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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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CASS: The Labor Camp System is a Threat to People’s Freedom

People’s Daily recently reported that the Institute of Political Science of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and the Social Science Documentation Publishing House jointly released the 2013 Chinese Political Development Report (also known as the Political Development Blue Book). The key new finding of this latest Blue Book is that the Labor Camp System (also known as the Labor Reeducation System) has once again become a focal point for Chinese society. A general social agreement appears to be forming that the system must be reformed. The Labor Camp System grants the police the right to put someone in a jail-like facilities for up to four years without involving a court or any prosecution. It was originally designed for very light violation of laws. However the power of the system has been abused widely and for a long time. The Blue Book concluded that the system is “an enormous threat to the freedom of Chinese citizens” and that it is now time to reform the system.
 
Source: People’s Daily, August 6, 2013
http://gx.people.com.cn/n/2013/0806/c229247-19239074.html
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: Nine Cities’ Assets Not Enough to Pay All Their Debts

Xinhua recently reported on the comments that a high ranking official of the National Audit Office made anonymously regarding local government debts. The official suggested that nine provinces’ capital cities suffered a debt level that exceeded 100 percent of their assets, which indicated a technical bankruptcy. However there has been no word from the National Audit Office on the names of these cities. Starting August 1, the Office conducted a sudden nationwide audit campaign on local governments’ debts. It has been a long term challenge for the central government to understand the size of the local governments’ debts due to the significant lack of transparency about local loans. Some professional firms identified the top 10 most likely cities based on available data: Nanjing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hefei, Kunming, Changsha, Wuhan, Haerbin, Xi’an, and Lanzhou. However the State Council Information Office stated, “China will never have the kind of bankruptcy Detroit just had.”
Source: Xinhua, August 6, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-08/06/d_125122362.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Shanghai High Court Cracks Down on Unlawful Behavior after High Court Judges’ Prostitution Scandal

Following the publication of information that, on August 1, a video about four Shanghai high court judges being involved in a prostitution scandal had been posted on Internet, the Shanghai Municipal Committee announced the disciplinary actions of removing them from their posts and giving them 10 days of administrative detention to start the following day.

On August 8, Cui Yadong, party secretary of Shanghai High Court held a video conference to announce the directions that Han Zhen, the Party chief of Shanghai, gave on having “zero tolerance and cracking down on any unlawful activities.” Han also stated that “the incident has caused huge damage to the Party’s image and to the legal system. It also gave both domestic and international hostile forces an opportunity to attack the Party, the government, our socialist legal system, and Party and government cadres.” Han called for an effort to “learn from the lesson and to rectify and improve future actions.”

A report stated that 6,000 staff members participated in the conference.

Source: Xinhua, August 9, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2013-08/09/c_125144873.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: The Wall Street Journal’s Chinese Language Website is Down

On August 4, BBC Chinese reported that the website for the Chinese language edition of the Wall Street Journal was down and might be blocked in China. Chinese Internet users posted complaints stating that they could visit the English website but not the Chinese one. BBC Chinese said that it was not clear whether the website was down due to technical issues or the actions of the Chinese authorities.

The website of the Wall Street Journal’s Chinese website was launched in 2002. On a number of occasions in the past, the Chinese authorities blocked some of its contents. In 2010 and 2012, there were reports that the entire website had been blocked. In 2012, the English and Chinese websites for Bloomberg and the New York Times were blocked because they published information that the family members of Xi Jinping and Wen Jiabao were involved in money laundering.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 4, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/08/130804_wsj_china.shtml

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

BBC Chinese: Beijing Built US$500 Million Large Container Terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka

BBC Chinese reported that China invested US$500 million in a large container terminal in Colombo, Sri Lanka, the first large cargo ship harbor in Sri Lanka. The official start date for the terminal to be in operation was Monday August 5. According to the report, in addition to this investment, Beijing signed an agreement in January to take over management of the Gwadar seaport. China also invested US$14 million to construct a dry port in Larcha in Nepal and in June 2012, provided financial and technology assistance to build a deep water harbor in Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka. By cutting through Sri Lanka, the route in the Indian Ocean is supposed to shorten the water time by four days. Also, historically, Sri Lanka has been considered an important stop in the maritime silk route.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 4, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/business/2013/08/130804_china_srilanka_port.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Current Organ Transplant Situation

On August 8, 2013, the State Health and Family Planning Commission of China announced the list of hospitals that have been approved to implement the human organ transplant project. They include the Beijing Union Medical College Hospital and the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, with a total of 165 hospitals nationwide. At present, China has become the world’s second largest organ transplantation country. Each year more than 8,000 transplant surgeries are performed. There is a huge gap between supply and demand. There are about 300,000 organ failure patients each year. 

Source: Xinhua, August 8, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2013-08/08/c_116870528.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Qiushi: The Fundamental Crisis in China is One of Values and Faith

Qiushi published an article entitled, “What is China’s Fundamental Crisis?” The author believes that the ultimate crisis that China faces is not an economic crisis or a political crisis caused by corruption. Rather, China’s “fundamental crisis is the crisis caused by the conflict between ideology and reality. It is a crisis of values, a crisis of faith.” 

According to the author, there are two major problems in China. One is that the conflict between the Communist ideology of public ownership and that of private ownership in market capitalism has led the people to question the legitimacy of State ownership. The other is that severe splits have occurred within the socialist ideology. These two problems have resulted in confusion in both policies and decision making. “This is the lynchpin of all major problems in China today.” 
Source: Qiushi, August 7, 2013 
 http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/wwtj/201308/t20130807_257099.htm
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Government Official: China Has Many Ghost Towns

Qiao Runling, Deputy Director of the Cities and Small Towns Reform and Development Center, which is under the National Development and Reform Commission, confirmed that “ghost towns” exist in many places in China.  

Qiao observed that many cities in China do not have businesses, markets, or residents. He stated that it is not just Ordos. “Many ‘ghost towns’ exist throughout China." There are even ghost towns between Beijing and Tianjin.
"According to our survey, vacancy rates in real estate development projects in some cities range between 40 and 60 percent. For the central and western regions the vacancy rates run as high as 70 to 80 percent." 
Source: Shanghai Securities News reprinted by Xinhua, August 7, 2013 
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-08/07/c_125127835.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources