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Social Justice Newsletter 
September 24, 2015
The schedule for Pope Francis's two major addresses does not fit with the publication schedule for this newsletter.  He is speaking at 7:00 this morning to the joint session of Congress.  He will speak tomorrow morning to the United Nations General Assembly.  Accordingly, a special edition of this newsletter will be sent out at 7:30 Monday morning, September 28, to report on social justice concerns addressed by the Pope.
  
Many of you may want to attend a replay of the Pope's address to the joint session of Congress this evening (Thursday) at 7:00 P.M. in Borromeo Hall, St. Charles Church, 1315 Lomitas Ave., Livermore.  There will be a discussion afterwards.
  
The main article in today's newsletter is about the visit to the United States of the President of China, Xi Jinping.  The focus is on what each country wants to achieve from the talks. 
 
  

The Visit by Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping became General Secretary of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in November of 2012. He became the President of the People's Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission in March of 2013. He has consolidated his control by creating and taking control of new policy committees including economic development.

He has initiated an unprecedented and far-reaching campaign against corruption. He has called for market economic reforms and a more assertive foreign policy especially regarding the South China Sea.

The Agenda

The United States sees these three issues as the most important:
  
Cybersecurity. The Obama administration says the combination of intellectual property theft and espionage by China has reached unprecedented proportions. The United States is contemplating sanctions against Chinese hackers, and to fend these off, a senior Chinese security official visited Washington recently for talks.

The South China Sea. The United States, worried about freedom of navigation in one of the busiest commercial waterways in the world, has told China to stop building artificial islands and to halt construction of military facilities on those islands. China considers itself to have sovereign rights over about 80 percent of the South China Sea. It is unlikely that the two sides will bridge their differences, but they may agree to try to manage them.

China's new national security law. The law, which China says is necessary to meet a range of emerging threats, including terrorism and online espionage, has raised fears that it will infringe on the ability of American businesses to operate in ways to which they are accustomed in a free-market economy, requiring, for example, that information systems be "secure and controllable." Also of concern is related legislation that would require nongovernmental organizations to find official sponsors in China.

China considers these the most pressing issues:

Developing a "great power relationship" with the United States.This goal was announced by Mr. Xi in 2012, when he was still vice president, and is an effort to be treated as an equal with the United States. Washington has resisted this, partly because it would call on the United States to respect what China says are its core interests in places like Tibet and the South China Sea.
  
Trade and investment in technology sectors by American companies. CCTV, China's state broadcaster, reported that Mr. Xi's visit would improve business ties between the two countries and narrow differences over protectionist policies and online security.
  
The South China Sea. China also places this high on its agenda but is expected to give little ground on its stand that it has "indisputable" sovereignty over large portions of the waterway.

Partially excerpted from a New York Times article

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