Chinascope – Page 802

BBC Chinese: Japan Turned to ICAO to Discuss China’s Air Defense ID Zone

BBC Chinese recently reported that Japan took the issues arising out of China’s creation of the Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Japanese representative asked the ICAO Council to have a discussion on how to deal with the newly established Chinese Air Defense Identification Zone. Japan called the Zone a potential threat to international civil aviation order and safety. The United States, Great Britain, and Australia all agreed with the Japanese on their call for a discussion. However China disagreed. The United States government stated that the U.S. government expects civil airlines to follow the ICAO regulations on issuing NOTAM (Notice to Airmen). However that does not mean that the U.S. government accepts Beijing’s terms for its Zone. Since rounds of foreign military aircraft have ignored the Chinese Identification Zone rules, the Chinese Air Force has started sending fighter jets to identify the aircraft entering the Zone.

Source: BBC Chinese, November 30, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2013/11/131130_japan_icao_china.shtml

Briefings | | December 3, 2013 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Guangming Daily: China’s Scientific Journals Lag Behind

Recently, the 9th Scientific Journal Development Forum was held in Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province. Over 600 scholars from the domestic and foreign scientific journal industry participated in the forum.

Guangming Daily published an article summarizing the discussion on the topic of how the fact that China’s scientific journals lag behind other countries is incompatible with China’s image as a scientific and economic giant. The article said that China has the largest number of researchers who publish the second largest number of scientific papers and it also holds the third largest number of patents in the world. China has close to 5,000 scientific journals. They account for 50 percent of the total number of journals in China. Thus China ranks second in the world next to the U.S. However, only 239 or 5 percent of those journals are in English. Their quality is considered to be low and they do not have much of an impact in their respective scientific fields. The article disclosed that over 80 percent of the Chinese researchers have chosen to publish their papers in foreign journals rather than in domestic journals. It also said that China’s journal industry is behind in online and digital publishing. Currently scientific groups, research agencies, or universities publish articles, but they have a limited publication size and sales channels and can hardly compete with international publishers.

The article also reported that the General Administration of Press and Publications, Radio, Film and Television has and will continue to introduce policies to assist in the development of the scientific journal industry and to improve its international influence.

Source: Guangming Daily, November 30, 2013
http://news.gmw.cn/2013-11/30/content_9652103.htm

Briefings | | December 2, 2013 | Information/Technology

Head of Propaganda Department: Use Movies to Express Wishes for a Beautiful China Dream

On November 29, the China Film Association held its 9th National Congress in Beijing. Liu Qibao, head of the propaganda department spoke at the meeting. Liu stressed the need to study the speech that Xi Jinping gave during the Party’s 18th National Congress. He stated that the movie industry should use the “China Dream” as an important topic as a movie’s production goes forward. Liu said that the workers in the movie industry should take it as their historic mission to paint a picture of the “China Dream,” to broadcast it, and to express people’s wishes for a beautiful China Dream.

Source: People’s Daily, November 30, 2013
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1130/c1001-23701296.html

Briefings | | December 2, 2013 | Government/Politics

State Internet Information Office: Effort to Combat Internet Rumors has been Successful

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), the Deputy Director of the State Internet Information Office recently spoke at the Internet Development and Management meeting held in Beijing. He stated that since the effort to attack Internet rumors was launched in May of this year, the end result has been effective. A number of microblog accounts have been closed and the related personnel have been punished because of their involvement in spreading rumors on the Internet.

Liu Qing, a China Human Rights activist told RFA that the “effort to clean up the Internet environment” was meant to make the contents that the Chinese government does not welcome or that provide truth clarification information disappear from the internet. Liu added, “They have done this so many times. … If the censored information were to be made available to the public for open discussion, the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party would face a huge challenge and be threatened. Therefore they will try every means to control the Internet. … The Communist Party has taken control of the Internet and of information as its lifeline. They will not let it go that easily.”

The statistics indicate that, by June 2013, there were 331 million microblog users in China. Since its launch in 2011, the number of micro message users has broken 300 million. According to the top ten most influential Internet sites, over 200 million microblog exchanges take place each day.

Source: Radio Free Asia, November 28, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/meiti/nu-11282013141840.html

Briefings | | December 2, 2013 | Government/Politics

Sum of 31 Provincial GDP Stats Was 5.3 Trillion More Than National Stats

Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics announced the country’s 31 provincial GDP data for the first three quarters of this year. The total of the 31 provincial GDP was 43.95 trillion yuan, which exceeded the national statistics of 38.68 trillion by 5.3 trillion.

In fact, this phenomenon has been going on for years. The media have been reporting that, since 1985, when the central government and provincial and local level governments started to compile GDP data independently, the sum of the provincial GDP data has been higher than the national statistics, and the gap has been increasing. For example, the total of the 2009 provincial GDP was above the national figure by 2.68 trillion yuan; the gap increased to 3 trillion yuan in 2010, 4.6 trillion in 2011 and 5.76 in 2012.

According to Liu Yuanchun, the Vice president of Renmin University of China, the main cause is that local governments engage in data manipulation. In order to accomplish the tasks such as energy conservation and performance goals, including GDP growth, local governments modify the data to make it look better. When the reporter interviewed a county government fiscal chief in a city in West China, the official affirmed that such data fraud is almost a routine.

source: Xinhua, November 27, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-11/27/c_125766611.htm

Briefings | | November 29, 2013 | Economy/Resources

The Purpose of the U.S. Bombers Flying through China’s Air Defense Identification Zone

On the evening of November 25, two American B-52 bombers flew into the airspace claimed by China as its air defense identification zone in the East China Sea. In an interview, military expert Li Jie told a People’s Daily reporter that the U.S. move serves four major purposes: first, it tests the Chinese reaction; second, they are afraid that their future actions of conducting reconnaissance, patrolling, or spying on Chinese intelligence operations would be subject to interference; third, the United States does not want to lose its leadership and control in the Asia-Pacific region; fourth, it wants to show its allies or "pawns" that it still has the final say, and thus, it dares to provoke China. The message is, "You still have to listen to me in the future."

Major General Luo Yuan said in his article in Global Times that what we declared is an "air defense identification zone," not a "no-fly zone." As long as the United States obeys the instructions of the air defense identification zone management agency or its authorized units, it should have no security worries about flight freedom. However, if, after our repeated warnings, it refuses to obey, China’s armed forces will take defensive emergency measures, regardless of which country’s aircraft it is and for whatever purpose, whether it is an exercise or provocation.

Source: People’s Daily, November 27, 2013

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/1127/c1011-23669650.html

Briefings | | November 29, 2013 | Defense/Military

General Luo Yuan on China’s New State Security Committee

Major General Luo Yuan of the People’s Liberation Army wrote an article in which he stated that China’s New State Security Committee is to handle long term security matters from a strategic perspective.

“The establishment of the State Security Committee is not geared towards a specific matter, such as the Japan issue, the South China Sea, the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands and other issues. It is not for any specific issue but is based on strategic and longer-term considerations, namely the country’s long-term stability.”

Luo expressed the belief that various domestic reforms have now entered “deep waters,” touching the issue of system reform. The reform of the State security system requires that a top level apparatus be responsible for overall strategy.

“In addition, we cannot avoid the reality of certain threats and challenges. To some extent, that reality is what accelerated the birth of the State Security Committee. China is now faced with a complex security environment, which includes both traditional and non-traditional security. It also faces challenges due to the gaming of some of the major powers, the borders on land, islands at sea, and maritime borders. Meanwhile, China also faces pressure from ‘three forces,’ namely terrorism, separatism, and extreme nationalism.”

Source: International Herald Leader, November 25, 2013

http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2013/1125/306991.shtml

Briefings | | November 28, 2013 | Government/Politics

Did Murdoch’s Ex-wife Wendi Deng Spy for Chinese Military and Have an Affair with Tony Blair?

On November 25, 2013, China Gate published an article which stated that, according to a report from Pan Chinese, Wendi Deng, who News Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch recently divorced, is a top female spy working for the General Political Department of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), in the Peoples Republic of China. Based on multiple Western media reports, the article also claims that Deng may have had an affair with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who "is the dupe in a Chinese spy plot." Tony Blair delivered a keynote speech at the "First China Philanthropy Forum" in Beijing on November 30th, 2012. "Now research by The Sunday Times has established that Blair’s keynote speech was hosted by a front organisation for the department of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that runs psychological warfare and covert influence operations against foreign political and military leaders."

Sources: China Gate and Pan Chinese, November 15, 2013
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2013/11/25/2814632.html
http://panchinese.blogspot.com/2013/06/blog-post_7265.html
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2412479/Clive-Palmer-claims-Murdoch-divorcing-Wendi-Deng-Chinese-spy.html
http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/People/article1268065.ece
http://www.caifc.org.cn/en/content.aspx?id=2980
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/09/05/australian-billionaire-rupert-murdoch-discovered-wife-wendi-deng-was-a-chinese-spy-so-he-got-rid-of-her/
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/confidential/murdoch-wendi-deng-cheated-tony-blair-report-article-1.1527169
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tony-blair-wendi-deng-affair-2848426

Briefings | | November 27, 2013 | Grapevine

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.