The Chinese People Don’t Just Distrust the Government; They Take Action
Chinascope recently published a commentary written by an expert on China issues, Dr. Shizhong Chen, titled, “The Mirror of China’s Failing State.” Dr. Chen observed that what the Chinese government claimed to be a ‘once-in-60-years’ rainstorm in Beijing has led the Western media to start looking beyond the China’s economic illusion to see the real China: an economic prosperity “at the expense of internal necessities that include infrastructure, education, and healthcare.” [1]
Not only did the Beijing rainstorm reveal the lack of infrastructure development in China, but it also showed the world that people in China are losing trust in China’s government. Moreover, they are taking action, and not just talking, to express their distrust.
Zhou Yongkang Issued an Important Directive to the Deputy Chiefs of the Public Security Bureaus
On September 7, 2012, the National Public Security Bureau held a forum in Dalian City, Liaoning Province.The Deputy Chiefs of the Public Security Bureaus around the country attended the forum. The forum summarized the experiences gathered in recent years in handling the emergency management of unexpected public events.
Zhou Yongkang spoke at the forum. He asked all levels to study and learn from how the situation of dealing with unexpected public events has been dealt with both domestically and abroad; to improve the ability to apply the law, the ability to work on civilians, the ability to manage the accident sites, and the ability to properly guide the media. He also asked all parties to firmly safeguard social stability and the people’s interest as well as the authority of the nation’s legal system in order to create a safe and stable social atmosphere in the period preceding the Party’s 18th National Congress.
Source: Xinhua, September 8, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-09/08/c_113005691.htm
RFA: Newspaper Deputy Editor Removed
According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Changjiang Commerce Newspaper in Hubei Province recently carried a news article reporting that 3,000 elementary students in Ma Chen City need to carry their own desks with them when they go to school. After this news was published, the reporter was threatened and the newspaper’s Deputy Editor was removed.
The reporter, Zhang Xuerong, posted on his micro-blog that, since the news was published, he has received one text message after another warning him not to cause trouble. He had established a donation campaign to collect funds so the school could buy desks, but he had to stop it.
According to RFA, Changjiang Commerce Newspaper refused to comment on the removal of their Deputy Editor. An Internet writer told RFA that all the news media in China are currently under tight scrutiny due to the sensitivity of the upcoming Party Congress. Another overseas scholar expressed his concern about the lack investment in education in China and the imbalance between the city and the countryside in the allocation of resources for education.
Source: Radio Free Asia, September 6, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xql-09062012162032.html
Guangdong Provincial Government Is Building Databases of Overseas Chinese
The United Front Work Department of the Communist Party carried an article originally published by Xinhua stating that the Guangdong Provincial government plans to build four databases on oversea’s Chinese in order to enhance the communication with the overseas Chinese and provide better services for the overseas Chinese who have returned to China (called haigui). The four categories for the databases include professionals and specialists in key areas; business groups; overseas Chinese currently living in Guangdong, and overseas Chinese currently investing in Guangdong.
According to Zhen Jianming, Deputy Director of the Guangdong Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, his office has established connections with over 100 overseas professional groups. They have listed 25 organizations in seven countries as the key contacts and have established collaboration projects with 15 of them. Since 2011, the Guangdong Foreign and Overseas Chinese Affairs Office has invited over 100 high level professionals from nine professional organizations to Guangdong and reached over 20 agreements with them for scientific collaboration or agreements on the intent to collaborate.
Source: The United Front Work Department of the Communist Party, September 7, 2012
http://www.zytzb.cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/tzb2010/S1815/201209/731224.html
Study Times Criticized Hu and Wen for Stalling Political Reform
Deng Yuwen, a deputy editor at Study Times, criticized Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao in a commentary he wrote, titled, “The Political Legacy of Hu and Wen.” The commentary was published on caijing.com.cn in three installments on August 30 and 31, and September 3, 2012. In the second installment, Deng stated that during their ten years in power, Hu and Wen “created more problems than accomplishments” and they also brought about a legitimacy crisis for the Chinese Communist Party. The problems include the lack of political reform and more democracy. The commentary was soon taken down, although a search at caijin.com.cn still shows the title of the article.
Sources:
Wenxuecity.com, September 3, 2012 (contains a full version of the second installment of the commentary)
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2012/09/03/1956602.html
Caijing.com.cn
http://search.caijing.com.cn/index.jsp?key=%E9%82%93%E8%81%BF%E6%96%87&x=0&y=0&item=0
China Economic Weekly: Corrupt Officials Fleeing Overseas
Last week a Chinese airline was called back to Beijing after 7 hours in the air flying to New York. Internet rumors had it that a politburo level official, who was fleeing China, was on the plane. The rumors prompted current references to information that had been published about officials fleeing the country.
China Economic Weekly under the People’s Daily featured an article in its 22nd Issue of 2012 on Communist Party officials fleeing China with large amounts of money. The article cited statistics released last year by China’s Academy of Social Science. It stated that 16,000 to 18,000 Party officials have fled the country since the mid 1990s, taking 800 billion yuan with them. For example, between August 3 and 5, 2003, on the eve of the effective date of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in China, Chinese customs authorities captured over 60 officials trying to exit China. One of them was carrying 600,000 Euros. The two UN conventions became effective in China on September 29, 2003. Within 24 hours, starting on the night of September 30, 2003, 51 Party officials were arrested at airports while trying to flee China.
Sources:
Radio Free Asia, September 5, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/sd-09052012143539.html
China Economic Weekly, June 4, 2012
http://paper.people.com.cn/zgjjzk/html/2012-06/04/content_1064433.htm?div=-1
Huanqiu Editorial: Let Hillary Understand China’s Determination to Defend its Territory
China’s state media Huanqiu published an editorial in which its tone was one of lecturing Hillary Clinton and the U.S. about the recent territorial disputes between China and it’s neighboring countries. Below is a partial translation of the editorial.