Video episodes of “Closer To China with R.L.Kuhn” – broadcast on CGTN

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Testing Hong Kong’s Basic Law

China’s National People’s Congress interpreted Article 104 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong SAR by clarifying the legal requirements for those taking public office, and the legal consequences for those violating the swearing-in oath We discuss what is the legal status of the Basic Law, whether Hong Kong maintains its judiciary independence and how to understand “One Country, Two Systems”

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What China thinks of President-elect Donald Trump

The unexpected election of Donald Trump as the President of the United States has stunned the media and foreign governments This makes us focus on China-US relations: what are the opportunities and threats, and why do many Chinese people support him? Will Trump’s pragmatism lead to a constructive engagement with China? We discuss

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Sixth Plenum of 18th CPC Central Committee: Party Norms, Supervision, Discipline

The sixth plenary session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, held in Beijing, was a milestone, establishing the Party’s new norms of political life and setting new regulations for supervision and discipline Significantly, CPC General Secretary Xi Jinping was designated as the “core” leader We find out why in this episode

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Five Major Development Concepts IV: Why is Open Development Still Vital?

Why is “Open Development” among the Five Major Development Concepts when “opening up” has been China’s policy for almost four decades? Although China has become the world’s second largest economy, it still faces structural problems, such as industrial overcapacity and higher labor costs, so a new kind of opening up is required: free trade zones, the Belt and Road initiative, and Chinese companies going abroad

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The Long March at 80: Its Continuing Significance

China is celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Long March — the epic, two-year, adversity-filled, military retreat led by China’s then fledgling Communist Party We explore why a military retreat is celebrated, how it changed the CPC, what its meaning is for contemporary China, and cross-Strait ties, what is the so-called “Long March Spirit”, and how it affects China’s governance

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Five Major Development Concepts III: Green Development

Green Development, the third of China’s Five Major Development Concepts, has been elevated to a position of utmost national importance How can China reverse devastating pollution without undermining economic growth? A pioneer is Zhejiang Province, which has developed a system under which polluting companies and individuals must compensate those who suffer from their pollution The challenge for China is motivating individuals and institutions to protect the environment

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Five Major Development Concepts II: Coordinated Development

Coordinated development, the second of the Five Major Development Concepts, optimizes economic development by the efficient allocation of resources and the equitable access to resources Some problems that the concept could help tackling include duplication among competing provinces that exacerbate industrial overcapacity, and disparities between urban and rural and between east/coast and west/inland areas Coordinated development helps developing complementary industries and planning richer and poorer regions together

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Five Major Development Concepts I: Innovative Development

Innovative Development is the first of the Five Major Development Concepts Reform requires change and change requires innovation, so CCTV is investigating two kinds of innovation: science and technology, and management and processes Both kinds of innovation are found at the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) For innovation to succeed, nurturing talent and fostering an environment that appreciates innovation are essential

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Five Major Development Concepts – Overview

China’s economy is in a historic transition, and opportunities and challenges abound However, its problems are daunting: slower growth, social imbalances, industrial overcapacity, excessive debt, and massive pollution How will China’s leadership address such diverse, complex issues? According to President Xi Jinping, China’s model going forward will be driven by development that is “innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared” These are now known as the “Five Major Development Concepts”

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Precision or Targeted Poverty Reduction

China is working to bring the vision of a ‘moderately prosperous society’ to all of its citizens In early 2016, about 55 million people were still living below the poverty line In response, the government’s precision poverty relief program has been set up to track every one of these families and prescribe specific measures for each to lift them above the line CCTV headed to Fuping County in Hebei Province to see how China plans to eliminate poverty completely by 2020

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Why is China focusing on supply side structural reform?

Supply side structural reform is China’s new guiding strategy to enable economic growth Its components focus on overcoming obstacles that are impeding China’s economic transformation – reducing industrial overcapacity, cutting enterprise debt, reforming state-owned enterprises, encouraging innovation, and facilitating the process of doing business We speak with China’s economic thought leaders to understand the challenges and the opportunities

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China’s healthcare reform II – Can the private sector help?

Healthcare reform is among China’s top priorities because Chinese people are now demanding quality healthcare at reasonable prices without large disparities and endemic corruption New policies are encouraging non-government healthcare institutions, especially private hospitals We examine how private healthcare works in China, how patients benefit, whether competition improves healthcare, what doctors think, and what is appropriate in a Socialist system

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THAAD – Security vs. Destabilization?

To the US, the THAAD anti-ballistic missile system “will be focused solely on DPRK nuclear and missile threats and not be directed towards any third-party nations” To China, THAAD will “seriously harm China’s strategic security interests and regional strategic balance” For years, China and the US cooperated on Korean Peninsula issues and China’s relations with South Korea were improving Closer to China discusses why each has now slipped back

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After the South China Sea Ruling: What Happens Now?

Some experts are calling China’s rejection of the recent South China Sea ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration “China’s first international test” as an emerging power Some wonder whether military tensions, escalations, even confrontations, are inevitable We explore China’s position and stance on issues of sovereignty

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South China Sea Dispute: Why Does China Reject the Ruling?

China said it neither accepts nor recognizes the July 12 award of an arbitral tribunal in the South China Sea arbitration case put forward unilaterally by the Philippines Why does China assert that the ruling issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration supporting the Philippine’s claims in the South China Sea is null and void? Is the award biased and one-sided and what are its legal implications? Why did China refuse to participate in the proceedings and how will China’s position affect its international standing?

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CPC 95th Anniversary Special V: The CPC’s Global Outreach and Challenges

Many born outside China do not understand the Communist Party of China (CPC), such as what it stands for, how it’s structured, how it functions, or how it’s run But one cannot understand China without understanding the CPC Find out how the CPC tells its story to the world and what challenges it faces

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2016 CPC 95th Anniversary IV: The CPC’s Personnel Management System

The Communist Party of China (CPC) continues to be China’s ruling party after almost seven decades –a fact that may puzzle those outside the country However, the quality of CPC personnel helps keep the party functioning smoothly This edition of Closer to China explores how the CPC selects, trains, monitors, assesses, and promotes officials It also looks at how the Party fights corruption, extravagance and abuse of power

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2016 CPC 95th Anniversary Special III – The CPC’s Governance Practice

The Communist Party of China (“CPC”) has almost 90 million members Why then does the CPC seem such a mystery? The only way to appreciate China’s current conditions and anticipate future prospects is to understand what the CPC is and how it works We find out how the CPC governs itself and the country in this episode

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2016 CPC 95th Anniversary Special II – The CPC’s Governance Philosophy

How do the philosophies of the Communist Party of China (CPC) guide its vision, strategies, policies and organization? Why has China opted for what it calls, “multi-party cooperation and political consultation under CPC leadership”? Can a system with a single leading party increase the needed transparency and establish credible checks-and-balances? And how does the CPC as the ruling party claim legitimacy? This edition of Closer to China introduces to you the CPC’s governance philosophy

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2016 CPC 95th Anniversary Special I: How the CPC Adapts, Adjusts, Corrects

The Communist Party of China (“CPC”) celebrates its 95th anniversary on July 1, 2016 How has the CPC, as China’s ruling party, led the country in its development and modernization? How has the CPC adapted to changing conditions? Kept up with the times? What about the CPC’s history? What are its enduring ideals? Why now must the CPC be rejuvenated?

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The Inside Story of China’s Think Tanks

President Xi Jinping has made “Think Tanks with Chinese Characteristics” a national strategic priority Why? What’s their role in China’s reform and development? Reporting to the government, can they critique the government? How can they be creative and innovative? What does it mean that China’s Think Tanks have “Chinese Characteristics”?

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China’s Science and Technology III: Education, Evaluation, Integrity

China is placing a heavy bet on science The country’s two prime goals, a moderately prosperous society by 2020 and a fully modernized country by 2050, depend on technological advances and an innovative spirit But for China’s scientists to fulfill its mission, how will it adapt? How to promote creativity and critical thinking? And what about fighting fraud in the field?

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What makes China’s ‘Energy Security’?

China’s growth and development is powered by fossil fuels, which is why China’s ‘Energy Security’ is now a serious concern to policymakers There are two fundamental problems The first is a troubled, overcapacity, loss-making coal industry that provides over 70% of China’s electricity The second is increasing dependence on foreign oil in a volatile world What can be done?

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2016 Two Sessions – China’s Transition I: Innovation is Key

Delegates from across China have gathered in Beijing for the National People’s Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) China is facing formidable challenges: slowing growth, market volatility, social imbalances, massive pollution, industrial overcapacity, excessive debt, state-owned enterprise reform, etc How can all these issues be addressed, coordinated? We focus on the Government Work Report

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China’s People-to-People Diplomacy

Why does President Xi Jinping stress people-to-people exchanges as a form of public diplomacy and a core of China’s international strategy? In 1985, as a young county official, Xi stayed in the home of an ordinary American family He never forgot it So to understand China’s people-to-people strategy, we go to Muscatine, Iowa

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