{Editor’s Note: In June 2006, Beijing released an eight-episode TV documentary series: Preparing For Danger In Times Of Safety – Historic Lessons Learned from the Demise of Soviet Communism. It was a research project conducted by the government think tank, the Chinese Academy of Social Science. Afterwards, the Chinese Communist Party instructed party members across the nation to watch the series and launch serious discussions. The script of the prelude of the documentary quotes Hu Jintao’s words, “There are multiple factors contributing to the disintegration of the Soviet Union, a very important one being Khrushchev throwing away Stalin’s knife and Gorbachev’s open betrayal of Marxism-Leninism.” The full text of the narratives has been translated. What follows is the sixth episode.}
China Rises As Largest Shipbuilder
State media Huanqiu issued a report quoting a U.S. source that China has currently replaced South Korea as the leader in the world shipbuilding industry.
President Omar al-Bashir Praises 50-Year Friendship With China and Zhou Yongkang’s Work in Sudan
In Sudan, on the evening of November 17, according to the website of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee’s International Department, the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir had a meeting in Khartoum with the CCP’s chief of legal affairs and Politburo Standing Committee member Zhou Yongkang.
Wen Jiabao Says No G2 Likely to Develop
China does not welcome the idea of a G2, said Premier Wen Jiaobao when meeting with U.S. President Obama on November 18, according to Xinhua.
Nanfang Weekend Newspaper Blanks Page to Protest Censorship of Obama Interview
According to overseas Chinese media, Nanfang Weekend newspaper blanked out half a page to protest the CCP Propaganda Department’s censorng its articles. According to Epoch Times, during his meeting with Hu Jintao on November 17, Obama requested an interview by the Nanfang Weekend, a relatively liberal state-owned newspaper. Hu arranged it. However, Li Changchun, a Jiang Zemin loyalist, and member of the Standing Committee of the CCP’s Central Committee Political Bureau, in charge of propaganda, was annoyed that Hu bypassed him. He therefore ordered that the interview not be printed. Then after pressure from the US Embassy, the interview was allowed to be printed, but with certain sections cut out. The Propaganda Department also disallowed two other articles about Obama. In protest, Nanfang printed the newspaper with half a page blanked out (the newspaper page can be seen at http://www.mitbbs.com/article2/Military/32884503_1463.jpg).
This is a rare case of a state-owned media printing a blank newspaper page in protest.
Sources:
1. The Epoch Times, November 21, 2009
http://www.epochtimes.com/gb/9/11/21/n2729468.htm
2. MIT BBS, November 20, 2009
http://www.mitbbs.com/article_t/Military/32884503.html
China Youth Daily: Employment Termination Announced at a Professor’s Sick Bedside
China Youth Daily published a news report on November 18, 2009, on Zhang Zaiyuan, a former Wuhan University professor and an internationally renowned architect. Prof. Zhang has been suffering from a rare motor neuron disease since October 2007. On April 30, 2009, Wuhan University sent four people to his bedside to read a "Termination Certificate of the Employment Contract." He lost his position as the Dean and as professor of the Urban Design College at Wuhan University as well as his medical insurance and assigned apartment. His wife, a housewife, recently found that Wuhan University had withdrawn all the salary that he had saved from his account, a total of over 500,000 yuan. She was told that the university used it to pay his medical expenses.
Source: China Youth Daily, November 18, 2009
http://law.cyol.com/content/2009-11/18/content_2942016.htm
Xinhua: China and Iran Increasing Investment and Trade Cooperation
On November 20, 2009, Xinhua reported that China is Iran’s largest trading partner. In 2008, the direct bilateral trade amounted to 27.6 billion U.S. dollars. The trade volume from January to September this year has already reached 15.4 billion U.S. dollars including 5.5 billion U.S. dollars in exports and 10.0 billion U.S. dollars in imports.
In November 2008, China and Iran signed an “Understanding Memorandum on Sino-Iranian Investment.” From January to September this year, Iran has invested $67.0 million in China; China has invested $159 million in Iran. Iran is China’s third largest crude oil importer. In 2008, china imported 21.3 million tons of crude oil from Iran, accounting for 12% of China’s imported crude oil.
Source: Xinhua, November 20, 2009.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2009-11/20/content_12512183.htm
People’s Daily: Li Changchun Summarizing “Precious” Experience in Propaganda Work
People’s Daily recently published the full speech that Li Changchun gave at the Tenth Chinese Reporters Festival. Li is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party. He summarized the experience gained over the past 60 years: (1) Sticking to Party principles, always aligning with the Party Central Committee; (2) Always taking the “right public opinion guidance” as top priority; (3) Tightly combining the Party’s policies with the people’s thoughts; (4) Establishing a positive international “public opinion environment” by integrating internal and external propaganda; (5) Keeping up the reform of methods used to “occupy new battlefields” such as the Internet; (6) Enhancing and improving the Party’s control over media and making sure the media leadership is “tightly controlled” by the ones who are loyal to the Party.
Source: People’s Daily, November 9, 2009.
http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/1024/10338997.html