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The U.S. Department of Defense recently released the \”Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace.\” This is the first strategic guidance plan outlining tactics of the U.S. military for cyberspace operations and a major strategic step to implement the \”International Strategy for Cyberspace\” released by the U.S. government in May 2011. The United States has generally completed the comprehensive review and understanding of its cyberspace security and is entering into the phase of making comprehensive arrangements and taking practical actions.

The United States have successively released two policy guidelines relating to cyberspace within a period of only two months. From \”international strategy\” to \”military actions,\” the United States has first conducted a series of diplomatic activities and then made military arrangements and preparations for its cyberspace operations. This has fully shown that the United States has started using both diplomatic and military approaches to develop its \”blueprint\” for cyberspace.

The \”Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace\” has included cyberspace among the traditional \”domains of warfare,\” such as land, sea, air and outer space. This means that cyberspace will become a major domain of the U.S. military in the future. \”Active defense\” and \”cyber deterrence\” are most noteworthy among the \”core definitions\” in the \”Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace.\”

The U.S. military will shift its cyberspace security protection from \”passive defense\” to \”active defense\” and develop powerful cyberspace deterrence capabilities. U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn said that cyber attacks will become a major constituent of any conflict, no matter whether they involve countries or terrorist forces, and the United States must be prepared to counterattack hostilities in cyberspace, with the overwhelming focus of its active defense strategy being deterrence.

James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also made it clear that the U.S. military has currently drawn almost all of its efforts in strengthening cyberspace security to defense and should gradually shift the focus to strategic deterrence. The U.S. military will not only build a more solid \”firewall\” but also monitor potential rivals in order to defend and retaliate over the next decade. Once it suffers destructive cyber attacks, it will use its conventional military force consisting of its various branches to fight back, cope with and destroy enemies that launch virtual attacks by means of physical wars.

The so-called \”cyberspace deterrence\” proposed by senior U.S. officers is similar to the \”nuclear deterrent\” of the past in principle. It means, while fully maintaining its attack strength, the United States must also possess the capability to carry out retaliation and destruction that the opposite side cannot afford to endure. Since nuclear weapons are too hard to proliferate, a \”balance of nuclear terror\” usually exists between two nuclear countries. But the situation of networks is obviously more complex.

For the United States, its \”cyberspace deterrence force\” consists of three parts. The first part is a \”network army\” that could both attack and defend. The second part is the network attacking weapons, such as the \”digital bomb.\” The third part means when it is necessary, the United States could use its practical military power to attack its network enemy.

However, the United States or a few countries could not exclusively master these three parts, and even an individual could master the first two parts. Therefore, these measures could easily be imitated. Network safety actions usually have unbalanced, mutual penetrating and mutual-switching attacks and defenses, and such characteristics of the actions as \”throwing a sprat to catch a whale,\” \”long-distance automation,\” \”multi-point springboard\” and \”no home front or front line,\” still exist.

Furthermore, the new strategy document reflects the willingness of the United States to build collective cyber defenses with its NATO allies and international partners because it is worried that there may be a cyber Cold War in the future. The United States hopes that the build-up of collective cyber defenses will strengthen its cyber security and give itself and other Western countries a major advantage in global cyber defenses. Cyberspace will become a new international battlefield where the Cold War mindset may be rampant and threaten world peace.

The United States is militarizing cyberspace in some sense. It is expected that cyberspace will become a new international battlefield, and a cyber arms race will be unavoidable because cyber security has become a life-and-death national security issue.

In order to ensure national security, most countries will pay greater attention to the development and application of Internet technology and the safety of related products. It is worth noting that the United States did not list any target country in its cyber security strategy.

In fact, it is prepared for cyber attacks by any foreign nation. Cyber attacks and defenses occur every day, so it would be important to clearly define cyber threats. If improper individual behaviors are easily treated as state actions, the United States may sink into another \”quagmire of pointless war.\”

[i]By Yu Xiaoqiu from People\’s Daily, translated by People\’s Daily Online[/i]

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Cooperation decides the depth and width of regional trade, and moreover, the peace and stability in the region. At the 20th anniversary of the dialogue mechanism between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, cooperation between the two sides is in a crucial stage. It is the trend of the times and the desire of the people that China and ASEAN deepen and enhance overall development of bilateral ties.

At the recently concluded ASEAN Regional Forum Foreign Ministers\’ Meeting in Bali, Indonesia, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and his 10 ASEAN counterparts reached consensus on furthering pragmatic cooperation. China and 10 ASEAN countries, with a total population of 1.9 billion, make up a key area in the Asia-Pacific region and will display more and more economic vitality.

But there are noises, and some of them require our early attention. The misunderstanding resulting from the excessive exaggerations about China made by some media and people from the West tends to make people neglect the political influence that the deepening of China-ASEAN cooperation could have on the Asia-Pacific region as well as ASEAN\’s internal integration.

As a matter of fact, some Western media intentionally magnify the so-called \”China economic threat\” and attempt to give others an impression that China extends railways to Southeast Asia and transports the resources with railway cars back to China. A cartoon carried in the Economist early this year showed a panda was sitting on the front row of a train heading from China to Southeast Asia, but there were little tigers behind the lively creature.

The cartoon is not creative. Similar exaggeration has become cliché for Western media when describing China\’s efforts to go global. Those who have visited Southeast Asian countries must have a deep understanding of the old and shabby railway system there. Infrastructure construction means development for Southeast Asian countries and tallies with the actual situation.

The railway disconnections in Southeast Asia hamper economic development and are regarded as an epitome of the political reality in the region. Meanwhile, it also shows how important it is to enhance communications in the region by connecting all the railways in different countries and forming a crisscross railway network.

Because it is a win-win scenario, China does not deny the interests it has gained form bilateral cooperation with ASEAN countries. Common prosperity attracts people together and boosts mutual understanding and intimacy.

The heart of the matter is that mutual benefit through pragmatic cooperation brought not only applies to economy and trade but also politics, society and human culture. It will also facilitate the integration process within ASEAN, particularly the communications among the people, which will help solve internal disputes and problems.

Asia is facing a rare opportunity for development and the momentum for China-ASEAN cooperation remains strong. Let\’s imagine Southeast Asia and China linked together by the networks of railways, roads, trade and investment. The region will doubtlessly be the source of vitality of economic growth and the backbone of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. That is what pragmatic cooperation means. By then, who will still remember the cartoon carried in the Economist?

[i]The author is People\’s Daily senior editor Ding Gang and the article is translated by PD Online editor Zhang Xinyi[/i]

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The phone hacking scandal of the U.K.-based News of the World has triggered a domino effect: Other media under the News Corporation are finding themselves embroiled in the scandal one after another. The voices calling for investigating and self-examining the ethics of media and how journalism is supervised have become very strong in the United State, Australia and other countries. The scandal has even surpassed the borders of media and caused chain reactions in the police and political circles, and the U.K. Premier David Cameron has experienced the largest taunting since he took office.

The phone hacking scandal is not an aberration caused by a media agency that disregards its social responsibility and abuses its freedom of press. It reflects the institutional dilemma that the Western media and democratic system encounter during their development processes.

In the history of Western journalism, the mass media once held high the flag of \”freedom\” and beat the drum for the establishment and development of the capitalist democratic system. Western media also flaunted that they were \”the Fourth Estate\” that was independent from the administration, judiciary and legislature and were \”an uncrowned king\” who spread truths and safeguard the justice.

However, when the tide of capital monopolies and mergers came, mass media were inevitably involved. In the 1980s, 50 large companies mainly controlled journalism in the United States. In the middle of 1990s, it had fallen into the hands of 10 companies.

Now, in the 21st century, the media of the United States is almost monopolized by only five financial groups, including Time Warner, Walt Disney and News Corporation. Rupert Murdoch\’s News Corporation reaches several continents, and holds 40 percent of the world\’s newspapers, including the Times and News of the World. In the United States, it controls many media heavyweights, including the Wall Street Journal, Fox Television Network, Movie.com and dozens of TV stations. In addition, more than 70 percent of Australian-based newspapers belong to the corporation. The freedom of the media has become dull and pale in the shade of mergers.

A review article titled \”capital is tougher than freedom, Murdoch won\” says that the journalists of the United States have to face such a sad fact that they are not God but rather only His followers, and God\’s name is \”Capital.\”

American scholar W. Lance Bennett said that all political figures and groups, including the president, senators, interest groups and radicals, should realize the importance of the media to their political success. Multinational media groups have not only controlled media outlets but also formed powerful interest groups with the business and political elite to protect their own interests.

Government agencies and the media cooperate with and restrain each other. A politician must know how to use the media wisely and sometimes even need sto pander to the media in order to enhance his or her influence and status with the help of the media.

According to British media reports, Andy Coulson, former editor-in-chief of the News of the World and former director of communications of British Prime Minister David Cameron, was recently arrested over phone hacking. With strong ties in the media world, Coulson played a major role in helping propel Conservative leader Cameron to power in elections last year. Peter Oborne, the Daily Telegraph\’s chief political commentator, said that for the past 20 years, the most important thing for all British politicians has been ingratiating themselves to Murdoch.

In order to maximize commercial interests, certain media outlets have used illegal means, such as bugging and bribery to obtain exclusive inside information and policy support. Related government agencies have turned a blind eye to the illegal practices of the media, so as to win their support. The bugging scandal has fully exposed the close and complex ties between the media and the police as well as senior government officials.

Too much freedom of the press has dragged Western democratic countries into a vicious circle of \”the media shaping public opinion, public opinion pressuring politicians, and politicians colluding with the media.\”

At the initial stages of the wars in Iraq and Libya, major media outlets in the United Kingdom and United States provided massive coverage of the multi-state coalitions\’ victories but ignored the tragic civilian casualties and the brutalities of the wars. Arms companies, media companies and government agencies have formed various communities of interests, using all means possible to shape and control public opinion.

Monopoly is the natural enemy of freedom. Global media groups, which are the beneficiaries of existing mass communication systems and democratic systems, have been making great efforts to cater to the needs of certain domestic social classes and groups by providing limited or even biased coverage and reinforcing the people\’s negative stereotypes about other countries. The voice of developing countries has long been suppressed by the influential Western media, and the huge information dissemination gap between developed and developing countries has inevitably increased their political and economic disparities.

The media shapes public opinion, but cannot get rid of the influence of politics and economics. The News of the World admitted, \”We lost our way,\” in its final editorial. There is one question for the media: What else has been lost?

[i]By Wang Fang from People\’s Daily, translated by People\’s Daily Online[/i]

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The use of product placements for four Chinese products in the film \”Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon,\” which premiered in China at midnight on July 21, has become a hot topic worldwide.

This is the first time that four Chinese brands have simultaneously appeared in an American blockbuster film. Chinese elements have frequently appeared in Hollywood films in the past, such as references to traditional Chinese philosophy in \”Kung Fu Panda,\” the use of China\’s Zhangjiajie National Forest Park as a prototype of Avatar\’s Hallelujah Mountain and the appearance of Chengdu\’s landscape in \”Kung Fu Panda 2.\”

However, the elements were limited to martial arts, landscape and Chinese traditions in the eyes of Westerners. The Chinese elements have evolved into Chinese brands in the Transformers film series, showing a far-reaching change.

Placing Chinese brands in Hollywood blockbuster films that represent mainstream Western values means a giant step forward taken by China\’s manufacturing industry in their efforts to expand to the international market.

The step is rooted in Chinese brands\’ strong desires and persistent efforts to win global recognition. Although \”Made in China\” have been popular across the world over the past two decades, they come with a low-end, cheap image.

Although Chinese enterprises are increasingly strong, they cannot get rid of the image as subcontracting manufacturers for other brands. Using their own brands to expand the international market and influence the world is a dream of many Chinese entrepreneurs. To fulfill their dream, they have constantly improved product quality, forged brands and built up enterprise images. Some Chinese enterprises have begun utilizing mainstream foreign media to boost their international recognition.

Facts have proven that blending Chinese brands into a foreign language environment and circumstances and using the means of discourse that foreigners are familiar with to promote Chinese brands will most easily produce good effects. It is just a classic case that placing Chinese brands in \”Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon\” has attracted the attention of well-known overseas media agencies.

Some say that it is not a big deal and as long as you have money, you can do it. However, that is not a fact. All the Chinese enterprises that have met difficulties during their process of \”going global\” know that even if an enterprise has sufficient money, it still cannot step in markets of Europe or America sometimes, especially high-end markets. If an enterprise has money but does not have a brand; has a brand but does not have influence, or has influence but does not have a good image, it will still be refused without doubt. The fact that four Chinese brands have been inserted into the movie \”Transformers 3\” can indicate to some extent that international markets are gradually accepting Chinese brands.

The acceptance is closely connected with the fact that China\’s economic aggregate has climbed up to the second place in the world, is closely connected with the efforts that Chinese enterprises made to \”go global\” and \”step in,\” is closely connected with the remarkable performance of China\’s economy during the international financial crisis and is even more closely connected with the great potential of the future Chinese market.

China has been active in overseas mergers and acquisitions in recent years, including Lenovo\’s acquisition of IBM\’s PC unit and Zhejiang Geely\’s acquisition of Swedish carmaker Volvo. As Western countries are becoming increasingly dependent on Chinese goods, they cannot help exclaiming, \”The Chinese are coming.\” Facing the rise of China, Western countries have gradually shifted their attitudes from rejection, lack of trust and jealousness to acceptance, appreciation and cooperation. There has been a growing worldwide consensus that cooperation with China ensures a bright future.

However, it is easy to see that the most eye-catching products in the movie remain Western-made high-end luxury goods and sophisticated weapons, while China-made products for daily use, such as clothing, televisions and personal computers are just replaceable \”decorations.\” This is a typical example of the world division of labor.

In order to narrow the gap and achieve greater influence and better reputation, Chinese companies should make greater efforts to improve the quality of their products. The Chinese government also should follow international norms and take advantage of mainstream communication channels to better introduce China to the world and to improve the image of Chinese brands.

[i]By Zhang Yixuan from People\’s Daily Overseas Edition, translated by People\’s Daily Online[/i]

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High ranking officials from China and ASEAN member countries reached consensus on the guideline and text of the \”Declaration on the Code of Conduct on the South China Sea\” on July 20, which is regarded as a milestone for promoting peace in the region and enhancing China-ASEAN cooperation.

The declaration was signed by China and ASEAN member countries in November 2002. China has been strictly following it in recent years and kept a sound momentum of negotiation with ASEAN countries in implementing it. The consensus reached this time aims to boost pragmatic cooperation and enlarge the areas of cooperation from three to six. The move clearly demonstrates most of the ASEAN countries, which are like China, are in favor of enhancing active collaboration.

The issue of South China Sea is not among the top priorities on the agenda of China-ASEAN development. It has heated up recently because some countries attempted to set their self interests up over those of other countries, and external forces took the opportunity to meddle in.

In fact, much work needs to be done to follow up in the process of ASEAN\’s internal restructuring and growth, the development of China-ASEAN Free Trade Area as well as the development of ASEAN plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea (10+3). The South China Sea issue can only be solved through overall promotion of China-ASEAN relations, particularly the favorable conditions that all sides jointly develop.

ASEAN has made it clear it would establish a common market by 2015. It is the organization\’s top priority to work out a way to boost construction of this market with the help of China-Japan-ROK cooperation. It must answer question such as how to improve the infrastructure construction in ASEAN member countries with the China-Japan-ROK strength. How can these nations coordinate and consolidate the customs and transportation regulations in the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area and bring regional trade to the next stage?

At present, ASEAN needs to enhance further integration in terms of politics, economy and diplomacy, and clear the barriers in the integration process. It is unrealistic to hope for strengthening internal integration and raising ASEAN\’s voice in the international arena by making use of the fact that the South China Sea issue has become more and more international. Such a move can only fuel the argument further and even jeopardize the original goal of the ASEAN market. An article carried on The Jakarta Global recently said that such a row could damage the interests of all the countries in the region.

The current status of ASEAN is closely associated with its rapid economic development over the past two years. It also becomes more and more attractive as its global market share increases. ASEAN member countries should realize that this is what the real intention of the United States in returning to the Asia-Pacific region: following economic interests. The United States will make use of the historic equilibrium to seek self interest. But in the final analysis, the development of U.S.-ASEAN ties will rely on input rather than output.

The importance of geopolitics and resources in South China Sea is becoming more and more prominent. Some countries are eager to seek interest by nibbling and grabbing. Some external forces also have their hand in to reap unfair gains. China and ASEAN should remain on high alert against this phenomenon and not let the issue undermine China-ASEAN relations that are progressing well.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of China-ASEAN dialogue and partner relationship. Bilateral ties have enjoyed rapid development. Particularly since the establishment of free trade area, the economic and trade ties have experienced swift expansion. It would be harmful for the peaceful development in Asia-Pacific region if we let South China Sea issue obstruct the sound momentum and jeopardize China-ASEAN interest.

We must adhere to the policy of peace rather than war, cooperation rather than confrontation, stability rather than turbulence and make concerted efforts to realize peace, friendship and cooperation in South China Sea.

[i]The author is People\’s Daily senior editor Ding Gang and the article is translated by People\’s Daily Online editor Zhang Xinyi [/i]

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2011 marks the 10th anniversary of China’s accession to the WTO and the second anniversary of the official launch of cross-border RMB trade settlement. The country has made rapid progress in opening up in the past 10 years, and foreign trade has become the largest driving force behind its economic growth. Based on strong worldwide demand for Chinese products, the internationalization of the RMB is well underway.

[b]Solid foundation laid for RMB internationalization[/b]

\”This is a historic breakthrough. When you look back at the cross-border RMB trade settlement some time later, you will find that this moment is destined to be recorded in history,\” economist Xie Guozhong said in July 2009 when the People\’s Bank of China, the country\’s central bank, announced a trial run of cross-border RMB trade settlement.

Cross-border Renminbi trade settlement has witnessed explosive growth in just two years and has expanded to 144 countries and regions, laying a solid foundation for the RMB internationalization.

Li Bo, director of the Monetary Policy Department under the People\’s Bank of China, said that China has made considerable progress in the internationalization of the RMB in the past two years. First, total cross-border RMB transactions hit 500 billion yuan in 2010, accounting for about 2 percent of China\’s total export and import volume. Such transactions reached 530 billion yuan in the first four months of this year alone, more than the total for all of 2010.

Second, a pilot RMB cross-border investment and financing program has been launched, with the scale reaching 19 billion yuan. Third, foreign companies make direct investments in China using the RMB. Furthermore, China has signed currency swap deals with a number of its trading partners, introduced the RMB backflow policy and fostered the development of the RMB business in Hong Kong. So far, China has signed currency swap deals with South Korea, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Malaysia, Belarus, Indonesia, Argentina, Iceland and Singapore involving a total of 803.5 billion yuan or more than 120 billion U.S. dollars.

[b]Risk control

Preventing huge imports, exports of speculative capital[/b]

While the cross-border flow of the RMB is strengthening, Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission Liu Mingkang said that China should prevent the possible negative impacts caused by huge imports and exports of speculative capital. Some countries have adopted the Unremunerated Reserve Requirement and some have started to collect income taxes of foreign investments or financial transaction taxes. These methods or measures are all very good for China to use for reference.

An official from China\’s central bank said that in order for the RMB to \”go global,\” the steady growth of China\’s economy and comprehensive national strength must be the foundation, and while China maintains steady policies and improves its macro-economic management capacity, it must prevent radical changes to its economy.

The official emphasizes that the internationalization of the RMB must be greatly supported by reforms of domestic economic systems. \”For example, the reform of the RMB Capital Account Liberalization must be promoted in an orderly fashion. If capital and demand are restrained in all aspects, the development will be certainly slow. Under the current conditions, the choice between RMB and foreign currencies should not be decided by administrative policies but should be decided by economic entities according to their will and interests.\”

[b]Steadily achieving RMB internationalization in three steps[/b]

The remarks made by China\’s National Council for Social Security Funds Chairman Dai Xianglong during the \”Second Global Think Tank Summit\” hosted by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges have attracted widespread attention. He said, \”China\’s GDP and foreign exchange reserves account for 10 percent and one third of the world\’s total respectively, and China is the world\’s largest financial creditor country, so that China\’s RMB will naturally become an international currency. This will benefit not only China but also the improvement in the global monetary system.\”

He said that the internationalization of the RMB could be divided into three steps. The first step is to make the RMB an international trade settlement currency based on the convertibility of RMB on the current accounts. The second step is to turn the RMB into an investment currency by allowing certified investors at home and abroad to jointly promote the two-way flows of the RMB. The third step is to achieve the internationalization of the RMB and turn the RMB into an international reserve currency.

Li Daokui, an adviser to the Chinese central bank, recently said in an article, \”The strategic objective of the internationalization of the RMB is to enhance the international status of the Chinese economy, improve the stability of the world economy and benefit the Chinese economy during the process. The internationalization of the RMB will perhaps become a grand trend for the world economy over the next decade as well as a major development trend for China over the second decade after its accession into the World Trade Organization.\”

[i]By Tian Li, reporter with People\’s Daily Overseas Edition, translated by People\’s Daily Online[/i]

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At the beginning of the Reform and Opening-up, the Party made great efforts to liberate the people\’s minds. Nowadays it needs the courage to break vested interests.

The key to solving deep-seated problems and accomplishing long-due tasks lies in whether the Party can break vested interests, maintain an active spirit and adhere to the sense of political responsibility.

The Party has made three significant achievements and has led the Chinese people through 90 years of ups and downs. Now, the country is sailing in relatively calm open water, but various risks and challenges are still waiting. This is why Hu Jintao warned in his speech marking the Party\’s 90th birthday that all Party members should be mindful of the danger of \”slacking off mentally.\”

The biggest danger is not being aware of danger. The Party is faced with unprecedented risks and challenges in building China, the world\’s most populous country, into a completely modern country in less than 40 years. China is at a crucial period in its massive social transformation, and many rare problems have arisen. The Party needs to explore ways of avoiding mental slackness, and maintaining strong morale, determination and courage to carry through reforms and to make constant progress.

New dangers may appear when the early stages of reforms are over. History proves that if China fails to grasp the opportunity to complete the social transformation smoothly in this crucial period of modernization, it may fall behind and suffer a long period of stagnation. Nowadays many cadres are slacking off mentally. Some cadres made a few political achievements in the past but now worry too much about their personal gains and losses, and are thus afraid of reforms.

Some other cadres are overcautious with reforms when confronted with risks and problems. The masses generally call them \”incompetent\” or \”fatuous\” and are worried that these cadres have not only failed to fulfill their duties but also hindered the country\’s progress.

\”When politics gets slack, bureaucracy will form.\” Some officials have got their eyes shaded by their previous achievements, got their feet chained by the existing structure, or even more had been captivated by individual interests, local interests or short-term interests. During the in-depth economic and social reform, the interests are gradually splitting, the interest groups are gradually diversifying and the demands are gradually varying. A lot of reforms — from reforming the cadre and personnel system to altering the economic development mode, from making the government affairs public to rationalizing the income and distribution — will inevitably touch the interests of some individuals, reach the in-depth interests, and bring along labor pains or even risks. If we say the reform must break through the \”forbidden zone\” of mind in its early days, the reform now must break through the \”mine field\” of interests.

It depends on whether the Party dare touch the vested interests and hold the sense of political responsibility and the historical initiative of its members that whether the Party could get rid of the age-old malpractices and restart the long-delayed works. Facing the important development period with a lot of strategic opportunities to seize and facing the requirement of \”seizing the opportunity to promote the reforms in important realms and key links,\” only after the strong decision-making resolution, the dash of getting rid of the old and innovating and the vitality of working hard and perseveringly have showed could the interest bonds be smashed and the obstacles on the way be removed. If the spirit keeps slacking on the hotbed of interests, only lethargy, laziness or even evil will grow.

The Party always keeps high alert on the possible arrogance and sloth. Comrade Mao Zedong reminded the whole Party that the national victory is only the first step of the Long March, and Comrade Deng Xiaoping also proposed that Party members should have the spirit of adventure and the force to go forward. Keeping the force, the revolutionary enthusiasm and the desperate spirit is the political character of a Marxist political party that determined to always maintain the vanguard nature.

Mao Zedong proposed a solution to the \”slacking off mentally.\” Huang Yanpei, a famous patriot and democratic educator in modern China, visited Yan\’an in 1945. Huang warned that according to the periodic pattern, most political parties are diligent at the very beginning, but they will become slothful along with the increasingly good environment. However, \”we have found a new way out of the periodic pattern, which is democracy. The government would not dare to slack off as long as the government is under people\’s supervision, and the Party will not be destroyed as long as everyone is responsible for the government,\” Mao Zedong said.

The Party compared seizing the national power to taking examinations in Beijing more than 60 years ago. Although the historical conditions have changed, the spirit of \”taking examinations\” is not outdated. The Party will jump out of the historical periodic pattern as long as the Party can launch self-examination through people\’s supervision and urge on itself with people\’s expectations to push forward the reform with courage and win the future with inspiring spirit.

[i]By People\’s Daily Online[/i]

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The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway was recently in an awkward situation. It had a power supply stoppage on July 10, 11 days after it began operation, causing the delay of some trains. Two days later, a high-speed train broke down in the midway, causing more delay. The more unexpected thing is that high-speed trains again had troubles on July 13 and July 14.

Such frequent accidents made the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway the subject of many questions. The Ministry of Railways announced that the \”outage\” proved that the high-speed railway has good security, and it will make sure the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway makes it through this period of frequently occurring mishaps as soon as possible.

The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway is destined to be subjected to many high expectations as the high-speed railway with the longest one-time construction mileage, the most investments and the highest standards of technology since the founding of the new China. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for people to have doubts about the high-speed railway when such sudden accidents occur. However, related departments do not only need public tolerance and understanding. The most urgent thing is to show the superiority of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway with excellent achievements to restore people\’s confidence.

Of the advantages of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, the primary one should be its outstanding safety performance, and currently, it is just a focus of the disputes. Logically, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway, which has integrated numerous distinctive technologies, must be extremely excellent in the area of safety performance.

However, since failures have frequently occurred in the railway, passengers worry about its safety. The Ministry of Railway said that the abnormal stops of the trains were caused by the high safety precautions. That could be an explanation. However, does it mean the trains on the railway will frequently have abnormal stops if they meet bad weather such as rainstorms and strong winds? If high safety factors could lead to high-frequency failures, does it mean that the railway is actually fragile in another way?

An important advantage of the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway is the speed and efficiency. The speed of 300 kilometers per hour can shorten the travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to less than five hours, and it will greatly alleviate the tense situation of insufficient passenger transportation capacity. However, what has worried passengers is that some trains were as much as several hours behind schedule during the recent failures. In this case, the speed advantage of the railway will be weakened greatly. Facing the severe challenges, the Ministry of Railway must take some effective measures and guarantee both the speed and safety of the railway. Otherwise, realizing the goal of transporting about 160 million passengers per year will be nothing but empty talk.

Furthermore, the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway should have a sound management system and provide first-class services for passengers. However, facts have proved that the railway still has a long way to go in this aspect. It can be seen from the recent failures that there are many problems concerning the services on the bullet trains. For example, after power outages, passengers on trains lacked access to food and dinking water as well as effective information, which fully exposed the lack of service awareness among the staff of high-speed trains. In addition, due to the unsound emergency response mechanism, most passengers, who paid much money for high-speed train tickets but failed to enjoy high speed, did not receive the compensation they deserved. The Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway not only needs to ensure smooth functioning, but also should establish a sound management system and provide better services for passengers.

A silver lining of the frequent failures is that the damage can be minimized because the earlier a problem is exposed, the earlier it will be solved. Railway authorities should draw lessons from the frequent failures and try their best to discover and solve hidden problems in order to bring the advantages of high-speed trains into full play.

[i]By Zhu Xiaolong from Guangming Daily, translated by People\’s Daily Online[/i]

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The dispute between the Obama Administration and the U.S. House of Representatives around whether to raise the 14.3-trillion-U.S.-dollar debt ceiling has become even more intense. U.S. treasury securities will face at least a \”technical default\” risk if the two sides fail to reach a consensus by Aug. 2.

Currently, both sides are trying to use this \”technical default\” risk to coerce each other into submission. Although these are differences between the policies of different U.S. domestic political institutions and different political parties, the results will bring a major impact on the global financial system.

The United States, as the issuer of the global currency, has locked the interests of global creditors in a domestic political struggle. Even though the two sides reached a consensus before the deadline, the United States has set a bad precedent of ignoring the global economy and the interests of creditors in other countries based on its own policy.

In fact, the gross national debt reached debt ceiling as early as May 16, setting a record high in 60 years. This resulted from years of a debt-driven consumption policy adopted by the United States.

In accordance with past practice, the While House can always obtain Congressional authorization to raise the debt ceiling. Congress has raised the debt ceiling 16 times since 1993. In response to the plea from the White House to raise the debt ceiling before the upcoming general election, the Republican Party, which controls the House of Representatives, has added some new legal obligations requiring the government to cut the federal spending by 2 trillion U.S. dollars over the next 10 years without a tax increase.

For the Obama administration, accepting such a condition could mean that Obama will lose his re-election in 2012. On the other side, if Congress does not grant the debt limit increase authorization on Aug. 2, the government will theoretically fail to pay the due debt interests (the earliest interest payment to creditors will be due Aug. 15).

As a result, the Obama administration will have to suspend pension payment to domestic retirees and cease interest payment to foreign creditors. Evidently, this will lead to a catastrophic consequence that both the United States and the global financial market cannot bear. Nevertheless, the White House and Congress are both using this catastrophic consequence as a means to force the other side to submit.

Although international financial credit rating institutions have already issued clear warnings about the risk concerning the U.S. national debt and the transaction volume of CDS that is an indicator of default risk in the financial market has considerably increased, the chance is very slim for the United States to face a similar sovereign debt crisis as Greece.

First, latest statistical data shows that investors are still interested in purchasing newly issued U.S. national debt. Second, “technical default” will not prompt central banks of various banks, primary overseas holders of U.S. national debt, to dump the U.S. debt they hold.

Foreign holders of U.S. debt are faced with a real risk. Since the U.S. political parties only consider their own interests and dare to ignore the interests of foreign creditors, it is highly possible that the United States will damage the interests of foreign creditors for its own political, economic, or security interests some day.

In other words, it may use the debt default to threaten other countries. This is a terrible systematic risk hidden in the current international financial system. The U.S. debt crisis has posed a real dilemma for foreign creditors. They either have to endure the immediate enormous financial risks brought about by the U.S. debt default, or hold more U.S. debt at their peril.

At the same time, the U.S. debt crisis served as a wake-up call to China, the largest foreign holder of Treasury bonds. China should stop increasing its already massive foreign exchange reserves, and be alert of the national financial security risks in excessive holdings of U.S. dollar assets.

In the post-global financial crisis era, there is a growing international consensus that the U.S. dollar-centered international currency system should be reformed as soon as possible. Getting rid of the dollar will not only serve the interests of creditor countries, but also ensure the stability and sustainable operation of the international financial system.

[i]By Li Xiangyang, the director of the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the article is translated by People\’s Daily Online.[/i]

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According to statistics released by China Internet Network Information Center on July 19, the scope of China\’s Internet users has reached 485 million and is expected to exceed 500 million by the end of 2011, with the Internet penetration rate standing at 36.2 percent.

China\’s Internet has undergone a radical shift from the first email sent by a Chinese person in 1987 to the \”fission of speech\” in the age of microblogging. From the high-tech dream of an elite minority to its integration into the lifestyle of one-third of Chinese people, Internet is relatively new in China, but its strength has been recognized as virtual reality, and its uncertainty is much more than what is known.

Doubtlessly, 485 million Internet users are the leading force in \”changing the world with the Internet\”. Therefore, how they speak and how people in power respond to their voices are significant to China as it restructures.

The statistics also show that among all the Internet users in China, people under age 29 account for 58.1 percent and those under 39 make up 81.3 percent. Chinese with a college degree or higher take up 22.2 percent, while those with a middle school degree and below account for 43.8 percent. People with a monthly income below 2,000 yuan and no monthly income make up 62.9 percent. The analysis of the aforementioned data is not the only data in the statistical sense.

As a matter of fact, all Chinese Internet users are Chinese citizens. There is a real person behind every user\’s name and ID. Every Internet user is living around us. Their voices may be sensible or proud and their experience, perhaps rich or plain. The issues Internet users care about are from everyday life. Their judgment comes from the existing legal ethics. Their appeal represents the voices of the masses in certain aspects. Precisely because of this, General Secretary Hu Jintao reiterated that the Internet was an important channel for taking actions, making decisions, understanding the concerns of the public and pooling people\’s wisdom. We should not only respect the Internet users\’ right of being citizens but also take online public opinion as a barometer and frame of reference seriously, and take good care the 485 million Internet users.

It is said that the enthusiasm of Chinese Internet users is rarely seen, which is a thought-provoking statement. Recently, a crowd of Internet users gathered around a disputed public figure who was elected 19 times in seven years to be the \”talent of public hearing\” in Chengdu, capital of southwest China\’s Sichuan province. The phenomenon was quite thought-provoking: why did only a few people register at the hearing? Why was Hu frequently selected? Why did those passionate Internet users choose to disappear in the real world? Internet users become more and more courageous in the virtual world but fewer of them care to follow up in the real world. It is an issue both Internet users and controllers need to tackle. It will be more an opportunity than a challenge to make maximum exploration of 485 million Internet users\’ potential and turn their online passion and enthusiasm into a force that can change reality.

If we could constantly improve the system and encourage participation, aunt Hu would not be repeatedly surrounded by the onlookers. If there were not so many food safety scandals, the online rumor such as \”orange accident\” would not travel so fast. If we did not passively respond to public incidents, there would be fewer \”habitual queries\” and \”unconditional objections.\” If there were enough channels for safeguarding rights, online breaking news would not be so vigorous. All in all, if the disputes and problems can be effectively solved, the muted voices heard, the Internet users could find their strength in the real world, and the Internet would not only be a virtual society where online revelries were held.

The Internet is neither the \”gang of the city\” nor the \”moral republic\”. The virtual world can only be made into reality with the precondition that Internet users constantly improve their attainment and ability to discuss government affairs. Controllers must keep their eyes both on the online world and problem-solving ability in the real world so that can they best explore the potentials of 485 million Internet users and form the basis for healthy Internet development and national growth.

[i]The author is Fan Zhengwei and the article is translated by People\’s Daily Online editor Zhang Xinyi[/i]

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