Adnan Faruqi
BANNED
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2011
- Messages
- 1,018
- Reaction score
- 0
Chinas Security Chief warns of more social unrest as economy slows
DHARAMSHALA, December 6: Chinas top security chief has warned provincial officials to be prepared for unrest if financial conditions continue to deteriorate in China.
According to a report in the state-run Legal Daily, Zhou Yongkang, a member of Chinas nine-person Politburo Standing Committee said in a speech Friday that the country needed to focus on improving its social management, including increasing "community-level" manpower.
"It is an urgent task for us to think how to establish a social management system with Chinese characteristics to suit our socialist market economy," Zhou was quoted as saying.
"Especially when facing negative effects of the market economy."
Social management in communist jargon is often used to describe the application of control aimed at stamping out opposition and unrest.
Zhou Yongkang added that the country's economic development was causing imbalances and gaps in wealth between both regions and individuals.
He called for innovative approaches to a large set of policies which could include anything from increased policing to better internet control or better unemployment insurance.
Chinas economy has seen its slowest rate of expansion in two years, while national real estate prices declined for the third consecutive month in November. Latest figures show that China's official purchasing manager index, a measure of manufacturing demand, plunged to its lowest point since February 2009. The PMI hit 49, which is significant as any number below 50 indicates a contraction.
The slump in economy and closure of factories have sparked large-scale strikes and labour unrest in recent weeks affecting China's southern manufacturing heartland.
Hundreds of laid-off workers of a Singaporean electronics firm Hi-P International in Shanghai went on strike last week over mass job losses and demanding adequate compensation package.
More than 7,000 workers walked off the job in south China's Guangdong province last month, shutting a factory making New Balance, Adidas and Nike shoes and clashing with police in a protest over layoffs and wage cuts.
Following the market slump and labour unrests, China this year will be spending more on public security than the military for the first time.
Public security, which covers state surveillance of its people and maintaining Chinas paramilitary police, received a boost by nearly 14% to the tune of $95 billion.
China
China braces for growing unrest as economy slows
(AFP) 1 day ago
BEIJING China's security chief has told provincial officials they need to be more prepared for the "negative impact" of slowing growth, underscoring Beijing's concern a slowdown could bring social unrest.
Large-scale strikes have hit China in recent weeks, as workers resentful about low salaries or lay-offs face off with employers juggling high costs and exports hit by lower demand from the debt-burdened West.
Politburo member Zhou Yongkang said authorities needed to improve their system of "social management", including increasing "community-level" manpower.
"In the face of the negative impact of the market economy, we have not formed a complete system of social management," Zhou said in a Friday speech to officials reported by the state Xinhua news agency at the weekend.
"It is urgent that we build a social management system with Chinese characteristics to match our socialist market economy."
China's economy grew by 9.1 percent in the third quarter, down from 9.5 percent in the previous quarter.
Manufacturing -- a key engine of growth -- slumped to its lowest level in nearly three years last month, amid slowing demand from the European Union and the United States.
Beijing has started to implement measures to boost lending and spur growth in the world's second largest economy.
China's central bank last week reduced the amount of money banks must keep in reserve for the first time in three years, after earlier easing lending restrictions on more than 20 small banks nationwide.
Analysts have warned that China's huge army of factory staff -- many of them migrant workers -- will be the first to feel the effects of the global slowdown.
Ji Shao, a Beijing-based labour expert, told AFP recently she had visited Shenzhen and expected many small firms to shut down due to high costs, difficulty accessing loans and the global downturn.
Last week, more than 1,000 workers at a plant in China's commercial hub Shanghai went on strike for at least two days, some clashing with police, to protest at staff being laid off, the US-based China Labor Watch said.
In November, more than 7,000 workers went on strike at a factory in the southern province of Guangdong -- China's manufacturing heartland -- clashing with police in a protest over layoffs and wage cuts.
Details and images of many of the recent strikes have emerged first via Twitter-like "weibo" social networking sites that Chinese authorities are struggling to purge of what officials call "rumours" and "false news."
China has the world's largest online community, with more than half a billion Internet users, and as such news of unrest quickly spreads round the country despite the government's strict censorship regime.
AFP: China braces for growing unrest as economy slows
Chinese leaders fret about unrest as economy sours
China's top security chief warns provincial officials to brace for disorder if financial conditions worsen.
By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times
December 5, 2011, 4:04 p.m.
Reporting from Beijing
Images of Greek demonstrators rioting over austerity measures and Occupy Wall Street protesters scuffling with police in the U.S. appear to be worrying China's communist leaders.
One of China's most senior officials has acknowledged that the souring global economy has the government on edge.
According to an official New China News Agency report Saturday, China's top security chief warned provincial officials to brace for unrest if financial conditions continue to deteriorate.
Zhou Yongkang, a member of China's nine-person Politburo Standing Committee, said the country should focus on developing better "social management" a euphemism for control aimed at stamping out opposition and demonstrations.
"Faced with the negative impact of the market economy, we still have not established a complete social management system," Zhou said. "How to establish a social management with Chinese characteristics to suit the socialistic market economic system in China is the most pressing task we face today."
Nothing is potentially more destabilizing to the government than a sustained financial crisis; the Communist Party has staked its credibility on delivering solid economic growth.
Chief among those threats is the slowing manufacturing sector. China has been hit recently by a spate of labor strikes sparked by complaints of shrinking paychecks and poor working conditions. More than 200 workers demonstrated at a Singaporean-owned electronics plant in Shanghai last week over rumors of a mass layoff.
Manufacturing activity contracted in November, the first time the sector has retreated in nearly three years, signaling that the worst is yet to come.
China's property market, a cornerstone of the economy, is also slowing. Real estate prices declined for the third consecutive month in November, according to an index of values in 100 major cities. Developers have slashed prices in some locations, triggering isolated protests by existing homeowners.
Policymakers have responded by lowering the ratio of deposits that banks are required to hold in reserve equal to an injection of $62 billion into the credit system. Analysts say the move is the first major sign that China is shifting policy from tightening to loosening.
Fear of a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, when an estimated 20 million migrant workers lost their jobs, may be worrying the government. Beijing responded to that crisis by unleashing a nearly $2-trillion stimulus plan, which kept the economy humming but fueled inflation.
If mass unrest does break out, the government appears prepared. For the first time, China this year will spend more on "public security" than the military, boosting the budget nearly 14% to $95 billion to cover surveillance, jails and paramilitary police.
Authorities haven't been shy about unleashing force swiftly, and sometimes violently, as they have in the restive provinces of Tibet and Xinjiang.
When the Arab Spring uprisings emboldened anonymous Chinese Internet activists to call for a so-called Jasmine Revolution in China, officials responded by rounding up dissidents, tightening online censorship and deploying huge numbers of police to public spaces to head off potential demonstrations.
The reality, however, is that most protests in China are sparked by economic grievances.
A villager who helped destroy an office and restaurant belonging to a developer who allegedly pushed local residents off their land told The Times this year, "We have a huge gap between rich and poor in our village."
Chinese leaders fret about unrest as economy sours - latimes.com
DHARAMSHALA, December 6: Chinas top security chief has warned provincial officials to be prepared for unrest if financial conditions continue to deteriorate in China.
According to a report in the state-run Legal Daily, Zhou Yongkang, a member of Chinas nine-person Politburo Standing Committee said in a speech Friday that the country needed to focus on improving its social management, including increasing "community-level" manpower.
"It is an urgent task for us to think how to establish a social management system with Chinese characteristics to suit our socialist market economy," Zhou was quoted as saying.
"Especially when facing negative effects of the market economy."
Social management in communist jargon is often used to describe the application of control aimed at stamping out opposition and unrest.
Zhou Yongkang added that the country's economic development was causing imbalances and gaps in wealth between both regions and individuals.
He called for innovative approaches to a large set of policies which could include anything from increased policing to better internet control or better unemployment insurance.
Chinas economy has seen its slowest rate of expansion in two years, while national real estate prices declined for the third consecutive month in November. Latest figures show that China's official purchasing manager index, a measure of manufacturing demand, plunged to its lowest point since February 2009. The PMI hit 49, which is significant as any number below 50 indicates a contraction.
The slump in economy and closure of factories have sparked large-scale strikes and labour unrest in recent weeks affecting China's southern manufacturing heartland.
Hundreds of laid-off workers of a Singaporean electronics firm Hi-P International in Shanghai went on strike last week over mass job losses and demanding adequate compensation package.
More than 7,000 workers walked off the job in south China's Guangdong province last month, shutting a factory making New Balance, Adidas and Nike shoes and clashing with police in a protest over layoffs and wage cuts.
Following the market slump and labour unrests, China this year will be spending more on public security than the military for the first time.
Public security, which covers state surveillance of its people and maintaining Chinas paramilitary police, received a boost by nearly 14% to the tune of $95 billion.
China
China braces for growing unrest as economy slows
(AFP) 1 day ago
BEIJING China's security chief has told provincial officials they need to be more prepared for the "negative impact" of slowing growth, underscoring Beijing's concern a slowdown could bring social unrest.
Large-scale strikes have hit China in recent weeks, as workers resentful about low salaries or lay-offs face off with employers juggling high costs and exports hit by lower demand from the debt-burdened West.
Politburo member Zhou Yongkang said authorities needed to improve their system of "social management", including increasing "community-level" manpower.
"In the face of the negative impact of the market economy, we have not formed a complete system of social management," Zhou said in a Friday speech to officials reported by the state Xinhua news agency at the weekend.
"It is urgent that we build a social management system with Chinese characteristics to match our socialist market economy."
China's economy grew by 9.1 percent in the third quarter, down from 9.5 percent in the previous quarter.
Manufacturing -- a key engine of growth -- slumped to its lowest level in nearly three years last month, amid slowing demand from the European Union and the United States.
Beijing has started to implement measures to boost lending and spur growth in the world's second largest economy.
China's central bank last week reduced the amount of money banks must keep in reserve for the first time in three years, after earlier easing lending restrictions on more than 20 small banks nationwide.
Analysts have warned that China's huge army of factory staff -- many of them migrant workers -- will be the first to feel the effects of the global slowdown.
Ji Shao, a Beijing-based labour expert, told AFP recently she had visited Shenzhen and expected many small firms to shut down due to high costs, difficulty accessing loans and the global downturn.
Last week, more than 1,000 workers at a plant in China's commercial hub Shanghai went on strike for at least two days, some clashing with police, to protest at staff being laid off, the US-based China Labor Watch said.
In November, more than 7,000 workers went on strike at a factory in the southern province of Guangdong -- China's manufacturing heartland -- clashing with police in a protest over layoffs and wage cuts.
Details and images of many of the recent strikes have emerged first via Twitter-like "weibo" social networking sites that Chinese authorities are struggling to purge of what officials call "rumours" and "false news."
China has the world's largest online community, with more than half a billion Internet users, and as such news of unrest quickly spreads round the country despite the government's strict censorship regime.
AFP: China braces for growing unrest as economy slows
Chinese leaders fret about unrest as economy sours
China's top security chief warns provincial officials to brace for disorder if financial conditions worsen.
By David Pierson, Los Angeles Times
December 5, 2011, 4:04 p.m.
Reporting from Beijing
Images of Greek demonstrators rioting over austerity measures and Occupy Wall Street protesters scuffling with police in the U.S. appear to be worrying China's communist leaders.
One of China's most senior officials has acknowledged that the souring global economy has the government on edge.
According to an official New China News Agency report Saturday, China's top security chief warned provincial officials to brace for unrest if financial conditions continue to deteriorate.
Zhou Yongkang, a member of China's nine-person Politburo Standing Committee, said the country should focus on developing better "social management" a euphemism for control aimed at stamping out opposition and demonstrations.
"Faced with the negative impact of the market economy, we still have not established a complete social management system," Zhou said. "How to establish a social management with Chinese characteristics to suit the socialistic market economic system in China is the most pressing task we face today."
Nothing is potentially more destabilizing to the government than a sustained financial crisis; the Communist Party has staked its credibility on delivering solid economic growth.
Chief among those threats is the slowing manufacturing sector. China has been hit recently by a spate of labor strikes sparked by complaints of shrinking paychecks and poor working conditions. More than 200 workers demonstrated at a Singaporean-owned electronics plant in Shanghai last week over rumors of a mass layoff.
Manufacturing activity contracted in November, the first time the sector has retreated in nearly three years, signaling that the worst is yet to come.
China's property market, a cornerstone of the economy, is also slowing. Real estate prices declined for the third consecutive month in November, according to an index of values in 100 major cities. Developers have slashed prices in some locations, triggering isolated protests by existing homeowners.
Policymakers have responded by lowering the ratio of deposits that banks are required to hold in reserve equal to an injection of $62 billion into the credit system. Analysts say the move is the first major sign that China is shifting policy from tightening to loosening.
Fear of a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, when an estimated 20 million migrant workers lost their jobs, may be worrying the government. Beijing responded to that crisis by unleashing a nearly $2-trillion stimulus plan, which kept the economy humming but fueled inflation.
If mass unrest does break out, the government appears prepared. For the first time, China this year will spend more on "public security" than the military, boosting the budget nearly 14% to $95 billion to cover surveillance, jails and paramilitary police.
Authorities haven't been shy about unleashing force swiftly, and sometimes violently, as they have in the restive provinces of Tibet and Xinjiang.
When the Arab Spring uprisings emboldened anonymous Chinese Internet activists to call for a so-called Jasmine Revolution in China, officials responded by rounding up dissidents, tightening online censorship and deploying huge numbers of police to public spaces to head off potential demonstrations.
The reality, however, is that most protests in China are sparked by economic grievances.
A villager who helped destroy an office and restaurant belonging to a developer who allegedly pushed local residents off their land told The Times this year, "We have a huge gap between rich and poor in our village."
Chinese leaders fret about unrest as economy sours - latimes.com
This is a good example of that, the one you mentioned:
