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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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Huanqiu: The Key to Governing China Is to Control its Officials

On August 21, 2013, Huanqiu published a commentary stating that to govern China, there must be a way to control the behavior of its government officials. 

“While in the history of Chinese society the people’s rebellions have often resulted in a collapse, the cause of such rebellions has often been a corrupt bureaucracy or social governance errors. The internal rifts among government officials have repeatedly led to national unrest and even ‘subjugation.’” 
The urgency of the problem is based on four factors: First, some government officials believe that they are above the law. To them, civil servant is a synonym for the State’s system of welfare benefits. Second, the market economy has eroded the morality based on “serving the people” and the State has not yet developed a supplemental political force to fill the gap. Third, the Internet has suddenly put an invisible power in the spotlight. It tends to magnify the improper behavior of government officials. Fourth, in China, government officials have much greater power than their counterparts in Western countries. 

Source: Huanqiu, August 21, 2013 
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-08/4266707.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Huanqiu: Chinese Should Protest Less and Take More Action Fighting Japan

People’s Daily’s Huanqiu (Global Times) published an article discussing how China should respond to Japanese lawmakers visits to the Yasukuni Shrine [a shrine commemorating Japan’s war dead, some of whom fought against China]. Below is an excerpt from the article: 

“On the morning of August 15, again, three Japanese ministers visited the Yasukuni Shrine, in addition to 102 Japanese lawmakers’ collective visit to the ‘ghosts.’ 
“Japan has largely transformed the Yasukuni Shrine issue into a tool of diplomacy, using it as a balancing weight to counter China’s diplomatic power. “Facts have proven that, as long as Japan is determined to give China a hard time about the Yasukini shrine, it will be difficult for us to be the winner in this fight. 
“China should be more focused on what to do. We should pull the platform in the struggle against Japan from the shrine to where it is more favorable and convenient to us, so that we will be able to accomplish what we want at a lower cost and can do what the Japanese beg us not to do. 
“[For example,] the Chinese military can engage in exercises with live ammunition in the East China Sea on August 15, which is the day of Japan’s WWII surrender. This is a creative gesture. Of course, this is still not enough. We need a lot of innovative tools in order to make Japan uncomfortable. 
“Chinese authorities should commit more energy to developing new tools in the struggle against Japan and less on verbal protests.” 

Source: People’s Daily, August 16, 2013 
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0816/c1011-22585661.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Xi Jinping: The Party’s Ideological Work is an Extremely Important Job

At a nationwide meeting held in Beijing on August 19 and 20, the Chinese Communist Party’s Chairman Xi Jinping gave a speech on propaganda and ideological work. Xi emphasized that economic development is the central task of the Party, while the Party’s ideological work is an extremely important job.

Xi pointed out that propaganda and ideological work are to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field and to consolidate the common ideological foundation for the whole Party and the people of the nation. Party members and cadres should strengthen their belief in Marxism and Communism. Leading officials, especially senior officials, should systematically master the basic theory of Marxism, should honestly and thoroughly study Marxism, Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the "Three Represents" important thoughts, and the Scientific Concept of Development. All Party schools and academies, institutes of social sciences, and universities should have Marxism as a required course and become important forefronts of Marxist study, research, and propaganda. In particular, new and young cadres should do a good job in their theoretical studies and stand firm in their ideals and faith.

Xi asked for in-depth propaganda and education in socialism with Chinese characteristics so as to hold people of all ethnic groups in the nation in unity and cohesion under the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Xi stressed that to be a true Party member is to adhere to the correct political orientation, hold a firm political viewpoint, firmly propagandize the Party’s theories, path, guidelines and policies, propagandize the Party’s deployment of major tasks, propagandize the Party’s important analyses and judgments on the current situation, resolutely maintain a high degree of uniformity with the Central Committee, and resolutely safeguard the authority of the Central Committee. All the propaganda and ideological units and all the Party members and cadres in the propaganda and ideological fronts should be clear in their adherence to the Party’s principles.

Source: Xinhua, August 20, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-08/20/c_117021464.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Online Poll Shows People Want Checks and Balances and the Right to Criticize the Government

Since 2012, Professor Ma Deyong of Nan Kai University in Tianjin has been conducting a poll on the Internet. The results showed that 6.2 percent of Chinese netizens are leftists, 38.7 percent are rightists and 55.1 percent occupy the middle ground. The poll also showed that the Internet has become a major force in leading public opinion and is a platform where people can express their own thoughts. 

The total of Chinese netizens polled who believed that “whoever is in power, there must be checks and balances” was at 97.5 percent. Both leftists and rightists were on the same page on this issue. Those who agreed that “currently there is severe inequality in Chinese society” was at 97.2 percent. Ninety percent of leftists, rightists, and those in the middle, respectively, support “everyone has the right to criticize the government.” 
Ma initiated the online poll back in 2012 and continued into 2013. It used the Q & A at sina weibo, Tianya, and other websites where political issues are frequently discussed. The results of the poll were published on these websites. A total of 2,241 participated in the poll. 
Source: Nanfang Dushibao (Southern Metropolitan Daily), August 18, 2013 http://epaper.oeeee.com/A/html/2013-08/18/content_1917235.htm
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Masanjia Labor Camp

[Editor’s Note: On April 7, 2013, the Chinese magazine Lens published an exclusive investigation report describing in detail the various inhuman torture methods used to persecute the inmates at Masanjia Women’s Labor Camp. The article, titled “Getting Out of ‘Masanjia,'” is the first time that China’s own media revealed the torture used in the labor camp system. The article sent shock waves through Chinese society and was soon republished on a handful of major Chinese websites, including Sina, Sohu, Tengxun, and 163. The torture methods were so horrifying that they induced a number of people to make online comments. A YouTube video appeared called, “Masanjia, Hell in the Human World.”]

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Reports | | |   Report

Only One Quarter of Wealthy Chinese Are Very Confident in China’s Economy

On August 8, 2013, the World Journal published an article titled, “One Third of Chinese Millionaires Have Overseas Assets.” The article was based on The GroupM Knowledge – Hurun Wealth Report 2013. The report showed that only one quarter of China’s millionaires are very confident about the country’s economy in the coming two years, a decline of 3 percent from the previous year and one-half that from the year before. One-third of wealthy Chinese have overseas assets. This accounts for an average of 19 percent of their total assets. Nearly 30 percent of the Chinese millionaires who do not have overseas assets plan to make overseas investments in the next 3 years.

Since last year, over 80 percent of millionaires have planned to have their child educated outside of China. The major choices for foreign education are the US, the UK, and Canada. The main destinations for study abroad are also popular locations for them to purchase overseas residential properties. According to the "2013 Report on Private Wealth in China" jointly issued in May of 2013 by China Merchants Bank and Bain & Company – Management Consulting Firm, since 2010, about 60 percent of those respondents who have investable assets of more than 10 million yuan (US$1.63 million) have been considering or have already completed investment immigration. 

Source: World Journal, August 8, 2013
http://www.worldjournal.com/view/full_news/23395704/article-%E4%B8%AD%E5%9C%8B%E5%AF%8C%E8%B1%AA1-3%E6%93%81%E6%B5%B7%E5%A4%96%E8%B3%87%E7%94%A2?instance=m1b

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

The Increase in Financial Black Holes in Jiangsu Province

On August 21, 2013, 21cbh.com, a professional financial news website under the 21st Century Media Group in Guangdong Province, published an article on the increasing financial black holes in Jiangsu Province. Over 10 heads of bank branches have been removed from their positions or held legally responsibile for financial black holes in the steel trading market. From January to June 2013, the number of bad loans in Jiangsu Province increased by 18.2 billion yuan (US$2.97 billion). By the first half of 2013, the total bad loans belonging to the steel trading market in Jiangsu Province were 21.3 billion yuan (US.3.48 billion), among which, the nonperforming loan (NPL) ratio was 42.3 percent, 23.3 percent higher than it was at the beginning of this year. It is expected that the number of new bad loans will continue to increase.

To effectively resolve the steel trade market’s credit risk, the Jiangsu government recently proposed to repackage bad loans for State-owned enterprises to take over. Some financial professionals have concerns that such repackaging process may change these debts in the financial markets into the taxpayers’ responsibility.

Source: 21cbh.com, August 21, 2013
http://www.21cbh.com/2013/8-21/yONTg5Xzc0NjIyOA.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

The CCP’s File No. 9 Circular Labels Promoting Democratic Ideologies as Seven Reactionary Trends

On August 21, 2013, Hong Kong Apple Daily published an article on the Chinese Communist Party’s “File No. 9” titled, “Circular on the Current Ideological Situation.” The circular, authorized by the CCP’s General Secretary Xi Jingping, labels seven democratic ideological trends. Although popular in China recently, they are called reactionary trends; the circular warns CCP officials that they will lose their power if they cannot eliminate these seven reactionary trends from Chinese society. According to the circular, “Those who oppose the CCP’s one-party rule make trouble, call for publicizing officials’ assets and property holdings, take advantage of the Internet to oppose corruption, media control, and other sensitive problems so as to incite discontent about the Party and the government.” 

Below are the seven reactionary trends cited by the CCP:

  1. Promoting Western Constitutional Democracy and thus denying the CCP’s leadership and the socialist system.
  2. Promoting universal values and thus shaking the theoretical foundation of the CCP’s rule.
  3. Promoting civil society and thus disrupting the social foundation of the CCP’s rule.  
  4. Promoting neo-liberalism and thus changing China’s economic system.
  5. Promoting Western journalism [freedom of the press] and thus challenging the CCP’s media management system.
  6. Disseminating historical nihilism and thus negating the history of the CCP and New China.
  7. Questioning China’s reform and opening up is to question the nature of Chinese socialism.

Source: Hong Kong Apple Daily, August 21, 2013
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/international/art/20130821/18387627

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics