| Bo Xilai Scandal and China's Leadership Succession | |
| 【News】Ousted from Party in China, Bo Xilai Faces Prosecution (2012-09-28) (New York Times) Chinese leaders announced that Bo Xilai had been expelled from the party and would be prosecuted on criminal charges, as the date for the 18th Party Congress was scheduled to start on Nov. 8. 【Comments】Chinese Court Sentences Ex-Police Chief to 15 Years (2012-09-24) (Wall Street Journal, By Jeremy Page) China moved towards concluding its political crisis and setting up a once-a-decade leadership change, when a court handed a 15-year jail sentence to the former police chief of Chongqing city who triggered turmoil in the Communist Party elite. 【Comments】Elite and Deft, Xi Aimed High Early in China (2012-09-30) (New York Times, By Ian Johnson) Young Xi Jinping realized that his powerful family stood firmly behind him, ensuring that his stint in the countryside would be a productive and relatively brief exercise in résumé building that could propel him up the Communist Party hierarchy. |
| U.S. Pivot to Asia and Sino-U.S. Engagement | |
| 【Comments】The Best Defense Is Dialogue (2012-09-28) (New York Times, By Walter C. Ladwig III) The Air-Sea-Battle concept must be imbedded in a broader political strategy that recognizes the deep-seated insecurity of China’s strategic community. A key aspect of that strategy must be a broad-based engagement with China’s top leadership, academics and strategists, as well as its next generation of military leaders. |
| Diaoyutai Disputes Resurface | |
| 【News】Japan Protests As
Chinese Ships Enter Disputed Waters (2012-09-24) (Reuters) Three Chinese ships entered what Japan considers its territorial waters near disputed islands in the East China Sea, the Japanese government said, prompting an official protest and renewed diplomatic efforts to cool tensions. 【Comments】Japan PM Warns China on Dispute (2012-09-24) (Wall Street Journal, By Toko Sekiguchi and George Nishiyama) Japan's prime minister warned China that its inflammatory reaction to a territorial dispute—from violent protests to apparent informal trade sanctions—could further weaken China's economy by scaring away foreign investors. 【News】Near Disputed Isles, Japan Confronts Boats from Taiwan (2012-09-25) (New York Times) The Japanese Coast Guard used water cannons to disperse fishing boats from Taiwan in waters claimed by Tokyo, widening a territorial dispute that has already pitted Japan against China and threatened vital trade relations in the region. 【News】Yang, Imai Meeting on Diaoyutais Yields Little Progress (2012-09-26) (Taipei Times) The meeting between a Japanese envoy and outgoing Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Yang over the disputed Diaoyutai Islands made no breakthrough after two hours of talks. 【Comments】As Taiwanese Flotilla Retreats, Japan, China Move to Dampen Island Dispute (2012-09-26) (AP) Japan and China are taking small steps to dampen a bitter dispute over a group of small islands in the East China Sea following an intense but seemingly controlled confrontation over the islands’ sovereignty that introduced wildcard Taiwan in the fray. 【Comments】Japan’s Noda Addresses Island Spats at UN (2012-09-27) (Wall Street Journal, By Toko Sekiguchi) Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda addressed the territorial disputes simmering between Japan and its Asian neighbors in a speech delivered to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 【Comments】China Alters Its Strategy in Diplomatic Crisis with Japan (2012-09-30) (New York Times, By Jane Perlez) After allowing anti-Japanese demonstrations that threatened to spin out of control, China has reined them in and turned instead to hard-edged diplomacy to lessen any potential damage the conflict might have inflicted on the nation’s softening economy and a delicate leadership transition. 【Comments】Senkaku Dispute Reinforce Military Shifts (2012-09-27) (Financial Times, By Mure Dickie) Moves by Chinese and Taiwanese state vessels and fishing boats to challenge Japan’s de facto control of the islands could lead to a potentially fatal accident that some analysts say could further escalate hostility from China. 【News】Ma Urges US to Remain Neutral on Island Row (2012-09-26) (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou hopes that the United States will remain neutral on the sovereignty dispute over the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea because such a stance will be more helpful to efforts to resolve the row. 【News】Cross-Strait Diaoyutai Tie-Up Worries US: NSB (2012-09-30) (China Post) The U.S. government is worried by the possibility of Taiwan teaming up with China against Japan over the Diaoyutais dispute, Taipei's top intelligence official has disclosed. 【News】Prominent Japanese Back Ma’s Initiative (2012-09-30) (Taipei Times) A group of prominent Japanese, led by Nobel Prize-winning author Oe Kenzaburo, has issued a statement criticizing their government’s handling of territorial disputes and throwing support behind an East China Sea peace initiative broached by President Ma Ying-jeou. |
| DPP Searches for New China Stance; Cross-Strait Issues | |
| 【News】Frank Hsieh Mulls Trip to China, DPP Reaction Split (2012-09-30) (Taipei Times) Former premier Frank Hsieh said that he has accepted an invitation from the International Bartenders Association to visit Beijing next month to watch a world bartending competition there. 【News】Chinese Scholar Welcomes Visit Plan by DPP’s Hsieh (2012-09-30) (CNA) A plan by Frank Hsieh, an influential member of the opposition DPP, to visit China in October has been welcomed by a Shanghai-based Chinese scholar of international studies, who suggests that Beijing should also extend a welcome to the Taiwanese politician. 【News】Concern Over China’s Taiwan Affairs Staff Reshuffle: Official (2012-09-27) (CNA) The government is concerned about China's upcoming reshuffle of its Taiwan affairs staff because whether there is good chemistry or consensus among the new officials could affect future dialogue across the Taiwan Strait, an official said. |
| PLA and Military Balance | |
| 【News】PLA Takes Delivery
of First Aircraft Carrier: Report (2012-09-24) (AFP) China's first aircraft carrier was handed over Sunday to the navy of the People's Liberation Army, state press said. 【Comments】China Shows off an Aircraft Carrier but Experts Are Skeptical (2012-09-25) (New York Times, By Jane Perlez) Despite the triumphant tone of the launch, and despite rousing assessments by Chinese military experts about the importance of the carrier, the vessel will be used only for training and testing for the foreseeable future. 【News】Chinese Cyber-Attacks Worse than Feared: NSB (2012-09-29) (China Post) Chinese hackers have been launching attacks on locally based websites of both the public and private sectors, stealing more than 26,000 pieces of information over the past seven years, Taiwan's top intelligence official said. |
| Taiwan's Domestic Issues and Foreign Relations | |
| 【Polls】Poll Shows 45.7%
Would Vote ‘Yes’ to Recall the President (2012-09-28) (Taipei Times) The president’s approval rating is at 16.5 percent, with 71.7 percent of the respondents saying they were unsatisfied with his performance, the poll conducted by Taiwan Indicator Research Surveyshowed. 【News】US Official Arrives to Explore Trade Talk Possibilities (2012-09-24) (China Post) Atul Keshap, senior U.S. official for the APEC forum, arrived in Taipei for preliminary talks on expanding bilateral trade cooperation. 【News】Washington to Send Expert-Level Bilateral Trade Talks Team (2012-09-26) (China Post) The United States government will send an inter-agency team to Taiwan next month to conduct expert-level talks on a wide range of bilateral trade issues, a visiting U.S. economic official announced. |
| China's Rise and Its Domestic Issues | |
| 【Comments】China Politics Stall Overhaul for Economy (2012-09-27) (New York Times, By Andrew Jacobs) The Communist Party today appears so distracted by its politically tangled once-a-decade leadership transition that it is unwilling or unable to pursue the more ambitious agenda that many economists say is necessary to head off a far more serious crisis in the future. 【News】Initial Talks on Cross-Strait Currency Mechanism Begins: Central Bank Head (2012-09-26) (CNA) Taiwan has begun preliminary talks with China on the establishment of a cross-Taiwan Strait currency swap mechanism, Perng Fai-nan, governor of Taiwan's central bank, said. 【News】Central Bank Hopes to Add China Yuan to Forex Reserves: Perng (2012-09-27) (China Post) Perng Fai-nan, governor of Taiwan's central bank, expressed the hope to add the renminbi to the island's foreign exchange reserves. |
