Chinascope – Page 870

Xinhua: Majority of China’s Arable Land Heavily Polluted

Xinhua recently published an article that compiled material from various foreign media reports; they covered a wide range of China’s pollution related issues affecting agriculture. The article estimated that around 70 percent of China’s arable land is heavily polluted. Over the past 30 years, Chinese agriculture doubled its output at the cost of polluting its soil and rivers. The pollution was largely due to incorrect use of chemical fertilizers. Food pollution has become one of the primary threats to people’s health in China. According to official records, most of the 90 billion tons of polluted water and 280 million tons of garbage produced annually by agricultural activities are not processed for environmental protection. The lack of necessary equipment was cited as the key barrier. Chinese agriculture consumes 2.5 times more chemical fertilizers than the global average. Experts called for serious and careful handling of chemicals that accumulate over time.

Source: Xinhua, April 14, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2013-04/14/c_124578183.htm

Briefings | | April 16, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Global Times: Japan Claims Highest Numerber of Interceptions of Chinese Airplanes

Global Times recently reported, based on Japanese media reports, that, in the year 2012, the Japanese Air Force intercepted Chinese aircraft the highest number of times since the Cold War. The total emergency missions was 800 in one year. The Chinese military aircraft that were intercepted included fighter jets and Intelligence reconnaissance aircraft. The Japanese Air Force not only deployed fighter jets, but, for the first time, deployed Airborne Monitoring & Control Aircraft and Early Warning Aircraft as well. According to Japanese media reports, in 2012, the number of times Chinese military aircraft approached Japanese territory increased by 60 percent over the year 2011. Also, the Japanese media widely reported the recent signing of a friendly fisheries agreement between Japan and Taiwan.

Source: Global Times, April 13, 2013

http://mil.huanqiu.com/paper/2013-04/3827899.html

Briefings | | April 16, 2013 | Geo-Strategic Trend

China’s Income Distribution Research Center Published Results on Income Disparity

Xinhua reported that, on April 13, 2013, China’s Income Distribution Research Center published the results of its research on the distribution of income in China. The results suggested that the largest disparity in income was found to be between those who live in cities and the countryside, while the gap continues to grow between various regions and professions. According to the results, the professions in the service industry along with agriculture, forestation, herding, and fishing are among the lowest in income level, while electricity, telecommunications, and the financial insurance industries are in the top income bracket.

Source: Xinhua, April 14, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-04/14/c_124577901.htm

Briefings | | April 15, 2013 | Economy/Resources

Confucius Institute Opened at Columbia University

Xinhua reported that Hanban, the headquarters of the Confucius Institute, In collaboration with Columbia University, held an opening ceremony for the Confucius Institute. The ceremony was held at Columbia University on April 9, 2013. Xu Ling, the Director of Han Ban, Lee C. Bollinger, the university president, Chen Yulu, President of Renmin University of China, as well as Dong Xiaojun, consul-general of the Chinese Consulate General in New York, attended and spoke at the ceremony.

Source: People’s Daily, April 10, 2013
http://usa.people.com.cn/n/2013/0410/c241376-21077219.html

Briefings | | April 15, 2013 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Making a Breakthrough in Reform

[Editor’s Note: China Business News published an article by Xia Bin, the Director of the Financial Research Institute of the Development Research Center of the State Council. Xia argued that urbanization (城镇化), or developing and expanding towns by absorbing peasants from villages, should not be seen as the solution to making a "breakthrough in reform," because it requires a huge investment that the government does not have. He suggested that a real breakthrough should be made by reducing the income gap between city residents and peasants and by giving the land back to the farmers (so that they can enjoy the appreciation in land value).

Xia also acknowledged that a reform that would reduce the income gap would cause a huge fiscal deficit for both the central and local governments. His solution was to re-direct the huge profits from State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) to cover the losses.

The article advocated reform to tackle a few tough obstacles to economic development inherent in the structure of China’s communist system. However, Chinascope’s editors feel that the author’s suggestion for reform, insofar as it reduces the government’s income to give more to the general public, may fall on deaf ears in the Communist Party.] [1]

Continue reading →

Reports | | April 12, 2013 | Report

Empower the People

A friend of mine, who works with the U.S. government, used to complain about the uselessness of criticizing the human rights practices of the People’s Republic of China.

Continue reading →

Perspectives | | April 12, 2013 | Opinion

A Chinese Military Scholar Commented on U.S. Military Exercises in the Asia Pacific

People’s Daily recently reported on Zhen Zehao, Associate Professor at the National Defense University, who stated in a commentary that the purpose of the U.S. military exercises in the Asia Pacific region is to contain China and reestablish its superpower image.

Zhen said, “At the end of 2011, U.S. President Barack Obama proposed in high-profile "to return to the Asia-Pacific." Since then, the Pacific has no longer been ‘pacific.’ The United States has frequently organized joint military exercises in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Zhen asked, “Why is the United States so fond of the Asia-Pacific region? Why does it so frequently use such an action as military exercises?"

Zhen explained, “From a geostrategic perspective, the Asia-Pacific is an irreplaceable part of the ‘anticommunist levee’ that the U.S. has built in the Far East. Containing China in the Asia-Pacific region is an integral part of the U.S.’s China policy."

“In recent years, by organizing a series of joint military exercises, the United States has sought to broaden its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region; it continues to strengthen its political and military intervention activities in the region; it has had a significant impact on security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region; and it has exacerbated conflicts of interest between all parties in the region. The region was thrown into a complex situation in which competition and cooperation are intertwined, causing a new round in an arms race that is leading the region to be ‘politically cold and economically hot.’”

In conclusion, Zhen said, “The United States intends to use the joint military exercises to disrupt the order in the Asia-Pacific; it is taking full advantage of these military exercises to multilaterally contain China and thus enhance U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region. This is probably the most fundamental intent of the U.S. In addition, the United States has chosen the Asia-Pacific region, not only to use it as a trump card to clamp down on China’s ‘regional hegemony,’ but also to reinforce its far-reaching intention of displaying its power and reestablishing its superpower image.”

Source: People’s Daily, April 8, 2013

http://military.people.com.cn/n/2013/0408/c1011-21050399.html

Briefings | | April 12, 2013 | US-China Relations

China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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