Government/Politics - 293. page

On March 16, Hu Jintao, the President and Chair of CCP’s Central Military Commission, issued a directive to “vigorously carry forward the advanced deeds and lofty spirit of Comrade Shen Zhandong,” a SWAT officer who reportedly died from “overwork on the frontlines in maintaining stability in the Xinjiang region.” 

The Committee of Political and Legislative Affairs of China’s Communist Party recently issued its 2010 propaganda priorities. Effective practices and experiences of handling social stability will be highlighted in the propaganda: the resolution of social conflicts, improvement of the government reputation, grass-roots infrastructure for comprehensive management of the social order, promotion of the socialist rule of law and government efforts in resolving complaints.

Source: Xinhua, March 17, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/legal/2010-03/17/content_13186591.htm

During the National People’s Congress and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, several representatives talked about developing and promoting the “Red Culture” (praising the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or its leaders or worshipping at the CCP’s historical sites from the wartime). Recently, many local governments have greatly promoted “red culture” including “red tourism,” “red movies,” “red songs,” and “red text messages.” Jiangxi Province allocated 30 billion yuan (near $5 billion dollar) to “Red Tourism” in 2009, a 25% increase over 2008.

The representatives suggested to change direction and use more attractive and catchy means instead of administrative orders to get people to buy into the “red culture.” Furthermore, redirection of Internet opinion by promoting “red culture” instead of “blocking” unwanted content is of importance. Most appropriately, developing “red culture” through innovation and new technologies should be a number one priority.

Source: Xinhua, March 11, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-03/11/content_13145422.htm

China’s top sports officials advised to prioritize athlete’s educaion regarding virtue. They were infuriated that some athletes thanked their parents instead of their country after winning competitions.  

They especially pointed to Zhou Yang, the gold medalist of the women’s 1500 meter short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympic Game. Zhou Yang’s speech of “(My winning) can bring my dad and mom a better life,” moved many people.  

Yu Zaiqing, Deputy Director of the State Physical Cultural Administration and Vice President of International Olympic Committee said that Zhou Yang should have first thanked the country and secondly her parents. Yu argued that it was the country that was responsible for Zhou’s competitive abilities, providing for and subsidizing her training.

Yu’s criticism drew a hot discussion on the Internet and text messages flew back and forth. The netizens were overwhelmingly in support of Zhou Yang.

Source: China News Service, March 8, 2010
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/ty/ty-zhqt/news/2010/03-08/2156158.shtml

A recent issue of Qiushi journal, the flagship publication of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, featured an article entitled “a major and pressing strategic task – on building a learning oriented Marxist political party.” 

According to Xinhua, during the campaign to increase Communist Party members in non-State entities, 12,000 party branches were established with another 24,000 in the pipeline. New memberships rose to 65, 000. The party organizations have tracked down 73,000 party members who did not contact local party organizations due to transfer of jobs or retirement. Some local party organizations have set up dedicated offices for party building in the non-State sector. Close to 30,000 targets have been identified and 145,000 party instructors were dispatched to them.

Source: Xinhua, February 25, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2010-02/25/content_13048138.htm

On March 1, thirteen newspapers including the Economic Observer and Southern Metropolitan News published a joint commentary promoting reforming the household registration system (which separates farmers from city residents and creates unequal rights between them). The commentary was a reminder to the upcoming National People’s Congress (NPC) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (PPCC) in Beijing. It was a rare media joint action that was undertaken without government authorization.

The Chinese government has disciplined these newspapers. Zhang Hong, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Economic Observer was fired. Other top managers at the Economic Observer received a serious warning from the Communist Party’s Propaganda Department. Representatives to the NPC and PPCC were warned not to bring up the topic of household registration system reform.

Source: Voice of America, March 10, 2010
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/20100310-ZhangHong-87224297.html

People’s Liberation Army Daily called for proactive guidance of the public’s view of war to ensure “the masses, the party, and armed forces maintain a high degree of unity in terms of ideology.” “The Public’s view of war" is an awareness that the masses can widely influence the public’s general knowledge and basic attitude toward war. “Particularly in national defense education activities, the Marxist view of war is an important component to be explained and spread in a comprehensive systematic and lively manner, to help the public have a more scientific knowledge and attitude on war activities, so as to lay a solid foundation for further improvement of the quality of national defense, and for curbing and winning future wars.”

Source: Xinhua, March 4, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-03/04/content_13093575.htm