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06 July 2008

The Pentagon-PLA Disconnect: China’s Self Assessments of Its Military Capabilities

By Dennis J. Blasko

07/03/2008 - Sun Tzu’s admonition “Know the enemy and know yourself” is a fundamental tenet of Chinese military strategy [1]. The books On Military Campaigns and The Science of Military Strategy include it as the first of 10 principles of war [2]. Moreover, Military Strategy reverses the sequence and puts “knowing ourselves” first [3]. Many articles from the official Chinese press illustrate the fact that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has an active program of self-evaluation and is well aware of its strengths and weaknesses, especially in relation to the United States’ armed forces.



In a fortnight

Taiwanese Defense Minister Chen Chao-min

Taiwan's Defense Ministry Mulls Plan to Downsize Military

By Russell Hsiao

07/03/2008 - Taiwanese Defense Minister Chen Chao-min is reportedly considering plans to cut the Republic of China (Taiwan) military force to about 200,000 to 250,000 in a six year time span, which will require reducing around 6,000 troops each consecutive year (NOWnews [Taiwan], July 1). The plan if carried out will reduce the number of military officers to 40,000 and active duty soldiers to about 80,000, which means a total decrease of about 36,000 to 40,000 military officers and soldiers in the Taiwanese military. The report set off a whirlwind in political circles that centered on the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou's on-going effort to pursue rapprochement with China, which has been heavily criticized by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party. According to a Taiwanese newspaper, the revelation of the Defense Ministry's plan follows a below the fray conclusion to the first segment of Taiwan's annual Han Kuang (Chinese glory) war game simulations that presented a scenario, situated in 2009, that positioned the Taiwanese military as having to battle the People's Liberation Army (PLA) on Taiwanese soil after Taiwan's air and naval defense are overwhelmed (United Daily News, June 23). The live-fire segment of the Han Kuang exercises will take place in September, a month following the Beijing Olympics.

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Willy's Corner

Politburo Standing Committee (PBSC) member Zhou Yongkang

The CCP Strengthens Control over the Judiciary

By Willy Lam

07/03/2008 - Chinese President Hu Jintao’s administration has boosted the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) control over the judiciary, a move designed to enhance Beijing’s ability to maintain stability and to crack down on dissent. More powers have been given to the party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission (CPLAC), which has control over the police, the prosecutor’s offices and the courts. Hu, also party general secretary, has given new orders that zhengfa (“political and legal”) departments—which handle law enforcement and judicial matters—must observe the so-called “three top priorities,” meaning the latter must give “utmost priority to the party’s enterprise, the people’s interests, and the Constitution and the law” (Xinhua News Agency, June 23).