Chinascope – Page 807

Outlook Weekly: Party Cadres Must Consciously Master Special Skills

On December 16, Xinhua carried an article which was originally published in Outlook Weekly titled "Party Cadres Must Consciously Master Special Skills." In the article, it reiterated points from the recent talks that Xi Jinping gave on various occasions on the need for Party cadres at different levels to study Marx’s original works. The article stated that China’s current situation provides sufficient proof that the Marxist philosophy works well and is still a powerful way to provide guiding principles for the Party. The article stated that the latest major decisions that the Party has made suggest that the Party is good at utilizing the Marxist philosophy. It went on, “Work hard to master Marxist philosophy as a special skill; be steadfast in the ideals and beliefs; pursue a correct political direction; improve the ability of strategic thinking and decision making and the capacity for overall control."

Source: Xinhua, December 15, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-12/15/c_118561246.htm

Briefings | | December 16, 2013 | Government/Politics

Huanqiu: Biden’s Beijing Trip Made Japan Recognize Who Is the Real Master

Huanqiu (Global Times), a subsidiary under People’s Daily, published an article stating that U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s position in China made the noisy Japanese media "cool down." The article stated, in quoting a report by Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily, that on multiple public occasions in Beijing, Biden talked mainly about "the United States and China actively promoting the advancement of new relations between big powers" rather than the air defense identification zone. This made Japan, who asked the U.S. to do this and that, recognize "who is the real master and who can give orders."

The article also claimed that, in his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, although Biden provided the reason why the United States is against China’s setting up the identification zone, China’s response was clearly the more important focus. Xi Jinping strongly rebutted him. The article stated that the foreign media that expected the United States to send a strong signal to China commented, "Biden’s visit to China was rebuffed." "Biden made the Japanese worry about the U.S. attitude."

Source : Huanqiu, December 6, 2013

http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2013-12/4635259.html

Briefings | | December 13, 2013 | US-China Relations

Scholar: Six Misconceptions That Hinder Reforms

Zhang Weiying, a professor at the Guanghua School of Management at Beijing University wrote that there are six misconceptions that hinder further reforms in China.

1. “The ‘China Model theory’ is a very wrong idea. … We are actually a parasitic economy – others built the road and we now walk on it. It is natural that we walk faster. That does not prove that we are greater than others. Nor does it prove that our system is superior.”

2. For the relationship between political system reform and economic system reform, Zhang expressed the belief that the era when an economic system could adopt the market mechanism without political system reform has long passed. “Without political system reform, there is little room for economic system reform.”

3. Zhang noted that the current system does not necessarily benefit vested interest groups. “[They must] understand that human rights are better than special privileges. … Without human rights, one lives without security. Those who live in anxiety cannot be happy people regardless of how much wealth and privilege they have.”
4. As for the statement that State-owned enterprises are the foundation for Communist rule in China, Zhang said, “I think this notion is totally wrong. There was Communist rule first, then the State-owned enterprises, not vice versa.”

5. “The statement that power comes from the gun is also wrong. The true foundation of political power is whether people consider it legitimate. When people have the idea that the legitimacy of political power has been lost, the military forces cannot maintain political power because the military follows that idea.”

6. “The fallacy ‘the more the power, the stronger the government’ confuses power and authority. History and reality show that the stronger government is the one that restrains its power, not the one with unlimited power. The reason is that, in fact … a government that people do not trust cannot be a strong government.”

Source: Financial Times (Chinese Edition), December 10, 2013

http://www.ftchinese.com/story/001053841/?print=y

Briefings | | December 13, 2013 | Government/Politics

China Held an International Symposium on the China Dream in Shanghai

On December 7 and 8 in Shanghai, the State Council Information Office of China held an International Symposium on the China Dream. China’s Foreign Languages Bureau and the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences hosted the symposium. Some 100 experts and scholars from more than 20 countries such as China, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, India, and Japan discussed in depth the topic of the "world dialogue on the China Dream." People’s Daily posted a number of the guest’s speeches and interviews.

Source: People’s Daily, December 12, 2013

http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/1212/c1001-23817290.html

Briefings | | December 12, 2013 | Government/Politics

PLA Daily: Military Forces in Urgent Need of Standardization

The People’s Liberation Army Daily published a report that highlighted the urgent need for standardization in the armed forces. The report stated that standardization would multiply the troops’ combat capabilities. Otherwise, the lack of coordinated standardization among the army, navy, and air forces could become the "Achilles heel" of the military forces.

The report cited an example where, during a military exercise, sailors on the four ships were able to hear one another. However, they could not transmit combat data because their information system was not compatible with that of the recipients. In another instance, a brigade in the Second Artillery responded to an emergency with more than 300 vehicles and equipment, but there were as many as 90 different brands and models. The communications battalion alone had 12 different models of generators. The brigade commander complained that if there were a war, they would need to have several truckloads of spare parts.

Source: Ministry of National Defense of China, December 10, 2013

http://news.mod.gov.cn/headlines/2013-12/10/content_4478350.htm

Briefings | | December 12, 2013 | Defense/Military

Huanqiu: China Has the Top Killer Weapon to Attack the Most Stubborn Provocateur

On December 10, 2013, Huanqiu, the Chinese version of Global Times, published an article on the security threats that China faces. According to the article, China has to deal with complicated security threats from outside and inside of China, as well as security threats that are intertwined both externally and internally. External security threats from the outside mainly refer to the U.S. "return to Asia," while internal security threats refer to unbalanced economic development, pollution, the huge gap between the rich and the poor, social conflicts, and the splits in political consensus among the leadership. As outside "hostile forces" are in collusion with inside "hostile forces" through modern information technology (the Internet), China faces intertwined external and internal security threats, such as Western hostile forces’ political, ideological and cultural infiltration. Western hostile forces have also selected and trained some public intellectuals, Big Vs (online celebrities or influential microbloggers) and young government and military officials to spread a lot of dangerous information on the Internet in order to confuse the Chinese people. If the Chinese government does not watch out, China will be in chaos. The unrest in the Arabic countries is a good lesson.

The article listed several ways to solve the security problems. 1) Strengthen co-ordination under the leadership of the newly established National Security Council. 2) Strengthen power building in national security research, the military, information, technology, finance, transportation, nuclear, and the biochemistry industries. 3) Apply strategies wisely in order to isolate the small numbers of enemies and strengthen united front work. Increase scientific and technological innovation and have the courage to surpass others. China has the world’s most powerful conventional ballistic missile, the top killer weapon, to attack the most stubborn provocateur.

Source: Huanqiu, December 10, 2013 http://mil.huanqiu.com/paper/2013-12/4645920.html http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/08/24/chinas-ballistic-missiles-a-force-to-be-reckoned-with/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Artillery_Corps

Briefings | | December 11, 2013 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily BBS Article: Get Ready to Bomb Japan with Missiles

On December 8, 2013, People’s Daily published an article on what China should do immediately now that it has established the East Sea Air Defense Identification Zone.

The Chinese navy and air force should sink any ships, shoot down any aircraft, and arrest any people from other countries who enter the Diaoyu Islands’ waters and airspace without having received permission from the Chinese government.
Encourage the Chinese people from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan to go to Diaoyu Islands, the waters and the land, under the protection of China or Taiwan’s Navies and Air Force.
Have a missile drill in the Diaoyu Islands waters soon.
Stop any negotiations with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands.
Submit a proposal on how the "Ryukyu Islands’ international status is undetermined" to the UN General Assembly for discussion and deliberation. Meanwhile, get ready to bomb Japan’s mainland with missiles.

Source: People’s Daily, December 8, 2013
http://bbs1.people.com.cn/post/7/1/2/135843673_1.html

Briefings | | December 11, 2013 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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.”