Chinascope – Page 909

Xinhua: North Korea Reported Result of the U.S. Election for the First Time

Xinhua recently reported that the official newspaper of the North Korean Communist Party delivered the news that U.S. President Barack Obama was re-elected. Although the news appeared on the last page of the newspaper and it had only a few lines, this was the first time in history that North Korean media officially reported the U.S. election result. At the same time, the North Korean Citizens Union in Japan published a commentary calling on President Obama for a change in the U.S. attitude toward North Korea. The commentary also suggested that Mr. Obama should “review the entire history of U.S.-North Korea dialog.” Xinhua commented on the news by expressing the belief that North Korea will intensify its lobbying effort for the Obama administration to reach a peace agreement to replace the current truce agreement.

Source: Xinhua, November 12, 2012

http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-11/12/c_123940582.htm

Briefings | | November 13, 2012 | Geo-Strategic Trend

CRN: Keeping RMB Stabilized is a Long Term Strategy

China Review News (CRN) recently published an article discussing the current appreciation of the Chinese currency (the RMB), which has caught some people unprepared. The article expressed the belief that there are four reasons: (1) The U.S. dollar depreciated; (2) More capital flowed into the emerging markets; (3) Short-term domestic demand for RMB increased; (4) The Chinese central bank did not actively interfere with the RMB exchange rate. Since China is moving towards a market based RMB exchange rate management model, the author suggested that it is very important to ensure, as a long term strategy, that the RMB remains stable. It also serves as a foundation for the internationalization of the Chinese currency. All major international currencies such as the U.S. Dollar, the British Pound, the Euro and the Japanese Yen have this foundation. The article concluded that, although the RMB is currently going up, the goal for the long run should be maintaining stability.

Source: China Review News, November 8, 2012

http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1022/9/5/9/102295964.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102295964&mdate=1108074009

Briefings | | November 13, 2012 | Economy/Resources

Qiushi: The U.S. Election Is Not a Good Model for Democracy

Qiushi Journal, a bi-weekly magazine published by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, recently republished an article that called the U.S. presidential election a “money show.” Since the rules now allow Super Pacs, this year’s presidential election “burned” the largest amount of money in history (about $6 billion). The article suggested that the election was a good exposé of the so-called “every vote counts” hypocrisy. The “money election” essentially allowed the rich to control the United States. Meanwhile, 46 percent of the members of the House and the Senate own assets worth over one million dollars. The “capitalization of democracy” actually reflects the fact that Wall Street has hijacked the entire society. The author suggested that the widely established image of the U.S.’s “model democracy” turned out to be a lie. This whole corrupt, money-based “democracy” is the logical result of practicing capitalism. Every candidate tried his best to please the wealthy. "Payback time" is what will follow this election, when important government positions will be awarded to those with special interests.

Source: Qiushi, November 7, 2012

http://www.qstheory.cn/gj/gjsdfx/201211/t20121107_192335.htm

Briefings | | November 13, 2012 | US-China Relations

Delegates to the National Congress on Challenges and Threats to the Ruling Party

Xinhua published an article about the 18th National Congress, quoting comments that a number of the delegates to the Congress made on the issues and challenges that the Party faces.

Shu Bing, CEO of www.rednet.cn, stated that the most serious threat to the ruling Party is the Party’s detachment from the people. He wished that the Party would use the Internet to listen to people’s voices. Dai Yanqun, the deputy head of the Party School stated that, if the Party is not able to work with the people, it will eventually cause problems. Er Yuehe, a writer, believed that one of the biggest threats to the Party is the problem of maintaining the Party’s authority. One delegate noted that whether the Party can control corruption and fulfill the mission of serving the people is a test. Some delegates highlighted the issue of the widening gap between the income of residents of urban areas and residents of the countryside. Some expressed concerned about the quality of economic growth, as so much more attention has been paid to the rate and scale of China’s economic growth.

Source: Xinhua, November 10, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/18cpcnc/2012-11/10/c_113656697.htm

Briefings | | November 12, 2012 | Government/Politics

Chinese Graduate Students Studying in the U.S. Showed Double Digit Growth Each Year for Seven Years

The U.S. Council of Graduate Schools reported on graduate school students from China who have gone to the U.S. to study. The report found that 37 percent of all international graduate students in the United States were from China; the number of students showed double digit growth each year for the past seven years. For the 2011-2012 school year, the number of international students studying in graduate programs in the U.S. for the first time grew by 8 percent over the previous school year. Among those, the number of graduate students from China grew by 22 percent.

The Council reported that the most popular majors for graduate study were business and engineering, which attracted 47 percent of the students.

Source: Xinhua, November 10, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/abroad/2012-11/10/c_123936803.htm

Briefings | | November 12, 2012 | US-China Relations

Qiushi: China’s Grain Security

[Editor’s Note: Qiushi Online published an article titled “China’s Strategy on Grain Security.” It discussed the national security issues related to China’s food supply and considered several questions. Will China itself be able to produce the agricultural products needed to feed its population? How should China balance the production of different agricultural products? How should it deal with foreign investments and develop domestic farmers? These issues are discussed in the following excerpts translated from the article.] [1]

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Reports | | November 11, 2012 | Report

Boxun Reports on Beijing’s Security for the 18th Congress

November 8, 2012, was the opening day of the 18th CCP Congress. On November 7, Beijing implemented the highest level of security to guard the event. Boxun, a Chinese news website based in North America, posted a group of pictures and videos showing the level of security in Beijing before the opening of the 18th Congress: A security guard with a professional red armband (wearing a professional inspection work permit) was placed on patrol in every cabin of every subway train; buses passing Tiananmen Square had their windows taped shut; there were more security personnel of all kinds than tourists and pedestrians in Tiananmen Square; A Boxun volunteer shot a video of a woman who looked like a petitioner being seized by two Tiananmen Square policemen and dragged into a police car; armed police and special police with weapons usually patrolled outside, in the open, but instead stayed inside their cars checking on people; selling scissors was forbidden in Beijing.

Source: Boxun, November 7, 2012
http://boxun.com/news/gb/china/2012/11/201211080248.shtml#.UJtBJsVWq2o

Briefings | | November 9, 2012 | Government/Politics

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