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International Herald Leader: Patriotism is a Duty, not a Burden

The International Herald Leader, a state media, published a commentary rebutting criticism of the state run sports program. “In addition there were many complaints that athletes participating in the state run sports program bear a "patriotic duty" that is too heavy. When winning, one must thank the State and when losing, one must apologize to the State. People cannot see a human being; they only see a cog in the machine. Such accusations ignore the fact that the state has always funded most of the Chinese athletes and that there is nothing wrong with doing a good job for your employer. The arbitrary interpretation of the post-race reflections of the athletes shows a total disrespect for the freedom of speech of the individual athletes. Do athletes only have the right to thank their parents and coaches, and no right to express their respect for the flag they fight for? Patriotism is never a burden for anyone. It is not wrong to express your love for the motherland openly.”

Source: International Herald Leader, August 14, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0814/78050.shtml

Huanqiu: The United States Will Exhaust Itself Trying to Contain China

Huanqiu published a commentary on the U.S. policy to contain China. It stated that this policy has motivated China’s neighboring countries, because of their own conflicts with China, to participate in the campaign to contain China. This is the geopolitical security challenge that China faces now. According to the commentary, the containment policy is a strategy of intimidation against China. It will harm both the United States and China and may lead to internal rifts within the camp that the United States leads. The containment strategy will exhaust the U.S. allies. China should use economic means to break the weak links among them and tire them out more quickly so that the allies will eventually abandon the United States. The containment strategy also increases the burden China faces when it has border disputes, trade disputes, and litigation. This, in turn, encourages political dissidents to create chaos and incites extremist forces, especially the ethnic separatists who make trouble by attacking China for its human rights abuses. All of this is done for the goal of derailing China’s development. “We should clearly recognize the essence of the problem so that, strategically, we remain stable; tactically, we are always able to handle the problem from the perspective of national security; and we finally hit the nail on the head.”

Source: Huanqiu, August 16, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0814/78050.shtml

China’s Growing Young Shoppers of Luxury Goods

As China has become the world’s second largest market for luxury goods, the population of young consumers has steadily been growing, particularly when compared to the small number of affluent luxury consumers in Europe and the United States who are mostly over the age of 40. According to the World Luxury Association (WLA), the average Chinese consumer of luxury goods is 15 years younger than the European consumer, and 25 years younger than the American consumer. Ouyang Kun, CEO of the WLA’s China Office, said that more than half of China’s luxury goods consumers have monthly earnings of about 10,000 yuan (US$1,570) with an age between 25 and 28.

“The world’s youngest luxury goods consumers are in China. The vast majority of them received their money from their parents.” said Ouyang Kun. As China’s first generation of entrepreneurs didn’t spend their time enjoying their lives because they were starting and growing their businesses, they then passed that wish on to their children, who now own the best phones, the best bags, and the best pens. A large factor affecting this trend is the way the offspring of millionaires and billionaires compare themselves to others. They use the possession of luxury goods as a way to identify themselves and show themselves off, as well as their family’s wealth and social status, while European and U.S. parents rarely buy luxury goods for their children.

Source: People’s Daily, August, 15, 2012
http://finance.people.com.cn/n/2012/0815/c1004-18745005.html

China Battered by August Typhoons

Three typhoons consecutively slammed 12 of China’s coastal provinces, causing severe damage. The three typhoons hit Jiangsu, Fujian and Zhejiang in the first half of August, delivering strong storms, heavy rains, floods, and landslides. According to the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the typhoons affected 30.84 million people, and caused 51 deaths, while 21 went missing. Over 4.06 million residents were evacuated to other regions; 80,000 houses collapsed with 500,000 houses damaged. The crops on 22.98 million acres of land were hit hard; the crops covering 2.63 million acres were totally ruined, resulting in direct economic losses of 65.5 billion yuan ($10.3 billion).

Source: Xinhua, August 13, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2012-08/13/c_112712692.htm

Xinhua: Be Vigilant to the Intention to Resolve the Syria Issue Outside of the United Nations

Xinhua published a commentary from a contributor having the pen name “Zhong Sheng (the pronunciation is the same as ‘Voice of China’).” The article pointed out that some big Western countries are trying to seek other avenues, outside of the United Nations, to resolve the Syria issue. The article stated, “At this critical juncture, China invited the special envoy of the Syrian president to visit China, while also considering issuing an invitation to the relevant Syrian opposition organizations to visit China in the near future.” The article claimed that (by doing so), “China, as a permanent member of the Security Council, showed a high degree of responsibility toward world peace.”

The article commented, “Regarding the solution for Syria, the key to solving the Syria crisis is in the hands of the Syrian people. At the same time, the support of the international community is also indispensable. The coordination and cooperation among the countries on the UN Security Council is extremely important. Some Western countries have never abandoned the goal of making a "regime change" in Syria. They continue to increase their support for the rebels. Recently they publicly discussed the establishment of a "no-fly” zone. This has destroyed the internal solidarity of the Security Council, so that the international community cannot reach a consensus and Annan’s mediation efforts have been to no avail. All of the indications suggest that the rumor that certain Western powers seek a solution for Syria outside of the framework of the United Nations is not groundless.”

Source: Xinhua, August 15, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2012-08/15/c_123583721.htm

New Regulation: No One Allowed to Release Any Natural or Unnatural Disaster Warnings

On August 3, 2012, the Guangdong provincial government announced a new regulation on its official website.  With the exception of the Guangdong Provincial Warning Release System, no organization or individual is allowed to release any warning or information to the public regarding an event that may cause serious harm to society, a natural disaster, an accident, or a public health incident, including those that are happening or are about to happen.

No one is allowed to issue any warning or make any announcement, such as for the recent storms in Beijing, on any personal microblog.

Source: Guangdong Yangcheng Evening News (http://www.ycwb.com), August 9, 2012
http://news.ycwb.com/2012-08/09/content_3905933.htm

The Shattered American Dream: 23 Chinese Concept Stocks Delisted in United States

On August 14, 2012, Boxun reported that, according to Money Week magazine, since the beginning of August, 23 Chinese concept stocks have been delisted from U.S. stock markets,   .

Those enterprises that are still struggling in the U.S. stock markets are losing money, as their share prices have plunged. As an example of all China concept stocks, VisionChina Media’s share price fell over 96%. The nightmare continues. Those entrepreneurs who still have the "American dream" are the next to get hurt.

Source: Boxun, August 14, 2012
http://www.boxun.com/news/gb/finance/2012/08/201208140802.shtml

China’s Ministry of Public Security: Continue Cracking down Internet Crimes

On August 13, 2012, China Review News reported that the Chinese Ministry of Public Security will continue its special action against “Internet crimes.” 

In March 2012, China’s Ministry of Public Security started a nationwide campaign to fight against illegal online conduct. In spite of this action, Internet crimes are still rampant in China. The Ministry of Public Security will, therefore, continue its hard-line crackdown on Internet crimes. As of the present, the police forces around China have arrested more than 19,000 suspects and deleted more than 3.85 million items of harmful information from the Internet.

Source: China Review News, August 13, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/9/9/9/102199902.html?coluid=45&kindid=0&docid=102199902&mdate=0813225344