Government/Politics - 233. page

On April 23, 2013, an article titled, “China Red Cross Withheld Rescue Aid from Distribution While Waiting for TV Reporters” was circulated on several Chinese websites. On April 20, 2013, a 7.0-magnitude earthquake hit Ya’an City in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. There were more than 2,000 aftershocks. According to the information released by the Chinese authorities on April 20, 2013, 192 had died, 23 were missing and 11,470 were injured.  Nearly 2.2 million people were affected.

According to the China Forbidden News Blog, one microblogger who used the name “Mr. Long – Crowded Crazy Nest” angrily complained that the Sichuan Red Cross Department Head named Wang asked his staff members not to distribute any aid to the victims because TV reporters had not arrived there yet. 

Source: China Forbidden News and China News, April 22, 2013
http://zhongguojinwen.blogspot.com/2013/04/blog-post_125.html
http://bbs.chinanews.com/web/65/2013/0422/64012.shtml

According to an article in China Review News on April 23, 2013, resentment in China is increasing, which reflects people’s lack of confidence in the future. Below are the five reasons listed in the article:

1. The government is moving forward (getting richer) while the Chinese people are moving backward (getting poorer);
2. Home prices are rising too fast;
3. The income gap is huge;
4. Corruption is rampant;
5. Environmental Pollution, such as smog, is no longer bearable.

Source: China Review News, April 23, 2013
http://www.zhgpl.com/doc/1025/1/2/2/102512201.html?coluid=53&kindid=0&docid=102512201&mdate=0423075236

On April 6, an article in Lens Magazine, known for its photography, detailed torture implements with names like the "Tiger Bench" and the "Death Bed" that were used against prisoners in the Masanjia Forced Labor Camp. It immediately triggered an online outcry from hundreds of thousands, furious at the authorities for what the article depicted. The piece was quickly deleted from web portals. The article mentioned that the tortures were initially implemented upon "special groups," while not specifying the name of the group. It’s widely believed that the group refers to Falun Gong, a meditation practice suppressed by the authorities since 1999. The following is an excerpt from one of the documents obtained by Chinascope, showing that the Party was advocating labor camps to transform Falun Gong practitioners.

On August 23, 2000, Li Lanqing, former vice premier of the State Council and head of the "610 Office" (the department in charge of handling the suppression of Falun Gong), sent a personal letter to the “Experience Exchange and Commendation Meeting of The Ministry of Justice on Education and Transforming Work (i.e., Brainwashing),” complimenting the labor camps for their excellent work in transforming Falun Gong practitioners. 

Xinhua reported that, on April 19, 2013, the Political Bureau of the Central Committee held its fifth group study session on the topic of “combat corruption and build a clean government.” Xi Jinping hosted the meeting. According to Xinhua, Xi stressed that the party needs to “pay attention to historical experiences and learn from historical lessons,” while improving the leadership skills of Party members so that the Party can maintain a strong core leadership in the current socialist development with Chinese characteristics.

Source: Xinhua, April 21, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2013-04/20/c_115468016.htm

On April 5, Qiushi Theory carried a commentary on Xi Jinping’s “China Dream” ideology. The commentary stated that in order to properly manage a giant country like China, no one can afford to make mistakes and cause instability. “…only when we properly take one step at a time to solve the issues and move forward with reform can we ensure that we are taking the right path to lead the country.” The commentary also called for the new administration to take action to "improve governance, resist corruption, curb housing price increases, reduce the disparity between the rich and poor, and deal with environmental issues." The commentary concluded that, in order to reach Xi’s China Dream, China must follow the path that has Chinese characteristics.

Source: Qiushi Theory, April 5, 2013
http://www.qstheory.cn/yw/201304/t20130405_221205.htm

According to a China Gate article reprinted from Apple Daily, “The Red Terror is appearing again in Mainland Chinese Newspapers and Websites." Reports have been widely disseminated that the National Propaganda Council of Ministers (also translated as National Publicity Council of Ministers) has issued an order to get rid of ‘three new types of anti-personnel’ (Anti- Communist Party, Anti-Government, and Anti-Nation).”

On January 4, 2013, the National Propaganda Council of Ministers met in Beijing. Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and the President of the Party School of the CCP Central Committee, attended the meeting and delivered a speech. Liu Yunshan served as Minister of the Central Government Propaganda Department for several years. He has now taken command of suppressing public opinion.

Source: China Gate, April 2, 2013
http://www.wenxuecity.com/news/2013/04/02/2318501.html

On March 28, 2013, Liu Yunshan, Principal of the Central Party School, hosted a forum at the Central Party School in Beijing. Liu discussed strengthening the need for the Party members to study and carry out the key messages that President Xi Jinping delivered during the 80th anniversary of the Party School. Liu called for the entire Party to launch a campaign to “study, do research on, and practice (Party ideology). The forum recognized the improvements already made in Party members’ behavior while mentioning unhealthy tendencies, including a "lack of diligence and focus in study and a disconnect between studying theories and applying the theories." The participants in the forum included representatives of the students and teachers from Party schools at the provincial levels, advanced research classes, and youth league classes.

Source: Xinhua, March 29, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/zgjx/2013-03/29/c_132269962.htm

On March 27, 2013, the front page of China’s state-run media People’s Daily was displayed on the bulletin board (Today’s Front Pages) of the U.S. news museum (Newseum) located on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. At the same time, Newseum’s sixth floor exhibition hall also showed the day’s front page of People’s Daily. People’s Daily reported this news and bragged that the front page of People’s Daily was displayed in the U.S. capital in Washington, D.C. for the first time. [Editor’s note: As a news museum, Newseum has many galleries displaying the news from different periods in history and major events, as well as front pages from each state and 80 samples from over 700 countries around the world.]