Quotes from around China this week

“We were in isolation for many years and now are opening up, but it will not hamper the relationship between Myanmar and China. The bilateral relation is a special one.”
-Ko Ko Hlaing, chief political advisor to the Myanmar president, says Myanmar cherishes the “special” links it has with China and will further strengthen and deepen its friendship during the country’s current reforms. China Daily

"A great deal of facts tell us that the worse corruption becomes the only outcome will be the end of the party and the end of the state! We must be vigilant!" 
-In a study session for the Politburo, Xi Jinping warns that if corruption is allowed to run wild in China, the ruling Communist Party risks major unrest and the collapse of its rule. Reuters

“For the central bank, I think the next movement related to the yuan is going to be reform of convertibility.”
-Zhao Xiaochuan, China’s central bank governor, said convertibility will be the next step in the overhaul of the exchange-rate system as calls grow for China’s new leadership to deepen changes in the economy to maintain growth. Bloomberg

“When I was little, the study topic for ‘The Little Match Girl’ was: Understand the horrible tragedy of the little match-selling girl’s death on the streets on New Year’s Eve and how it reveals the darkness of capitalist society. Vicious capitalist society! That’s how we were educated.”
-Five runaway Guizhou children were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in a dumpster last week after they lit a fire to keep warm. One netizen on Weibo compares the incident to the Hans Christian Anderson short story Chinese are often taught in school. Wall Street Journal  

“Chairman Hu’s important decision fully embodies his profound thinking of the overall development of the Party, country, and military.”
At an extended meeting of the CPC’s Central Military Commission, Xi Jinping praised Hu Jintao for voluntarily resigning from the top military post of the CPC. People’s Daily

“We can’t speak the truth, or use vibrant language, and we can’t say romantic things, and we can’t make predictions. We’re like the world’s largest army of mutes marching forward. The most terrifying thing about this country isn’t poverty, or hunger, or not winning a Nobel prize, or not realizing a high enough GDP, or not producing enough Party reports, it’s that the people have lost their ability and right to speak.”
- Li Chenpeng’s talk at Peking University: “Speak” A Big Enough Forest