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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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

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CRN: Significantly More Environmental Emergencies in China

China Review News (CRN) recently reported that the 11th National People’s Congress Standing Committee held a seminar focusing on environmental protection issues. Since 1996, major environmental emergency events increased at an annual rate of 29 percent. Since 1995, the Ministry of Environmental Protection has directly handled 927 emergency events. In 2011, major emergencies suffered a 120% increase over 2010, especially in incidents involving heavy metals and dangerous chemicals. Experts suggested in the seminar that the country needs to establish an environmental public interest litigation system and also to pass an Environmental Damage Compensation Act. It is widely recognized that the government’s current environmental information lacks sufficient transparency and that environmental regulations are incomplete and vague. In the past decade, only one percent of the environmental conflicts were resolved through legal channels. Even today, much large scale environmental damage remains unresolved. 
Source: China Review News, October 27, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/crn-webapp/doc/docDetailCNML.jsp?coluid=7&kindid=0&docid=102283121
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: Hong Kong Increases Real Estate Cost for Outsiders

Xinhua recently reported that the Hong Kong government just extended the real estate stamp duty for another three years. It also added a 15 percent duty for buyers, which will apply to local businesses and to non-residents. According to the Hong Kong government, the new requirement will help lower the cost that local permanent residents have to pay to purchase real estate. Another goal of the new policy is to place a more substantial restraint on the recent speculation in the housing market. Large outside capital has been targeting Hong Kong real estate. However, the government suggested that this new tax is a temporary measure designed to reduce the number of external buyers. Eventually the policy will expire. The background of this recent change in real estate policy is the loss of balance between demand and supply. The influx of capital has resulted in a sharp increase on the demand side of the housing market. If the new policy is not strong enough to improve stability, the government is determined to do more.
Source: Xinhua, October 26, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-10/26/c_113513933.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Deng Yuwen: The Political Heritage of Hu and Wen

[Editor’s Note: In anticipation of the transition of power from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping, Study Times’ Deputy Copy Editor Deng Yuwen published a three-part series on the political heritage of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. In the first part, he praised Hu and Wen’s achievements. [1] In the second part, he listed ten major problems left in their wake and stated, “In their ten years in power, many huge problems were created and the problems outnumbered the achievements.” [2] In the third part, he advocated for a transition in the economic structure and for political reform. [3] Shortly after they were published, his articles were taken down from media sites in China. The following is a translation of part 2 of his article.]

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Reports | | |   Report

Senior Population to Reach 430 Million or over 30 Percent of China’s Population by 2050

The United Nations Population Fund and the China National Committee on Aging held a forum on October 22, 2012. A research study discussed at the forum suggested that, in the year 2010, an average of 24.1 percent of China’s seniors were dependent on their pensions for their living expenses; this figure is up 4.5 percent from 2000. Another 40.7 percent of seniors relied mainly on support from their family members. There was also a large gap between the urban and rural regions. Among the seniors living in the city, 66.3 percent relied heavily on their pensions, but only 4.6 percent of seniors were able to rely on their pensions as their major source of income. The study estimated that the senior population will reach 430 million or more, or 30% of the total population, by the year 2050, which means that one out of every three people will be seniors.

Source: Xinhua, October 24, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2012-10/24/c_113470941_2.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Xinhua: Bo Xilai Removed from People’s Congress Post While under Investigation

On October 26, 2012, Xinhua posted two news articles about Bo Xilai. The first one carried an announcement from the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress that the Chongqing People’s Congress had removed Bo Xilai from his post as the Deputy to the National People’s Congress. In the second article the Supreme People’s Procuratorate announced that Bo is currently under investigation for suspected crimes.

Source: Xinhua, October 26, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-10/26/c_113513618.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-10/26/c_123876952.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Mingpao: Wen Jiabao’s Family Lawyer May Pursue Legal Action against New York Times

On October 25, 2012, the New York Times carried an article titled, “Billions in Hidden Riches for Family of Chinese Leader.” The article alleged that Wen’s extended family "controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion." On October 28, 2012, Hong Kong’s Ming Pao carried an article reporting that the newspaper received a faxed statement from two lawyers in Beijing on behalf of Wen Jiabao’s family declaring that the claims made in the New York Times article were not true.

The statement stressed that Wen Jiaobao’s immediate family members do not hold any stocks and that the businesses they are involved in are legitimate. According to the article, Wen Jiabao’s mother has no other income or assets other than her monthly pension. Wen himself does not get involved in his family member’s business activities, nor does he pass any legislation as a result of his family members’ businesses. The statement also said that other relatives and their friends are responsible for their own business dealings. The lawyers’ statement stated that the family will maintain the right to pursue legal action against the New York Times.
 
Source: Mingpao, October 28, 2012
http://news.mingpao.com/20121028/caa1h.htm
New York Times, October 25, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/business/global/family-of-wen-jiabao-holds-a-hidden-fortune-in-china.html?pagewanted=all

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Organ Harvesting in China: Supply and Demand

On October 24, 2012, Xinhua reprinted an article from another state media, China Youth Daily, which reported that the Guangzhou Military Command General Hospital has a computerized system that automatically matches and allocates organs to waiting patients. According to the article, “In this nationally connected system, a computer matches organs with patients waiting for a transplant without any human intervention.” The hospital is one of 160 involved in a pilot program for this system. On October 10, 2012, the Ministry of Health announced that it has formulated an interim guideline for obtaining and allocating organs, which will soon be released.

[Editor’s note: Such an effort by China’s Ministry of Health has been viewed as a response to mounting reports about forced organ harvesting in China in which the organs of prisoners of conscience, including Falun Gong practitioners, are placed on a list as being available on-demand for those waiting for a match. Two popular videos that have spread online about this matter can be found at http://youtu.be/P0GFXnco-LU; and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvAOOwvJMZs&feature=plcp]

Source: China Youth Daily reprinted by Xinhua, October 24, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/health/2012-10/24/c_123863531.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Ministry of Defense: Major Reshuffle of Military Leaders

On October 25, 2012, the Ministry of National Defense of China updated its official website with a significant reshuffle ahead of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party, which will be held on November 8, 2012. As part of the Central Military Commission, the leaders of all four major military organizations have changed as follows: Fang Fenghui, Chief of Staff of the General Staff Department; Zhang Yang, Director of the General Political Department; Zhao Keshi, Director of the General Logistics Department; and Zhang Youxia, Director of the General Armaments Department.

Source: Ministry of National Defense, October 25, 2012
http://www.mod.gov.cn/leader/index.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military