THE ESSENTIAL EIGHT *
1. Is the Chinese dragon losing its puff?-Sydney Morning Herald Barme nails it about Shambaugh’s oped that has sucked up far too much attention, including here… // Nor is it just a Western thing. As a historian of China, director of the ANU’s Australian Centre on China in the World, Geremie Barme, points out: “The Communists themselves speculate internally about whether the party will collapse. They speculate about it constantly.”..Barme, a longstanding acquaintance of Shambaugh, laughs at his anecdotes of hollowing faith among officialdom: “Every political conference I’ve been to in China in 42 years, the officials are always bored. Everyone’s bored. The leader’s works never sell. They always have to give them away.” Barme suspects that Shambaugh’s conversion into the church of “collapsism” tells us more about today’s America than it does about China. “If this were written by a Spanish author or a Greek author or an Italian author, they’d say, ‘Yes, we have capital flight, corruption, a lack of reform, massive popular dissent – sounds like a normal day,” Barme argues. “However, we are looking at an American writing about Chinese collapse amid huge anxiety about US politics and its future. I agree that Xi’s China is uglier, more repressive and narrow, yet it’s more confident, more articulate and more focused than at any time since Mao Zedong. That’s why an American is worried.”
2. Xi meets with Kissinger, calls for more trust between China, U.S. – Xinhua For his part, Kissinger hailed the ongoing historic reform in China and said that the U.S.-China relationship is an important one involving global peace, progress and development. It is a far-sighted decision in the interests of both sides to build a new type of relationship between the two major countries, Kissinger said, wishing President Xi a successful visit to the United States.
Related: [视频]习近平会见美国前国务卿基辛格新闻频道央视网(cctv.com) Xi meets with Kissinger. the top item on the Tuesday CCTV Evening News, according to the CCTV report Kissinger endorses the “new type of major power relations” concept China is pushing…seems a disconnect from the White House? // 基辛格说，感谢习近平主席会见我这位中国的老朋友，中国正在进行着具有历史意义的改革大业。美中关系是事关全球和平、进步与发展的重要双边关系。构建美中新型大国关系符合双方利益，是着眼长远发展的远见之举。相信习主席今年对美国的国事访问将是一次历史性访问并预祝访问成功。 国务委员杨洁篪参加会见。
3. Party Investigates CNPC Executive Once Seen as Company’s Next Leader – Caixin An executive at China National Petroleum Corp. who oversaw the building of pipelines sending natural gas from the country’s west to its east and who was tipped to one day lead the oil giant has fallen afoul of Communist Party corruption busters. Liao Yongyuan, the general manager of CNPC and the vice president of its listed subsidiary, PetroChina Co. Ltd., is being investigated for “seriously violating discipline and laws,” the Central Commission for Discipline Inspectionsaid on March 16.
Related: China Targets Big Oil In Wars On Corruption, Pollution-Huffington Post “Each [SOE] tends to be a mini empire,” professor Dali Yang, who researches Chinese politics at the University of Chicago, told TheWorldPost. “They have become very powerful vested interests in the Chinese system, so anti-corruption is not only useful in fighting against corruption but … makes it possible for Xi’s agenda, for the agenda of the Communist Party, to be carried out, to be obeyed.” Academics have long debated the true motivation for Xi’s corruption crackdown. Is it a move to clean up the party from within? A front for knocking off political rivals? A strategy to clear the way for ambitious reforms? “All of the above and then some,” said Yang.
Related: China Promises Transparent Audit Of State Enterprises’ $690B In Overseas Investments China says it will appoint independent auditors to assess the value of overseas assets belonging to the country’s biggest state enterprises. According to a Xinhua News Agency report, the state assets department ofChina’s State Council (or cabinet) on Tuesday announced that accounting firms could bid for the opportunity to carry out an audit of approximately 113 of China’s largest state-owned enterprises (SOEs).// lots of petro oil money went into these deals
Related: 人民日报：央企反腐“油”和“车”都出事了 下一个会是谁？|徐建一|央企_凤凰财经 在国企中，一些高管对重大问题决策、重要干部任免、重大项目投资决策、大额资金使用这“三重一大”的议事规则规定熟视无睹、我行我素。绕开规则有时看似是为企业发展争取了时间机遇，取得了巨大效益。然而，这种以言代法的做法已为利益寻租、权力自肥埋下了伏笔。 回顾徐建一、廖永远二人的简历，无不是行业内的老人儿，有知识、有经验、懂管理，能走到今天的领导岗位也必然是做出过贡献的。 腐败的高管们也不要幻想少了自己企业就会裹足不前，事实上恰恰是因为能人太任性，腐败危害才更大。只有腐败的“车坏了、油停了”，国家发展的巨轮才能驶得又稳又快
4. Defying U.S., European allies say they’ll join China-led bank | Reuters bit of an embarrassment for the Obama administration // Germany, France and Italy said on Tuesday they had agreed to join a new China-led Asian investment bank after close ally Britain defied U.S. pressure to become a founder member of a venture seen in Washington as a rival to the World Bank. The concerted move to participate in Beijing’s flagship economic outreach project was a diplomatic blow for the United States, reflecting European eagerness to partner with China’s fast-growing economy, the second largest in the world.
Related: U.S. urges allies to think twice before joining China-led bank | Reuters Washington insists it has not actively discouraged countries from joining the new bank, but it has questioned whether the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will have sufficient standards of governance and environmental and social safeguards. “I hope before the final commitments are made anyone who lends their name to this organization will make sure that the governance is appropriate,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew told U.S. lawmakers.
Related: China’s Finance Ministry welcomes new members of AIIB – Xinhua China’s Ministry of Finance on Tuesday welcomed the decisions made by France, Italy and Germany to apply joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The ministry website said that the three countries will become founding members in two weeks if other members approve.
Related: Australia changes mind on China-proposed Asian infrastructure bank – Xinhua Australian leaders have been lining up in the past few days to voice support on Australia’s joining of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a conspicuous U-turn from the cabinet’s previous stance. The latest wave of support came after the United Kingdom announced to join the discussion with China on the 50-billion-U.S. dollar development bank. Treasurer Joe Hockey was the first to say last Friday that Australia will consider joining the AIIB.
Related: Robert Kahn on China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank – Council on Foreign Relations The Beijing-backed bank appears to be gaining momentum for its expressed goal of addressing wide infrastructure gaps in Asia. But the bank also reflects Beijing’s dissatisafaction with existing global institutions and its desire to play a leading role in the Asia-Pacific, says CFR’s Robert Kahn. Though it would be a positive step for Washington to join the bank, Kahn says that there is little chance that Congress would approve U.S. participation.
Related: 社评：亚投行，中国的“和”赢了美国的“斗”评论环球网 多人担心中国的外交环境很大程度上受到美国力量的操控或渗透，亚投行事务的进展则告诉我们，中国是本国命运和道路的真正掌控者。我们需要做的是在有所作为的同时，充分调动自己的智慧，让自己更有心胸，更富弹性。 如果亚投行的起步比较顺利，说不准美国有一天会改变态度，也愿意成为该行的一个成员国。只要中国继续发展，走得足够平稳，这种可能性可不是不着边际的
Related: 习大大倡议的亚投行，为何令美国惴惴不安？ 2015-03-18人民日报 People’s Daily looks at why “Uncle Xi’s” AIIB makes the US uneasy
5. 郭正钢妻子请风水师给老爷子测字：吉人天相，没事_凤凰资讯 long Phoenix Weekly article on Guo Boxiong’s son and daughter in law, pretty clear Guo Boxiong is toast // 有消息源透露，郭被带走当日，军事检察院人员连夜搜查了上城区清波门省军区家属院内郭正钢的家。郭正钢是浙江省第十二届人大代表，在去年年末的军队人事调整中，由省军区政治部主任转任省军区副政委，少将军衔，成为大陆为数不多的“70后”将军之一。 “部队办案先期都有调查，取得证据，掌握了部分材料后再抓人。”文职三级、军队著名作家石祥告诉《凤凰周刊》记者，从目前情况看，郭正钢涉嫌违法的证据不能说已全部落实了，但应大致已有方向，还需要通过找他本人来深入侦讯。 知情人士向《凤凰周刊》披露称，郭被带走几天后，郭的司机也被带去协助调查。办案人员正告他，对郭正钢的监视已有5、6个月了，知道什么就说什么，检方还询问郭的司机，郭有无转移资产之类。
Related: 依法清风绝弊 净化政治生态–军事–人民网 马克思指出，“道德的基础是人类精神的自律”。法治精神离不开道德滋养，法治文化离不开道德支撑。只有让法治精神深入人心，让法治文化“浸润”官兵，才能强化坚定而持久的法治信仰。要按照习主席“绝对忠诚、绝对纯洁、绝对可靠”要求，进一步完善军人道德规范体系，大力培育当代革命军人核心价值观，提高官兵思想道德水平，为法治文化入脑入心搭建思想平台。
6. Without Committing a Crime, Five Female Activists Detained in China | China Law & Policy if you think detaining people for leafleting an issue we can all get behind is scary, here is the real frightening part: these five women – Wu Rongrong, Zheng Churan, Wei Tingting, Wang Man and Li Tingting – never actually committed a crime, even under Chinese law. By detaining these women prior to March 8 – when they were going to distribute their stickers and pamphlets – the women never caused a public disturbance as required by Article 293 of China’s Criminal Law. Pu Zhiqiang, Cao Shunli, Xu Zhiyong, all detained, arrested or jailed for “picking quarrels and provoking troubles,” were at least able to partake in their “public disturbance” before the authorities took them away. These women did not. At most, in their attempt to make this a nation-wide campaign, they amassed an online following, all eager to partake in the March 8 events.
Related: China detains women’s rights activists – CNN Video CNN’s Kristi Lu Stout talks with “Leftover Women” author Leta Hong Fincher about the arrests of five activists on International Women’s Day in China.
Related: The Education of Detained Chinese Feminist Li Tingting | ChinaFile One of the women who remains in custody, Li Tingting, is the subject of the following chapter excerpted from Eric Fish’s forthcoming book, China’s Millennials: The Want Generation
7. The Maoists and Modern China – China Studies Centre – The University of Sydney For the question of Mao and his continuing impact, the answer is partly that he continues to escape the boundaries that people claiming his name try to put on him. For this reason, understanding him and those that try to speak in his name even to this day, is important. I hope this study helps a little in understand just why the red sun of Mao Zedong is still very much alive in some Chinese people’s hearts, and why people as senior as Xi chose to appeal to Mao when they conduct politics in the era when China has become the sort of economic and political powerhouse that Mao could only ever dream about. Professor Kerry Brown
8. Questions Loom Over China’s Legal Reform Drive – China Real Time Report – WSJ Chinese leaders said throughout the proceedings that they were committed to “law reform,” yet the annual report submitted to the legislature by the Supreme People’s Court last week made it clear that those reforms will be limited according the party’s interests. “We must unify the three tasks of maintaining the leadership of the party, treating the people as masters and ruling the country according to law, unswervingly walking the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics,” the court’s chief judge Zhou Qiang said while delivering the report in the Great Hall of the People.
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