Chinascope – Page 950

Chinese Scholar: International and Domestic Opportunities and Challenges for China

[Editor’s Note: Qiushi Theory recently published a thesis by Li Shenming, who is the Deputy President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. [1] Li discussed the opportunities and challenges that China faces in both the international and the domestic arenas and from the political and economic points of view. Li proposed specific strategies for China to undertake in responding to these challenges. He predicted that the global socialist movement will make more progress in the coming years and that, by 2050, “global socialism will once again shine brightly.” Some of the data that Li referenced are a few years old, but his points are still valid. The following is an excerpt from Li’s article.]

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Reports | | May 10, 2012 | Report

China Youth Daily Publishes Commentary on Studying the “Cultural Revolution”

China Youth Daily, one of the top news dailies under the CCP’s Youth League, published a commentary titled “The ‘Cultural Revolution’ Should Be Written into Textbooks.” The article stated,“The ghost of the ‘cultural revolution’ has been haunting us, even though the central government passed a resolution that the ‘cultural revolution’ (must be) completely expunged. In recent years, its ghost has become a shadow that appears in front of us now and then. Some scholars even publicly endorse the ‘cultural revolution’ and publish articles trying to reverse the resolution. Such voices on the Internet have become ever more frequent. … Even more horrifying is that people publicly support an aspiration to revive the ‘cultural revolution.’ Songs and model plays related to the ‘cultural revolution’ are regarded as red classics. On a number of occasions, the image of red guards has also appeared, swaggering around in public.”

The article lamented that “Most surprisingly, the younger generation’s sees the ‘cultural revolution’ as having a completely positive image.” Over a long period of time, whether it’s in movies, TV shows, novels, dramas, or poems, articles are all trying to avoid the ‘cultural revolution.’ In textbooks, the ‘cultural revolution’ is only a few ambiguous sentences. In the universities and research institutes, a few people who stubbornly insist on studying the ‘cultural revolution’ are considered a strange group.”

The article pointed out that “to truly learn the lessons from the ‘cultural revolution,’ one must meticulously and carefully study it. … It’s an urgent matter to start to solidify our textbooks right away. (We should) tell our offspring the original history; let them know the disaster of the ‘cultural revolution’ that research has already demonstrated.

Source: China Youth Daily, May 9, 2012
http://zqb.cyol.com/html/2012-05/09/nw.D110000zgqnb_20120509_2-06.htm

Briefings | | May 9, 2012 | Government/Politics

Qiushi: How Western Political Parties Interact with the Media

Qiushi reprinted an article from a 2004 issue of the Contemporary World and Socialism, a publication of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Compilation and Translation Bureau. The article discussed the interactions between Western political parties and the media. It stated that, in the West, the political ruling parties generally influence the media through political restraints, national security, misrepresentations, and advertising. Political restraints represent a long standing practice whereby the political ruling party censors the media through orders, threats, and arrests. Control of the media in the name of national security or classified military information is also common. “Telling lies, and the dirty dealings in Western politics have been transformed to become ‘the art of public relations.’” “The political parties in the western countries devote special attention to manipulating the media in the dissemination of their messages in order to safeguard and portray their intended image and to expand their influence.” Because of the business relationship and large amounts of funds involved, when the government or the political parties threaten to pull their business, the media usually give in.

Source: Contemporary World and Socialism reprinted by Qiushi, May 5, 2012.
http://www.qstheory.cn/zz/ywgc/201205/t20120504_155748.htm

Briefings | | May 9, 2012 | Government/Politics

PLA Daily: Never Expect to Take Away Half an Inch of China’s Territory

On May 10, 2012, amid the heightened tensions between China and the Philippines over what is known as the Scarborough Shoal in English and Huangyan island in Chinese in the southeastern region of the disputed waters, People’s Liberation Army Daily, the official voice of Chinese military, published a commentary titled, “Never Expect to Take Away Half an Inch of China’s Territory.”

The article said, “We never tolerate any unreasonable embarrassment with blind patience, not to mention that the issue matters for China’s territorial integrity, national dignity, and even social stability.

“For anyone who tries to snatch the sovereignty over Huangyan Island, not only will the Chinese government not agree; the Chinese people will not agree; and the Chinese army will not agree.

“For anyone, regardless of what tricks he plays, what backing he has, or what accomplice he ropes in, never expect to take away half an inch of China’s territory.”

Source: PLA Daily, May 10, 2012
http://www.chinamil.com.cn/jfjbmap/content/2012-05/10/content_4839.htm

Briefings | | May 9, 2012 | Geo-Strategic Trend

Communism’s Cultural Expansion: Communist Control Goes Abroad

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In the past few years, China has developed a high-profile culture industry and a “going abroad” campaign to export its world view. State-owned media, including television, newspapers, and radio stations are massively penetrating Western countries. Programs to introduce the Chinese language and culture, led by the Confucius Institutes, which ultimately answer to the CCP’s United Front Work Department, are spreading all over the world and Chinese culture products are increasingly available in the international market.

This paper analyzes China’s “going abroad” campaign to extend its culture and soft power and concludes that, in addition to competition for the discourse right on the international stage, China is promoting its soft power as a direct attempt to extend its autocratic control to the world.

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Analyses | | May 8, 2012 | Opinion

Xinhua: Fighting Internet Rumors is an All Encompassing Battle

Xinhua recently published a short commentary on the importance of fighting “Internet rumors.” The commentary suggested that Internet based rumors spread more widely and faster than “traditional” rumors that spread by word of mouth with people talking to one another. The author expressed the belief that the battle to fight Internet rumors requires the involvement of many layers of society and the use of three important means: (1) The government should introduce systematic and routine Internet monitoring procedures and prosecute those who distribute rumors. (2) The use of cutting-edge technologies should be increased. For example, advanced data mining technology can be employed to analyze Internet user’s behavior and distribution models like the U.S. researchers did to analyze high volume Twitter traffic. (3) Traditional media should adjust to the era of new technology to provide better guidance in the formation of public opinion. This is considered a good way to limit the room for rumors to develop.

Source: Xinhua, May 3, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/newmedia/2012-05/03/c_123073264.htm

Briefings | | May 8, 2012 | Information/Technology

China Economy: China should Attack the Philippines Militarily

Zhou Erquan, an associate professor at the College of the Air Force Command, recently wrote an article that was published in China Economy. Zhou called for a military attack against the Philippines, “Otherwise they will not awaken.” He suggested that the Philippines is still trying to make the situation in the South China Sea worse. "They figure that the United States is a country they can count on to be reliable.” The article expressed the belief that the United States will not engage militarily. Instead, the U.S. is only interested in muddying the waters and playing the role of judge. The author also suggested that China’s relationship with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) will not be damaged by a small military conflict because most of the ASEAN countries would continue doing business with China. Zhou concluded that too much “peace talk” would send the wrong message, namely, that China lacks confidence. He recommended the strategy of “attack early, attack quickly, and attack heavily.”

Source: China Economy, May 3, 2012
http://www.ce.cn/xwzx/gnsz/gdxw/201205/03/t20120503_23291697.shtml

Briefings | | May 8, 2012 | Defense/Military

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

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

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

The CCP’s Performing Arts Troupes in the U.S.