Chinascope – Page 803

People’s Daily: National Conference of Publicity Ministers Held in Beijing

People’s Daily recently reported that the National Conference of Publicity Ministers was held in Beijing. Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Communist Party Politburo chaired the Conference. Liu delivered a speech calling for full compliance and implementation of the “spirit” of the Party’s past three most important conferences as well as the essence of the Secretary General Xi Jinping’s speeches. Liu insisted on the continuation of publicity work to spread Marxism, Mao’s Philosophy, the Deng Xiaoping Theory, Jiang Zemin’s “Three Represents,” as well as Hu Jintao’s Scientific Social Development Viewpoint. Liu also emphasized the importance of continuing to push having confidence in the Party’s path, its theory, and the socialist system. He especially mentioned the importance of “guiding public opinion” and “better control over the Internet based media.”

Source: People’s Daily, January 4, 2014

http://cpc.people.com.cn/BIG5/n/2014/0104/c64094-24021659.html

Briefings | | January 7, 2014 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: Chinese Real Estate Buyers Are Second Largest Group in the U.S.

Xinhua recently reported that Chinese real estate buyers spent US$12.3 billion in one year in the U.S. real estate market, becoming the second largest international buyer group after the Canadians. For example, a private Chinese investor spent US$725 million to acquire One Chase Manhattan Plaza, a 60-story office building located in downtown Manhattan. Facing the New York Federal Reserve building, it was built by David Rockefeller and has been used by JP Morgan Chase since 1961. The continuous appreciation of the Chinese currency is making real estate in New York and San Francisco look cheap. Chinese investors are also pouring money into stocks, bonds, trust certificates, intellectual property and patents. However the article also reminded the readers that the last time a Japanese investor bought the Rockefeller Center, it ended with a miserable loss and “in tears.”

Source: Xinhua, January 5, 2014

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-01/05/c_118831948.htm

Briefings | | January 7, 2014 | US-China Relations

Qiushi: Central and Local Administrations to Start Repositioning Their Authoritative Power

Qiushi published an article on the new move to reposition the authoritative power between the central and local administrations. The article stated, “This move is needed in order to fully mobilize the initiatives emanating from both the central and district administrations. While the central administration needs to minimize its micro control of those local affairs that are of a smaller scale, it should also strengthen its macro management power and exercise strict supervision over the local districts. On the other hand, the local administrations should increase their sense of unity as a nation while actively defending the authority of the central administration.”

The article said that the relationship between central and local administration has always been a delicate issue. In the recently published “Decision on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform in Brief,” a number of areas examined the relationship between the two.

The article also discussed and listed examples of how to implement the measures in areas such as finance and legal and municipal debt management, as well as how to maintain a good balance of power between the central and local administrations.

Source: Qiushi Theory, January 2, 2014
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/jsfwxzf/201401/t20140102_308766.htm

Briefings | | January 6, 2014 | Government/Politics

Minister of Public Security Demands Absolute Loyalty, Purity, and Dependability from Armed Forces

On January 4, Guo Shenkun, China’s Minister of Public Security, attended and spoke at a conference held for the Party committee of the armed forces. Guo urged that the armed forces must further implement the key elements from the talks and messages that Xi Jinping has given, constantly place political ideological development at its core and actively maintain absolute loyalty to the Party, as well as purity and dependability.

Source: China Review News, January 4, 2014
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1029/6/1/6/102961664.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=102961664&mdate=0104191300

Briefings | | January 6, 2014 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily Opens Special Column to Expose Japan’s Militarism, Invasiveness, and Destruction

In its January 5 edition, People’s Daily initiated a special column on its third page to “expose Japan’s militarism, its invasiveness, and its destructive nature.” The column consists of articles on the history of Japan’s war of aggression and expansion during the Second World War. In the opening remarks, the column stated that Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to the shrine that honors soldiers including war criminals during the Second World War is a clear signal that he intends to revoke the historic facts. It identifies that action as a part of the Abe administration’s political moves and observes that Japan has no intention of improving its relationship with its neighboring countries.

Source: People’s Daily, January 5, 2014
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2014/0105/c1002-24024362.html

Briefings | | January 6, 2014 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: Abe Enshrines the “Ghosts;” Japan and U.S. Play Duet again

Shortly after Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the Yasukuni war shrine on December 26, Xinhua wrote a commentary on the visit. Below is an excerpt from Xinhua’s commentary:

The Japanese Prime Minister’s “out of line” action was premeditated. It indisputably shows that the Japanese right-wing militarism has a deep root and has a big market. There are two main reasons for this:

First, Japanese society has been making a right turn. Its purpose is, through wiping out the history of aggression and revising the pacifist constitution, to remove the hat of being the defeated nation and get rid of the shackles of the post-World War II international order so that it can become a "normal state" with the ability to develop a regular army, send troops overseas, and realize the goal of being a "big political power."

Military expert Peng Guangqian said, "In the past (many) think there were only a handful of Japanese right-wingers, but the facts show there are a large number."

Zhang Huanli, a researcher from the International Affairs Institute of Xinhua News Agency and a senior reporter residing in Japan for many years, said, "China has always advocated ‘Sino-Japanese friendship,’ and ‘good-neighborliness.’ The Japanese did not believe in this. [We] must be realistic and carefully look at the real Japan.”

Second, the United States has shifted its strategic center eastward. Japan believes that this is an opportune time. As America’s most effective ally, Japan diligently collaborates with the United States, strengthens the Japan-U.S. alliance, and vigorously promotes the policy of containing China. It shows an unprecedented tough diplomacy toward China and carries out military deployment and exercises against China.

Although the United States expressed disappointment following Abe’s enshrining the "ghosts," anyone with a clear mind can see that the U.S. and Japan are actually “singing a duet.”

Source: Xinhua, December 29, 2013

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/1229/c1002-23969901.html

Briefings | | January 3, 2014 | US-China Relations

Vice Minister of Finance: Current Economy Unsustainable

Wang Baoan, Vice Minister of Finance, wrote an article at Qiushi on challenges the China’s economy faces. He summed up the problems into “four highs” and “four lows:” high input, consumption, pollution and speed; and low output, efficiency, efficacy and tech content.

Wang wrote, “The ‘current version’ of China’s economy is unsustainable.” He cited a few examples to support his conclusion. China’s use of resources is inefficient. The energy consumption of the gross domestic product (GDP) is 2.6 times the world average. The GDP per capita is only 21 percent of the U.S. and 32 percent of Japan. One U.S. dollar increase in GDP needs five U.S. dollars in investment. “This growth relying on and supported by investment is unsustainable.”

Other examples include excess production capacity in steel, flat glass and shipbuilding. The excess capacity in solar photovoltaic modules and wind power equipment hit over 40 percent. Commenting on lack of innovation in China, Wang wrote, “When one fish died in the pond, it is an accident. If the majority of the fish died, it indicates that water is the problem.”

Source: Qiushi, January 1, 2014

http://big5.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2014/201401/201312/t20131230_307459.htm

Briefings | | January 3, 2014 | Economy/Resources

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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.”