Chinascope – Page 855

A Clash of Values, Part I

Introduction

There can be no greater difference between forms of government than between the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Their foundations and goals and the means they use to achieve them lie in stark contrast. The United States came about as the result of a revolution that resulted in the promulgation of its Founding Principles to ensure the freedom and guarantee the rights of the governed. The PRC is a Communist government that came about as a result of violent revolution. Its leaders then “transformed its revolutionary idealism into a conservative reactionary autocracy.” They believed “that they themselves were the embodiment of ‘the people’ or ‘the general will’ and thus had full legitimacy to use all means possible, including dictatorship and terrorist killings to achieve this goal.” [1]

This series of articles explores the contrast between the two from the perspective of the United States’ founding principles as an example of the greatness that a government can achieve as compared to a regime based on a usurpation of power and its continuance at the barrel of a gun. Part I describes America’s Founding and the principles on which it is based.

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Analyses | | January 14, 2013 | Opinion

Youth.cn Defends the Party’s Role in Media Control

As the recent incident of the Chinese regime’s censorship of the Guangzhou based Southern Weekend‘s New Year’s editorial continued to develop, Youth.cn, the official website of Central Committee of the Chinese Youth League, also joined the public debate.

In its editorial on Tuesday January 8, 2013, the website said, “Southern Weekend is part of the newspaper business of the CCP’s Guangdong Provincial Party Committee; it is part of the Party Committee’s propaganda work. During the specific implementation of the Party’s propaganda work, internal disagreements and even conflicts and disputes are normal. This has nothing to do with constitutional government or freedom of the press.”

“In socialist China, the newspaper is a propaganda tool of the Party. The Party controls the media. This is an iron principle. One can confidently tell the world about that. A newspaper’s role is to convey the Party’s principles and policies and unify the mass’s understanding. … A newspaper is the Party’s eyes, ears, and mouth. Southern Weekend is too, whether in the past, now, or in the future. Over the years, a large number of outstanding editors and reporters have emerged in Southern Weekend. They are carefully selected and hired by the Southern Newspaper Group, under the guidance of the Party. They are also the Party’s journalists.”

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 8, 2013

http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jz-01082013150812.html

Briefings | | January 14, 2013 | Information/Technology

Radio Free Asia: Half of World’s Black Dollars Are from China; Capital Flight Is Accelerating

Radio Free Asia quoted a report from the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, which said that, in the past 10 years, through different means and various channels, the illegal funds fleeing from China reached a staggering US$3 trillion. Out of every two "black dollars" in the world, one is from China. It was estimated that, after the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, when the authorities considered implementing the exposure of the personal assets of government officials, the capital flight accelerated to US$41.2 billion in November alone. Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the second largest group responsible for the flight of capital was government officials.

Li Xinde, who runs a website that monitors Chinese public opinion, believed that the cause of the problem was the current policies and laws that involve anti-corruption, exposure of personal assets, and supervision of power.

A Beijing economist Zhong Dajun attributed the rampant capital flight to the current social political system, where a person can become rich quickly but develop a strong sense of insecurity after becoming rich. A 2011 report from China’s central bank revealed eight major means that corrupt officials use to transfer their property: cash smuggling, remittance fraud, current account fraud, overseas investment, credit card spending, creating an offshore financial center, foreign direct receipt, and transfer through offshore special relationships.

Although China has strict foreign exchange regulations, more and more rich people continue to transfer their money overseas. Hexun, a Chinese financial news portal, reported that China’s capital flight using even the most simple and primitive method–hiding bundles of cash in ones luggage–has accelerated.

Source: Radio Free Asia, January 10, 2013

http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xl2-01102013123334.html

Briefings | | January 14, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Air Quality Deteriorates in Large Areas in China; Public Advised to Stay Inside

Recently misty weather has covered large areas of China with a serious deterioration in air quality. The air quality in multiple metropolitan areas has been coded as “serious pollution.”

The Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center released data showing that, since Thursday night (January 10), the pm2.5 concentration has been sustained at above 300 micrograms and reached level six, which is “serious pollution.” In the most polluted area the pm2.5 index reached 456.

In nine out of 11 cities in Hebei Province, the measure of air quality has been labeled "serious pollution.” In Shijiazhuang, Handan, Xingtai, and Hengshui, the quality index even exceeded 500. Air in Wuhan City in central China was also "heavily polluted" for several days.

On Saturday January 12, China’s Central Meteorological Station issued a blue fog warning. Nine provinces, including Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei and Sichuan Basin, had heavy fog with visibility of less than 1000 meters. Environmental experts warned that heavy fog prevents the dispersion of air pollutants. Local governments have issued air quality warnings to the public and advised people to stay indoors. Schools have suspended outdoor physical activities.

Source: BBC Chinese, January 12, 2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2013/01/130112_china_air.shtml

Briefings | | January 14, 2013 | Economy/Resources

U.S. Uses Its Hegemonic Position to Gain US$7 Trillion in Dividends in 2011, Nearly Half from China

On January 8, 2013, the National Health Study Group of the Chinese Academy of Sciences issued a "National Health Report." The report declared that the U.S. gained a total of US$7.39609 trillion in dividends in 2011 as a result of its hegemonic position in the world. That amount is 96.8 percent of such dividends for the entire world. China is the biggest loser; it lost a total of US$3.6634 trillion, which is 47.9 percent of the total. The report also calculated that the dividend resulting from the U.S. hegemonic position is as high as 52.38 percent of its GDP, i.e. 52.38 percent of the U.S. GDP was obtained as a result of its hegemony. In the report, hegemonic dividend is defined as the dividend the hegemonic nation gains through directly or indirectly accruing profits through its position as a monopoly and through its established hegemonic system throughout the the world.

The report also asserted that 60 percent of Chinese laborers’ working hours were spent working for free for monopoly capital, thus creating "extra value" for them.

Source: People’s Daily, January 9, 2013
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2013/0109/c1004-20136081.html

Briefings | | January 11, 2013 | US-China Relations

Huanqiu: Japan and U.S. Jointly Deal with China’s Surveillance of the Diaoyu Islands

China’s state media Huanqiu reported that Japan and the U.S. have reached an agreement that they would jointly cope with Chinese ships and airplanes entering the sea around the Diaoyu Islands. Japan released the news unilaterally. The report stated that the agreement was reached when Japan’s Defense Minister called on the U.S. Secretary of Defense. Japan promised that it would completely cooperate with the U.S.’s new Asia Pacific security strategy. It said that Japan views the enhancement of the Japan-U.S. alliance as an important weapon to deal with conflicts with its neighboring countries.

Source: Huanqiu, January 9, 2013 http://world.huanqiu.com/exclusive/2013-01/3463069.html

Briefings | | January 11, 2013 | US-China Relations

Beijing Police Handled Over One Million Illegal Internet Postings in 2012

According to the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, its Internet security authorities organized rounds of crackdowns on Internet related crimes in 2012 to ensure order in cyberspace.

In 2012, its Internet security department found and dealt with a total of 108 million illegal web postings, punished 1.7 million websites, and shut down 1.9 web sections that had serious problems. In addition, it cracked a total of 3,800 Internet related cases and arrested more than 4,200 suspects.

Meanwhile, the Beijing police also provided guidance for Internet users on how to resist all kinds of rumors and bad information. For example, the Beijing police sent warning messages through microblogs to 915 Internet users who committed minor offenses.

Source: Xinhua, January 6, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-01/06/c_114271184.htm

Briefings | | January 10, 2013 | Information/Technology

Huanqiu Editorial Tries to Nail the Southern Weekend Incident

Huanqiu (Global Times) published an editorial trying to “clarify” and put an end to the Southern Weekend incident, which started when Guangdong Propaganda Department Chief Tuo Zhen re-wrote Southern Weekend’s New Year’s editorial.

Huanqiu’s article quoted Southern Weekend’s newly posted weibo (the Chinese equivalent of twitter) denying that Tuo Zhen changed the content of the New Year’s editorial and declaring that the rumors spread on the Internet were untrue.

The article said, “In today’s socio-political reality in China, it is not possible to have the kind of "free media" those people demand. Development of all the media in China can only correspond to China’s reality; media reform must be part of China’s overall reform; the media will never become a ‘politically-exempt zone.’”

The article warned, “Some outsiders try to push individual Chinese media to engage in confrontation (with the government). They are ruining these media.”

The article concluded, “News media need to reform continually, but one thing will not change. In the grand scale, China’s news media and China’s politics must be coordinated and interactive. … China’s news media will never advance independently to a point that China’s politics cannot allow.”

Source: Huanqiu, January 7, 2013

http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-01/3457134.html

Briefings | | January 10, 2013 | Government/Politics

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.

CCP, Master of Hostage Diplomacy