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Artistically Shaping China’s Image Based on Three Principles

The China Social Science website posted a theoretical article, suggesting that “a beautiful and artistic image of China, organically integrated with profound Chinese wisdom, can better fulfill Beijing’s mission to be a great nation.” The article listed three “cultural principles” by which to craft an artistic image of China:

  • Values: “The image of Chinese people should be trustworthy and sincere.” This image not only comes from the traditional Chinese culture, but also from “the communist revolutionary cultural values and advanced socialist cultural values.”
  • Ethics: “China has developed an ethical concept that ‘family and home country are integrated as one.'” “Patriotism becomes the fundamental political and ethical spirit, giving rise to the individual ideal that one should ‘cultivate oneself, harmonize the family, govern the country, and settle the world.'”
  • History: “Chinese culture is diversified because the vast Chinese territory comprises multiple geographical units, leading to diverse economic forms and nurturing different cultures.”

Source: China Social Science, January 19, 2024
https://www.cssn.cn/skgz/bwyc/202401/t20240119_5729627.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Xinhua: China Unveils “Thousand Groups Going Abroad” Initiative, Aiming to Boost Overseas Trade

As China’s exports continue to decline, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) announced a new initiative this year called “Thousand Groups Going Abroad.” The plan is to organize over 1,000 batches of business delegations to participate in overseas exhibitions, inspections, and negotiations, aiming to secure export orders and expand China’s overseas markets. The initiative will target China’s key export markets such as the Europe Union, the U.S., Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, and Latin America.

China organized approximately 900 overseas exhibitions in 2023.

Source: Xinhua, January 15, 2024
https://app.xinhuanet.com/news/article.html?articleId=a2b554b08f23afaff0f499798e1b9f74

Briefings | | |   @CS Economy/Resources Government/Politics

People’s Daily: Foster a Comprehensive Ongoing Approach to National Defense Education

People’s Daily published an article on conducting national defense education for the general public in China. The below paragraphs are translated excerpts from the article:

“Our army is the people’s army. Our national defense is the defense of the entire nation.

National defense education is comprehensive, long-term systemic work that emphasizes practical effectiveness and the public participation. Facing the current complex and challenging national security situation, it is essential to consistently regard national defense education as a strategic necessity.

Youth are the future of our country and thus the main focus of national defense education. It is crucial to incorporate national defense education into textbooks, classrooms, and student’s minds, sowing in young hearts the seeds of love for the Party, for the country, and for the military. We should leverage opportunities like military open days and military summer/winter camps to conduct effective national defense knowledge training.

Catering to the characteristics of the audience, national defense education should occur both online and offline, with both hardware and software being developed simultaneously. We should fully utilize local regions’ revolutionary culture (historical sites) and new technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence.

National defense education is not achieved through a single event; instead, it needs to be integrated into daily life and pursued regularly.”

Source: People’s Daily, January 21, 2024
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrb/html/2024-01/21/nw.D110000renmrb_20240121_2-06.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military Government/Politics

RFA: China Jailed More Journalists in 2023 Than Any Other Country

Radio Free Asia (RFA) recently reported on a study by The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), an international human rights organization, saying that 44 journalists were imprisoned in China in 2023, more than in any other country. Out of the 44 imprisoned Chinese journalists, 19 were of the Uyghur ethnic group. According to the CPJ report, “censorship makes the exact number of journalists jailed there notoriously difficult to determine, but Beijing’s media crackdown has widened in recent years.” When the CPJ report was released, Jimmy Lai, one of the representatives of press freedom in Hong Kong and the former founder of Apple Daily, was on trial in Hong Kong facing accusations of anti-state crimes. He had been subject to detention in prison for more than 1,140 consecutive days.

The report pointed out that the Chinese government has a tendency to charge journalists with “working against the state.” In 2023, three-fifths of new cases brought against journalists in China involved charges of espionage and incitement, separatism, or subversion of state power. This trend of bringing anti-state charges against journalists reflects the Chinese government’s attitude towards freedom of speech — it wantonly uses the party-state judicial apparatus to directly punish those who use speech in a manner that it deems unfavorable. Criminal charges are often brought on the basis of speech or reporting alone.

It is worth noting that China’s amended Counterespionage Law, which took effect on July 1, 2023, raised concern among members of the press at the time. Since Chinese law has always been vague about what constitutes threats “related to national security and interests,” it is difficult for Chinese and foreign journalists operating in China to gain clarity and feel secure in the reporting work they do.

Sources:

RFA, January 19, 2024
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/renquanfazhi/wy-01192024115907.html

CPJ, January 18, 2024

2023 prison census: Jailed journalist numbers near record high; Israel imprisonments spike

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics Social Stability

Chinese Officials Disciplined for Reading “Politically Problematic” Books

Chinese media have reported that several recently-arrested provincial and municipal officials were accused of “reading books and magazines with serious political problems.” Such offenses have been cited alongside more common corruption charges such as acceptance of bribes. The “problematic books”  in question include publications and e-books of foreign origin. Government reports about officials accused of such behavior have been published on the websites of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and China’s National Supervisory Commission.

One example concerns former Guiyang City deputy mayor Lin Gang, who was expelled from the Communist Party and from public office for “unlawfully seeking benefits for others, illegally accepting property, and confronting the organization’s scrutiny.” He was additionally accused of “not believing in Marxism-Leninism, believing in ghosts and gods, participating in superstitious activities, and reading e-books and magazines with serious political issues for a long time.” Other officials recently accused include a former water company deputy general manager, a former deputy secretary of the Guizhou Provincial Party Committee for Political and Legal Affairs, the former deputy governor of Guizhou Province, and a recently expelled Shanxi City deputy mayor. All have faced charges of possession or reading of “politically-problematic” books or magazines originating from outside of China.

Taiwan’s Central News Agency noted that calling out officials for reading questionable publications or e-books has historically been quite rare, although there have been a few prior such cases.

Source: Central News Agency (Taiwan), January 30, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/acn/202401300029.aspx

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

People’s Daily: Build an Effective Regulatory System to Prevent Financial Risks

At the opening ceremony of the Special Forum on Promoting the High-Quality Development of Finance for Provincial and Ministerial-Level Leading Cadres, Xi Jinping emphasized the need to “focus on preventing and resolving financial risks, especially systemic risks” and said that the Chinese government should regulate and monitor the financial industry “with teeth and thorns.”

People’s Daily followed up by publishing an article that argued for establishing a “comprehensive and effective financial regulatory system.”

The article said that “safeguarding financial security is a strategic and fundamental matter that concerns the overall development of China’s economy and society.”

“There are still many hidden economic and financial risks in China, such as low efficiency in financial services to support the real economy, irregularities and corruption in the financial industry, and weak financial regulatory and governance capabilities. The 20th National Congress of the Commuinst Party called to ‘strengthen and improve modern financial regulation, enhance the financial stability guarantee system, bring all types of financial activities under supervision, and guard against systemic risks.'”

Source: People’s Daily, January 20, 2024
http://opinion.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0120/c1003-40162853.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

Beijing Pushing Mid-to-Long-Term Investor Funds into Stocks to Support Chinese Stock Market

China’s stock market performed poorly in 2023. To help buoy the stock market, Beijing has increased its efforts to “introduce mid-to-long-term into the market.”

People’s Daily reported that Lin Xiaozheng, Deputy Director of the Department of Supervision of Securities and Fund Institutions at China’s Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), stated at a press conference that the CSRC will make greater efforts to introduce more mid-to-long-term funds into the market. Lin mentioned that, in recent years, “the CSRC has vigorously developed equity funds and actively promoted various mid-to-long-term funds’ participation in the capital market, achieving phased results. As of the end of 2023, various professional institutional investors, including social security funds, public funds, insurance funds, and pension funds, collectively held 15.9 trillion yuan of A-shares [in the Chinese stock market], doubling the amount held in early 2019. Their stock ownership ratio increases from 17% to 23%. These institutions have become a significant force in promoting the stable and healthy development of the capital market. Among them, public funds held 5.1 trillion yuan of A-shares, and stock ownership ratio increased from 3.8% to 7.3%, making them the largest professional institutional investor in A-shares.”

Source: People’s Daily, January 13, 2024
http://finance.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0113/c1004-40158192.html

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources Government/Politics

An Example of CCP Propaganda: Spinning the Conflict in the Red Sea

The Aboluo website published an article titled “the Differences Between News and Propaganda.” The article illustrates how a CCP news outlet put spin on recent martial developments in the Red Sea.

First, the article quoted a report by wester media: “Four small boats of Houthi armed forces in Yemen attacked the German Maersk Hangzhou commercial ship in the Red Sea. The Hangzhou requested help from U.S. escort warships. A U.S. ship sent a helicopter to fly over, sinking three Houthi boats and killing ten people. The last boat fled.

Next, the Aboluo article quoted a report by China Central Television (CCTV) on the same topic: “Recently in the Red Sea, a U.S. warship sank three Yemeni Houthi armed boats, killing ten people.”

In the Aboluo article’s analysis, the CCTV report intentionally hid the reason why the U.S. navy had taken on the Houthi boats, which was because the Houthis were trying to attack a container ship. The message that the CCTV report sent to its audience was that the U.S. had bullied the Houthi boats for no reason.

Source: Aboluo, January 7, 2024
https://www.aboluowang.com/2024/0107/2000801.html

Briefings | | |   @CS Government/Politics