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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.

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CCP, Master of Hostage Diplomacy

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Red Flag Manuscript: More Effort Should Be Made to Develop the Public Sector of the Economy

On June 27, Qiushi Theory carried an opinion piece that was originally from Red Flag Manuscript. A research fellow at the Academy of Marxism of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences wtote the article. The piece stated that, in the current economy, the development of the public sector part of the economy should take precedence over the non-public sector. It also raised the question as to what can be done to bring back the dominance and control of the declining State Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

According to the article, China’s economic model consists of the co-existence of public and non-public ownership. During the Party’s 16th National Congress, a proposal was made to extend an equal effort in developing both the public and non-public sectors of the economy. The author asserted, however, that these efforts can’t carry an equal weight. Rather, the development of the public sector of the economy should take priority over the non-public sector. The author stated, “The public sector of the economy provides the base and the guarantee that the people will be the masters in a socialist country. Allowing the public sector to dominate will determine the characteristics of the socialist system.”

At the end of the article, the author raised the question as to what can be done to protect the dominant status of the public sector of the economy and enable the SOEs to regain their dominant status. The GDP of SOEs dropped from 49.6 percent of total GDP in 1998 to 26.6 percent in 2010, while the GDP of the private sector increased from 3.1 percent to 30.5 percent in the same period and has thus surpassed SOEs.

Source: Qiushi Theory, June 27, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2012/201212/201206/t20120627_166477.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

A Look at Von Hagens’ Body Plastination Factories

[Editor’s Note: On August 9, 2012, the Chinese government held a one-day trial of Bo Gu Kai Lai for murdering British businessman Neil Heywood. Many people questioned the government’s handling of the case, saying it was calculated to cover up facts it did not want revealed. One question raised was about the body plastination factory that German businessman Gunther von Hagens started in Dalian when Gu’s husband, Bo Xilai, was the head of Dalian City, Liaoning Province. What role did Gu and her husband play in arranging for von Hagans to obtain bodies for the plastination factory? This topic surfaced on overseas Chinese media first, then mushroomed on micro blogs and online forums in China. As a result, von Hagens’ plastination factory has drawn more and more attention on the Internet. On August 16, 2012, China’s Caijing Magazine was one of the first in China to break the media’s silence. It published a report on the increasing number of micro blog condemnations of von Hagens’ factory and raised questions about its operation. Below is an excerpt from the original report.] [1]

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Reports | | |   Report

People’s Daily Over Fifty Years Ago on Island Ownership

Epoch Times reported that, many years ago, People’s Daily wrote two articles that show that China acknowledged that it does not owner the Ryukyu Islands. The images of the two People’s Daily articles have been posted on the Chinese Internet and have been spreading rapidly. They are dated January 8, 1953, and March 26, 1958, respectively. The March 26, 1958, People’s Daily editorial quoted Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai as saying, “These islands have never been determined to be separate from Japan in any international agreement.” In the earlier January 8, 1953, commentary, People’s Daily stated that the United States falsified a Beijing Radio news report that said China would not give up its sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands. People’s Daily commented, “This is clearly a vicious attempt at instigation; it is aimed at exciting the Okinawan people’s strong emotions, as they seek the return of Okinawa to Japan … "

China claims that the Ryukyu Islands do not include the Pinnacle Islands (which are also called the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Senkaku Islands in Japan, and which China now claims). Japan also claims ownership of the Pinnacle Islands. Ownership of the Pinnacle Islands would allow for exclusive oil, mineral, and fishing rights in the surrounding waters.

Source: Epoch Times, August 19, 2012.
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/8/19/n3662869.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Party Official: Corruption and Anti-corruption at a Stalemate

Li Xuefeng, an official with the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection stated that corruption and anti-corruption have reached a stalemate. “Our Party has taken on anti-corruption as a major political task and has assiduously pursued the goal of establishing clean politics. … It can be said that that no political party in the world is like ours in that it has attached such great importance to the fight against corruption. … We have blazed a trail of anti-corruption with Chinese characteristics.” Li stated that corruption and anti-corruption are at a stalemate, that the situation remains grave, and that the tasks are arduous.

Source: The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, August 22, 2012 
http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2012-08/22/content_2208679.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Xinhua: Be Prepared for an Escalation of the Struggle against Japan

Xinhua published an article commenting on the conflict between China and Japan regarding the recent incidents in the Diaoyu (Senkaku) islands. The article argues, “The Chinese government must be prepared for the uncontrollable development of the Diaoyu Islands conflict, including necessary military preparations. Because of the impact of the Japanese right wing, the Diaoyu Islands crisis has become an irreconcilable conflict. An earlier tacit agreement between both China and Japanese government not to amplify the conflict has collapsed. In the current situation, both governments are cornered. Because of the intense hostility in both societies, they must push the situation forward.

“The Chinese government probably can only follow public opinion and go forward with a real fight with the Japanese to take control over the Diaoyu Islands. The true requirement of the people is that the government resolutely repel the government of Japan’s provocative acts. China will move forward on the Diaoyu Islands issue; it cannot go backwards or stand still. People clearly want to see such material progress.

“Many scholars of strategy believe that such a request lacks strategic wisdom. The Chinese should be tolerant and continue to fight against Japan and the U.S., who is remaining hidden in order to improve its overall strength and growth, so as to create the certainty of eventually taking over the Diaoyu Islands. This proposition is indeed a much smarter way, but it is not feasible in real politics.”

Source: Xinhua, August 22, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-08/22/c_123616082.htm

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

International Herald Leader: Water Lilies û the U.S. Overseas Military Bases in Asia

The International Herald Leader, a publication under the state’s Xinhua News Agency, published an article on August 17, 2012, pointing to the expansion of U.S. military bases in the Asia Pacific region. The article said, “Over the past decade, the Pentagon has quietly transformed its overseas military bases. Compared to its military fortresses during the Cold War era, the new generation of small-scale bases and garrisons is limited in number, but like water lilies quietly surfacing in the pond, frogs can use them as a springboard to jump for prey in the distance. During its strategic shift to Asia, the Obama administration has been trying to multiply the Pentagon’s ‘water lilies’ throughout the whole region.”

The article mentioned a few hot spots where the “water lilies” will be grown or strengthened: Thailand’s U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield, Vietnam’s Cam Rahn Bay, the Philippines’s Subic Bay and Clark Air Base, Tinian Island in the Northern Mariana Islands, South Korea’s Jeju Island, and Australia’s Cocos Islands and the port of Darwin, as well as small-size military bases in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei.

The article concluded that the goal of establishing these mushrooming military bases around Asia and the Pacific is to isolate and contain China.

Source: International Herald Leader, August 17, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0817/79780.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Xinhua Commentary: What Is Behind Assange Being Trapped in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London

Xinhua published a commentary following the public statement that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange made on the balcony of Ecuadorean Embassy in London on August 19, 2012. The article started with Assange’s statement that "he did not commit any crime; his suffering from persecution was due solely to his publicizing U.S. government documents on the Internet."

The article commented, “Why do the British police refuse to let go of this political asylum seeker who leaked secret (government documents) on the Internet? Digging deeper, there is actually a mystery here. Assange did not mention the United Kingdom, nor did he mention Sweden in his speech. Instead, he chose to talk at great length about the United States.”

“It appears Assange is clear-minded. He knows it is the enormous pressure from the United States that makes the United Kingdom and Sweden go after him so tenaciously.”

“It seems that (the application of) the so-called human rights and the rule of law varies from ‘person to person’ in countries such as the U.S. and Britain. The so-called ‘freedom of speech’ is not applicable to Assange.”

The article concluded that “Assange’s tragedy is that he has revealed U.S. secrets and exposed the ugly side of the United States. The mighty, powerful United States has always been tyrannous, so how can it swallow such a humiliation? The U.S. government wants to tell the world: Whoever dares to go against the United States, will be punished, even if he runs to the farthest corner of the earth. The United States is determined to declare war against those who dare to uncover the shady façade of the United States, to silence them and ‘disappear’ them. This probably is the root cause for Assange now being trapped in the Ecuadorean Embassy.”

Source: Xinhua, August 20, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-08/20/c_112785505.htm

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

State Media: The U.S. Is Fanning the Flames in the South China Sea

The state media, the International Herald Leader, published a commentary in response to a statement that the U.S. State Department issued on August 3, 2012, regarding the South China Sea. The commentary accused the U.S. of attempting to sow discord in the region. “We are clear that the U.S. statement on the South China Sea sends out two messages: The first is to tell the Philippines and Vietnam that the U.S. is their back up and that they should not be afraid of confronting China; the second is to tell the ASEAN countries that, on the South China Sea issue, the U.S. has publicly come forward to speak out for them and that these countries should not hesitate; they should join together to face China without any fears or concerns about China."

The commentary further stated that the U.S. will very likely issue threats specific to those companies that may be interested in submitting bids to the state’s China National Petroleum Corporation for exploration in the South China Sea.

Source: International Herald Leader, August 17, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0816/79199.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations