China’s State Council Information Office recently held a press conference on non-governmental organizations (NGOs, also called social organizations in China). Li Liguo, China’s Minister of Civil Affairs, who spoke at the press conference, stated that, when NGOS register directly with the government to obtain legal status, the authorities treat them all equally. “Social organizations under the categories of politics and human rights are treated equally for the purpose of registration. They are then reviewed in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations in terms of the preconditions for their establishment, the need for their establishment, the mission for their activities, and their impact on economic and social development.” Currently, as a prerequisite, before a social organization can register with the government, it must find a governmental body to oversee its activities. According to Li, in the second half of last year in some cities, public social organizations started to register directly with the government without having a governmental body to oversee them.

Source: Xinhua, May 8, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-05/08/c_123091679.htm

Huanqiu published a commentary on the Qatar Television (the Al Jazeera TV Channel) shut down of the Beijing office for its English channel. Recently the Chinese authorities did not extend the visa for its correspondent, a Chinese American female, or allow a replacement. The Huanqiu reporter learned from foreign correspondents in Beijing that this Chinese American correspondent held “radical political views.” “The denial of her visa extension sent a signal to foreign correspondents in Beijing that those who have been stationed in Beijing for a long time should be able to understand. … If a foreign correspondent cannot manage to stay in China, we can only guess that she has probably gone too far. … We know that Chinese officials are increasingly active in their cooperation with foreign media. It is the foreign media that should take a more objective and balanced manner when dealing with China.” Finally the commentary suggested that the Qatar correspondent should reflect on what she has done in China.

(Editor’s note: According to the New York Times, it is surmised that Melissa Chan, the correspondent for Al-Jazeera, angered the Chinese by publishing a documentary on re-education through labor camps).

Sources: Huanqiu, May 9, 2012
http://opinion.huanqiu.com/1152/2012-05/2703047.html
New York Times, China Expels Al Jazeera Channel
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/world/asia/china-expels-al-jazeera-english-language-channel.html
Al-Jazeera, Slavery: A 21st Centry Evil"
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/slaverya21stcenturyevil/2011/10/2011101091153782814.html

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

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