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

Huang Renwei, the deputy dean of the International School of Economics and Politics at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS) and deputy director of the Center for International Strategic Studies, wrote an article for Qiushi Theory titled “Deepen Our Realization of the Long-term, Complex, and Serious Test in Facing the World’s Political Environment.”

The article attributed the current situation to the shift in the world’s power that occurred after the world economic crisis in 2008 resulted in the weakening of the national power of such Western giants as the U.S., the EU, and Japan. The article said that while those Western giants still lead in the high tech, military and media industries, many have “adjusted their strategy to shift the conflicts and reduce their economic burden while using both soft and hard means to suppress socialist and developing countries in order to maintain the old political and economic order.”

It further stated that the models and ideologies that the Western developed countries adopted are “not only impossible for China to follow, but also show the uncertainty of their own future.” The article used the economic crisis in the US, the debt crisis in the EU, and the nuclear power leak in Japan as examples and said that they “exposed the inferiority and deadly weakness in their models and ideologies.”

The author also pointed out that the West has not done any self-reflection on its own issues and still uses its powerful media, Internet, and NGOs to attack developing countries and even "dreams of lighting up the ‘democratic fire’ in China that come from the turmoil in western Asia and northern Africa.” It noted that the Western courntries have been using their "universal values" to undermine the ideology and cultural values that are not part of their own system. "They use the Internet, email, microblogs, texting, games, TV, and movies to directly influence and win over the next generation. … They even form opposition groups to stir up riots in order overthrow political power.”

The article concluded that the Party’s leadership is the key to guaranteeing control in maintaining China’s peaceful development. “If we are clear headed, follow the new development, increase our strategic predictability, fully utilize the political advantage of the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and manage our internal and external affairs well, we are guaranteed to have firm control over China’s peaceful development.”

Source: Qiushi Theory, October 16, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2011/201120/201110/t20111014_116665.htm

Li Shenming, the Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), published an article in Qiushi on the lessons to be learned from the experience of the former Soviet Union. The failure of the former Soviet Union to effectively solve the problem of underground publications, dissidents, and informal organizations may have contributed to its downfall.

Initially, the works that were published underground were merely some censored poems and literary works. Later underground publications started to include political contents that were critical of the existing government. The publishing center in Moscow became the center of a “liberal democratic movement.” Dissidents were exceptionally active during the Gorbachev period. The Soviet authorities not only restored their reputations, but also encouraged and supported them in various political activities. Sakharov is a classic example. The first "informal organization" appeared in 1986. They usually were small, secretive, unofficial, flexible, and run by amateurs. As Gorbachev condoned these organizations, their publications become the media pioneers of the anti-socialist and anti-communist movement.

Source: Qiushi, October 11, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/zgtsshzyll/201110/t20111011_115583.htm