CPC meeting reviews documents on inspection work

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee was held on Friday to review two documents regarding the Party’s inspection work.

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over the meeting.

The two documents consist of a decision to amend the Party’s regulation on inspection work and a special report on the inspection of the Party’s ideology-related organizations, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

Participants of the meeting agreed that the Party’s inspection work should be further upheld and deepened.

Noting that the inspection work has been regarded as a major measure in comprehensively and strictly governing the Party, the statement said such work would provide solutions to both the symptoms and the root cause of the problems.

The statement said that the amendment to the inspection work regulation includes the latest innovative practices in inspection work, and makes clear stipulations on the inspection of central authorities and city and county-level governments. It also stipulates that inspection should cover all fields in an administrative term.

Such provisions are expected to guarantee the deepening of inspections, it said.

The statement called on Party committees at all levels to study and implement the regulation and promote awareness about the regulation.

It also urged leading officials to understand the spirit of the regulation, put themselves under supervision and take the lead in observing the Party’s rules.

Ideology is very important work of the Party, the meeting noted, adding that publicity, culture and news organizations have undergone a thorough political “health examination” via inspections of these agencies.

The inspections have strengthened the Party’s leadership over ideological work and promoted strict governance of the Party in the field, said the statement.

It stressed that CPC members and officials at all levels should staunchly safeguard the authority and the centralized, unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core.

Officials are urged to have confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and grasp the correct direction of politics, values and public opinion.

Efforts are needed to improve mainstream ideology’s transmissibility, guidance, influence and credibility, and to create a good environment for the upcoming 19th CPC National Congress, according to the statement.



Ultrafast missile interceptor developed

China has developed a new type of ultrafast anti-missile interceptor capable of knocking down an incoming projectile that is flying 10 times faster than a bullet, according to the nation’s largest missile maker.

China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, one of the major defense contractors for the People’s Liberation Army, recently revealed that its Second Academy in Beijing has made a “new-generation aerospace defense missile” that incorporates top space technologies, and which it describes as one of the cornerstones of a world power’s strategic prowess.

The weapon is so difficult to design that only a handful of nations in the world are able to develop it, the State-owned company said, adding that its product is capable of bringing down targets tens of kilometers above the ground that fly 10 times faster than a bullet.

The CASIC Second Academy is the country’s major developer of air defense systems.

The information of such a missile defense system, a cutting-edge weapon that only the United States and Russia were previously reported to have, was disclosed in an article released by CASIC earlier this month.

The article was about the contribution by control system researchers from the Zhang Yiqun Studio, a group named after a prominent scientist, at the academy.

Although the introduction did not specify the anti-missile interceptor’s capabilities, experts said the descriptions “tens of kilometers” and “10 times faster than a bullet” indicate its range should be from 10 km to 100 km and its minimum velocity around 12,000 km/h — a typical bullet used by a handgun, the slowest of all bullets, normally travels about 1,200 km/h.

The average age of the weapon’s designers is 32, according to the article. They overcame numerous problems during research and development, including an explosion of one of the weapon’s prototypes during a flight test, it said.

Lyu Xiaoge, spokesman for CASIC, declined to comment on the anti-missile interceptor on Friday, saying his company has developed many world-class missiles in recent years and will continue to contribute to the nation’s missile arsenal.

Wang Ya’nan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge, said an advanced anti-missile interceptor requires cutting-edge technologies, superb manufacturing techniques and top materials and will only be successful after a great number of tests.

China successfully completed three land-based, midcourse missile interception tests in 2010, 2013 and 2014, according to the Defense Ministry. Whether the weapon mentioned by the CASIC Second Academy was the same used in these tests was not clear.



Attack in Egypt

The Christian Coptic community has been targeted once again in Egypt: dozens of worshippers travelling on a bus in Al Minya in Egypt have been killed today. We share the pain of the families of the victims, to whom we send our condolences, and of the many wounded.

When religious communities are attacked, all religious communities, the whole human kind is attacked. The freedom of faith and the right to pray in safety are fundamental human rights and whoever violates these rights commits a crime against humanity.

As European Union, we renew our support and commitment along the Egyptian authorities and the Egyptian people in the fight against terrorism and we expect those responsible must be brought to justice and held accountable.



Taiwan suspect arrested on mainland

A Chinese mainland spokesperson said Friday that Taiwan resident Lee Ming-che is under arrest on suspicions of “subverting the state power.”

According to the country’s security authorities, Lee has been arrested in accordance with the law by the Hunan provincial security organ, said An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Investigation by security authorities found that Lee had frequently entered the mainland since 2012. He colluded with mainlanders, stipulated action guidelines, established illegal organizations, and plotted and carried out activities to subvert state power, An said.

On March 19, 2017, Lee, who was on the mainland to participate in illegal activities, was put under coercive measures by security authorities in line with the law, said An.

After interrogation, Lee and his group confessed to engaging in activities endangering national security, An said.

Judicial authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law, An added.



Remarks by President Juncker at the joint press briefing with European Council President Tusk ahead of the G7 Summit

Mr President,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Buongiorno,

As you are, I am happy to be here in Taormina for this 43rd G7 Summit, the sixth in fact taking place in Italy. And I would like to thank Prime Minister Gentiloni for his hospitality and wish him all possible luck to have a successful Italian Presidency of the G7.

We will meet in a few moments from now – and there are four new leaders around the table. So Donald and myself, we are the only stable elements on the international landscape. We are veterans, but we are not old. And so it will be very interesting to know these new colleagues in a better way, although we have seen some of them yesterday and the days before.

We will stand up here – as we are always doing – for our shared values of freedom, democracy, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. We do believe as Europeans in open societies and we are always seeking multilateral solutions. We want to build bridges, not walls.

But we have to understand those – in Europe and elsewhere – who do not see how globalisation works for them. I mean those 45% of Europeans who do think that globalisation is a threat and not an opportunity. We do think that it is an opportunity if dealt with in a proper way. We have to put fairness at the heart of everything the G7 and our partners do.

That is mainly related to trade and to all trade-issues. Around a third of our national income comes from trade with the rest of the world. It supports 1 in 7 jobs in the European Union and for every EUR 1 billion we get in exports, we create 14,000 extra jobs.

The EU’s GDP is expected to grow by 1.9% this year and next year. All our Member States – the 28, 27 plus 1 – are expected to grow. With 233 million people having a job in Europe, more people are working than ever before. And public finances are improving. We had an average deficit level of 6.1% in 2010/2011; we are down now to between 1.2% and 1.6%. So the overall situation is improving.

During the first G7 we had in Bavaria and the next one last year in Japan – this time we do not have to discuss Greece in the same way we had to discuss Greece previously. Greece is on track. Greece is doing well and I want to pay tribute to the courage and the dignity of the Greek people. Greece is a great nation and we have to respect that nation in the way I am saying.

Mr Tusk and myself, we will have a meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister later today in order to advance our common trade agenda.

Thanks. Grazie. Mille grazie.

Questions and Answers

Q1 Two questions for the two Presidents. On migration, what are the proposals going to be from the EU institutions and what can we expect from tomorrows’ declaration? And on America, how optimistic are you that you can bridge the huge differences between the U.S. and the EU on climate change and trade, which are looking like very, very difficult dossiers?

President Juncker: As far as climate is concerned, we will discuss with our American and other partners and friends the issues. We will compare the way we do see things and the way the Paris Agreement has to be implemented and the way they possibly could see these problems. We do think that the Paris Agreement has to be implemented entirely, and that is the way we will discuss this issue later today.

Q2 I wanted to ask you whether it is true that in your conversations yesterday with President Trump he told you that Germans are “bad, very bad” because they sell too many cars in the U.S. If this is true, did you chastise him? What did you reply on this?

President Juncker: I do not want to comment but I have to comment on this, because we had a meeting with President Trump, which was a very friendly, constructive meeting. It is not true that the President took an aggressive approach when it came to the German trade surplus. I do really think – and for once it is true – that this is a real translation issue. If someone is saying: “the Germans are bad”; that does not mean that this can be translated literally.

Er hat nicht gesagt: die Deutschen benehmen sich schlecht. Er hat gesagt: wir haben ein Problem, wie andere auch, mit dem deutschen Überschuss. So he was not aggressive at all. And anyway, without taking the defence of the Germans, I was making clear that the U.S. cannot compare their trade situation with individual Member States of the European Union. They have to compare their performance with the global performances of the European Union. And I made it clear that the Commission is in charge of dealing with trade issues, and not the Member States.

Aber man muss das richtig stellen, es wird übertrieben – “bad”. Also ich bin kein Spezialist im Englischen wie man weiß, aber “bad” heißt nicht böse. “Schlecht” reicht ja.

Q3 A question on Russia and the possible lifting of sanctions or considering. Can you tell us whether sanctions have been discussed and if the U.S. President gave any hint that he would be considering lifting them? Was there any consensus on keeping the sanctions according to the Minsk Agreement? Could you also maybe comment on whether Brexit has come up with the President of the United States and whether he said that would cost him jobs when the UK is to leave the EU?

President Juncker: On Brexit I have to say that we did not mention at length the Brexit-issue, but we were mentioning it en passant. We made it clear that this in our eyes is a real tragedy, that it is not in the interest neither of the British nor of the continental and the Irish Europeans. I described why we do not want other Member States to leave the European Union and I do not know any Member State having the intention to leave. We were explaining not in detail but roughly what this is about.