Chinese General news resource thread

[broadsword]

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Anyone can say that, but it is all their own speculation unless they can show a list of people opposed to Xi being targetted.

 

[delft]

The contention was never about significance but exclusion which in my view is impossible to rule out especially when dealing with the covert nature of politics.

Please translate.

 

[HEIC]

Leaving demonstrators to occupy major traffic routes in the name of 'citizen disobedience' whilst trying everything to negotiate: a communistic police state with repressive regime and barbaric violation of civil rights.

Calling armoured vehicles on peaceful protesters and imposing curfews: a shining beacon of democracy and freedom, and leader of free world.

Am I losing grasp of the reality or it is just a corporate media circus?

Even my colleagues from Hong Kong at work are asking why the PLA garrison in HK is not on the streets cracking down the mob.

 

[solarz]

I love all the arguments of how China is corrupt as if it was unique. Look at how no one in the US was even indicted, let alone imprisoned, for what happened in 2008. The reason why no one sees it as corruption is because it's been legalized. Plenty of historical examples of corruption such as coming from the birth of the auto industry. How about Western support of dictators? That's participating in corruption. Look at Egypt and the Arab Spring to which US aid was in question. Yeah Egypt got military aid but they could only buy American military hardware. Egypt violated terms of getting aid from the US because of the Arab Spring but American defense industries lobbied to have aid continued. That's corruption where the US government is laundering tax-payers' money in the guise of aid to which Egypt can only use it to buy military hardware from American defense industries. The only difference between Chinese corruption and those that think their side is not corrupt is simply the difference of calling it or not calling it "corruption."

All you need to know is China has had the fastest economic rise in the history of humankind. Faster than the self-proclaimed non-corrupt countries. Now is it because governments no matter what kind corruption plays a natural role? Or are people just lying that they live in a moral and ethical society with no corruption?

Well said. Corruption is not the real issue. China is the 2nd largest economy in the world. Look at how the first and second economies are doing in terms of corruption:

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Leaving demonstrators to occupy major traffic routes in the name of 'citizen disobedience' whilst trying everything to negotiate: a communistic police state with repressive regime and barbaric violation of civil rights.

Calling armoured vehicles on peaceful protesters and imposing curfews: a shining beacon of democracy and freedom, and leader of free world.

Am I losing grasp of the reality or it is just a corporate media circus?

Even my colleagues from Hong Kong at work are asking why the PLA garrison in HK is not on the streets cracking down the mob.

Exactly!

 

[xiabonan]

Some try to discredit the recent moves by Xi and his colleague by labelling it as being purely purges or that it is to consolidate the party's rule in China.

To address the first issue I would say that there are definitely some elements of so-called "purging", but as I've suggested earlier on, this is less about purging but more about correcting some of the luxurious lifestyles of all party members, especially high ranking officials.

Secondly, what's wrong with consolidating power if it suits the interests of the people? It is in the interest of the party because corruption is seriously hurting its legitimacy, and it is in the interest of the people for obvious reasons. Isn't it good that the party is doing something that suits both the interest of the party AND the people?

Some may argue that it is never good for a one-party state to be able to consolidate the party's grip of power, if anything it should be the opposite case. However, to me, I think that the party has shown its worth and capabilities in running the country. Like I've said before in this forum, no political organization in the history of modern China has shown this kind of capabilities. And I seriously doubt there's any other organization that can do a better job at it than the CPC. There's simply none at the moment.

For me, as long as the party continues to deliver better lives for the people, and make China improve as a whole, I'm perfectly fine with the party running the country forever. No big deal.

 

[xiabonan]

Some often argue that democracies and elections are good because they hold the political party, politician, and the government accountable to the people. When the same logic is applied it's natural to arrive at the conclusion that a one-party state system is bad because the there's no check to power and the party is not held accountable.

However, if we think deeper and do not just stop at surface level, we can see that it's often not the case, and the line is really blurry at times.

In many democracies, political parties and politicians do not actually have to be accountable to the people once elections are over. They only need to win over people's hearts during elections by using various means, after that period who can place a check on them? The opposition?

Parties often blame each other for things not being done. For troubles that happen. The party in power says that election promises are not fulfilled because the opposition is hindering their plans--while the opposition does pretty much exactly that just to blame the party-in-power for not fulfilling its promises. People get upset and disappointed and they lost confidence in the ruling party, hence the opposition took office in the next election and the same story repeats itself again and again.

It's true that perhaps everyone's interests are represented in congress. It's true, perhaps, that things are not done because some other people's interests are at stake. Such a system may be able to reach a delicate balance and equilibrium--but is such an equilibrium the most ideal for the progress of the whole society? If progress is made, will it be at its optimal pace?

Matured western democracies can afford to wait and waste energy in such a delicate game of balancing. Most of their people are already enjoying a high standard of living. But the same cannot be said about people living in developing countries. They need to get out of poverty as fast as possible and not be stuck in the poverty trap.

Let's look at China. China's system is often criticized because the government "is not held accountable". Yes it's true there's no real opposition. Yes it's true there's no real power that can topple the CPC's rule. But these would mean also that there's nobody to blame if the CPC screw things up. If progress is made credit can be claimed, but if mistakes are made, they're the only ones responsible for it.

They have to be accountable to the people and they know it well. They know what will happen if people lose confidence in them. In fact they're trying very hard to build a better image and more legitimacy.

There's an old Chinese saying, "the sea can carry ships but can also wreck them". The "sea" here refers to the people, and the ships refer to the government.

 

[Blackstone]

It was only a matter of time before Islamist leaders turn their attention to China, and it seems that future is now. The silver lining is maybe China will cooperate and coordinate her anti-terror efforts with nations currently involved in the anti-jihad operations, especially the United States.

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Al-Qaeda central appears to have joined the Islamic State in calling for jihad against China over its alleged occupation of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

This week, al-Sahab media organization, al-Qaeda’s propaganda arm, released the first issue of its new English-language magazine Resurgence. The magazine has a strong focus on the Asia-Pacific in general, with feature articles on both India and Bangladesh, as well as others on Afghanistan and Pakistan.

However, the first issue also contains an article entitled “10 Facts About East Turkistan,” which refers to the name given to Xinjiang by those who favor independence from China. The ten facts seek to cast Xinjiang as a longtime independent state that has only recently been brutally colonized by Han Chinese, who are determined to obliterate its Islamic heritage.

“In the last 1,000 years of its Islamic history,” the article says, Xinjiang “has remained independent for 763 years, while 237 years have been spent under Chinese occupation at various intervals.”

This occupation has been costly, the article argues, alleging that: “In 1949, 93 percent of the population of East Turkistan was Uyghur, while 7 percent was Chinese. Today, as a result of six decades of forced displacement of the native population and the settlement of Han Chinese in their place, almost 45 percent of the population of East Turkistan is Chinese.”

The article goes on to claim that teaching the Quran in Xinjiang is punishable by up to ten years in prison, and that Muslim women caught wearing the hijab can be fined more than five times the average annual income of the area. Al-Qaeda also claims that following its takeover of the mainland in 1949, the Chinese Communist Party murdered some 4.5 million Muslims in Xinjiang. The group further claims that China has conducted no less than 35 nuclear weapon tests in Xinjiang, and the radioactive fallout from these are estimated to have killed 200,000 Muslims. In 1998 alone, the article adds, 20,000 babies were born deformed in Xinjiang as a result of these nuclear tests.

Although “10 Facts About East Turkistan” stops shorting of calling for jihad against China, the point is more directly articulated elsewhere in the first issue of Resurgence. For example, one article says that the “the victory of the Ummah” will be a “deathblow” and a “bitter defeat… for America, Iran, Russia, China and all those who have fought this war by proxy against Muslims.” In a particularly troubling article for China and other state actors, al-Qaeda calls on its followers to try to disrupt shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Malacca, noting the waterways’ centrality for China and other Asian economies in particular.

Al-Qaeda central’s sudden focus on China follows closely on the heels of the Islamic State also condemning Beijing for its handling of its Uyghur Muslim population. Back in July, IS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi gave a speech in which he argued “Muslim rights are forcibly seized in China, India, Palestine” and many other countries around the world. Later, IS released a map that outlined the borders of its envisioned Caliphate. Notably, Xinjiang province was included in the Caliphate.

Chinese officials and local authorities have also noted an uptick in the number of Chinese nationals traveling to the Middle East to fight or train alongside militant groups in the region. The last year has also seen a sharp uptick in the frequency and sophistication of domestic terrorist attacks inside China, which the government blames on disgruntled Uyghurs.

Resurgence’s focus on China also follows al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri recently establishing a South Asia branch to try and extend the group’s operations to the Indian continent. The move was largely seen as an attempt to compete with the Islamic State for the leadership of the jihadist world.

The same competition almost certainly motivated al-Qaeda central to publish the English-language magazine as well. The al-Sahab media organization has been active since around 2001 — although its activities have rapidly diminished over the last few years — but this is the first time that it or al-Qaeda central has published an English-language magazine. However, the terrorist group’s Yemen-based branch, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), has long published an English language magazine called Inspire, which Resurgence is modeled on.

Inspire was best known for trying to motivate potential lone wolf terrorists in Western countries in the United States and Europe. Resurgence at times seems to try to emulate this approach, only with an eye toward populations mostly outside the Western world.

That al-Qaeda is attempting to use an English-language publication to motivate would-be jihadists in places like Xinjiang displays a remarkable degree of desperation, incompetence or both, none of which bodes well for the group’s longevity. Terrorist groups have a history of failing under the leadership of Ayman al-Zawahiri, and al-Qaeda central increasingly appears destined to suffer the same fate.

 

[solarz]

It was only a matter of time before Islamist leaders turn their attention to China, and it seems that future is now. The silver lining is maybe China will cooperate and coordinate her anti-terror efforts with nations currently involved in the anti-jihad operations, especially the United States.

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Al-Qaeda is desperate for relevance in the wake of ISIS' phenomenal success. They seem to be actively avoiding ISIS' stomping grounds and trying to expand in India, and now China I guess.

 

[Blackstone]

Al-Qaeda is desperate for relevance in the wake of ISIS' phenomenal success. They seem to be actively avoiding ISIS' stomping grounds and trying to expand in India, and now China I guess.

Both China and India have restless Muslim minorities, and it was just a matter of time before al Qaeda or other Islamic extremist groups take advantage of that to foment separatism and terror. All of the countries in the region have self and collective interests to combat Islamic extremism, and nations with more capabilities should provide leadership and resource to battle the extremists. Let's put it this way, if US, China, Russia, and India can't cooperate on squashing Islamic jihad in Central Asia, then there's little hope of cooperation in other regions of the world.

 

[Doombreed]

exactly, profit from office was always viewed as immoral in Chinese history while accepted as the norm during much of western history.

But it does shows the prevalence of corruption within historical Chinese dynasties. The CCP wasn't the first dynasty with a corruption problem, nor would it be the last.