Xi Defines State Media Role

Xi Jinping is "anchoring" the news, saying state media must work for the Party

When I worked in state media in Beijing, my colleagues who were Communist Party members would disappear once in a while for an entire afternoon for a "meeting". It was actually a study session to decipher then President Hu Jintao's "Three Represents" (三个代表).

They would also be reminded that the state media was the medium in which the Party's doctrine would be communicated, that everyone must be in line with the Party for the sake of unity and ensure everyone got the same message.

This was said behind closed doors.

And periodically Hu or the Premier Wen Jiabao would visit state media outlets and re-emphasize these points that were published in newspapers, read out in news casts and such.

But the exercise was stepped up by President Xi Jinping last Friday when he visited Xinhua, People's Daily and CCTV and insisted state media must show absolute loyalty to the Party.

Ren Zhiqiang says the media should serve the people

There were no vagaries here -- it was straight to the point. According to a report in People's Daily:

The Party's news and public opinion work must adhere to the principle of the Party character, cleaving fundamentally to the Party's leadership of news and public opinion work. Media run by the Party and government are propaganda positions of the Party and the government, and they must reflect the Party. All work of the Party's news and public opinion media must reflect the will of the Party, mirror the views of the Party, preserve the authority of the Party, preserve the unity of the Party, and achieve love of the Party, protection of the Party and acting for the Party; they must all increase their consciousness of falling in line, maintaining a high level of uniformity with the Party in ideology, politics and action.

It's pretty clear how Xi is instructing how the media should operate. What happened to the so-called "vibrant media" in China, where there were different shades of red?

Seems like that is no more, as everyone must disseminate the same message.

But perhaps even more interesting is that an outspoken tycoon has criticized Xi's pronouncement about state media's role in society.

Ren Zhiqiang said on Weibo on Friday that the media should serve the people, that news operations were funded by taxpayer money and so should serve the public rather than the leadership.

"When does the people's government turn into the party's government? [Are the media] funded by party membership dues? Don't waste taxpayers' money on things that do not provide them with services," he wrote.

Needless to say Ren was immediately attacked by a news site affiliated with the Beijing municipal party committee, accusing him of "anti-Communist Party" thought.

Qianlong.com claimed Ren represented capitalism that sought to topple the Party's rule and establish Western-style constitutionalism on the mainland, and even accused him of having "completely" lost his Party spirit.

It'll be interesting to see how Ren gets himself out of this fiasco unscathed if possible, but he is technically right. Taxpayer money does go to state enterprises like state media and it is the job of media to inform its readers.

But, things are done differently on the mainland, and with Xi in charge, it's near impossible to beat the President.

Nevertheless, with 37 million followers, Ren could win in the court of public opinion, though politically and financially he may lose big time.

Jobs Drying up in China

Chinese technology companies, like Alibaba, aren't hiring this year

With China's economy slowing, there are fears there will be lots of layoffs and university graduates not being hired.

Previously the mainland's technology companies were the main employers, but now they are hiring fewer people. The big three internet giants, Tencent, Baidu and Alibaba employ tens of thousands of people, but are now freezing recruitment.

Although the Chinese government had hoped the online industry and internet entrepreneurs could create jobs, there aren't enough to keep the economy afloat. Millions of other jobs are expected to be cut in industries with excess capacity as China goes through structural reforms.

Those in the coal industry may see massive layoffs

Cao Lei, director of Hangzhou-based China E-Commerce Research Centre, said internet companies over-hired last year.

"There were many acquisitions and mergers in the industry last year, like 58.com and ganji.com, and ctrip.com and qunar.com, which led to job cuts in some departments that overlapped," he added.

It is expected that 3 million workers will be laid off in the next few years in five industries, including coal, iron, and cement, due to excess capacity.

Professor Liu Erduo of Renmin University says fewer than half of those laid off in traditional sectors would be able to get jobs in the new sectors.

He said the unemployment rate, which is now at 5.1 percent, would probably rise 1 percentage point this year.

Then Premier Wen chose to procrastinate on China's economy

"Various social problems could result. But the situation should not be as serious as in the 1990s, because today, most of the younger generation are their family's only child and they will likely rely on their parents if they're unable to find a job," Liu said.

That's really naive of Liu to say this -- for many families, their only child is their sole breadwinner -- or at least they were counting on them to be. While many of the previous generation has scrimped and saved, much of their money was invested in their child and they are now probably disappointed they aren't getting their returns back in spades.

And with the rising cost of living in China these days, coupled with the requirement to buy a flat before getting married, the economic and societal pressures must be even tougher now.

However, these economic structural reforms could have been done back in 2008 when the global financial crisis hit.

Instead of taking the opportunity to implement reforms at the time, particularly cutting the excess fat of state-owned enterprises, and letting companies face the fate of market forces, then Premier Wen Jiabao threw US$586 billion into the Chinese economy to prop it up, which only fueled corruption to great heights until President Xi Jinping took over in 2012.

One can only speculate what would have happened if structural reforms had happened eight years ago, but procrastinating on what to do with the second-largest economy in the world was not a good idea...

Strange Relations with China

Hopefully PM-designate Justin Trudeau has more skill in dealing with China

After a sojourn to North America, it's time to focus back on Asia, though we are thrilled to see Canadians vote for change in installing Justin Trudeau as the next Prime Minister.

The result of 184 seats to lead a majority government was not expected out of Trudeau early in the campaign, who was thought to be the political lightweight.

But he proved his adversaries wrong, and also public sentiment built up to the point of saying, "enough is enough! Time for change!"

While it will take some time for the 43-year-old charismatic Liberal leader to undo the damage Harper has done in the past almost decade, we hope Trudeau has the wisdom to be pragmatic and nuanced in his dealings with China.

Harper on his first visit to China in 2009 with Wen Jiabao

Harper learned the hard way and paid dearly for it. It was so embarrassing to watch then Premier Wen Jiabao tear a strip off of Harper in 2009 before allowing Canada to have the Approved Destination Status so that more mainlanders could come visit the country as individual tourists.

So while Harper did the grovelling, we hope Trudeau doesn't have to do that and can return Sino-Canadian relations back to a decent, amicable level where the Chinese still rave about Norman Bethune.

At the moment, the UK is bending over backwards in inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping on his first state visit there. Even the Queen has opened the gates at Buckingham Palace to welcome him and wife Peng Liyuan to stay with Her Majesty.

Xi Jinping meeting the Queen and staying in her digs

Have the corgis been locked up to avoid being Xi's supper???

Jokes aside, it's quite astounding how much Prime Minister David Cameron is going all out to ensure Xi and Peng have the royal treatment -- which is ironic considering the Chinese got rid of the imperialist dynasties in 1911.

Does Cameron think that by giving his guests the ultimate kowtow that China is going to open its doors wide open to the UK and let it plunder it again, this time economically?

Does Queen Victoria have to leave the park?

What's also ironic is that at the same time Xi is being hosted by the monarchy, the Chinese are deploring that Hong Kong has too many vestiges of British colonialism and now want them covered up or taken down.

Hong Kong Post is frantically going to cover up the last mail boxes that have the royal insignias on them, but does that also mean getting rid of the statue of Queen Victoria in Victoria Park, and renaming the area, the People's Park, like every other mainland city has?

Does that also mean changing the names of all the British-named streets we have too? Talk about confusion!

For the Chinese trying to get rid of Hong Kong's last bits of colonialism is like whitewashing the city's history. This is a part of who we are -- this is where Hong Kong gets its values, like freedom of speech, freedom of the press, rule of law.

Again, I'm repeating a broken record refrain, but this indicates yet again that the Chinese do not understand Hong Kong and its identity, and how its unique history can be its advantage.

Instead it seems, the Chinese would rather force Hong Kong to bend to its will, while enjoying the scones and afternoon tea with the Queen...

The Chinese Riddle

Rupert Murdoch with Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People

The Chinese like to talk in riddles, particularly their leaders.

Chinese President Xi Jinping received Rupert Murdoch in the Great Hall of the People today. The News Corp chairman probably wanted to pay his respects in the hopes that he might get a sign that the ban would be lifted on his Wall Street Journal website.

Wen Jiabao's family's wealth was unraveled by the NYT

According to Xinhua Xi said: "[We] welcome foreign media and correspondents to cover China stories, introducing China's development to the world, and helping the world grasp the opportunities (afforded by) China's development."

What did Murdoch say in return?

He apparently said to China Daily: "We are very happy, in my newspapers and different news outlets, to try and foster more understanding between our two countries (the United States and China), I think not just on a formal basis, but also with people themselves."

What Xi and Murdoch said need to be taken with huge grains of salt because Chinese state media aren't the most accurate when reporting what people, particularly foreigners say. Their words can be massaged to fit the agenda, and here it's to give the impression that China is open for reporting.

Wendi Deng on the day her divorce was finalized in New York

But what of blocking not only WSJ, but also The New York Times, Reuters and Bloomberg sites?

And not issuing journalist visas to both The New York Times and Bloomberg apparently in retaliation for them publishing stories about senior leaders' families and their web of wealth?

Meanwhile it's interesting Murdoch is making this pilgrimage after his 14-year divorce from Wendi Deng, who wasn't able to help him crack the China market... or perhaps she had other things in mind?

In any case it's no illusion that Murdoch is keen for global media domination and China is the biggest market he has yet to conquer. Apparently 21st Century Fox is looking for a Chinese partner to build theme parks around popular films and TV shows like The Simpsons.

Will we see a Simpsons' themed park in China soon?

Will China let him in?

Does Xi's statement above give any indication?

Fact of the Day: Corruption Perception

Chinese President Xi Jinping's anti-corruption drive has been going on for about two years now.

Ordinary folk are pleased to see their leader crack down on crooked officials and how much of their ill-gotten gains were confiscated by police. There are tales of bank notes that if placed one on top of the other would be 6 metres taller than Times Square in Causeway Bay, while others seem to have stuffed whatever they got into every nook and cranny of their homes.

The latest is that Ling Wancheng, brother of former president Hu Jintao's aide, Ling Jihua, is being investigated with another person nabbed who has connections to the former.

Li Liang, who was chief of the Investor Protection Bureau at the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) was taken away and investigated for legal infringements and disciplinary violations.

So it looks like Xi and his anti-corruption czar, Wang Qishan are bagging a number of "tigers" as well as "flies".

However, according to Transparency International's 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index, China doesn't seem to be making much of a dent in stomping out graft.

This year the anti-corruption watchdog gave China 36 out of 100 points, with 0 indicating a country perceived to be highly corrupt, and 100 that is perceived to be very clean.

The survey is based on local and international experts' opinions of public-sector corruption.

Incidentally China tied for 100th place out of 175 countries with Algeria and Suriname sharing 36 points.

Last year China's score was 40, and in 2012 it was 39.

Hong Kong is ranked 17th with a score of 74, but it was 75 the year before and 77 in 2012.

Demark is number one with 92 points, Singapore is 7th at 84, and Canada is 10th with 81. North Korea is last on the list tied with Somalia at a lowly score of 8.

According to this index, it is perceived that China's corruption is getting worse not better.

"The government has recognized the need to follow officials who hide ill-gotten gains overseas," says Transparency International's press release. "This January, leaked documents revealed 22,000 offshore clients from China and Hong Kong, including many of the country's leaders."

These include people related to former premier Wen Jiabao, as well as Xi, and wealthy elite like Yang Huiyan, who owns majority shares in Country Garden Holdings, as well as Soho China co-founder Zhangxin, and Ma Huateng, co-founder of Tencent.

How far will Xi's anti-corruption probe go? Will he rope in his own brother-in-law, Deng Jiagui, according to these leaked documents?

And with the over two-month-old Umbrella Movement, will Hong Kong's perception of corruption change much, now that the lid has pretty much been blown off on the collusion between developers and the government, as evidenced by the Rafael Hui/Kwok brothers court case?

We'll have to find out next year. Stay tuned.

Grandpa Wen's Letter

Ex-premier Wen Jiabao with wife Zhang Peili (far left) with Ng Hong-mun

Former Chinese premier Wen Jiabao must not be enjoying retirement so much... he seems very concerned about his legacy even though he left office over a year ago.

He sent a hand-written letter to Ming Pao columnist Ng Hong-mun, that was published in the paper. In it Wen insisted on his innocence in a bid to try to contain the damage after a explosive article by the The New York Times that reported from publicly-available sources that his family and relatives accumulated $2.7 billion in assets during his leadership.

"I want to walk the last journey in this world well," Wen wrote. "I came to this world with bare hands and I want to leave this world clean."

It is interesting to note Wen says "I" and not "my family" or "we"... So while he may claim innocence he still isn't clear on whether his family benefited from his position in government or not.

However it is well known that his wife Zhang Peili reportedly help control the Chinese diamond market and is known as China's "Diamond Queen", while his son Wen Yunsong or Winston Wen heads one of the country's largest private equity firms.

Wen may be pressured to come clean as another former member of the Standing Committee Zhou Youkang is apparently under investigation for corruption.

Zhou's associates and former aides are currently being investigated for graft, and China watchers believe Wen is worried he may be next.

When The New York Times story came out, Wen's family threatened to sue, but did not follow through.

Columnist Ng said in an article that he befriended the former premier from his writings, and he was invited to Beijing in April 2011 for a meeting and banquet with Wen.

Ng did not say if he received permission to publish the letter.

But one can surmise that Wen was keen to send a message proclaiming his innocence without publicly saying it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping's campaign to crack down on lavish spending has sustained its momentum after over a year -- usually these exercises last a few months and things return to normal. But no one knows how long this latest one will end.

It will be a matter of time before we hear if Wen is also investigated. If that happens, the former premier's hard work of trying to cultivate the image of Grandpa Wen will be wiped out.

No one will look at him the same way again.