Chinascope – Page 972

CRN: PLA Established Technical Quality Handling Mechanism

China Review News (CRN) recently republished a Xinhua report that the General Armament Department of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) announced and distributed to all branches of the army the new Technical Quality Issue Handling Rules for Army Equipment and Weaponry in Active Duty. The Rules for the first time clearly defined the governance structure and responsibilities of various army units for quality assurance. Technical support is now a requirement. Issue tracking and response documentation are also standardized. Periodical reporting requirements and levels of problems are defined too. In 2011, pilot programs for the implementation of the Rules were run in the Beijing and Lanzhou Military Regions and improvements were seen, as a result.

Source: China Review News, February 22, 2012
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1020/1/7/8/102017899.html?coluid=4&kindid=18&docid=102017899&mdate=0222083351

Briefings | | February 28, 2012 | Defense/Military

Xinhua: U.S. The Cost of Starting a War Is Lower

Xinhua recently published a report commenting on cuts in the U.S. defense budget. According to the new budget plan, the defense budget for next year will be reduced by $32 billion. A total of $487 billion will be cut over the next decade. The report expressed the belief that the factors leading to the reduction were the current unstable U.S. economic situation and the political atmosphere of a presidential election year. However, the article pointed out that the budget reduction also reflected some strategic improvements that the U.S. military has made. One is strengthened mobility and delivery capabilities, which make deploying military forces to the front-line much easier and faster. Hence there is no need to keep a large amount of manpower deployed in remote areas. Another improvement is in the technology area where unmanned and space-based attack capabilities are becoming game changers. The report concluded that the budget cuts demonstrated that it will be easier and cheaper for the U.S. to start future wars. The lowered U.S. defense budget may mean more trouble for the world.

Source: Global Times, February 25, 2012
http://mil.huanqiu.com/Observation/2012-02/2470054_2.html

Briefings | | February 28, 2012 | US-China Relations

Nanfang Weekend: How Many Ministries and Ministers Are There in China?

Nanfang Weekend published an article which had an overview of ministerial level agencies and ministers of the Communist Party. Most of ministerial level agencies are under the State Council. The rest are within the Party system. Examples include the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Organization Department, the Publicity Department, People’s Daily, the Party School of The Chinese Communist Party, the Party Literature Research Centre, and the Party History Research Centre.

While there are at least 74 ministerial level agencies, there are more than 74 minister level cadres. Deputies may be minister level cadres and non-ministerial level agencies may be headed by minister level cadres. Examples of the latter include heads of liaison offices in Hong Kong and Macau. The two Vice Presidents of China’s Supreme Court are also minister level cadres. Ten important social organizations are headed by minister level cadres including the Communist Youth League, the All China Women’s Federation, the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the Chinese Writers Association, the Chinese Disabled Persons’ Federation, the China Society and Technology Association, and the All China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese.

Some of the leaders of state sponsored democratic parties are also minister-level cadres.

Source: Nanfang Weekend, February 16, 2012
http://www.infzm.com/content/70110

Briefings | | February 27, 2012 | Government/Politics

Stories about Bo Xilai and Wang Lijun

[Editor’s Note： Recently in China, there was a political shake-up involving Bo Xilai and his right hand man, Wang Lijun. It was so serious that the shockwaves reverberated in the U.S. Chinascope collected some stories about Bo and Wang from Chinese media (both inside and outside of China) that may not have been widely reported in the Western media. The following are excerpts from those articles.]

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Reports | | February 26, 2012 | Report

State Media: Chinese Internet Users Call for Boycotting Tours of Nagoya

The Chinese state-run media People’s Daily and Xinhua both published a report describing Chinese Internet users’ reactions to the statement that the Japanese Mayor of Nagoya made denying [that the Japanese committed] the “Nanjing Massacre.”

The Chief Editor of Huanqiu (a newspaper under People’s Daily) summarized the statements from Internet users in saying that the Mayor of Nagoya must apologize. If he doesn’t, China should declare he is an unwelcome person, bar him from entering China, and impose personal sanctions against him. At the same time, all Chinese tour groups should bypass Nagoya, allowing the crisis to escalate.

Source: Xinhua, February 23, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-02/23/c_122741053.htm

Briefings | | February 24, 2012 | Government/Politics

Half of High Ranking Government Officials May Have Their Children Live Overseas

China’s Academy of Social Sciences published a report on a survey that indicated that more government officials (38.9%) than those of the general public (34.2%) agree that their children can be citizens or residents of foreign countries. The report concluded that those government officials of higher rank are even more likely to agree regarding their children. The ratio of those officials at the provincial/ministerial level is 53.3%; for those at the level of department chiefs or city mayors, it is 53.4%; county chiefs, 51.7%, and at the level of township chiefs 49.6%. The survey on which the above conclusions were based was conducted among government officials in 23 provinces and cities.

[Editor’s note: In China, the government bureaucratic hierarchy is, ranked in a descending order, premier, followed by provincial governors or ministerial heads, and then city mayors, county, and township chiefs.]

Source: Southern Metropolis Daily, February 21, 2012
http://nf.nfdaily.cn/nfdsb/content/2012-02/21/content_38395262.htm

Briefings | | February 24, 2012 | Government/Politics

Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.