Caucus Brief: Cisco Poised To Help China Keep An Eye On Its Citizens

CISCO POISED TO HELP CHINA KEEP AN EYE ON ITS CITIZENS.  The WSJ is reporting that western companies, including Cisco Systems Inc., may help China build an ambitious new surveillance network that will include as many as 500,000 cameras.  When asked about concerns over political use of the system, Todd Bradley, an executive vice president of Hewlett Packard who is also bidding on the project said, "We take them at their word as to the usage…It's not my job to really understand what they're going to use it for.  Our job is to respond to the bid that they've made."  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304778304576377141077267316.html

DOUBTS MOUNT OVER CHINESE ECONOMIC GROWTH. 
The WSJ reports that doubts are mounting about the health of China's property market, Beijing's ability to control inflation and the true extent of government debt.  From the piece: "Popular places to profit from a negative bet on China have gotten crowded.  In recent months, some hedge funds have earned big money after borrowing shares of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, many with auditing or governance problems, in order to profit from their subsequent fall."  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303763404576419461948540954.html 

AS CHINA BUYS MORE U.S. DEBT ON THE SLY, IT EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER U.S. DEBT CRISIS.  A piece from Foreign Policy describes recent comments made by the Bank of China as news breaks that China has been buying more U.S. debt than previously thought by using third-party brokers to disguise debt auction purchases.  Statement from the Bank of China: "The U.S. sovereign debt problem is more hazardous than the European debt crisis…We are worried that the U.S. will follow the EU and have a debt crisis of its own in the future."  These comments were echoed in an op-ed in the state-owned China Daily paper: "The debt crisis in Europe and uncertainty in Japan could mean that there will be no strong alternative to dollar assets."  http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/06/30/you_call_greece_a_crisis_try_the_us_says_china

GLOBAL RACE TO MATCH U.S. DRONE CAPABILITIES.  The Washington Post reports that at the most recent Zhuhai Air Show, the premier event for China's aviation industry, crowds swarmed around a model of an armed, jet-propelled drone.  In an animated video and map, the drone locates what appears to be a U.S. aircraft carrier group near an island with a striking resemblance to Taiwan and sends targeting information back to shore, triggering a devastating barrage of cruise missiles toward the formation of ships.  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/global-race-on-to-match-us-drone-capabilities/2011/06/30/gHQACWdmxH_story.html  The Animated Video (drone portion begins at 2:03): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiXSOn1hHiE 

MORE DETAILS EMERGE ON CHINESE UAV PHOTO.  The leaked photos of what appears to a large Chinese unmanned aerial vehicle have garnered significant interest among aviation experts.  The Diplomat publication quotes aviation expert Bill Sweetman: "U.S. analysts are already suggesting that the new Chinese UAV design - with its 60,000 foot, cruising altitude, 300-mile radar surveillance range and, possibly, lower radar reflectively if made from the right composites - could serve as the targeting node for China's anti-ship ballistic missile."  http://the-diplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2011/07/04/big-week-for-china-air-power/ 

CHINA DEMANDS WITHDRAWAL OF JAPANESE FISHING BOATS.  Chinese state-run media, Xinhua, reports that China had demanded Japan immediately withdraw its fishing boats from the waters of the Diaoyu Islands.  China asserts indisputable sovereignty over the Islands as they "have been an inherent part of China since ancient times."  It is being reported that the Japanese fishing vessels have already withdrawn.  http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-07/04/c_13964864.htm 

TIBETAN EDITOR SENTENCED TO 4 YEARS IN PRISON.  The NYT reports that Tashi Rabten, the editor of the Eastern Snow Mountain magazine, has been sentenced to four years in prison for what the Chinese government call "separatist activities."  From the piece: "Tashi Rabten had been held since April 2010 in detention in an unknown location.  He was among a group of young Tibetans at Northwest Nationalities University in Lanzhou…who had written about a widespread Tibetan uprising in 2008."  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/world/asia/05brf-tibet.html

CHINESE PRESIDENT HU JINTAO WARNS COMMUNIST PARTY OVER CORRUPTION.  During a speech marking the Chinese Communist Party's 90th birthday, China's President Hu Jintao warned the Party that corruption could cost it the support of the people.  President Hu marked "incompetence" of some members as having caused problems for China.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13985359 

THE VATICAN CONDEMNS ORDINATION OF CHINESE BISHOP.  The Vatican has condemned the most recent ordination of a bishop in China without papal consent.  The Vatican said that Paul Lei Shiyin, ordained last week by China's state-controlled Catholic Church, was not recognized as  a bishop in the Roman Catholic Church and risked automatic excommunication.  China's Catholic Church ordained another bishop last November.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/05/world/europe/05briefs-Vatican.html

GROWING DISCONTENT EVIDENT IN ANNUAL HONG KONG PROTEST.  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/world/asia/02iht-hong02.html 

The Caucus Brief is a daily publication for Members of Congress and Hill Staffers on China news and information compiled by the office of Congressman Randy Forbes, Founder of the Congressional China Caucus.  Email Reed.Eckhold@mail.house.gov with tips, comments, or to subscribe/unsubscribe.