Chinese State Media published a number of articles that comment on cultural system reform as proposed at the sixth plenary session of the 17th Central Committee of the CCP held from October 15 to 18. The aticles suggested the following reasons for China to effectuate cultural reform:

1. Culture, as a “soft power,” is part of a country’s comprehensive national power. Nowadays the Oriental and Western ideologies are interacting and merging. “Whoever’s ideology and values are most widely spread (over the world), and whoever controls the discourse right, will have the greatest influence (over the world).” China needs this “soft power” both to defend against the Western countries’ subversion (“a major reason for the former Soviet Union’s disintegration was the severe decline of its cultural soft power”) and also to exercise its influence over the world. “China needs to have its cultural power match its international status.”

2. Culture has become an important support for economic development. “Culture, economy, and technology are increasingly mingled together. Economy has an increased cultural flavor; likewise, culture has an economic function.” Developing the culture industry can help China boost its economic growth.

3. The CCP wants to use culture to improve its deteriorating moral standards.

Sources:
1. Qiushi Journal, Oct 14, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/lg/clzt/201110/t20111014_116563.htm
2. Xinhua, Oct 18, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2011-10/18/c_111105718.htm

On October 16, 2011, Guangming Daily published an article about China’s confidence in Chinese culture. “The foundation of our confidence in Chinese culture is our successful practice on the socialist road with Chinese characteristics.”

According to the writer, the Vice President of Beijing Normal University, “Our self-confidence in our culture comes from the big achievement of China’s socialist practice which our great people brought about under the leadership of our great Party." China’s self-confidence in Chinese culture is also based on the guidance in the latest achievements in the study of Chinese Marxism.

Source: Guangming Daily, October 16, 2011
http://culture.gmw.cn/2011-10/16/content_2794150.htm

On October 16, 2011, Radio France Internationale reported on the discussions taking place at the Sixth Plenary Session of 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, held from October 15 to 18, on the subject of China’s cultural system reforms. The focus was mainly on strengthening the CCP’s control and monitoring of the media and Internet communication. The participants explored how to use the Internet and the media to serve the Chinese Communist Party before the upcoming new generation of CCP leaders come to power next year.

China currently has 500 million Internet users; 200 million of them are micro-blog users. Beijing authorities are more and more worried about the power of the Internet to influence public opinion. In addition, the CCP has recently stepped up its monitoring of some reformist newspapers.

Source: Radio France Internationale, October 16, 2011
http://www.chinese.rfi.fr/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD/20111016-%E4%B8%AD%E5%85%B1%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%83%E5%B1%8A%E5%85%AD%E4%B8%AD%E5%85%A8%E4%BC%9A%E4%B8%BA%E4%BD%95%E8%81%9A%E7%84%A6%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E8%AE%AE%E9%A2%98

On October 16, 2011, Qiushi, a Journal of the CCP Central Committee, published an article titled “The Formation of the Socialist Legal System with Chinese Characteristics and the Historic Mission of the People’s Court.” The article emphasized the importance of the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership over all court work and the importance of building up grass-roots Party organization branches throughout the court system.

“(We should not waver in our) socialist legal concept of the Party’s leadership. Use the socialist legal concept to take over the ideology of the law and guide all kinds of court work.” “(We should) deeply understand the superiority of the socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics; consciously resist the influence of different wrong legal concepts; truly understand ‘who has power, for whom judicial work is done, and who to serve.’”

Source: Qiushi, October 16, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2011/201120/201110/t20111014_116684.htm

The focus of the Sixth Plenary Session of 17th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, held from October 15 to 18, was on “cultural system reform and promoting the prosperity of socialist cultural development." This is the first time that the Chinese Communist Party has used “culture” as the focus of a plenary session since the 17th Plenary Session in 2007.

Party Chairman Hu Jintao spoke on July 1, during the 90th anniversary of Chinese Communist Party, emphasizing “the need to speed up the reform of the cultural system, build a public culture service infrastructure, and further promote Chinese culture on the world stage in order for China’s cultural soft power to be compatible with its world status and increase the international influence of Chinese culture.”

It is expected that more discussions on cultural strategy will occur after the session.

Source: China Review News, October 15, 2011
http://gb.chinareviewnews.com/doc/1018/6/9/3/101869348.html?coluid=151&kindid=0&docid=101869348&mdate=1015103736