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Xi Jinping’s Red Lines for Art and Literature
Recently, Xi Jinping drew some red lines for the art and literature in China. In addition to “spreading contemporary Chinese values and telling China’s stories well,” he instructed that art and literature should not take the “vulgar” route, and “cannot be tainted with the stink of money and be the slaves of the market.”
On Tuesday December 14, Xi, as well as other Politburo Standing Committee members, spoke at the congresses of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC) and the China Writers Association (CWA), where he gave the above instructions to the delegates.
CFLAC is an umbrella organization composed of nationwide associations of writers and artists in various fields. Although CFLAC claims it is a non-governmental organization whose mission “is to unite and serve writers and artists, to train literary and art talents, and to promote the development and prosperity of literature and the arts,” It is under the direct leadership of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department. With a national, provincial, and city-level hierarchical organization structure, CFLAC aims to control millions of Chinese writers and artists so that their work toes the Party line. CWA is a subordinate organization of CFLAC.
At the congress, Xi expressed the hope that “the vast number of artists, remember their mission … and make new and greater contributions for the comprehensive construction of a modernized socialist country and the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.”
Peng Liyuan, Xi’s wife and Vice President of CFLAC, was also sitting on the podium alongside other Politburo Standing Committee members.
Xi drew some red lines for art and literature work. “Literature and art should be popular, but should never be vulgar; be lifelike, but not promote unhealthy culture; be innovative, but not engage in strange and ridiculous things; it should be rewarding, but not be tainted with the stink of money or be the slaves of the market.”
Source: People’s Daily, December 15, 2021
http://politics.people.com.cn/n1/2021/1215/c1024-32308066.html
CCP’s Meeting with European and American Marxist Parties
On December 15, the International Liaison Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) held a meeting with European and American Marxist parties through a video conference. Representatives of more than 20 European and American Marxist political parties and left-wing political organizations from Spain, Britain, the United States and other countries attended the meeting.
Song Tao, head of CCP’s International Liaison Department, said, “The CCP is willing to strengthen exchanges with Marxist parties around the world and promote the continuous development of the world socialist cause.” Song also relayed the remarks of Xi Jinping on the CCP’s concept of democracy.
According to the official People’s Daily, leaders of European and American Marxist parties spoke highly of the great developmental achievements that China has made under the leadership of Xi Jinping’s CCP Central Committee, and they endorsed Xi’s idea of democracy. They also expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation with the CCP, uphold multilateralism, and jointly promote the cause of world socialism.
Source: People’s Daily, December 17, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-12/17/nw.D110000renmrb_20211217_7-03.htm
COVID Diary Writer Removed from Presidium of the Chinese Writers’ Association
Fang Fang, the author of the “Fang Fang’s Diary” that recorded the epidemic during the outbreak in Wuhan City, has been missing from the list of the presidium of a recent nationwide congress of the Chinese Writers’ Association (CWA).
Fang, born in Wuhan, is a member of CWA and was once on its national committee, the association’s governing body. CWA is a government affiliated organization that the Chinese Communist Party uses to control Chinese writers.
After the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan from late 2019 to early 2020, Fang wrote daily from January 25 to March 25, 2020, detailing her observations and personal reflections during the city’s closure. The diary was once an important source of information about the development of the epidemic in Wuhan, as it was closer to the truth than the official media reports.
During the publication of her diary, public and private pressure were already mounting against her. In April of 2020, after the announcement that her diary would be published overseas, she immediately became the target of nationwide criticism from pro-Beijing forces.
In an interview with foreign media, Fang did not back down in the face of pressure. She said that she had been ostracized by the Chinese authorities and the literary community, and that her literary career had changed forever. This was the first time she had encountered such a situation since she started her literary career in 1982. Fang believed that this shows that “far-left nationalism” is deeply rooted in China, especially in the minds of government officials.
In addition to Fang Fang, another famous Chinese writer Zhang Kangkang, who once supported Fang during the incident, was also excluded from the list of the presidium of CWA.
Source: Central News Agency, December 16, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202112160295.aspx
Beijing’s Anti-American Korean War Movie Hit North American Big Screens
The Chinese war movie, “The Battle at Lake Changjin” opened in late November in a limited theatrical release in North America.
The Korean War film was released by CMC Pictures with English subtitles in more than 20 selected theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Dallas, Seattle, Vancouver, Toronto and a few other cities across North America.
Deutsche Welle reported that the film has raised anger in South Korea, with the public calling it “propaganda filled with historical inaccuracies.” South Korean former diplomat Ra Jong-yil called the film “nonsense” and “a whitewashing” and accused it of attempting to reshape the narrative of events during the Korean War.
The movie, a state propaganda to instigate anti-American sentiments amid the tension between two countries, was released in mainland China around National Day holiday.
Source: Xinhua, November 11, 2021
http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/20211111/e0d97351280848ff890db6789f1594df/c.html
New Wave of Layoffs in China’s IT Industry
Chinese media have reported new waves of layoffs at major IT companies. Many employees who are over 35 years old will have difficulty finding new jobs in the industry.
Outlets, including Yicai.com and the Economic Observer, said that amid this wave of layoffs, many employees in their 30s have a greater “sense of crisis” than their younger peers. In China’s IT industry, the age of 35 is a threshold. When employees above that age are laid off, it is very difficult for them for find a new job in big companies.
Reports have told stories of a number of 35-year-old senior employees. Having not yet been told to leave, they are ready to jump ship or start their own businesses. However, not everyone has had enough time to plan for their future. One Baidu employee, who just bought a property in Beijing in August this year, received a notice on December 1, without prior warning, that he had to wrap up and leave by noon on December 3. Another Tencent employee mentioned that he has been intensively interviewed by the human resources department since October and asked to choose between leaving voluntarily and being transferred out.
The year 2021 saw the entire Chinese IT sector caught in waves of layoffs, including giants such as Tencent, ByteDance, Didi Chuxing, and JD.com.
Source: Central News Agency, December 12, 2021
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202112120132.aspx
The Chinese Foreign Ministry Asked U.S. Businesses and Local Officials to “Work on” the Biden Administration
On November 30, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng held a virtual conference with representatives from the U.S. business community, state and local governments. the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), AmCham Shanghai, the U.S.-China Business Council (USCBC), and representatives of America’s state and local governments in China, who all attended the dialogue.
At the meeting, Xie explicitly asked the business community and local governments to influence and work on Biden Administration to advance Beijing’s agenda.
Xie said, “We hope you will continue to play a unique and important role, speak out for what is right, and encourage the U.S. administration to follow a sensible and pragmatic China policy and to stop waging a trade war, industrial war or technology war and stop creating confrontation or conflict over values, ideology or geopolitics.”
On trade and economic relations, Xie added, “I hope you can work on the Biden administration to lift the tariff hikes, stop suppressing and sanctioning Chinese businesses, and create a level playing field for Chinese and American businesses.”
Xie also asked the meeting attendees to work on the one-China policy and the Beijing Winter Olympics. “I hope you will use your influence to urge the U.S. administration to truly abide by the three Sino-U.S. joint communiqués and honor the true one-China policy, which should not be altered, distorted or negated. . . . Boycotting the Olympic Games for political reasons would harm the interests of athletes and go against the common aspiration of the international community. Beijing will host the Winter Olympics next February, and Los Angeles will host the Summer Olympics in 2028. China and the United States need to support each other and jointly honor the Olympic spirit of solidarity, friendship, fair play and mutual understanding. In this regard, I count on positive contributions from the U.S. business community as well as states and cities.”
Source: Chinese Foreign Ministry website, November 30, 2021
http://new.fmprc.gov.cn/web/wjbxw_673019/202111/t20211130_10459101.shtml
CCP Official on Social Stability and the “Fengqiao Experience”
Guo Shengkun, secretary of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission 0f the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), published an article in the official People’s Daily on December 2, stressing the “Fengqiao Experience” and “grid-based” administration, as well as combat against the infiltration of subversive and destructive activities by hostile forces.
The article proposed to focus on the outstanding issues affecting national security and social stability, and on improving the ability to prevent and resolve major risks and hazards.
It called for “strictly preventing and combating the subversive and destructive activities of hostile forces, carrying out in-depth anti-terrorist and anti-secession battles, and effectively building an iron wall to maintain national security.”
Guo also emphasized the “Fengqiao Experience” to maximize the prevention of social conflicts, reduce confrontation and promote stability.
The “Fengqiao experience” was a Mao-era practice from the 1960’s. It involved mobilizing the masses in order to “strengthen the dictatorship over class enemies.” It was named after Fengqiao Township, a part of the city of Zhuji in Zhejiang province.
Gao vowed to strengthen the grassroots work, deepen the “grid-based” administration, and strive to nip risks in the bud. The Chinese government has divided local communities into a grid pattern, with each grid made up of from dozens up to hundreds of households. A designated person called the “grid administrator” leads the administration process.
Recently in Beijing, the city government has been organizing a number of community surveillance groups. They include the “Chaoyang Masses” (朝阳群众), the “Haiding Internet Users” (海淀网友), and the “Xicheng Aunties” (西城大妈). These groups have been used to implement the “Fengqiao experience” as part of the CCP’s practice of battling social instability.
Source: People’s Daily, December 2, 2021
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2021-12/02/nw.D110000renmrb_20211202_1-06.htm