducted Its Third Anti-Ballistic Missile Test

A China Review News article reported that, on July 23, 2014, China conducted an Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) test. This is the third time that China has conducted such a test. The test showed that China has made advancements in a number areas of ABM technology, including information processing, detection and warning, weapon interception, weapon transfer, accuracy of guidance, and speed of response.

China conducted two previous ground-based mid-course missile interception tests, one in January 2010 and one in January 2013. According to military expert Shao Yongling, this new test was, most likely, a ground-based terminal phase missile interception test. China is moving towards deploying this weaponry in the military.

Source: China Review News, July 26, 2014
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1033/0/7/6/103307619.html?coluid=4&kindid=16&docid=103307619&mdate=0726182948

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

People’s Daily: Zhou Yongkang Is Down; More to Go

Xinhua published a short announcement that Zhou Yongkang, former member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee and former head of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee, was taken down by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). This is the first time in the past 25 years that a Politburo Standing Committee member has been taken down publically.

After Xinhua’s announcement, People’s Daily Online published an article titled “People’s Daily Online Commentary: Hunting Down the ‘Big Tiger’ Zhou Yongkang Is Not the End of the Anti-Corruption Work.” The article stated, “There is no end point for tightening the Party’s discipline. Nor will the anti-corruption campaign stop. Hunting down Zhou Yongkang is definitely not the end of the anti-corruption [work]. It is a phase [of the work]. Whoever is corrupt will be punished next, in the same way.”

This article was later removed from the People’s Daily website. However, the link is still available in Google search results. A copy of the article is available on NetEase.

Sources:
1. Xinhua, July 29, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-07/29/c_1111853756.htm
2. NetEast, July 29, 2014
http://news.163.com/14/0729/19/A2BGVE0C00014JB6.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Boxun: Flight Cancellations and Military Drills Related to Zhou Yongkang Takedown

According to Boxun on July 30, 2014, the recent unusual cancellation of the majority of flights between Beijing and Shanghai without advance warning, the military drills over the East China Sea, and the Air Traffic Control’s announcement about a large number of civil aviation flight cancellations on July 30 are all related to Zhou Yongkang’s takedown. Zhou Yongkang was a former Politburo Standing Committee member of the Chinese Communist Party and the former domestic security chief. On July 30, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CCP announced that Zhou was under investigation for "serious disciplinary violations."

Boxun said that military drills were preparation for deterring the possible bounce back of Zhou Yongkang and his supporters and the large number of civil aircraft cancelations was done in order to prevent officials from fleeing. 

Source: Boxun, July 30, 2014
http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2014/07/201407300558.shtml#.U9kjF86TKSp

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: Christian Churches Suffer More Demolition in Zhejiang

BBC Chinese recently reported that, in Wenzhou City of Zhejiang Province, the police were using force to demolish a large local church. As of July 21, at least fourteen Christian church members had been injured. Unconfirmed reports indicate that three of the church members have started hunger strikes and are prepared for “martyrdom.” The local police have refused to provide any information to reporters and all online posts are rapidly deleted. This has been the third attempted demolition in two weeks. The first attempt was to remove the cross at the top of the church, but the police could not provide any official document or permit as justification. Not long ago, two other churches were torn down in Zhejiang Province. 
Source: BBC Chinese, July 23, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/07/140723_china_church_protest.shtml
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

People’s Daily: Top One Percent of Chinese Families Hold over One-third of the Wealth

People’s Daily recently reported on the People’s Livelihood Development Report newly released by the Chinese Social Science Research Center of Peking University. The report focused on six aspects of Chinese families: wealth, the spending model, health-related costs, self-employment, housing, and their “subjective sense of happiness.” The inequality in the distribution of wealth in China has been increasing rapidly. The research showed that the top one percent of Chinese families own more than one-third of the total of Chinese wealth. Meanwhile, the twenty-five percent of families at the bottom own one percent of the nation’s wealth. The difference between urban and suburban populations and the difference between different geographic regions are the two primary causes of the imbalance in wealth. The imbalance is also reflected in the spending model. The research shows that the vast majority of Chinese families spend most of their income on basic needs, while a small number of families enjoy an extremely high-end life-style. Also, China’s healthcare costs are higher than the world’s main developed countries.
 
Source: People’s Daily, July 25, 2014
http://society.people.com.cn/n/2014/0725/c1008-25345140.html
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

China News: Qualcomm Faces Antitrust Investigation in China

China News recently reported that China is conducting an antitrust investigation into the U.S.-based Qualcomm, which is the world’s largest cellphone chip maker. The investigation is focusing on high patent licensing fees and the “handset-based patent pricing model.” Experts in the Chinese cellphone industry have expressed the belief that Qualcomm abused its power of control over its intellectual property by establishing unfair prices and denying competition. Qualcomm holds critical patents that dominate the cellphone chip market and define the wireless communications standard. Based on publicly available data, some lawyers have estimated that, if Qualcomm is found guilty, its total Chinese income, which is half of its global revenue (half of US$20 billion), will be the basis for the fine. There is a good chance that the fine will set a record in Chinese antitrust history. 
Source: China News, July 24, 2014
http://finance.chinanews.com/it/2014/07-24/6421681.shtml
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology