Government/Politics - 170. page

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

According to China Review News Agency, the General Office of the Communist Party recently released the “Opinion on Strengthening Party Development during the Reform of State Owned Enterprises.” It provided the guidelines for Party development work during SOE reform. The article said that the guidelines ensure that the Party “has absolute leadership over the SOEs” and that the development work should be taking place in parallel with the reform initiatives in SOE companies. The article said that the Opinion provided a clear direction for Party development during SOE reform. Meanwhile it will increase the competitive advantage of the SOEs.

Source: China Review News Agency, September 20, 2015
http://hk.crntt.com/doc/1039/3/7/7/103937797.html?coluid=151&kindid=11511&docid=103937797&mdate=0920183317

Xinhua published an article criticizing the BBC’s documentary report about China. It said, “Western media always like wearing colored glasses to view China. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) recently issued a 3-episode-documentary entitled China’s Secret, once again proving this point.”

“In this documentary, the reporter, wearing tinted glasses, opened a window to ‘view’ China for the British audience. The China outside the window was exactly in line with the stereotype that the West has been shaping for a long time: [China is] ‘a country that lacks freedom; the people must obey the system that the authorities set up.’ The purpose of the documentary was to use various means to strengthen and reinforce this stereotype.”

“The BBC claims that, through its lens, the [documentary] shows ‘a China you’ve never seen’ to the British audience. However, from the negative materials it deliberately chose and magnified with a zoom lens to the narratives based on the ‘reasonable imagination’ of Western logic, it has shown a hidden artificial modification. Most Chinese netizens are angry about the blatant but not clever production methods. They denounce the [Western media] because they are smearing China again.”

“In fact, in the Western media, a documentary such as this one by the BBC, which reflects Western prejudice, is not an individual case. … Behind the occurrence of this phenomenon, in addition to the personal factors of some Western media professionals, it reflects the anxiety and unease that some Western media and the Western world feel toward the rapid development of China. It also reveals the mixed feelings of envy and jealousy toward the rapid development of China.”

“No force will stop China’s development. China’s development will not slow down because of some Western media’s irresponsible remarks, or the way they discredit and distort China. [We] advise those Western media who would like to ‘discredit China,’ if you really want to reveal the inside of China, please take off the filter cover on your camera’s lens; otherwise it will only smash your own name.”

Source: Xinhua, September 8, 2015
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2015-09/08/c_1116500645.htm

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

People’s Daily carried an article that had been published originally in Beijing Youth Daily. The article covered an interview with Chinese businessman George Daping Zhu who, in 2012, founded the publishing company called CN Times. Zhu recently negotiated a US$100,000 full page color ad in the New York Times. The ad contains a welcome slogan for Xi’s upcoming visit (to the U.S.) and also promotes the books that CN Times publishes. One featured publication is called, The Xi Jinping Era. Zhu plans to organize a series of media coverage and book review sessions to promote the book in the U.S. market. Currently the book is ranked 60,000 in Amazon with daily sales of 100-300 copies. According to Zhu, only three percent of market share is open to books offered by foreign publishers. Zhu plans to make a breakthrough in the U.S. market. He felt that the elite group in the U.S. does not know Chinese. They rely on limited information to understand the real picture of China. Zhu told Beijing Youth Times, “In order to promote a nation, it is most important to promote its leader first. … For the Chinese culture to be known to the outside world, we must make a breakthrough in the U.S. market first.”  

Source: People’s Daily, September 13, 2015
http://media.people.com.cn/n/2015/0913/c40606-27576336.html

Voice of America (VOA) published an article on the development of the socialist arts and entertainment industry in China. The article stated that the Political Bureau recently passed an opinion based on a talk that Xi Jinping gave during the culture industry conference held in Beijing last year. The opinion was intended to provide guidance for the development of the arts and entertainment industry and to enable it to provide “positive energy” to the China Dream. VOA reported on some interviews it conducted on this topic. Some had a concern that the opinion emphasized Party leadership as the fundamental guarantee of the “prosperous growth of cultural development.” The concern was that, because the industry would be under the influence of Party ideology and have to meet the Party’s requirement to “provide positive energy,” it would lack high quality and creative products. Some felt that in this diversified Internet era, China still uses the old fashioned approach which involves a clear lack of public trust and creativity. As to the fact that the opinion indicated that the Party will encourage the development of Internet arts and entertainment, a concern was that the real intent of the Party was to control the people who have the talent and prevent them from using their own ingenuity to produce the material. Currently the biggest challenges that Internet artists face include that they lack copyright protection, their online browsing is limited, and the Internet writers’ human rights could be violated.

Source: Voice of America, September 11, 2015
http://www.voachinese.com/content/china-socialist-art-20150911/2961033.html

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." 

On September 1, 2015, Hong Kong Economic Times published an article on the extreme tightening of the security in Beijing for the Military Parade on September 3, 2015. Roads have been closed; shops, supermarkets, and restaurants have been closed; about 9 hospitals near Tiananmen Square have also been closed. Chinese Internet users commented ironically, “Why don’t they just [openly] call it martial law?”

The use of many subway lines in Beijing has been suspended.

To secure a “Parade Blue Sky,” open-air barbecues have been banned resolutely. The highest level of emergency measures has been applied to six nearby cities in order to reduce emissions. In Henan, the use of over 60 percent of business vehicles has been suspended. The main roads are required to be cleaned at least 4 times a day.

Source: Hong Kong Economic Times, September 1, 2015
http://china.hket.com/article/678830/%E5%B0%81%E8%B7%AF%E5%B0%81%E8%88%96%E9%86%