- David Gitter, Julia Bowie, Brock Erdahl, Sandy Lu
Weekly Report 2|42 8.17.2019-8.23.2019
Highlights
The Politburo met to discuss China’s economic situation and encourage confidence in the economy (see Senior Leaders section).
The Central Propaganda Department issued a notice requiring local departments to enhance the role of national patriotic education demonstration bases the same week it concluded a national media campaign “Journalists Retracing the Route of the Long March” (see Propaganda Work section). Meanwhile, Xi Jinping visited patriotic sites during his trip to Gansu and encouraged the Gansu Provincial Party Committee to make use of Gansu’s “red resources” (see Senior Leaders section).
Senior Leaders
Politburo: Encourage the Advancement of China’s Economy and Promote Its Stability
8.18 The Politburo of the CCP Central Committee held a meeting to analyze and study the current economic situation, deploy economic work for the second half of 2019, and “encourage and inspire people of all ethnicities to enhance their confidence, [and] maintain their stamina and resolve.” The Xinhua article reporting on the meeting reviewed how the Chinese economy has prevailed over difficult circumstances throughout the PRC’s 70-year history. According to the article, “after enduring 70 years of wind and rain in the New China, after more than 40 years of arduous exploration in reform and opening up, and after the historic achievements and transformations achieved since the 18th Party Congress, the Chinese Communist Party has led the Chinese people to create history that unfolds on a magnificent scale.”
“Looking forward to the future,” the article said, “despite profound and complex changes in the internal and international environment, despite confronting new and greater risks and challenges, the Chinese Communist Party will continue leading the people over land and water, undaunted by setbacks, marching toward the great dream.”
Central Leading Small Group for the “Remain True to Original Aspiration, Keep Mission Firmly in Mind” Educational Campaign Makes Plan for the Campaign’s First Evaluation
8.18 The Central Leading Small Group for the “Remain True to the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission Firmly in Mind” Education Campaign issued a notice on how to complete the first round of evaluation work for the campaign successfully. The notice said that launching evaluations of the education campaign is an important method of “defending original aspirations, carrying out the mission, searching for disparities, grasping the implementation,” consciously accepting the supervision of the masses, summarizing the experience of the campaign, and examining its results.
Xi Jinping Conducts Inspection Tour of Gansu
8.19-22 Xi Jinping inspected Gansu Province along with Gansu Provincial Party Secretary Lin Duo (林铎) and Gansu Governor Tang Renjian (唐仁健). During his four-day inspection, Xi visited the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, Jiayuguan Fort, West Route Army of Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army Martyrs’ Cemetery, Fumin New Village (富民新村) of Gulang County, Babusha Forest Farm, Lanzhou City, and local schools and businesses.
On the last day of his visit, Xi listened to a briefing on the work of the Gansu Provincial Party Committee. He urged Gansu’s cadres and masses from all ethnic groups to conscientiously implement the Central Committee's decisions and policies, especially poverty alleviation, supply-side structural reform, infrastructure building, emerging industries cultivation, ecological environment protection, and improving people’s livelihood, etc. He stressed that “Gansu should utilize its red resources” to grasp the “Remain True to the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission Firmly in Mind” educational campaign and promote the anti-corruption campaign.
Politburo member Ding Xuexiang (丁薛祥), Vice Premier Liu He (刘鹤), and National Development and Reform Commission Head He Lifeng (何立峰) also participated in the inspection tour.
Propaganda Work
PD Commentator: Unswervingly Support Xinjiang in Carrying Out Education and Training Work
8.17 People’s Daily published a front-page commentator article following the State Council Information Office’s 16 August release of a white paper on “Vocational Education and Training in Xinjiang.” The article said the white paper revealed the CCP and Chinese government’s “resolute determination” to continue fighting and preventing terrorism and extremism, respecting and safeguarding human rights, and protecting the people’s safety and prosperity.
It argued that Xinjiang’s “vocational education and training centers” were set up according to the law to equip students with Chinese language skills, legal knowledge, vocational and technical skills, etc, in order to prevent them from becoming “sacrificial victims” of extremism and terrorism, all while “to the greatest extent ensuring that citizens’ fundamental human rights are not infringed on.” The article also claimed the programs have been a success, noting that Xinjiang has not seen a terrorist incident in the past 3 years, and that people’s happiness and sense of gain and safety have increased, as has tourism to the region.
The white paper is available in English.
Zhong Sheng Series on the “Absurdity in Some Americans’ Untruthful Remarks”
People's Daily
On 17 August, People’s Daily began a series of articles under the Zhong Sheng (钟声) byline, which authoritatively conveys the paper’s views on foreign affairs, to counter the “Seven Deadly Sins” Doctrine—a reference to White House trade adviser Peter Navarro’s list of misdeeds that China must rectify in order for the trade war to end (intellectual property theft, forced technology transfers, hacking computers to steal commercial secrets, dumping goods in US markets and putting US companies out of business, heavily subsidizing state-owned enterprises, fentanyl importation, and currency manipulation). The series was subtitled “Where is the Absurdity in Some Americans’ Untruthful Remarks?”
The first article accused people like Navarro of “playing the ‘label factory’ game,” trying to recruit followers for their stigmatization of China and then forcing China to make concessions. Most of the article targeted Navarro specifically, citing various US media and experts who have called him a “hawk among hawks,” said his book “Death by China” was “full of xenophobic hysteria and exaggerated facts,” called his economic views “highly politicized,” and said that no economists agree with him.
The second article responded to the “cliché” that China was stealing US intellectual property (IP). It cited the US Chamber of Commerce’s 2018 International IP Index report, pointing out that the report had moved China up by two ranks in the past year, and that it showed Chinese progress in the fields of patents and copyrights. The article said that no country had a perfect record on IP protection, and said that China’s IP legal environment has been maturing day by day. It noted an increase in foreign patent and trademark applications in China over the past 5 years, and gave several examples of China’s homegrown innovation. The article concluded that US accusations of Chinese “intellectual property theft” reflected “selective blindness” and a condescending attitude that China cannot innovate its own technology.
The third article called US complaints about forced technology transfer “complete nonsense,” saying that China made clear during its WTO accession that “technology transfer is not a condition for approving foreign investment” in China, and that China has no laws requiring foreign firms to transfer technology to their Chinese partners. It also argued that technology transfer between firms is a normal international business practice carried out voluntarily by partnered companies for their mutual benefit; thus, the “‘forced technology transfer’ argument peddled everywhere by some Americans violates business ethics and insults the IQ of foreign entrepreneurs.”
The fourth article dismissed allegations that China uses cyber attacks to steal secrets, and accused its American accusers of hypocrisy. It said that the US government has “long carried out large-scale, organized hacking activities to steal secrets, eavesdrop and monitor foreign governments, firms and individuals.” It said the US’ success in stealing secrets is “unrivaled,” citing revelations by Edward Snowden, Wikileaks, etc about National Security Agency (NSA) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) mass surveillance and hacking programs, and alleged hacking of thousands of Chinese websites by US IP addresses. The article also said “China is a staunch defender of cyber security” and denied that China had ever participated in or supported theft of commercial secrets.
The fifth article denied that Chinese dumping of goods into American markets was responsible for American companies closing down, calling this attitude “typical passing the buck and framing others.” It asserted that Chinese goods are traded legitimately on the free market, and are internationally competitive because they are high-quality and cheap to produce. It said the US “arbitrarily uses third-country prices to accuse China of dumping” and accused it of “abusing punitive measures.” It also said that such punitive measures are counterproductive for the US, and that job losses are mostly a result of the US moving to high-end manufacturing and services and efficiency gains from new technology, a natural part of economic development that the US has freely chosen.
The sixth article defended China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs), saying they are independent entities that manage their own operations, profits, risks, constraints and development, and compete fairly on the market. It said that China has complied with the terms of its WTO membership, including the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, and argued that the “fabrication, malicious slander, wanton stigmatization and demonization” of SOEs by “some Americans” stemmed from a doctrine that “[if they are] not one of us, their intentions must be different” (非我族类，其心必异), and a “sour grapes” mentality due to the success of SOEs in global markets. Finally, the article said Americans should “look in the mirror,” noting US government subsidies to companies such as Boeing.
The seventh article denied that China was to blame for fentanyl abuse in the US. It said the Chinese government strictly controlled such drugs, completed the legal regulations of fentanyl-like substances in merely four months, and cooperates with the US on drug enforcement. The article noted that during Senate hearings this June, the US Department of Justice acknowledged that “China has made great strides” and said “the Department is encouraged by China’s recent class-wide controls of fentanyl-like substances.” Pointing out that the US consumes 80% of the world’s opioids, the article argued that this is entirely a US domestic issue stemming from weak enforcement, lobbying by pharmaceutical companies, over-prescription of painkillers, and legalization of marijuana, among other factors.
Xi Jinping Makes Important Directives on Themed Media Campaign “Journalists Retracing the Route of the Long March”
8.18 The “70 Glorious Years, Strive in the New Era--Journalists Retracing the Route of the Long March” (壮丽70年·奋斗新时代——记者再走长征路) Media Campaign was held from 11 June to 18 August by the Central Propaganda Department. More than 1,300 journalists joined the campaign and published more than 10,000 reports.
At the conclusion of the campaign in Huining, Gansu, campaign participants discussed the “spirit of Xi Jinping’s important directives on the media campaign.” According to the meeting participants, Xi had emphasized that “the great spirit of the Long March” is a “powerful spiritual motivation” for the entire party and country to keep moving forward. He urged party members and cadres to learn the history of the Party and the New China and to understand that “the red regime, the New China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics are hard-won.”
Central Propaganda Department: During Major Activities, Give Full Play to the Role of National Patriotic Education Demonstration Bases
8.22 The Central Propaganda Department issued a notice on ensuring that national patriotic education demonstration bases are given a prominent role in major activities in order to “stimulate patriotic enthusiasm, unite the strength of the people, and cultivate a national spirit.” Patriotic education bases were first established in 1994 and 1995 along with the Patriotic Education Campaign on sites identified as conducive to patriotic education: museums, memorial halls, buildings in memory of martyrs, sites of important battles in revolutionary wars, protected historic relics, and scenic sites.
Among other directives, the notice said that it was necessary to “enhance the sense of ceremony and participation” in patriotic education so that party members, cadres, and the vast masses can “fully feel the arduous course of the founding and development of New China and the Chinese Communist Party’s original aspiration and mission.”
The notice also called for furthering the role of patriotic education demonstration bases in celebrating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, as well as the “Remain True to the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission Firmly in Mind” education campaign, making good use of “red resources” and “red tradition,” passing on “red genes,” telling a “good China story,” a “good Chinese Communist Party story,” and a “good socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era story,” and “from the original aspiration and mission drawing the inexhaustible motivation to walk the Long March of the new era.”
United Front Work
On Inspection of Sichuan, You Quan Emphasizes Doing a Solid Job of Ethnic and Religious Work to Advance the Development and Stability of Tibetan Areas
8.19-21 During an inspection tour of Sichuan, United Front Work Department Head You Quan emphasized adhering to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, implementing Xi’s important speeches on ethnic and religious work, focusing on promoting national unity and religious harmony, and winning the battle against poverty in the effort to ensure the stability and harmony of the Tibetan community.
On his visit to Hongyuan County in the Ngawa Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, You stopped at a red cultural education base to pay tribute to red army and revolutionary martyrs. Xinhua reported that, during his trip, he visited ethnic minority communities, religious sites, poverty alleviation resettlement sites, visited with peasants and herdsmen, learned about the ethnic work situation, and encouraged local cadres to deeply implement the party’s ethnic work policies, carry out activities to promote national unity and progress, strengthen ethnic contacts and exchanges, promote economic development, improvement of the people’s livelihood, civilized social progress, and constantly build consciousness of a community of Chinese people.
Party Discipline
CCDI and NSC General Offices Issue “Trial Regulations for Disciplinary and Supervisory Organs for Handling Foreign-related Anti-Corruption, Fugitive Repatriation, and Asset Recovery Cases”
8.20 The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and National Supervisory Commission (NSC) General Offices issued trial regulations for the handling of foreign-related anti-corruption cases by disciplinary and supervisory bodies. The regulations clarified the scope of fugitive repatriation and asset recovery work as well as the specific duties of relevant departments, proposed requirements and procedures for reporting and handling of information on fugitive repatriation, and stressed the need to draw on every international resource (such as multilateral and bilateral treaties for extradition and mutual legal assistance) to carry out the work.
Warning Education Conference for Enterprises Owned by Central and State Organs
8.20 The Working Committee of the Central Committee and State Organs (中共中央和国家机关工作委员会) held a meeting on warning education for companies owned by the central and state organs. The meeting presented nearly 80 cases of discipline and law violations found within these companies in recent years, emphasizing that each department should push for building a system that “no one dares corrupt, no one wants to corrupt, and no one can corrupt.”
The meeting stressed the importance of the Party’s political construction and that party members and cadres should obey discipline and law and implement the “two defends.” More than 1,200 people from the party committees of central and state organs, CCDI branches, and companies attended the meeting.
Central Military Commission
Xi Jinping Inspects Air Force Base and Stresses “Remaining True to the Original Aspiration, Keeping the Mission Firmly in Mind”
8.22 Xi Jinping inspected an air force base and listened to a briefing on the base’s work. He gave a speech during his visit, emphasizing the importance of the “Remain True to the Original Aspiration, Keep the Mission Firmly in Mind” education campaign. He urged the base to deeply learn and implement socialism with Chinese characteristics for the new era and the Party’s “strong military thought,” keep the original aspiration and mission firmly in mind, and improve its ability to fight and win. Central Military Commission (CMC) Vice Chairman Xu Qiliang (许其亮) also attended the visit.
International Liaison Work
8.19 International Department Head Song Tao (宋涛) and Deputy Head Wang Yajun (王亚军) met with Japanese cross-party young politicians delegation led by Komeito Party Acting Chief General, Komeito Party International Affairs Committee Chair, and House of Representatives member Kiyohiko Toyama.
On the same day, the delegation met with Wang Yajun and Central Propaganda Department Head Huang Kunming (黄坤明) individually.
8.19 Song Tao and Wang Yajun met with Komeito Chief Representative and Japanese House of Councilors member Natsuo Yamaguchi.
8.19 International Department Deputy Head Guo Yezhou (郭业洲) met with a Ugandan cadre study group led by National Resistance Movement Secretary General Justine Lumumba Kasule.
8.20 International Department Deputy Head Li Jun (李军) met with a South Sudanese Sudan People's Liberation Movement cadre study group led by Deputy Minister of Labour, Public Service and Human Resource Development Baba Medan Konyi Lochodok.
8.21 Song Tao and Li Jun met with a German delegation led by Social Democratic Party of Germany Acting Leader Thorsten Schäfer-Gümbel.
Li Jun also met with the delegation the same day.
8.22 Song Tao held a meeting with over 20 Arab country envoys stationed in China.
Organization Work
8.20 Chen Siyuan (陈思源) was appointed assistant minister of the Ministry of Public Security.