Chinascope – Page 776

Xinhua: French Customs Seized Two Million Cases of Counterfeit Drugs

Xinhua recently reported that, at the end of February, the French customs seized over two million cases of Chinese counterfeit drugs in the port city of Le Havre in Northern France. According to the announcement made by French customs, this is the largest batch of medicine confiscated in the history of the European Union. French customs reported that all of the cases were marked “Chinese Tea.” Customs also emphasized that some of these drugs contained no active ingredients and that their only use was to cheat the consumers. Some medicines contained an inaccurate level of active ingredients, which can seriously threaten the health of the consumers who take them.

Source: Xinhua, April 11, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2014-04/11/c_126380377.htm

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

China’s Imports and Exports Saw a Significant Decline in March

Well-known Chinese news website Sina recently reported on the newly released import/export numbers for March. While economists were expecting a four percent increase, this year’s export numbers suffered a decline of 6.6 percent when compared to last March. Imports suffered an 11.3 percent decline instead of the expected 2.4 percent increase. The first quarter total import/export volume reached US$966 billion, which represents a one percent decline compared to the first quarter of 2013. The first quarter trade surplus was US$16.7 billion, which showed a decrease of 59.7 percent from the first quarter of last year. HSBC economist Ma Xiaoping commented in a Wall Street Journal interview that both China’s domestic and international demands remain weak. China’s key trade partners are recovering slowly. Noticeably, there was a sharp decline of 33.3 percent for the trade volume between the Mainland and Hong Kong, which holds a 7.8 percent share of the entire volume of imports and exports.

Source: Sina.com, April 10, 2014

http://finance.sina.com.cn/money/future/fmnews/20140410/100118757147.shtml

Briefings | | April 15, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Hu Jintao Visited Hu Yaobang’s Former Residence

On April 11, days before the 25th anniversary of the death of the late Chinese Communist leader Hu Yaobang, retired Chinese Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao paid a visit of the former residence of Hu Yaobang in the town of Liuyang in Hunan Province.

In the 1980s Hu Yaobang was one of the main leaders of the Chinese Communist Party. When Mao Zedong was the paramount leader of China, Hu was viewed as open minded and rectified many miscarriages of justice. In 1987, Hu was accused of being ineffective in opposing capitalist liberalization and senior Party heavy weights forced him to resign. Hu died on April 15, 1989. His death inspired tens of thousands of students in Tiananmen Square to give their condolences, which then evolved into the 1989 student movement, followed by the June 4th massacre.

Hu Yaobang once promoted Hu Jintao, the retired Party secretary at the 18th Congress, to the top position at the Chinese Communist Youth League, a communist organization for young people.

On Friday morning, accompanied by officials in Hunan province, Hu Jintao visited the former residence of Hu Yaobang and his museum, staying there for an hour. It is reported that President Hu Jintao visited the statue of Hu Yaobang and bowed to Hu Yaobang to pay tribute. Hunan authorities have kept the news from the public.

Source: Voice of America, April 12, 2014
http://www.voachinese.com/content/hujintao-huyaobang-20140412/1891916.html

Briefings | | April 14, 2014 | Government/Politics

Huanqiu: Former First Lady vs a Brother of a Former President; a Tragedy for US Democracy

On April 12, Huanqiu Published an article discussing U.S. democracy, with quotes from the Washington Post, Financial Times, and the Los Angeles Times.

"Although it is two and a half years away, American media, already tired of Obama, are more keen on predicting the 2016 Presidential election. According to the Washington Post, Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, the former Governor of Florida and younger brother of former President George W. Bush, both showed up at an education conference. This was a stage appearance in preparation for their 2016 presidential campaign. So far, neither has announced their candidacy and there won’t be any conclusion drawn before the end of the year. In accordance with the usual tactics of Republicans and Democrats, however, the 2016 election is likely to be a battle between a former President’s son and another President’s brother, and a former President’s wife."

"Since Hillary wants to warm up for the next general election, why would she appear in the city of Las Vegas which does not have a good reputation. Few American media offered an explanation. According to the Financial Times article on March 30, ‘Last week several Republican presidential hopefuls trekked to Las Vegas to pay their respects to Sheldon Adelson, the gaming billionaire.’ The article said that the U.S. may remove the ceiling on what individuals can give to candidates and parties, [thereby rescinding] ‘what remains of post-Watergate limits on campaign finance.’ ‘But in an economy where the top 1 per cent of the population owns more than a third of the nation’s wealth, it corrodes the republic from which such riches sprang. People fret about America’s 1 per cent economy. They should worry more about its 1 per cent democracy.’"

"There has never been a time when America’s political families were so deep-rooted. According to statistics, of the most recent nine presidential campaigns, there were seven in which candidates came from either the Bush or the Clinton family. In his Los Angeles Times article, New York University history professor Jonathan Zimmerman stated, ‘A few years ago, I found myself sitting on an airplane next to a gentleman from Egypt. Talk quickly turned to the upheaval in his country, where the so-called Arab Spring was in full bloom.’ ‘"We want a real democracy," he told me, "not like yours." When I pressed him to elaborate, he shot back with a question of his own. "How many times have you voted," he asked, "when someone named ‘Bush’ or ‘Clinton’ wasn’t running?"’ This history scholar then lamented that ‘We tell the world that we’re a land of opportunity, where anyone can grow up to be the president. Then we limit ourselves to a handful of political dynasties.’ ‘That’s not good for our image overseas, or for our democracy at home.’"

Source: Huanqiu, April 12, 2014
http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2014-04/4969327.html
LA Times, March 27, 2014
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/commentary/la-oe-zimmerman-political-dynasties-20140327,0,4599058.story#axzz2x9oFfqj1

Briefings | | April 14, 2014 | US-China Relations

Head of State Oceanic Administration: Marine Resources Plundered; Multiple Conflicts

In a recent talk, Liu Cigui, the Administrator of China’s State Oceanic Administration, discussed the severe situation of safeguarding maritime rights and interests in China’s surrounding waters: marine resources have been plundered; waters have been divided up; reefs have been occupied; the security of strategic passages has been threatened; and conflict has broken out in multiple locations.

Liu said that the ocean is an important platform for international political, economic, military, and diplomatic cooperation and competition. The ocean is in an even more important position for the national strategy of coastal countries. "The State Oceanic Administration, confronted by various maritime conflicts such as Japan’s so-called ‘nationalization’ of the Diaoyu Islands and the Philippines Ayungin Reef incident, has taken a series of counter-measures and achieved initial results."

Liu added that, in accordance with the "United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea," China has extensive strategic interests and legitimate rights in the open seas, the ocean, the international seabed, and the North and South Poles.

Source: China News, April 11, 2014
http://www.chinanews.com/gn/2014/04-11/6055889.shtml

Briefings | | April 14, 2014 | Defense/Military

China’s State Media Praise the Military’s Strong Showing to the U.S. Defense Secretary

In the meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, Chinese Military Committee Vice Chairman Fan Changlong directly expressed how upset China was with the unfriendly remarks Hagel made ahead of his visit. China’s state media Global Times published an editorial praising the military for showing strength to the U.S. Defense Secretary. The article stated:

“China’s military was very frank in showing its differences with the U.S. Previously this was quite rare. This change is a manifestation of the Chinese military’s confidence. It is to showcase the real China in an internationally popular manner.”

“When having a conflict with someone, China does not resort to war, but Japan often takes out the treaty of the U.S.-Japan alliance [as a weapon]. It constantly preaches that it will use force against the Chinese aircraft ‘invading’ the Diaoyu Islands. The Philippines also shows off its U.S. military protection. From time to time, the U.S. hints that it might have military involvement in the Island conflicts that Japan and the Philippines are having with China. In such instances, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army reaffirms the will and ability to defend China’s territorial sovereignty. It is not quite normal.”

“Facing such a large country as China, the Philippines dares to play the hooligan by setting up an old warship on the beach at Second Thomas Shoal. This is by no means normal. Manila misjudged China’s tolerance. If such misjudgment spreads out to some extent, it will become a baseline for an understanding of China from the outside. China must clear up this false impression and try to achieve its goal by using language. If language is not enough, it must be coupled with action.”

“If China’s effort to dispel such outsider’s false judgments of China implies risk, then the United States, Japan and the Philippines will need to take the risk together with China.”

Source: Global Times, April 9, 2014

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2014/0409/c1011-24855505.html http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2014-04/4960368.html

Briefings | | April 11, 2014 | US-China Relations

Financial Trouble Looming as Demand for Coal Continues to Decline

According to Securities Daily, as a result of China’s economic downturn and the severe drop in the demand for coal, coal prices have continued to fall. This factor, along with an increase in coal imports, has resulted in a decline in the price of domestic coal and a serious excessive capacity. In Erdos, Inner Mongolia which is highly dependent on the development of coal resources, the daily sales of coal from some coal mines is less than one-tenth of the normal amount of sales. The slump in the coal industry is seriously affecting the revenue from real estate and hotels, as well as tax revenue. The tax revenue from one coal district declined from 200 million yuan per month to 20 million per month.

The demand for coal has fallen drastically. With a few exceptions for several major steel mills, all the steel mills in Tangshang, Hebei Province are shutting down their production. All cement plants within 100 miles of Beijing are also closing down.

Source: Securities Daily, April 10, 2014

http://zqrb.ccstock.cn/html/2014-04/10/content_412087.htm

Briefings | | April 11, 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.