CHINA – POLITICS
Ethnic conflicts in Urumqi
The riots in XUAR (hereafter Xinjiang) is reportedly provoked by the Han-Uighur clashes in a Guangdong toy factory in late June. Mainland TV and newspapers reported the riots in Xinjiang but only major state media commented on the incidents in editorials. Similar to the 3.14 Tibetan riots, the government blamed the Uighur separatists for instigating the violence. Japan and other countries also expressed concerns over the incident. Turkey has urged Beijing to stop violence in Xinjiang and would ask UN to discuss ways of ending the ethnic violence (Reuters, Jul 8). Human Rights Watch urged the government to ‘exercise maximum restraint’ and allow the UN to conduct an independent investigation into the unrest (Bloomberg, Jul 7). Amnesty International demanded full account for the deaths in the riots and called for an independent investigation into the incident (SCMP, Jul 7). It is reported that Chinese were venting their anger online after the ethnic unrest but are playing a cat-and-mouse game with censors who appear to be removing some posts and blogs. Many of the comments demanded swift punishment for those involved. Some warned Hans would take revenge. Many blogs have simply posted articles from the domestic media about the unrest, but in the section where readers are invited to leave their thoughts is written: “There are no comments at this time”, which is unusual (Reuters, Jul 7). The comments and discussions are believed to be blocked to avoid more tensions spreading through the internet.
People’s Daily and Xinhua ran editorials to condemn the riots as one that is planned, organised, and ordered by foreign forces. The government is urged to use stringent measures to crackdown on the criminals and maintain stability. The editorials emphasised that everyone in Xinjiang valued the development progress in the region and recognized government efforts in upholding the economy amid financial crisis. It urged unity of the people to support the government. (Xinhua & People’s Daily, Jul 7). China Daily said that peace and order would be restored, and ‘Xinjiang would never be separated from China on either racial or religious ground.’ It pointed out that the riots were politically motivated, through politicizing the Shaoguan incident and stirring up violence to grab some media attention – by using the quick-tempered youth in their hometowns as cheap sacrifices. It added that it was illegitimate to say Xinjing belong to Uighurs, arguing that ‘Xinjiang does not belong to any single nationality; in fact, it never has in the history of the ancient Silk Roads’. (China Daily, Jul 7).
The state media published editorials along these strong statements for consecutive days. On July 10, China Daily issued another harsh-tone editorial to blame the west of their bias to Uighurs in the name of ‘human rights’. The article pointed to the same plots being used as witnessed in the 3.14 incidents in Lhasa, asking China to ‘Exercise restraint. Respect the “human rights” of minorities. Be nice to these suspects who are in custody. Observe international standards in weighing criminal liabilities’. In response, it said, ‘why they do not even bother to condemn the acts of terror that resulted in innocent citizens being killed and injured by the hundreds… Sure. The authorities should respect the “human rights” of the perpetrators. But, what about those of the people who were killed or wounded? Why should their human rights be so inconsequential and worthy of neglect? …If they are truly concerned about “human rights,” we suggest our Western critics be a little more generous and divert some of their sympathy to the true victims of the Sunday carnage.’ (China Daily, Jul 10) A commentary on China Youth Daily echoed the view and pointed to the bias coverage and viewpoints in the reporting of Xinjiang incident. (China Daily, Jul 10)
In Hong Kong, the incident has got a lot of media coverage. While many criticised Uighurs of using violence to express discontent, a number of commentaries look at the deep-rooted causes of ethnic tensions. (HKEJ, Jul 10) A Ming Pao editorial said that ethnic relations in ethnic minority areas were not as peaceful as it might appear because a minor incident could provoke clashes and violence. The Xinjiang government intended to refer the incident ‘a serious violent and criminal incident’ with no mentioning of ethnic clashes, aiming to dilute the role of ethnic tensions in the incident. Yet, the incident has significantly undermined the trust between Han and Uighurs. But it is said that Xinjiang government’s handling of the riot and transparency in reporting the incident deserved compliment. (Ming Pao, Jul 7). A commentary on Apple Daily argued that the causality could have been reduced if local government was willing to talk with the protesters and alerted the citizens about the protest at the first place (Apple Daily, Jul 7). But, Financial Times said that the Chinese government immediately laid the blame on exile Uighur leader before the causality figures were announced and this was to divert attention and discussions of the plights of Uighurs in China (BBC, Jul 7).
Early return home, to attend the conflicts in Xinjiang, or in the party?
President Hu Jintao suspended his trip in Italy for ethnic violence in Xinjiang. This is the first time the head of state of China cut short a state trip to attend domestic problems. Earlier, a Ming Pao commentary said that the silence of state leaders on the incident was intentional because it didn’t want to give an impression that the incident caused anxiety amongst the state leaders. It also added that unlike leaders in western countries, Hu Jintao would not cut short the trip as that might discredit the image of China. He didn’t want to make people outside think that China was in great trouble (Ming Pao, Jul 8). If along this logic, does it mean that Hu wants to break the silence and take a heavy-handed approach to the incident? Or this may mean new approach in crisis management?
Another commentary on Ming Pao said that the early return of President Hu had little to do with the incident, but to deal with conflicts of different fractions with regard to their involvement in the incident. It is said that different political fractions (for instance, Xi Jiangping, Jiang fraction (江派), Youth league group (团派)) want to consolidate their political influence through their involvement in handling the incident. It added that the spread of the news about the power struggle in the party is intentional, hoping to see how others react to it. (Ming Pao, Jul 9)
The end of Kashgar
Phoenix Weekly published a cover story on Kashgar, reporting life in the Old City and how it may change in the future, as the local government is to launch a large-scale plan to demolish and redevelop 85% of the Old City. The plan is believed to be spurred from quake fear, anxiety over ethnic unrest (due to its strategic location on China’s anti-terrorism efforts), and the pursuit of development.
The article reveals how local people are upset by the development and resettlement plan. Traditional architecture of houses and mosques and local cultures would disappear. The cultural values of Kashgar are confirmed by the Minister of Construction (Wang Guangtao) when he visited the old city in 2004. He stressed that the old city’s original appearance had to be preserved as much as possible while improving the road network and expanding services. He said, ‘mud brick structures are the basic characteristic of this ancient city…plans for precautionary strengthening against earthquakes should not be overemphasized.’ In spite of concerns and criticisms over the project, there is little chance that the project will be halted. Instead, local officials made a strong position in carrying out the development plan and warned local people better cooperate. (Phoenix Weekly, Jun Issue)
Leading state media organisations undergo reforms
Major state media including People’s Daily, CCTV, Xinhua and Global Times have announced reforms at different forms. People’s Daily plans to increase 4 more pages as the first step. It aims to increase to 40 pages in 2-3 years. Global Times plans to launch a French edition next year. Xinhua is going to expand into a ‘China CNN‘ by launching a TV channel that will be broadcasted in supermarkets in some European cities and Chinese embassies. CCTV announced sweeping reforms to boost its international profile, as, the mainland’s top censor. It will open another dozen or so overseas outlets, including bureaus in developing countries such as North Korea, Pakistan and Nigeria. Observers said the national network had no choice but to reform itself. But many said they had doubts about how much change the reforms would deliver. The reform efforts are believed to be part of an aggressive campaign orchestrated by the Communist Party’s Central Publicity Department. (SCMP, Jul 3)
A Ming Pao article said that CCP is the key sponsor of the expansion. The central government has organized a series of trainings for media personnel, specially focus on how to set rules for news reporting and coverage to increase competitiveness, influence, and credibility. The writer added that a key feature of the reform is to strengthen media’s capability in internet journalism, indicating the central government’s great concern on Internet. Recently, Xinhua joined a mainland social networking website ‘Happy Net (開心網)’, surprised many in the industry. (Ming Pao, Jun 30)
Green Dam, go ahead or not
Just a few hours before the July 1 start date for the mandatory inclusion of “Green Dam-Youth Escort” porn filtering software, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) declared the launch would be postponed indefinitely. Mainland web users claimed triumph over MIIT’s last minute decision. An outspoken artist Ai Weiwei who called on web users to boycott the internet on the day of Green Dam’s debut said that it is a very rare example for the government to suddenly push back an important decision the night before it is due to be rolled out (The Standard, Jul 2). Scholars said that the victory was the combined efforts of domestic, international and business oppositions to force the authority to change the decision. For instance, 22 business organisations sent a petition letter to Premier Wan Jiabo on June 26, urging him to withdraw the rule. But, it is believed that the government will propose other measures to control the Internet (BBC, Jul 1).
China Daily quoted a MITI officer as saying on the next day, ‘the government will definitely carry on the directive on Green Dam. It’s just a matter of time’ (China Daily, Jul 2). After the announcement of the halt of the launch, commentary of this latest development of the Green Dam controversy is largely unnoticed in mainland media, a big contrast to numerous criticisms published on newspapers and magazines before the postponement decision.
Media pressured not to upload news on internet for fear of provoking mass incidents
Ming Pao reported that CCP’s propaganda department had ordered newspapers and publications to be more careful about putting out news on their websites, for fear that the spread of news information might provoke mass incidents. Many media organisations can only follow advice of ‘speak less, do less, and cause less troubles （少說話、少做事、少闖禍）, and adopt a ‘print edition only’ approach. This means, news would only be put on print edition, after internal censorship, then would decide whether or not to put it on website. For example, Nanfang Du Shi Bao posted their editorial on the collapse of a Shanghai apartment building on the website with two day delay, worrying that the editorial might spark fierce discussions. (Ming Pao, Jul 7)
In the July 1 issue of the Qiushi magazine, the director of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee (Liu Yuanshan) recognized in his article that the increasing power of internet is a trend and ‘how to make good use, develop and scientifically managed the internet was a pressing issue’. He called for research on the core values of socialism and find ways to incorporate the values into civil education, news and propaganda, political education, social administration, and etc, so that the values will be internalized as self-conscious thoughts and actions of the people. (Qiushi, Jul 1 issue). The article clearly shows the government’s intentions in strengthening efforts for ideological control.
China’s think tanks should play a genuine role in giving advice
China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), a super think tank of China, organised the first Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing between July 3 and 4. Close to 100 top-notch think tanks from home and abroad joined the Summit. This is the first major event sponsored by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges since it is found. One of the purposes of CCIEE is to promote China model and share China’s development experience.
A commentary on Oriental Morning Post said that CCIEE didn’t have a clear position as a genuine think tank. Unlike Brookings Institutions, the independence of CCIEE is clearly in question, considering its mission is ‘to clear western fears of China threats’. Given the mission, it will be hard to build credibility of its work. The writer also criticised hundreds of think tanks in China of failing to give useful recommendations to the government, due mainly to their lack of freedom in research and boldness in challenging ‘leaders’ proposals. It is not optimistic that CCIEE would meet the expectation as an independent think-tank. It is said that the value of a think tank is their ‘wisdoms in finding thoughtful and effective solutions based on valuable research’. CCIEE should make good use of the international platform to relay the voice from China, not the voice of the government. (Oriental Morning Post, Jun 30). The establishment of CCIEE shows that China has begun to find ways to expand its international influence and to be the most influential policy center in Asia. In doing so, CCIEE should strengthen efforts in policy research, as just boosting itself as a ‘super’ think tank is both meaningless and improper. (Chongqing Times, Jun 30)
Another commentator said that, it is true that China has experienced success in development, but it is still questionable whether the China model of development has reached a mature stage for promoting in other countries or China is still on the way to explore and improve the development system that fits into the China context. It is added that, China should be remain sober in the praise of China’s success, and lift down the burden of ‘a development model opposing to the west’. China experiences clearly have many problems. China should not overly eager to share its experience, but improve the Chinese way of development. (Changjiang Daily News, Jun 30)
New ‘Educated Youth’ Movement: a career, not ideology
China Newsweek ran a cover story on the topic of a government program to recruit young graduates to take up official positions in rural villages. The magazine coined these groups of young people as ‘new educated youth’ (新知青) because the spirit behind the program is similar to the ‘educated youth movement’ in the 50s-60s. It is the belief that more young officials in grassroots level of government would improve local governance and in a way to re-consolidate power of the party. This will be core in the building of ‘new rural villages’ under the San Nong policy. In a series of articles, it showed the real life stories of a number of young village officials, especially how they overcome the difficulties in the course of their work.
While it is true that some are driven by their passion to rural development, many see it more a career that they can build on later. According to a survey conducted by the China Agricultural University, over half of the respondents said that their participation in the recruitment program was driven by unemployment pressures, with only 24% really wanted to worked in rural areas. While governments in Beijing and other provinces enthusiastically promote the program, the same program first piloted in Hainan province has announced failure after 7 years of adoption. It is reported that many villages were unable to finance for recruiting the graduates. There are few vacancies posted, and even for the available ones, the benefits are not attractive. This unveils the problems of the recruitment program and more, raises doubts over prospects of the programs being undertaking in other provinces. (China Newsweek, Jun 15 Issue)
In relation to the issue of graduate employment, a Caijing article said that it is a consequence of the mismatch of overly expansion of university admissions and inadequate public spending on higher education. Since 1999,universities and higher institutions have increased admissions and gross enrolment rate has been increased to 22%. However, education spending has yet to catch up with the admission rates. To follow the order of increasing admission, many schools increase admissions for programs that require relatively little financial resources such as arts subjects (management, economics, languages, and etc), while reducing, if not suspending, the number of science and technical subjects. The article argued that this had contributed to the imbalance of human resources and skills in the employment market. It also said that public universities fail to catch up with the employment market and adjust program and curriculum accordingly. The article suggested the government to allow private capital to invest in private universities and higher institutions, as statistics have shown higher employment rates of students graduated from these institutions. (Caijing, Jun 22 Issue)
In brief:
- Reversing order of national goals – from ‘strong country, and rich people’ to ‘rich people, strong country’ – show a change of development focus in China’s 12th Five Year Plan (China Review News, Jun 30)
- Court get over-due ‘over-quota birth’ fines direct from fines payer’s bank account (China Newsweek, Jun 22 Issue)
CHINA – ECONOMY
Rio Tino staff in China detained for state secrets allegations
The arrest of Rio Tino staff in the Shanghai office has aroused significant concerns in the steel and metal industry and politicians in Australia. Four employees, including an Australian, who is a general manager for the Chinese operation at Rio Tinto’s iron ore division, were detained on July 5 for alleged spying. The Foreign Ministry said that authorities had sufficient evidence to show employees of Rio Tino committed acts of espionage and stole state secrets. The Ministry dismissed claims that the arrest was related to failed Chinalco-Rio Tino deal. On July 7, an executive of Shougang Group was also arrested for commercial crimes.
Information Times said that many in the industry speculated that the arrest was the sign of government’s efforts in rectifying domestic iron ore industry. It is said that China was not happy that the contract price negotiations with the three multinational mining companies was locked in a stalemate. It is suspected there are commercial interests in the negotiations and the government was determined to find out the key person involved. The government also wanted to take the opportunity to rectify the messy market situation of iron ore trade in China. It is said that some trade agent uses the price difference between local iron ore market and iron-ore imports at long-term contract price to make big profit. The government has been aware of market manipulation for long. (Information Times, Jul 10). HKEJ agreed this analysis but expected the case would finally turn into a bribery case rather than a state secrets case. It is argued that the so-called ‘secret information’ such as pricing in the market and basic company information of competitors, is indeed open secrets. Those involved in the negotiations are all industry experts. It is hard to allege them for obtaining or selling secrets. The article pointed out that making profit in industry trade was common. It is believed that many other corruption and market manipulation scandals will be unfolded soon. (HKEJ, Jul 10). A law professor said in his commentary on Oriental Morning Post that, the case showed the government had not done enough to protect state secrets involve national economic security. It said, as the government is revising the state secret laws, the government should look into ways to better protect state secrets involving state-own companies. The article added that in the investigation, the Chinese government can learn how multinational companies work in China and the likely channels to be used for obtaining state secrets. This will help the government to formulate counter-measures to prevent state secrets leak in state-owned companies. (Oriental Morning Post, Jul 10)
In Australia, opposition leader has urged the Prime Minister to ‘set aside his European business and make it his “number one priority” to telephone the Chinese president to demand Stern Hu’s release’. But the Prime Minister has rejected the call to intervene personally in the case, saying that ‘like other complex consular cases, they have to proceed cautiously on the basis of the advice as it unfolds’. He said the Chinese authorities were about to grant Hu consular access. He criticised the oppositions of ‘lacking of judgement’, and intentionally playing a sensationalist for ‘domestic political point scoring’. (The Australian, Jul 9; The Sydney Morning Herald, Jul 10) An editorial of The Australian said that the arrest and detention of the four Rio Tino employees without explanation and Beijing’s repression actions to counter ethnic violence in Xinjiang, both happened on the same day on July 5, show the other face of China. It said that it is not pure co-incidence that the arrests come in the wake of Rio Tinto’s withdrawal from a merger deal with Chinalco and at a time when China is demanding deeper cuts in iron ore prices. The newspaper urged for Prime Minister’s intervention in the case. (The Australian, Jul 9)
The real intentions of stockpiling aluminium and metals
A commentary on Sydney Morning Herald pointed out that China’s policy of buying up metals might not be always coherent and effective as one might imagine. It revealed a story behind the Chinese government policy of stockpiling metals including aluminium, copper and titanium since last November. Xiao Yaqing, former president of Chinalco and an alternate member of the CCP’s Central Committee said to Premier Wen that the aluminium industry was in crisis as commodities prices collapsed stemmed from the financial crisis. The government was urged to step in and soak up excess production of aluminium, or many aluminium companies would face huge loss and hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost. The State Council instructed the State Reserve Bureau to buy aluminium and other metals as part of a diversified metals industry rescue plan. Central and local governments were reportedly bought thousands of tonnes of aluminium and metals for stockpiling in early months of this year. The corporate sector also became involved, competing to accumulate inventories as prices rose. Together, they brought forward a large proportion of the country’s expected total production this year. However, the policy did not state clear that the metal being purchased by the Bureau must be locally produced. It is reported that many bought from cheaper suppliers overseas and then sell to the Bureau. This has resulted to a high local price and a flood of imports from abroad.
The policy supposed to help domestic manufacturers, but the biggest beneficiaries were the agents. In an industry meeting, a senior government official implicitly admitted the policy was ill-advised and the government should not continue stockpiling. The statement was taken to signal the end of China’s official stockpiling of high-value metals such as aluminium. Yet, this also dismisses claims that the government’s eagerness in buying metals abroad is to diversity foreign exchange reserves, or makes money from hoarding metals. The real intention was to protect local manufacturers. (Sydney Morning Herald, Jul 6)
China allows trade settlement in yuan in Hong Kong
China approved use of yuan to settle cross-border trade with Hong Kong, part of a drive to broaden the use of the currency and reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar. The first transaction was completed on July 6. The program would reduce foreign-exchange risks and transaction costs. China is promoting greater use of the yuan in international trade and finance. Financial analysts said that it is an important first step to make the yuan an international currency, and in the long-term, the world reserve currency system would consist of several major currencies, including the yuan and the euro, instead of just the U.S. dollar. Hong Kong is the ‘testing ground’ for the use of the yuan outside mainland China. (Bloomberg, Jun 29)
An editorial of Nanfang Dushi Bao agreed that cross-border yuan settlement implied that yuan had been upgraded to be a settlement currency, indicating the rise of China in the international financial system. In addition, this will help to lessen inflationary pressure because a large amount of yuan can legally ‘stay’ abroad. However, the same advantage also implies the possibility of a large amount of yuan flow back into China and makes it difficult for regulatory authorities to investigate the source of hot money. It warned that the relevant departments should be prepared to pay for the price of internationalising the yuan. (Nangfang Dushi Bao, Jul 7)
Oil quest restarted
China’s biggest oil company China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has shown interest in the purchase of majority interest in the Argentinean unit of Spanish energy giant Repsol-YPF for US$17 billion, which was reportedly equivalent to a stake of 25% in YPF. Last week, the company won a bid with BP to help boost the output in Iraq’s largest oilfield. In June, Sinopec won the bid for Addax Petroleum, which has oil assets in Africa and Iraq.
A SCMP commentary said that mainland leaders should take a reality check and be sober-minded, because the high-profile and multibillion-US-dollar acquisitions risk political and social backlash against the mainland’s overseas investments. The deals, if not thought through and handled properly, can pose subtle and sticky problems for the mainland’s foreign-relations and geopolitical policies. The commentator pointed out that the reports that two of the biggest Chinese oil companies talks with Repsol for different assets could be disconcerting and worry many in Spain and Argentina of their overly aggressive interests in overseas oil assets. Particularly the talks came at a sensitive time in Argentinean politics as the present administration of Argentina is not popular and often been accused of undertaking ‘creeping nationalisation programme’. The Argentinean government could be forced into a difficult position, as it needs to weigh its own national priorities and its important relations with China. China should learn from Chinalco’s recent failed bid to get a stake of Rio Tinto. The commentator also criticised the lack of a co-ordinated strategy of the Chinese side that allows two companies approach the same company at the time. (SCMP, Jul 6)
CHINA – DIPLOMACY
G8 summits no longer good enough to tackle the world’s problem
A SCMP editorial said that there is little to expect from the annual G8 Summit as the Group of Eight no longer has the relevance it once had. G8 does not truly reflect the world’s diversity, without the inclusion of nations of the emerging powers and other developing countries. It said that the issues that G8 concerns on involve these countries as well as other stake-holders such as global producers, suppliers, manufacturers and consumers. This is why much of what is has agreed on at recent summits has remained undone. Yet, the absence of President Hu might be unfortunate for the Summit, but perhaps a right decision of him. The article added that regional groups have an important role to play in formulating solutions for their parts of the world, and it is the same importance for leaders to meet whenever possible to discuss mutual concerns and further understanding. Yet, G20 should play a bigger role in facilitating the communication, not the G8. (SCMP, Jul 9)
Strong reactions just for posturing a tough stance on climate talk
The Chinese government expressed anger and protested against the approval of US Clean Energy and Security Act in late June. The bill is aimed mainly at establishing a national cap-and-trade scheme to reduce US emissions of greenhouse gases. But it also includes a provision that would allow Washington to slap punitive duties on imports from countries, which fail to impose limits on their own greenhouse gas output. China’s Vice Foreign Minister called the bill an attempt ‘to advance trade protectionism under the pretext of climate change’. The Ministry of Commerce slammed it as a breach of World Trade Organisation rules.
A commentary on SCMP said China’s argument is not convincing. The import duties would only apply to energy-intensive primary products like iron and steel, cement, glass and industrial chemicals, and it would not be imposed until 2025 at the earliest. According to a research of UBS bank, the import duties would only cut Baosteel’s earnings per share by 2.2% and leave other Chinese steel companies unaffected. And, the economic impact on Chinese cement companies would be even smaller. The commentator pointed out the outrage played up by China was to show its positioning ahead of December’s Copenhagen conference to negotiate a successor to the 1997 Kyoto treaty on climate change. China knows that it is going to be difficult negotiations. China issued a position paper in May, making it clear that it utterly rejected any binding limits on its own greenhouse gas output, saying it will decide its own “nationally appropriate mitigation actions” as it sees fit. China declared that developed economies should be obliged to support developing countries’ voluntary climate programmes with mandatory financing and technology transfers. The commentator said what Beijing is demanding is all carrot and no stick. China’s strong statement on the US bill is no more than just a posture of its tough stance in the upcoming negotiations. (SCMP, Jul 6)
TAIWAN – POLITICS
Former president proposed new position on cross-strait relations
Former president of Taiwan Lee Tenghui said that he did not oppose to the ‘three direct links’ deal with mainland, but stressed that the Taiwanese government should draw a clear line of its relations with China, that is, ‘you and I are different, but we are ‘friends’ (「你是你，我是我，你我是朋友」). He said that Taiwan should adopt a policy of ‘peace with mainland, but close to US and Japan’ to uphold its status as a ‘state’. Mainland analysts said that Lee’s soften tone on independence was a response to the current political reality and seek for supports from third party. In Taiwan, it is said that Lee’s proposal would exert considerable pressures on the DPP and this would have a negative impact on the DPP’s strategy for the upcoming county mayor election. (Ming Pao, Jun 29)
In a meeting with Soong Chu-yu, Soong reminded Lee of Lee’s wish to go on a cultural tour of the Confucian, which Lee mentioned to Soong in a private conversation two years ago. Soong said that he would like to help make Li’s wish come true. If this really comes true, this would be another big event of the history of cross-strait relations (Ming Pao, Jun 29). A commentary of China Times said that, those close to Lee believed that the ‘cultural tour’ was no more than a causal mentioning, but it does not mean Lee should not take it seriously now. In spite of Lee’s opposition to ECFA, Lee already made it clear in 2007 that he was not pro-independence. Therefore, his political ideology should not prevent him from making it happen. The article added that Soong’s intention was to create space for other politicians to communicate with China through cultural exchanges. The article said Lee should consider the trip as this would relay different voices in Taiwan to the Chinese government. (China Times, Jun 30)
Taiwan suspends the distribution of China Daily as it belittles China
The English-language mainland government mouthpiece was given permission last July to be sold in Taiwan for a year. But the Government Information Office suspended it on May 17. It is said that the Office received complaints from Taipei city councillors on March 18 demanding that the office should inspect the content of the newspaper, which they said belittled Taiwan and served as a mouthpiece and united front tool of the Chinese communists. For example, the paper had removed Ma Ying-jeou’s presidential title and had addressed him as ‘Taiwanese leader’ only. The paper treated Taiwan as a part of the mainland by placing Hong Kong and Taiwan news together.
DPP divided over decision to bar attendance at cross-strait forum
DPP decided to ban senior members from attending a summit between he KMT and CCP. An analyst said that the ban could widen the rift within the DPP over whether the pro-independence party should revise its conservative cross strait policy. DPP chairwoman was quoted as saying that, the participation of the DPP in the summit was unnecessary because the summit was a private meeting between the two parties and had ‘sabotaged the government and democratic systems in Taiwan’. (SCMP, Jul 9)
The editorial of United Evening News said that DPP was put in a very difficult position. For everything related to the mainland, the party has to make a clear position of ‘anti-China’. But the reality is that DPP would only end up in isolation. The article said that it was hard to ban members or supporters to cut off their links with the mainland. Even senior party member Lu Hsiu-lien admitted the need to know China better. Some party members said that they would rather be expelled from the party if they are not allowed to attend the cross-strait forum. The article said that it is important for DPP to revisit its strategy and how to adapt to the new political circumstances. (United Evening News, Jul 9)
HONG KONG – POLITICS
July 1 turnouts fall short of expectations, time to review strategy
The pan-democratic camp said there were about 76,000 people participated in the protest, but academics and police put the number between 28,000 and 30,000. The turnouts fell short of expectation. Democrats denied the turnout meant the protest was a failure, but admitted it was a time to review strategy. Democrat Cheung Man-kwong said pan-democrats should learn to accept that, since the July 1 protest had become a platform for different groups to air their demands, the turnout would fluctuate from year to year. It is said that one marked difference at this year’s protest from previous years were the radical slogans shouted by many protesters might have deterred some school teachers and youngsters from joining because they do not like swearing. Some activists also said the unplanned sit-in held by some protesters at the Central Government Offices after the march, resulting in their removal by police, might have tarnished the march’s image (SCMP, Jul 3). Lee Cheuk-yan said that the Pan-Democrat must shift the focus from targeting Donald Tsang to China’s repressive policy on HK, which has contributed to the existing institutional problems and the political pressures on the HK government. This will provoke those who are not happy with China to join the protest (Ming Pao, July 3).
Ming Pao editorial argued the low turnout was in part the result of the government’s manipulation of public finance and policy for easing some public discontent, but not at all reflected the satisfactory level to the government’s rule. The government is urged to act on the issues that have been in long delay due to the fears of controversy such as the political reform and the electoral arrangement for the next chief executive (Ming Pao, July 3). SCMPsaid that the turnout for July was lower than expected but still the biggest in recent years. There are reasons for the government to take it serious. The protesters sent a clear message to the government that they were unhappy. It is true that faster progress towards democracy was not the dominant issue this year, but it would be wrong to dismiss people’s democratic aspirations. It said, Hong Kong people cannot seek to vote their government out of office if they are dissatisfied with it, so all they can do to register their discontent is to take to the streets. That explains the high turnout this year. (SCMP, Jul 2)
Pan-Democrat gives real bottom line of negotiation of reform plan
In the Legislative Council question-and-answer session, the Chief Executive Donald Tsang rejected Pan-Democrats’ demand to persuade Beijing to overturn its rejection of universal suffrage for Hong Kong in 2012 as it was not in line with the decision by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in December 2007. He said the community should concentrate on working out a proposal for the 2012 elections that would pave the way for the direct election of the chief executive in 2017 and of Legco in 2020, in accordance with the Standing Committee’s timetable.
A Ming Pao article revealed that it is the tactics of the Pan-Democrats to raise their pledge for 2012 universal suffrage again. They didn’t want give a new position before the government laid out the reform proposal. Therefore, they returned to their original demand. But, this does not mean that they would insist on 2012 universal suffrage. The intention is to let the government know that the ultimate goal is to force the government to lay out details of universal suffrage. The article quoted Ho Chun-yan saying that, they were not interested to discuss the 2012 electoral arrangement; but if the government would include the discussion of the direct election of the chief executive in 2017 and of Legco in 2020 on the agenda, then there would be space for negotiation. It is said that the Pan-Democrats appear to show their bottom line in the negotiation, it is waiting for the government’s response that will open a meaningful dialogue with the Legco on political reform. (Ming Pao, Jul 8)
