China media: Xi Jinping

Papers support President Xi Jinping's fight against corruption in China

Papers discuss Xi Jinping's performance as China's president amid praise for his government's fight against corruption.

The People's Daily publishes an article evaluating Mr Xi's performance as he completes nearly 18 months in office.

He was formally named president in March 2013. Since taking office, Mr Xi has embarked on a high-profile anti-corruption campaign.

The commentary compliments Mr Xi for taking on high-ranking officials, including former security chief Zhou Yongkang, over corruption and "fighting graft with a force that is unprecedented".

Noting that Mr Xi's anti-graft effort has "won the hearts of the people", the article adds that his strong push for reform has also "brought hope and confidence to the people".

Commenting on Mr Xi's foreign policy, the state-run media praise him for showing the world the "charisma of a big nation".

"Mr Xi has shown calmness when facing Washington's aggressive 'Asia rebalancing strategy'… He has strengthened and improved relationship with Russia and India, as well as developed ties with [different countries]… All these soft punches are slowly causing the rebalancing strategy of the US to break down," says the daily.

'Moon cake bribery'

Meanwhile, government officials have been warned against "moon cake bribery" during the Mid-Autumn Festival next month.

Moon cakes are traditional Chinese pastries served during the festival.

According to the China Supervision for Law and Order News, a paper under the Ministry of Supervision, the disciplinary commission of the Communist Party of China has set up a web page for the public to expose officials who misuse public funds to send moon cakes as gifts.

"A determined attitude and high-pressure disciplinary actions are absolutely necessary to squash those who still harbour selfish hopes… A strong signal should be sent to the whole party and society against using public money to purchase moon cakes as gifts," the paper warns.

And finally, papers warn against "foreign interference" in Xinjiang.

Chinese authorities have detained a man accused of spreading online rumours about recent violence in Xinjiang's Yarkant county.

The man, who is said to have circumvented internal censorship controls in China to send his account to overseas websites, alleged that between 3,000 and 5,000 people were killed in the 28 July violence in Yarkant.

Authorities, however, said that a total of 96 people died in the violence. Access to, and information flow from, the region is tightly controlled, making independent confirmation of incidents there difficult.

The region, in China's far west, borders Central Asia and is home to the Muslim Uighur minority group. It has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months, which Beijing blames on Uighur separatists.

Condemning the act, Li Ruisheng, a law professor with Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, tells the Xinjiang Daily that the region is at an "important point in economic and social development" and such online rumours create fear in the society.

"The act of bypassing the firewall and spreading rumours online overseas will cause more misunderstanding in the international community about terrorism in China. It will also add pressure on China and endanger the country's security. One should not underestimate the danger of online rumours," he tells the daily.

In a separate article, Turgunjan Tursun, a researcher with Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, responds to Western media reports that "Xinjiang was a Chechnya in the making".

Criticising Western media outlets for "spreading fear", the pundit points out that the region is "structurally different" from the southern Russian republic which has seen tensions between ethnic Russians and Chechens.

He adds that such comparisons show the "lack of understanding" and "Western bias" over the issue.

"The anti-terror effort in Xinjiang is an internal affair of China… But this also serves as a reminder to us that we have to be on high alert to prevent external forces to interfere in Xinjiang affairs,"