Posts tagged ‘President of the People’s Republic of China’

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26/02/2015

China’s top court unveils deadlines for legal reform | Reuters

China’s top court set a five-year deadline on Thursday for legal reforms to protect the rights of individuals, prevent miscarriages of justice and make its judiciary more professional as the ruling Communist Party seeks to quell public discontent.

Zhou Qiang, President of China's Supreme People's Court, attends National People's Congress (NPC) in Beijing, March 7, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer

A statement on the Supreme Court’s website promised specific deadlines for each goal, including support for a “social atmosphere of justice” by 2018.

It gave more details of a decision reached at a four-day meeting last year, when the party pledged to speed up legislation to fight corruption and make it tougher for officials to exert control over the judiciary.

Despite the legal reforms, Chinese President Xi Jinping‘s administration has shown no interest in political change and has detained dozens of dissidents, including lawyers.

China’s top court stressed that one of the five basic principles of legal reform was adhering to the party’s leadership and “ensuring the correct political orientation”.

He Xiaorong, the director of the Supreme People’s Court‘s reform division, said the court “would make officials bear responsibility for dereliction of duty” for cases that have a wide impact.

“Only through the establishment of such a system can we ensure that we can guarantee social fairness and justice in every case,” He told a news conference, according to a transcript on the court’s website.

The measures reflect worries about rising social unrest. Anger over land grabs, corruption and pollution – issues often left unresolved by courts – have resulted in violence between police and residents in recent years, threatening social order.

via China’s top court unveils deadlines for legal reform | Reuters.

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14/02/2015

Military corruption: Rank and vile | The Economist

SO EXTENSIVE was the stash of jade, gold and cash found in the basement of General Xu Caihou’s mansion in Beijing that at least ten lorries were needed to haul it away, according to the Chinese press last October. Given General Xu’s recent retirement as the highest ranking uniformed officer in the armed forces, this was astonishing news. General Xu, the media said, had accepted “extremely large” bribes, for which he now faces trial. It will be the first of such an exalted military figure since the Communist Party came to power in 1949.

The People’s Liberation Army (PLA)—as the Chinese army, navy and air force are collectively known—has not fought a war for 35 years. But the world’s largest fighting force is now engaged in a fierce battle at home against corrosion within its ranks.

Xi Jinping, China’s president (pictured, pointing), has taken his sweeping anti-corruption campaign into the heart of the PLA, seemingly unafraid to show that a hallowed institution is also deeply flawed. In January the PLA took the unprecedented step of revealing that 15 generals and another senior officer were under investigation or awaiting trial. It said it would launch a stringent review of recruitment, promotions, procurements and all of its financial dealings in order to root out corruption.

One reason Mr Xi is keen to clean up the army is to ensure that it remains a bulwark of party rule. The PLA is the party’s armed wing—its soldiers swear allegiance to it rather than the people or the country. All officers are party members and each company is commanded jointly by an officer in charge of military affairs and another whose job it is to ensure troops toe the party line. Mr Xi has repeatedly stressed the party’s “absolute leadership” over the PLA. His definition of a “strong army” puts “obedience to the party’s commands” before “capability of winning wars”.

via Military corruption: Rank and vile | The Economist.

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03/02/2015

China’s Antigraft Drive Turns to Financial Sector – China Real Time Report – WSJ

President Xi Jinping’s two-year antigraft campaign is hitting China’s vast financial sector, according to officials with knowledge of the matter, after investigators began questioning a senior executive at a major bank over his political ties and a board member at a second lender regarding possible corruption. As the WSJ’s Lingling Wei reports:

Mao Xiaofeng, until recently a rising star at China Minsheng Banking Corp. , resigned as president for “personal reasons,” Minsheng said on Saturday. Chinese anticorruption officials are questioning Mr. Mao over his ties to a former top Chinese Communist Party official, Ling Jihua, who is himself being investigated by graft inspectors, according to an official at one of China’s financial regulatory agencies.

And late Monday night, Bank of Beijing Co. said that Lu Haijun, a board member, is being investigated over “possible serious violations” of party discipline—a euphemism for corruption among Chinese officials. A statement the bank posted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange said its operations aren’t affected by the probe.

via China’s Antigraft Drive Turns to Financial Sector – China Real Time Report – WSJ.

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12/01/2015

Han cadres required to learn Tibetan language – Xinhua | English.news.cn

Mastery of the Tibetan language will become a requirement for non-native cadres in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

All seven prefecture-level cities in Tibet have started organizing Tibetan language training for non-native cadres, according to the regional bureau of compilation and translation on Monday.

Qoizha, deputy director of the bureau, said they have handed out 40,000 books on basic Tibetan language for daily conversation.

President Xi Jinping stressed at a conference on ethnic work in September 2014 that in ethnic regions, ethnic minority cadres should learn Mandarin, and Han cadres should also learn ethnic languages. The language skill should become a “requirement” for cadres.

“One cannot serve the local people well if one cannot speak the local language,” Xi said.

Tibet has adopted a bilingual policy since the regional legislature passed a law in 1987 stipulating both Tibetan language and Mandarin as official languages in the region.

Qoizha said over 90 percent of Tibet’s population of 3 million is of Tibetan ethnicity. Breaking the language hurdle can help non-native cadres better interact with local communities.

In the past 20 years, close to 6,000 cadres and technical professionals from various Chinese provinces and municipalities have been sent to help develop the southwestern autonomous region of Tibet. Cadres usually stay in the region for three years.

via Han cadres required to learn Tibetan language – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

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12/01/2015

Northwest set to push Silk Road links – China – Chinadaily.com.cn

China’s northwest regions are planning to invest more in infrastructure, tourism and tourism-related industries to attract more visitors to the ancient Silk Road that linked China with central Asian nations.

Northwest set to push Silk Road links

Shaanxi province, whose capital, Xi’an, was the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, has launched a tourism investment fund of 5 billion yuan ($804 million).

“Thanks to the rising influence of China’s western tourism, the tourism industry of Shaanxi province has enjoyed a fast and steady growth in recent years,” said Bai Aying, vice-governor of Shaanxi province. “Now Shaanxi province has invested a lot to operate major tourism projects with the theme of Silk Road culture.”

Gansu province, with more than 1,600 kilometers of the Silk Road, is rapidly improving its transportation network as well. According to the provincial tourism authority, in the next five years, Gansu will connect major national scenic spots with nearby cities, counties and major transport roads.

Gansu will also work to attract more overseas visitors by facilitating more international airlines and gradually opening international ports of entry at the Dunhuang and Jiayuguan airports.

In September 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed an economic belt that would revive the ancient Silk Road. The trans-Eurasian project is proposed to extend from the Pacific Ocean to the Baltic Sea.

This year has been set as the Silk Road Tourism Year by the China National Tourism Administration. It is expected to facilitate regional cooperation, deepen mutual understanding and establish mutually beneficial ties for all nations involved

Li Shihong, head of the administration’s marketing and international cooperation department, said CNTA will introduce a three-year plan to coordinate the Silk Road tourism development around the country. It also will help to leverage the economy in less-developed regions.

Industry insiders said they believe this is a new opportunity for China to reintroduce its western regions and upgrade tourism facilities and services.

“The Silk Road is one of the early tourism brands that China introduced to the world. It has cultural meanings and global reputation,” said Dou Qun, a tourism industry professor at Beijing Union University. “And China has developed tourism products along the Silk Road for more than 30 years that all provide a solid foundation for another round of development this year.”

“Besides marketing, tourism authorities should also work closely with other departments including culture, transportation and public facilities to expand the current tourism products and improve the tourism experience,” Dou said.

via Northwest set to push Silk Road links – China – Chinadaily.com.cn.

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03/01/2015

How Chinese leader Xi Jinping turned Tasmanian toy into a bear essential | South China Morning Post

When Chinese President Xi Jinping stepped on to the airport tarmac in Australia‘s smallest state Tasmania, he was handed a purple fluffy toy called Bobbie.

President Xi Jinping receives the purple bear in Tasmania. Photo: AFP

Stuffed with lavender and wheat, the teddy bear has since captured the hearts – and wallets – of Chinese consumers.

Bobbie has become an overwhelming success in China with a remarkable following – helping creator Robert Ravens, owner of the lavender farm in the state’s northeast, secure an inaugural Australia-China business award for entrepreneurship.

Tasmania has long had the nation’s weakest economy, but is hoping to boost its fortunes by using its natural resources to attract an affluent Asian market looking for quality products.

When Ravens bought the Bridestowe Lavender Estate in 2007, his first goal was to return it to the peak farming condition it was in several decades ago.

He was also keen to boost the tourism potential of the farm. “We looked to create new products which would attract young visitors, and that came through food,” Ravens said.

An early product, lavender ice cream, started to attract Chinese tourists to the 105-hectare farm, an hour’s drive from Tasmania’s second-largest city Launceston.

But it was through the bear that Ravens, a former chief executive of a leading chemicals firm, struck a winning formula.

“We were experimenting with various shapes and colours. One day, five years ago or more, we showed a bear to a young Chinese girl in a shop,” he said.

“She said ‘so cute’ and she was carrying it like a baby, and you could see the bond form. As soon as we saw that, the light went on and we knew that was the right configuration.”

Even the name was designed to attract Chinese consumers, Ravens said, adding: “You can say Bobbie phonetically in Cantonese and Mandarin.”

Ravens courted the celebrity market and when a Chinese model posted a picture of herself with the bear online last year, demand for the furry creature – which doubles as a heat pack – reached stratospheric levels.

The farm had to limit sales to one per customer, temporarily halt online shopping and even contend with fake toys piggy-backing on Bobbie’s fame.

Visitor numbers have soared from 23,000 in 2007 to more than 65,000 last year, and it now produces 40,000 bears annually.

“In Australia, you become successful and you have 26 million potential customers. In China, you have a billion. The scale is so phenomenal,” said Ravens. “The answer is to be authentic and to target the market as acutely as you can. We are aiming always to be a boutique market, not a mass market.”

via How Chinese leader Xi Jinping turned Tasmanian toy into a bear essential | South China Morning Post.

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12/12/2014

The Nanjing massacre: Lest they forget | The Economist

IN THE city of Nanjing in eastern China, polluting factories have been shut temporarily, streets cleaned and a third of government cars kept off roads in readiness for a new “national memorial day” that will be observed on December 13th. Chinese leaders, probably including President Xi Jinping, will gather in Nanjing to mourn victims of the worst atrocity committed by Japanese troops during their occupation of the country in the 1930s and 1940s: the Nanjing massacre of 1937 that China says left more than 300,000 dead. The bloodshed in what until shortly beforehand had been China’s capital still generates widespread bitterness in China. But why the need now to mobilise the country to commemorate the event?

The decision to establish an annual memorial day for the massacre was made in March by China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress. It also designated September 3rd as “victory day” to mark Japan’s defeat in 1945. In August a new “martyrs’ day” was added to the list. It would be observed annually on September 30th in honour of China’s war dead, including those who died fighting the Japanese. These moves were a sign of a severe strain in ties between China and Japan that began in 2012 when Japan nationalised three of the uninhabited Senkaku islands in the East China Sea. China claims the islands, which it calls the Diaoyu. Relations were further soured by a visit paid a year ago by Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, to the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo where Japanese war criminals are among those honoured.

In November, during a meeting of Asia-Pacific leaders in Beijing, President Xi Jinping shook hands with Mr Abe for the first time since the Japanese leader took office two years ago. But a restoration of normal high-level contacts will not be swift. The war will loom large in the coming months as China prepares next year to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the conflict’s end. The party continues to whip up nationalist sentiment with anti-Japanese television shows, the publication of war memoirs, and, in the last few days, the issuing of school textbooks with anti-Japanese themes. One, for use at primary schools in Jiangsu province, of which Nanjing is the capital, is titled “Memory of Blood and Fire”. The main ceremony on December 13th will be held at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall (pictured above) and will be broadcast live across the country. What has been described by Chinese media as the world’s largest and loudest air-raid siren, made for the occasion, will be sounded just after 10am local time.

The memorial days also serve a political purpose at home. Mr Xi has been trying to cast himself as a nationalist who has the courage to assert China’s territorial claims, even at the cost of offending America and its friends in the region. This, he apparently hopes, will boost his prestige and the Communist Party’s legitimacy. In a speech on “victory day”, Mr Xi said the party had played a “decisive role” in defeating Japan and was “leading the Chinese nation on its quest for great revival”. But there was also a hint of conciliation. It was, he said, in the interests of Chinese and Japanese “to maintain a healthy and steady long-term relationship”. Wartime memories will continue to frustrate that goal.

via The Nanjing massacre: Lest they forget | The Economist.

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12/12/2014

China’s Development of Xinjiang Spurs Resentment from Uighurs – Businessweek

Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang in China, is a cold and forbidding place to visit in late November. The red and blue flashing lights of police vehicles are everywhere. Soldiers wearing black masks and carrying automatic weapons are spread across the city, often standing next to squat black and white armored vehicles. Every commercial building, hotel, and government office has a metal detector manned by a police officer at its entrance. Fliers scattered around the city explain why women should not wear veils.

Xinjiang’s first high-speed railway, which will be 1,776 kilometers long

Perched on the edge of Central Asia, the region of Xinjiang (“new frontier” in Mandarin) has long presented a dilemma for China’s leaders. It’s home to some of the country’s largest oil, gas, and coal reserves. But its ethnically Turkic, Uighur Muslim inhabitants have long chafed under Chinese rule: Many pro-independence fighters over the decades have attacked Chinese targets, and the violence—what some credit to a shadowy group called the East Turkestan Islamic Movement—continues to this day. Beijing labels the ETIM’s members as terrorists.

This year growing anger with Uighurs over what they say is economic discrimination and religious oppression sparked attacks, usually against Chinese residents, that have killed 200 people and undermined Beijing’s control over the region. On Dec. 8, authorities sentenced eight Uighurs to death for their role in two attacks killing 42 at a train station and an Urumqi market in the spring.

via China’s Development of Xinjiang Spurs Resentment from Uighurs – Businessweek.

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04/12/2014

India Ranked Less Corrupt Than China for the First Time in 18 Years – India Real Time – WSJ

Transparency International’s annual survey ranked India as less corrupt than China for the first time in 18 years as a nationwide outcry against corruption helped lift global perceptions of the South Asian nation.

In the yearly ranking of least-corrupt countries, India jumped 10 places from in its ranking last year to 85th out of the 175. China tumbled 20 places in the ranking to number 100. The last time India did better than China in the rankings was 1996.

The Berlin-based watchdog surveyed multilateral banks, big foundations and other international institutions about the level of corruption in different countries to come up with its annual Corruption Perceptions Index which was used for the rankings.

Perceptions about India were helped as street protests and national elections focused the world’s largest democracy’s attention on corruption, said the Berlin-based watchdog.

The call for a crackdown on corruption led to new laws and a new government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to power in May on pledges to fight corruption.

Transparency International India executive director Ashutosh Kumar Mishra gives credit to the anti-corruption movement sparked by Gandhian Anna Hazare. His high-profile protests helped force the previous government to create a number of anti-corruption bills.

China slipped below India after it lost more ground than almost any other country in the rankings, suggesting that many observers are unconvinced by President Xi Jinping’s high-profile campaign to combat corruption.

While the two Asian giants have had the same rankings in 2006 and 2007, this is the first time China has been below India in the rankings since 1996, the first year Transparency International had rankings.

While it may have gained a little ground this year, India still has a long way to go before it can be ranked near the least-corrupt countries like Australia, Canada, Singapore and Denmark.

via India Ranked Less Corrupt Than China for the First Time in 18 Years – India Real Time – WSJ.

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19/11/2014

China and Japan: Out of the deep freeze | The Economist

AFTER Japan’s prime minister worshipped at Tokyo’s Yasukuni shrine last December, China declared Shinzo Abe to be beyond the pale; principles are principles. But Chinese ones are, well, nothing if not adaptable, and on November 10th President Xi Jinping met Mr Abe for the first time. A “four-point agreement” comes as a welcome signal that tensions between Asia’s two biggest powers might, at least for now, begin to ease.

The thorn in the side of relations is Japan’s Senkaku islands, which China claims and calls the Diaoyus. Chinese aircraft and coastguard vessels have greatly raised tensions from 2012 onwards, by making incursions around the Senkakus. So it is progress that Japan and China now acknowledge “the emergence of tense situations” there. For the first time Japan has referred to the Senkakus in a document with China. Chinese analysts claim a diplomatic victory. Even if obliquely, Japan acknowledges a dispute over sovereignty, Huang Dahui of Renmin University argues. Yet the wording also left ample room for Japanese diplomats to insist that they have not acknowledged any such thing.

The negotiations seem mostly about avoiding the hard issues. On Yasukuni, it beggars belief to think the Japanese promised Mr Abe would not visit the shrine where high-ranking war criminals are honoured. The joint statement says that Japan and China will overcome “political difficulties” in the spirit of “squarely facing history” (a favourite Communist Party phrase). China believes that means Mr Abe will stay away. Mr Abe and his right-wing supporters may think differently.

Most welcome is a commitment to set up crisis-management mechanisms in the crowded seas and skies around the Senkakus. For months both sides’ armed forces have seen the need for such a step, says Noboru Yamaguchi, a retired Japanese general. Yet the details remain unclear.

Now the two countries’ ministries can resume their connections, though exchanges are likely to remain fraught. As if to underscore the challenges, this week Mr Abe brought up with Mr Xi a fresh diplomatic complaint, about Chinese coral poachers hunting near Japan’s distant Ogasawara islands. As for the Senkaku islands and waters, will China withdraw incursions by its coastguard cutters? That would be the most genuine proof of a Chinese desire to lower the temperature.

via China and Japan: Out of the deep freeze | The Economist.

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