Chinascope – Page 855

CNPC and Sinopec Received Large Government Subsidies in 2012

According to Xinhua, the top two State-owned petroleum companies, China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec), received a total of 12.2 billion yuan (US$1.98 billion) in government subsidies in 2012. Sinopec alone received 9.4 billion yuan (US$1.53 billion). The Chinese government subsidized CNPC and Sinopec 1 billion and 462 million respectively in 2009, 1.599 billion and 1.0 billion in 2010, and 6.734 billion and close to 1.5 billion in 2011.

In 2008, due to the high cost of crude oil and the low prices paid for finished oil products, both companies incurred astronomical losses. For that year, CNPC and Sinopec received 15.7 billion yuan (US$2.57 billion) and 50.3 billion yuan (US$8.7 billion) in government subsidies, respectively.

Source: Xinhua, May 2, 2013
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/www.cs.com.cn/xwzx/cj/201305/t20130502_3966487.html

Briefings | | May 3, 2013 | Government/Politics

610 Office Issues Directive on the Intensive Transformation Campaign against Falun Gong

[Editor’s Note: On April 6, 2013, Lens Magazine published an article detailing the torture implements used on prisoners at Masanjia Labor Camp. The Communist Party took down the website, but not before thousands of people saw it and became irate over the authorities’ actions. Since then, Chinascope has been researching and publishing information about the goings on at Masanjia since the time of the inception of the persecution of Falun Gong in 1999. The following is a directive from the Central Leadership of the Party on how to “transform” those with strong beliefs in Falun Gong, that is the “diehards.” It specifically suggests that "the national labor camp system must follow the guidance of the Ministry of Justice to vehemently promote the experience of Masanjia Labor Camp in Liaoning Province.”]

Continue reading →

Reports | | May 2, 2013 | Report

People’s Daily: 60+ Population to Exceed 200 Million in 2013

China’s Vice Minister of Civil Affairs in Beijing recently said that, for a long period of time, China will be facing the serious challenge of having an aging population. As of the end of 2012, the population of elderly who were 60 years and above had reached 194 million, accounting for 14.3 percent of the total population. That figure is expected to exceed 200 million in 2013, 400 million by 2034, and 472 million by 2054.

According to statistics, China currently has 36 million elderly who are disabled, 22 million who are of an advanced age, 99 million who live alone, and 23 million who are living in poverty.

Source: People’s Daily, May 2, 2013
http://cppcc.people.com.cn/n/2013/0502/c34948-21342382.html

Briefings | | May 2, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Xi Jinping Met Representatives of the National Model Workers and Affirmed Role of the Working Class

On April 28, 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended a reception forum and met the representatives of the national model workers. In his speech, Xi re-emphasized the role that the working class played as the main force [of society] and called for creating a prosperous future through hard work, an old Chinese Communist tradition that the first generation of Communist leaders in Mao Zedong’s era had started. It is worth noting that Hu Zhiqiang, the Captain of the Daqing Oilfield 1205 Drilling Team, and Guo Fenglian, former Party Branch Secretary of Dazhai Village in Xiyang County of Shanxi Province were among the model workers invited to the reception forum. In Mao’s era, the Daqing Oilfield 1205 Drilling Team and Dazhai Village were the two most famous models representing the working class and the peasant class, respectively. In Mao’s era, Guo Fenglian herself [the most famous "iron maiden" in post-revolutionary Chinese history], was the model promoted to the whole country. The old adage was “Learn from Daqing in industry; learn from Dazhi in agriculture.”

Source: Xinhua, April 28, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-04/28/c_115589060.htm

Briefings | | May 2, 2013 | Government/Politics

China Dairy Industry Association Claims China’s Infant Milk Powder Is Superior to Imported Brands

The China Dairy Industry Association (CDIA) recently commissioned a third-party testing organization to conduct a test of random samples of 25 brands of infant formula milk powder in the capital city of Beijing and the surrounding area. Of those tested, 13 were domestic brands; three were foreign brands produced domestically and manufactured in China, and 9 were imported products.

The test results showed that the 16 domestic brands were all in compliance with national standards; the actual test values were very good. However, of the nine imported products, three failed the test; one even failed two indicators.

CDIA said that the quality survey demonstrated that domestic products are better than imported products in quality, while the price of the imported brands was nearly double the price of the domestic brands.

Source: People’s Daily, April 29, 2013

http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2013/0429/c70731-21323406.html

Briefings | | May 1, 2013 | Government/Politics

Xinhua: U.S. Engages “Double Standard” on Anti-Terrorism; It Is Like a Dog in the Manger

Xinhua published a commentary to rebut the U.S. State Department spokesman’s statement on the recent incident in Bachu County in Xinjiang, which the Chinese government characterized as violence and terrorism. The article said, “The U.S. not only did not condemn the incident; on the contrary, it criticized China’s ethnic and religious policies for no reason. This type of behavior of engaging in a ‘double standard’ in the fight against terrorism will, in the end, end up being a dog in the manger.”

"In 2002, after the ‘9/11’ incident, the United States cooperated with the international community to support the United Nations Security Council’s decision to list the ‘East Turkistan Islamic Movement’ as a terrorist organization. However, with the advance of the war in Afghanistan and the Iraq war, Washington began to change its stance; it vigorously implemented a ‘double standard’ in the fight against terrorism. The most prominent manifestation includes selectively ignoring the extremist groups in the Republic of Chechnya of the Russian and the "East Turkistan" terrorist organizations that threaten China’s national security.”

The article advises the United States, in the fight against terrorism, not to do things like a dog in the manger.

Source, Xinhua, April 26, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2013-04/26/c_124637279.htm

Briefings | | May 1, 2013 | US-China Relations

Xinhua: North Korea Asks Mongolia for Food

Xinhua recently published a report on aid to North Korea based on a number of different international media sources. On April 22, the North Korean Ambassador to Mongolia told the Mongolian President that North Korea “may soon face a very serious food shortage.” He asked if Mongolia would consider the possibility of providing assistance in the form of food. Korea shares a common cultural heritage with Mongolia, such as their ancient language. On the same day, the United States suggested that it would consider resuming food aid as long as North Korea would allow personnel from the U.S. to monitor the distribution and allocation of the food provided by the U.S. The United States recently refused the acknowledgement of North Korea’s status as a nuclear country.

Source: Xinhua, April 24, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-04/24/c_124622524.htm

Briefings | | April 30, 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.