Chinascope – Page 872

Chinese Space Scientist: Chang’e 3 Mission to Launch in 2013

China’s National Space Administration has scheduled a launch of the Chang’e 3 for a lunar exploration mission in late 2013. According to Ye Peijian (叶培建), a space scientist and the chief engineer for the program, the mission will operate by incorporating a robotic lander and a rover; it is part of the second phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program.

This will be China’s first lunar rover and the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon since the Soviet Luna 24 mission in 1976. It is named after Chang’e, the Chinese goddess of the Moon and is a follow-up to the Chang’e 1 and Chang’e 2 lunar orbiters. Chang’e 3 will perform tasks that include a soft landing on the Moon, lunar surface exploration, survival on the lunar surface, deep space communications, remote operations, and a carrier rocket directly entering the Earth-Moon transfer orbits. The Chang’e 3 lander is said to be carrying an astronomical telescope and an extreme ultraviolet camera. The rover is said to be carrying radar for lunar exploration.

Source: Xinhua, March 3, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013lh/2013-03/03/c_114868837.htm

Briefings | | March 4, 2013 | Defense/Military

Sanctioned Chinese Firm Profits from Transactions with Iran

Li Fangwei, also known as Karl Lee, the person-in-charge of the operation of the Dalian Metallurgy & Minerals Co., a firm sanctioned by the U.S. for exporting missile parts to Iran, is still making millions in profit from the company’s transactions. Several officials responsible for overseeing the Western countries and the United Nations sanctions said that, since 2009, when he was sued by the New York District Attorney, Li Fangwei has received at least US$10 million in profit from illegally trading with Iran.

Trade sanctions are the major means for the international community to stop Iran from developing its nuclear weapons program. Li has been accused of continuing his company’s illegal provision of materials to Iran. This may be related to Iran, which is very clever at evading the international sanctions and may also be related to China’s export restrictions policy. Although it is difficult to quantify the support that foreign companies and individuals have provided to Iran’s nuclear and missile program, analysts believe that Iran cannot independently manufacture some important components.

Li told Reuters that Iran continues to propose the commercial requirements to him, but he provides only legitimate goods, such as iron and steel products. Li also denied the charge that he has sold any missiles or nuclear related products since a few years ago, when the United States began the sanctions against Iran. However security officials overseeing the United Nations’ sanctions accused Li of adopting deceptive means to continue these illegal transactions with Iran, including changing the company’s name in order to sell Iran advanced alloys, Chinese or foreign-made uranium enrichment, and missile parts. China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said that China has always abided by international regulations on trade restrictions.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 1, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/03/130301_china_iran.shtml

Briefings | | March 4, 2013 | Defense/Military

China’s Defense Ministry Claims U.S. Hackers Frequently Attack Chinese Military Websites

On February 28, 2013, China’s Defense Ministry held a press conference at which its spokesperson, Geng Yansheng, claimed that hackers from the United States have launched frequent attacks against China’s military websites. Geng stated, “In 2012, according to the IP addresses of the display, the websites of China’s Ministry of Defense and military newspaper PLA Daily suffered attacks from the outside on an average of 14.4 million time per month. Attacks from the United States accounted for 62.9 percent of the total.”

Geng also stated, “A number of China’s military websites have faced serious threats from cyber attacks since their inception. In recent years, the number of attacks has shown an upward trend. We noticed that the U.S. media recently reported that the United States will adopt the policy of "pre-emptive" cyber attacks, expand network warfare units on a large-scale, and establish rules for cyber warfare. The above practices are not conducive to the joint efforts of the international community to enhance Internet security. We hope that the United States will explain and clarify its position.”

Sources: Website of China’s Defense Ministry, Xinhua

http://www.mod.gov.cn/auth/2013-03/01/content_4434987.htm

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-03/01/c_124401781.htm

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

SARFT: TV Documentaries to be Submitted for Approval before Shooting

China’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television (SARFT) recently issued a "Notice on the implementation of the system of announcing the subject of TV documentaries." The Notice stipulated that, to further boost the market for TV documentaries and to avoid duplication of subject matter and waste resources, starting in 2013, the subject of TV documentaries must be submitted for examination and approval.

Although SARFT did not specify which types of TV documentaries fall under the above regulation, contemporary subjects that involve the corruption of senior officials or promoting multi-party democratic mechanisms are usually strictly scrutinized, in addition to the subjects of violence and pornography.

According to the new policy, 1) those productions of TV documentaries that have been prohibited under the jurisdiction of the central government, documentaries that are to be jointly produced by Chinese and foreign organizations, and imported documentaries, need to submit directly to SARFT; 2) those to be produced or imported by the military must first be submitted to the PLA’s General Political Department before final submission to SARFT; 3) those to be produced or imported under the jurisdiction of local governments must first be submitted to local radio, film, and television authorities before finally being submitted to SARFT.

Source: Radio Free Asia, February 22, 2013
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/kejiaowen/jz-02222013154735.html

Briefings | | February 28, 2013 | Information/Technology

People’s Daily: Do Not Easily Trust that the Americans “Snubbed” Abe

In the media reports about Japanese Prime Minister Abe’s visit to the U.S., people noticed that the U.S. was relatively low key when hosting Abe. Also, Obama didn’t make an open statement in public regarding the Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands issue. Some interpreted the situation as the United States “snubbing” Abe.

An article in People’s Daily reminded Chinese readers not to fall into such a trap so easily. The article said, “The three parties of China, Japan, and the United States have been carefully playing the diplomatic game around the Diaoyu Islands issue. … China asked the United States to be strict in maintaining a neutral stance. Relying on its relationship with the U.S. as an ally, Japan tried to pull the United States into explicitly siding with them and backing Japan. Publicly, the U.S. claims to maintain a neutral position, but, behind the scenes, it has already chosen a side. All its words target China from the inside out. In other words, in its consideration of the strategic interests of the Diaoyu Islands issue, the United States gives more weight to its relations with Japan as an ally.”

“… In its adjusted U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy, Japan ranks as an important ally. Compared to China, it is self-evident who is closer and who is farther away. To this, we Chinese people should be clear in our hearts and have a calm and strong mind. We should neither overreact to the closeness of the United States and Japan nor be fooled by the false illusion of ‘cold’ diplomatic gestures.”

Finally, the article asserted that “China’s continuous growth and development is the fundamental guarantee of the final solution to the Diaoyu Islands issue. As China continues to grow, China will surely become more confident, calm and firm [in dealing with the issue]. While in the process of solving this problem, [China] still needs to calculate the pros and cons carefully and to take action with good reasoning, with advantage, and with restraint.”

Source: People’s Daily, February 26, 2013

http://world.people.com.cn/n/2013/0227/c57507-20610222.html

Briefings | | February 28, 2013 | US-China Relations

Vice Minister of Health: China Relies on Organs from Prisoners on Death Row

On February 25, 2013, Huang Jiefu, China’s Vice Minister of Health, spoke at a conference where he stated that China is the only country that systematically uses organs from executed prisoners.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, Huang stated, “For a long time, China has relied on executed prisoners as a primary source for organ transplants. Although the law provides that prisoners on death row may ‘voluntarily donate organs,’ there are loopholes in the implementation of the law. China is the only country in the world that systematically uses the organs of executed prisoners. This is not commensurate with China’s status as a major political power and a civilized country. Because an organ donation system has not been established at the national level, the organ transplantation industry has had many problems. The international hostile forces exaggerate this matter (the use of organs from executed prisoners), and attack our country’s human rights and civilization. They react negatively to all the reports about organ transplants in China and their principle is not to accept, nor publish, nor cooperate …”

Source: Beijing Youth Daily reprinted by Legal Daily, February 26, 2013 http://www.legaldaily.com.cn/index/content/2013-02/26/content_4223855.htm?node=20908

Briefings | | February 28, 2013 | Government/Politics

Huanqiu Explains Why China Does Not Have True Friends

On February 21, 2013, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an editorial explaining why China does not have true friends. According to the article, the relationship between countries is based on “the pursuit of common interests.” Once their core interests conflict with each other, the relationship between two countries will become indifferent or they may even be hostile to each other. “Because the United States is the only super power in the world, some countries have chosen to become its allies and hold its ‘thick legs.’” The editorial observed that, as China becomes more and more powerful, those that choose to be hostile to China will gradually lose their future.

Source: Huanqiu, February 21, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-02/3661084.html

Briefings | | February 27, 2013 | Government/Politics

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.