Zeng Jinyan: Sleepless Nights

Zeng Jinyan has published some thoughts about Chen Guangcheng, Yuan Weijing and their two children, who live under house arrest in Shandong province.

Under the Jacaranda posted a translation, and a link to Zeng’s original article in Chinese.

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Related

» Hu Jia: Sort of Free, June 26, 2011
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Obituary: Muammar Gaddafi, 1942 – 2011

Fourty-two years of rule are a very long time. No matter if historians will explore Middle Eastern or African matters, they will encounter the Gaddafi factor, time and again. When exploring European matters, they will, to some degree, happen on his traces, too. When he or his clan opened their big wallets, European institutions were happy recipients.

No room here for the ways European and other leaders celebrate the death of a bad man today. No matter on which side they stood in March this year – there are too many big mouths in Europe on both sides.

Berlin Friedenau, memorial plaque: "In this house on the 5th of April, 1986, young people were murdered by a criminal bomb attack" (Wikimedia Commons, click photo for source)

There isn’t much reason to listen to those who mourn Gaddafi either.

But there are people who should be remembered – people like those who were killed by assassins from the orbit of Libya’s East Berlin embassy, or Yvonne Fletcher, who died from shots from inside the Libyan embassy in London.The victims of the Lockerbie bombing – with some likelihood, they were victims of Gaddafi’s government, too.

And that would only be those killed in Europe.

“Tunisia now lives in fear”, The Economist quoted Gaddafi in January:

Families could be raided and slaughtered in their bedrooms and the citizens in the street killed as if it was the Bolshevik or the American revolution.

That would have been too high a price to pay for Tunisian democracy, but not when it came to the defense of Gaddafi’s own rule. In February, the brother-leader reportedly vowed to kill Libyan protesters house by house.

What was, or will be, the price for Libyan democracy? Some sources put the number of deaths as a result of civil war as high as thirty-thousand, in April. If there will be democracy, remains to be seen.

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Related

» Relocating from LSE, March 3, 2011
» A Celebrity and a Politician, Tai De, Nov 27, 2009

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Entering the Cold Season: Newspapers and Early Birds

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The Mainstream Press, Stuck in the Middle

Doppelpod took offense from an online article by German daily Die Welt, the headline of which read something like China is reeling into the big financial crash (“China taumelt dem großen Finanz-Crash entgegen”). JR had read about the coming doomsday, too, of course, but given that he has paid attention to the not-so-sexy footnotes to China’s stimulus programs for two years, he was neither inclined to take the article at face value, nor to give them credit for noticing some pretty huge drawbacks which they could have reported much earlier. Nothing is as good or bad as first reported – and what looked much more interesting were some commenters’ reactions to the article.

De la même façon (I’m in a French mood today), MyLaowai takes offense from the press on a regular basis.

Don’t these thrillers look more like penny press than like an established (and meaning to be serious) paper?

Probably. But then, online content isn’t exactly the same as the print edition, and it’s easily forgotten that what comes free of charge (online articles) can’t be as good as what you pay for at the newsstand. And maybe clicks matter more, on the internet, than to provide news with real substance.

Then again, what I’m buying at the newsstand is still not as good as many academic papers found online ( again, free of charge – I usually download and categorize the latter immediately, so as to save them before they might be turned into payware).

Here’s a problem. When I was a child, people were often satisfied with one paper only – usually the local paper, when it comes to Germany. The Weser-Kurier, Bremen, was and is a pretty good regional one, but many other local papers take their national and world politics articles and reports from bigger peers on a regular basis. Nowadays, even a national paper has little to offer that you wouldn’t find on the internet, too. A paper’s role in peoples’ lives has become much more relative than what it used to be – there are tons of alternative sources.

And where is a paper with staff where single members could, to some degree, specialize, or even just devote an entire month to research or investigation?

To make things worse, editorials are usually very predictable once you know the paper and the topic. What the public saw in the run-up to the Iraq war was a mix of lacking research and prejudice. Especially, by the way, when you read Die Welt. Some of their major columnists should have gone into the desert for a year, to fast and to reflect on having been such easy marks for the Bush jr. administration’s stovepiping. (As far as I can remember, they woudldn’t even shut up for a month. Maybe some of them changed the subject, for a while.)

But prejudice may be forgiven. It doesn’t hurt, as long as one paper’s prejudices don’t matter on another paper. (It may have a negative effect on steady subscriptions, however – a matter dear to most papers.)

The bigger problem is that the papers, even the big ones, seem to be stuck in the middle. They are more diverse in topics than academic papers (available on the internet, often for free, or in a library, also for free), but their old role of informing people – even if only vaguely – about global or national events and trends looks outdated.

The paper of the future – if there is a future for it at all – will look different from today’s papers.

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The Early Bird

It’s good that I’m usually the first one who enters the kitchen in the morning. One of the young cats (born in May) has become a serial killer of root voles. That’s good. And I know that the hackly little presents are from the heart. But I wish they weren’t placed on the kitchen table every morning.

cats

But earlier this week, I seemed to be meditating for a moment, before cleaning up the mess. There was that proud cat, acting as if it were asleep, and the dead booties next to it. I’m probably something of a Buddhist, but I felt that someone’s pleasure, even if the other one’s pain, might still be genuine pleasure.

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Winter is Coming

Slight night frost on October 10th, and once or twice this week. I’m not looking forward to the cold and dark season, but the colors are beautiful.

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Related

» Rain at Last, June 19, 2011

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So, M. le Président, …

… you’ve become father again today. I wish you a lot of time to devote yourself to your family life – starting next year. Even earlier, if that can be done.

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Related

» … his presidency might provide some clues, Aug 20, 2011
» L’Homme du Midi, January 14, 2010

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17th CC 6th Plenary Session: “Reinforcing and Updating Party’s Guidance on Cultural Activities”

A one-liner from Xinhua news agency is quoted by Huanqiu Shibao:

The Party’s 17th Central Committee’s sixth plenary session has passed the CCP’s Resolution Concerning the Deepening of Cultural Reform and the Promotion of the Development of Socialist Culture and several other Issues.

To go somewhat more into detail, Huanqiu, in another report, quotes a Japanese online article, published by Sankei Shimbun:

Huanqiu Web’s Zhao Wenjie. According to a report by Japan’s “Sankei Shimbun” on October 18, the Chinese Communist Party’s 17th Central Committee’s sixth plenary session with cultural reform as its main topic ended on October 18. According to the communique, China will, by cartoon movies, films, and other methods,  invigorate China’s soft power, and thus strengthen expectations for its international competitiveness and influence.

环球网记者赵文杰报道，据日本《产经新闻》10月18日报道，以文化体制改革为主要议题的中国共产党第十七届中央委员会第六次全体会议于18日闭幕。根据全会公报上的信息，中国表达出通过动画片、电影等手段振兴文化提高中国的软实力，并以此强化国际竞争力和影响力的期望。

“Sankei Shimbun” comments that measured by GDP, China as an economic entity is second only to America, and that China’s “hard power” had increased rapidly in recent years. But within the international community, speculation about a “China threat” had continued. Therefore, China had understood that it was necessary to strengthen the country’s culture and propagation capabilities, to enhance its international image.

《产经新闻》评论说，作为GDP仅次于美国的世界第二大经济体，中国的“硬实力”近年来快速提高。但在国际社会上，“中国威胁论”却不断被炒作。因此，中国明白，有必要加强本国文化的对外传播能力，从而提升自己的国际形象。

The report also notes that the session also decided to open the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party will be held during the second half of 2012.

报道还注意到，本次会议还决定在2012年下半年召开中国共产党的第十八次党代表大会。

In its first paragraph, Sankei Shimbun also seems to refer to domestic ideological tightening, and the internet – maybe a Japanese-speaking reader can help to translate this paragraph:

Update, October 26, 2011: Changmi has provided an English translation:

The 6th Plenary Session of the 17th CC, which emphasized “reform of cultural systems,” concluded on the 18th, according to an official communique. The policy is to boost China’s “soft power” through promotion of cultural elements like animation and movies and thus raise China’s global competitiveness and influence, while tightening ideological discipline domestically as the internet-using population continues to increase. [end of update]

「文化体制改革」を主要議題にした中国共産党の第１７期中央委員会第６回総会（６中総会）が１８日閉幕し、コミュニケを発表。アニメや映画など文化振興で中国の「ソフトパワー」を高め、国際的な競争力と影響力強化を図る一方で、インターネット人口が増加する中、国内の思想引き締めを強める方針だ。

The Chinese government’s (i. e. the CCP’s) official website (in English), on Tuesday, quoted the central committee’s decision or statement as follows:

The country will work to improve Chinese citizens’ sense of identity and confidence in Chinese culture, according to a statement issued after the session.

Culture is emerging as an important part of the country’s comprehensive competitiveness in today’s world, the statement said.

China is facing a difficult task in protecting “cultural security” and feeling the urgency of enhancing its soft power and the international influence of its own culture, the statement said.

[...]

The statement noted that, as a major form of support for national unity and a source of creativity, China’s cultural industry will play a more critical part in the country’s economic and social development.

The country should not only provide its people with an ample material life, but also a healthy and rich cultural life, the statement said.

The statement said the government will devote more resources to boosting public cultural services and speed up the reform of the cultural industry.

According to Asahi Shimbun (not to be confused with Sankei Shimbun, see above),

The statement also called for tighter control of information. It called for the need to “step up and improve actions toward the media and public opinions” and to “develop a more healthy Internet culture.” To do so, “the party’s guidance on cultural activities should be reinforced and updated,” the statement said.

Zambia’s The Citizen is full of quotation marks and quotes former SCMP China editor Willy Wo-Lap Lam as saying that

The reform of the cultural system has to do with ensuring that the media, publications, movies, Internet, et cetera serve the party’s goal of galvanising patriotic and nationalistic sentiments. [...] This will mean even tighter control over people’s freedom of expression, especially on the Internet.

The author is Goh Chai Hin, a China correspondent who apparently works for several different news agencies. Zambia itself is an example of lacking Chinese influence. In September,

Michael Sata, a 74-year-old veteran politician who had whipped up not-so-subtle anti-Chinese sentiment (China runs several big mines in Zambia), handily won the presidency [...],

the New York Times reported last month.

Last year, Chinese managers opened fire on protesters at a huge coal mine in southern Zambia, and though the Zambian government initially indicated that the Chinese managers would be punished, the charges were quietly dropped. The shootings outraged many Zambians who resent China’s enormous economic influence over their country, where most people live on less than $5 a day, and the episode seemed to feed straight into Mr. Sata’s political campaign.

No doubt: China will expand its propagation capabilities (see Huanqiu Shibao’s quotes from Sankei Shimbun above) in Africa, too.

If China Radio International‘s (CRI) existing service for Western countries is anything to go by, broadcasts for Zambia will discuss matters like these:

“Among all the courses you’ve taken in school, which one was your favorite?” Or: “Do you usually sleep well?”

Using an icebreaker should be the best way to make stubborn miners talk.  Ask questions first, shoot later.

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Related

» 17th CC 6th Plenary Session, October 15, 2011
» More Budget Cuts for BBC Foreign Coverage, Shortwave Central, Oct 10, 2011
» Quote: Makuwerere Bwititi, January 15, 2010
» Go, tell it from Global Local Sticks TV, Oct 22, 2009
» Three Eight Hundreds, April 19, 2009

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Lee Teng-hui’s new Central Plains: “The Rising Winds and Scudding Clouds of Modern Thought”

The following is a quotation from “Taiwan’s Position”  (台湾的主张), a book written by former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), first published on June 11, 1999, pages 36 – 38.

The book was sold in Hong Kong and in many places outside China, and somewhat surprisingly, Hong Kong bookshops had copies with simplified characters (简体字) on offer – the way they are usually written in China (minus Hong Kong and Macau, where traditional characters prevail), and in Singapore. Traditional characters are standard in Taiwan.

Links and highlighting within the following blockquote added during translation – JR.

Although I received Japanese education from an early age and loved Japanese culture, I did a lot of desultory reading of Chinese literature, too. The May 4th movement in particular, and the rising winds and scudding clouds of modern thought, left a deep impression on me.

虽然我自幼接受日本教育，受过日本文化的熏陶，但对中国文学与思想，也曾多所涉猎。特别是五四运动之后，风起云涌的现代思潮，更对我有很深的影响。

Chinese people have always been proud of their long history. But it is hard to deny that under its long-lasting feudal system, traditional culture was twisted, and produced chronic social ills.

中国人一向以拥有悠久的历史而自傲。然而不容否认的是，中国长期处于封建体制之下，传统文化受到扭曲，也使社会产生了许多积习难改的弊病。

In 1928, Hu Shih published “Virtue” [or Norm, 名教 - JR] in the New Moon Magazine, a painful criticism of China’s blind worship for catch phrases and slogans. He pointed out that Chinese people didn’t believe in religion, but held a superstitious belief in their own singularity, in having a long tradition of virtue, and that they correspondingly “idolized everything that had been written”. Therefore, they paid no attention to reality and sought for inner fulfillment through slogans, with the result that not only problems remained unsolved, but that values became confused, too. So he urged those in power : Government isn’t about catch phrases and slogans – once something needs to be done, go and do it.¹⁾

一九二八年，胡适在《新月杂志》上发表的〈名教〉，就对中国社会迷信标语、口号的现象痛加批判。他指出，中国人不信仰宗教，却迷信自己独有、且具有悠久传 统的“名教”，即“崇拜所写文字的宗教”。因此，做事不重实际，只以口号、标语来求心理的满足，结果不但没能解决问题，反而造成价值的颠倒错乱。他因而奉劝当时的主政者：“治国不在口号标语，顾力行何如耳”。

Lu Xun‘s “True Story of Ah Q” and other of his stories, in a taunting way, ridiculed the Chinese culture of loving face, and struck a chord with many people. He believed that whenever a thing crops up, and Chinese people can’t think  of a way to solve the problem, they only seek to placate themselves and to save face – that had made Chinese society come to a standstill and was the main reason for its inability to make headway.

鲁迅的《阿q正传》等著作，以嘲讽的手法，深刻描绘中国人爱面子的文化，也引起许多人的共鸣。他认为，中国人遇事不思解决，只求自我安慰、保住面子的心态，是使中国社会陷于停滞，无法进步的主要原因。

In his research of ancient history, Guo Moruo criticized the harm that stemmed from the feudalist system, and encouraged young people to rise to reforms. In his “Book of Ten Criticisms”, “Bronze Age”, and other books, by assessing pre-Qin personalities and thoughts, he praised early Confucian [scholar] Mencius and the importance Mencius attached to people-oriented thought. He denounced Han Fei’s “legalist”, “monarch-oriented” views and and Qin Shi-huang’s “totalitarianism”²⁾, etc., advocated the idea of “the people as the foundation”³⁾, believing that only if China freed itself of tradition’s constraints, reason to hope for development would be there.

而郭沫若以考古及历史研究的角度，批判封建制度之害，更鼓励了许多年轻人，起而改革。他的《十批判书》与《青铜时代》等书，借着对先秦人物与思想的评论， 如推崇早期儒家孔孟的重视民本思想，贬斥韩非的“法术”、“君主本位”，和秦始皇的“极权主义”等，宣扬“以民为本”的思想，认为中国只有摆脱传统的束 缚，才有发展的希望。

These theorists, who criticized the social ills of Chinese tradition, had a resounding effect among knowledgeable young people. I was only 29 years old at the time, but I had also read these books carefully, and explored the issues of Chinese culture. I believe that China’s greatest problem is that its feudal system brought development to a halt. It really looks like the soy vat referred to by Bo Yang, distorting peoples’ words and deeds.

这些批判中国传统社会弊病的论着，在知识青年群中，引起很大的回响。当时才二十几岁的我，也曾经详加研读这些书，并深加思索中国文化的问题。我认为，中国最大的问题，是在封建制度下所导致的发展停滞。就像作家柏杨所说的“大酱缸”，使人的思想言行产生扭曲。

Up until today, I admire these thinkers’ views. It’s a pity that China’s social development still hasn’t reached a mature stage. Therefore, even as the Chinese thoroughly criticize the society and the system, they haven’t been able to produce feasible methods to solve problems. Even if young people generally hold revolutionary ideals, they are still unable to grasp a direction or method with certainty.

直到今天，我仍然对当时那些思想家的看法，相当佩服。可惜的是，当时中国社会的发展，尚未进入成熟阶段。因此，尽管他们对社会与制度有很深刻的批判，却无法提出可行的解决方法。而一般年轻人虽然也怀抱革命的理想，却仍无法掌握确实的方向与作法。

From this perspective, it can be said that Taiwan’s successes stem from the actual implementation of these reformist currents of thought. Over the years, on the foundation of stable economic and social development, we have gradually freed ourselves from the shackles of tradition, set out anew, and concerning political reform and social transformation, we have been very successful. Obviously, to reach the ideal status may require still more efforts. But we believe that the direction we have taken is correct. What we have done has also brought new hope for the restructuring of Chinese culture.

就此一角度而言，今天台湾所缔造的成就，也可以说是当年这些改革思潮具体实践的成果。这些年来，我们在经济和社会稳定发展的基础上，逐渐摆脱传统的束缚， 重新出发，在政治改革和社会改造方面，都取得了很大的成就。当然，要达到理想的境界，可能还需要更多的努力。但是，我相信，我们的方向是正确的。而我们所 做的这一切，也都为中国文化的再造，带来了新的希望。

My active advocacy for  the “reform of heart and soul” in recent years is based on my hope to make society leave the old framework, applying new thought, face a new era, stir new vigor, from a transformation of peoples’ hearts. This goes deeper than political reform, and it is a more difficult transformation project, but we are confident that we will, based on the existing foundations of freedom and openness, achieve the building of a new Central Plain.⁴

近年来，我积极倡导“心灵改革”，就是希望从人心的改造做起，让我们的社会走出旧有的框架，用新的思维，面对新的时代，并激发出新的活力。这是一个比政治 改革更加深入、也更为艰巨的改造工程，但是我们有信心，可以在社会自由开放的既有基础上，完成建立“文化新中原”的目标。

A trial is scheduled to begin at Taipei District Court on Friday. Lee is accused of embezzling state funds. The charges reportedly date back to a period around 1994.

"Taiwan's Position", page 226: 李登辉是从《蒋经国学校》学会如何当一名政治家的 ("Lee Teng-hui learned from the "Chiang Ching-kuo school" how to be a politician").

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Notes

¹⁾In full: 為政者不在多言，顧力行何如耳, or 为治者不在多言，顾力行何如耳. Once something needs to be done, go and do it isn’t a very faithful translation.

²⁾ I’m not sure if “totalitarianism” is the adequate translation of 极权主义 – it may also be something like “despotism”. However, totalitarianism seems to be the term most frequently offered by dictionaries.

³ or “the people at the center”, “people-oriented”

⁴ Zhongyuan (中原, the central plains) is a term charged with a Chinese sense of mission and civilization – in that context, it may appear surprising that Lee, a “splittist element”, would use the term at all. The way Henan party secretary Xu Guangchun (徐光春) referred to the central plains may give you an idea: The history of Henan Province constitutes half of the Chinese history. Two years earlier, Xu had apparently given a talk in Hong Kong, with a similar message.  But this wasn’t necessarily what Lee had on mind, in 1996.
From “Taiwanisation – Its Origin and Politics”, George Tsai Woei, Peter Yu Kien-hong, Singapore, 2001, page 19 – 20 (footnotes omitted):

Another anecdote should also be mentioned here. In 1996, Lee Teng-hui declared his ambition to “manage the great Taiwan, and to construct a new Central Plain”. As is known, Central Plain (zhong-yuan) was, and still is, a term usually reserved to describe cultural China. To “manage the big Taiwan” is something easily understood, but to construct a new “Central Plain” is very controversial, to say the least. Some argued that Lee’s aim was to help rebuild China as a “new” central plain, but with his foot firmly on Taiwan. But others rebutted that what really was in Lee’s minds was to build Taiwan as a new Central Plain so that there was no need to unify, or have connections, with the “old” central plain, China.

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Related

» Who’s afraid of an ICAC, July 2, 2011
» Taiwan’s Unbelievable Justice, September 12, 2009
» “Always in My Heart”, Olin Lecture, June 9, 1995
» Audio archive: CBS coverage on Olin lecture, June 9, 1995
» “Guo Moruo worships Confucius”, A Glossary, HK, 1995, p. 346
» Lee Teng-hui, Wikipedia

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Wen rescues Wenzhou: Many Happy Returns

Wenzhou Financial Crisis? JR's Blog - the World's Reference Point.

This China Daily piece (last update on Monday) reads a bit like satire, and I’m not sure what of it is intentional, and what is unintentional:

Wenzhou has nothing to offer in terms of amenities, so these luminaries didn’t go there to seek temporary relief from the heavy burdens of state. Instead, they traveled to the city to address what has recently become a huge headache for the manufacturing powerhouse.

The high-level visit served as a reminder that a localized credit crisis in Wenzhou is threatening to escalate into a national issue. Similar problems, on a lesser scale, are known to be troubling China’s other manufacturing hubs, including cities in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta.

This refers to a visit by state chief councillor Wen Jiabao, finance minister Xie Xuren, and PBoC governor Zhou Xiaochuan some time during the national holidays.

On a press conference in March, on the occasion of the 4th plenary session of the 11th “National People’s Congress”, a reporter from Zhejiang Province (that’s where Wenzhou is) had told Zhou Xiaochuan that small and medium-sized enterprieses had absolutely no bargaining power and could easily be harmed by currently very tight bank financing, and asked how harm could be avoided.

Capital prices had to rise, under the macro-economic changes, with monetary policies being switched from moderately loose to a firm one, Zhou replied in March. And: We also encourage small companies to choose from the market.

If you can believe China Daily’s article of Monday, the luminaries (i. e. Wen, Xie, Zhou et al) have now made the banks do what banks and companies need to do, to such a degree that economic fugitives (not necessarily SME bosses) even return from America, full of hope as the leadership has successfully addressed the problem:

Among the owners who absconded, Hu Fulin, the president of China’s largest manufacturer of spectacles, the Wenzhou-based Center Group, was the biggest debtor and also one of the first to return to his hometown.

Hu fled to the United States on Sept 21, leaving up to 2 billion yuan in arrears, including 1.2 billion yuan in high-interest debt from underground banks.

“I came back to receive help from the government. I hope that my company can overcome the current difficulties with support and guidance from the local authorities,” said Hu in an interview after his return on Monday.

Another errant executive, Sun Fucai, chairman of the board of Aomi Fluid Equipment Co Ltd, returned to Wenzhou on the same day.

And besides, problems won’t be that big in the Yangze and Pearl River Deltas, because

“The majority of SMEs in the Pearl River Delta don’t participate in private lending activities as frequently as Wenzhou businessmen, so they won’t fall into the same traps. They’ve also learned enough lessons to avoid the risks in the future”,

China Daily quotes experts.

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Related

» From Wenzhou to the Global Economy, Oct 15, 2011
» Sincere Thanks, February 15, 2011

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Sino-Vietnamese Communique on South China Sea: “No Hostile Forces shall destroy our Party and State Relations

China’s and Vietnam’s party leaders – Hu Jintao and Nguyen Phu Trong -  signed a document early this week, the Agreement on Basic Principles concerning guidance for the Resolution of Sino-Vietnamese South China Sea Issues (关于指导解决中越海上问题基本原则协议). It’s a particular bilateral agreement between the two countries, and not the same one as an earlier agreement between ASEAN and China, the Implementation Guidelines for the Declaration of Conduct in the South China Sea, of July this year.

International sources reported on the signing of the Agreement on Basic Principles concerning guidance for the Resolution of Sino-Vietnamese South China Sea Issues as early as on Tuesday. The Chinese media seem to have followed with some delay. On Saturday night, it was CCTV‘s main evening newscast’s, Xinwen Lianbo‘s, turn:

CCTV Xinwen Lianbo (新闻联播), October 15, 2011: Li Xiuping (李修平) bares her fangs (click picture for link while it lasts)

CCTV’s rendition was mostly the same as the following one, by Xinhua news agency.

Links within blockquotes inserted during translation – JR.

Xinhua Newsagency Net, Beijing, October 15, by reporters Xiong Zhengyan, Liang Linlin.

新华网北京１０月１５日电（记者熊争艳、梁淋淋）

China’s and Vietnam’s joint statement, issued on October 15, says that the two sides exchanged frank views on maritime issues, and emphasizes the friendly discussion and resolution of disputes, and the political will and determination to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

中国与越南１５日发表联合声明说，双方就海上问题坦诚交换意见，强调通过友好协商与谈判解决争议、维护南海和平稳定的政治意愿和决心。

The statement believes that this will be in line with the fundamental interest of the two countries, and the aspirations of their people, beneficial for regional peace, cooperation and development. The two party and country leaders will regularly communicate and keep a dialog about maritime issues between their countries, and, from a high political and strategic level, properly handle and solve maritime issues.

声明认为，这符合两国根本利益和两国人民的共同愿望，有利于本地区的和平、合作和发展。两党两国领导人将就中越海上问题保持经常性沟通和对话，从政治和战略高度及时指导海上问题的妥善处理和解决。

The statement says that both sides spoke highly of the “Agreement on Basic Principles concerning guidance for the Resolution of Sino-Vietnamese South China Sea Issues”, and believe that this agreement has great guiding significance for the proper handling and resolution of maritime issues, and will be conscientiously implemented by both sides.

声明说，双方积极评价两国签署《关于指导解决中越海上问题基本原则协议》，认为该协议的签署对妥善处理和解决海上问题具有重要的指导意义，将共同努力认真落实协议。

The statement says that both sides will, in accordance with the two party and country leaders consensus and the “Agreement on Basic Principles concerning guidance for the Resolution of Sino-Vietnamese South China Sea Issues”, intensify talks, seek mutually acceptable basic and lasting approaches to solutions, and actively pursue transitional and temporary approaches which will not affect either side’s respective positions and views, including active exploration and discussion of common development issues.

声明说，双方将根据两党两国领导人共识和《关于指导解决中越海上问题基本原则协议》，加大海上问题的谈判力度，寻求双方均能接受的基本和长久的解决办法，并积极探讨不影响各自立场和主张的过渡性、临时性解决办法，包括积极研究和商谈共同开发问题。

The statement says that the two sides will steadily promote discussion of Gulf of Tonkin (Beibu Gulf) sea border issues, and at the same time acively discuss common exploitation issues within these waters. They will actively promote maritime environmental protection, scientifc research, search-and-rescue operations, oil and gas exploration, disaster prevention and other fields of cooperation.

声明说，双方将稳步推进北部湾湾口外海域划界谈判，同时积极商谈该海域的共同开发问题。积极推进海洋环保、海洋科研、海上搜救、油气勘采、减灾防灾等领域的合作。

The statement says that before a final settlement of the maritime issues, both sides will work for the maintenance of peace and stability in the South China Sea, remain cool-headed and self-restrained,  and will take no action that would complicate or aggravate the dispute. They will allow no hostile forces to destroy the relations between the two parties and countries, and will handle emerging issues in a constructive manner, not letting them affect the relations between the two parties and the two countries, or peace and stability in the South China Sea.

声明说，在海上争议最终解决前，双方共同维护南海和平稳定，保持冷静和克制，不采取使争端复杂化、扩大化的行动。不让任何敌对势力破坏两党两国关系，并本着建设性的态度处理出现的问题，不使其影响两党两国关系和南海的和平稳定。

21 China News Net, a southern Chinese subsidiary of China Telecom, republished a Huanqiu Shibao article by Zhang Haiwen (张海文) and  Liu Qing (刘卿)  on Friday. It addresses the (apparently) main item of the party chairmens’ talks right away:

From the talks’ circumstances it can be seen that the leaders of both sides indicated the importance they attach to Sino-Vietnamese relations, and the continuing development of bilateral relations – which produced specific arrangements – has made it clear that the Chinese-Vietnamese relations are not “derailed”.

从会谈情况看，双方领导人都表明了对中越关系的高度重视，也对双边关系下一步的发展作出了具体部署和规划，这表明中越关系并未“脱轨”。

The two sides had shown a pragmatic attitude, the two authors laud the two party leaders, which was in line with Deng Xiaoping‘s “shelving disputes, common development” position (这符合邓小平提出的、我一贯坚持的“搁置争议、共同开发”主张).

Author Zhang Haiwen points out that she had always supported that kind of approach. Apparently, she’s deputy head (or director) of China Institute of Marine Development Strategy under the State Oceanic Administration. Indeed, the China Daily article quoting her in this capacity emphasizes the importance of a “bilateral approach”, even if Zhang herself isn’t quoted that way by China Daily. But in another article, on the issue’s legal aspects, she emphasizes that the  United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was no appropriate standard by which the South China Sea issue could be resolved, and that China has always held that the disputes should be resolved through bilateral peaceful negotiations, based on historical facts and international laws, including the UNCLOS.

If Zhang had been part of Huanqiu‘s online collection of views on how to deal with China’s neighbors in the South China Sea dispute, she would have been counted into the “dovish” group there. That, of course, would only be true when taking Chinese domestic positions into account – no Chinese expert would (publicly) deviate from the CCP’s position in principle, anyway, which was declared a core interest some time in 2009 or 2010. A paper published in the Chinese Journal of International Law, written by Raul Pedrozo (a retired US naval officer) as an answer to an earlier paper by Zhang, suggested that

Zhang’s position on the EEZ [exclusive economic zones] exemplifies how Chinese scholars and government officials misuse the law to support China’s anti-access strategy in the maritime domain.

American involvement in the South China Sea disputes, Chinese deputy foreign minister Cui Tiankai said in June, would only made matters more complex.

That said, even if no hostile forces will be allowed to destroy the relations between the two parties and countries (China’s CCP and Vietnam’s CP – see Xinhua article at beginning of post), American aircraft carriers will remain welcome in the region. Vietnam not least will make sure. The issue won’t become a  merely bilateral one any time soon.

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Related

» Arrests after Demonstrations, Aug 22, 2011
» UNCLOS, UN.org, of December 10, 1982

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