All posts by LYW - 8. page

On September 29, 2015, the Chinese Communist Party Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) published an article titled “Four-Types of Strategy Does Not Mean Slowing Down the Anti-corruption Movement.” The article began with a well-known ancient poem in which it says, “To capture the thieves, capture the king of the thieves first.” After the quoted poem, the article continued, “When two fighting armies confront each other, choosing the correct strategy and tactics is important to defeat the enemy.”

According to the article, there are four types of strategy in terms of the anti-corruption campaign. “1) Every Party official participates frequently in regular criticism and self-criticism meetings within the Party; 2) A majority of the corrupt Party officials will be punished lightly within the Party; 3) A minority of corrupt Party officials who have seriously violated the Party’s discipline and state laws will be punished severely and their positions will be lowered, changed, or removed; 4) Very few Party officials will be charged for their crimes in terms of serious violations of the law and the Party’s discipline.”

The article said that the four-types of strategies serve as guidance for targeting the right group of Party officials using the appropriate discipline methods.

Source: Sohu, September 29, 2015
http://news.sohu.com/20150929/n422337295.shtml

Recently, a rare and heated public debate on the topic of “Communism” has been going on between the Chinese Communist Party’s official media and Chinese netizens (Internet users).

On September 21, 2015, the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee published an article titled “Confidently Hold High the Banner of Communism,” on its microblog and in its newspaper (China Youth Daily). The Youth League Central Committee (YLCC) also launched a microblog discussion on the topic, “We are the successors of communism.” Ren Zhiqiang, a well-known real estate developer in China, commented, “This slogan has deceived me for over ten years!” Many “50 Cents” began attacking Ren Zhiqiang verbally on the Internet ("50 Cents" are government hired Internet users who are paid to post pro-communist comments or pro-government comments; they are paid 50 Chinese cents for each post that is pro-communism).

On September 22, Ren Zhiqiang wrote a lengthy article elaborating on how ridiculous the concept of “a communist successor” is. 

On September 23, the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee propaganda minister published another article on its official microblog, openly criticizing Mr. Ren for being against communist ideals. On the same day, Hu Xijin, the editor of Huanqiu (the Chinese edition of Global Times), posted a self-produced video program, “Communism Has Not Disappointed Our Nation.” On the night of September 23, Ren Zhiqiang once again published another lengthy microblog, “Do not let the Chinese Communist Youth League Central Committee use ignorance to deceive the younger generation. Do not let (China’s) reform and opening policy return to the pre-reform period. I do not care if other people criticize me, but the Youth League Central Committee must not use ignorance to deceive society.”

More people started to post comments supporting Mr. Ren and ridiculing the YLCC propaganda minister and Huanqiu editor Hu Xijin. A heated debate on communism developed online between the Chinese authorities and ordinary Chinese, which is very rare in the history of the People’s Republic of China.

Sources: China Digital Times, September 23, 2015; China Youth Daily, September 21, 2015; Sina, September 24, 2015’ and Guancha.cn, September 23, 2015
https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/2015/09/%E3%80%90%E7%AB%8B%E6%AD%A4%E5%AD%98%E7%

On September 1, 2015, Global News Times, a magazine headquartered in Hong Kong, published an article titled, “Groups and Groups of Tigers (corrupt officials) Found in the Chinese Communist Party, the Government, and the Army; the Original Tiger Producer Must Be Blamed.” The article called for digging out the “head culprit” who has hidden deep among the high-level leadership organizations of the Chinese Communist Party, the Government, and the Military.

According to the article, the sacked corrupt officials Zhou Yongkang, Ling Jihua, Xu Caihou, and Bo Xilai (or Su Rong) are the new “Gang of Four.” They are similar to the old “Gang of Four,” a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76), who, after Mao’s death, were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The article said, “The new ‘Gang of Four’ actually share one ‘boss.’” It asked, "Who is their boss? It is Jiang Zemin. Will the ‘boss’ be arrested? We will wait and see.”

Source: Global News Times, September 1, 2015
http://www.globalnewstimes.com/jueyuancailiao/guona/2015/0901/1806.html
http://www.globalnewstimes.com/jueyuancailiao/guona/2015/0901/1806_3.html

On September 11, 2015, Huanqiu, published an article titled, “A major breakthrough! Wang Qishan Commented on the ‘Legitimacy’ of the CCP for the First Time.” The article was first published on a public WeChat messaging app account xxdaguo, which People’s Daily manages. According to the article, it was the first time that one of China’s top leaders expounded on the legitimacy of the ruling party, an important breakthrough in the Chinese Communist Party’s discourse. Legitimacy in this context is a political concept, referring to the validity of the source of the Party’s power. “The basis of legitimacy is people’s approval. With the erosion of legitimacy, the political authority of the ruling government will be in crisis.”  

On September 9, 2015, China’s anti-graft chief Wang Qishan, head of the CCP Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), gave a speech at the Party and the World Dialogue 2015 conference which more than 60 overseas politicians and scholars attended, including former South African president Thabo Mbeki and former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

Wang stated that the ruling party’s mission is to fulfill its promise to the people and the way to realize it lies in strict discipline. "The legitimacy of the ruling party is derived from history and is the choice of the people," said Wang. “Whether the government has performed good deeds or not is determined by the people’s attitudes – whether they are happy with, satisfied with, and are willing to approve the deeds.” “The ruling party functions on behalf of the people and serves the people. It should establish correct core values and insist on such actions.”

China’s top leaders previously avoided using the word legitimacy as it has not been an issue – the legitimacy of the Party should not be questioned or denied. However, if the CCP always indulges in the outdated concept that “those who have conquered the nation should rule the nation, then it is not impossible that the CCP will repeat the mistake of the former Soviet Union (the collapse of the Soviet Union).” “From this point of view, speaking about the legitimacy of the ruling party implies a deep sense of crisis and urgency.”    

Sources: Huanqiu, WeChat messaging app account xxdaguo, www.ifeng.com, BBC Chinese, September 10 – 11, 2015
http://huanqiu.chinaiiss.com/html/20159/11/a7ceff.html
http://www.weixinjinghua.com/view/4070757.shtml
http://news.ifeng.com/a/20150910/44627205_0.shtml
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/china/2015/09/150911_china_communist_party_regime

On September 9, 2015, Sohu.com published an article titled, “Who Are the High Ranking Senior Party Leaders for Whom the CCP Central Committee Is Setting up a Code of Conduct?” The article was based on another article, “The Party Central Committee Is Working on a Senior Party Leaders’ Code of Conduct,” which Southcn.com and then Beijing Daily had originally published.

At “the Chinese Communist Party and the World Dialogue 2015” on September 8, 2015, Li Jun, the former vice president of the Party School of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee, revealed, "As a result of the anti-corruption campaign that has been taking place since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Zhou Yongkang, Xu Caihou, Ling Jihua, Su Rong and other senior leaders were arrested for corruption. The CCP Central Committee then started to study and ponder how to manage well those senior CCP cadres who are in high ranking positions in the Party and the nation."