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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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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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People’s Daily Editor’s Suicide highlights the Plight of Media Personnel in China

On August 22, 2012, Xu Huaiqian, the former editor-in-chief for the Dadi (Earth) supplement of People’s Daily, committed suicide. Xu’s suicide elicited heated responses from Chinese netizens. Xu Huaiqian’s words were quoted in Chinese media and quickly circulated on the Internet.

Xu said: “My pain is that I dare to think but I cannot speak out; I dare to speak out but I cannot write; I dare to write but I have no place to publish.”

Source: BBC Chinese, August 24, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/08/120824_media_suicide_ana.shtml

Briefings | | |   Grapevine

Bridges Collapse Causing Abnormal Deaths in China

On August 25, 2012, NetEase (http://www.163.com/) published a series of photos displaying 30 bridges that have collapsed in China in the past 10 years. Seven of those bridges fell in 2012. The most recent collapse of a bridge happened in Harbin on August 24, 2012. Three people were killed and five were injured. According to the article, “More bridges have collapsed like this one, either due to the overloading the bridge or erosion due to rainfall.”

(Editor: Media and netizens have identified corruption, cutting corners to save money, and Tofu Construction as the causes leading to such failures. According to Asia News, for example, "Tofu engineering work leads to a tofu bridge.")

Sources: NetEase (http://www.163.com/),  August 25, 2012
http://news.163.com/photoview/00AP0001/26798.html#p=89P9K9V900AP0001
Asia News, A public menace, China’s ‘Tofu’ bridges in danger of collapse, August 28, 2012
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/A-public-menace,-China%27s-%27Tofu%27-bridges-in-danger-of-collapse-25662.html

Briefings | | |   Grapevine

Foreign Press Associations Ask China to Protect Reporters

Foreign press associations in China expressed alarm over recent incidents of violent beatings and threatening harassment directed against foreign reporters. The police and local security guards were involved in several of these beatings and threatening harassment incidents. Foreign press associations in China asked the Chinese regime to protect reporters.  

The Chinese regime responded that foreign journalists can report freely in China despite some restrictions in Tibet. However, in reality, local officials often detain foreign reporters and sometimes beat them when they report "sensitive" incidents.

Source: BBC Chinese, August 21, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/08/120821_china_journalists.shtml  

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Wen Jiabao: China Must Push Export Growth

Xinhua recently reported that on August 24 and 25, 2012, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Guangdong Province. During his visit, Wen made some public comments on the situation of China’s exports. He admitted that China is suffering the high pressure of an economic decline. The global market downturn has apparently impacted Chinese exports. Wen visited many export-oriented companies in Guangdong. He had several working meetings in which he suggested that actions must be taken in five areas: (1) the government must continue to implement and improve export policies that stabilize the export business; (2) companies should adjust their export business models to improve their scale and intellectual properties; (3) China must actively increase the importation of advanced machinery, key technical parts, and frequently used consumer products; (4) Export companies must be careful about trade friction and be positive on risk management; (5) China must put a bigger effort into fully utilizing foreign investments.
Source: Xinhua, August 27, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-08/27/c_112851606.htm
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

People’s Daily: Japan Provides Military Technical Support to China’s Neighbors

People’s Daily recently reported that Japan has started providing military technical support to several countries around China. The support primarily covers “non-combat” areas like mine-sweeping and medical help. For the time being, China’s involved neighboring countries are Indonesia, Vietnam, East Timor, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Tonga. Japanese media suggested that Japan intends to enhance cooperative relations with China’s neighbors because of the pressure of increases in China’s military power. This is another of the Japanese Army’s overseas military related missions since it participated in the United Nations’ peacekeeping missions. The Japanese government expressed the belief that these technical support activities are reasonable because the countries receiving support are not engaged in combat.
Source: People’s Daily, August 27, 2012
http://world.people.com.cn/n/2012/0827/c42354-18836705.html
Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

CRN: The Chinese Economy Faces Its Biggest Adjustment

China Review News (CRN) recently published an article analyzing the direction in which the Chinese economy is moving. The article expressed the belief that, based on the numbers from the first month of the third quarter, the Chinese economy shows no sign of having any hope in the near term. The official July PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) reached a new low for the past eight months. Export growth is now down to 1%. GDP growth slipped to 7.6%, which represents a slowdown for the last six consecutive quarters. The author suggested that the structure of the Chinese economy is heavily distorted. For example, government investment contributes to over 50% of the GDP; consumer spending is constantly on the decline; by the end of 2010, local government debts had reached RMB 10 trillion. Meanwhile, over the last 10 years, the domestic supply of the Chinese currency to the market increased 600%. The author concluded that the Chinese economy is quickly approaching the point of a total breakdown, which will reflect the combination of all the accumulated risks it has taken in the past several years. 
Source: China Review News, August 24, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1022/1/1/0/102211028.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102211028&mdate=0824072547
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Li Yuanchao: Further Strengthening the Party’s Ability to Manage Talent

Xinhua reported that the Central Coordination Group for Talent Management held a meeting on August 24, 2012, to “study and plan the work needed to strengthen the Party’s ability to manage talent.” Li Yuanchao, the head of the Organization Department, stressed the importance of carrying out the “Opinion on the Work of Strengthening the Party’s Ability to Manage Talent,” which the central administration recently issued. Li asked all levels to execute the guidelines in the “Opinion” and to implement the Party’s talent management system.

According to the article, the “Opinion” is a guideline developed under the new environment. It laid out systemic requirements which will enable the Party to be completely in charge of talent management, while the rest of the government entities should carry out their responsibilities and actively assist the Party.

Members of the Central Coordination Group for Talent Management as well as the leaders from the Ministry of Organization at the provincial and municipal levels attended the meeting. Representatives from the Ministry of Organization of Heilongjiang and Hebei provinces, the Nanjing City Municipal Government, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, the China Association for Science and Technology, and Tsinghua University shared their experiences at the meeting.

Source: Xinhua, August 24, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-08/24/c_112842228.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

RFA: The Decline in China’s Countryside

RFA carried a report on China’s growing urbanization and the social implications of the coutryside’s decline.

The report stated that, according to official statistics, in 2011, China had 691 million urban residents, which accounts for 51.27 percent of the total population. This was the first time that the urban population exceeded that of the countryside. The China Urban Development Report of 2012 predicted that, if urbanization grows one percent per year, the urban population will exceed 60 percent by 2020.

Many experts are concerned about the social implications of the growth in the urban population. Agricultural productivity has declined as more and more young and middle aged farmers have left the countryside. Other potential issues include: 1) when farm workers go to the city to work, their family members can’t go with them; 2) farmers do not have title to their land and can’t transfer or sell the land; 3) because of their residential status, farm workers do not have social security.

Source: Radio Free Asia, August 24, 2012
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/xql-08242012151753.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources