Ambassadors Abroad: Open House at the CCP Central Propaganda Department

The following is a translation of an article published by People’s Daily (online) on Friday. Quotes from the diplomats, plus their names, are re-translated from Chinese-language quotes within the People’s-Daily  article, and this may or may not reflect what they originally said. — JR

Main Link: People’s Daily online, May 25, 2012, 05:46

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Sincere Openness wins Whole-Hearted Praise — Open House at CCP Propaganda Department

- by Du Rong

真诚开放赢得真心赞许
——“走进中共中央宣传部”主题开放日侧记
本报记者  杜  榕

On May 24, the Central Propaganda Department at W Changan Road opened its doors and welcomed some special guests. At an open-house activity with the theme “Entering CCP Central Propaganda Department”, nearly sixty high-level diplomats stationed in China came in here for the first time, to have a look around, to have discussions and exchanges, and to understand the CCP’s work at theoretical learning, news dissemination, and at the building of ideological virtue.
5月24日，位于西长安街上的中宣部敞开大门，迎来了一批特殊的客人——以“走进中共中央宣传部”为主题的开放日活动在此举行，近60名驻华高级外交官首次走进这里，现场参观、座谈交流，“零距离”地了解中国共产党在理论学习、新闻宣传和思想道德建设等方面的工作。

Just in from their cars, some envoys merrily watched the buildings belonging to the Central Propaganda Department, and what made them even more expectant were the following “close contacts”. How does this department work? How does their work materialize in which fields? What are the qualities of the staff working here? …  This was of interest to all diplomatic envoys, but they also had a common expectation that “the Central Propaganda Department would, with a sincere, open attitude have exchanges with them, to get a better understanding of the CCP in these exchanges, and a better understanding of the relevant work in China”.
刚刚走下车，一些驻华使节就兴致勃勃地观察起中宣部院内的各个建筑，而更让他们期待的，是接下来将近3小时的“亲密接触”。这个部门是如何开展工作的？他们工作的成果体现在哪些方面？工作人员的能力素质如何？……每一个驻华使节都有自己最感兴趣的问题，但他们对于这次开放日活动却有一个共同的期待，“中宣部以一种真诚、开放的态度与我们交流，希望能够在交流中增进对中国共产党的了解，甚至进一步更好地理解中国的相关工作。”

[...]

Arranging and scripting “Theoretical Hot Topics Face-to-Face”, coordinating major news disseminating activities, organizing and implementing “work at the grassroot level, changing the ways of doing things, and changing styles” activities, organizing and implementing activities to build spiritual civilization, organizing and coordinating large-scale art and literature activities, promoting cultural reform … In the central propaganda building, a variety of exhibits was on display and attracted many diplomats’ attention, and some fell over backwards (迫不及待) to take notes while listening and talking. Full of interest, they heard detailed accounts from comrades in the relevant departments, conscientiously dipped into theoretical writings by the Central Propaganda Department, some were interested in the recording of ongoing discussions, and some stopped at the newspaper and periodical showroom.
组织编写《理论热点面对面》、协调重大新闻宣传活动、组织开展“走基层、转作风、改文风”活动、组织开展精神文明创建活动、组织协调大型文艺活动、推动文化改革发展……在中宣部综合楼大厅内，展览内容精彩纷呈，吸引了众多驻华使节的关注，一些使节迫不及待地拿出纸笔，一边听讲解一边进行记录。而在各司局听取了有关负责同志详尽的介绍后，使节们更加兴致盎然，他们有的认真翻阅中宣部组织编写的理论书籍，有的对正在进行录制的座谈节目颇感兴趣，还有的在新闻刊物陈列室里驻足观看。

New Zealand’s ambassador Carl Worker, after watching the exhibition and listening to the introductions, told this reporter that the Central Propaganda Department is a very important department at the CCP, and what’s more, it is in charge of the important work of news dissemination, theory learning, the building of ideological virtue, and “coming here, I hope to understand the institutions at the Central Propaganda Department, the contents of work, how the work is done, so that we better understand the CCP and have better exchanges and interaction”.
新西兰驻华大使伍开文在看了展览、听了介绍后告诉记者，中宣部是中国共产党一个非常重要的部门，而且承担了新闻宣传、理论学习、思想道德建设等方面的重要工作，“这次来我最希望了解的就是中宣部的机构组成、工作内容，看看是如何开展工作的，这对于我们更好地了解中国共产党、更好地交流互动有很大的意义。”

At the Theory Office, to give the diplomats a deeper and intuitive impression, producers of the Theoretical Hot Topics Face-to-Face television special reports explained how they centered their programs around hot and difficult issues that concerned society. The books produced during the past few years, television recordings, were there not just to be read by the diplomats, but also to take them home for closer studies. Vietnam’s Minister Counsellor Hoang Ngoc Vinh took more than ten books right away, saying that “in Vietnam, we have similar departments. These books and theories are significant and worth to learn from”.
在理论局，为了让驻华使节留下深刻且直观的印象，“理论热点面对面”电视专题片的制作修改团队来到了现场，直接展示如何围绕社会关注的热点难点问题制作电视专题片。同时，现场还摆放着近年来理论工作的数10套书籍、电视节目光盘，让驻华使节不仅可以翻阅，还可以带走作更深入的研究。越南驻华使馆公使黄玉荣一口气拿了十多本书，他说：“在越南我们也有类似的部门，这些书籍、理论很有借鉴意义，中宣部工作的方式、内容也值得学习。”

“May I ask who Lei Feng is”, Ethiopian deputy ambassador Ababi Demissie Sidelel asked the person in charge, after having listened to an introduction at the education department and feeling a bit confused. [...] After listening to the detailed and correct answer, the deputy ambassador’s doubts had been cleared, and he noddingly said: “Every country needs this kind of heroic person; this work is really important!”
“请问雷锋是什么人？”埃塞俄比亚驻华副大使阿巴比·德米思在宣传教育局听完介绍后感到有些困惑，向该局负责人提出了这个问题。  [ “雷锋是中国家喻户晓的全心全意为人民服务的楷模，他作为一名普通的中国人民解放军战士，在短暂的一生中助人无数，他的精神也代表着中国人的精神，因此我们广泛组织向雷锋同志学习的活动，希望他的精神能够代代传承。”]  详实准确的回答解开了副大使的疑惑，他频频点头说：“每个国家都需要这样的英雄人物，这项工作确实非常重要！”

After reading at the News Office’s The Party’s Historical Papers and Periodicals  and The Party’s Historical Papers and Periodicals at the newspaper and periodical showroom, an ambassador said with emotion: “Thank you very much for today’s activity, this was of great help to our understanding the Chinese media”. Seeing the public-opinion supervision work explanations, an envoy said: “In the past, we thought that food safety issues only existed in some small companies, but from the results of China’s public-opinion supervision we can see that  it is a universal issue, one of which the whole world must be vigilant and responsive. China’s public-opinion supervision has played a particularly important role.”
在看完了新闻局的“历史上的党报党刊陈列室”、“当代党报党刊陈列室”后，一位驻华使节感慨地说：“非常感谢今天的这个参观活动，这对我们了解中国的媒体有很大的帮助。”而看到对舆论监督工作的介绍后，有驻华使节说：“过去我们以为食品安全问题在一些小公司才有，但是从中国舆论监督的结果来看，这是一个具有普遍性的、全世界都需要警惕和应对的问题，中国的舆论监督确实发挥了特别重要的作用。”

[...]

To let the ambassadors truly understand the CCP’s propaganda work wasn’t only about the exhibition, but about the diplomats’ own queries: “Can the CCP make use of the new media to better understand the popular will?”, “Which challenges do you encounter in the fields of ideology and public opinion?”, “How does the Central Propaganda Department increase China’s cultural soft power?” ……. These questions, without exception, got a very good answer and explanation. Bangla Desh’s embassy’s Minister Counsellor 阿卜杜尔·莫塔拉布·沙克尔 said: “This visit to the Central Propaganda Department was impressive. The department does very good work in the fields of ideology and culture, news dissemination, theoretical research, etc.. It has also brought along a lot of convenience and service for the public, and displays a ruling party’s democratic, open, and progressive image. We are touched, and also very inspired, and hope that similar activities will follow.”
真正让驻华大使了解中国共产党的宣传工作的还不只是这些现场参观的内容，在最后的座谈交流环节，许多驻华大使提出了自己的疑问：“中国共产党是否会利用新媒体更好地了解民意？”“在思想舆论领域遇到了哪些挑战？”“中宣部是如何提升中国文化软实力的？”……这些问题无一例外都得到了很好的解答。孟加拉国驻华使馆公使阿卜杜尔·莫塔拉布·沙克尔说：“今天的中宣部之旅让人印象深刻，中宣部在思想文化、新闻宣传、理论研究等方面做得很好，同时也为民众带来了很多便利的服务，展现出一个民主、开放、进步的政党形象，我们很受感动，也很受启发，希望类似的交流活动能继续保持下去。”

Sincere communication, heart-to-heart talks, and frank encounters during this open-house activity, an open, transparent, harmonious and democratic Chinese Communist Party won the diplomats’ whole-hearted praise.
真诚沟通、倾心交流、坦诚面对，在中宣部的这个开放日，公开、透明、和谐、民主的中国共产党赢得了驻华使节的真心赞许。

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Related

» An Inconvenient Truth, Febr 28, 2012
» 怎么看房价过高 (How to view excessively high house prices), 理论热点面对面 (Theoretical Hot Topics Face-to-Face), television program

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Victoria Nuland: Let’s Put it That Way

Daily news briefing, State Department, May 24

QUESTION: On China, you must have heard the new State Department directive to the Confucius Institute in the U.S. Could you explain to us, what is the purpose of this new directive?

MS. NULAND: Well, first of all, let me say that, as you know, the U.S. greatly values its people-to-people exchange with China. This was one of the centerpieces of the Secretary’s participation in the Strategic and Economic Dialogue. She had a separate people-to-people exchange with State Councilor Liu and they got a chance to meet some American students and some Chinese students, and it was a great event.

This is also not about the Confucius Institutes themselves. It is simply about whether the right visa status was applied in these cases. When you have a J-1 education visa, there are two categories. There are J-1 visas if you are in kindergarten through high school, and there is a different category of J-1 visas if you are at university.

And there was some muddling and messing up, so – in these cases – so we’re going to sort these out. Nobody’s going to have to leave the country. It’s all going to get cleared up. But there was some confusion on the front end, so we’re going to fix it.

QUESTION: But in the directive, it said on all the current affected exchange visitors, they have to leave before June 30 this year. Is that the case?

MS. NULAND: My understanding is that we’re going to do our best to fix this without having anybody have to leave.

QUESTION: And finally –

MS. NULAND: That is my understanding.

QUESTION: — are you concerned about the Confucius Institute’s expansion in the U.S. as the –

MS. NULAND: Are we concerned about?

QUESTION: The Confucius Institute’s expansion in the U.S. as the strongest Chinese soft power?

MS. NULAND: No. This is something that we support. It’s part of the people-to-people understanding. We just want to make sure that the visa categories are correct.

Okay.

QUESTION: Can you speak to the timing of why now? Was it – was that in conjunction to this problem being across all of the Confucius Institutes, the J-1 confusion?

MS. NULAND: I can’t speak to why this came up now. I think that we – as I understood it this morning, we became aware that this wasn’t just one case or two cases, that there was a – sort of a mess-up in the processing in general. So we need to fix that.

QUESTION: What was the mess-up?

QUESTION: Can you characterize the mess-up? Yeah.

MS. NULAND: That in fact, folks who are participating and teaching in programs that were K-12 were given university-style J-1s, and the other way around.

QUESTION: So –

QUESTION: And whose problem with that?

MS. NULAND: I can’t speak to how the mess-up occurred, but we’re going to fix it.

QUESTION: Well, who issues the visas? I mean, it’s – the State Department issues visas, right?

MS. NULAND: Right. So whether there was some confusion on the front end with the sponsors as to which programs individual teachers were being brought for, or whether there was some changing after they arrived, I really can’t speak to that. But we’re going to clean it up so that everybody’s in the right visa category.

QUESTION: So you –

QUESTION: You don’t expect anyone to have to leave the country?

MS. NULAND: My understanding was we’re going to do our best to fix this so that nobody has to leave.

QUESTION: And just so we’re clear, you don’t think, then, that the mistake was on the State Department’s end? Do you think it’s possible that it was on the end of the people who applied or the intermediaries?

MS. NULAND: I just can’t speak to that, and I can’t speak to whether this was uniform in any way or whether there were various problems.

QUESTION: And you can’t speak to it because you don’t know –

MS. NULAND: Correct.

QUESTION: — or because you know and you don’t want to say?

MS. NULAND: Because we have to investigate it and figure it out.

Okay.

QUESTION: Can you talk about how many visas were impacted by the problem?

MS. NULAND: I don’t have that either.

QUESTION: Okay.

QUESTION: May I ask you for what kind of meetings, when you say that you are working on this issue? I heard that some of the Confucius Institutions have come and had meetings with the assistant secretary already talking about this. So could you tell us more about what kind of works has been doing to avoid – make sure people don’t have to leave the country by the end of June?

MS. NULAND: Yeah. My understanding is that at the current moment, we’re trying to size the problem, we’re trying to figure out how many people are affected, and then we’re going to – and we’re in the process of reissuing instructions that are a little bit clearer and a little bit more easy to manage. Let’s put it that way.

QUESTION: Okay. And may I also say that we know that in the past couple of months, a few members in the Congress expressed their dissatisfaction and question about the operation of Confucius Institutes in the U.S. So I wonder, when you were doing this – before you released this direction about the J-1 visa, did you have any contact with those members in the Congress?

MS. NULAND: Well, I’m sure that, as we always do on all matters, we’re in dialogue with Congress. But this is a matter not about any of that; it’s a matter about whether people are in the right visa category for where they are teaching.

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Related

» State Department directive, May 24, 2012

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Confucius Institutes: Göttingen University, for Example

Tai De is (kind of) corresponding with German authorities, concerning Confucius Institutes in Lower Saxony. Either a guest post by Tai De, or an interview with him, is in the pipeline. Stay tuned.

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Related

» State Department Directive, May 24, 2012
» No Communists at Deutsche Welle, March 11, 2012

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Yang Rui and Soft Power

You probably can’t blog about soft power and ignore the weibo message Yang Rui (杨锐), a CCTV-9 presenter, reportedly wrote. But during this busy first half of the week, there are other things to do. Besides, while this is certainly relevant information to be processed, I’m wondering why the response from many foreigner is so heated. True – the message in question is – to put it carefully – running counter to anything like “soft power”, but to me, the only explanation for the angry foreign replies to it seems to be that they expected Yang to do better. I don’t even know Yang as a television personality. I can’t remember that I ever watched the channel. All I know is that CCTV-9 is state-owned, and broadcasts in English, mainly for a foreign audience.

Maybe what Yang wrote about Melissa Chan, the al-Jazeera correspondent who had to leave the country, is actually a semi-official answer to questions foreign-ministry spokesman Hong Lei had previously been asked – questions to which there hasn’t been a really telling answer. Yang’s would be a nasty and strange answer (and maybe that’s  why Hong wouldn’t want to provide it), but basically not a surprising one. The only remaining question for now would be if Yang wrote the message on his own behalf or on behalf of the CCP.

That’s all I can think of – and speculate about – at the moment, and how I should connect this to the topic of soft power, I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll know on Thursday or Friday.

Zhou Yongkang Awards Heroic Police Collectives and Expresses Four Hopes

Main Link: People’s Daily / Enorth, May 19, 2012. Translated off the reel, and posted right away.

The General Meeting for the National Police Collective Heroic Model Award was held in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Friday. Before the meeting, CCP Central Committee General Secretary, State Chairman and Central Military Commission Chairman Hu Jintao expressed his heart-felt congratulations to the National Police Collective Heroic Model Award collectives and his sincere greetings to all the police and military police who stand at the front line and fight bravely to protect national security and social stability.
全国公安系统英雄模范立功集体表彰大会18日上午在北京人民大会堂举行。会前，中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席胡锦涛亲切会见全体与会代表，向受到表彰的全国公安系统英雄模范和立功集体表示热烈的祝贺，向奋战在维护国家安全和社会稳定第一线的广大公安民警、武警官兵表示诚挚的问候。

Permanent Politbureau member and State Council Chief Councillor Wen Jiabao, Permanent Member of the Standing Committee of the Politbureau, Deputy State Chairman and Deputy Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping attended. Permanent Politbureau Member and CCP Political and Legislative Affairs Committee Secretary Zhou Yongkang attended the meeting and spoke at the award ceremony.
中共中央政治局常委、国务院总理温家宝，中共中央政治局常委、国家副主席、中央军委副主席习近平参加会见。中共中央政治局常委、中央政法委书记周永康参加会见并在表彰大会上讲话。

At about 9.30 a.m., Hu Jintao and the other central leading comrades entered the Great Hall of the People’s North Hall, came to the middle of the delegates, the entire audience sounded an enthusiastic applause. Hu Jintao et al happily and warmly shook hands with delegates, and had a keepsake photo taken with them.
上午9时30分许，胡锦涛等中央领导同志走进人民大会堂北大厅，来到代表们中间，全场响起热烈掌声。胡锦涛等高兴地同代表们热情握手，并与大家合影留念。

A souvenir photo with Comrade Yongkang (CCTV 新闻联播, main evening news, May 18, 2012). Click picture – video should be online for at least a few days.

Zhou Yongkang said in his speech that under the correct leadership of Hu Jintao as Secretary General, police work had centered around the goal of comprehensively building of a modest-prosperity society, firmly mastering and protecting the general requirements of important times of strategic opportunities. They solidified the leading ruling position of the party, protected the country’s lasting stability and peace, safeguarded the lives and work of the people in peace and contentment, and  served economic and social development, thus making outstanding contributions. A large number of heroic models and advanced collectives had emerged, who completed major security tasks, took part in natural disaster relief, carried out specialized actions, and broad ranks of police didn’t shrink from life-and-death situations, never gave up in the face of numerous difficulties and dangers, and dedicated blood, life, and sweat to write a great song of heroism that shook heaven and earth (感天动地).
周永康在大会上讲话，他说，党的十七大以来，在以胡锦涛同志为总书记的党中央正确领导下，全国公安机关紧紧围绕全面建设小康社会的总目标，牢牢把握维护重要战略机遇期社会稳定的总要求，为巩固党的执政地位、维护国家长治久安、保障人民安居乐业、服务经济社会发展作出了突出贡献。特别是在完成一系列重大安保任务、处置一系列重大突发事件、参与一系列重特大自然灾害抢险救援、开展一系列专项打击整治行动中，广大公安民警生死面前不退缩，千难万险不放弃，用鲜血、生命和汗水谱写了一曲曲感天动地的英雄赞歌，涌现出一大批英雄模范和先进集体。实践证明，公安队伍是一支忠诚可靠、能打硬仗的队伍，是一支正气浩荡、英雄辈出的队伍，不愧为坚强的共和国之盾。

Zhou Yongkang emphasized that this year is especially meaningful for our country’s development in that our Party will hold its 18th National Congress. Creating a harmonious and stable environment for this a victorious event was the public security organs’ primary task. Public security organs on all levels needed to clearly understand the complicated nature of the current international and domestic situation and the particular importance of maintaining stability this year, and with the meeting with Secretary General Hu Jintao and other central comrade-leaders as a collectively motivating force, they should improve their abilities to combat crime, to serve the people, and to protect national security and social stability. To accelerate the building of a country under socialist rule by law, to actively build a socialist and harmonious society, and to ensure the timely and comprehensive building of a modest-prosperity society, new contributions needed to be made.
周永康强调，今年是我国发展进程中具有特殊重要意义的一年，我们党将召开十八大。为十八大胜利召开创造和谐稳定的社会环境，是公安机关的首要政治任务。各级公安机关和广大公安民警要清醒认识当前国际国内形势的复杂性，清醒认识做好今年维护稳定工作的特殊重要性，以胡锦涛总书记等中央领导同志接见公安英模和立功集体为动力，进一步提高打击犯罪、服务人民、维护国家安全和社会稳定的能力水平，为加快建设社会主义法治国家、积极构建社会主义和谐社会、确保如期全面建成小康社会作出新贡献。

Zhou Yongkang expressed for hopes to the public security authorities and the police:

1. That they be steadfast in their ideals and beliefs, and forever preserve their political qualities, deepen the development of political and legal core values in their actions and activities, adhere to the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, maintain the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, maintain the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, firmly establish a concept of socialist rule by law, that they be  unswerving builders and defenders of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
2. [more practical, work-related aspects, plus being close friends of the masses ... .] That they sing and sound (唱响) the People’s Police for the People theme, give their best in working practically for the people, solve problems, do good things, and deepen interaction on good terms.
3. That they [keep holding] the Three Assessment Activities (“三访三评” 活动), deepen their understanding of the problems of the masses, build harmonious police-to-people relations while solving mass difficulties, win the trust and support of the masses in the process of safeguarding their rights and interests, and that they continuously improve public credibility and the masses’ degree of satisfaction.
4. That they  maintain their determination for reform and innovation, constantly promote the development and progress of public security work. That they firmly establish a people-oriented (以人为本) concept that puts service first that carries out action and prevention in a coordinated manner and that puts prevention first. That they consolidate the foundations, focus on long-term concepts, progressively improve and perfect work mechanisms, that they guide police work in accordance with the will of the people, guarantee police work by systematic standards, by effective prevention and control, precise action, scientific management and modern technology improve police work, and that they constantly improve the scientification of police work.

周永康向公安机关和公安民警提出4点希望：一要坚定理想信念，永葆政治本色。深入开展政法干警核心价值观教育实践活动，坚持中国特色社会主义道路，坚持中国特色社会主义理论体系，坚持中国特色社会主义制度，牢固树立社会主义法治理念，坚定不移地做中国特色社会主义事业的建设者、捍卫者。二要增强大局意识，忠实履行各项法定职责。主动服务第一要务，认真落实第一责任，依法打击各类违法犯罪活动，切实解决群众反映强烈的突出治安问题，加强和改进人口、治安、交通、消防、出入境等公安行政管理工作，积极探索对流动人口、特殊人群、信息网络、“两新”组织服务管理的新路子，促进经济社会又好又快发展。三要坚持执法为民，永远做人民群众的贴心人。唱响“人民公安为人民”的主旋律，尽心竭力为群众办实事、解难事、做好事，深化大接访、大走访和“三访三评”活动，在体察群众疾苦中加深对人民的感情，在解决群众困难中构建和谐警民关系，在维护群众权益中赢得人民的信任支持，不断提高公安机关的公信力和人民群众的满意度。四要锐意改革创新，不断推动公安工作发展进步。牢固树立以人为本、服务为先的理念，打防结合、预防为主的理念，固本强基、注重长远的理念，进一步改革完善警务工作机制，以民意引导警务，以制度规范保障警务，以有效防控、精确打击、科学管理和现代科技手段提升警务，不断提高公安工作的科学化水平。

Zhou Yongkang demanded that party committees and governments at all levels strengthen their leadership of police work under the new situation, to support the public security organs in their performance in strict accordance with the law, to coordinate solutions of problems and difficulties timely, to conscientiously implement the political building of the police, to administrate police seriously, to manage the police forces well by  taking steps in all fields of preferential treatment of police policies, by building and making good use of the police, and to conscientously shoulder the major policies in the areas of maintaining stability and of safeguarding the peace.
周永康要求各级党委、政府加强对新形势下公安工作的领导，支持公安机关严格依法履行职责，及时协调解决遇到的困难和问题，认真落实政治建警、从严治警、从优待警的各项政策措施，建设好、使用好、管理好公安队伍，切实担负起维护一方稳定、确保一方平安的重大政治责任。

General Office of the CCP director, State Council Secretary and State Councillor Ma Kai attended the meeting.  State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu^*) attended and presided the meeting.
中共中央书记处书记、中央办公厅主任令计划，国务委员、国务院秘书长马凯参加会见。国务委员、公安部部长孟建柱参加会见并主持大会。

The award decisions were announced, and National Police Collective Heroic Model Awards were given. Hebei Provincial Highway Traffic Police (Baoding Detachment detachment heads Jian Zhuozhou and Gu Huaigang, Hubei Province Wuhan City Public Security Bureau Hanyang Divisional office Zhoutou Street local police station deputy chief Wang Qun, Gansu Province Lanzhou City Public Security Bureau criminal police’s Zhang Jingang and other spoke on behalf of the prize winners [i. e. prize-winning collectives] and took the prizes.
会上宣读了表彰决定，并向受到表彰的全国公安系统英雄模范和立功集体颁奖。河北省公安厅高速公路交警总队保定支队副支队长兼涿州大队大队长古怀岗、湖北省武汉市公安局汉阳分局洲头街派出所副所长王群、甘肃省兰州市公安局刑警支队一大队大队长张金刚等代表获奖者发言。

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Note

^*) A number of reports have recently suggested that Meng Jianzhu had effectively taken control of what had previously been Zhou Yongkang‘s central responsibilities. However, it should be noted that Zhou Yongkang’s downfall has been anticipated in the foreign press for many weeks, and the sources seem to be anonymous, for obvious reasons. Without official confirmation, or with obvious shifts in “public-security” policies, I don’t see a lot of evidence for Zhou “falling from power”, but it might be plausible that he wouldn’t involved in investigating the cases of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai. That alone, if true, would suggest quite a loss of control, and possibly the beginning of the end to his career.

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Related

» Social Management, Febr 21, 2011

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Ma Ying-jeou, Lost in Tradition

Shortly before the beginning of Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou‘s second term in office, his support and satisfaction rates are at new historical lows, between 15 to 22 per cent. More than 60 per cent of the public have no confidence in Ma’s coming four years of administration, reports Singapore’s Morning News (Lianhe Zaobao).

“These opinion polls aren’t like anything during the past four years”, Zaobao quotes the head of Taiwan National University’s Department of Political Science, Wang Yeh-lih (王業立). “Ma Ying-jeou’s biggest problem is that the decision-making circles are too small, that communication between the government and the [KMT] party is poor, and that the relapse in public opinion was underestimated.”

During the past three months since his re-election, efforts to resolve an ongoing beef-imports dispute with the U.S., oil and electricity price hikes and stock exchange taxes, hadn’t been able to please either farmers, nor workers, nor business people, and had left people boiling with resentment (民怨沸腾), writes Zaobao. Hikes in oil and electricity prices had added to living costs, in terms of food, clothing, shelter, transportation, and all kinds of basic necessities, and stealth price increases in all kinds of products.

Ma Ying-jeou’s traditionally wooden communication skills haven’t been helpful during the recent wave of resentment. The Taipei Times people, of course, loves his exchanges with normal people, but not for the reasons Ma thinks they should:

On May 4, during a visit by the president to National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, a student told Ma in reference to a recent increase in retail prices that he does not feel full now after eating one biandang, or lunchbox. The student said typical lunchboxes these days tend to contain less vegetables even though their prices have remained the same. In response, Ma asked: “You don’t feel full? So now you need to eat one more biandang? Or do you endure being hungry?”

To make things worse, the discussion became distorted in that Ma was later quoted as saying that “Just eat another biandang and you’ll be full” (再吃一个便当就饱了), writes Zaobao.

Ma’s idea of a presidency is traditional – he certainly wants to be seen as a leader who understands what is going on in peoples’ daily lives, but his benchmark – former president Chiang Ching-kuo, who certainly was progressive at his times – when compared to his father Chiang Kai-shek -, is outdated. And each of Ma’s attempts to look like a leader of historic scale is happily ridiculed, whenever opportunites arise. They seem to arise often.

From the early 1980s on, Ma had worked for Chiang Ching-kuo, in several functions. In an interview which was part of a Chiang Ching-kuo documentary, Ma remembered one of Chiang’s last public appearances. Chiang was wheelchair-bound by then, he attended a Constitution Commemorative Conference in 1987, and as he was scurried off the stage, probably to spare him the spectacle that accompanied his exit, civil-rights advocates and democracy activists were standing – but not out of respect. They shouted, and waved posters with their demands. It appeared to be an unpleasant scene indeed – and next in the documentary’s picture was modern-day Ma, worry lines and disgust in his face, telling how ungrateful the activists had been:

It was as if [Chiang] was saying, “I have made all these efforts to promote Taiwan’s democratic reforms. How can they do this to me?”^*)
好像就聽到，他嘴裡在說，他說我這幾年來，大力推動台灣的民主改革，他們怎麼還會這樣子對我呢？

But to compare Chiang Ching-kuo and Ma would be unjustified for a number of reasons. On the one hand, Ma has never been something like a secret-police director. But on the other, he doesn’t have Chiang’s merits either. What are Ma’s achievements? What should people reciprocate for? Or, in the words in which he reportedly complained to his sister, after getting a lot of stick for his administration’s management after the Morakot typhoon: “good people weren’t rewarded” (好人沒好報).

Nanfang Shuo (南方朔), a moderate critic of Ma Ying-jeou, believes that much of the public’s unease stems from an awareness that Ma is free from pressure as he faces no further elections. Reforms and decisions could therefore be taken arbitrarily (or autocratically – 独断独行).

In fact, even if one only follows Ma Ying-jeou’s presidential fortunes loosely (as JR does), it is easy to see that Ma is rarely in tune with the public in general, or even in individual chats. During the presidential election campaign, his opponent Tsai Ing-wen (herself not necessarily a folksy type of politician either), came across as fairly presidential (an observation by Nanfang Shuo in October last year), and to beat Ma in terms of communication skills was hardly a daunting challenge either.

All the same, Ma was re-elected – and the public now seems to complain that they got exactly the president they had gotten to know during his first term.

It’s not all the president’s fault. Certainly not in a democracy, where people have choices.

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Note

^*) I can’t find the documentary online, but I seem to remember that Ma basically used the same words to describe his impressions there, as in this quote.

Related

» The Lame leading the Blind, June 3, 2011
» No Shanzhai Chiang, May 20, 2009

Always Vigilant: the Turkish Countryside

What just three years of determined government propaganda can do: read here.

Things where Ankara and Damascus still agree (left and top right, NOT bottom right – Syria Online, April 2011)

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Related

» Genocide, simply put, July 11, 2009
» Davos is over for Erdogan, YouTube, 2009

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Anecdotal Evidence: why there can be no Chinese Soft Power – and why Cooperation with Beijing may Corrupt us

Messages from Beijing are in conflict with each other when the Dalai Lama – and the degree to which he may become internationally noticeable – is the issue. On the one hand, the Dalai Lama doesn’t belong in Tibet, from Beijing’s point of view. He therefore doesn’t belong in China either. On the other hand, Beijing reacts angrily when the Dalai Lama “denies his Chinese citizenship”. And the Chinese leadership seems to suggest that it has a say in foreign leaders’ appointment diaries.

The Dalai Lama is quite powerless, but a discussion with him is probably much more enriching than one with Hu Jintao, Jackie Chan, or Zhang Ziyi.

That’s one of the problems with Chinese “soft power”, I guess. Whatever could be a factor in building such power is either in exile, or (mostly) silent.

But above all, it is childish when Chinese authorities condemn meetings with people outside their jurisdiction. And when Chinese editorialists who take their orders from those authorities demand that “hosting Dalai Lama must come at a high price”, there are two obvious objections. For one, David Cameron and Nick Clegg apparently met the Dalai Lama at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Downing Street didn’t host him. But above all, a nexus between economic cooperation with China and “hosting the Dalai Lama”, as advocated by the “Global Times”, shows how shaky the foundations of our economic cooperation with China actually are.

Maybe we should think about our own reasons to limit cooperation with China. Because one day, we might feel that we can’t “afford” certain values and views of our own anymore. Other governments have come to such misguided conclusions already.