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Huanqiu: A signal that All Foreign Correspondents in China Can Understand

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

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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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

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

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

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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Ministry of Health: Accommodating Police Operations in Level 2 Hospitals and Above

On May 4, 2012, Xinhua reported  that the Ministry of Health was sending out an emergency notice to require government health care units at all levels to cooperate with the police system to establish permanent police operation units in all level 2 hospitals and above. (Level 2 hospitals, as defined in a Chinese sense, are hospitals that provide medical treatment and care to residents in multiple communities and that conduct certain medical research. Generally speaking, hospitals at the county and city levels are all level 2 and above.) The emergency notice claimed that this order was to enhance safety for both doctors and patients and to maintain a “normal order of health care.” The notice also required all affected hospitals to install necessary equipment to enforce 24 hour security monitoring and to implement a 24 hour patrol duty system. The Ministry also required improvement in the training of health care workers, the standardization of service procedures, and the enhancement of the capability to handle emergencies.  

Source: Xinhua, May 4, 2012
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2012-05/04/c_111891413.htm

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