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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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Hu Jintao to Visit Hong Kong

According to Sina.com, Hu Jintao may visit Hong Kong before July 1, 2012, in commemoration of the 15th anniversary of the return of Hong Kong to mainland China. Song Xiangyan, Deputy Director of the People’s Bank of China’s international trade department, announced, "President Hu Jintao will visit Hong Kong before July 1, and a set of measures to boost Hong Kong’s economy and improve local residents’ livelihoods will soon be announced." Song did not provide further details. Song said that he has taken note of the controversies involving former Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Joseph Yam Chi-kwong’s views about the need to reconsider the HK-US dollar peg to allow more policy leeway on jobs and growth in Hong Kong.

Source: Sina.com, June 14, 2012
http://news.sina.com.hk/news/1663/3/1/2691443/1.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Next Year, the Shortage in China’s Pension Account Will Reach 18 Trillion Yuan

A recently released research report "to resolve the mid to long-term risk to the nation’s account for asset liabilities” predicted that the gap between the amount in the Chinese pension account and the amount due to be paid out will reach 18.3 trillion yuan [~US$3 trillion] in 2013. The report notes that, due to the impact of China’s aging population, the  co-ordinated pension account will be a huge burden for the nation’s finances. Actions have been recommended to relieve the pressure, including delaying the retirement age; allocating state-owned shares; and reforming (the retirement policies) of government departments and institutions.

The study was a joint effort between the Bank of China research team, led by Cao Yuanzheng, the chief economist for the Bank of China, and the Fudan university research group, led by Ma Jun, the chief economist for the Greater China area of Deutsche Bank.

Source：Xinhua，June 14，2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-06/14/c_112210997.htm

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

PLA Daily: Corruption is the Enemy

The People’s Liberation Army Daily published an article titled “Maintain the Purity of the Party Organizations and Cadres in the Military.” The article discusses at great length the corruption in the military stating that to maintain the Party’s purity, one must punish all acts of corruption. “History and reality show that corruption is the largest toxin that corrodes the Party’s purity and the most important factor that adversely affects cohesion, centripetalism and combat effectives of the military.” The article recommends to apply rule of law and strict discipline in the military to combat the corruption.

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily reprinted by the Chinese Communist Party website, June 12, 2012
http://fanfu.people.com.cn/GB/18158643.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Political and Legislative Affairs Committee ‘s Massive Training Concludes

The Central Political and Legislative Affairs Committee (PLAC) is the organization under the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee that oversees all judicial affairs in the country. It stands above the prosecution, the courts, and the secret police, controlling the People’s Armed Police and the regular police force. Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP and a close confidant of former president Jiang Zemin, heads the PLAC. Members of the Central PLAC include the Minister of Public Security, the president of the Supreme Court, the Attorney General, the Minister for State Security, the Justice Minister, and the commander of the Armed Police.

From March to mid-June this year, the Central PLAC organized six training sessions for 3,300 chiefs of its different branches at the provincial, city, and county level. The training emphasized “unswervingly adhering to the Party’s leadership.” The lecturers at the trainings were reportedly minister-level Party or government officials from the Central PLAC, the Supreme Court, the Supreme Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security, and the Ministry of Justice. Courses focused on exercising societal control and handling social conflicts.

Source: Xinhua, June 13, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2012-06/13/c_123275309.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Chinese Major General: We Will Treat the U.S and Japan the Same Way They Treat Us

International Herald Leader published an article about a report that the China Strategy Culture Promotion Association released on U.S. and Japanese military power in 2011. According to the article, China has been on the defensive since the theory of the “China Threat” spread in the international community. “Although the Chinese side believes that these arguments are not worth refuting, objectively speaking, they have had a minor negative impact on China’s image.” The article considers the release of the report to be an effort to strike back. It quoted Luo Yuan, a retired major general and Deputy Executive Director of the association, as saying, “We will treat them (the U.S. and Japan) the same way they treat us.” 

The article said, “Luo Yuan is viewed as a Hawk in the Chinese military. The international mainstream media often quote his tough talk. His views have considerable influence on international public opinion.” Luo expressed a concern that the report may be misunderstood and viewed as being the Chinese military’s view or as a deliberate undertaking of the Chinese military.

Source: International Herald Leader, June 11, 2012
http://ihl.cankaoxiaoxi.com/2012/0611/47141.shtml

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

China Denied Former Norwegian Prime Minister’s Visa to Beijing

The BBC reported that China has denied former Norwegian Prime Minister Bondevik’s visa to come to China for the conference of the “World Council of Churches.” The Norwegian Foreign Ministry lodged a diplomatic action with China but to no avail. “This is very unfortunate,” Bondevik said, “I really want to attend the meeting. I can only condemn China. It’s been almost two years since Liu Xioabo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, yet they still cannot get over it.” (Bondevik was to be the moderator for the World Councill of Churches meeting this week in Nanjing.)

Source: BBC, June 12, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/06/120612_norway_china_visa.shtml

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

BBC Chinese Edition: Continuous Protests in Chongqing û Indication of Chinese Jasmine Revolution?

In April 2012, the Chinese armed police crushed a sudden protest in Wansheng District of Chongqing City that occurred in response to a merger of their district with a nearby poor county (Qijiang). Residents of the Wansheng District continued to have daily peaceful walking protests. Around June 4, 2012, thousands of residents in the former Shuangqiao District in Chongqing started blocking streets to protest the government’s delayed and sharply decreased compensation and the lack of welfare benefits that the authorities had promised before the government confiscated their farmland.

The police have violently beaten the protesters. Seven or eight hundred people have been injured and at least five people (including a pregnant woman) have died. As the repression against the demonstrators continues, the nature of the demonstrations may change from general economic aspirations into dissatisfaction with the Chinese Communist regime and system, similar to the outbreak of the "Jasmine Revolution" in Tunisia, North Africa.

Source: BBC Chinese Edition, June 12, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/comments_on_china/2012/06/120612_coc_china_chongqing_demo.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

A Hong Kong Official Questioned the Cause of Li Wangyang’s Death

While officials and the media in mainland China made no mention of the death of pro-democracy activist Li Wangyang, all walks of life in Hong Kong placed a continued focus on the truth of Li Wangyang’s “suicide,” urging the Chinese authorities to investigate the (real) cause of his death. Chow York, Hong Kong’s Food and Health Secretary, was the first official who questioned the death of Li Wangyang.

Over the past weekend, thousands of people participated in a demonstration, demanding a thorough investigation into Li Wangyang’s death. More than a dozen political parties and civil societies initiated a signature campaign on the streets and online.

(Ed: Li Wangyang allegedly hung himself. Li was an activist who spent 22 years in jail for taking part in the 1989 Tiananmen protest. As he was deaf, bind, and disabled, many doubted it was even possible for Li to hang himself.)
 
Source: BBC Chinese Edition, June 12, 2012
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/chinese_news/2012/06/120612_liwangyang_investigate.shtml

Briefings | | |   Social Stability