Government/Politics - 261. page

Study Times published an article analyzing several key issues that the Cultural Giant Strategy faces.

1) The existing government system: First, in the existing system the government is both the administrator of the culture entities and the host of the culture events at the same time. The government should shift towards being an administrator and be responsible for the entire society. Second, the government is unclear about the difference between a cultural service unit and a business unit and usually applies the same regulations to both. Third, some state owned culture entities have shifted outside of the socialist system. They lack vitality and competitiveness. Last, China lacks elite culture products that are original and have a competitive advantage in the world.

2) Products: In the process of building a cultural giant, what kind of products can China offer that will increase the power of the existing system’s influence?

3) A clear understanding of soft power: How can China turn a rich cultural resource into one with the power of influence and attraction? What is the basis for confidence in Chinese culture?

4) Understanding different paths in developing the culture system. Each region should assess its capabilities to avoid competing against each other. Specifically, they should focus on building their own cultural brand and understand its market potential.

Source: Study Times, December 5, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/12/05/06/06_33.htm

A Qiushi article discussed the trend of the world’s Communist Parties over the last 30 years. It stated that the Communist movement has been through major changes. At present, there are over 130 Communist Parties in the world with a total of just under 90 million members. China itself has over 74 million Communist Party members, accounting for 85% of the Communist Party members in the world. North Korea has about 4 million, Vietnam 3 million, Cuba 900,000 and Laos 100,000. The Communist Party is the ruling party in five countries with 83 million Party members, about 93% of the total in the world. It has six notable features. There is no more central leadership based on personalities; countries where the Communist Party is the ruling party, such as China and Vietnam, have made major achievements; now there are multiple Communist Parties in one country; gradual peaceful development is taking the place of violent revolution; the Communist Party is becoming the ruling party through elections such as in Moldova, Cyprus, and Nepal; and new international communication modes are replacing separate and isolated struggles for survival.

Source: Qiushi, December 5, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/zgtsshzyll/201112/t20111205_127728.htm

On December 5, 2011, Study Times, a journal of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article about how Marxism has become an integral part of modern China’s culture system. Marxism has changed China’s traditional language, changed the Chinese people’s philosophical way of thinking, and led the formation of China’s modern philosophy and social sciences as well as the formation of China’s popular culture.

The article further gives suggestions on how to promote Marxism in China and how to speed up the spread of China’s modern culture around the whole world, which includes “the socialist core value system” and “the socialist market economic theory.”  “This kind of revival is not to revive China’s ancient culture, but for China’s culture to achieve a high degree of modernization.”

Source: Study Times, December 5, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/12/05/03/03_30.htm

On December 5, 2011, Xinhua News Agency’s Outlook Weekly published an article titled “The Facts and the Truth about the Humanitarian Interventions." The article criticized the United States and the Western countries interference in the internal affairs of other countries, such as Libya, Iraq, Kosovo, and Somalia. “These ‘humanitarian interventions’ that the Western powers implement, are, in essence, to seek their political and economic interests in the name of ‘humanitarianism’ and ‘the responsibility to protect.’”

“If the United States, Britain, France, and others had truly intended to avoid an even greater humanitarian disaster, they should have strictly implemented the UN Security Council resolution 1973 (2011) on Libya. By establishing a no-fly zone, on the one hand, they could keep Gaddafi’s government from using their Air Force to attack the rebels and kill civilians. On the other hand, they did not have to support the rebels beyond the resolution. In the meantime, the United Nations could have sent in peacekeeping forces to isolate the two sides and keep them apart from each other, which would probably have stopped the expansion of the civil war and brought the two sides together at the negotiating table to work on a solution. Then, today’s serious humanitarian disaster would not have happened. However, the purpose of the United States, Britain, France, and other Western countries was not to urge the cessation of hostilities, but to achieve a regime change by supporting one party against the other in order to take control of the strategically important land and oil resources in North Africa.”  

Source: Xinhua News Agency’s Outlook Weekly, December 5, 2011
http://www.lwgcw.com/NewsShow.aspx?newsId=24873z

China Economy recently republished a report by Xi’an Evening News on a new construction project – a luxury county government building. Wangjiang County of Anhui Province is a “county in poverty.” However the county government is building a new county office building which is eight times the size of the White House. The latest investigation showed that the project never completed the required Feasibility Study Report or the Initial Design Blueprint. The construction also did not follow the national standards established by the government building regulations on the use of luxury materials. Around one-sixth of the project’s funding was sourced from the construction budget of the County Archives project. The building is coupled with the construction of a county square of the same size.

Source: China Economy, November 28, 2011
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/shgj/gdxw/201111/28/t20111128_22870962.shtml

According to Vice Minister of Finance, Zhang Shaochun, China has spent a significant amount of money on the development of culture. Since 2005, the overall government spending on culture, sports, and media has increased at an annual rate of 20.9%, while central government spending has grown at the rate of 25.4% annually. Money has been used for museums, memorials, and national centers for education in patriotism, all of which are free to the public. The government will continue to fund the national publishing foundation so it can contribute to the widespread publication of Marxist and Leninist works, youth publications, and all those issues that are a national priority. Zhang said that the Party’s newspapers, journals, radio programs, and TV stations will continue to be funded through “government procurement” to enhance their vitality.

Source: Guangming Daily, November 26, 2011
http://culture.gmw.cn/2011-11/26/content_3049558.htm

A Red Flag Manuscript article concluded that, in order to promote the sound and rapid development of the non-State sector of the economy, an essential condition is to strengthen the Party’s development in non-State enterprises. The article expressed the belief, “It is futile to rely on corporate governance; it is the Party organization in the enterprise that plays the core political role.” The non-State sector needs many forms of support from the Party in order to grow, while the development and expansion of the Party relies on support from the non-State sector. “This is the root cause for the Party to play a core political role in non-State enterprises.” The synchronized coordination between the Party Committee and the board of directors of the enterprise is the key to Party’s development in the non-State sector.

Source: Red Flag Manuscript reprinted by Qiushi, November 29, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/hqwg/2011/201122/201111/t20111129_126337.htm

On November 29, 2011, the Communication University of China held an opening ceremony to formally announce the establishment of the Center for Marxist Communication and Popularization. A forum on “Marxist Communication and Popularization” was held at the same time. Government leaders from the Propaganda Ministry, the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, and over 70 scholars from prestigious universities and institutions such as Beijing University, Tsinghua University, and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences all attended the ceremony. The center is the first of its kind to specifically study Marxist communication and popularization in order to promote the development, advancement, and popularization of Marxism. Another purpose is to implement the policy of the Chinese Communist Party’s 17th Congress, the development and promotion of Chinese socialist culture.

Source: Huanqiu (Global Times), November 30, 2011
http://china.huanqiu.com/hot/2011-11/2222143.html