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China’s Reaction to Trump’s Election Win

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Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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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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Another Round of Training for New Grassroots Police Chiefs

Starting from June 26, 2012, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) launched a training session for the country’s 1,400 city and county level public security bureau chiefs, some some of whom are newly-appointed. According to the website of MPS, one of the goals of the training is to “accomplish the task of safeguarding the eighteenth National Congress of Chinese Communist Party.”

Since 2009, MPS has conducted trainings in Beijing for more than 3,000 county-level and 500 city-level public security bureau chiefs, nearly 1,000 of the CCP’s heads of Discipline Inspection and heads of Political Departments in provincial and city level public security authorities, 1,500 who are in leadership positions in charge of intelligence, law enforcement standardization, and community relations, and 6,000 grassroots policemen. The Ministry also made arrangements for provincial level public security authorities to train 70,000 grassroots police officials on a rotational basis.

Source: Website of the Ministry of Public Security, June 28, 2012
http://www.mps.gov.cn/n16/n1237/n1342/n803715/3312623.html

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Chinese Army Will Explore Maintaining a Military Presence in Sansha City in the South China Sea

On June 28, 2012, the Ministry of Defense held a press conference at which their spokesperson, Geng Yansheng, announced that the State Council approved the establishment of Sansha City, a prefectural level city in Hainan Province, as a location where the Chinese Army may place a local military command. [Editor’s note: Sansha City is located in the South China Sea and is the southernmost city in China’s geographic location. The territory under its jurisdiction includes the islands and sea areas of the Xisha Islands, the Dongsha Islands, and the Nansha Islands.]

Source: People’s Daily, June 28, 2012
http://military.people.com.cn/n/2012/0628/c115150-18403372.html

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Auditor General: Major Corruption Found among High-ranking Officials

On June 27, 2012, Liu Jiayi, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of China, delivered the 2011 audit report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. According to Liu, as a result of the audit, his office referred 112 cases involving major violations of the law and economic crimes to the relevant departments for investigation and prosecution. These cases have implicated more than 300 people. Forty three (38%) of the cases referred involved heads of government departments who abused their official power for personal gain.

Xinhua reported the news stating the audit report indicated that corruption is rampant among high levels of government officials.

Source: Xinhua, June 27, 2012
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-06/27/c_112303856.htm

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Why Don’t the Chinese People Feel Satisfied with Life?

On June 16, 2012, Capital University of Economics and Business and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences jointly released their report on the results of a survey conducted in 35 cities on Chinese people’s satisfaction with the quality of life. According to the survey, the (subjective) satisfaction index was 50.88, just having reached the minimum level of satisfaction.

“The loss of morality results in the family’s instability. The decline in social trust means no one will help a fallen senior or a child in danger. Corruption and bribery lead to poor quality buildings everywhere. Greed and a lack of supervision have contributed to food safety problems everywhere. Selfishness and blind short-sightedness have created a deteriorating environment. The lack of faith and the loss of any sense of community contribute to a feeling of anxiety across the whole country. More and more Chinese people feel worried. Facing such an aimless society, which we cannot rely on spiritually, a sense of security brought by the social and economic development has vanished. How can we talk about happiness?”

Source: China Review News, June 18, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/4/4/7/102144732.html?coluid=73&kindid=7151&docid=102144732

Briefings | | |   Grapevine

Many PLA Officials Only Show Partial Loyalty to the CCP

On June 19, 2012, China Review News (CRN), reported on an article that People’s Liberation Army Daily (PLA Daily) recently published about PLA officials having only “Partial Loyalty to the CCP.” Although the CCP requires that all PLA officials maintain complete loyalty to the Party, many officials only show partial loyalty to the Party Central Committee, the Central Military Commission, and Chairman Hu Jintao. They talk loudly about loyalty but at the bottom of their hearts, that is not what they feel.

Source: China Review News, June 19, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/4/4/7/102144732.html?coluid=73&kindid=7151&docid=102144732

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Two Days of Rioting in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province

On Monday June 25, and Tuesday June 26, 2012, police and migrant workers clashed in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province. On June 26, nearly ten thousand migrant workers from other provinces surrounded the town government, confronting about one thousand police. The two sides clashed again. Several police cars were smashed and overturned. Many people were injured and sent to the hospital. Armed police blocked all roads.                          

(According to a government spokeswoman from Shaxi township, a fight broke out between a 15-year-old migrant and a student. Security personnel intervened and severely beat the young migrant, infuriating a group of relatives and other migrants who rioted.)

Sources: Southcn.com and Epoch Times, June 27, 2012
http://news.southcn.com/c/2012-06/27/content_49306195.htm
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/12/6/27/n3621780.htm

Briefings | | |   Social Stability

CRN: State Owned Companies’ Profits Are Declining

China Review News (CRN) recently published a report on the Ministry of Finance’s newly released numbers. The numbers showed that, during the period from January to May, the total profit of all state-owned companies declined 10.4% compared to the same period last year. The monthly decline from April to May was 11.8%. The Ministry expected a continuation of the decline in the near future. The report expressed the belief that the main cause of the decline was the combination of a weakened international market and low domestic demand. The domestic consumer market is very weak due to higher living costs. Another reason for the profit decline mentioned in the report was the disappearing benefits that resulted from the earlier large stimulation package that the government initiated after the global financial crisis started in the U.S. The report also identified three operational issues: (1) state-owned companies actually had a total income increase while suffering a total profit decline; (2) internal costs such as wages increased rapidly; (3) only companies with monopoly power saw their profits increase.
Source: China Review News, June 19, 2012
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1021/4/4/9/102144962.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102144962&mdate=0619075811
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

Outlook Weekly: How to Reform China’s Financial Safety System

Outlook Weekly, a weekly magazine under Xinhua, recently published an article on the way to establish a new system to ensure China’s financial safety. The article identified four major relationships to focus on: (1) the relationship between financial risks and economic development; (2) the relationship between financial openness and financial protection; (3) the relationship between financial freedom and government monitoring and administration; (4) the relationship between speed versus profit, and scale versus quality. 
The article discussed six strategic components of financial safety: (1) controlling the risk in international capital flows; (2) enhancing financial monitoring and administration; (3) coordinating currency policies; (4) examining the goal of currency exchange rate policies; (5) reforming foreign currency management; (6) adjusting international payment balances. 
The article called for four operational actions: (1) adjusting the government’s role; (2) developing a new financial theory to handle the new situation; (3) ensuring financial stability; (4) deploying new risk control measures.
Source: Outlook Weekly, June 4, 2012
http://news.sohu.com/20120604/n344722898.shtml
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources