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Beijing’s 2009 U.S. Human Rights Report

On March 12, the State Council Information Office published the 2009 U.S. Human Rights Record, an annual government paper to counter the United States annual human rights report, which was published one day earlier. 

The 15,000 word long document details U.S. human rights in six categories including life, property and personal safety; civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights; racial discrimination; women and children’s rights; and infringement of other countries human rights. In one account, it claimed that the “occurrences of rape in the U.S. is 13 times higher that the U.K. and 20 times higher than Japan, ranking the highest in the world.” 
The report concludes that, “All the above facts show that the United States of American not only has a terrible domestic human rights record, but has been a major source of many world human rights disasters.”

Source: China News Service, March 12, 2010 

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

Culture Ministry on Monitoring Internet CafÚs

Both government and business should work toward prohibiting people under age from visiting Internet Cafés, said a Culture Ministry official in response to proposals at the current sessions of the National People’s Congress and the People’s Political Consultative Conference. 

Zhang Xinjian, a deputy director in charge of the marketing division of the Ministry, discussed a three-point solution: streamlining the management of Internet Cafes with government administration and corporate operation; hiring social workers as voluntary supervisors; using technology to strengthen the surveillance system and develop monitoring software. 
Source: Xinhua, March 5, 2010 
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

China’s GAPP Reforms Publishers and Newspapers

In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV), Li Dongdong, Vice Chief of General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP), discussed media reform. He said all of the country’s 580 publishers have finished the reform. Within three years, GAPP is to transform the 1,943 newspapers and 9,821 periodicals through merger, restructuring, and suspension. 

Source: CCTV, March 3, 2010 
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Rear Admiral Demands China’s Share of Arctic Ocean Exploration

At the Third Session of the Eleventh Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo asked China not to fall behind on Arctic Ocean exploration. 

According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the North Pole and surrounding area are the common wealth of the world’s people and do not belonging to any country, said Yin Zhuo, a Rear Admiral and former President of the Chinese Naval Strategy Institute. Yin criticized that some countries are infringing upon other nations interests by fighting for sovereignty over the region, which reportedly has 9% of the world’s coal and a quarter of the global untapped oil and gas, together with abundant diamond, gold, uranium, and other resources. 
Having a belief in the future possibility of China’s regional war in the oceans, Yin proposed to establish a cross-agency commission focusing on strategic planning. 
Source: China News Service, March 5, 2010 
Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

CASS: China’s Public Servants Control 10% of Mafia Organizations

The recently published 2010 Rule of Law Blue Book, a Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) annual report on the nation’s judicial progress, revealed the typical “White-Black-Red” trinity structure in Mafia organizations in China. “White” refers to legitimate business leaders, “Black” denotes the Mafia "Big Brother," and “Red” are the people with political ties offering a protective shield. Ten percent of the underground criminal enterprises are headed by public servants. 

The Blue Book shows a deterioration of the social order in the Mainland, where violent crime cases have grown substantially for the first time in a decade. For the first 10 months in 2009, the number of criminal cases increased over 10%, with total cases increasing by 20%. 
In 2010, China is still facing serious social instability. Inequality and unemployment, intensified by the financial crisis, are generating greater numbers of impoverished citizens. "The press [which carries the responsibility in China of maintaining stability], will not be relieved," says the report. 
Source: Radio France International, February 26, 2010 
Briefings | | |   Social Stability

Extended Drought Affects Millions

A severe drought, which began in the fall of 2009, has plagued most of Southwest China and part of South China, affecting 11.88 million people, 800 million livestock, and 11.2 million acres of farmland, says the Office of State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters (SFDH). 

On February 24, the SFDH initiated a Level II Drought Emergency Response by injecting 750 million Yuan (109.8 million U.S. dollar) into drought response and deploying 8.9 million people to help. 
Source: People’s Daily, February 26, 2010 
Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

National People’s Congress Passes National Defense Mobilization Act

On February 26, 2010, the thirteenth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People’s Congress passed the National Defense Mobilization Act. The Act provides for national defense mobilization leadership structure, reserve personnel enlistment, strategic materials deployment, and war disaster prevention and relief. According to the legislation, the National Defense Mobilization Act should link up with the Emergency Contingency plan in terms of command, man power, information, and logistics. 

In case of war, the NPC Standing Committee determines nationwide or partial mobilization; the President proclaims the mobilization order; and the State Council and CCP’s Central Military Commission jointly lead the mobilization work. 
Source: China News Service, February 26, 2010 
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Chinese Media: Chinese Americans Protest Obama’s Meeting with Dalai Lama

According to various Chinese official media, Chinese American organizations and individuals have recently lodged strong protests against President Obama’s meeting with the Dalai Lama in the White House. They include the following:

The National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification, Washington DC (美国华盛顿中国和平统一促进会)
The Association for China’s Peaceful Unification, George Washington University(乔治华盛顿大学中国和平统一促进会)
The Association for American Chinese Voters (美国华人选民协会) 
The U.S.-Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce(美国上海总商会) 
The New York Chinese Associations Alliance (纽约华人社团联席会) 
Huang, Che-Tsao, professor, York College, City University of New York 
Source: various Chinese official media.

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations