CHINA – POLITICS

1. Party journal denounces ‘Western democracy trap’

   1. Qiushi, an influential Communist Party journal, published an article on 16/10 which denounced Western calls for political reform, saying such pressure was aimed at getting rid of the Communist Party and its leaders.
   2. The article was titled “巩固党和人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础” (it later mentions 两个巩固 in the article) and was written by a certain Qiu Shi 秋石, which probably represents journal’s own view.
   3. The article specifically denounced the set of universal values forced upon on China by the West, constitutionalism and neo-liberalism, arguing that they contravene the principles of the Chinese Constitution. “Western countries attack us for having a constitution but no constitutional government, saying the Communist Party as a one-party system is illegitimate, and that the Communist Party is above the law. …This is so they can pressure us to put in place the ‘political reforms’ they so earnestly hope for, the real goal of which is to eliminate Communist Party leaders and change our socialist system.”
   4. An indication that the attack against constitutionalism is climbing to higher levels

2. Nanjing mayor Ji Jianye was placed under disciplinary investigation and dismissed from office as part of the anti-graft campaign

   1. The accusation was “economic crimes”, a euphemism for corruption.
   2. People’s Daily said that Ji was implicated in the investigation of Zhu Xingliang, a prominent businessman in Jiangsu. The report, citing an anonymous Nanjing official, also said Ji initiated massive urban renovation projects during his days in Yangzhou, with work on the projects often tendered to contractors with ties to him. He embarked on a similar renovation spree when he moved to Nanjing.
   3. Caijing’s report on Ji’s crimes

3. Yuyao flood protests

   1. Yuyao, Zhejiang Province, suffered a massive flood after Typhoon Fitow landed. On Friday 11/10, angry residents lashed out violently against police and a state TV crew for allegedly misrepresenting the disaster’s impact on their community. Online accounts say residents were infuriated after a journalist said to the camera that, “The flood in Yuyao is gone, and the people have gone back to their normal lives.” But Ningbo TV station denied having said these words in the program.
   2. On 16/10, residents of Yuyao city gathered in front of the local government headquarters, denouncing what they decried as inadequate relief efforts and demanding the local Party secretary and mayor to step down. Some even declared direct election of party secretary and self-rule. The “Serve the People” slogan was removed from the government office. State authorities immediately dispatched riot police.
   3. Like the Beijing floods in 2012, social media played an important role in organizing grassroots emergency response and allowing citizens to voice their concerns about government reaction to the disaster. In the Yuyao protests, social media helped mobilize protesters. One internet appeal ran: “Urgent from Yuyao, now we appeal to everyone online to support the Yuyao people who are now confronting paramilitary forces in the government square”. Netizens were also amazed at how fast the state authorities could dispatch such a massive security effort to quell the protests, while being slow on the rescue.
   4. However, social media has been relatively quiet on this issue compared to previous natural disasters, at a time when there is a broader crackdown on online speech and rumors. Data collected by People’s Daily Public Opinion Monitoring Center during the most intense period of flooding found that
      4. There were 170,000 posts with news of the Yuyao floods on Sina Weibo, far lower than the 4.99 million tweets following the Lushan (Ya’an) earthquake, and the 610,000 tweets following Beijing’s July 21 rainstorms and flooding of last year.
      5. Similarly, on further examination, there was lively discussion about the Lushan earthquake among the accounts belonging to the top fifty opinion leaders, yet in regard to the Yuyao floods, 27 opinion leaders forwarded news, and only 16 people published commentary.
      6. Reason: Increasing popularity of WeChat? Self-censorship induced by the ongoing “opinion management” activities? State censorship?

4. Xi Zhongxun’s birth anniversary memorial – A gathering for the “Second Red Generation” (紅二代)

   1. On 15/10, Five hundred people gathered in Beijing’s Great Hall to commemorate the 100^th birthday of Xi Jinping’s father Xi Zhongxun. Families of revolutionary leaders Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, Gao Gang* and Wang Zhen attended. The family of Bo Yibo, however, was absent.
   2. *A quick note about Gao Gang: Gao was a CCP leader during the Civil War and the early years of the PRC, before becoming the victim of the first major purge within the CCP in 1953. He committed suicide in 1954 and had been accused of planning an anti-revolutionary and anti-party plot subverting Zhou Enlai and Liu Shaoqi. Recently, however, there are signs that Gao Gang is being reinstated under Xi Jinping’s administration (Gao Gang’s name appeared in Xi Zhongxun’s documentary several times), probably due to the close ties between Xi and Gao’s family.
   3. Xi Jinping was “said” to have told authorities to keep the commemoration in lower profile. Xi Zhongxun was praised for his revolutionary credentials and his resume for pushing economic reforms in Guangdong Province, and also for his uprightness during the Cultural Revolution. Analysts said that this makes Xi Zhongxun a hero both in the first 30 years of PRC history and the next 30 years of economic reform. The commemoration was believed to be an event to cement Xi Jinping’s position.
   4. A series of books on Xi Zhongxun, which include 210 selections from the late revolutionary, 98 articles on recollections about him by his comrades-in-arms, colleagues and relatives, as well as hundreds of photographs featuring his work and life experiences, were published recently. A six-episode documentary telling stories of his revolutionary glories and policy contributions is also being aired on CCTV.
   5. Barbara Demick at The LA Times reported how the government Xi Zhongxun’s Shaanxi hometown of Fuping is hoping to turn the anniversary into a fountain of “red tourist” yuan: “The local government is now raising money for what it says will be a $3-billion theme park spread over 2,700 acres. The park is to include entertainment, cultural and exhibition centers and a spa, according to a notice published in April by the municipal government. […] One person who hasn’t visited much is Xi Jinping. Aside from the ceremony Tuesday, the president has distanced himself from the tributes. Political analysts say Xi is keen to avoid the perception that he is a “princeling,” a derogatory expression for the privileged second-generation communists who are among China’s elite.”
      
      

5. Liberal PKU professor expelled

   1. Outspoken proponent of the freedom of expression and early signer of Charter 08 Xia Yeliang has been expelled from his associate professor (without tenure) post on the faculty of Peking University’s School of Economics. A 34-member faculty at Peking University’s School of Economics voted last week to dismiss Professor Xia Yeliang, who has worked at PKU for 13 years, by a 30-3 vote, with one abstention, in a closed session from which he was excluded – despite support among academia from Wellesley College. School authorities said they have received over 300 complaints on Xia, whose economics course, however, used to be one of the most popular courses in PKU.
      1. PKU’s statement “夏业良老师于2002年7月入职北大经济学院，现为人事代理合同制身份，职称为副教授。近年来，夏业良的教学评估成绩连续多年处于全院倒数。2008年以来夏业良的教学评估结果是：三次全院倒数第一，一次倒数第三，一次倒数第四，最好的结果是两次倒数第六。对夏业良授课方式、授课内容、工作态度等有关教学工作的批评意见多达340多条，还曾有二十多名学生联名要求改换任课老师。在学生对夏业良提出的批评意见和建议中，主要批评夏业良讲课跑题，偏离课程内容，在与教学无关的话题上浪费大量时间。有的意见言辞比较激烈，如“上课讲经济学，不要扯淡”、“本末倒置”，“太水了”、“讲废话超多”等。还有一些认为讲课内容太肤浅，如“我们要真正的知识”、“关于学术方面的东西讲得太少”等[18]。其次，在科研论文方面，根据夏业良本人提供的材料，从2008年8月到2013年1月，夏业良发表CSSCI期刊论文仅1篇（与其学生共同发表）。”
      2. Xia’s reply can be found on Wikipedia. More on CDT.
   2. His expulsion comes as China’s recently installed leadership has further tightened controls on public discourse, arresting popular bloggers for spreading so-called rumours and activists who have called for anti-corruption measures. Communist Party authorities reportedly issued a directive to some college campuses that certain topics are now barred from class discussions, including press freedom, judicial independence and civil society. In 2009, Xia, who is often critical of the government and its interference into academic affairs, wrote an open letter addressed to a senior Chinese leader (Liu Yunshan) criticising him for imposing tight controls on expression. NY Times interprets the dismissal of Xia as part of the “ideological purification campaign” led by Xi Jinping.

6. SCMP summarized the “democratic life meetings” taking place around China

   1. Until 17/10, leaders of 24 provinces have already convened this kind of meetings.
   2. The top 10 criticisms on the list: 1、 自我膨脹、多了一些“官氣” ，個人的政聲、名望看得太重。2、 職務升了，做官久了，對群眾的感情發生了變化。3、 光顧政績。看“門面”和“窗口”多。4、 開展活動追求場面的轟轟烈烈，勤儉節約意識有所淡化。5、 “老好人” 、“好人主義”，不願不想也不敢得罪人；6、 調查研究跑馬觀花、研究問題淺嚐輒止；7、 決策主觀臆斷、部署脫離實際；8、 理想信念蒙上了灰塵，得過且過、不創新；9、 上級幹部“情緒急躁，不耐心聽取意見”；下級幹部“工作、辦事，關心領導喜歡什麼”；10、 下基層調研“被安排”，下面反映假情況、假數字、假典型

7. 50^th anniversary of Fengqiao experience (mass line tactics)

   1. Xi Jinping has issued “important instruction” on Fengqiao experience on its 50^th anniversary: 各级党委和政府要充分认识“枫桥经验”的重大意义，发扬优良作风，适应时代要求，创新群众工作方法，善于运用法治思维和法治方式解决涉及群众切身利益的矛盾和问题，把“枫桥经验”坚持好、发展好，把党的群众路线坚持好、贯彻好。 50年前，浙江枫桥干部群众创造了“依靠群众就地化解矛盾”的“枫桥经验”，并根据形势变化不断赋予其新的内涵，成为全国政法综治战线的一面旗帜。浙江省各级党委和政府高度重视学习推广“枫桥经验”，紧紧扭住做好群众工作这条主线，为经济社会发展提供了重要保障。
   2. Fengqiao is a township near Zhuji, Zhejiang. In 1963, Mao Zedong coined Fengqiao experience to praise the public security work conducted in the township. People’s Daily 1978: “In the struggle against the enemy, arrest is necessary and proper for a small number of class enemies; as for those you can choose to arrest or not, none should be arrested; you must mobilize the masses to carry out a struggle of reason, to deal with the enemies, carrying out on-site monitoring and rehabilitation, without the need to submit issues to higher authorities. This experience was affirmed and praised by the greater leader and teacher Mao Zedong.” The idea behind is the mobilization of the mass to take up the task of public security, to solve public security issues where they occur, to use mediation to solve conflicts, according to the guidance“小事不出村、大事不出镇、矛盾不上交”
   3. CMP’s Qian Gang ran a detailed analysis, focusing not on public security per se but more so on Xi’s governing principles. He said that “[t]he most obvious signal we can read from this commemoration of the “Fengqiao experience” is that this is a new validation of Mao Zedong’s ideas about governing the nation. Mao Zedong’s legacy is in fact one of the Chinese Communist Party’s most damaging negative assets. Since the end of the Cultural Revolution, while Mao has been revered as a symbol — as the “God card” (神主牌) — his general course in governing the nation (class struggle, comprehensive dictatorship, the continuous revolution, the command economy, the people’s commune system of government, etcetera) has been rejected outright for 30 years. Both Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao dreaded “the stain” of Mao (沾毛).”

8. Guangzhou newspaper New Express 新快報 front page protest for journalist release

   1. The popular GZ newspaper ran a front page protest, with headline ““Release Him” (請放人) to ask for the release of its journalist, Chen Yongzhou, who was arrested in Guangzhou by Changsha police last week for his investigation into Zoomlion 中联重科 on criminal charges of damaging commercial reputation “涉嫌损害商业信誉罪”.
   2. CMP reports that “Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development is a construction machinery company based in Changsha and listed on both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges (SZSE: 000157, SEHK: 1157). In a series of 15 news stories published in the New Express between September 2012 and June 2013, Chen Yongzhou alleged that Zoomlion had exaggerated its profits and manipulated the market.
   3. Coverage of Chen Yongzhou’s arrest appeared elsewhere on the internet, including on Xinhua News Agency’s website. The case was likely to be relatively non-sensitive so long as it is framed as a case of overbearing conduct by local authorities.”
   4. Over the weekend, a drama twist happened. CCTV aired a video of Chen confessing to accepting money ($500,000 yuan) to publish a series of unverified articles critical of Zoomlion. While Chen did not say who pay him the money, Internet users circulated screen grabs of the CCTV report, which appeared to show the name of Zoomlion rival Sany in the statement Chen signed for police. New Express on Sunday issued an apology and condemned its detained reporter for writing false stories. The All-China Journalists Association, which had earlier expressed support for Chen, issued a statement yesterday faulting him for “seriously violating journalistic professional ethics and harming the media’s credibility”. State authorities censored the news on social media.
   5. Reminder: Another journalist of New Express, Liu Hu was arrested in Chongqing in September. In July and early August, he blogged details of alleged corruption involving high-ranking officials, including four at vice-ministerial level.

9. Activist Wang Gongquan is formally arrested for disturbing public order

   1. Wang is a renowned venture capitalist and activist. He is a staunch supporter of Xu Zhiyong, the founder of the New Citizen Movement and one of the best-known civil rights campaigner, who was detained in mid-September. Wang initiated a signature campaign calling for his release.

10. Xi Jinping sets up special unit to probe Zhou Yongkang corruption case? From SCMP

    1. SCMP sources said President Xi Jinping has set up a special unit headed by a senior policeman and deputy minister of public security(Fu Zhenghua) to investigate the scandal surrounding retired leader Zhou Yongkang, bypassing the Communist Party’s internal disciplinary apparatus
    2. SCMP said that “[t]he arrangement is unusual and reflects not only the sensitivity of Zhou’s case but also Xi’s personal interest in it. Corrupt officials are usually dealt with by the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and kept incommunicado in an extra-legal, internal system of detention called shuanggui for interrogation before being handed to police and prosecutors.”… “It is believed that Xi and CCDI head Wang Qishan wanted police who are more experienced with criminal investigations to handle the investigation rather than the CCDI, whose abilities and methods have been questioned recently. One of the sources said the top leaders were not satisfied with the CCDI’s working style and were aware of frequent abuses during inquiry processes.”
    3. An intended move away from the disciplinary shanggui system?

11. The Oxford Consensus

    1. In August 2013, at the Sixth Annual Forum for Chinese Theology on “Christian Faith and Ideological Trends in Contemporary China,” held at Oxford University, Chinese scholars representing a wide range of ideological backgrounds committed themselves to work together to address challenges facing China and the world.
    2. The consensus listed out the hopes of Chinese intellectuals for China, to firmly hold to the governing philosophy of “the people as fundamental”, firmly hold to the social principle of “fairness and justice” in social life, firmly hold to the cultural goal of pluralism and liberalism while inheriting and transmitting the excellent Chinese culture, and to make China committed to constructing a fairer and more just world order, treat international disputes in politics, economy, culture, military, environment, etc.
    3. The full English and Chinese version can be found on NY Times.

CHINA – SOCIETY

1. White paper on Tibet policy released

   1. It lauds the economic achievements there and confirms the continuation of current policy in the region, slamming the romanticised notion Tibet was once an idyllic fairyland. The white paper shows no sign of policy change in Tibet, despite frequent unrest and a spate of self-immolation protests by monks.
   2. 西藏的发展进步离不开选择一条正确的发展道路，离不开中央政府的支持和全国人民的帮助，离不开各族人民的团结奋斗，离不开对外开放合作。西藏的发展进步有目共睹，任何不持偏见立场的人都为之惊叹不已，任何真正关心西藏的人都为之欢欣鼓舞。但是，也有少数人不仅对西藏的发展进步视而不见，反而大肆攻击，否定西藏的发展道路和西藏各族人民为之奋斗的现代化事业。
   3. Full script can be found here

2. “Airpocalypse” in northern China

   1. Last week, thick smog enveloped most of the major cities, including Harbin and Shenyang, in north-eastern China, with schools and its airport shut and low visibility forcing ground transport to a halt in places.
   2. AP explains that “Winter typically brings the worst air pollution to northern China because of a combination of weather conditions and an increase in the burning of coal for homes and municipal heating systems, which usually start on a specific date. For the large northern city of Harbin, the city’s heating systems kicked in Sunday, and on Monday visibility there was less than 50 meters (yards), according to state media.”
   3. Readings at several monitoring stations in Harbin showed concentrations of PM2.5, pollutants smaller than 2.5 microns across and considered a serious health hazard, had reached 1,000 micrograms per cubic metre in the afternoon – 40 times the safety level recommended by the WHO.
   4. Beijing announces emergency measures for when smog lasts three days or more, such as factory shutdowns, traffic limits and class suspension. The measures apply only to Beijing, despite the fact that as much as 60% of the city’s air pollution comes in from neighbouring provinces like Hebei, over which the Beijing environmental bureau has no control.
   5. Economist has more on Beijing’s emergency response plan, including an outline of its color-coded warning system.

CHINA – DIPLOMACY

1. China’s diplomatic offensive in Southeast Asia

   1. As US President Barack Obama chose to stay at home to deal with the government’s shutdown crisis, Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang came under particularly close scrutiny in their separate trips to five Southeast Asian nations – Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei.
   2. Achievements include an agreement with Vietnam to form a working group to jointly explore the disputed waters in the South China Sea, elevating its ties with Indonesia and Malaysia to “comprehensive strategic partnerships”, and signing of extensive deals boosting energy and infrastructure developments with Thailand and Brunei.
   3. SCMP: “Poor relations with China might push Southeast Asian nations into joining the US-dominated Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal that does not include Beijing, and also make them less enthusiastic towards the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership that Beijing is supporting.”

HONG KONG – POLITICS

1. Tens of thousands of people protest against govt decision to deny license to HKTV

   1. After three years in the application process and 900 million of investment into its TV programs and infrastructure, HKTV was denied a free-TV license. Ex-Co members, headed by the Chief Executive, decided that out of the three applicants only two – Cable TV and PCCW – would be granted free-TV licenses. They explained that the widely-popular HKTV failed to obtain license due to a basket of factors.
   2. However, a leaked consultation report indicated that the previous government headed by Donald Tsang had recommended granting licenses to all three applicants. HKTV chairman Ricky Wong also revealed that a high-level member from the previous administration not only invited him to apply but also gave him confidence of success. While the current government denied that the rejection had to do with any political factors or intention to protect the TV monopoly of TVB, both are considered by many as the reason behind HKTV’s failed bid.
   3. Last Sunday and this weekend, tens of thousands of people in black shirt poured in the streets and gathered around the Central Government Office, demanding for a proper explanation from the government and the reconsideration of HKTV’s application. Its Facebook page that has attracted nearly 500,000 “likes” in a few days.
   4. Many high level politicians (even pro-establishment figures) and even actors and actress have voiced their support for HKTV, a rare scene in HK political issues.
   5. Till today ExCo refused to reconsider the application of HKTV. Ricky Wong is set for entering the court for a judicial review.

2. CY Leung said Beijing “sincerely” hopes to see Hong Kong elect its chief executive in 2017 by universal suffrage

   1. On 23/10 CY Leung met with head of Hong Kong affairs Zhang Dejiang, saying that Beijing is sincere about universal suffrage. He quoted Zhang who reiterated the long-standing conditions: it must comply with the Basic Law and the NPC Standing Committee’s rulings.
   2. But political commentator Johnny Lau said Zhang and Leung might not have gone into details of the political reform and Zhang’s remark did not have great significance. Practical issues are left to policy officials such as secretary for constitutional and mainland affairs Raymond Tam. Meanwhile, the issues of Occupy Central and the television-licensing controversy – which was “completely the city’s internal affair” – were not mentioned.
   3. In the week before, the CE announced the beginning of political reform consultation.

3. 40 Legco members criticized Occupy Central organizers for “colluding” with Taiwan politicians who champion Taiwan independence

   1. Pro-democracy and Occupy Central leaders travelled to Taiwan last week to share ideas on the electoral reform movement. They met Shih Ming-teh, former chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party. Both sides hope to hold seminars, in December and January respectively, to discuss civil society and social movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
   2. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, 40 pro-establishment Legco members signed a petition against the Taiwan visit, claiming that they are colluding with external political forces and damaging One Country Two System. Yet, as SCMP and Mingpao found out, DAB chairman Tam Yiu-Chung actually led a trip to Taiwan in 2008 and met DPP chairman Tsai Ing-wen. Tam explained that their visit was of a different nature.

PUBLICATION HIGHLIGHTS

1. Rowan Callick’s “The Life of China’s Communist Party” on WSJ

   1. “During his decade at the top, Mr. Xi is likely to face a challenge in maintaining the party as a political apparatus with a moral imperative to rule. For many of its younger members, it has become little more than a qualification that caps their CVs, the ultimate fraternity.”

2. New York Times Edward Wong interviews director Jia Zhangke about his motivation in making A Touch of Sin, censorship in China, and reactions to the film