Chinascope – Page 881

New Housing Regulation Triggers Surge in Divorces

On March 1, 2013, China’s State Council issued a new measure to reinforce the control of housing prices, including a capital-gains tax of 20 percent on profits from the sale of a family’s second home.

This provision immediately triggered shock waves in the secondary housing market, leading to many divorces of couples who owned two or more homes. China currently allows a couple with two houses to allocate one house to each at the time of divorce. If a couple intends to sell their second hone without being taxed, they can divorce so that the house to be sold goes to one spouse, who is able to sell that house as the only family home so as to avoid the 20 percent tax. Then the couple can remarry.

The divorce procedure in China is relatively simple. Cities, including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Harbin, and Ningbo, saw a surge in the rate of divorce immediately after the new regulation went into effect. Three years ago, another a policy restriction on the purchase of second homes also led to waves of divorce. In recent years, China’s divorce rate has continued to rise: about 2.87 million couples divorced in 2011, a jump of 7.3 percent over 2010.

Source: BBC Chinese, March 6, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/03/130306_property_divorce.shtml

Briefings | | March 7, 2013 | Economy/Resources

In 2013, the Main Theme of the People’s Liberation Army Will Be Displaying China’s Hard Power

Professor Han Xudong of China’s Defense University published an article in Huaiqu (Global Times) in which he discussed China’s display of and the implications of its military power. The article said, “Recently, the aircraft carrier ‘Liaoning’ sailed for the first time to Qingdao and expanded its activities of research projects and conducting exercises. The General Staff Military Training Department announced that, in 2013, the PLA and the Armed Police Force will conduct nearly 40 military exercise drills. After the Spring Festival, China showed off these large-scale military actions as a means of displaying its military hard power, which will be the main theme of China’s 2013 military activities; in the future China will use military hard power to shape its big country image.”

The article reasoned, “To implement the national defense policy, China’s armed forces must establish an image through military exercises and the improvement of its abilities. In so doing it can not only achieve a deterrent effect, but it can also display its hard power. At the same time, it will also increase the nation’s confidence in our military strength. With the growing number of conflicts and the friction between China and its neighboring countries regarding core interests, China will pay more attention to displaying its military hard power.”

Source: Huanqiu, March 1, 2013

http://mil.huanqiu.com/paper/2013-03/3690446.html

Briefings | | March 7, 2013 | Defense/Military

China’s State Media Highly Tout the China Dream

Recently, the “China Dream” has become a very hot phrase in China’s media. A Xinhua article goes so far as to say that "the China dream should also be the world dream.”

The article claims that the "China Dream" is becoming the biggest feature of today’s China and it may become one of the most popular political terminologies over the next decade. The author stated, “For the world, the implications of the China dream are three-fold: 1) The dream of the Chinese people will enrich the connotations of human rights. From now on, happiness, values, and the rights of the people will mark the distinct imprint of China rather than reflect the universal Western values; 2) China’s development model and path will enrich the meaning of a big country’s development. Modernization and globalization will be marked by the distinctive imprint of China, rather than by the Western monopoly on discourse; 3) China’s international responsibility and its contribution will enrich the connotations of international relations. The international system and international norms will be marked by the distinct imprint of China instead of being an extension of Western regulations.”

“China is the only non-religious country … and it is the only country that will not only revive China’s civilization, but will also revive Western countries alternative ideology of socialist thought. … The rise of China is our unshirkable historical mission.”

“Therefore, while the China dream is blowing the horn of reviving Chinese civilization, it is also opening a whole new era of world dreams.”

Source: Xinhua, March 6, 2013

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2013-03/06/c_124423313.htm

Briefings | | March 7, 2013 | Government/Politics

Dai Xu: The United States Has Launched a Cyber War against China

[Editor’s Note: Dai Xu, the Director of the Marine Security and Cooperation Research Institute, is an Air Force Colonel who is well known for his anti-American Hawk statements. He is frequently invited to give lectures to different groups around China. Such lectures often serve as "political or nationalistic education" for the younger generations and particularly for students in military schools. Dai has attracted a sizable base of Internet followers due to his extreme nationalistic talk which is highly promoted by China’s state-run media. He also is said to be well regarded among the leaders of the Central Military Commission. Dai holds that the United States fabricated that hacking emanated from China’s military headquarters and that, furthermore, the U.S. is waging a "cultural war" throughout the world to spread "American values." The following is a translation of his recent article on the cyber war between the U.S. and China.]

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Reports | | March 6, 2013 | Report

Xinhua: With Rapid Urbanization, Who Will Grow Grain in China?

By the end of 2011, the number of Chinese in urban areas reached 51.3 percent of the population; more than 250 million migrant workers from the countryside reside in cities. “To solve the problem of ‘who will grow grain’ tomorrow is an urgent priority.”

“On the one hand, rapid urbanization has resulted in the loss of high quality arable land, a mass departure of rural young adults, a continuous increase in labor costs, and a lack of successors for food production. On the other hand, with rapid economic growth and rising incomes, the structure of the Chinese diet has been changing rapidly. The amount that many families spend on meat exceeds their spending on staple foods, which has caused a surge in the demand for feed grain.”

Source: Xinhua, March 3, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2013-03/03/c_114869161.htm

Briefings | | March 6, 2013 | Economy/Resources

China Review News: China to Establish More Aircraft Carrier Harbors for More Combat Tasks

On March 1, 2013, China Review News published an article titled, “Expert: China to Establish More Aircraft Carrier Harbors for More Combat Tasks in the Future.” On February 27, 2013, China’s first aircraft carrier the "Liaoning," docked for the first time at a military port in Qingdao after having left its former home port in Dalian on February 26, 2013. According to the article, China will build more aircraft carriers for combat tasks and will establish a harbor system with several harbors where aircraft carriers can dock.

Source: China Review News, March 1, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1024/5/4/3/102454307.html?coluid=4&kindid=18&docid=102454307&mdate=0301114856

Briefings | | March 6, 2013 | Defense/Military

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