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People’s Daily Says It Will “Work Hard” to Tell Truth in 2013

On December 31, the Communist Party newspaper, the People’s Daily, issued a posting on its official blog announcing its expansion from 8 pages to 12 pages on weekdays and 4 pages to 8 pages on weekends. In addition, it added the statement, “In the new year, we will work hard to tell the truth and write the truth … making [our paper] more readable and viewable to truly serve our readers.”

Because of its insistence that it would "work hard to tell the truth," the posting has drawn a large number of sarcastic comments from Chinese netizens.

“I am surprised at this announcement. If it is true, it would be the first step that the People’s Daily is taking the lead to make the media move towards openness and its contribution should deserve recognition. If, however, this first sentence from the People’s Daily in the New Year is a true lie, what to do? How could the People’s Daily face its readers?”

“Does this mean that the Party’s official media has always been lying?”

“How come the Party’s newspaper must "work hard" to tell truth?”

“It is very hard for a newspaper belonging to the Party to speak the truth. Of course, it must work hard to do so.”

“When we were young, parents and teachers taught us not to lie. But after we grew up, [we] found out that one may lose his life just for telling the truth. …”
 
“Even the Central Government newspaper must work hard to tell the truth. Whether after the hard work, the truth is really told or not may never be known. …”

“Anything that requires ‘hard work’ is usually difficult. To call a deer a horse is normal. But to call a deer a deer requires hard work.”

Source: Official Blog of People’s Daily, December 31, 2012 (comments made as of January 3, 2013, at the blog)
http://www.weibo.com/rmrb

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

PLA Daily: Message for the New Year

On January 1, 2013, the People’s Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily) published an editorial, “A Message for the New Year” highlighting the importance of being in unison with the new Party leadership headed by Xi Jinping. “[We] must firmly adhere to the Party’s absolute leadership over the military; … always remain in ideological, political, and actual unison with the Party Central Committee; and resolutely safeguard the authority of, and resolutely obey the command of, the Communist Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Xi.”

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily, January 1, 2013
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2013-01/01/content_23706.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Beijing City to Implement Real Name Registration for Mobile Phone Users

Xinhua reported that the Beijing municipal government is considering a new policy measure requiring real name registration for cell phone users. Once the provision is introduced, mobile phone users will be required to provide real and effective identity information when ordering a new service or transferring or changing an existing service.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), China’s rubber stamp legislature, recently approved an Internet regulation that states that providers of the Internet and land line telephone and mobile phone services should demand that users provide their real identity. The Beijing city government’s move is in accordance with the NPC regulation.

The requirement for real name registration for cell phone users is not new. In 2010, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice requiring real name registration for phone users. However, it was not fully implemented due to the lack of support from relevant laws and regulations. The NPC’s new regulation, Xinhua believes, will give local governments and telecomm companies a strong push to effectively implement mobile phone users real name registration.
 
Source: Xinhua, December 30, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-12/30/c_114207168.htm

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Military Official Calls for a Powerful Chinese Air Force to Counter the U.S. and Japan at Sea

Senior Colonel Dai Xu, Director of the Marine Security and Cooperation Research Institute and a Professor a the National Defense University of the PLA China, recently published a commentary in Global Times (a division of People’s Daily). Dai recommended that China should develop a powerful air force to deal with the crisis in the open sea. He pointed out that "Japan has continuously dispatched F-15 fighters to intercept Chinese maritime surveillance aircraft and has deployed anti-submarine aircraft to harass China’s ocean surveillance ships.” “For Japan to send fighter jets is a qualitative change in diplomatic moves. … The Chinese Air Force has no choice but to come forward with equivalent or even greater efforts. The Chinese Air Force should develop a plan as soon as possible, have targeted training and deployment, make sure China is able to take immediate action when needed, and be able to win the war when in the fight.”

 “In the numerous exercises the United States and Japan have held, they not only directly targeted the Diaoyu Islands or the South China Sea waters, but also aimed at attacking China’s economically developed coastal regions. This requires that the Chinese Air Force cannot just be satisfied with having influence within its territorial waters and airspace; it must also have an awareness of the crisis and the ability to cope with it, to suppress the opponent’s intentions in a war on the high seas, and to suppress its adventures; it must even be able to intercept the enemy and destroy the enemy when going to war.” 
Source: Huanqiu, December 29, 2012 
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2012-12/3430991.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Xinhua: Hong Kong Protest Called for Leung Chun Ying to Step Down

The state media Xinhua reported through its news wire that a protest was held in Hong Kong calling for the resignation of Leung Chun Ying. Leung, the pro-China Chief Executive and President of the Executive Council of Hong Kong, assumed office on July 1, 2012, with the endorsement of the Chinese Communist leaders. The Xinhua article said, “The protesters demanded that Leung Chun Ying step down, that all of the people receive full implementation of their retirement protection, and that freedom of speech be safeguarded.” A search of Xinhuanet.com did not return the report. No Xinhua report was available in English.

[Editor’s note: A Washington Post article stated, "Tens of thousands of people marched in Hong Kong to call for the city’s Beijing-backed leader to step down over allegations he was untruthful about illegal renovations at his mansion and to press for full democracy."]           

Sources:
Sina.com, January 2, 2013
http://news.sina.com.hk/news/20130102/-1-2861954/1.html
Epoch Times, January 2, 2013
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/13/1/3/n3767293.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

China Develops Large Military Transport Aircraft

On December 27, 2012, China’s Ministry of National Defense confirmed  that China is developing a large military transport aircraft to improve its military’s air transportation. Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said, "Research and development are proceeding as planned."

Source: Huanqiu, December 27, 2012
http://mil.huanqiu.com/observation/2012-12/3425508.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Xinhua Foresees a Big Leap in China’s Military Power over the Next 10 Years

On December 28, 2012, Xinhua published an article predicting a big leap in China’s military power over the next 10 years. By 2020, China’s Beidou satellite navigation system, as one of the world’s four major satellite navigation systems, will completely cover the world. Large quantities of modernized conventional weapons such as aircraft carriers, fighters, and missiles will be made in China. China’s new anti-ship missiles can accurately hit U.S. aircraft carriers that are thousands of kilometers away. China’s Second Artillery Corps Electronic Warfare troops have a powerful self-protection ability; they can hide from the U.S. and Japan’s radio monitoring systems through electronic deception.

Source: Xinhua, December 28, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-12/28/c_124159555.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Chinese Scholar Suggests a Strong Geopolitical Response to the U.S. Strategic Shift to Asia

On December 26, 2012, People’s Daily Overseas Edition published an article by a Chinese scholar from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR) on why China must give a strong geopolitical response to the U.S. strategic shift to the Asia-Pacific region. The following is a quote from the article.

“The shift of the U.S. strategic focus to the Asia-Pacific region means that the United State has targeted China as the main objective of its current global strategy. This pushes China into a position where it has nowhere to retreat or hide; it can  only give tit for tat. It is worth being vigilant over the fact that the United States will not just contain China, that is, prevent the expansion of China’s influence. From the historical experience of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, there must also be murders accompanying the containment. In Africa, the United States excludes China’s economic interests and political influence; in the Middle East, it grips China’s energy throat; and in the countries neighboring China, it seeks and supports forces to contain China. It even directly ruins the key to China’s security and its development in East Asia. Together with its strategies to internally penetrate, evolve, and divide China, the U.S. does not simply contain China for the purpose of stopping our expansion, but chokes China for the purpose of manipulation and even suffocation.”

Source: People’s Daily Overseas Edition, December 26, 2012
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2012-12/26/content_1165465.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations