When a YouTube video was shown in a classroom, a Chinese student stood up to criticize Marxism as not being from China’s traditional culture.
The student said, “With a consciousness that a scholar must have, I want to tell the truth: We are not Chinese! Why? Because what is filled in our brains is the Soviet Union’s version of Marxism, but not the true traditional Chinese culture that talks about the unity of Heaven and man.”
Source: YouTube
Beijing Daily published an article suggesting that an article published in 2015 on the website of the Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) used a historical figure to refer to someone who is a corrupt high-ranking official today.
The two-year old article was “Problems with the Lifestyle of the Qing Dynasty’s ‘Naked Official’ Prince Qing.” It was published on the CCDI website on February 25, 2015. While the article criticized a corrupt official from the Qing Dynasty, it created a lot of discussion and many people surmised that it referred to some current or retired official in the present day. Caixin even mentioned the name of Zeng Qinghong, a former high-rank official and the right man of ex-Communist Party chief Jiang Zemin.
The newer article that Beijing Daily published discussed the 2015 article’s author Xi Hua (习骅). Xi is a high-ranking CCDI official, serving as the Deputy Chief of the Discipline Inspection Team at the State Auditing Administration. Xi is a famous writer at the CCDI and has published over 30 anti-corruption related articles on the CCDI website.
“Among those articles, the one that other media republished the most was, ‘Problems with the Lifestyle of the Qing Dynasty’s “Naked Official” Prince Qing.’”
“This is how Xi Hua sees his writing, ’On the surface I was telling a story, but actually I was commenting on current affairs.’ As more and more people read Xi’s articles, they are continually trying to find out which official (in today’s world) Xi was referring to in his writing. Regarding this situation, Xi said, ‘It shows that people are thinking. This was my original goal when I wrote (those stories).”
Beijing Daily’s article was published under its WeChat account Changan Street Zhishi (长安街知事). Changan Street Zhishi has focused on reporting current political affairs and has written many political observation articles.
Sources
1. Sina, July 22, 2017
http://news.sina.com.cn/c/nd/2017-07-22/doc-ifyihmmm8070290.shtml
2. Chinascope
http://chinascope.org/archives/3475
3. CCDI Website, February 25, 2015
http://www.ccdi.gov.cn/yw/201502/t20150215_51495.html
Several media reported that the Research on Party Building magazine, a monthly publication on Communist theory, published an article in its July edition on “Xi Jinping Thought.”
The article stated that, since the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, General Secretary of the Party, Xi Jinping, “made a series of speeches on economic reform; development; stability; domestic policies; diplomacy; defense; the management of the Party, state, and the military, and formed a series of new concepts, new thoughts, and new strategies to manage the country. He has thus further enriched the Party’s scientific theories.”
“The innovative theories since the Party’s 18th National Congress, which can be called Xi Jinping Thoughts, are the new result of localizing Marxism in China and developing the Socialist Theory with Chinese Characteristics.”
The Chinese Communist terminology has identified “Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory.” Party leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao who were the top rulers between Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping, had some terms used under their names, but not this significant.
However, it seems that now, this article is no longer searchable.
Source: Lianhe Zaobao, July 17, 2017
http://prd.zaobao.com/news/china/story20170717-779571
Recently Chinese media have given Xi Jinping several new titles.
A Xinhua article called him “the Supreme Commander of the people’s army” (人民军队最高统帅). “As the core of the Party’s Central Committee, the core of the whole Party, and the Supreme Commander of the people’s army, Xi Jinping …”
A China Central Television’s (CCTV’s) program called Xi Jinping “the Country’s Highest Leader” (国家最高领袖). The first episode of CCTV’s political commentary program “Continuing Reform to the End” stated, “Right before the Chinese New Year of 2017, people again felt the deep and warm care from the country’s Highest Leader.”
Radio France International also reported that some think tankers in China called Xi “the Chief Architect” (总设计师). This term was widely used to praise Deng Xiaoping as the “Chief Architect” of reform and opening up. Those think tankers called Xi “the third politician that qualifies as the Chief Architect (after Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping)” and “the Chief Architect that has made the historic leap in localizing Marxism in China.”
Sources:
1. Xinhua, July 10, 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2017-07/10/c_1121295961.htm
2. Xinhua, July 17, 2017
http://news.xinhuanet.com/video/2017-07/17/c_129657476.htm
3. Radio France International, July 20, 2017
http://cn.rfi.fr/中国/20170720-中共19大前的习近平崇拜
On July 10, 2017, Xinhua published an article on Qigong (气功) exercises. Qigong is a system of gentle exercises composed of body postures and movements, breathing, and meditation. It is rooted in Chinese medicine, philosophy, martial arts, and even Buddhist or Taoist cultivation theories. People practice, or cultivate it for health, spirituality, or martial arts training.
Qigong was quite popular in China in the 1980s and 1990s. However, in 1999, the Communist Party banned Falun Gong, a mind body Qigong exercise with deep roots in the Buddhist school. Jiang Zemin, then Communist Party head, wanted the Communist ideology to win over “superstition,” which he felt was a threat to the Communist Party. Since then the Qigong environment has chilled in China.
This Xinhua article may be a hint of the government’s shift in its position on Qigong. The article reported that Qigong has been included as a sports event in the National Games that were hosted in Tianjin in July of this year. It also commented, “Qigong is a traditional sports game in China. It is not a religious superstition nor a form of mysterious arts, but rather a means for people to pursue harmony of mind and body.”
Source: Xinhua, July 10, 2017
http://sports.xinhuanet.com/c/2017-07/10/c_1121290514.htm
The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily published an article on WeChat (a popular Chinese social media) under its WeChat account Jun Zhen Ping Studio, regarding the on-going military reform.
The article stated that, “After this reform, for the first time, the Army’s active duty member count dropped below one million. The Navy, Rocket Army, and Strategic Support Force all had increases while the Air Force stayed at the same level. The Army numbers about 50 percent of the overall military forces.”
Source: Chuansong.net, July 11, 2017
http://chuansong.me/n/1968026052724
The Pan Asia Nonferrous Metals Exchange was once an attractive investment platform that the government promoted in 2011. Over 220,000 people invested a total of 43 billion yuan (US$6 billion) in it. However, in 2015, it turned out that it was a Ponzi scheme and most people lost their money.
Investors have repeatedly appealed to both the Yunnan Provincial government and the central government to request help in order to recover their losses, but, so far, the government has provided no response.
Recently, a video was posted on YouTube with edited video clips promoting Pan Asia from the China Central Television (CCTV). These showed that the government was responsible for crediting and promoting Pan Asia in its earlier years. The video clips showed CCTV’s vigorous introduction of the nonferrous metal exchange platform, broadcasting Pan Asia’s collaboration with CCTV, and promoting Pan Asia’s business.
Source: Radio France International, September 24, 2016
http://cn.rfi.fr/中国/20160924-泛亚诈骗：国家导演的庞氏骗局
For the past few weeks, China and India have had a standoff in a disputed area between China and Bhutan.
The Chinese call the disputed highland region “Donglang” and the Indians call it “Doklam.” It is on the border between China and Bhutan. Bhutan is China’s only neighboring country that has not established a formal diplomatic relationship with China, mainly due to the border dispute.
Recently, China started building a road in the disputed area. India then sent its soldiers to block China from building the road.
An Indian brigadier-general said, “We didn’t fire. We only formed a human body wall to prevent Chinese from continuing its invasion.”
China’s Ambassador Luo Zhaohui said during an interview, “This is the first time that the Indian military crossed the predefined borderline to invade China’s territory, causing the military standoff.” “There is no disagreement between China and Bhutan that Donglang belongs to China. India has no right to intervene in Sino-Bhutan negotiations, nor does it have the right to advocate for territory for Bhutan.”
On July 7, People’s Daily’s official weibo account published a picture with the title, “The Borderline Is the Bottom Line.” The picture is the border map showing the area of China, India, and Bhutan. It shows Donglang is in China. It also shows an arrow pointing from India to China. The note read, “The Indian military illegally crossed the border to enter China’s side.”
{Editor’s note: According to an article published in War on the Rocks on July 13, 2017, when China initiated its road building, “(India) in ‘close coordination’ with a Royal Bhutan Army patrol approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist… (This) appears to be an attempt to wean Bhutan away from India.”}
Sources:
1. Weibo
http://weibo.com/p/100808b2f565c3e128dcf37ac2e69d40235183?k=界线即是底线&from=526&_from_=huati_topic
2. BBC, July 5, 2017
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/trad/world-40503298