Chinascope – Page 757

China’s New Think Tank Model Different from the Models from the Former Soviet Union and the U.S.

On July 14, Study Times, a journal of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article on developing China’s new think tanks with Chinese characteristics. The 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (Nov. 9 – 12, 2013, in Beijing) stressed the need to “strengthen the Chinese characteristics of new think tanks and build a sound decision-making advisory system.” According to the article, the model for China’s new think tanks with Chinese characteristics is different from the "Soviet Union model," which had a close relationship to the government and gave advice to the former Soviet Union government directly, using its research results; it is also different from the "American model," which is independent from the U.S. government.

According to the article, China’s think tanks are diversified and complementary. “Providing service to the decision makers is fundamental and giving moderately advanced predictions is the key.” Think tanks help to improve the quality of how public policy performs in China and they enhance China’s international influence. To ensure a think tanks’ high quality service, the article suggests building up four mechanisms: “the Incentive mechanism, the competitive mechanism, the cooperation mechanism, and the oversight/supervision mechanism.”

Source: Study Times, July 14, 2014
http://www.studytimes.cn/shtml/xxsb/20140714/5762.shtml
http://www.qstheory.cn/politics/2014-07/14/c_1111601002.htm

Briefings | | July 16, 2014 | Government/Politics

Huanqiu Editorial: Any Country That Is Hostile to China Will Have to Pay a Huge Price”

On July 14, 2014, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an editorial asserting that the U.S. has sided with Vietnam and the Philippines against China in the South China Sea disputes. The editorial was in response to the U.S. proposal on July 11 that Asian nations should freeze building new outposts or expanding existing ones in the South China Sea to prevent more tensions and conflicts.

The Huanqiu editorial asked the United States to stay away from the South China Sea disputes. “After all, the South China Sea is not the Caribbean. China has the capability to ensure there is a difference between these two seas.” The editorial suggested that China give the United States some unexpected lessons so as to “let the U.S. swallow its grievances like a dummy, without being able to speak out for himself.” The editorial continued, “China must be self-confident!” “Any country that is hostile to China will have to pay a huge price; it must be very clear on this point.”

Source: Huanqiu, July 14, 2014
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2014-07/5061932.html

Briefings | | July 16, 2014 | US-China Relations

Tianhe One Supercomputer Has Been Collecting Dust for a Year

The well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that the award-winning Chinese supercomputer Tianhe One has been sitting in the building of its home site for a year without even being powered on. In 2010, with its speed of 2,750 trillion basic calculations per second, the Tianhe One won the title of the fastest supercomputer in the world. However, in its permanent new home in Changsha City, Hunan Province, different parties have been engaging in major disputes on land ownership, operating costs, and political fights. After one year of delay, the government of Hunan Province finally pushed through the completion of the construction of the hosting site and powered on the machine for a test run. The current top-speed supercomputer in the world, the Tianhe Two (located elsewhere) is seeing a 34 percent utilization of its computing power.

Source: Sina, July 11, 2014

http://finance.sina.com/bg/tech/sinacn/20140711/01501075483.html

Briefings | | July 15, 2014 | Information/Technology

Xinhua: Development Bank Plan Expected to Be Finalized at the BRICS Summit

Xinhua recently reported that the Sixth BRICS Summit will be held in Brazil on July 15. It is widely expected that the Summit will finalize the plan to establish the BRICS Development Bank and the BRICS Contingency Reserve Fund. The initial capital investments into the Bank will total US$50 billion. Each member country is expected to supply US$10 billion. The Reserve Fund will have US$100 billion to handle unexpected emergency situations. China is expected to provide US$41 billion to the Reserve. Russia, Brazil, and India will contribute US$18 billion each and South Africa will supply US$5 billion. Brazilian officials indicated that the two new mechanisms are in response to the lack of democracy in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The BRICS Bank is planning to focus its investments on infrastructure-building in poor countries. The World Bank commented on the news that it welcomes the new BRICS Bank and the effort to fight poverty. While the BRICS member countries together will always hold a minimum of 55 percent of shares, the Bank welcomes other UN members to join.

Source: Xinhua, July 10, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-07/10/c_126736409.htm

People’s Daily, July 9, 2014

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/0709/c1002-25261295.html

Briefings | | July 15, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese: State TV Report Labelled the iPhone “Dangerous”

BBC Chinese recently reported that, on Friday (July 11), as part of its national news program at noon, China Central Television (CCTV) broadcast news that labelled the Apple iPhone a "national security threat." CCTV criticized the "frequent locations" function of the Apple’s iOS 7 operating system, saying that researchers believe data points recorded by the feature could give those with access to this data knowledge of Chinese intelligence and even "state secrets." The TV report said, “The location data are very sensitive.” BBC Chinese mentioned in its report that official Chinese media have frequently criticized Apple about such issues as the “poor customer service” incident that occurred not long ago. [Editor’s note: On July 13, Apple responded to the CCTV report stating emphatically that the company has never and, in the future, will not obtain users’ “frequent locations” data and that the firm has never created a "backdoor’ in any of its products.”]

Source: BBC Chinese, July 11, 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2014/07/140711_china_cctv_apple_iphone.shtml

South China Daily, July 13, 2014

http://tx.southcn.com/tongxin/content/2014-07/13/content_104130252.htm

Briefings | | July 15, 2014 | US-China Relations

Report Shows Internet Speeds Below Standard and Compensation Policies Lacking

According to a 2014 investigative report on Internet speed in the Beijing region, over 97 percent of the customers signed a contract for an Internet speed of over 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Among those, three percent chose a 100 Mbps contract and 11 percent chose 50 Mbps. The report showed that the download speed that most of the Internet companies claimed to provide was below the standard, especially for the ones who claimed to carry the 100 Mbps broadband width. The report said that most of the Internet carriers, especially the second or third tier carriers, are frauduent. In the meantime, most of the Internet users are unaware of the slower speed. The report stated that only one Internet company in Beijing has a compensation policy (to reimburse subscribers) if the internet speed goes below the standard.

Source: Xinhua, July 13, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2014-07/13/c_1111588264.htm

Briefings | | July 14, 2014 | Information/Technology

Income from Shanghai Internet Game Industry Reached 25.5 Billion Yuan

Recently, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Press and Publications published statistics on the revenue from Shanghai’s game industry. According to those statistics, the total 2013 Internet game revenue, including client server games, online games, and mobile games reached 25.5 billion yuan (US$4.11 billion), up 34.2 percent from 2012. This amount accounted for 30.7 percent of the Internet game revenue in China. Of these three types of games, client server games accounted for 66.5 percent of the total revenue, online games accounted for 24.9 percent, and mobile games accounted for 8.6 percent, which was double the amount in 2012.

Source: People’s Daily, July 11, 2014
http://game.people.com.cn/n/2014/0711/c40130-25266887.html

Briefings | | July 14, 2014 | Information/Technology

2013 Blue Book on the Development of Radio, Film, and Television Published

On July 10, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television published its 2013 Blue Book on the development of radio, film, and television. According to the statistics published in the Blue Book, in 2013, 824 new movies were produced; 326 of them played in theaters and 498 or 60 percent of the new movies didn’t make it to the theater. The movie box office revenue in 2013 was 21.7 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion), 12.7 billion of which came from domestic films. The total investment in television dramas was 10.3 billion yuan (US$1.67 billion) where 441 television dramas and 15,770 series were produced. The figures were down by 65 television dramas and 1,933 series compared to 2012. In addition, the growth rate in radio and television advertising decreased by 2.74 and 6.97 percent respectively compared to 2012. The Blue Book concluded, “It means that the traditional radio and television market is shrinking and the business model for this industry needs to be upgraded.”

Source: Xinhua, July 11, 2014
http://news.xinhuanet.com/book/2014-07/11/c_126738965.htm

Briefings | | July 14, 2014 | Government/Politics

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

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”