Xinhua published an article discussing what the situation of a collapsed real estate market in China would look like.
Major General: China Needs Spending Hike to Empower the Military and Face the Increase in Pressure
On March 6, 2014, a military reporter from China Broadcasting Network interviewed Chinese congressional delegate member Major General Chen Zhou. In the interview, Chen talked about the increase in China’s military budget.
Xinhua: Naked Officials and Their Fake Passports
Xinhua published an article on China’s so-called "naked officials" who have moved their spouses, children and assets overseas while they remain at home in China.
China Youth Daily: Local Government’s Opium? They Have an Addiction to Debt
On March 12, 2013, China Youth Daily published an article on the serious local government debt problems in China. Currently, China’s local governments owe 18 trillion yuan in debt. In order to pursue a higher GDP, local governments blindly borrow money without considering at all how to pay it back. Some officials said that borrowing money has become local governments’ economic opium. They wish they could stop but they cannot help borrowing more and more. According to the article, in order to help local authorities get rid of this “addiction,” it may be necessary to integrate local government’s credit rating system into cadre’s evaluation system.
Source: China Youth Daily, March 12, 2014
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2014-03/12/nw.D110000zgqnb_20140312_1-T01.htm?fina
Huanqiu on Close Military Cooperation between China and Ukraine Since 1990s
On March12, 2014, Huanqiu republished an article originally from http://www.nnnews.net on the close military cooperation between China and Ukraine since the 1990s. However, the original article can no longer be found. For over the past 10 years, China has been at the top of the list for Ukrainian arms exports. In the 1990s, Ukraine sold China three large-scale ships. Among them was the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag. The Varyag has been rebuilt into today’s Liaoning aircraft carrier, China’s first aircraft carrier. Since 2006, Ukraine has also been training Chinese engineers, pilots, and navy technical experts in Ukraine. In 2009, Ukraine media admitted that Ukraine sold China four “European Bison” hovercraft.
A large number of first-class engineers in Ukraine lived in poverty after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. Through personal friendship and shared ideology and thanks to the old Sino-Soviet friendship in the Bolshevik, Mao Zedong, and Stalin era, China invited many top experts in key military technology fields from Ukraine to come to China. In 10 years, China has recruited thousands of experts from Russia and other Commonwealth of Independent States to engage in over 2000 technological projects. In 2006 alone, groups of Ukraine scientists visited China about 150 times to participate in scientific research and give lectures and there were over 2000 individual visits. Those experts were very eager to help and answer whatever questions the Chinese scholars asked because they cherished the old Sino-Soviet friendship. The current changing situation in Ukraine may affect China-Ukraine trade, especially military, cooperation. However, according to Ukraine local officials, those signed agreements have not been affected.
Source: Huanqiu, March 12, 2014
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2014-03/4897708.html