In a Fortnight
Chinese State-Owned Military Firm Reports Major Increase in Sales
Recent reports within the Chinese press revealed that sales of a Chinese state-owned military conglomerate that produces equipments and arms for both civilian and military applications have rose substantially in the first quarter of 2009. A case in point is the Beijing-based China South Industries... MORE
Kuayue-2009: Shifts in PLA Military Planning?
According to official Chinese media reports, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) will hold a massive two-month long military drill that will involve 50,000 troops from four divisions across four of China’s seven military commands in the second half of 2009. Citing a source from the... MORE
Changxing Shipbuilding Base: Home for China’s Future Indigenous Aircraft Carrier?
Recent reports circulating in the Chinese press indicate that Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Company Limited—one of China’s oldest state-owned shipbuilding company regarded as the “cradle of China’s national [shipbuilding] industry”—could be slated by Beijing to carry out the Chinese military’s long-standing mission to build an indigenous... MORE
Taiwan’s Submarine Program: Pipe-Dream or Next Big Thing?
Several reports appeared in recent weeks in the Taiwanese media about the possibility that President Ma Ying-jeou’s administration has restarted a program to build indigenously designed diesel submarines. According to various reports citing sources close to Taiwan’s National Security Council (NSC), the “Project Diving Dragon,”... MORE
Project 048: China’s Secret Aircraft Carrier Command?
According to information circulated in the Chinese media, during the meeting between Chinese Defense Minister General Liang Guanglie and Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on March 20, wherein General Liang confirmed China's intent to develop aircraft carriers, a mysterious unit was reportedly present at the... MORE
China Debates Forex Reserves; Boosts Strategic Petroleum Reserves
A string of recent pronouncements from Beijing leaders capped off with a strong statement by Premier Wen Jiabao over his concerns for the value of China's $681.9 billion investment in U.S. Treasury bonds has highlighted a troubled Chinese leadership's outlook for 2009. Premier Wen's statement... MORE
Towing the Party Line on Free Speech
In recent years, party officials in the People's Republic of China (PRC) have been uncharacteristically bold in speaking about freedom (ziyou) and democracy (minzhu), both long-standing taboos in the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) private and public lexicon. Analysts who monitor developments in China attribute this... MORE
China-Taiwan: An Intelligence Detente?
The ruling party in Taiwan, the Kuomintang (KMT), is engulfed in another intelligence-related gaffe. A string of domino-like events that began with a report in the United Daily News, one of Taiwan's major newspapers with close ties to the ruling party, which reported that a... MORE
Personnel Changes in PLA Ranks: Chen Xiaogong
The top-brass of the Chinese leadership started the Lunar New Year on a sprint. The year of the ox, which began on January 26 in the Gregorian calendar, was marked by fervent planning for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s trip to the World Economic Forum in... MORE
CCP Provincial Committees’ Reports Highlight Growing Wealth and Urban-Rural Inequality
According to the provincial Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) second plenary committees' work report collected by Guangdong-based newspaper Nanfang Daily, the gap between the rich and poor is growing wider in many provinces of China. Among China’s 31 provinces (including municipalities and autonomous regions), 26 provinces... MORE