Today’s Links:
THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT
1. Premier Li Keqiang meets the press – Xinhua videos of his answers
Related: Chinese Premier Vows Tougher Regulation on Air Pollution – NYTimes.com Mr. Li took one reporter’s question about air pollution, which mentioned the banned documentary, “Under the Dome,” and he acknowledged that there was a gap between the government’s efforts and public ire about pervasive smog. Continue reading the main story..“This is a concern that is uppermost on all people’s minds,” Mr. Li said in response to a question from a Huffington Post reporter, who asked about the government’s struggle to clean up the environment. // video of the original question by Matt Sheehan
Related: China’s Li Vows to Prop Up Growth as He Seeks Painful Reform – Bloomberg Business The government will deploy “targeted macroeconomic regulations” if growth drifts toward the limit of its range and cuts into jobs or income, Li told reporters at his annual news conference today. Stripping the government of some powers may face resistance from vested interests but is crucial, he said. “This is not nail-clipping — it’s wrist slashing,” Li told reporters at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “It’s like taking a knife to one’s own flesh.”
2. China Focus: Top political advisor highlights CPC leadership, “Four Comprehensives” – Xinhua At the closing meeting of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Yu, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, said the Chinese people are en route towards the realization of the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation under the leadership of the CPC. Political advisors must unwaveringly uphold the Party’s leadership, strengthen confidence in socialism with Chinese characteristics, and build consensus among the public in order to bring together “positive energy” for the implementation of the strategic layout of “Four Comprehensives,” he said. The “Four Comprehensives,” unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping, refer to comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, deepening reform, advancing the rule of law and strictly governing the Party. // odds looking better and better that the 4 Comprehensives will be enshrined as Xi’s main theoretical contribution
Related: President Xi Jinping’s ‘comprehensive’ list fails to add up at China’s National People’s Congress | South China Morning Post When the premier began to read the report to the nearly 3,000 delegates – the report was also broadcast live on television – he included, rather than missed out, the line about “strict enforcement of discipline”. The drafting of the report can take up to two months, involve dozens of think-tank staff and requires meticulous planning on behalf of officials, so it’s hard to know what caused the error. Was it recklessness on behalf of the report’s proof-readers? A miscommunication between the State Council’s General Office and the Secretariat of the Communist party’s central committee? Or even a rushed job by the party’s publicity department, before Xi had finalised his theory? // was it just “three comprehensives” while the NPC report was being drafted?
Related: 习近平同人大代表、政协委员共商国是纪实-新华网 奏响“四个全面”的时代强音 ——习近平总书记同出席全国两会人大代表、政协委员共商国是纪实
Related: China Headlines: China’s Xi shines at 2015 “two sessions” – Xinhua The annual “two sessions,” which bring together the full assembly of legislators and political advisors from March 3-15, have seen Xi — himself a deputy to the National People’s Congress (NPC) — participate in panel discussions with lawmakers and advisors. Each time, the president spoke of exciting prospects, expounding on a vision widely referred to as the “Four Comprehensives.” The popular catchphrase, first coined by Xi last year, is an umbrella term for comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society, deepening reform, advancing the rule of law and strictly governing the Party.
3. China puts tech bill that concerns West on hold: U.S. official-Reuters looks like Obama’s talk with Xi and a united front among tech companies may have gotten Beijing to blink…glad to look to have been wrong in saying that Beijing would not bend… // / The law would require technology firms to hand over encryption keys, the passcodes that help protect data, and install security “backdoors” in their systems to give Chinese authorities surveillance access. One industry source, who requested anonymity, said the move gave companies “some breathing room, but not complete relief” because the bill could be picked up again at any point as only the standing committee — not the full parliament – was needed to pass a law. But another was optimistic that was the end of the matter. “The Chinese are not ready to kick out all foreign companies, and because they weren’t ready to take that step, they backed off,” said a U.S. technology industry expert, who asked not to be identified to avoid complicating his employer’s dealings in China. “You can bet that the next steps will be something that tightens up somewhere but doesn’t cause this level of pain.”
4. China: Action to be taken if deadly bombing happens again – Xinhua No further deadly stray fire incidents should happen or the Chinese military will take “firm and decisive action” to protect the safety of its people, senior Chinese military leader Fan Changlong said on Saturday. Fan, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while speaking with Min Aung Hlaing, commander-in-chief of the Myanmar Defense Services over the telephone, after a bomb dropped by a Myanmar warplane on Friday killed four Chinese in southwest China’s Yunnan Province. Fan called on Myanmar to seriously investigate the incident, and urged the Myanmar side to severely punish the perpetrators, as well as apologize to and compensate the families of the victims.
Related: China in military warning to Myanmar after bomb kills four farmers | South China Morning Post A villager living 3 km from the sugarcane field, identified by her surname, Zhang, was quoted by news portal thepaper.cn as saying that the bomb was dropped just as villagers were cutting down the crop. “We heard a Myanmar military aircraft approaching, and then there was explosion,” she said. “We got to the scene after half an hour and found body parts scattered [over the field].” Myanmar’s military aircraft had stepped up their activities during the past week, she said
Related: 党媒评缅甸北部乱局：中国应主动出面调停，防域外大国做文章澎湃国际澎湃新闻-The Paper 3月14日晚，人民日报海外版“侠客岛”刊文解读指出，这次局势升级并非独例，在大国战略竞逐东南亚地区的态势下，中国政府应主动发力。文章说，在长达2000公里的中缅边境，有一半左右的边境线并不在缅甸中央政府的控制范围，政局相当不稳。譬如，在2013年，缅甸政府军同克钦军激烈交火期间，就有多次炸弹落入中国境内的情况发生。中缅边境不仅是两国贸易交往的频繁之地，也成为地方武装盘踞的基地。 文章认为，在中国力推的“一带一路”建设重要战略上，缅甸是南方“新丝路”的主攻方向，缅北冲突长期化给中国带来最大的战略代价。如何寻求边境稳定，确保中国大西南通向印度洋的战略通道畅通，关系到全局。为此，中国政府的确应该超越口头言辞上的愤慨和谴责，积极“出击”，改变之前被动、消极的外交政策，积极推动和参与缅北和平进程。而这种调停完全可以更为大胆、有力，完全没必要藏着掖着，这才符合中国外交的新常态。全文如下：”
Related: 缅甸老街成“死城” 缅北战地白天打仗晚上对骂新闻腾讯网 14岁的果敢男孩杨老五在中缅边界的麦地河安置点已经呆了1个多月。30多天里，他和家人在用竹子与油布搭成的简易帐篷中渡过，早春时节的云贵高原，夜里的气温降到5摄氏度以下。山间不时刮起一整狂风，将简易公路的风沙刮得漫天飞舞。 缅甸果敢地区发生武装冲突以来，累计有6万余人次缅籍边民出于自身安全考虑进出中缅边境一线。
Related: 国防部：缅甸军机再越境将坚决采取措施应对新闻腾讯网 范长龙指出，缅方要认识到问题的严重性，严肃认真对待此事，严惩肇事者，向死伤者家属道歉并赔偿，向中方作出交代。范长龙明确要求，缅军高层要严格管控约束部队，绝不能再次发生此类事件。否则，中国军队将采取坚决果断措施，保护中国人民生命财产安全。 敏昂莱表示，缅方理解中方感受，将尽快派人与中方一起进行认真调查，妥善解决问题，追究相关人员责任。缅军愿与中方一道全力推进两国两军友好合作。 范长龙强调，希望缅方从维护中缅两国两军关系大局出发，妥善处置有关事件，共同维护中缅边境地区安全稳定。
Related: 高清：实拍中缅边境线上的难民营新闻腾讯网 pictures from a Kokang refugee camp
5. In China, a Building Frenzy’s Fault Lines – NYTimes.com lots of rumors of a PLA connection to Kaisa // With the $450 million raised in the initial public offering, Kaisa embarked on an aggressive expansion into 20 more cities. It formed a partnership with Marriott hotels and announced plans to build one of the world’s tallest buildings. Kaisa shares skyrocketed, helping lift the fortunes of its Western patrons, including the Carlyle Group, an American private equity firm. Then came the fall.
6. Macau’s Economy Shrinks 17.2% After Casino Revenues Fall – Bloomberg Business Chinese President Xi Jinping’s anti-graft campaign prompted high rollers to avoid the world’s biggest gambling hub during the peak Lunar New Year holiday period, leading to the city’s worst monthly decline in gaming revenue in February. Tighter restrictions on visas and cigarette smoking have also deterred vacationing gamblers.
Related: Wall St Macau delusion has gone too far – Business Insider See, Xi doesn’t care if the island’s economy suffers as long as he gets the cleaner, less corrupt China he’s been working for. That’s what his anticorruption drive is about. That’s why there are more cameras in casinos to scare high rollers. That’s why even the once untouchable nephew of Macau scion Stanley Ho was arrested along with 99 prostitutes in a sting at Ho’s Casino Lisboa. It’s because the old Macau is dead.
7. North Korea’s growing economy — and America’s misconceptions about it – The Washington Post The extensive range of commercial activity suggests that it would be wrong to think that China’s leadership is now so annoyed with Kim Jong Un, who took control of North Korea at the end of 2011 after the death of his father, that it is tightening the economic screws on the young leader next door. This is a very sensitive part of China — during a week of reporting along the North Korean border, Washington Post reporters were monitored by police — and doing business with North Korea is a very sensitive subject.
8. No, China’s Not About to Collapse | The Diplomat Rand’s Tim Heath // Perhaps it is not coincidental that predictions of the party’s impending collapse have traditionally surged at major inflection points in the history of the PRC. The last major wave of pessimism occurred at the turn of the century, when China also faced economic slowdown, political demoralization, widespread unrest, and bitter factional infighting. The symptoms may have been correctly perceived, but the prognosis proved faulty. The party’s adaptation and resilience surprised observers and disproved the gloomy predictions. China has similarly reached a key inflection point, one in which the policy challenges possibly surpass those of the turn of the century. Beijing will continue to face massive political, economic, ecological, and other challenges. The party could well fail to carry out needed reforms and ultimately collapse at some point. But with China on the cusp of achieving a centuries-long ambition of national revitalization, observers would be well served to exercise caution in once again assuming the nation’s leadership and people would so readily scuttle such an historic opportunity in favor of a return to the humiliations and agonies of national dissolution that the country has struggled for so long to escape.
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