- Admin
Weekly Report 4|56 1.22.22-1.28.22
Highlights
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) announced an operation to “purify the Internet ecosystem” for the Spring Festival, focusing on platforms and services seeing frequent use during the holiday period as well as controversial issues. (See Senior Leaders section)
The General Office of the Central Committee released a set of Opinions on creating a school principal responsibility system led by party groups in primary and secondary schools, to meet the requirement of “educating people for the party and talent for the nation (为党育人、为国育才).” (See Senior Leaders section)
Xi Jinping went to Shanxi from 26 to 27 January to express the Central Committee’s concern for and greetings to grassroots cadres and the masses, and inspect villages, cultural protection danwei, and businesses. He addressed issues such as disaster relief, poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, cultural heritage, and energy supply. (See Senior Leaders section)
Senior Leaders
Xi Jinping Presides Over 36th Politburo Collective Study Session
1.24 At the 36th Politburo collective study session, Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of implementing central policies to realize goals for peak carbon and carbon neutrality (the “double carbon” goals, “双碳”目标) as an important part of implementing the new development concept. Politburo Members Liu He (刘鹤), Li Qiang (李强), Li Hongzhong (李鸿忠), and Hu Chunhua (胡春华) also spoke about different sectors and areas of relevant work they were responsible for as part of the collective study session. Xi noted the Party’s successes to date in “taking the ecology-first, green and low-carbon development road,” emphasized that realizing the “double carbon” goals is “not something that others are making us do, it is something that we must ourselves do,” and called on listeners to fully understand the importance of the carbon goals and strengthen their confidence in relevant work. Xi discussed the far-reaching implications of carbon transformation, highlighting four relationships important to “double carbon” work: 1. the relationship between development and reducing emissions; 2. the relationship between the whole and parts, referring to the whole nation versus specific areas and industrial sectors; 3. the relationship between long- and short-term goals; and 4. the relationship between the government and the market, which should comprise a unified, two-pronged approach to “double carbon” work. Xi then described relevant policy goals at length, with the following overarching goals: 1. “Strengthen holistic coordination”; 2. “Advance the energy revolution”; 3.” Advance industrial optimization and upgrading”; 4. “Accelerate the green and low-carbon technology revolution”; 5. “Improve the green and low-carbon policy system”; 6. “Actively participate in and lead global climate governance.” Xi concluded by calling for the Party to strengthen its leadership of “double carbon” work, for the Party and government to increasingly take responsibility for such work and incorporate it into assessing local socioeconomic development, and for cadres to study the topic and incorporate it into training.
Politburo Convenes Meeting
1.24 The Politburo met and approved the Politburo Standing Committee’s report on the 6 January reports of the party groups of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, State Council, Chinese People’s Political Consultative Congress (CPPCC) National Committee, Supreme People’s Court, and Supreme People’s Procuratorate, as well as the Central Secretariat. The Politburo also approved new regulations on petitioning (信访) work. The meeting affirmed the Standing Committee report’s positive evaluation of the relevant party groups and the Central Secretariat, and reiterated the significance of 2022 for “comprehensively building a modern socialist country” and advancing towards the second centenary goal. The meeting noted the importance of petitioning work, and stated that the new regulations consolidated reforms to the system made after the 18th Party Congress, with significance for the Party’s leadership of petitioning work and the “standardization and strengthening” of “petitioning work for the new era.”
Cyberspace Administration of China Releases “Notice on Launching Special Operation ‘A Clean 2022 Spring Festival, Bringing the Internet Environment Under Control’”
1.24 The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released a Notice that announced an operation to “purify the Internet ecosystem” by “cleaning up” illegal information, handling accounts and platforms, and controlling “unhealthy” behavior and cultural trends, focusing on platforms and services seeing frequent use during the holiday period as well as controversial issues. Major tasks of the operation include 1. “Control issues such as online violence and the dissemination of rumors, practically defend the interests of Internet users”; 2. “Persist in launching [the operation] bringing [the Internet] under control, strictly guard against ‘fan groups’” and other pages' and groups’ “chaos, backlash, or repeated [misbehavior]”; 3. “Increase administrative power over issues like showy materialism and feudal superstition, constrain the dissemination and spread of unhealthy Internet culture”; 4. “Strictly bring under control issues like ‘child Internet celebrities (网红)’ and ‘softcore pornography,’ safeguard the legal rights and interests of minors”; 5. “Strengthen control over issues with the environment of key pages, build a good atmosphere for the Spring Festival.” Means to achieve these goals include “grasping” organizational implementation well at the local level; using special teams, increased staff, and improved technological and organizational means to resolve issues with key platforms; and publicizing the punishment of violators.
General Office of the Central Committee Releases “Opinions on Establishing a Principal Responsibility System Led by Party Groups in Primary and Secondary Schools (Test)”
1.26 The General Office of the Central Committee released a set of Opinions on creating a school principal responsibility system led by party groups in primary and secondary schools. A notice accompanying the Opinions said that “strengthening the Party’s comprehensive leadership over education work” was the “basic guarantee of doing education well.” It also stated that “establishing a school principal responsibility system led by party groups in primary and secondary schools” was the “inevitable requirement of adhering to educating people for the party and talent for the nation (为党育人、为国育才) and guaranteeing the Party’s education guidelines and the strategic decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee obtain implementation in primary and secondary schools.” In addition, the notice required that all departments in all areas “implement the spirit of the Opinions” and “cause grassroots party groups to become a strong battle fortress (战斗堡垒) for imparting knowledge and cultivating people (教书育人),” among other aspirations. The Opinions consist of the following five sections:
1. Give play to the Leadership Function of Party Groups in Primary and Secondary Schools: The responsibilities of party groups include “adhering to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era (习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想) as a guide and strengthening the ‘four consciousnesses’ (四个意识), consolidating the ‘four confidences’ (四个自信), achieving the ‘two defends’ (两个维护)”; “adhering to political standards and requirements running through the entire process of school administration and imparting knowledge and cultivating people” and “cultivating the morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetic sense, and value of work (德智体美劳) and comprehensive development of socialist builders and successors” (社会主义建设者和接班人); and “developing core socialist value (社会主义核心价值观) education and grasping student moral education well.”
2. Support and Guarantee School Principals Exercising Power: Under the leadership of the school’s party group, the responsibilities of school principals include: researching, writing, and carrying out various plans, management systems, and annual education work plans; and “reporting the situation of implementing major resolutions to the school party group.”
3. Establish a Robust Discussion and Strategic Decision Mechanism: Party group meetings focus on “discussing and deciding major issues [related to] the school,” while school principal’s office meetings focus on “researching and proposing measures related to major matters, plans, and specific deployments discussed by the party group and implementing the party group’s resolutions.” Both types of meetings must “adhere to scientific, democratic, and legal strategic decisions.”
4. Improve Coordination and Operation Mechanisms: The Opinions state that party groups must play a role in the operation of the school principal responsibility system. Moreover, the school principal and party group secretary must “promptly communicate on ideology and work situations, and take the lead in protecting group unity.” In addition, both the school party group secretary and school principal must “develop democracy, amply listen to and respect the opinions of [leadership] group members and support their work.”
5. Strengthen Organization Leadership: Party group secretaries and school principals that are conducive to a “strong school leadership group” should be selected. In addition, Party leadership should be applied to ensuring the establishment and evaluation of the responsibility system for school principals.
Xi Jinping Goes to Shanxi on Eve of Spring Festival to Visit and Greet Grassroots Cadres and the Masses
1.26-27 Xi Jinping went to Shanxi from 26 to 27 January to express the Central Committee’s concern for and greetings to grassroots cadres and the masses, and inspect villages, cultural protection danwei, and businesses. He was accompanied by Shanxi Provincial Party Committee Secretary Lin Wu (林武), Shanxi Governor Lan Fo’an (蓝佛安), Politburo Members Ding Xuexiang (丁薛祥), Liu He (刘鹤), and Chen Xi (陈希), and National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) Head He Lifeng (何立峰). On the afternoon of 26 January, Xi inspected Linfen City and stopped by Fengnanyuan Village in the Shizhuang Township of Huozhou City to greet the masses. In the village, he listened to reports on the situation of issues such as post-flood reconstruction efforts in Shanxi, autumn and winter replanting, “ensuring the masses safely and warmly get through winter” and “strengthening disaster prevention and reduction and the establishment of emergency response systems.” Xi then visited the home of a villager impacted by flooding in 2021 and expressed his gratification from seeing the village being rebuilt and life returning to normal. He also called on the Party and government to “continue to help and resolve” the difficulties villagers encountered in “production and life” and “make an overall plan for post-disaster recovery and rebuilding and rural revitalization,” in addition to other remarks. After this, Xi visited Duan Village in Sengnian Town of Fenxi County to inspect the “consolidation of and expansion of the achievements of poverty alleviation” work, rural revitalization, and grassroots party-building. He stressed that “causing the people and masses to have a happy life is our Party’s hundred-year dedicated pursuit” and emphasized the need to “remain true to our original aspiration, keep the mission firmly in mind” (不忘初心、牢记使命). Meeting with more villagers, Xi stated that poverty alleviation and “realizing the comprehensive establishment of a moderately prosperous society” had been realized on time, and that China was “now stepping out on the new journey of comprehensively establishing a modern socialist country.” He stated that rural modernization was crucial in accomplishing this goal and urged the “continual consolidation of the achievements of poverty alleviation” and “substantively promoting rural revitalization.”
On 27 January, Xi inspected Puzhong City and visited Pingyao Ancient City. Xi remarked that “historical and cultural heritage carr[ied] the genes and bloodline of the Chinese nation” and stressed the need to “make an overall plan for the bottom lines of tourism development, special businesses, ancient city protection, and cultural artifact safety.” Visiting various cultural sites in Pingyao, Xi emphasized the necessity of “adhering to cultural self-confidence” and called on “all levels of party committees and governments” to “stretch taut the bow of pandemic prevention and control work” and “guarantee the safety and basic life needs of the people.” That afternoon, Xi inspected Shanxi Ruiguang Heat & Power Company. During the inspection, he exhorted workers to “actively and dependably promote the realization of peak carbon and carbon neutrality goals; and make proper contributions to realizing the second centenary goal and promoting the construction of a community of shared future for mankind” (人类命运共同体). He additionally stated that “power and heat supply concern the overall situation of socioeconomic development and social stability” and urged workers to “implement every one of the Party Central Committee’s deployments and demands concerning guaranteeing the supply of energy.” Furthermore, Xi approved Shanxi’s work achievements since the 19th Party Congress and expressed hope that Shanxi would “comprehensively implement the Party Central Committee’s strategic decisions and deployments,” “make an overall plan for pandemic prevention and control work and socioeconomic development,” and “welcome the victorious convening of the 20th Party Congress with concrete actions and continue to write a new chapter of Shanxi putting into practice socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era,” among other wishes.
Propaganda Work
He Yin (Together for a Shared Future): The Olympic Motto Successfully Put Into Practice
1.28 A He Yin (和音) commentary discussed the theme of unity during the Olympics amid various challenges, noting International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach’s 2021 addition of the word “Together” to the Olympic motto (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”), as well as the Beijing Winter Olympics’ motto, “Together for a Shared Future” (一起向未来). The commentary said that as the first major international sporting event to be held as scheduled after the outbreak of the pandemic, the Beijing Winter Olympics received the international community’s support, and that the supportive voices of IOC officials, international politicians, and Olympic athletes showed that the Olympics are foremost “a platform to display the unity and friendship of humankind.” It cited examples of international goodwill such as musical performances by foreign choirs and remarks by world leaders, concluding that “the Olympic spirit of ‘togetherness’” will be on display at the Beijing Winter Olympics, encouraging the hopes of humankind for a beautiful future.
United Front Work
Wang Yang Attends Spring Festival Symposium for Leaders of Religious Organizations
1.27 Politburo Standing Committee Member and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee Chair Wang Yang (汪洋) attended and spoke at a Spring Festival symposium for national religious leaders in Beijing. During the symposium, Wang extended Spring Festival greetings to national religious leaders and religious believers throughout the country on behalf of Xi Jinping and the Central Committee.
In his remarks, Wang emphasized that “religious groups are the bridge and tie that unites the Party and government with believers,” and as such they must “earnestly study the spirit of the National Religious Work Conference, comprehensively implement the Party’s theories, principles, and policies of religious work in the new era,” unite the “religious masses” around the Party and government, and “concentrate positive energy (正能量) in order to forge ahead on the new journey and realize the Chinese dream.” Wang affirmed achievements made in religious work in the past year, and then emphasized that religious groups should continue to carry out activities such as education on the themes of “cultivating and practicing core socialist values (社会主义核心价值观), loving the Party, the country, and socialism; and guiding believers to continuously enhance the ‘five identities’” (五个认同/identification with “the motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Party, and socialism with Chinese characteristics”) in 2022. He further emphasized the need to promote the sinicization of religion so that “religion can better adapt to socialist society as well as socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.” Wang highlighted the need to run religious schools well and cultivate high-level talents who are “proficient in classical teachings and excellent traditional Chinese culture.”
Secretary of the Central Secretariat and United Front Work Department Head You Quan (尤权) also attended.
Central Military Commission
Central Military Commission Releases “Decision on Strengthening Military Talent Work in the New Era”
1.26 The Central Military Commission (CMC) released a “Decision on Strengthening Military Talent Work in the New Era,” noting the importance of talent to the military “promoting high-quality development, winning of military competitiveness, and future strategic initiative,” as well as the importance of Xi Jinping’s ideological guidance and new military strategic guidelines for a new talent strategy. The Decision emphasized that the military must study new theory, strategy, and policies for military talent work, strengthening its political, ideological, and operational consciousness. To ensure that “the barrel of the gun is, from start to finish, in the hands of people who are loyal and reliable to the Party,” the Decision calls on the military to strengthen the Party’s leadership over talent work, implement the party’s organizational line in the new era and the CMC Chairman Responsibility System (军委主席负责制), cultivate and inspect talent on a political basis, and ensure a “pure” political environment in staff selection and employment. The Decision requires the military to raise the “capability and level” of talent to prepare for and go to war, improve the accurate linkage between the “supply” of talent and the “demands” of war, and improve the precision and responsiveness of human resources in wartime, among other improvements to training, development, and systems of talent. The General Office of the CMC also issued several measures related to military talent.
Party Discipline
Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and National Supervisory Commission Issue Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision System in Centrally-Managed Universities and Colleges
1.23 The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) and National Supervisory Commission (NSC) recently released “Opinions on Deepening the Reform of the Disciplinary Inspection and Supervision System in Centrally-Managed Universities and Colleges” (hereafter referred to as “the Opinions”). The Opinions “implement a total advance of guidelines and plans of not daring to be corrupt, being unable to engage in corruption, and not wanting to be corrupt” (不敢腐、不能腐、不想腐) and ultimately “offer a firm systemic foundation for advancing the high-quality development of disciplinary inspection and supervision work in centrally-managed colleges and universities.” Referring to the “deepening the reform of the disciplinary inspection and supervision system in centrally-managed universities and colleges” as an “important action” for ensuring Party leadership over these institutions and “strengthening the tightening of discipline and improving party conduct (正风肃纪) and anti-corruption” for school leaders, the Opinions state that the overall purpose of reform was to “comprehensively strengthen disciplinary inspection and supervision work and improve the leadership system” in the aforementioned types of schools. Moreover, the Opinions “further perfect the leadership system” for disciplinary inspection and supervision in centrally-managed universities and colleges and describe the roles and responsibilities of disciplinary inspection and supervision organizations in these types of schools. In addition the Opinions “further establish a robust work report, joint investigation, communication and coordination, and support and guarantee work system” for managing interactions of disciplinary inspection and supervision institutions in centrally-managed universities and colleges with local discipline inspection commissions and supervisory agencies, the CCDI and NSC, and disciplinary inspection and supervision teams in various departments.
International Liaison Work
1.24 The CCP International Department (CCP/ID) held a China-Southeast Asian and South Asian Countries’ Political Parties Belt and Road Joint Consultation Conference via videolink. CCP/ID Head Song Tao (宋涛) presided and delivered remarks at the event. More than 100 leaders and representatives of approximately 40 political parties and organizations attended. Participants included Sri Lankan Prime Minister and Sri Lanka People's Front leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, Chairman of the Nepali National Assembly and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) (CPN-UML) leader Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, Secretary General of Indonesia’s Party of Functional Groups and Deputy Speaker of the Indonesian People's Representative Council Lodewijk Friedrich Paulus, President of the Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Minister of Transport Wee Ka Siong, and Chairman of the Pakistan Senate Committee on Defence and National Security and Chairman of the Pakistan-China Institute Mushahid Hussain Sayed.
1.26 CCP/ID Assistant Head Zhu Rui (朱锐) held a meeting via videolink with Ahmed Akhchichine, Moroccan Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) Politburo Member and Vice President of the Morocco House of Councillors.
1.27 CCP/ID Head Song Tao held an event via videolink with Mongolia People’s Party Leadership Committee Member and Mongolian Cultural Minister Nomin Chinbat to award winning artworks in a China-Mongolia friendship arts activity with an Olympic theme.
1.28 CCP/ID Head Song Tao met via videolink with German Social Democratic Party co-leader Lars Klingbeil.