Skip to content

CRN: Foreign Exchange Reserves should Introduce Privatization

China Review News (CRN) recently published an article discussing how China should manage its large foreign exchange reserves. The article started by comparing China with Japan and Germany, two countries that also have large foreign exchange reserves. The ratio of net privately owned assets versus total foreign exchange reserves in Japan is 56%; in Germany it is 86%; and in China it is 50%. The article suggested that China should establish new policies to allow privatization of the ownership of foreign exchange and assets. The author offered four actionable items: (1) establishing a foreign currency based bond market that limits trading to domestic customers; (2) allowing foreign companies to issue bonds in Chinese currency; (3) with some restrictions, allowing domestic residents to invest directly in foreign markets; (4) loosening up the restrictions on Chinese companies’ international investments. The author expressed the belief that a certain level of privatization of foreign exchange reserves will lower the government’s foreign exchange management risks and will also lower the pressure of issuing more Chinese currency.

Source: China Review News, August 6, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/9/0/1/102190145.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102190145&mdate=0806070937

Qiu Shi: Chinese Economic Trend from a Global Angle

Qiu Shi, a magazine of CCP Central Committee, recently published an article discussing the direction in which China’s economy is headed, given the background of the global downturn. The author expressed the belief that, although the global economy seems to be recovering slowly, the long term expectations are that it is moving in a negative direction. The world economy currently is a mixed bag of a number of pros and cons, such as uncertainty in Europe, lowered global inflation, capital outflows in emerging countries, and global investments shrinking in value. Impacted by the world economy, China faces some challenges: (1) the high pressure of a downturn; (2) small businesses are still struggling; (3) food prices are fluctuating significantly. The author suggested that China should take positive actions: (1) government investments should continue; (2) the government should support strategic new industries; (3) Mid-Western provinces will have more growth based on industries that have moved from the east; (4) domestic consumer spending should be encouraged; (5) second half imports and exports will speed up. The article concluded that the Chinese economy still has hope despite its difficulties.

Source: Qiu Shi, August 2, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/jj/jjyj/201208/t20120803_174163.htm

The Epoch Times: Gu Kailai’s Real Reason for Murdering British Businessman Neil Haywood

The Epoch Times, an overseas multi-language media, published an exclusive report on the real reason that British businessman Neil Haywood was murdered. According to the report, Haywood could not be trusted to remain silent about what he knew. A trusted source told Epoch Times that Heywood was killed because of “his involvement in forced live organ harvesting and the alleged sale of dead bodies. He was also involved in assisting in plans for a coup.”

According to The Epoch Times’ source, “Allegedly Heywood was involved with Bo and Gu in the business of organ harvesting in Liaoning Province. This is what sealed his death warrant because Heywood had begun leaking information about their involvement in this atrocity.”

Earlier this year, Epoch Times reported that it had received information from a reliable source in Dalian City that the vast majority of the bodies that were made available to the factories that performed the mummification process were murdered Falun Gong practitioners. The public security bureaus and courts collected the bodies and sold them at a high price to the mummification factories. From there the bodies were shipped to museums around the world for exhibition, generating billions of dollars in annual income.

The Epoch Times article also stated that Heywood knew about Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai’s coup plans and helped with certain activities outside of China. Moreover, Heywood allegedly helped to move the billions that Bo and Gu had acquired through various deals inside China into accounts outside of China.

Sources: The Epoch Times, August 10, 2012
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/8/9/n3655012.htm%E3%80%90%E7%8B%AC%E5%AE%B6%E6%8F%AD%E5%AF%86-%E3%80%91%E8%96%84%E8%B0%B7%E5%BC%80%E6%9D%A5%E6%A1%88%E4%B8%AD%E5%A5%87%E6%A1%88%EF%BC%88%E4%B8%8A%EF%BC%89?p=all

http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/8/12/n3657318.htm%E3%80%90%E7%8B%AC%E5%AE%B6%E6%8F%AD%E5%AF%86%E3%80%91%E8%96%84%E8%B0%B7%E5%BC%80%E6%9D%A5%E6%A1%88%E4%B8%AD%E5%A5%87%E6%A1%88%EF%BC%88%E4%B8%8B%EF%BC%89

RFI: Why Was There No In-Depth Discussion of Gu Kailai’s Motives in the Murder Case?

After the Gu Kailai murder trial, Radio France Internationale published an article in which the author questioned why, in the trial of Gu Kailai on the charge of murdering English businessman Neil Heywood, there was no in depth discussion of Gu’s motives for committing murder. The article quoted Zhao Xiangcha, a history student who attended the court trial. Zhao stated, “As to the motives for the murder, something that everyone is questioning and which is a key issue in this murder case, both sides seemed to have a mutual understanding and did not have any in depth discussion.”

According to RFI, after the trial, Zhao Xiangcha tried to describe the details he recollected from the trial on renren.com, a social network website. However, the posting was immediately taken down.

The article called the murder case a total exposure of the dark side of China’s political circle. It stated that it was horrifying to learn all the details of the murder that were disclosed at the trial, the depth to which China’s political ring was involved, and the cruelty involved in the case. The article also questioned whether there might be other such plots that are hidden and yet to be disclosed. All of these, however, are determined by how the power balance at the upper level plays out, which is a sign of how corrupt the Chinese judicial system has become.

The article concluded: Gu’s trial suggests that it is time to rebuild China’s political lives and its public value system.

Source: Radio France Internationale, August 10, 2012
http://www.chinese.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20120810-%E8%B0%B7%E6%A1%88%E8%A1%A8%E6%98%8E%E9%87%8D%E5%BB%BA%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB%E7%94%9F%E6%B4%BB%E5%85%AC%E5%85%B1%E9%81%93%E5%BE%B7%E5%B7%B2%E5%88%BB%E4%B8%8D%E5%AE%B9%E7%BC%93

People’s Daily on the Growth and Benefits of Confucius Institutes around the World

Qiushi Theory carried an article, that People’s Daily had originally published, on the expansion of the Confucius Institute project around the world. The article claimed that Confucius Institutes offer many benefits. One example is that they “enable foreigners to understand China without bias and hostility.” According to the article, the Confucius Institute project has not only bridged the gap between China and the rest of the world; a member of the Austrian parliament commented that it has also become a “China Affairs consultant” for the Austrian government.

As of July 2012, there were 387 Confucius Institutes and 509 Confucius Classes established in 108 countries and regions. The number of Confucius Institutes is expected to reach 500 by 2015. In the meantime, according to the article, the project also faces challenges in teacher resource and materials shortages.

Source: Qiushi Theory, August 10, 2012
http://www.qstheory.cn/yw/201208/t20120810_175109.htm

China’s Migrants Work Close to 55 Hours Per Week

On August 6, 2012, the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China released China’s 2012 Migrant Population Development Report. According to the report, the migrant population reached 230 million in 2011, accounting for 17 percent of the national population. Migrant worker’s average age was 28. In 2011, no more than 30 percent of the entire migrant workers population had insurance. Migrant worker’s insurance includes pensions, medical care, disability, unemployment, maternity, and funds for housing. Seventy-two percent of migrants either rent or share housing with others.

According to the report, China’s migrant workers work an average of 54.6 hours per week, far surpassing the standard 40 hour work week stipulated in China’s Labor Law. Only 51.3 percent of migrant workers have a fixed-term labor contract.

Source: The Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China, August 7, 2012
http://www.gov.cn/jrzg/2012-08/07/content_2199409.htm

Politburo Requires Police Chiefs to Exchange Posts

Huanqiu reported that local police chiefs at the provincial, regional, and city levels, who participated in a recent campaign to exchange their posts, have reported to their new positions in different regions. Li Yuanchao, Politburo member and head of the Communist Party Organization Department, stated that “pursuant to the requirement of the Party’s Central Committee, gradually, all police departments will be headed by those from outside the region in which they serve.” The the Communist Party’s Central Committee initiated the post-exchange campaign in order to strength national public security in a bid to prevent corruption and promote upright police enforcement.

Source: Huanqiu, August 2, 2012
http://china.huanqiu.com/politics/2012-08/2980271.html

Expert: U.S. and Japanese Reconnaissance Aircraft Will Be Vulnerable If They Come Close to China

Major General Yin Zhuo, Director of the Experts Committee on Naval Information, made a guest appearance at the Powerful Nation Forum sponsored by People’s Daily. He exchanged ideas with Chinese Internet users about the plan that Japan and the United States have for their joint defense and how the plan relates to China’s national security. In talking about the unmanned reconnaissance aircraft that Japan and the U.S. use to monitor China’s marine activities, Yin said that the United States and Japan’s reconnaissance activities are a big threat to China during peacetime, but, when they come close to China during wartime, they will be vulnerable.

Source: People’s Daily, August 8, 2012
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2012/0808/c1011-18698296.html