In his farewell speech to kick off the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, Hu Jintao warned that failing to tackle corruption “could prove fatal to the Party and even cause the collapse of the Party and the fall of the state.” [1]
Opinion - 8. page
What Did the CCP’s 18th National Congress Tell the World?
On November 14, 2012, the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chose seven Politburo Standing Committee members. They are Xi Jinping (习近平), Li Keqiang (李克强), Zhang Dejiang (张德江), Yu Zhengsheng (俞正声), Liu Yunshan (刘云山), Wang Qishan (王岐山), and Zhang Gaoli (张高丽). What does this selection tell people about the future direction of the Communist regime?
What Went Wrong With US China Policy
Twenty years ago, the United States won the cold war by disintegrating the Soviet Union. Now, facing the People’s Republic of China, a regime that once looked up to the Soviet as the “Big Brother,” and whose economic and military strength still lags behind that of the United States, the United States often finds itself accommodating to instead of changing China. The fact is: the United States has grown ever weaker in promoting human rights and democracy in China, while the PRC has grown more assertive in the international arena.
The Mirror of China’s Failing State
Finally a few Western media have begun to look beyond the ravages of what the Chinese government falsely claimed to be a “once-in-60-years” rainstorm in Beijing and question how very fragile the infrastructure of the world’s number-two economy really is.
The Chinese People Don’t Just Distrust the Government; They Take Action
Chinascope recently published a commentary written by an expert on China issues, Dr. Shizhong Chen, titled, “The Mirror of China’s Failing State.” Dr. Chen observed that what the Chinese government claimed to be a ‘once-in-60-years’ rainstorm in Beijing has led the Western media to start looking beyond the China’s economic illusion to see the real China: an economic prosperity “at the expense of internal necessities that include infrastructure, education, and healthcare.” [1]
Not only did the Beijing rainstorm reveal the lack of infrastructure development in China, but it also showed the world that people in China are losing trust in China’s government. Moreover, they are taking action, and not just talking, to express their distrust.
The Moral Crisis in China, Part III – How the Communist Party Destroyed the Chinese Spirit
Part III – How the Communist Party Destroyed the Chinese Spirit
In Part I of the Moral Crisis series, we discussed the dramatic moral crisis occurring in China. In “Part II – Traditional Chinese Culture,” we explored China’s proud heritage as an “ancient civilization” which placed a high value on righteous acts and inner thoughts, where Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism either originated or took root; where people cultivated virtue and devoted their lives to attaining enlightenment; and where reaching the level of the divine and achieving a oneness with heaven were the fulfillment of life’s purpose.
What changed China from a country of such high moral standards to a country with such low standards? It did not happen overnight, but, after the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) gained ascendancy in China in 1949, the change was both rapid and dramatic. To ensure its reign, the CCP consciously and systematically eradicated the Chinese people’s spiritual beliefs and traditional Chinese culture. Part III of the series explores how the CCP destroyed the Chinese’s people’s spirit, their traditional culture, and consequently their morality.
Communism’s Cultural Expansion: Communist Control Goes Abroad
In the past few years, China has developed a high-profile culture industry and a “going abroad” campaign to export its world view. State-owned media, including television, newspapers, and radio stations are massively penetrating Western countries. Programs to introduce the Chinese language and culture, led by the Confucius Institutes, which ultimately answer to the CCP’s United Front Work Department, are spreading all over the world and Chinese culture products are increasingly available in the international market.
This paper analyzes China’s “going abroad” campaign to extend its culture and soft power and concludes that, in addition to competition for the discourse right on the international stage, China is promoting its soft power as a direct attempt to extend its autocratic control to the world.
The Moral Crisis in China, Part II – Traditional Chinese Culture
Part II – Traditional Chinese Culture
In “Part I – Seven Areas that Showcase China’s Moral Crisis,” we gave examples of the great moral deterioration that has taken place in China. From officials raping an innocent child and then declaring her a prostitute to doctors treating a beggar to a nice meal and then killing him to harvest and sell his organs; from Chinese netizens singing eulogies to bin Laden after the U.S. killed him to the series of frauds that China perpetrated on the public at the Beijing Olympics, we saw the extent of China’s current moral crisis.
This is not how China used to be. China has a proud heritage of 5,000 years as an “ancient civilization” with very high moral standards. Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism either originated in China or took root there. They flourished and were promulgated in a land whose people were devoted to achieving a oneness with heaven. The very concept of enlightenment originated in ancient China. Part II of the Moral Crisis series reviews the foundation of China’s morality in ancient times. Without understanding the heritage of China’s traditional cultural and the height China’s moral standards attained in history, we would not have a clear understanding of how profoundly China has been severed from its past, its own true cultural heritage.