Zhou Yongkang expelled from Party and officially arrested

1. More than four months after the official announcement of a disciplinary investigation, // Zhou Yongkang, the once-feared head of China’s domestic security, has been expelled from the Communist Party and arrested, the official state news agency announced early Saturday, disclosing a barrage of charges that included taking bribes, helping family members and cronies plunder government assets and leaking official secrets. …The official Xinhua news agency, which issued the announcement, said the Politburo made the decision on Friday. “Zhou Yongkang’s actions were totally in contravention of the party’s essence and mission,” said the report, citing the Politburo decision. “This has severely damaged the party’s image, and brought major damage to the affairs of the party and the people.” Separately, China’s top prosecution office, or procuratorate, which handles corruption inquiries, said that Mr. Zhou had been arrested. The office did not provide details of the charges. // Source: NYT
2. SCMP said that Zhou can expect tougher treatment than Bo Xilai: //Zhou Yongkang, the former security tsar and Politburo Standing Committee member, is likely to face a suspended death sentence, a tougher penalty than the one meted out to disgraced former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai , analysts say. //
   …and highlighted the charge of leaking Party and state secrets: // One of those claims was leaking state secrets, which Beijing-based political commentator Zhang Lifan said could pave the way for a closed trial. « In China, it’s very difficult to define what’s a state secret. As a former member of the party’s Politburo Standing Committee, anything Zhou unwittingly told anyone around him could be a ‘state secret’, » Zhang said. He said the state secrets claim was just an excuse to depart from the open hearings of Bo’s trial. Bo was sentenced to life in prison last year on charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power. « Bo’s open hearing was not good because Bo’s public image was not destroyed by it. If Zhou doesn’t want to cooperate with the authorities, he could embarrass the central leadership, » Zhang said. Chen Daoyin , from Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the state secrets referred to in the statement could be « some internal discussions about an upcoming Politburo personnel reshuffle ». « Zhou might have used his position to leak some information to officials and candidates, or even overseas media, to manipulate a reshuffle of the party leadership, » Chen said. Zhang said a verdict against Zhou could result in anything ranging from a death sentence to a suspended death sentence. But Zhou’s execution could not be ruled out given President Xi Jinping’s « fearless political style ». But other analysts said Zhou was likely to be given a suspended death sentence at most. « There has been an understanding in the leadership over the past few decades that the maximum punishment for corrupt senior officials is a death sentence with a few years’ probation, » Renmin University political science professor Zhang Ming said. // Source: SCMP
3. SCMP also noted muted reaction in mainland media to Zhou Yongkang’s arrest: // State-run and commercial newspapers reported Zhou Yongkang’s arrest and prosecution across the mainland yesterday, although they differed in how prominently they carried the news. While central government newspapers such as the People’s Daily and PLA Daily put items about President Xi Jinping above Zhou, influential local newspapers such as the Southern Metropolis News in Guangzhou made his case the main headline. But all the papers ran identical content, using the official announcement by Xinhua. At the Beijing headquarters of the China National Petroleum Corporation, where Zhou built up his wealth and power, senior party members were gathered and briefed on the news on Friday. They « unanimously » supported the central committee’s decision with « firm resolution », according to a statement published on its website. // Source: SCMP
4. People’s Daily editorial 坚决惩治腐败严肃党纪党规: 党与腐败水火不容。腐败现象是侵入党的健康肌体的毒瘤，坚持不懈反对腐败、坚定不移割除腐败毒瘤，是坚持党的性质和宗旨的必然要求，是坚持党的领导、巩固党的执政地位和执政基础的必然要求。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为总书记的党中央突出强调坚持党要管党、从严治党，提出了一系列明确要求，对腐败现象绝不姑息，对腐败分子绝不手软，坚持“老虎”“苍蝇”一起打，向全党全社会表明，从严治党不是口号，惩治腐败没有例外。“对腐败分子，发现一个就要坚决查处一个。”我们要通过查处周永康严重违纪案件，深入推进反腐败斗争，坚持零容忍的态度、猛药去疴的决心、刮骨疗毒的勇气、严厉惩处的尺度不变，凡腐必反、除恶务尽。…各级党组织和全体党员特别是各级领导干部要坚决贯彻党中央从严治党的明确要求、切实增强党的观念和政治意识，严守党的政治纪律红线，决不允许阳奉阴违、自行其是，确保全党在思想上政治上行动上同以习近平同志为总书记的党中央保持高度一致，自觉维护中央权威。严明党的组织纪律，坚决反对拉帮结派、搞团团伙伙，决不允许在党内搞任何形式的非组织活动，维护党的团结统一。坚决遏制腐败现象蔓延势头，坚定不移深化反腐败斗争，党员领导干部务必不断加强党性锻炼，加强廉洁自律，始终保持共产党人的浩然正气和廉洁操守，始终保持党的先进性和纯洁性。Source: People’s Daily
5. Zhou Yongkang case to put rule by law to the test: // How the Communist Party leadership and judiciary treat the case of former security tsar Zhou Yongkang will be the first real test of President Xi Jinping’s ambition to promote government accountability and rule by law, analysts say. The party promoted the principle of rule by law for the first time in its history at the fourth plenum in October. Zhiqun Zhu, director of Bucknell University’s China Institute, said Zhou’s case would be a litmus test because it would be subject to the judiciary, not simply internal party disciplinary procedures. “How transparent the investigation and ensuing trial are will reveal a lot about whether the party is serious about implementing rule by law,” Zhu said. // Source: SCMP

Xi Jinping, a leader of diplomacy?

1. Leader asserts China’s growing importance on global stage //Sounding confident after a burst of high-profile diplomacy, President Xi Jinping told Communist Party officials in a major address here over the weekend that China would be nice to its neighbors in Asia but that he would run an active foreign policy and be relentless in promoting China’s rejuvenation onto the global stage. Mr. Xi did not mention the United States by name but took an unmistakable jab at Washington, saying, “The growing trend toward a multipolar world will not change,” a reference to the Chinese view that America’s post-Cold War role as the sole superpower is drawing to a close. China now had the power, he added, to steer world crises and turn them to China’s advantage, a declaration, analysts said, of how Mr. Xi sees China’s growing pre-eminence. This is the second time that Mr. Xi has spoken to the leadership in public about foreign policy — he did so a year ago — but his speech on Saturday, televised by the state broadcaster, CCTV, was more emphatic and sweeping, analysts said. …He mentioned China’s efforts to build a “new model of major country relations” with the United States, though again, he did not name the United States, and used the phrase almost in passing. Asia, rather than the United States, seemed to be the focus: China, he said, was pursuing a “neighborhood policy featuring amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness.” The emphasis on the region signaled that under Mr. Xi, China would probably focus less on managing relations with the United States, Mr. Johnson said. This did not mean, he said, that the Chinese leader was downgrading relations with Washington, but given Mr. Obama’s recent setbacks in the congressional elections, Mr. Xi saw an opportunity for China to drive home its leadership role in Asia. // Source: NYT
2. Xi’s speech was interpreted by analysts to be an emphasis on more diplomacy, less raw power: // Media coverage will probably be quick to recognize that Xi Jinping’s latest speech on Chinese foreign policy is a big deal. But the headline writers are missing the story if they focus on his pledge to uphold China’s claims in maritime disputes. As someone who has done more than his share of professional worrying about the strategic implications of China’s rise, I’ve surprised myself by reading this speech quite differently. Yes, it is a challenge to the world order we know, but not a confrontational or a jarring one. It’s subtle and, other countries should be relieved, cautious. The good news is that Xi’s speech is much more about diplomacy than raw power. It follows a season of statesmanship in hosting APEC and President Obama, advancing Chinese interests in a non-confrontational manner at the East Asia Summit and the G20, and successful visits to reassure Australia and New Zealand about China’s intentions. One way to read this speech is that it knits together China’s ambitious diplomatic initiatives to change the Asian and global order, from a new infrastructure bank to new security conferences. Therefore it affirms China’s intent to challenge that order, albeit carefully. It underscores China’s determination to defend and advance its maritime claims and interests, develop a ‘maritime silk road’ of economic, diplomatic and security links across China’s version of the Indo-Pacific, and develop the capabilities to protect its growing overseas presence. // Source: Lowy Interpreter
3. Boxun argues that Xi has given the highest treatment to diplomacy: //11月28日至29日中央外事工作会议在北京召开。李克强主持会议，中共总书记习近平在会上发表重要讲话，其余五常委均参加会议。这是习近平上台以来召开的首次外事工作会议，也是中共时隔8年来再次召开外事工作会议。虽然中共仅有的这两次外事工作会议都是为了分析当前国家大势，明确新形势下的对外工作指导思想、任务，但是对比两次会议不难发现，习近平释放了几大与众不同的关键信息。1991年江泽民召开的是全国外事工作会议，2006年胡锦涛召开的是全党首次外事工作会议，而此次2014年习近平召开的则是全党和全国级别的会议。参会者的层面之广、规格之高体现出习近平对于外交工作的重视程度越来越高。…此外，在表述外交基本原则时，除了独立自主、坚持和平共处五项原则、坚持和平发展道路、不干涉别国内政是中国一直以来的外交基本原则，习近平首次提出中国必须有自己特色的大国外交。// Source: Boxun
4. Meanwhile, Xi demands accelerated free trade area strategy: President Xi Jinping on Friday called for accelerated fulfillment of the free trade area (FTA) strategy and the building of a new economic system of openness. The remarks, published on Saturday, were made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Friday. The FTA strategy is an important part of China’s new round of opening-up, Xi said. Multilateral trade systems and regional trade arrangements have always been the driving force behind economic globalization. …Accelerating the FTA strategy is an important way for China to actively participate in the rule-making of international economic and trade areas, he added. We can not just be spectators and followers, but should participate and lead, make China’s voice heard and inject more Chinese elements into the international rules, he said. Source: Xinhua
5. Speaking to a group of businessmen, President Obama commented on Xi’s growing power: // U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday gave a stern assessment of what he called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s quick consolidation of power, expressing worries about China’s dubious human rights record and insistent nationalism. Obama told members of the Business Roundtable in Washington that the Chinese President “has consolidated power faster and more comprehensively than probably anybody since Deng Xiaoping,” referring to the Chinese leader who succeeded Mao Zedong in 1978, Reuters reports. “Everybody’s been impressed by [Xi’s] clout inside of China after only a year and a half or two years,” he said. A recent TIME cover described the leader of the world’s most populous nation as an “emperor” and opined that he would be China’s most consequential leader since Deng. Yet that clout, Obama said, has been put to regressive uses, including the enactment of policies that suppress dissent and harm human rights, as well as encourage a fierce “nationalism that worries his [Xi’s] neighbors.” Despite a highly publicized anti-corruption drive, China has also backslid 20 places to #100 on the 2014 Corruption Perceptions Index, a Berlin-based watchdog’s well-respected ranking of countries by transparency. // Source: TIME
6. Chinese academics said that Obama, the lame duck President, is saying so just to reassure his Republican counterparts. Source: Mingpao

China’s corruption worsens?

1. Despite crackdown, corruption in China is seen as worsening: // A high-profile anti-corruption campaign launched last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping seems to be very popular with the general public. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be working very well — at least in the view of experts around the world. The global anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI), in its latest Corruption Perceptions Index found that China had tumbled farther down the list since last year’s report than any other country, dropping 20 places. It now occupies 100th place on the list, out of 175 countries surveyed. TI’s rankings measure perceptions of corruption in each country’s public sector from a variety of different sources. China this year scored 36 points on a scale where 100 equals total purity. That means it is perceived as slightly more corrupt than places like Colombia, Egypt and Liberia. //
   But why? // One possible reason, according to TI’s Rukshana Nanayakkara, is that China has embarked on a top-down campaign that is focused more on punishing people rather than systemic fixes. Punishment can create a short-term deterrent effect, and is good public relations for the president, but it may be less effective if the victims are perceived as having been selected for more for political than legal reasons – the investigation into former security chief Zhou Yongkang is a good example. // Source:Washington Post
2. WSJ James T. Areddy writes that the anti-corruption campaign’s lack of transparency and the Xi administration’s ongoing crackdown on dissent are the primary reasons for China’s falling scores: // The watchdog said China’s falling score was largely because the anti-corruption campaign is taking place behind closed doors and because more broadly civil liberties are being impinged. // Source: WSJ
3. Russell Leigh Moses at China Real Time reports that some officials have been found to circumvent graft inspections through corrupt methods: // That’s the conclusion of a recent commentary on the website of the Party’s flagship newspaper People’s Daily, which noted that political bosses in some provinces have been looking to preempt Beijing’s ongoing inspections of local corruption by “waging a sudden offensive to appoint and promote favorites, family members, and other insiders.” Officials such as these, the newspaper contends, believe that elevating loyal followers, thereby binding them even tighter to the current leader, can thwart these anti-graft investigations. For example, according to the essay, the party secretary of a county in Hunan province elevated more than 100 local officials as the crackdown on corruption gained momentum in his region. In another county in Shanxi, the party secretary promoted over 400 cadres as a way of securing loyalty in the face of investigations. “How is it, with numerous personal evaluations, collective decision-making committees and the like to ensure proper selection, are party officials able to get away with all these sudden promotions?” the commentary asks. “Why does the system fail?” // Source: WSJ
4. Deleted Xinhua report gives rare insight into China corruption // A recent Xinhua report, since scrubbed from the internet, gave a rare insight into how official positions are bought and sold – call it the marketplace of graft. The article was unusual because it presented corruption as systemic, which runs counter to the Communist Party line that graft is a moral failing of the individual. The person is the problem, and the solution is to kick them out of the party, put them on trial and send them to jail. But if corruption is inherent in the system as it’s currently structured then the fix is much more daunting – and dangerous to the legitimacy of the party. The article, entitled « Who are the buyer and the seller? », said graft-busters had identified three types of people who might try to buy positions – those who were eager for a promotion, those who wanted to be transferred from a poor unit or region to the rich one, and people outside government who wanted in. The main sellers are senior officials, particular the top official in a region or a unit who has power over personnel matters. The No 2, and sometimes the third and even fourth-in-command, take bribes to help people get promoted. The Xinhua report also detailed the methods buyers used to pay. // Source: SCMP, web cache of the deleted Xinhua page

China trumpets rule of law on first Constitution Day

1. State media have hailed the occasion as a demonstration of China’s commitment to rule of law: // China’s first Constitution Day, which falls on Thursday, is more than a just another official ceremony as the country celebrates its development as a nation working toward the realization of the rule of law. Although there will be ceremonial arrangements, the day presents an opportunity to educate society about the Constitution. Students across the country will study the Constitution on Thursday morning and events will be organized to acknowledge Dec. 4, 1982, the day the current Constitution was adopted. […] Constitution Day will send out the signal that China is committed to the rule of law. Through comprehensive efforts from awareness campaigns to judicial reform, the country will move closer to the rule of law with the Constitution rooted deeply in everyday life of all residents. // Source: Xinhua
2. Official press release习近平：切实增强宪法意识 推动全面贯彻实施宪法. Source: Xinhua
3. // In Shanghai, propaganda officials are marking the first Constitution Day by screening movies, including “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Training Day” which depict corruption in the U.S. law enforcement systems, at a film festival to promote better awareness of the 32-year-old charter. […] Xi, both the president and Communist Party general secretary, said yesterday that the document is “a good constitution” because it suits “our national situation, reality and the development demands of the era.” Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the National People’s Congress, said the charter reflects “the glorious course during which the Chinese Communist Party led the people through long struggle.” Legal scholars say that without a mechanism that can adjudicate disputes over the document, which could suggest independence of judges and a separation of powers, the constitution isn’t enforceable. As part of the celebration, around 200,000 judges will pledge their fealty to the constitution. // Source: Bloomberg

Students attempted to besiege government complex crushed by police, leaders issued warnings and foreign government expressed worries

1. // Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong suffered a setback on Monday, when their attempt overnight to besiege government offices collapsed and the police thrust into the protesters’ biggest street camp. The reversal came after a night of seesaw clashes in the political heart of the city, ending weeks of anxious calm at the protesters’ main street camp and throwing into question how much longer the Hong Kong government would tolerate hundreds of tents only a stone’s throw from the city’s administrative and legislative complex.// Source: NYT
2. C.Y. Leung issues strongest warning yet to Occupy Central protesters: //Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has issued his strongest warning yet about clearing the nine-week-old Occupy Central protest sites, hours after overnight clashes between police and pro-democracy protesters who laid siege to government headquarters in Admiralty. He warned that just because police had not yet taken action to clear protesters, the demonstrators it was not because they were incapable of doing so and their inaction was not a sign of weakness. The administration yesterday issued a statement condemning « violent radicals » who repeatedly attempted to storm government headquarters and charged police lines. // Source: SCMP
3. New US plea to China for restraint in HK: // The US has issued a fresh appeal to Beijing to exercise restraint in Hong Kong, adding it was concerned that British MPs had been barred from visiting the territory. « We encourage differences between Hong Kong authorities and protesters to be addressed peacefully through dialogue, » State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. // Source: Business Spectator

British MPs banned from Hong Kong visit

1. // The Chinese embassy has told a group of MPs it will be stopped from making a planned trip to Hong Kong. Sir Richard Ottoway, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, accused the Chinese authorities of acting in an « overtly confrontational manner ». His committee is examining relations between the UK and its former colony, where pro-democracy activists have been protesting since September. A spokesperson for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said the committee was independent of government and described the Chinese decision to refuse members entry as « regrettable ». The spokesperson added: « It is not consistent with the positive trend in UK-China relations over the past year, including the recognition during Premier Li’s visit to London in June that the UK and China have considerable shared interests in respect of Hong Kong. « Nor is it in the spirit of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, concluded 30 years ago. The FCO has signalled this position to the Chinese at the most senior levels. » // Source: BBC
2. // China’s decision to ban a committee of MPs visiting Hong Kong was « wholly unjustified » and « counter-productive », the government has said. Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire said the move runs counter to progress in UK-China relations in recent years. Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing: « China’s opposition to any foreign government, organisation or individual interfering in Hong Kong’s affairs in any form is resolute. » The British MPs did not want to visit Hong Kong for « a normal friendly visit but to carry out a so-called investigation on Chinese territory », she said. MPs held an emergency debate on the matter after a request by committee chairman Sir Richard Ottaway was accepted by the Speaker. // BBC summarized the emergency debate. Source: BBC
3. // UK Prime Minister David Cameron believes China’s decision to ban British MPs from visiting Hong Kong amid continuing clashes on the streets between police and pro-democracy protesters is “mistaken and counterproductive”, Downing Street said on Monday. “It only serves to amplify concerns about the situation in Hong Kong rather than diminishing concerns,” Mr Cameron’s spokesman said. // Source: FT
4. Beijing tells Britain it has no ‘moral responsibility’ for Hong Kong, also saying that the Joint Declaration is now ‘void’: // Asked whether Britain still had any responsibility for the city as a signatory to the agreement, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said that was not the case. « Britain has no sovereignty over Hong Kong that has returned to China, no authority and no right to oversight. There is no such thing as a moral responsibility, » she said yesterday. « The real aim of a small minority of British people trying to use so-called moral responsibility to obscure the facts is to interfere in China’s internal affairs. [This] cannot succeed, and is something China certainly cannot accept. »…Richard Ottaway, the chairman of the British Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, said during the emergency debate that Ni Jian, deputy Chinese ambassador to Britain, had conveyed the message on Friday that the Joint Declaration « is now void and only covered the period from the signing in 1984 until the handover in 1997 ». Simon Young Ngai-man, a University of Hong Kong law professor, said Ni’s use of the word « void » was bewildering. « This is clearly wrong and quite remarkable that we are hearing this only for the first time now, 17-1/2 years after the handover, » he said. « It’s wrong because paragraph 7 of the Joint Declaration states that the ‘government of the UK and the government of the PRC agree to implement the preceding declarations and the Annexes to this Joint Declaration’, » Young said. // Source: SCMP

Guardian puts the protest under more critical light, highlighting internal divisions: //But it is increasingly fractured. The scholars who initially suggested the Occupy Central civil disobedience movement stepped back long ago, making it clear that they believed it was time to adopt new tactics. They are expected to hand themselves in to police on Friday. There are also divisions between increasingly radical elements and the original student leaders, who have guided but never controlled the movement. While protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, some demonstrators charged police lines and hurled missiles at officers on Sunday night. Police lashed out with batons and a powerful pepper spray solution, leaving protesters bloodied and in pain, and dragged people to the ground as they arrested them. A statement from the Hong Kong Federation of Students urged people to adhere to the principle of peaceful action, to encourage broad support, avoid triggering more police violence and ensure that Beijing could not use accusations of violence to damage the movement’s image….Michael Davis at Hong Kong University said the attempt to escalate the protests on Sunday night – student leaders called for the occupation of government buildings, unsuccessfully – might reflect the pressure from more radical elements not to simply withdraw. // Source: Guardian

High court injunction gives green light for Admiralty clearance

1. // The way has been cleared for the Occupy Central movement’s biggest sit-in, in Admiralty, to return to normality after a High Court judge turned down a protester’s request to appeal against an injunction order mandating a site clearance. No timetable has been set yet on the removal action, pending legal requirements that the injunction applicant, bus operator All China Express, must fulfil. …A police source said the force would help bailiffs enforce the court order in Admiralty on Wednesday at the earliest. « Police will clear barricades and arrest and remove those who refuse to leave. We then clear the Causeway Bay occupation, » for which an injunction was not needed, he said. // Source: SCMP

Big defeat for the KMT in Taiwan’s local elections

1. // A doctor running as an independent won the mayor’s race in Taipei, the capital, on Saturday, as Taiwan’s governing party suffered heavy losses in local elections. In response to the defeats dealt to the party, which favors closer ties with China, the prime minister resigned. The election results, including a victory by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party in the central city of Taichung, signal that Taiwan’s governing Chinese Nationalist Party, known as the Kuomintang or K.M.T., will be hard-pressed to retain the presidency in the 2016 election. The Kuomintang’s losses also suggest that Taiwan voters may be turning against party efforts to forge closer ties with China. As Beijing has moved to enforce strict control over voting reforms in Hong Kong, a policy that has set off protests known as the Occupy Central movement, voters in Taiwan have said their sense of unease toward China has heightened. …Mr. Ko, 55, was supported by the Democratic Progressive Party but ran as an independent on a platform advocating transparency and a bridging of the partisan divide. The party, which favors independence for Taiwan, is known as the green camp, and the Kuomintang and other parties that favor closer relations with China and eventual unification are known as the blue camp. “Beloved citizens, we have set in motion the power of love to return the feeling of greatness to this city,” Mr. Ko said in his victory speech. “The result of this Taipei mayoral election is a manifestation of Taiwan’s democratic values and Taipei citizens’ determination to pursue progress.” …The Kuomintang previously held 15 of Taiwan’s 22 cities and counties, but that ratio was roughly reversed Saturday. The Kuomintang won just six seats, while the Democratic Progressive Party declared victory in 13, including four of Taiwan’s six special municipalities, which make up most of the country’s largest cities. // Source: NYT
2. KMT’s damage control: //In the aftermath of a huge loss, KMT leaders were in damage-control mode, hoping to reset the party before presidential elections in 2016. On November 30, both Premier Jiang Yi-huah and Party Secretary-General Tseng Yung-chuan resigned their positions. Taiwanese media reports also suggest that Ma himself will resign as KMT chairman in the coming days. KMT spokesman Charles Chen Yi-hsin told the South China Morning Post that “the chairman will make an important announcement during the KMT central standing committee meeting this Wednesday over the responsibility issue.” Chen also said Ma “will not cling on to the post,” heightening expectations Ma will resign. Ma would still serve out the remainder of his term as president, but his resignation as KMT chair could spark political in-fighting within the party. //KMT Chairman Ma Ying-jeou also resigned from his Party leader position: // Hsu said Ma was often out of step and thought differently from other people and mistimed some actions; he had been reluctant to resign as KMT chairman to take full responsibility soon after the KMT’s landslide defeat on Saturday. He finally resign only after angry criticism by party mavericks, but by then he had missed the opportune time, which would have shown him to be acting as a responsible leader who was in tune with the general public’s thinking, Hsu said. // Source: SCMP
3. An electoral map showing where DPP won the seats.
4. An editorial on Taipei Times highlights DPP’s responsibilities: //The electoral pivot in Taiwan underscores worldwide attention and debate over wealth and income inequality. The income gap in Taiwan has widened in the past decade, reflecting an imbalance in wealth accumulation and aggravating the prevalent dissatisfaction and insecurity of young people. Generally speaking, the government should consider further reforming public goods like the education system, health insurance, social welfare, public infrastructure and income and capital gains tax structures to compensate for the hereditary differences in wealth and mobility and ensure more equal opportunities. In particular, enabling educational opportunities through more holistic admissions mechanisms, enhancing education in public schools and rural areas, and increasing subsidies for disadvantaged families can promote greater long-term equality, social motivation, and national achievement. With its increased popularity, the DPP should abandon its boycott position and assume a more constructive role in leading and monitoring cross-strait affairs. Only pushing for greater economic liberalization with China will realistically create the preconditions for Taiwan’s participation in proposed regional economic partnerships like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP). As such, the DPP should proactively support in the legislature the review and approval of the supervisory mechanism for cross-strait agreements and the service trade pact. // Source: Taipei Times
5. KMT’s own post-mortem outlined reasons they believe they lost the elections; nothing mentioned about cross-straits relations:
   – Grievances, real or perceived, caused by government policies. For instance, rising fuel and electricity prices, imposing a capital gains tax on stock transactions, controversy over the 12-year national education program, the recent food safety scares, and so on.
   – The general public dislikes the privileged class.
   – Negative campaigning by local media outlets.
   – KMT underestimated the influence of the Internet. The DPP hired young professionals to disseminate false information about the KMT on the Internet.
   – The media deified Taipei City Mayor-elect Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) during the campaign. Former Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮), of DPP affiliation, stated in a press conference yesterday that media outlets seemed to only focus on the Taipei City Mayoral election, implying that the media outlets deified Ko during the campaign.
   – Ko successfully proposed a “Grand Opposition Alliance (在野大聯盟) as part of his campaign strategy.
   – Young people are unsatisfied with the social environment due to the widening gap between the poor and the wealthy, low salaries, and soaring housing prices. They blame the government because they cannot make their dream come true. However, many of the problems are, in fact, caused by globalization. The public tends to ignore this and blames everything on the government. // Source: KMT

1. Academia Sinica Institute of Sociology chairman Michael Hsiao reflects on the elections, an excellent interview: // Yet, why was there still such trepidation that the KMT might win [in the Nov. 29 elections]? There are several reasons. One is that the Taiwanese people are, after all, gentle and conservative. The second is that voters disassociate central government and local governments. Third, local political factions come into play. The KMT’s landslide loss in the elections shows that rational voters exist in Taiwan who feel they can no longer be gentle by abstaining. In the past I had my doubts about netizens and thought they only knew how to click the “like” button while abstaining from actual action, but since the Hung case I have to admit that netizens have their ways to mobilize and it is a new form of social activity. …In this election, we saw [the KMT] lose Taichung and Taoyuan, the two places that have seen the greatest amount of land being expropriated. // Source: Taipei Times
2. The Economist suggests that China is losing hearts and minds in Hong Kong and Taiwan: // THE Communist Party’s strategy for bringing the self-governing people of Taiwan into its fold has long been tricky seduction. Ply them with money and favours (and tourists from the mainland) if they play along, and with threats of cutting them off if they don’t. Let them see how happy and prosperous the people of nearby Hong Kong are under Chinese rule. That strategy is faltering. China is not winning hearts and minds in either Taiwan or Hong Kong. On November 29th voters in regional and municipal elections in Taiwan delivered a drubbing to the ruling Kuomintang party (KMT), which under President Ma Ying-jeou has forged closer economic links with Communist leaders in Beijing but has failed to soothe widespread dissatisfaction with the economy. More than 60% of the 23m people of Taiwan will now be governed by mayors who belong to or are supported by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which opposes union with China. Mr Ma is now an unpopular lame duck serving his second (and final) four-year term, and the DPP has the early advantage in the presidential election due to be held in early 2016. // Source: Economist

1. James Leibold on Ethnic Policies in China: //James Leibold is a senior lecturer in politics and Asian studies at La Trobe University in Australia, and is currently based in Beijing. …In an interview, Mr. Leibold discussed the origin of the Chinese government’s ethnic policies, its efforts to control the borderlands where most ethnic minorities live and its demands that Muslim women remove their veils. // Source: NYT

2. ChinaFile on “Can China Conquer the Internet?” : // David Bandurski: The strict duìnèi / duìwài bisection is no longer possible strategically. The walls have come down, and global information sharing, if unimpeded, poses a “domestic” threat to the CCP. This historic shift in priorities in the Party’s bid for information control provides the back story for the rise of Lu Wei, China’s new “internet czar”—with his penchant for darkly cute phrases: no one would design a car without brakes/the internet needs brakes. Lu Wei is the head of the State Internet Information Office (SIIO), set up in 2011 and staffed by State Council Information Office folks. Lu is also the director of the new internet security body President Xi Jinping created seven months ago. So Lu Wei is not just China’s internet czar; he is a symbol more broadly of the translocation of the power center of information controls in China. The Central Propaganda Department, with its duìnèi priorities, is no longer paramount. Lu Wei and the Information Office are in ascendance. And this institutional power shift tells us even more clearly than Lu Wei’s characteristic “directness” that China’s strategic information control priorities are now external. That does not mean, of course, that official China’s thinking is not insular. What it wants more than anything is to have its walls back. But it knows now that it must go international to achieve that. // Source: ChinaFile

3. SCMP’s Cary Huang: Video tribute to first couple shows shift in Xi Jinping image push. Source: SCMP