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Study Times: National Culture Security and Soft Power from an International Perspective

On October 31, Study Times published an article discussing China’s cultural soft power from an international perspective. The article said that to increase national cultural soft power in the international arena while protecting national culture security, [China] must work in the following three areas. [We should] 1) Actively participate in the international cultural competition and protect the security of our ideology in the process of “going out" (expanding overseas). [We] must uphold our ideology as the core of our national culture security. Given our limited cultural communication abroad, focus more on getting our ideology across [respected] than on our success or failure in the culture industry. 2) Enhance the acceptability of our national image and foster a favorable [improve the] overseas media environment for the protection of China’s cultural sovereignty. 3) Establish the recognition of a multiplicity of cultures and promote our national culture security strategy to a new height. Champion the idea of respecting the rights of each country to choose its own social system and development path.

Source: Study Times, October 31, 2011
http://www.studytimes.com.cn:9999/epaper/xxsb/html/2011/10/31/03/03_44.htm

Outlook: Socialist Values Establish the Direction of Chinese Socialism

Outlook Weekly published a commentary by a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The commentary stated, “The socialist core value system is the soul rejuvenating the country and the essence of the socialist advanced culture. It determines the direction of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” The Chinese Communist Party uses Marxist values as a guide to determine the values of everything else. The core value of socialism is to liberate mankind. The four basic elements that make up the socialist core value system are the guiding principles of Marxism, the common ideals of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the national spirit and the spirit of the times, and socialist morality.”

Source: Outlook Weekly reprinted on the website of the Chinese Communist Party, October 24, 2011 http://theory.people.com.cn/GB/16002180.html

Qiushi: Cultural Soft Power is Vital to Economic Development

On November 1, 2011 Qiushi published an article on the recent call that the Communist Party issued at its Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Congress, which closed on October 18, 2011, to intensify efforts to develop socialist culture. The article explained that the second decade of the twenty-first century is a critical opportunity for the development of China’s culture. More and more, culture has become the source that unites the people, the factor that improves the country’s competitiveness, and the substance that serves as a pillar for economic development. As a distinctive feature of current and future domestic and international changes, “whoever commands the high ground in cultural development will have strong cultural soft power and hence will be strategically positioned to win in the fierce international competition.”

Source: Qiushi, November 1, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2011/201121/201110/t20111028_120310.htm

Qiushi: Occupy Wall Street a Reflection of the Failure of Capitalism

Two scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) wrote a commentary on what the "Occupy Wall Street” protest says about capitalism. The article said,“The ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protest movement is a true manifestation of current U.S. social problems. It shows that the American government’s economic and financial policies following the financial crisis have greatly disappointed people. Ordinary American’s anger over the sluggish economy, rampant corruption, scant employment opportunities, and poor career prospects have accumulated to the point of exploding. The article also criticized the whole economic, political, and cultural systems’ crises that the American financial crisis brought about.”

In reflecting on the capitalist economic system, the article said, “The root cause of the capitalist financial system’s numerous shortcomings is that it is difficult to accomplish highly efficient national regulation in a capitalist society that is based on private ownership…” It further stated, “The capitalist private ownership system is the source of injustice in social distribution.” Regarding the capitalist political system, it said, “The ‘occupy wall street’ protest demonstrates the non-democratic and extremely hypocritical nature of the capitalist political system.” About capitalist culture, the authors commented, “American youth already shout loud slogans such as ‘We are a generation of revolution!’ ‘We need jobs! We need revolution!’ ‘Eliminate capitalism!’ These slogans have already delivered a big blow to American cultural values and will continue to deliver even bigger blows. What’s more, it proclaimed the crisis of the American culture system on the Internet.”

The article concluded, “The capitalist system is doomed and will be replaced by a more advanced social system. Let’s wait and see.”

Source : Qiushi, October 31, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/jj/jjyj/201110/t20111031_120821.htm

State Council Information Chief: Improve External Communication to Develop Cultural Soft Power

Wang Chen, the head of the State Council Information Office, stated at a recent conference, “With the ever intensified competition between countries in the area of national cultural soft power, the role of external communication has increased in importance. It helps China to develop into a powerful nation with socialist culture."

Wang, one of the top officials in charge of Beijing’s domestic and international propaganda, said that, as the world’s second largest economy, China needs to improve its cultural soft power. “Being capable in international communication is an integral part of [developing] cultural soft power and an important means to safeguard the nation’s image.” “Increasing our efforts in external communication is to implement the requirements of the Party’s sixth plenary session of the 17th Congress.”

Wang emphasized that today’s world hopes to hear more from China, as the U.S. and Europe are plagued by debt problems. He asked for China’s discourse system in the international community to be built up and for the channels for cultural exchanges to expand constantly.

Source: Xinhua, October 28, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/2011-10/28/c_111131045.htm

More U.S. Investors Withdrawing from China’s Real Estate Market

The International Herald Leader published an article reporting that U.S. investors are withdrawing from China’s real estate market. The weather is getting colder, bringing winter to the Chinese real estate market. Housing prices in Shanghai, Beijing, and other cities have fallen up to 30%. At the end of September, the U.S. investment firm Blackstone sold its 95% ownership of the commercial real property, the Shanghai Shopping Channel 1, for 1.45 billion RMB to a Hong Kong investor, Cheng Yu-tung. Recently, over a dozen U.S. individual investors jointly sold over 70 suites in a Shanghai hotel for 126 million RMB. “The collective action of the U.S. individual investors to sell their property and the Blackstone’s divestment of its real property in Shanghai confirm the rumor that foreign capital is accelerating its withdrawal from China’s real estate market.” At an interview with the newspaper, Ye Chuhua, a financial expert stated that those who are withdrawing today have already missed the prime time and that those who still own real property are trapped and will have to sell at a loss.

Source: Xinhua, October 31, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2011-10/31/c_131215728.htm

China Has the Most Elderly People in the World; 30 Million Men Will Have to Remain Single

On October 28, 2011, Xinhua republished an article originally from Xinmin Evening News titled “China Has the Most Elderly People in the World; 30 Million Men Will Have to Remain Single Due to the Gender Ratio Imbalance.”

According to last year’s national census data, 70% of China’s population is between 15 years old and 59 years old. Meanwhile, children under 14 years of age account for only 16% of the total population. Over the next 10 years, the proportion of young people in China will significantly decrease. In the 21st century, China will always have more elderly people than any other country in the world.

In addition to an aging population, another major challenge facing China is the gender imbalance at birth. At present, there are 15 million more males than females in China. The imbalance in the sex ratio will continue to rise over the next 10 years. As a result, nearly 30 million men will not be able to get married.

Source: Xinhua, October 28, 2011
http://pdf.news365.com.cn/xmpdf/20111028/XM111028A106.pdf
http://news.xinhuanet.com/society/2011-10/28/c_111131402.htm

Rural Villages Disappearing and Farmland Abandoned across China

On October 29, 2011, Radio Free Asia published an article based on China’s official media reports regarding the rapidly declining rural population in China. From 2005 to 2009, China lost over 7000 rural village committees each year. An average of 20 administrative villages disappeared each day. Due to the large numbers of the rural laborers migrating to cities, the problem of abandoned arable farmland is very serious, affecting the stability and security of the country’s agriculture and food supply.

China’s farmers do not own the land they work on. On behalf of the state, local authorities can take away their farmland legally or illegally, at any time. According China’s Ministry of Land and Resources, in the first three quarters of this year alone, local authorities across China took away 37,000 farms for other illegal uses, an increase of more than 4% compared to the same period last year, .

As the authorities grab more and more farmland, farmers have lost interest in farming. They simply do not know when developers will confiscate their land in order to sell it. Besides, Chinese farmers cannot make much money or even lose money from farming due to the fact that the prices for seeds, pesticides, and utilities are increasing so rapidly.

Source: Radio Free Asia, October 29, 2011
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/jz-10292011003613.html