Chinascope – Page 818

PLA Official: Military Logistics Must Serve the Objectives of a Strong Military Force

On October 1, 2013, Zhao Keshi, a member on the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party who serves as the head of General Logistics Department of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), wrote an article that was published in Qiushi about Xi Jinping’s remarks on building up the PLA’s logistics.

Zhao stated that Xi requires that, to build a strong military force, efforts must be made to build up the PLA’s logistics in order to 1) ensure winning in modern warfare; 2) support the modernization of China’s military forces, and 3) transform information technology (the three build-ups).

Zhao stated that to do so, “logistics must be placed under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party and [the PLA] must resolutely follow and implement the orders of the Party’s command.” He recognized that “the logistics personnel have more direct and open interactions with society, tend to be well educated, and may easily be influenced by social thoughts.” Therefore, he called for enforced political education to “ensure that they follow directions in peacetime, carry out the orders of their commanders during wartime, and remain unswerving at critical moments with no questions asked.”

Source: Qiushi, October 1, 2013

http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2013/201319/201309/t20130927_275406.htm

Briefings | | October 4, 2013 | Defense/Military

Waves of Bankruptcies Emerging in Ten Industries

On September 30, Chinese Business Wisdom published a commentary saying that bankruptcies in 10 industries have been on the rise and that waves of bankruptcies are probably not far away.

1) Shipbuilding. For example, China Rongsheng Heavy Industries Group Holdings Ltd, a leading shipbuilding company, saw its 2012 revenues slashed by 50 percent.

2) The iron and steel industry. As banks are short of cash to pay their depositors, small steel mills will most likely be the hardest hit.

3) The LED Industry. The downfall of the Junduoli Enterprise Group in 2011 touched off the bankruptcies of several LED companies. In the next couple of years, as many as 60 percent of the remaining several thousand LED companies may not survive.

4) The Furniture Industry. Orient Homes, once the largest home improvement companies in China, has applied for bankruptcy to close down its stores.

5) Small to mid-size Real Estate Developers. In the next three years, at least one-third of the real estate developers will close their doors. Estimates are that the number of companies will drop from 50,000 to 35,000.

6) The Cargo Shipping Business. In 2012, three companies that are listed on the stock exchange were up to 14 billion yuan in the red. This followed a 10.4 billion yuan loss in 2011.

7) Trust and Financial Institutions. In less than 6 years, trusts have grown substantially. The number of financial trades they conduct is now second only to banks. Since the beginning of this year, several trusts petitioned to extend the due dates of their loans and were rejected.

8) Financial Management Companies. They have been under pressure from their competitors, the trusts. Unless they receive funds from private equity or an injection of funds from their shareholders, up to 600 financial management companies may fail.

9) Private Equity. Private equity has gained a negative reputation because many of its investors ended up involved in Ponzi schemes. It is estimated that 90 percent of all private equity investment firms will close in 2013.

10) Group-buying. In March 2010, group buying went viral. As of the end of the first half of 2013, 4,570 group buying websites had closed down. The figure represents nearly 75 percent of the total of 6,218 in the group buying industry.

Source: Chinese Business Wisdom, September 30, 2013

http://www.bwchinese.com/article/1047225.html

Briefings | | October 4, 2013 | Economy/Resources

China Goes After Mobile News Apps

The State Internet Information Office, an agency under the State Council, recently issued a directive that demands the "rectification" of mobile news apps that "obtain Internet news illegally or conduct Internet news services illegally." It named news aggregator Zaker, which has 17.5 million users, and Chouti, which uses the slogan "Publish what shouldn’t be published," as being among those failing to comply with government guidelines.

Some of the apps provide Chinese users the news from overseas and foreign media, including those banned by the authorities, such as New York Times. The government demands all mobile news apps register with the authorities in charge of Internet information and meet the appropriate qualifications. All mobile apps stores are also forbidden to provide uploading or downloading and other services for illegal news apps.

This move comes after Chinese police conducted an intensive campaign to strike "Internet rumors." Earlier this month the Chinese Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate issued a judicial interpretation that the use of the Internet for slandering and defamation that leads to mass incidents causes "serious harm to the social order and the national interest," which should be characterized as a criminal offense subject to the investigation of police and prosecution by the People’s Procuratorate.

Source: BBC Chinese, September 30, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/09/130930_china_news_apps_closure.shtml

Briefings | | October 3, 2013 | Information/Technology

People’s Daily: So Many U.S. “Osprey” Come to the Asia-Pacific. What Prey Do their Claws Seek?

People’s Daily published a report about the U.S. deployment of the "Osprey" at a military base in Japan. Below is an excerpt from the report:

On September 25, 2013, the last of the second batch of United States Marine Corps’ 12 newly deployed "Ospreys" arrived at Futenma Airfield. This brings the total number of "Ospreys" that have settled down at the U.S. military base in Japan to 24. … [The U.S. move] once again caused widespread concern among all related parties in the surrounding areas.

In less than a year’s time, the U.S. transferred such a large group of "Ospreys" across the oceans. It is clearly not to make a sightseeing tour, but to come for “fishing.” Why does the U.S. come here for “fishing?” What are the "Osprey’s" claws seeking?

Senior U.S. officials did not disguise in the slightest the strategic purpose of the "Osprey." … U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Carter has stated publicly that the "Osprey" is indispensable to fulfilling Obama’s new strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, strengthening the Japan-US alliance, and enhancing the ability of deterrence. A former official of the U.S. State Department said directly to Japanese media that an important objective in deploying the "Osprey" in Japan is a joint "defense" of the Diaoyu Islands with Japan. Kyodo News reported that the U.S. government stated that the "Osprey" will significantly improve the strength of the U.S. Marine Corps [in Japan] and help counter the increasingly active Chinese maritime activities.

The U.S. "Osprey" comes in droves, and keeps hovering in the sky around our country. We should not only pay attention to the "Osprey," but also be alert to the fisherman behind the "Osprey." Only by keeping vigilant and maintaining a firm hold on the shotgun will we be able to protect the "fish" from being harmed by the "Osprey."

Source: People’s Daily, September 27, 2013

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0927/c1011-23058932.html

Briefings | | October 3, 2013 | US-China Relations

Totalitarian State Has Caused an Economic Crisis in China

Niu Dao, a popular commentator on real estate and finance in China, stated in a blog at sina.com that the totalitarian Communist regime is bringing about an unprecedented economic crisis in China and that the five year real estate bubble will burst soon.

“In totalitarian economy countries … as long as the economy has few problems, the government will find ways to cover things up so that the crisis will not break out. The government’s mentality is that they do not want the economic crisis to spread and become a social crisis. So large bubbles mask small bubbles, and, due to such a cover-up, small problems grow into big conflicts that cannot be resolved. Finally the situation evolves into a full crisis, leading to the disintegration of the government or the dictator stepping down.” Niu cited the examples of former Soviet Union, Romania, Albania, Khmer Rouge, and East Germany. He stated that the upcoming crisis in China will be an unprecedented crisis in history.

To support his analysis, Niu discussed several factors, including the following:

In the past three consecutive years, investment accounted for 40 percent of China’s GDP. Investments and exports combined accounted for over 70 percent of China’s GDP. The government has created the housing bubble. Once the bubble bursts, a massive number of developers will go bankrupt.

The drastic appreciation of the Chinese yuan in a short period of time is extremely rare in history. The real purchasing power of one million yuan today is less than that of 10,000 yuan 30 years ago, and has decreased by 300% compared to 5 years ago. The current housing market does not reflect the true market price; it represents what the government created only to wipe out the wealth of several social levels.

The current value of real estate in China exceeds 40 percent of the GDP. Further, the number of vacant housing units has reached an astronomical figure. Take Beijing for example. It alone has over 3.80 million vacant housing units, and Shanghai has over 5 million units standing idle. Shenzhen and Guangzhou have even more.

Source: Blog at sina.com, September 29, 2013

http://dl.house.sina.com.cn/news/2013-09-29/08082435329.shtml

Briefings | | October 3, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Muddled Urbanization in Ordos Results in the Loss of Billions and Helpless Ex-Farmers

On September 27, 2013, China Review News published a report on the failure of the urbanization process in Ordos, one of the twelve major subdivisions in Inner Mongolia, the People’s Republic of China. After 10 years of muddled urbanization in which the government caused overheating in the real estate market and in which almost all residents participated, Ordos, a coal mining city, is now an empty city where most of the new buildings are vacant. As a result, billions in wealth has been lost with the burst of the property bubble. Now, all local-governments as well as ordinary residents have to find ways to repay their debts.

As previous rural villages have been demolished, ex-farmers, now urban citizens, stand idle and feel helpless. They have lost all their relocation money in private financing related to real estate development. When property development was hot, these ex-farmers, without any money and no flocks of sheep, had to find jobs as construction workers. In the most recent couple of years, they could not even find any construction jobs because all construction sites have been shut down.

Source: China Review News, September 27, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1027/6/7/7/102767771.html?coluid=10&kindid=258&docid=102767771&mdate=0927175545

Briefings | | October 2, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Study Times: Strengthen the Supervision and Management of Social Organizations

On September 23, 2013, Study Times published an article on further strengthening the supervision and management of social organizations in China. Recently, the Ministry of Civil Affairs of China issued the following orders: It asked four social organizations to stop having any activities for 6 months; it gave warnings to six social organizations; and it revoked one social organization’s registration. The article urged the People’s Republic of China to accelerate the pace of relevant legislation and build a sound and comprehensive legal and regulatory supervision system to control and manage all social organizations.

Source: Study Times, September 23, 2013
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2013/09/23/06/06_36.htm

Briefings | | October 2, 2013 | Government/Politics

Beijing CBD Properties Are as Expensive as the Tokyo Shinjuku CBD and the City of London

On September 29, 2013, People’s Daily published an article on how expensive properties are in the Beijing Central Business District (CBD). The original article was from Beijing Youth Daily, the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Youth League committee in Beijing. According to the article, Beijing CBD property is as expensive as real estate in the Tokyo Shinjuku CBD and in the City of London. However, the average income of Beijing residents is only 1/5 of the income of people living in Tokyo and London. If an ordinary young man wanted to buy an 80-square-meter apartment in the Beijing CBD, he would have to work at least 40 years without eating or drinking anything.

Source: People’s Daily, September 29, 2013
http://house.people.com.cn/n/2013/0929/c194441-23069638.html

Briefings | | October 2, 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.