Government/Politics - 249. page

On July 1, 2012, in memory of the 91st anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party, the U.S. based Hontoot Company and over one hundred Chinese media co-hosted the “Red Cultural Education” activities in Shaoshan, Hunan Province, the birth place of Ma Zedong. The programs included an oath swearing ceremony for new party members; a tour of Mao’s birth place; watching a patriotic dance and music show; a visit to the Memorial Hall of Liu Shaoqi, the formal President of China (from 1959 to 1968); wearing a red army uniform, singing red army songs, eating red army meals; and forums on how the red culture can impact socialistic core values.

According to Mr. Shen, President of U.S. based Hontoot Company, the Hontoot Company is a business entity devoted to the promotion of Chinese Red Tourism; it also specializes in the electronics field. The company’s mission is to promote China through red culture and red resources. The company’s founder believes that “in order for the world to know China, it should start with red culture and revisit and experience the journey of the Long March taken by the Red Army.” Mr. Shen told the media, "Through these red cultural programs, the volunteers can learn the red cultural spirit and receive a patriotic education."

Source: Guangming Daily, July 2, 2012
http://culture.gmw.cn/2012-07/02/content_4462321.htm

In 2012, the Communist Party Committee in Shenzhen plans to provide training for over 800 people from religious groups, exceeding the total for the past few years. The first class held its opening ceremony at Shenzhen City’s Institute of Socialism. Zhang Siping, a Shenzhen Party official, spoke at the ceremony. “Religions have the tradition and advantage of performing charity work for the public.” Zhang expressed that religions in Shenzhen should actively participate in social development and promote innovations in social management. Zhang further stated that religions should learn from the practice of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan to explore and expand social charities effectively.

Source: People’s Daily, July 4, 2012
http://politics.people.com.cn/n/2012/0704/c70731-18444742.html

Xinhua carried an article originally published by China Youth Daily calling for courage and confidence in Marxism when facing major challenges. According to the article, China is at a critical stage where it faces risks and challenges in its growth opportunities. Therefore courage and confidence in Marxism are the key factors that will determine whether China can succeed in the next ten years. The article suggested maintaining the state of being clearheaded and firm in Marxism as well as a need for a change in style by combining practical experience with Marxist theory. It stated that China can’t afford empty talk, surface changes, or delays on this issue.

Source: Xinhua, July 2, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-07/02/c_123355298.htm

Xinhua published a commentary on July 1, 2012, the 91st anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, calling for a sense of urgency in maintaining the Party’s purity at the current critical stage in order to sustain the Party’s leadership and authority as well as to gain support and trust from the people. It defined purity as "keeping the same level of understanding and actions as the Party; clean governance; as well as fighting against corruption.”

Source: Xinhua, July 1, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/comments/2012-07/01/c_112327382.htm

On June 27, 2012, Liu Jiayi, Auditor General of the National Audit Office of China, delivered the 2011 audit report to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. According to Liu, as a result of the audit, his office referred 112 cases involving major violations of the law and economic crimes to the relevant departments for investigation and prosecution. These cases have implicated more than 300 people. Forty three (38%) of the cases referred involved heads of government departments who abused their official power for personal gain.

Xinhua reported the news stating the audit report indicated that corruption is rampant among high levels of government officials.

Source: Xinhua, June 27, 2012
http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2012-06/27/c_112303856.htm

On June 22, 2012, the 4th Municipal Committee of the City of Chongqing held its first plenary session. Zhang Dejiang was elected secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee. In a speech that Zhang gave, he promised, on behalf of the new committee, to run a “clean government.” Zhang requested that each committee member should exercise self restraint in his personal behavior and should manage himself, his spouse, his children and his assistants in order to establish a reputation for clean governance and to gain the people’s trust.

Source: Xinhua, June 23, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/local/2012-06/23/c_123320299.htm

In August 2004, Hu Jintao led the central administration in issuing the “Opinion on Further Strengthening and Developing Political Education for College Students.” Since then, the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Education, and the Central Commission of the Chinese Communist Youth League have developed a total of 17 guidelines and plans. On July 20, 2012, People’s Daily published an article that summarized the systematic effort the central administration has carried out over the past eight years to strengthen the political ideology education work throughout the university system.

According to the article, since 2004, the Organization Department, the Central Propaganda Department, and the Ministry of Education have conducted six meetings on college campuses on the subject of Party development work. By June 30, 2011, 81,311 Party branches had been established on 2,383 colleges and universities. The end result is that there are Party members in each freshman class, Party groups in each sophomore class, and Party branches established in the junior and senior classes.

The Department of Education also established an Ideological and Political Theory Course as a college requirement for students. For example, Nankai University invested at least 500,000 yuan in annual funding in this area.

In addition, an effort has been made to develop Party assistants on each campus so they can play significant roles in Party development. The media and the Internet have also played key roles in Party development work.

Source: People’s Daily, June 20, 2012
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1026/18239464.html