Chinascope – Page 771

BBC Chinese: One Fifth of China’s Arable Land Is Polluted

BBC Chinese reported that the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection recently released a research report which indicated that 16.1 percent of China’s land and 19.4 percent of China’s arable land are polluted. The scope of the research on which the report was based was sizeable, covering two thirds of all land in Mainland China. The research showed that the three heavy metals of cadmium, nickel, and arsenic are the primary pollutants in China’s soil. The Ministry said in an announcement that it is very hard to remain optimistic about the quality of China’s soil. Both the government and the Chinese people are worried about the irreparable damage brought about by China’s rapid industrialization process. The government is in the process of coming up with more comprehensive environmental protection laws. The research report also concluded that there are three primary heavy industry regions that have suffered the most severe damage from pollution. They are the Yangtze River Delta Area on the east coast, the Zhujiang Delta Area in the south, and the traditional heavy industry base in Northeastern China.

Source: BBC Chinese, April 18, 2014
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/science/2014/04/140418_china_soil_contaminated.shtml

Briefings | | April 22, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Wal-Mart China Complained about the Food Safety Issue

Well-known Chinese news site Sohu recently reported that the top management at Wal-Mart China met recently with officials from the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). The management called for the scope of government monitoring of food labeling to be extended. Currently the CFDA only regulates retailers on food labeling but not manufacturers. In the past few years, a number of retailers have run into trouble because they were held responsible for the unsafe food that suppliers had provided. The best effort retailers can make for now is to ensure that the government correctly licenses these suppliers. The food quality is largely dependent on the supplier’s honesty. Retailers have been inspecting a certain number of samples of the food that the manufacturers supply, but this by no means covers the full range of the products they offer in stores. It is widely believed that end-to-end food safety control is required, especially on the source side, which includes suppliers. The cost for retailers to do a full-scale food inspection would be too high and unreasonable.

Source: Sohu.com, April 17, 2014
http://business.sohu.com/20140417/n398411268.shtml

Briefings | | April 22, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Silent Contest II

[Editor’s Note: The PLA National Defense University recently created an educational video called “较量无声” (Silent Contest) on the behind-the-scenes battle between China and the United States. [1] General Liu Yazhou, Political Commissar of the military institution and son-in-law of former president Li Xiannian, produced the work. It postulated that the Soviet Union’s collapse was due to the U.S.’ “peaceful revolution.” Using that viewpoint to examine the Sino-U.S. relationship, the video concluded that, while the U.S. has maintained an outward appearance of warmth and peaceful cooperation, beneath the surface it has always been trying to destroy China, using the same methods it applied to the Soviet Union.

To support its premise, the video further outlined five areas in which the U.S. is undermining China: political infiltration, cultural infiltration, public opinion and ideological infiltration, organizational infiltration, and political interference and social infiltration.

Silent Contest circulated widely on the Internet in late October 2013, and began disappearing from Chinese websites on Thursday night, October 31, 2013. [2] Nevertheless, a number of media have commented on it. [3]

Please note that the source of a number of quotes in English could not be identified. Unless the original English source is indicated in the end notes, the quotes in the video are translated from the Chinese text in the video. The translation of the Prelude and Part I of the video have already been published and can be found on the Chinascope website at:
http://chinascope.org/main/content/view/6168/92/.

The following is a translation of Part II.]

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Reports | | April 21, 2014 | Report

In Spite of Concerns for “Ghost” Towns, Many Chinese Cities Plan for Massive Expansion

Prefecture-level cities are one level below the capital cities in China’s administrative hierarchy. In a government survey of 156 prefecture-level cities in 12 provinces, over 90 percent were planning for the development of new metropolitan districts. Additionally, the 12 provincial capital cities were planning for a total of 55 new districts. One city was found to be planning 13 new districts. At the same time, the planned areas of the new districts continue to increase in size.

Experts have expressed concern for such a pace of "urbanization." One problem is the blind pursuit of large urban districts. In the same city, many features are being duplicated and the construction is redundant. There are also concerns about over-investment, potential bad debts, and more "ghost" towns.

Source: People’s Daily Online, April 20, 2014

http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2014/0420/c1001-24918782.html

Briefings | | April 21, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Record High Chinese Investment in the U.S. in 2013

According to Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, the U.S. Consul General in Guangzhou, China has become the world’s fastest growing investor in the U.S. In 2013, Chinese investments in the U.S. hit a record of more than US$14 billion; double that of the 2012 level.

Starting in 2014, the U.S. stepped up its efforts to entice Chinese to invest. Between April 15 and April 18, "Select America," a U.S. Commerce Department program, for the first time reached out to four cities in China’s Pearl River Delta region: Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shunde, and Guangzhou.

Source: China News Service, April 18, 2014

http://finance.chinanews.com/cj/2014/04-18/6082319.shtml

Briefings | | April 21, 2014 | US-China Relations

High Ranking Military Officials Collectively Vow Loyalty to Xi Jinping

On April 18, in a rare move, the PLA Daily dedicated a special page to the publication of a list of articles authored by a group of high ranking military officials. The main theme of the articles was "Conduct of an In-depth Study and Implementation of Chairman Xi’s Important Exposition on National Defense and the Buildup of the Military; Advance the Great Practice of Building a Stronger Army from a New Starting Point."

The officials included:

Cheng Tongyi, Deputy Political Commissar and Chairman of the Political Department of the Beijing Military Region

Wang Xixin, Deputy Commander of the Shenyang Military Region

Wang Jun, Deputy Commander of the Jinan Military Region

Miao Hua, Deputy Political Commissar of the Lanzhou Military Region

Zheng Qin, Deputy Commander of the Guangzhou Military Region

Xiong Andong, Commander of the Fujian Provincial Military Region

Ceng Xu, Assistant to the Chairman of the General Political Department

Chen Yong, Assistant to the General Chief of Staff

Lu Fuen, Deputy Commander of the Second Artillery Corps

Zhang Jianping, Deputy Commander of the PLA Air Force

Su Zhiqian, Commander of the East China Sea Fleet of the PLA Navy

Chen Pinghua, Deputy Political Commissar of the Chengdu Military Region

Wu Jieming, Deputy Political Commissar of National Defense University

Lang Youliang, Deputy Political Commissar of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences

Wang Jingzhong, Political Commissar of a base of the General Armament Department

Liu Shengjie, Deputy Political Commissar of the General Logistic Department

Dai Sujun, Deputy Commander of the People’s Armed Police

Source: PLA Daily, April 18, 2014

http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2014-04/18/node_7.htm

Briefings | | April 21, 2014 | Defense/Military

Beijing Cancelled the Human Rights Dialogue with Britain

On May 15, China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying made the following complaint: "Britain recently published a so-called ‘2013 Human Rights and Democracy Report,’ irresponsibly discussing China’s political system, and groundlessly slandering and making accusations about the human rights situation in China. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to the report."

At the last minute, Beijing cancelled the human rights dialogue with Britain.

Sources: Xinhua and People’s Daily, April 15, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-04/15/c_126393809.htm
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/0416/c1002-24900442.html

Briefings | | April 18, 2014 | Government/Politics

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.