Chinascope – Page 758

BBC Chinese: U.S. Professors Jointly Challenged the Confucius Institute

BBC Chinese recently reported that the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) called for a cancellation or a renegotiation of the agreements between the Confucius Institute and around 100 U.S. universities. The AAUP expressed the belief that the agreements must abide by Western values. It suggested that the Confucius Institute “is a branch of the Chinese government” and “is allowed to ignore academic freedom.” AAUP was founded in 1915 to defend academic freedom. It currently has 47,000 members. The AAUP announcement urged the U.S. universities to stop cooperating with the Confucius Institute unless it undergoes major reform. The Confucius Institute is an organization funded by the Chinese Ministry of Education. By the end of 2013, it had established 440 institutes across 120 countries around the world. In May 2014, over 100 professors at the University of Chicago, including seven deans, jointly asked the university to discontinue its contract with the Confucius Institute, citing lack of freedom to discuss “sensitive issues” such as the Tiananmen Massacre and the issue of Tibet. The Confucius Institute also controls the hiring and training of its teachers.

Source: BBC Chinese, June 18, 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/06/140618_confucius_institutes.shtml

Briefings | | June 24, 2014 | US-China Relations

Xinhua: China Strongly Opposes Using Rule of Law as an Excuse

Xinhua recently reported that Zhang Suiye, the Chinese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, commented on some of China’s key foreign policies. Zhang said that China is determined to take a new and peaceful road to being a rising power. There has been no reason for China to give up this proven approach. For some territorial and maritime disputes with China’s neighboring countries, China advocates direct negotiations and talks with the involved parties to seek a peaceful resolution. China is strongly opposed to violating other countries’ legitimate rights using the “rule of law” as an excuse. Zhang expressed the belief that the countries in the Asia-Pacific region share the same ultimate interest in improved national development. China would like to contribute to building a balanced and effective regional security framework.

Source: Xinhua, June 21, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-06/21/c_1111252139.htm

Briefings | | June 24, 2014 | Government/Politics

RFA: It May Cost 300 Million Yuan to Demolish a 270 Million Yuan Project Built Three Years Ago

Radio Free Asia reported that an order was given to demolish a tourist project in Hekou County, Yunnan Province that cost 270 million yuan (US$43 million) to build just three years ago. The cost of the demolition may be as much as 300 million yuan (US$48 million), which is higher than the cost of construction. The total loss of 600 million yuan is around three times Hekou County’s annual fiscal income for 2013. The report stated that the tourist project sits on the Hong River that separates China from Vietnam. It is 1 kilometer (0.62 miles) long covering 16,000 square meters (3.95 acres) and includes 150 commercial stores that can be rented. Initially, many parties objected to the project, but somehow, it was later approved at several upper levels. Currently about two thirds of the commercial space remains vacant.

Many people believe that it has become a major problem that the district government shows off its political accomplishments while wasting resources. A businessman from Guangdong Province told RFA that this is common, especially in rural areas. Another professor from the University of South Carolina said that China lacks a system to allow a stable investment environment for businesses. The government took the lead on this project and then revoked its previous commitment, a phenomenon that may harm social development.

Source: Radio Free Asia, June 20, 2014
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/xql-06202014133916.html

Briefings | | June 23, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Ministries to Allocate 100 Million Yuan to Support China’s Film Industry

People’s Daily reported that the Ministry of Finance, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, People’s Bank, the Ministry of Taxation, and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television jointly outlined several measures designed to establish financial support for the development of China’s domestic film industry. The measures include but are not limited to the following: allocating 100 million yuan (US$16 million) annually to support 5 to 10 key films; developing greater use of high-tech in film production; assisting domestic films to achieve a more substantial appearance in overseas markets; subsidizing theatre construction in the mid-west regions; providing favorable tax incentives from 2014 to 2018 to allow tax exemptions for certain incomes, including copyright transfers and box office revenue from the countryside.

Source: People’s Daily, June 20, 2014 http://culture.people.com.cn/n/2014/0620/c87423-25175418.html

Briefings | | June 23, 2014 | Government/Politics

Chinese Military Think Tank on China’s Participation in Arctic Affairs and Development

On June 18, the Defense Policy Research Center of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, a Chinese military think tank, issued its "Strategic Assessment 2013." The report consisted of six parts: the preface; the global strategic situation; maritime competition and cooperation in the Asian Pacific; new trends in cyberspace security; development and cooperation in the Arctic region; international competition in space; and trends in missile defense development.

The report noted that China has an important strategic interest in the Arctic. Participation in Arctic affairs and development has a long-term significance in supporting national security and sustainable development.

The report said that the rich oil and gas resources in the Arctic and the convenient shipping conditions are important for ensuring the sustainability of China’s economic development. The Arctic is expected to become an important overseas energy supply base for China in the future.　

The report pointed out that China will promote the efforts of the international community to intervene in affairs of the Arctic, ensure transparency of the Arctic’s governance, prevent a few countries from monopolizing Arctic affairs, and defend the legitimate interests of non-Arctic countries.

Source: People’s Daily, June 18, 2014

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0618/c1011-25166466.html

Briefings | | June 20, 2014 | Government/Politics

Corporate Defaults on the Rise

On June 19, citing statistics published by UBS Securities, Security Times reported that defaults in China are likely to increase and occur on a large-scale.

Since the first quarter of 2014, there have been signs of a credit crisis, including downgrades in credit ratings. On March 4, solar equipment producer Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science and Technology Co. Ltd. announced it would not be able to make the interest payments that were due on its bonds. This became China’s first-ever domestic bond default. On March 20, 2014, the Shanghai Stock Exchange ordered loss-making Chinese solar cell maker Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric Co. Ltd. to temporarily delist its "11 Tianwei Bonds." Trading on the bonds had been suspended since March 10 when the company announced that it had posted a loss of 5.23 billion yuan (US$844.51 million) for 2013. That was its second straight year of losses. Increasing numbers of firms are in default.

The amount involved in the defaults has reached 53.6 billion yuan (US$8.71 billion). The defaults are concentrated in medium to large businesses in real estate and machinery manufacturing and have spreading to over six major cities and provinces. These defaults will likely lead to bankruptcies in real estate and in financial institutions.

Source: Securities Times, June 19, 2013

http://kuaixun.stcn.com/2014/0619/11501515.shtml

Briefings | | June 20, 2014 | Economy/Resources

China to Tighten Control over Land Use

On June 19, 2014, China’s Ministry of Land and Resources held a press conference to explain the new regulation issued on May 22 which will tighten control of the use of land in China.

Analysts expressed concern that changes in the supply of land will affect the housing market. An official from the Ministry of Land and Resources responded that control of the use of land in major cities will not increase the housing market.

Statistics indicate that about 40 percent of urban land in China is used inefficiently. Between 10 and 15 percent of residences in the countryside remain unoccupied. About 5,000 square kilometers of urban and industrial land is under construction, which is equal to about 11 percent of the entire urban land in China that has already been built up. Wang Shouzhi, head of the Policy and Regulation Department in the Ministry of Land and Resources said that there is a need to regulate the overall land use on a macro level in order to prevent some locals from making a quick buck in economic development in their blind pursuit of revenue.

Sources:

Ministry of Land and Resources, June 20, 2014 http://news.mlr.gov.cn/xwdt/jrxw/201406/t20140620_1321128.htm

Xinhua, June 20, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/2014-06/20/c_126646825.htm

Briefings | | June 20, 2014 | Economy/Resources

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.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.