A video about how the government trains spokespersons and Internet commentators was posted on the Internet. The Internet commentators are commonly known as 五毛黨 (the 50 cents party, or 50 centers), because they are paid 0.5 yuan for every article they post on the Internet to praise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and denigrate those the CCP opposes." The video reported that, on September 8, the Xishui County Party Propaganda Department in Hubei Province provided a training session for all government spokespersons and Internet commentators in the county to prepare them “to actively respond to sudden public events and correctly guide public opinion.” The propaganda department stressed that “the Internet has become a major battlefield in the war of ideologies.” It requested that the “governments’ spokespersons and Internet commentators continuously increase their sense of responsibility and mission” and improve their capabilities in five areas: “to make sure the Party and the government maintain a positive image, to manage their work, to handle sudden events, to guide public opinion and public relations, and to use and manage the Internet.”

Source:
1. Youmaker.com, September 15, 2011
http://www.youmaker.com/video/svb5-f784c018d27d4a4ea31337044d0e46f5001.html

On September 6, 2011, China issued the “China’s Peaceful Development” white paper. On September 8, Qiushi Journal published an article on the significance of the white paper. It tells the U.S. and other "hostile" countries not to interfere with China’s Core Interests. China’s white paper defines China’s core interests as: national sovereignty, national security, territorial integrity, national unity, the stabilization of the political system defined by the Constitution (Ed: the Chinese Communist Party’s reign), and the basic protection of sustainable economic development.

The Qiushi article praised the white paper as a clear declaration. “For many years, the U.S.-led Western countries have viewed socialist China as a thorn in their side and tried in every way to topple China. Their desire to destroy China has never died. Politically, they promote ‘democracy, freedom, and human rights’ and develop Tibetan separatists, Xinjiang separatists, and ‘democracy activists’; economically, they pressure for renminbi appreciation and attempt to stop China’s economic growth; militarily, they drag Japan, India, Vietnam, the Philippines and other countries to form an anti-China C-circle. Defining our national core interests is to tell the U.S. and other Western countries: Don’t touch my cheese!”

The Qiushi article pointed out that China is prepared to go to war to defend itself, saying, “(In its wars) China fights the invaders furiously. … The white paper unmistakably warned a number of countries: the increasingly strong Chinese people will never tolerate anyone’s attempt to damage China’s core interests.”

The white paper itself declared that “China conducts a defensive defense policy.” “China faces complex and non-traditional challenges and is threatened by separatist and terrorist forces. Defense modernization is a legitimate security requirement for China. … China’s defense spending is reasonable and appropriate. It matches the need to safeguard our national security.”

Sources:
1. Qiushi Journal, September 6, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/zywz/201109/t20110906_108413.htm
2. Qiushi Journal, September 8, 2011
http://www.qstheory.cn/lg/rpzm/gj/201109/t20110908_108915.htm

On September 9, 2011, Huanqiu, the Chinese edition of Global Times, published an article titled “The Loss of Media Control in the Soviet Union Accelerated the Death of the Soviet Communist Party.” The author, Zhu Jidong, is executive director of the World Socialism Research Center, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Zhu blamed Mikhail Gorbachev for abolishing media censorship and inviting Western media into the Soviet Union.

“As the Soviet Union’s media surrendered themselves to the West, the people (of the Soviet Union) gradually lost both their trust in the Party and the country and their faith in socialism. In just two years, from January 1989 to January 1991, over 2.9 million Soviet Communist Party members denounced the Party. Relinquishing leadership over the media resulted in the loss of control that destroyed the foundation of Soviet ideology, did away with the Soviet Union’s core value system and idealistic beliefs, and accelerated the death of the Soviet Communist Party.”

Source: Huanqiu, September 9, 2011
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/roll/2011-09/1990652.html