Chinascope – Page 823

Xinhua: Government Cracked Down on Illegal Mobile News Apps

Xinhua recently reported that the National Internet Information Office has been cracking down on some mobile news apps such as “ZAKER News Reader” and “Bee News." The Office has required that these mobile apps be removed from the market and report back to the authorities to confirm their legal compliance status. The key accusation against these mobile news clients was “offering news services without proper government certification.” The National Internet Information Office provided more details, suggesting that these news apps distributed “inappropriate information that may have endangered adolescent health” and that they disrupted “the orderly dissemination of online news.” According to several Chinese laws governing Internet information services, all Chinese Internet news providers must register with and get certified by the corresponding government administrative office which regulates and manages Iinternet information content.

Source: Xinhua, September 30, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2013-09/30/c_117577860.htm

Briefings | | October 8, 2013 | Information/Technology

Housing Prices Rose for 16 Consecutive months; Beijing Had the Highest Increase

Guangming Daily carried an article stating that, according to the statistics published by the China Index Academy, in September 2013, the average increase in housing prices for 100 cities in China was 10,554 yuan (US$1,724) per square meter, up 1.07 percent from August. According to the article, this was 16th consecutive month that saw an increase. The average increase in 10 large cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, was 18,179 yuan (US$2,930) per square meter, up 13 percent compared to the same period last year. The article stated that, of those 10 cities, Beijing had the highest increase. It also pointed out that, while the housing prices for the first tier cities kept increasing, the prices in third and fourth tier cities have remained relatively stable and are not expected to see much fluctuation in the future..

Source: Guangming Daily, October 2, 2013
http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-10/02/content_9076291.htm

Briefings | | October 7, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Guangming Daily on the Importance of the Party’s Ideology Work

Guangming Daily published a commentary on the importance of the Party’s ideology work. It stated that, whether the party ideology work can do well or not affects to “Party’s future fate, its long term stability, and the country’s unity.” According to the article, the western countries have always held hostile, biased opinions towards the socialist system. The propaganda emanating from western democracies consists simply of “beautiful lies,” which are mainly against the Chinese Communist Party and China’s socialist system. Therefore, the article stated, the Party members should constantly be clear headed and on guard to react while understanding and "clarifying the truth about the western political value system and not to be fooled by it.”

Source: Guangming Daily, October 4, 2013
http://www.gmw.cn/sixiang/2013-10/04/content_9084371.htm

Briefings | | October 7, 2013 | Government/Politics

On the New Requirements for Party Development Work at the Grassroots Level

Guangming Daily published an article exploring ideas on the new requirements for Party development work at the grassroots level including how to comply with the current situation while coping with new challenges resulting from social and economic development. The article suggested that, in order to cope with the constant job changes and urbanization, the grass roots Party unit can be set up as the “community based” Party unit in addition to the traditional work unit or residential association based unit. The article also emphasized the need to strengthen the Party unit’s scientific operation at the grassroots level in the new informational technology era. It stated that, currently, the Party cadres are lacking the ability to conduct grassroots work using the new media and guiding public opinion. Therefore, it urgently needs group Party cadres who can be professionally trained to manage the Party members properly, as they are constantly on the move, and who are able to utilize the Internet to host Party organizational activities.

Source: Guangming Daily, October 3, 2013
http://dangjian.gmw.cn/2013-10/03/content_9078897.htm

Briefings | | October 7, 2013 | Government/Politics

People’s Daily: The Only Thing the U.S. Wants Is To Be the Dominant Power in the Middle East

People Daily published an article commenting that U.N. resolution 2118 will not be able to restrict the U.S. from taking military action against Syria in the future. The following is an excerpt from the article:

On September 27, 2013, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2118 on the issue of Syria’s chemical weapons. This means that the U.S. will temporarily suspend its military strike against Syria. … The result did not come easily. It was not only a fight between the United States and the international peace forces, but also a contest between the U.S. and the Russian military power. However, this compromise represents only a temporary peace. The resolution also left a "back door" for the U.S. to strike Syria [in the future].

A U.S. military strike against Syria has the intention of accelerating the shift in strategic focus "eastward." … In order to speed up the adjustment of its strategic focus, the United States needs to accelerate its deployment of troops to shift in direction from the Middle East to the Asia Pacific. However, today the United States does not have a commanding control over the security of the Middle East. This is an important reason that restricts the United States from deploying its troops eastward. Following the removal of Saddam, Gaddafi, and other stumbling blocks, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad became the next block in the Middle East that the United States is eager to move away. "Chemical Weapons" is merely an excuse for the United States to occupy the moral high ground.

Reading carefully, one sees that the resolution contains content allowing that the Security Council can take measures under the "UN Charter" Chapter VII in the event of non-compliance with the resolution. This is a major concession that Russia made. The United States specifically emphasized this point, implying that the U.S. has left itself a "back door" to further strike Syria [in the future]. This means that even after the destruction of the Syrian chemical weapons, the U.S. will still likely find an excuse for its military strike operations. It’s like the old Libya: after it surrendered the right to develop and produce nuclear weapons, the U.S. still overthrew the Gaddafi regime.

In the future battle between the United States and Russia, military pressure against the Bashar al-Assad regime will be the U.S.’s determined policy. Syria’s chemical weapons will be the main theme for the battle. The U.S. will likely continue to seek other moral justification for war. Russia and others in the international community may use the tactics of "an eye for an eye [letting them have a taste of their own medicine]." That is, using the grounds that Syrian has given up its chemical weapons, they may support Syria with international public opinion to curb the possibility of the United States taking military action.

Source: People’s Daily, October 2, 2013

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/1002/c172467-23098146.html

Briefings | | October 4, 2013 | Geo-Strategic Trend

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

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.”