All posts by TGS - 86. page

Zhang Ming, a professor of political science at Renmin University of China, wrote about Chongqing’s attempt to restore Mao’s model of control. In recent years, under the leadership of Bo Xilai, who was removed from his position this month, Chongqing launched a campaign to crack down on “black” businesses and their owners; and a movement to sing “red” songs in an attempt to revive Mao’s style of control. According to Zhang, there are two major vulnerabilities inherent in the Chongqing practice. First is that it is not economically sustainable. A number of grand government projects have been launched without considering the cost; they were funded largely with money that may have been wrongfully confiscated from “black” businesses. Neither borrowing nor advancing funds before the revenue came in has helped to ease the lack of funding. Second, Chongqing’s practices have led to increased tension, internally and externally. A Chongqing practice as implemented in one city is merely a pike fish in a carp fish pond (the entire country). If materialized nation-wide, the Chongqing practice would become a mammoth shark. Communist Party officials who previously were persecuted during the “Great Cultural Revolution” still remember Mao’s way of using political movements to purge others. “The louder the noises generated by Chonqing’s practice and the more followers it gathered throughout the country, the more apprehensive were the Communist Party officials. Not just those in Chongqing but those outside of Chongqing were equally apprehensive. Because of these two vulnerabilities, it was inevitable that Chongqing’s practices would end up in trouble.”

Source: Zhang Ming Blog at Caijing.com, March 24, 2012
http://blog.caijing.com.cn/expert_article-151368-34329.shtml

On March 26, 2012, state media Huanqiu published a commentary in an attempt to quash Internet postings about friction among the top Communist Party leaders. “Recently, certain rumors have been spreading on and off the Internet, with high visibility. Some of them even involve Changan Street (the location of the Chinese State Council) and Zhongnanhai (the headquarters of the Communist Party). These rumors are very bizarre and ridiculous, thus interfering with public opinion. Chinese society should be on the alert about this and should not let the rumor mill run without restrictions.” The commentary alleged that the rumors are quietly eroding society. “[To legitimize rumors] is, in fact, to build a publicly-accepted world outside of the current political framework and to constantly erode the authority of the current system. Once rumors are legitimized, they will become a cheap tool to disintegrate the country ideologically and politically.”

Source: Huanqiu, March 26, 2012.
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2012-03/2554859.html

Observers noted that the political infighting in the upper ranks of the Chinese Communist Party seems to have extended to cyberspace. Politically sensitive terms related to the June 4 Tiananmen Square massacre and the Falun Gong spiritual practice were recently searchable—and some still remained available as of March 22. The term “June 4” in Chinese was briefly unblocked on Baidu, China’s main search engine, and the first item was about Wen Jiabao wanting to give the event a political rehabilitation. Terms related to Falun Gong were unblocked for a period of time as well. No message appeared saying results were censored.

The violent crackdowns and political sensitivities associated with those terms go to the heart of the Chinese regime’s ruling legacy. They are also both connected to former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, whose allies form one of the factions within the Party.

Sources: The Epoch Times, March 23, 2012
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/chinas-internet-censors-take-break-during-party-infighting-209412.html

The state media Huanqiu published a commentary seeking an immediate clarification from top Communist Party leaders regarding online rumors that there is a rift among the top leaders over the change in the Party leadership of Chongqing. “Since the Chongqing incident, many people have made a lot of comments. It is normal, because the matter deserves this much attention. … It looks like rumors are running wild, but, in fact, the whole society is waiting for the authoritative voice of the Party Central Committee. … We believe the Party Central Committee is working on political issues of great concern to the public. We also hope the conclusions are reached quickly. The sooner the authoritative voice speaks, the clearer the picture that society has will be, and the more relieved the public will be. Sometimes, the significance of speed means more than the speed itself.”

Source: Huanqiu, March 22, 2012
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2012-03/2545323.html

On March 19, 2012, People’s Liberation Army Daily published an editorial criticizing the idea of nationalizing the military. The editorial firmly rejected the ideas of “non-affiliation between the military and the CCP, depoliticizing the military, and the nationalization of the military.” “[We] must unswervingly uphold the principle of the absolute leadership of the Party over the military and ensure that the military follows the command of the Party and Hu Jintao, the President of our country and the Chairman of the Party’s Military Commission.”

The PLA editorial was published immediately after the abrupt removal of Bo Xilai, the former Party Secretary of Chongqing. His removal appears to have touched off fierce clashes among the Party’s leaders.

Source: People’s Liberation Army Daily reprinted by People’s Daily, March 19, 2012 http://wap.people.com.cn/newsView.php?sid=&cnid=1323815&chid=1_11&coid=1_11_3_1&wv=2&v=l&return=channel&fromid=&uc_param_str=dnup

On March 12, 2012, President Hu Jintao, who is also Chairman of the Central Military Commission, met with the military representatives attending the Fifth Session of the Eleventh National People’s Congress. Vice President Xi Jinping, who is also Vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, was present as well. Hu’s remarks at the meeting emphasized the role that the military plays in maintaining stability. “[The military] should adhere to the overall tone that progress is made amidst stability. … [The military must] pay more attention to safeguarding social stability and the security and stability of the military itself. …” Hu stated that the People’s Liberation Army must unswervingly adhere to the fundamental principle of the Communist Party’s absolute leadership over the armed forces and must ensure, through strict discipline, that all political and military orders are carried out with no impediments.

Source: Huanqiu, March 13, 2012
http://china.huanqiu.com/2012lianghui/news/2012-03/2517693.html