Chinascope – Page 821

Xinhua: Survey Showed 67.6 Percent of People Found Housing Prices Unacceptably High

Xinhua recently reported on the results of a housing market survey that the Chinese central bank conducted during the third quarter of 2013. 67.6 percent of the people surveyed suggested that the current housing prices are “too high” and are “unacceptable.” Only 2.1 percent of the sample population found them to be “satisfactory.” Around 77 percent of the residents of the “top tier cities” (such as Beijing and Shanghai) expressed the belief that prices were “too high.” Regarding the future, 35.8 percent of those who responded expected a trend toward increased growth and 45.2 percent expected the level of prices to remain steady. Only 6.5 percent of the sample expected a drop in prices. The survey also covered spending plans. 45.2 percent of the people surveyed plan to “increase their savings,” and 17.5 percent expect to spend more. 36.3 percent of those surveyed plan to do more “investing.” The top three investment channels are: investment funds, real estate, and bonds.

Source: Xinhua, September 21, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/house/bj/2013-09-21/c_125419261.htm

Briefings | | September 24, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Total Donations Declined for Two Consecutive Years

According to the 2012 China Charity Donation Report which was published on September 21, the total charitable donations in 2012 amounted 81.7 trillion yuan (US$13.35 trillion), down 3.31 percent from 2011. 2012 was the second consecutive year that saw a decline in charitable donations. According to the report, the contributing factors included the slowdown in the economy, fewer natural disasters, and people not trusting in the accountability of charitable organizations.

Social organizations received over 70 percent of the total charitable donations to all organizations. A number of foundations ranked as the top donation recipients. They received over 30.5 trillion yuan (US$4.98 trillion) which accounted for 37.4 percent of the total charitable donations. Business enterprises remained as the top donors with total donations of 47.4 trillion (US$7.74 trillion). Of those, 57.98 percent or 27.5 trillion (US$4.49 trillion) came from private enterprises. It was also noticed that the amount of donations made online in 2012 exceeded 2011, thus establishing a new trend in the donation market.

Source: Xinhua, September 21, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-09/21/c_117441606.htm

Briefings | | September 23, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Communist Party Member Evaluation and Dismissal System Used in Zhejiang Province

Xinhua published a news report about the Party organization in Pujiang County of Zhenjian Province. According to the report, in April, the Party organization adopted a Party member re-evaluation and dismissal system. All of the Party members have been evaluated based on certain judging criteria including how the Party member follows the communist ideals and beliefs, their political stance, sense of organizational discipline, perspective of the overall situation, and their legal sense. The initial result from the assessment showed that 430 Party members didn’t meet the requirements. They have to participate in a Party training course and take six month to one year to correct their actions in order to be reinstated. In addition there were 55 members who failed the evaluation and were asked to withdraw from their Party membership. Among those, one member was said to have worked as a fortune teller for a lengthy period of time.

Source: Xinhua, September 21, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-09/21/c_117440973.htm

Briefings | | September 23, 2013 | Government/Politics

PLA Daily: Be Firm in the Battlefield of Ideological Struggle

On September 18, 2013, China’s military newspaper, PLA Daily, published an article stressing that the Military should always remember the principle that the (Communist) Party directs the gun (The Party always rules the military) and the military should resist the influence of the enemy’s ideology. September 18 is an important day as a historical event in Chinese history books. On September 18, 1931, Japan staged the Mukden Incident, which it used as an excuse to invade northeast China. Below is an excerpt from the article:

“The Ideological field has always been the focus of hostile forces attempts to Westernize and divide China. To subvert a government, the hostile forces often start with the ideological field to open up a hole for a breakthrough. Our military should not only defeat the enemy in the battlefield, but also defeat the enemy in the ideological field.

“Some may think that China is now in close cooperation with the West, as the struggle is not so intense and complicated. One may not know that under the cover of economic cooperation, it is a contest for the future. … We should be particularly vigilant as the hostile forces are directly targeting our army, attempting to replicate the course of the Egyptian and Tunisia coups so as to separate our army from the Communist Party’s banner. We must make the first move and take the initiative to respond rationally to this ‘war.’

“The reason that the Soviet army changed in core belief and color, stood still at a critical juncture, and even defected (from the Party), is the most fundamental issue; it is that they lost their ideals and belief and forgot the "Party commands the gun" principle. [As long as] our army maintains the same soul and inherits the red gene, we will be able to stay firm and stand high in the ideological struggle.”

Source: PLA Daily, September 18, 2013

http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2013-09/18/content_52015.htm

http://cpc.people.com.cn/pinglun/n/2013/0918/c78779-22958610.html

Briefings | | September 20, 2013 | Defense/Military

Datong’s Deep Debts Amount to 13 Billion Yuan

According to China Business, as of 2013, the City of Datong, Shanxi Province had accumulated debts exceeding 13 billion yuan. Datong paid off 2 billion in the first half of the year, with over 110 billion still outstanding. A few municipal construction projects have been suspended due to lack of funding.

A Datong city official indicated that the debts are reasonable as long as the local government can handle them. Last year Datong issued bonds in the amount of 600 million yuan. Bank loans make up the rest of the debts. In 2012 Datong had about 8 billion yuan of fiscal revenue.

Datong is urgently looking for buyers or investors for its State-owned assets. These include more than 100 State-owned enterprises, 30,000 mu of reserve land, real properties held by financing platform companies, as well as tourist attractions such as the Yungang Grottoes. These assets are valued at 38 billion yuan.

Source: China Business, September 18. 2013

http://www.cb.com.cn/economy/2013_0918/1013726.html

Briefings | | September 20, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Severe Air Pollution in Northern China

On September 18, 2013, six cities and regions in the northern part of China signed an agreement with the Ministry of Environmental Protection to control and prevent air pollution. The six cities and regions are Beijing, Tianjin, the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, and Shandong, as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region – regions that are suffering from severe air pollution.

“In recent years, frequent occurrences of fog and haze have become a shadow in hearts of the people of Beijing, Tianjin, and the surrounding areas. Data show that in August of this year, only 34.6 percent of the days in the month met the safety quality standard, while 65.4 percent did not meet the standard and 2.7 percent were in severe pollution.”

Source: Xinhua, September 18. 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-09/19/c_117428247.htm

Briefings | | September 20, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Beijing Denounces British Officials as “Interfering in Hong Kong’s Internal Affairs”

Hugo Swire, a Minister of State for the Foreign Office of the UK, published an article on Saturday, September 14 in the South China Morning Post indicating that he supports Hong Kong’s universal suffrage and that "Britain stands ready to support in any way we can." The article resulted in an array of counterattacks from China. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday that China will never allow any external forces to interfere in the internal affairs of Hong Kong and damage Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability. "We have the determination and ability to defend our national security." As early as Monday, Hong Lei had already accused Swire of making "irresponsible remarks" and expressed strong dissatisfaction. Global Times, a newspaper owned by the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily, accused the British of "impure motives."

On Tuesday Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing newspaper Ta Kung Pao published a long article titled "British Espionage Activities in Hong Kong," referring to British intelligence officers’ "blatant" actions in Hong Kong. The article said, "Ever since the reunification, the UK intelligence agency’s activities in Hong Kong not only have not dwindled down, they continue to strengthen. The ‘operation center’ is currently located inside the British Consulate-General on 1 Supreme Court Rd. Admiralty." The author also questioned the reason behind the fact that the Consulate-General building was designed by the same person that designed the MI6 headquarters building in London.

The article said that British intelligence agencies are very focused on buying and getting key personnel to defect. "To achieve their target, they have followed some key figures for a long time, as long as several years or even more than a decade." The article also claimed that Britain has detailed material on senior Hong Kong officials under British authorities. "With such information, they exerted long-term control over a group of senior officials during the transition. Once it is necessary, they will then use the media in Hong Kong to issue negative news to attack their targets. Former Secretary for Development Mak Chai-kwong was alleged to have fraudulently claimed a housing allowance for five years starting in 1985. All the evidence was from the allegations of civil servants’ information decades ago. Who else has such capabilities other than the British authorities?"

In addition, another pro-Beijing newspaper in Hong Kong, Wen Wei Po, also published an article saying that, ever since the turnover of the sovereignty of Hong Kong 16 years ago, "a large number of MI6 spies have returned to Hong Kong, infiltrating into political parties, organizations, the judicial system, trade associations, the media, and vital government bodies, so as to snatch the right to govern Hong Kong."

Source: BBC Chinese, September 17, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/09/130917_china_reax_uk.shtml

Briefings | | September 19, 2013 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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.