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High House Prices Have Taken over China’s Entire National Economy

On February 3, 2013, in his personal blog on the website of Caijing Magazine, a business and finance magazine in Beijing, a professor of economics published an article about the problem of China’s high housing prices. According to the article, the Chinese government is responsible for the high housing prices in China. Many large state-owned enterprises, rather than upgrading their products, have been rushing to buy land and build buildings. To do so, they have used hundreds of trillions of easily earned monopoly profits. As a result, China’s real estate prices have shot sky high. Due to the high housing prices, many “ghost towns,” where nobody lives, have emerged in China. Meanwhile, migrant workers cannot afford to bring their families from the countryside to the cities where they work. That is why China always faces extremely high traffic congestion during the annual “Spring Festival Travel Rush,” when migrant workers return home to see their families.  

The article concluded that the high price of housing has commandeered China’s entire national economy. Although huge amounts of wealth and resources have been invested in real estate, ordinary Chinese people still cannot afford an apartment.  

Source: Caijing Magazine website, February 3, 2013
http://blog.caijing.com.cn/expert_article-151350-47336.shtml

China Has Developed an Anti-interference Electromagnetic Shield for Its Beidou System

China National Radio (CNR) reported on a recent announcement from the China Satellite Navigation System Management Office, stating that China has developed satellite anti-interference equipment, an “electromagnetic shield,” for its Beidou Satellite Navigation System. The Beidou system is fully capable of covering the Asia-Pacific region.

The Beidou System can be used for both military and civilian purposes. It has a positioning accuracy of 10 meters, a velocity measurement accuracy of 0.2 meters/second, and a timing accuracy of 10 nanoseconds. It is said that the system is equal to the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the United States especially in positioning accuracy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Source: China National Radio, February 4, 2013
http://china.cnr.cn/ygxw/201302/t20130204_511919697.shtml
http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/news-channels/china-military-news/2013-02/05/content_5210150.htm

Huanqiu: China Must Avoid Being Kidnapped by the DPRK’s Nuclear Policy

On February 6, 2013, Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times) published an editorial article titled “China Treasures the Sino-DPRK Friendship; North Korea Should Also Cherish It.” Below is a summary of the article:

It is beyond doubt that North Korea is very important to China. However, China must avoid being kidnapped by the DPRK’s nuclear policy. If North Korea insists on conducting a third nuclear test, North Korea will get less assistance from China. However, China probably will not “punish” North Korea in the same way as the U.S., Japan, and the South Koreans. China is not afraid of North Korea, which is an important principle. Some Chinese scholars, however, do have concerns about a breakup of the Sino-DPRK relationship due to China’s participation in international sanctions against North Korea. Without China’s support, North Korea may “survive” but it will certainly not be better off.

Source: Huanqiu, February 6, 2013
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/editorial/2013-02/3622838.html

A Clash of Values, Part II

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Developing the People’s Republic of China through the Barrel of a Gun

In contrast to an America that valued freedom, human rights, and universal values, and in which the only foundation on which legitimate authority could be based was Agreement, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) followed another course in founding the People’s Republic of China. Chairman Mao stated in Chapter Five of The Little Red Book, “Every Communist must grasp the truth: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Having attained power through the barrel of a gun, it continued to use that gun in order to ensure its power in perpetuity.

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Xinhua: Several Provinces Require Domestic-Branded Cars for Government Procurement

Xinhua recently reported that several provinces just released regulations that require government branches to use domestic-branded cars. These new rules are the implementation of the general requirements that the new Communist Party leadership recently developed. These provinces include Ningxia, Hunan, Gansu, Anhui, and Xinjiang. Shanghai and the City of Guangzhou (the capital of Guangdong Province) have already started purchasing domestic cars. However, the new regulations apply only when current government cars reach the end of their life. Meanwhile, there is still no official Catalog of Domestic Cars, which, starting in 2011, triggered a large internal debate. The main pressure came from foreign governments. China did not join the optional WTO Agreement on Government Procurement. 
Source: Xinhua, February 4, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2013-02/04/c_114598573.htm

CRN: A Chinese Company Now Operates Gwadar Port

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that a Chinese company now operates the Pakistani port named Gwadar. Gwadar Port is a warm-water, deep-sea port located on the Arabian Sea, at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, approximately 290 miles west of Karachi. The Port is situated near the strategic Strait of Hormuz and its busy trading and oil shipping lanes. This Chinese operating power has significant value for constructing oil pipelines from the Middle East to Western China. The Port also offers China a land-based path to the Indian Ocean. However, although the Gwadar Port appears to be a good opportunity for the Chinese Navy to establish a military base, the infrastructure has significant limitations. Vessel and weapon repair facilities, as well as ammunition storage and medical supplies, are not available. In addition, a strong Chinese presence at the Gwadar Port arouses concern in both India and the United States. 
Source: China Review News, February 3, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1024/2/5/9/102425913.html?coluid=169&kindid=0&docid=102425913&mdate=0203000522

BBC Chinese: Doing Business with China Weakens Press Freedom in HK and Taiwan

BBC Chinese recently reported on the World Press Freedom Index for 2013 that Reporters Without Borders published on January 30, 2013. The list ranked the press freedom in the countries of the world. The ratings for both Hong Kong and Taiwan were lower than the previous year. Among 179 countries and regions, Hong Kong ranked 58th (dropping from 54th last year) and Taiwan ranked 47th (dropping from 45th last year). Well-known Hong Kong political analyst Lin Heli suggested that the lowered rankings are mainly the result of increased business activities between the two regions and the Mainland. The rankings have been on the decline ever since the year 1997, when Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule. Lin expressed the belief that many Hong Kong media owners invested heavily in the Mainland. This might have played an important role in media self-censorship. Meanwhile, the semi-official branch of the central government in Hong Kong has often conducted “conversations” with Hong Kong media owners and senior editors. Taiwan has a similar situation.
Source: BBC Chinese, January 30, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/01/130130_iv_press_freedom_lin_heli.shtml

Discrepancy between Local and Central Governments GDP Statistics

According to a recent Guangming Daily article, a reporter found that the sum of China’s provincial accounting of GDP statistics for 2012 totaled 57.69 trillion yuan, 5.76trillion higher than the National Bureau of Statistics’ preliminary estimate of 51.93 trillion. The difference is the equivalent of the total GDP for Guangdong Province’s economy.

The problem has existed for years. Since 1985 when the central government and the local governments started to do independent accounting of GDP statistics, the sum of the provincial figures has been higher than the total GDP. For example, the provincial total in 2009 exceeded the national figure by 2.68 trillion yuan; the difference increased to 3.2 trillion yuan in 2010, and 4.6 trillion in 2011. It was 5.76 trillion for 2012.

In March 2012, the National Bureau of Statistics exposed cases in which local governments were involved in local enterprises’ fraudulent statistical reporting. The article called for a reform of the current system of using GDP figures as a major factor in evaluating local officials’ performance.

Source: Guangming Daily, February 4, 2013
http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-02/04/content_6613391.htm