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Xinhua Commentary Series: Spotlight on the U.S. Presidential Election

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Wu Guoguang: Xi Jinping’s Reversal of the Course, Will China’s Transition be Peaceful or Marked with Bloodshed?

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Cheng Xiaonong: U.S.-China Strategic Relations Have Crystallized

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Xinhua Commentaries: “Exposing the Three Major Political Deficits of the U.S.”

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More and More Chinese Military Officers Talk Straight with the Media

Xinhua recently republished an article by Hong Kong based Asia Times suggesting the more and more high-ranking Chinese military officers are standing up and “talking straight.” Examples are comments made by Major General Zhu Chenghu, Major General Luo Yuan, and Senior Colonel Ke Chunqiao, after the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. They all suggested that China should sell U.S. bonds, increase military spending and expand military deployment. Retired Rear Admiral Yin Zhuo also suggested expanding the reach of the Chinese Navy by doing things like establishing a Navy base in the Middle East. All these military comments covered by the media started 15 years ago with General Xiong Guangkai, who told U.S. Ambassador Charles Freeman regarding nuclear wars, “You’d better worry more about Los Angeles than Taipei.”

Source: Xinhua, March 10, 2010
http://news.xinhuanet.com/mil/2010-03/10/content_13137034.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Use Buying U.S. Bonds as a Political Chip

The Chinese state owned newspaper People’s Daily recently published an article discussing the way China purchases U.S. bonds. The article suggested that although Yi Gang, Deputy Managing Director of People’s Bank of China and Chairman of State Administration of Foreign Exchange, claimed the bond purchase was purely a market investment behavior, yet it is impossible to completely de-link economic and political considerations. That President Obama’s recent protectionism is serving some political interest is proof. Some U.S. bankers now see China’s holding a large amount of U.S. bonds as a threat to the United States. It’s time for China to use it as a political chip. This is an “international common practice.”

Source: People’s Daily, March 11, 2010
http://opinion.people.com.cn/GB/182743/182750/11117686.html

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

The Government’s Press Spokesperson System

 “The Press Spokesperson System Moves Forward,” by Liao Wang, June 8, 2009 [1]

"By strengthening and improving the spokesperson system, correct, effective and timely implementation of the agenda-setting through the media has become a breakthrough point for strengthening the government’s ability to govern," according to Li Xiguang, a Professor, and head of the Government Spokesperson Research Group at Tsinghua University. In his view, under the traditional propaganda system, when it comes to reporting unexpected incidents, important meetings or other important news events, the government controls what the media does or does not report by giving orders. When the government establishes a press spokesperson, it is to influence the media by providing the media with a lot of planned information. The press spokesperson system provides information to the media using proactive ways to subtly influence and guide the media and public opinion at home and abroad. The effect is more effective and clever than simple control.
…

An expert who was interviewed expressed the belief that China must keep up the results achieved by the press spokesperson system, and continue to explore the model suited to China’s conditions. Except for the information that should not be publicized according to the law, as much as possible of all other information should be made public.

In the Internet age, e-mail, MSN, QQ (forum), personal blogs and other means of communication have come out one after another. It is very difficult to suppress the dissemination of information. Since it is difficult to change people’s first impression, the government should be the first to publicize its authoritative voice.
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In addition, in this increasingly diverse era in China, various domestic and foreign interest groups all hope to use and even take advantage of the media. For example, when certain types of emergency incidents occur, even though some problems could originally have been quickly resolved, under some people’s instigation, they become the "media events" or group events that arouse public indignation.

The interviewed expert believed that appointing a Zhongnanhai spokesperson and authorizing him as the sole authoritative spokesperson for the central government could more comprehensively and accurately transmit the policy and the stance of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. Zhongnanhai must become the first definer of important news, especially for the major emergency events, and should be the first to issue the government’s voice.

Li Xiguang said that the Zhongnanhai spokesperson must, first of all, be the mouthpiece and spokesperson of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. He must clearly express the position and view of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council. At the same time, he must possess the ability of sharp observation and concise expression like the journalists, and he must be the starting point of the transmission chain for all the important information and news from the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.

Yin Yungong also indicated that, at present, China has established the press spokesperson system with three levels, but it still lacks the spokesperson at the highest level. Although there is the State Council Information Office, its main service targets are the central ministries and provinces. (China) should learn from the successful practices in other countries, particularly the White House spokesperson in the United States and consider the establishment of a Zhongnanhai spokesperson at a proper time. It will once again push forward the reform of China’s press spokesperson system.

Li Xiguang: Why Do We Need a Zhongnanhai Spokesperson? The International Herald Tribune, June 11, 2009 [2]

From the central government’s perspective, the establishment of a press spokesperson in Zhongnanhai can avoid having the media pursue the other departments and staff for an interview. For the government, too many (news) sources generated internally are troublesome and have "inconsistencies," which will inevitably lead to questions from the media. Appointing a Zhongnanhai spokesperson and authorizing him as the sole authorized spokesperson for the central government can transmit the policy and the stance of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council more comprehensively and accurately, thus avoiding unnecessary controversy.
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Zhongnanhai should be the First Definer of the News

The International Herald Tribune: You have raised the point of view of "ruling the news." What is the relationship with the proposal of establishing a Zhongnanhai spokesperson?

Li Xiguang: The main contents of "ruling the news" are: establishing various levels of a government spokesperson system, in particular, and setting up the spokesperson system for the President and the Premier, so as to improve the Party and the government’s agenda-setting ability. The highest decision-making meeting in the U.S. government is the meeting held by the President of the United States at the White House every day. This meeting is not focused on anything else but what today’s news should be. It is through the White House’s highest level press-planning meeting that a single voice and a universal keyword are formed. Thus it ensures that the agendas of the American people, the U.S. media, even the world’s people, other countries’ media and other countries’ government’s concerns all have the same agenda that was planned by the White House. The agenda setting and the right of selecting news are tightly controlled in hand.

The government often can become the first definer of the news, especially in emergency incidents, but the prerequisite is that the government must take the initiative and issue the government’s voice first. The messages from the government all have a natural authority and are what the people most want to know. As long as the initiative is taken, the government is able to take the opportunity to guide public opinion. If it loses the opportunity, the government will have to pay a high price to re-lead or re-shape public opinion. Therefore, Zhongnanhai has to be the first news definer.

Endnotes:
[1] Liao Wang, June 8, 2009
http://news.sohu.com/20090608/n264389481.shtml
[2] International Herald Tribune, June 11, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/herald/2009-06/11/content_11524969.htm

Reports | | |   Report

PLA Daily: A Rich Country with a Strong Army Equals More Happiness and Greater Dignity

On March 12, 2010, PLA Daily or China Military Online published an article titled “Dignity in the Eyes of Military Men.” 

Wen Jiabao said in the government work report at the Third Session of the Eleventh National People’s Congress on March 5th, 2010: “Everything we have done is to enable the people live happier with greater dignity in a fairer and more harmonious society.” Wen Jiabao’s speech aroused heated discussions among representatives of the NPC.

The article writer summarized that the military representatives’ understanding of “happiness and dignity” is “a rich country with a strong army.”  CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao proposed “a rich country with a strong army”as a strategic objective of the 17th National Congress of the CCP. 

Source: PLA Daily/China Military Online, March 12, 2010
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2010-03/12/content_22733.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

Qiu Shi: Patriotic Education in the Army – Cultivate the Army Personnel’s loyalty to the Party

Qiu Shi, the primary theoretical journal of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, published an article on February 16, 2010, on the importance of patriotic Education in the armed forces. Below are the specific requirements for the patriotic education in the army:

“Strive to guide the majority of the military officers and soldiers to firmly hold the army’s soul, i.e., the Party’s absolute leadership over the army, wholeheartedly follow the Party and forever obey the Party.  Educate and guide them to regard the Party’s direction as the direction, the Party’s will as the will, and highly keep in line with the Party Central Committee.  Resolutely resist the wrong ideological trend of a ‘non-Partisan and apolitical Armed Forces’ and ‘nationalization of the Armed Forces’.”

Source: QiuShi, February 16, 2010
http://www.qstheory.cn/zxdk/2010/201004/201002/t20100209_20835.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

PLA Daily: Not Appropriate to Emphasize the Scale of Destroying Enemy in the Future Warfare

According to PLA Daily or China Military Online on March 11, 2010, “As information technology  improves in future warfare, it is no longer appropriate to continue to emphasize the scale of the enemy’s destruction. … Sometimes, destroying a system, a subsystem or even the enemy’s key equipment will disable the enemy’s resistance capability.”

“In several recent high-tech regional wars, the US-led multinational military forces almost always attacked an opponent’s command system first, which defeated the opponent completely before it could organize any decent resistance.”

“A more and more well-developed information network can compensate for the inadequacy of not setting up the task of destroying the enemy in terms of scale.”

Source: PLA Daily/China Military Online, March 11, 2010
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2010-03/11/content_22637.htm

Briefings | | |   Defense/Military

China Shuts Down 140,000 Illegal Websites

China’s state “anti-pornography” office announced on March 12 that authorities have shut down 140,000 “illegal” websites, including pornography websites. It’s part of a special national campaign to combat dissemination of pornographic information through websites and cell phones that started in February of this year. Authorities involve the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Culture, and the General Administration of Press and Publications. 

Source: People’s Daily, March 12, 2010 
http://media.people.com.cn/GB/40728/40731/11131980.html
Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

Qiushi: A Learning Oriented Marxist Political Party

A recent issue of Qiushi journal, the flagship publication of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, featured an article entitled “a major and pressing strategic task – on building a learning oriented Marxist political party.” 

The article mentioned that the Fourth Session of the 17th National Congress of CCP put the build-up of a "Learning oriented Marxist political party” as a high priority. “The world is undergoing a major development, transformation, and adjustment. In the face of the profound changes in the world, the country, and the party, our party can only maintain its advanced nature, become the backbone to rally people across the country to overcome all risks and tests, and lead the socialist cause with Chinese characteristics toward victory by emphasizing learning and being good at learning.”The term “Learning oriented Marxist political party” has been seen frequently in recent government papers. 
Source: Qiushi, March 13, 2010 
http://www.qstheory.cn/yw/201003/t20100313_23586.htm
Briefings | | |   Government/Politics