The Weeks before June 4: Struggling for the Ideological Switch Stands

[Cont. April 23, 1911

Main Link: 1989 年 4 月 24 日 星期日

Li Tieying and Li Ximing both agree with Li Peng that strict measures should be taken against the students' movement. At 8.30 in the evening, Li Peng goes to see Yang Shangkun to analyse the situation. Yang also sees a changing trend and encourages Li Peng to see Deng Xiaoping. Li Peng asks Yang to join him in a visit to Deng, and Yang agrees. During the evening, as Li Peng reads many papers and adds  comments to them, and a flow of public-security bureau, security, education commission staff etc, concerning trends among the students in all places keeps coming in, by phone and cable.

Science and Technology Daily's entering into the forbidden area of coverage receives a great echo, and from the morning on, people call this paper to tell the staff that they had written in fair words. However, vice chief editor Sun Changjiang says that they haven't done something special, and just acted in accordance with professional ethics, in their effort to carry out their duty as the media. Their [Science and Technology Daily] coverage hadn’t been particularly good; rather, he believes, that of some other papers has been particularly bad. The event is authentic, and their attitude is sincere.

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Monday, April 24, 1989

Main Link: 1989 年 4 月 24 日 星期一 (same document)

In the morning, sixty-thousand students from some 38 colleges and universities such as Beijing University, Tsinghua University, People’s University (Renmin University) begin a strike. Some students gather within the universities, conduct sit-ins, demonstrations, put up posters, and others shout slogans like “join the strike quickly”, “no end to the strike without reaching our goals”, and “walk out on lessons and exams, not on learning”.

Some students give lectures on societal issues, put up propaganda sheets, propagate “April 20 massacre”, “crying-and-begging to the non-understanding government” information, and still others take to the streets and lanes, for fund-raising and to call on “all the city’s citizens to become active in strikes”. Students from Beijing University, Tsinghua University and People’s University maintain order, and dissuade students from taking part in lessons. Some university party secretaries point out in reports to the next-upper party level that the current situation, if it lasts, will be absolutely harmful, and that one has to fear that this could take still larger dimensions as May 4 is approaching. They express their hopes that the central committee and the municipal committee issue clear guidelines, policies and instructions to end the strikes as soon as possible.

At 14:40, student committees at Beijing University and other universities hold meetings at the May-4 squares on their campuses, with some eighty percent of students attending. They prepare activities to boycott official May-4 activities and to establish autonomous students unions in Beijing and students unions of national unity all over the country. Some papers report that student delegates from Nankai University,  Nanjing University, Fudan University, Guangzhou University and other universities are also attending. Nearly two-hundred students with red armbands are maintaining order. As several members of students committees publicly push and pull each other on stage in a quarrel twice, more than six-thousand students at the meeting are abuzz. The meeting ends at 16:00 in discord, without having made any decisions. Dozens of foreign reporters have been present and recorded the event. A press conference by the preparatory committee, scheduled for 7 p.m., is subsequently cancelled.

Beijing University posts the “Recommendations to the Preparatory Committee, signed by people from Beijing University” poster, suggesting to redraw the slogans and action principles in order to get public support. The slogans should oppose corruption and bureaucracy, actions should be carried out downtown, at broad daylight, so as to broaden their influence, unified action would be needed between the universities and colleges, preparations be made for a long-term struggle, and extensive contacts be built with people from intellectual and democratic circles.

There is also another poster, under the headline “five points”, about “guaranteeing basic human rights, releasing political criminals, opposing party supremacy, checks and balances by separation of the three powers, defining a democratic constitution” and other political positions.

More than twohundred Beijing University teachers jointly call for maintaining the principles of the thirteen universities to consult the students and to have a dialog with them. A similar call comes from the China University of Political Science and Law [Wu Renhua's university]. The Beijing Students Autonomous Federation (aka Capital Autonomous Federation of University Students) calls on every student to send ten letters to compatriots all over the country. Between two- and threehundred students are to be dispatched to fifteen large cities all over the nation, such as Tianjin, Jinan, Shenyang, Changsha, Chengdu, Xi’an, Lanzhou, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Taiyuan, Shanghai, Nanjing and Wuhan  to deliver speeches and to make contacts.

A peaceful petition meeting at Tsinghua University started a peaceful demonstration within the campus, at eight in the morning, with about ten thousand students participating. It’s an orderly demonstration with a length reaching two kilometers.

The Tsinghua University Students Council puts forward four principles concerning the students’ strike:

1. to maintain the reasonable struggle and the peaceful petition
2. to maintain unity and the power of all that can be united
3. to adhere to the strike on lessons, not on learning
4. to make sure that cool heads prevail among the younger students.

Educational departments from all over the country give their reactions to the State Education Commission, expressing their hope that the situation at Beijing’s universities and colleges can be stabilized soon, as it would otherwise be difficult to control the situation at universities outside the capital.

In the evening, Ren Wanding, who was responsible for the “Human Rights Alliance” time of the Xidan Democracy Wall, speaks on Tian An Men Square. He says: “the people are destitute, robbers arise from everywhere, prices are soaring, and the national economy is in crisis. If the four cardinal principles don’t vanish from the constitution, they will keep hanging over the people’s interests.”

Ren Wanding has also been to the universities of Beijing to speak there, but without much response, as the students didn’t understand him, and because they felt that his views were radical. When Chen Xiaoping and I watched him speaking in front of the dormitory of the University of Political Science and Law, there was only a sparse audience. Both Chen and I felt saddened.

In the afternoon, Li Ximing and Chen Xitong report to National People’s Congress chairman Wan Li. Wan Li was Beijing’s vice mayor prior to the cultural revolution. He suggests that the politburo’s standing committee should analyse the situation in the evening, chaired by Li Peng.

[According to this account by Wu Renhua, this meeting was held on the evening of April 24. This source seems to suggest that this happened on April 23.]

The standing committee, chaired by Li Peng, believes that a variety of events are indicating that under the control and instigation of very few people,  a planned, organized anti-party, anti-socialist political struggle is arranged before their eyes. The decision is made to form a group tasked with stopping the unrest, and requires Beijing’s party and government to stabilize the situation quickly, by winning over the majority of the masses and by isolating the minority, and by calming down the unrest. Standing committe member Li Peng, Qiao Shi, Hu Qili, Yao Yilin, as well as  – with no voting rights – Yang Shangkun, Wan Li, central party secretary Rui Xingwen, Yan Mingfu, Wen Jiabao, (not standing) politburo members Tian Jiyun, Li Ximing, Song Ping, Ding Guangen as well as people in charge at the relevant departments are attending the meeting.

In the evening, Li Peng receives a phonecall from Deng Xiaoping‘s secretary Wang Ruilin, inviting Li Peng and Yang Shangkun to his home at ten a.m. next day for discussions.

The World Economic Herald, a weekly from Shanghai, normally scheduled to appear today, has six blocks of content from a memorial forum held in cooperation with the New Observer magazine (新观察) on April 19. The 25 participants spoke highly of Hu Yaobang’s humanness, as a person of democratic open-mindedness [or liberalism - 民主开明], and of deep humanity. Science and Technology Daily vice chief editor Sun Changjiang [see above, entering into the forbidden area of coverage], Guangming Daily‘s reporter Dai Qing, and Yan Jiaqi of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences political science institute state more clearly that Hu Yaobang was forced to resign, and that he died while being treated unfairly. 300,000 copies of the World Economic Herald were printed by Saturday, some of it already at the post offices, while the remainder is stored at the printing house. But when Shanghai’s municipal party committee is informed about some of the content, it orders the postal offices to stop the dispatch of the papers, and seals the remaining copies in the printing house off. In the afternoon, the CCP municipal committee has a meeting with World Economic Herald chief editor Qin Benli in the afternoon, telling him that what is said in the account of the forum is correct, but that, as May 4 comes nearer, they fear that this could stirr the students’ emotions, add to the pressure on the government, and express their hope that the more sensitive content will be removed. The World Economic Herald does not agree with the cuts and revisions.

At the time, the World Economic Review’s Beijing office is the meeting point for democratic and liberal personalities. The office director Zhang Weiguo has strong campaigning skills and is broadly connected. Because of having led the [memorial] forum and for other reasons, he will be arrested after the June-4 crackdown.

To be continued

Xi Jinping on Youth Day: “Open the Skies for the Young”

Chinese chief of party and state Xi Jinping spoke to outstanding young people from all walks of life at the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation‘s (中国航天科技集团公司) China Academy of Space Technology (中国空间技术研究院) on Saturday. Among China’s English-language media, China Daily, sina.com, and the All-China Women’s Federation website cover the event.

Main Link: Xi Jinping holds a forum with outstanding youth representatives from all walks of life (习近平同各界优秀青年代表座谈)
Links within the following blockquotes were added during translation.

Xinhua (via CCTV), May 4, 2013:

On the occasion of Youth Day, CCP Central Committee Secretary General, State Chairman and Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping came to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation’s Academy of Space Technology on May 4 and took part in a community activity under the theme of “Realizing the Chinese Dream, the Young assume their tasks”, talked with representatives of outstanding young people from all walks of life and gave an important speech, and, on behalf of the Central Committee, extended greetings on the occasion of Youth Day.

新华网北京5月4日电 五四青年节到来之际，中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平4日来到中国航天科技集团公司中国空间技术研究院，参加“实现中国梦、青春勇担当”主题团日活动，同各界优秀青年代表座谈并发表重要讲话，代表党中央向全国广大青年致以节日问候。

Xi emphasized that the young are most vigorous and idealistic, that the country rose with the rise of the young, and that the country was strong when the young were strong. The staunch ideals and convictions of the young, their abilities to pass the hardest tests, their courage to innovate and to create, their hard and persevering work, their strong and high-minded characters, their vivid dream of realizing the take-off of the China dream would write a splendid new chapter in the bookof the unremitting struggle in the people’s interest.

习近平强调，青年最富有朝气、最富有梦想，青年兴则国家兴，青年强则国家强。广大青年要坚定理想信念，练就过硬本领，勇于创新创造，矢志艰苦奋斗，锤炼高尚品格，在实现中国梦的生动实践中放飞青春梦想，在为人民利益的不懈奋斗中书写人生华章。

At 9:30 in the morning, Xi Jinping arrived at the China Academy of Space Technology’s exhibition hall and viewed the exhibition of space technology achievements. On seeing that the secretary general had arrived, some of the outstanding young representatives who were also viewing the exhibition gathered around him, and Xi Jinping smiled and shook hands with one of them after another.

上午9时30分许，习近平来到中国空间技术研究院展厅，参观空间技术成就展。看到总书记来了，正在参观的部分优秀青年代表围了过来，习近平微笑着和大家一一握手。

CCTV coverage, with about the same wording as the Xinhua article – click picture for video.

The Xinhua article continues to set the scene for another while, describing how Xi Jinping closely listens to explanatons or introductions in front of the exhibits and having discussions with young technical or academic leaders. The average age of the Chang’e team and the Shenzhou team was 33; that of the Beidou system team was 35;  that of the Dongfang-Hong-4 team [a 1967 project] had been 29; that of a satellite application team was 28, Xi Jinping hears with great pleasure, pointing out that the hope for technological innovation is placed on the young.

The article then lists participants from different places and companies or authorities, from a petrochemical welding pioneer (中国石油第一建设公司第三工程处313工程队电焊技师裴先锋) to a party branch secretary from Inner Mongolia (内蒙古自治区新巴尔虎右旗克尔伦苏木芒来嘎查党支部书记), and military officers.

About 806 out of the article’s 1878 words are reserved for an account of Xi Jinping’s actual speech, basically centering around the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is carefully crafted and meant to enthuse the youth delegates who are attending. But there is also some space for the interest of the individual:

Xi Jinping pointed out that all along, the party represented the young, won the young over, relied on the young, all along attached great importance to the young, showed care for the young, and trusted the young. Facing the future, leaders and cadres from all levels of the party and the government needed to make further efforts to pay attention to the aspirations of the young, to help the young develop, to support them starting businesses, to open the skies even wider for the galopping ideas of the young (青年驰骋思想) and a still wider platform for their innovative work, more opportunities for shaping their lives, and more favorable conditions.

习近平指出，我们党始终代表青年、赢得青年、依靠青年， 始终重视青年、关怀青年、信任青年。面向未来，各级党委、政府和领导干部要进一步关注青年愿望、帮助青年发展、支持青年创业，为青年驰骋思想打开更浩瀚的 天空，为青年实践创新搭建更广阔的舞台，为青年塑造人生提供更丰富的机会，为青年建功立业创造更有利的条件。

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Prior to the forum, Xi Jinping had a cordial meeting with the participating outstanding youth representatives from all walks of life and had keepsake photos taken with them.

座谈会前，习近平亲切会见了参加座谈会的各界优秀青年代表并合影留念。

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Related

» In space, the possibilities are endless, Ronald Reagan Radio Address, July 21, 1984
» May-4 Youth Day, Wikipedia, acc. 20130505
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Deutsche Welle: Limbourg succeeds Bettermann

Deutsche Welle director Erik Bettermann will retire on September 30 this year. His successor will be Peter Limbourg, currently working in a leading position for German private mass media company ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG. DW broadcasting board chairman Valentin Schmidt announced the decision on March 15; the DW press release was written by the broadcaster’s spokesman Johannes Hoffmann. A press release in English is also available.

14 of the 17 board members voted “Yes”; one voted “No”, and two abstained, according to the German release.

Limbourg might count himself lucky, even if his job at Deutsche Welle, under growing budgetary constraints, won’t be an easy one. He is currently Senior Vice President for news and political information at ProSiebenSat 1, which sounds pompous, the Tagesspiegel (Berlin) wrote on March 15, but the hard truth was that information counted very little at his current employer. Information, the Tagesspiegel continues, counts all the more at Deutsche Welle.

On March 14, the Frankfurter Rundschau wrote that only four weeks earlier, Valentin Schmidt had still ruled out an early decision – that would have to wait until June. The search for candidates to succeed Bettermann hadn’t been completed, and the broadcasting board also wanted to wait and see how the candidates to date presented themselves. Applicants from within Deutsche Welle, among them Gerda Meuer, head of the DW academy (and once working for the German service of Radio Japan) weren’t even invited. By the end of February, only Limbourg had delivered a convincing presentation, and Limbourg it was.

In one respect, however, a trend described by Frankfurter Rundschau on February 17 made it into the vote: Limbourg was a journalist, rather than a politician. A complaint of unconstitutionality was pending at Germany’s federal constitutional court, critical of the oversized influence of political parties in the boards and commissions of German broadcasters, and apparently, the DW broadcasting board didn’t want to risk criticism in line with that complaint. The more, however, representatives of the churches were emerging. Valentin Schmidt, a 72-year-old evangelic Christian, is likely to be succeeded by a catholic prelate, Karl Jüsten, at the end of this year, wrote Frankfurter Rundschau. Both Limbourg and one of his most likely competitors (Stephan-Andreas Casdorff, who withdrew his candidacy before March 15) are catholic.

German chancellor Angela Merkel probably liked the emerging constellation, the Focus (Munich) speculated one day after Limbourg was chosen. Soon, the director and three out of his five sub-directors would be on a ticket of the Christian Democrats (the incumbent director, Erik Bettermann is a social democrat), and Karl Jüsten, the probable next chairman of the broadcasting board, was catholic and therefore close to Merkel’s Christian Democrats anyway.

Limbourg will be the first director at a public broadcaster who previously worked for privately-owned television.

Guanchazhe (Observer), a Shanghai-based website, quotes a scholar from Berlin as saying that the high-sounding election of the new DW director, as well as a low-key restoration of Feng Haiyin (apparently von Hein, a German) as head of Deutsche Welle’s Chinese department could bring about a new atmosphere, with some more objective reporting and less ideology in China-related reports (柏林的一名学者18日对记者表 示，“德国之音”选出新台长和冯海音重新担任中文部主任，可能会给该台涉华报道带来新风气，多-些客观报道，少一些意识形态).

Those who had suggested that Feng Haiyin was “close to the CCP” had apparently never listened to the DW broadcasts, scoffs Dream Tramp, a commenter in the thread. All his scripts were full of vicious attacks (说冯海音“亲共”，显然是没听过德国之声广播。他写的每一篇稿子都充满着对土共的恶毒攻击。). German media are more anti-communist than British or American media, suggests another.
Correct, replies Dream Tramp. And [the German media were] stupid at that. I’ve frequently heard them recklessly rushing at rumors – their professional level is far behind Britain’s and America’s.

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Related

» Interview with Wang Fengbo, Jan 26, 2012
» Negotiations with Politics, Dec 26, 2011

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Xinjiang 4-23 “Terrorist Attack”: Important Instructions from Beijing, Lack of Compassion from Washington

The incident in Bachu County / Selibuya (Kashgar Prefecture) on April 23 which reportedly led to the deaths of 21 people, including 15 police officers and officials, is closely monitored by the central party and state leadership, according to Chinese state media quoted by the BBC‘s Mandarin website on Friday. A Huanqiu Shibao report, also of Friday, is quoted as saying that the CCP central committee attached great importance to the incident and that secretary-general Xi Jinping had issued important instructions and requirements concerning the handling of the case, its aftermath, and the safeguarding of stability in Xinjiang. Six suspects reportedly died, and eight were arrested.

Foreign journalists were allowed to travel to the region but frequently faced intimidation and harassment when attempting to verify news of ethnic rioting or organised violence against government authorities, the BBC’s Beijing correspondent Celia Hatton wrote in a report published last Wednesday, and a report from the BBC’s China correspondent Damian Grammaticas, published on Friday, seems to confirm that local authorities tend to interfere, as Grammaticas and his team were ordered to leave Selibuya.

Tianshan Net, a website run by the propaganda department of the CCP’s Xinjiang branch, and frequently quoted by official and non-official Chinese media in the 4-23 context, reports today that in the wake of the 4-23 [April 23] serious violent terrorist incidents, a ceremony to honor the meritorious was held at the Science and Culture Square Conference Center in Kashgar at noon local time today. Three advanced collectives (including the Selibuya party committee) and 91 advanced individuals had been commended. (天山网喀什讯（记者李敏摄影报道）4月29日上午12:00，自治区处置“4.23”严重暴力恐怖案件有功人员表彰大会在喀什市科技文化广场喀什噶尔会议厅召开。大会对巴楚县色力布亚镇党委等3个先进集体和阿布拉江•克热木、谢武中等91名先进个人予以表彰。) The fifteen party and government comrades who had sacrificed their lives were posthumously awarded titles as outstanding party members and anti-terrorism warriors during the ceremony, writes Tianshan. (自治区党委、政府追授在处置“4.23”严重暴力恐怖案件中牺牲的15名同志为优秀共产党员、反恐勇士称号。) Nur Bekri and other leading regional officials attended the ceremony.

On Friday, Tianshan Net republished a Huanqiu Shibao report criticizing America for showing no compassion in the wake of the incident, quoting a U.S. state department spokesman’s demands for a transparent investigation. The criticism was based on Beijing’s foreign-ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying‘s statement on Thursday, who had stated dissatisfaction with Washington’s lack of compassion (无同情心).

Sina.com (in English) suggested a moral link between the recent Boston Marathon bombings and the incident in Xinjiang, and also quoted Hua Chunying from her Thursday press conference.

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Related

» Due process protections, BBC News, April 25, 2013

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Herrschaftswissen: Free or not, but “Engineered”

Wikileaks may have been useful in making some of the (Western or Arab) governments’ inside workings a bit more transparent – but it seems to me that what has been published by them doesn’t outweigh what is published by government themselves, or by their advisers, or by the mainstream press. We could have every government archive at our disposal, and would still face the problem of finding out what matters, and the problems of interpretation.

The Genius leads the spectators: engineering of consent in its early stages.

In this post, I will try to describe two examples of Herrschaftswissen, and one (rather old) example of methodology. A talk (not an article) on Wikipedia about enlightenment in Western secular tradition translates Herrschaftswissen as knowledge restricted to the rulers. I’m not sure if this should count as an exact translation, or just as a rough one.

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Example 1: David Cameron’s “Muscular Liberalism”

In February 2011, British prime minister David Cameron addressed the Munich Security Conference, an annual conference on international security policy held in Bavaria’s capital. It is an example of how politics and mainstream media work hand in hand – it was founded by a publisher in 1962, and that publisher was succeeded by a former high-ranking government bureaucrat in 1998.

In his speech, Cameron focused on radicalization among Muslims in many European countries. There isn’t much in the speech itself that I would object to, but what I view critically is the context of the speech.

While Cameron was focused on radical Islamists in Europe, the “Arab Spring” was in full swing. Cameron gave his talk on the eve of the outbreak of the Syrian civil war – a war described by the BBC‘s Jim Muir as a proxy struggle between the US-led western world and al-Qaeda international.

The West’s undertaking could also be described as a struggle to discern moderate and radically Islamist forces among the opposition fordes in Syria – a struggle European governments are facing at home, too. But that’s a problem the West could have spared itself. If Western governments (and their Arab and Turkish allies) succeeded in toppling Syria’s Baath regime and install a “moderate” new regime, chances are that the new regimes human rights record would be no better than that of the Baath party. Governments who encourage and support radicalism in mainly Muslim countries are hardly qualified to encourage moderation among Muslims in their own countries.

A few days ago, the European Union’s Counter-terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove told told the BBC that among the estimated 500 European citizens who were currently fighting in Syria, but most likely many of them will be radicalised there, will be trained.

When you want to undermine Islamist radicalization at home, the West’s strategy on Syria doesn’t look too reasonable. Those who Cameron purportedly wants to win over know very well how ambivalent muscular liberalism is about terrorism, when it is about practise, rather than about talk.

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Example 2. Trust in the CCP’s Central Committee

“Unity” is one of the supreme banners of the Chinese Communist Party. The downfall of Chongqing’s party chief Bo Xilai, only eight months ahead of the 18th National Congress of the CCP, came at a sensitive time. But if the power struggle about Bo Xilai was unpleasant or embarrassing already, the “visit” (or rather the tempoary getaway) of Chongqing’s Public Security Bureau head to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu in February 2012 should count as a PR disaster for the CCP.

The Chinese press had to pick up the pieces in the guidance of public opinion. Huanqiu Shibao, a CCP-owned but rather popularar Chinese paper, applied a mix of natural science (China’s rapid development is like a living body’s development, and there may always be some particulars we haven’t been familiar with) and orthodoxy (In China’s society of numerous and complicated voices, trust in the party’s central committee has become reason for society in its entirety). There was, Huanqiu elaborated, no contradiction between emancipation of mind and trust in the party’s central committee:

It is exactly for the diversity, for having several options, that we truly discover that trusting the party’s central committee, implementing the party’s road map, is more reliable than any other method other people may teach us, and more able to create the conditions that make the country and the individual develop.

This sounds like muscular socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Both Cameron and Chinese propaganda emphasize unity when it comes to fundamentals. The fundamentals are very different from each other, but the tools they are using to justify and legitimize their dominance are quite similar. However, Camaron’s game is easier to play than the CCP’s. When Chinese media openly bash dissidents, they risk getting unusually unharmonious responses from their recipients. When Cameron addresses radical Islamism, he will get his share of criticism, too, but that is nothing uncharacteristic in the British media.

And despite some inevitable criticism, when a European leader singles out radicalization among Muslims, chances are that the mainstream will respond rather favorably.

The problem for European politicians is that the political class is lacking the high degree of legitimacy – in view of the public – that it (reportedly) used to have. Or, as the Economist‘s Bagehot observed, the pomp of Margaret Thatcher‘s funeral met with shallow public interest. Even Mrs Thatcher’s enemies trusted that her motives were sincere, argues the Economist, but now all politicians are distrusted.

Not just among radical or not so radical Muslims. But if you pick a frequently disliked minority as Cameron does, you may still strike a chord with an increasingly resentful majority.

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3. Engineering of Consent

In 1955, an American public-relations counsel, Edward L. Bernays, wrote an article, summarizing what he referred to as the engineering of consent. Bernays didn’t necessarily invent it, but at the time when he wrote about it, he had probably been among the most successful thinkers about and propagandists and practitioners of the concept for decades. The engineering of consent should under no circumstances [...] supersede or displace the functions of the educational system, either formal or informal, Bernays wrote, in bringing about understanding by the people as a basis for their action. Rather, engineering of consent supplemented the educational process.

But in the previous paragraphs, Bernays had also written that

[..] it is sometimes impossible to reach joint decisions based on an understanding of facts by all the people. The average American adult has only six years of schooling behind him. With pressing crises and decisions to be faced, a leader frequently cannot wait for the people to arrive at an even general understanding. In certain cases, democratic leaders must play their part in leading the public through the engineering of consent to socially constructive goals and values. This role imposes upon them the obligation to use the educational processes, as well as other available techniques, to bring about as complete an understanding as possible.

Bernay’s essay leaves it essentially to the adopters how to make use of the toolkit he provided. Given that the tools are highly effective, it is obvious that they aren’t only used when the gap between public understanding and necessity (problem-solving) can’t be bridged in time, but whenever opportunists finds the engineering useful. Or, to put it more catchy: the dumber a policy, the dumber the public needs to be, and all the more, engineering of consent needs to supersede education.

Both democratically-elected and totalitarian politicians appear to be keen adopters, and it would be for the public itself to become more informed, to judge if the actons of politicians are in the public interest, or if they are not.

But the opposite is the case. While many European middlebrows regard the political class and their techniques as ethically rotten or even detest them for the manipulation, they are themselves adopters of spin-doctoring, too. Many blogs,  comments and other expressions of (political) opinion seem to apply the means and methods used by the political class to make their case. There seems to be an ambivalence among the ruled about the desire to belong to the political class, and to refute it.

Not to mention Wikileaks. Wikileaks doesn’t “educate”, either.

In that regard, the average Chinese netizen appears to be more aware of the manipulation he or she is subjected too, than the Western subject to the same PR technology – Chinese awareness states itself in terms like “we’ve been harmonized” [by Chinese authorities or media]. Or, when Huanqiu Shibao wrote in 2012 that opinion poll results published by American Gallup  showed that during the preceding three years, among the five BRIC states’ population, the Brazilians and Chinese had been most satisfied with their living standards, and only the Chinese felt during three successive years that the living standard had continuously improved, a commenter laconically replied that he had been satisfied (in a passive-voice sense) by the Americans. In certain ways, the experience of living under a totalitarian government seems to stimulate clear-sightedness.

Bernays reportedly liked to close his speeches and talks with an invariable summary: And everybody is happy.

There may not be a great future for public happiness. But quite probably, there is one for the engineering of consent.

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Related

» Battle of Opinion, Feb 13, 2013

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Press Review: Lushan Earthquake Coverage

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Links within blockquotes added during translation

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1. China News Service (中新网)

April 22, 2013

According to Sichuan Provincial Home Affairs Secretary’s website, the 7.0 earthquake of Ya’an City, Lushan County has so far affected 1.99 million people, killed 189, injured 12,211, and led to the evacuation of more than 608,000 people in the area of Ya’an City’s nineteen cities and administrative areas / 115 counties.
[...]

中新网4月22日电 据四川省民政厅网站消息，四川省雅安市芦山县7.0级地震目前已造成包括雅安在内的19个市州115个县199余万人受灾，189人遇难，12211人受伤，紧急转移60.8万余人。
[...]

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2. Ministry of Foreign Affairs

April 22, 2013

On the evening of April 22, State Chairman Xi Jinping had a telephone conversation with Russian president Putin.

2013年4月22日晚，国家主席习近平应约同俄罗斯总统普京通电话。

Putin once again offered his condolences on behalf of the Russian government and the Russian people, concerning the strong earthquake in Lushan, Sichuan Province. He said that at this difficult time, the Russian people stood firmly with the Chinese people and Russia wanted to provide all the help required. He believed that the Chinese government and the Chinese people would certainly overcome the difficulties and triumph over disaster. Whatever the difficulties, all the Russian people were the reliable friends of the Chinese people.

普京代表俄罗斯政府和人民，再次对中国四川芦山发生强烈地震致以深切慰问。他表示，值此困难时刻，俄罗斯人民坚定同中国人民站在一起，俄方愿为中方提供一切必要帮助。相信中国政府和人民一定能够克服困难，战胜灾害。无论遇到什么困难，俄罗斯人民都是中国人民的可靠朋友。

Xi Jinping said that the message of condolence Putin had sent on the day of the Lushan earthquake and his telephone call now to express deep condolences was something he valued highly. On behalf of the Chinese government and the Chinese people, he expressed sincere thanks to Putin.

习近平表示，普京总统在四川芦山发生地震当天就发来慰问电，现在又打来电话，表达深切慰问，我对此高度评价。我代表中国政府和人民，向你表示诚挚谢意。

Xi Jinping said that at times of trials and tribulation, truth could be found [another translation: a friend in need is a friend indeed].  Whenever major natural disasters occured in the two countries of China and Russia, both sides supported each other right away. This amply reflected the high standard of Sino-Russian relations and the fraternal relations between the two countries and peoples. China wanted to work with Russia at the earthquake relief and at the reconstruction afterwards.

习近平指出，患难见真情。每当中俄两国发生重大自然灾害时，双方都第一时间给予相互支持。这充分体现了中俄高水平的关系和两国人民的友好情谊。中方愿同俄方就抗震救灾及灾后重建保持密切沟通。

Explaining the post-disaster situation, Xi Jinping emphasized that the disaster relief work was carried out comphrehensively and orderly. The Chinese people were of one mind, fighting in a joint effort, and would certainly triumph over disaster,  rebuild their homes, and make the lives of the people in the disaster area better lives.

在介绍了地震灾情后，习近平强调，我们正在全面有序展开抗震救灾工作。中国人民同心同德、协力奋战，一定能够战胜灾害、重建家园，让灾区人民过上美好生活。

The two heads of state also exchanged views about bilateral relations. Xi Jinping said that the state visit he had recently made to Russia had achieved major results. China wanted to conscientiously implement the consensus and agreements reached by the two sides on the same path with Russia, and further deepen the comprehensive strategic cooperative relationship.

两国元首还就双边关系交换了意见。习近平表示，我不久前对俄罗斯进行的国事访问取得重大成果。中方愿同俄方一道，认真落实双方达成的各项共识和协议，进一步深化中俄全面战略协作伙伴关系。

Putin said that Xi Jinping’s state visit to Russia had been a complete success, that Russia would make all efforts to implement the results of the visit, and promote the rise of Russian-Chinese relations to a new level.

普京表示，习近平主席对俄罗斯的国事访问取得圆满成功，俄方将尽全力落实好访问成果，推动俄中关系迈上新台阶。

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3. Xinhua (via Shijiazhuang News Net)

April 20, 2013

Chief State Councillor Li Keqiang directed the earthquake relief work  from the scene of the epicenter at Lushan County, Longmen Township government square. He demanded that the road leading to Baoxing should be opened up again as quickly as possible, and close attention be paid to the rescue work.

新华网快讯：李克强总理在震中芦山县龙门乡政府广场现场指挥抗震救灾。他要求尽快打通通往宝兴的道路，抓紧救援。

[picture 1 showing Li on board of an aircraft, on the phone]

On April 20, on his way to Sichuan Li Keqiang held an emergency meeting to map out the earthquake relief work. After their arrival at the airport, Chief State Councillor Li Keqiang and his party boarded four helicopters to fly to the epicenter.  The picture shows Li Keqiang as he talks to Sichuan provincial party secretary Wang Dongming on the phone. (photo origin: Xinhua Viewpoint Weibo)

4月20日，在飞往四川途中，李克强总理召开紧急会议，部署抗震救灾工作。到达机场后，李克强总理一行分乘四架直升飞机，飞往震中。图为李克强与四川省委书记王东明通电话。（图片来源：新华视点微博）

[picture 2 showing Li on board of an aircraft, talking to what appears to be either a captain or a colonel]

On April 20, on his way to Sichuan Li Keqiang held an emergency meeting to [.....]. The picture shows Li Keqiang as he flies to the epicenter by helicopter. (photo origin: Xinhua Viewpoint Weibo)

4月20日，在飞往四川途中，李克强总理召开紧急会议，部署抗震救灾工作。到达机场后，李克强总理一行分乘四架直升飞机，飞往震中。图为李克强乘直升飞机前往震中。（图片来源：新华视点微博）

[picture 3 showing Li on board an aircraft, being shown a map]

After their arrival at the airport, Chief State Councillor Li Keqiang and his party boarded four helicopters to fly to the epicenter.  (photo origin: Xinhua Viewpoint Weibo)

4月20日，在飞往四川途中，李克强总理召开紧急会议，部署抗震救灾工作。到达机场后，李克强总理一行分乘四架直升飞机，飞往震中。图为李克强乘直升飞机前往震中。（图片来源：新华视点微博）

[picture 4 showing Li on board an aircraft, pointing at the map]

On April 20, on his way to Sichuan Li Keqiang held an emergency meeting to map out the earthquake relief work. After their arrival at the airport, Chief State Councillor Li Keqiang and his party boarded four helicopters to fly to the epicenter.  (photo origin: Xinhua Viewpoint Weibo)

4月20日，在飞往四川途中，李克强总理召开紧急会议，部署抗震救灾工作。到达机场后，李克强总理一行分乘四架直升飞机，飞往震中。图为李克强乘直升飞机前往震中。（图片来源：新华视点微博）

[picture 5, showing Li and staff meditating on a map]

Member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo and Chief State Councillor Li Keqiang left Beijing by plane on April 20 at 13:15 to fly to the Ya’An earthquake disaster area in Sichuan to direct the earthquake relief work. (photo origin: Xinhua Viewpoint Weibo)

中共中央政治局常委、国务院总理李克强4月20日13时15分从北京乘飞机前往四川雅安地震灾区，指导抗震救灾工作。（图片来源：新华视点微博）

[picture 6, showing Li and at least three staff putting their fingers on a map]

Member of the Standing Committee of the Politburo and Chief State Councillor Li Keqiang left Beijing by plane on April 20 at 13:15 to fly to the Ya’An earthquake disaster area in Sichuan to direct the earthquake relief work. (photo origin: Xinhua Viewpoint Weibo)

中共中央政治局常委、国务院总理李克强4月20日13时15分从北京乘飞机前往四川雅安地震灾区，指导抗震救灾工作。（图片来源：新华视点微博）

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Related

» 温家宝抵达成都, Enorth, May 12, 2008

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Xi Jinping’s Speech on Sunday: China Towering, but Development remains Overriding Ideology

Both an important speech (重要讲话) itself and the Chinese press coverage are part of the same decoration team, aiming at not only creating a verbal message, but an atmosphere, too. Newly elected state chairman Xi Jinping‘s speech on Sunday was no exception.

Today, our People’s Republic stands towering in the East of the world.

今天，我们的人民共和国正以昂扬的姿态屹立在世界东方。

Comrade Hu Jintao held the post of state chairman for ten years, and with a wealth of political wisdom, excellent leadership qualities, assiduous work spirit, did outstanding deeds to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, won the love and support from all the nationalities of China and the international community’s universal praise. We express our sincere gratitude and greatest respect to Comrade Hu Jintao!

胡锦涛同志担任国家主席10年间，以丰富的政治智慧、高超的领导才能、勤勉的工作精神，为坚持和发展中国特色社会主义建立了卓越的功勋，赢得了全国各族人民衷心爱戴和国际社会普遍赞誉。我们向胡锦涛同志，表示衷心的感谢和崇高的敬意！

Approving the predecessors: vote on last year’s government work report et al.
Click photo for CCTV coverage.

No need to repeat oneself. In Xinhua newsagency’s coverage, it is Xi Jinping himself who stands towering:

Wearing a dark-blue suit and a red tie, the membership hanging on his chest, Xi Jinping, tall of stature, stood smiling, calmly and self-confident. His voice clear, bright and vigorous, looking frank and honest, resolute and steadfast, he revealed the power of stirring people to action.

身着深色西装，佩带红色领带，胸挂出席证，身材高大的习近平微笑站立，从容自信。清朗而浑厚的声音，坦诚而刚毅的目光，透出激奋人心的力量。

“To achieve the construction of a moderately prosperous society, and the goal of a strong and prosperous, democratic and civilized, harmonious socialist modern motherland, to achieve the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, this means achieving modern national prosperity and strength, vigorous national revitalization, and the happiness of the people …”

“实现全面建成小康社会、建成富强民主文明和谐的社会主义现代化国家的奋斗目标，实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦，就是要实现国家富强、民族振兴、人民幸福……”

Witnessed by the Great Hall of the People, under the stars of its dome, under surges of applause, Xi Jinping firmly said:

人民大会堂见证，在繁星点点的穹顶下，在如潮涌动的掌声中，习近平坚定表示：

To bring about the Chinese dream, we must take the Chinese road.
To bring about the Chinese dream, we must advance the Chinese spirit.
To bring about the Chinese dream we must cohere Chinese power.

——实现中国梦必须走中国道路。

——实现中国梦必须弘扬中国精神。

——实现中国梦必须凝聚中国力量。

This is the duty the leaders of the People’s Republic of China take for the motherland, the people: we must never be complacent, we must never be sluggish, we must make persistent efforts, advance boldly, continue to push forward the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and continue to struggle for the achievement of the Chinese dream of China’s great rejuvenation.

这是共和国领导者对祖国、对人民的情怀和担当：我们不能有丝毫自满，不能有丝毫懈怠，必须再接再厉、一往无前，继续把中国特色社会主义事业推向前进，继续为实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦而努力奋斗。

This is our promise to the people: The Chinese dream is, after all, the dream of the Chinese people, it must firmly rely on the people to achieve it, it must continuously bring benefit for the people.

这是对民族的承诺：“中国梦归根到底是人民的梦，必须紧紧依靠人民来实现，必须不断为人民造福。”

That much from the Xinhua report, and back to the actual speech:

development remains the overriding (or absolute) strategic ideology (我们要坚持发展是硬道理的战略思想), said Xi, thus quoting “Deng Xiaoping theory”, but added that the fruits from development should benefit the entire people in a fairer way – and that China was still in “the first stage of socialism”.¹⁾

Taiwan didn’t escape a mention either²⁾:

Numerous Taiwanese compatriots and mainland compatriots join hands and support, maintain and promote cross-strait relations and peaceful development, enhance the happiness and benefit of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, jointly set up the new and further prospects of the Chinese nation. Numerous overseas Chinese want to make contributions to carry forward the Chinese nation’s the fine, diligent and kind Chinese tradition, and work diligently to advance the motherlands development, to promote the Chinese people’s and local people’s friendship.

广大台湾同胞和大陆同胞要携起手来，支持、维护、推动两岸关系和平发展，增进两岸同胞福祉，共同开创中华民族新的前程。广大海外侨胞，要弘扬中华民族勤劳善良的优良传统，努力为促进祖国发展、促进中国人民同当地人民的友谊作出贡献。

The Chinese people love peace. We will hold the banner of peace, development, cooperation and win-win high, we won’t change our road of peaceful development, we won’t change the strategy of mutual benefit and opening up, we will make efforts to cooperate friendly with all the countries of the world, fulfill our international responsibilities and duties, continue to work with all people in all countries to advance the lofty cause of humankind’s peace and development.

中国人民爱好和平。我们将高举和平、发展、合作、共赢的旗帜，始终不渝走和平发展道路，始终不渝奉行互利共赢的开放战略，致力于同世界各国发展友好合作，履行应尽的国际责任和义务，继续同各国人民一道推进人类和平与发展的崇高事业。

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Notes

¹⁾ 31 members of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC) are farmers-turned migrant workers, China Radio International (CRI) reported on Sunday. That number was a tenfold increase from the 11th NPC. But they are hardly a match to the 90 NPC members who appear to be worth at least 1.8 billion Yuan (The Economist, March 16, 2013, page 53).
²⁾ Stability in Hong Kong and Macau was an issue addressed by Xi, too. One day later, on March 18, Xi reminded visiting Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying that implementation was the key to the chief executive’s vision of “seeking change while maintaining stability” in Hong Kong.
“I’m not an idiot either”, replied Leung. (No, Leung said no such thing. This is just a malicious rumor, courtesy of JR.)

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Related

» Nods to Public Concerns, NY Times, March 14, 2013
» Delegates make Difference, March 6, 2009

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Cordial Conversations: Volunteering on Lei-Feng-Day

Shijiazhuang Daily (石家庄日报) is a paper from Hebei Province’s capital. It is the organ of Shijiazhuang’s CCP party committee and was established on November 18, 1947, six days after the the “People’s Liberation Army” had taken the city. Shijiazhuang Daily also runs a website which is clearly committed to the paper’s heritage. Shijiazhuang Daily and its online platform (Shijiazhuang News Net) aren’t unrivalled in their ideological orthodoxy, but they do live up to the former administrative region’s name of Chili, which, until 1928, included Hebei.

(CCTV cross-regional coverage, March 5, 2013)

Main Link:

Our City Focuses on Carrying out Various Kinds of Voluntary Services – 我市集中开展多形式志愿服务活动

Shijiazhuang News Net, March 6, 2013 —

Yesterday was the 51rst Learning-from-Lei-Feng commemoration day, and it was also fifty years ago that Mao Zedong made his “Learn From Comrade Lei Feng” speech. Yesterday morning, our city held various Lei Feng volunteering service activities.

昨日是第51个学雷锋纪念日，也是毛泽东发表题词“向雷锋同志学习”50周年。昨天上午，我市开展了多种形式的学雷锋志愿服务活动。

Own report (Wang Geng reporting). Yesterday Yesterday was the 51rst Learning-from-Lei-Feng commemoration day,and it was also fifty years ago that Mao Zedong made his “Learn From Comrade Lei Feng” speech. Yesterday morning, our city held various Lei Feng volunteering service activities. Permanent Provincial Party Committee member propaganda director Ai Wenli and municipal committee propaganda department director Sun Wanyong came to our city’s Times Park to participate in some voluntary tree-planting and other volunteer activities, gave the city a “Lei Feng Diary”, “Benefitting Hebei Province) and other books as gifts, advocated volunteer service and promoted the spirit of Lei Feng.

本报讯 （记者 王 更）昨日是第51个学雷锋纪念日，也是毛泽东发表题词“向雷锋同志学习”50周年。昨天上午，我市开展了多种形式的学雷锋志愿服务活动。省委常委、宣传部长艾文礼，市委常委、宣传部长孙万勇来到我市时光公园，参加了在此开展的义务植树等志愿活动，并向市民赠送了《雷锋日记》、《善行河北》等书籍，倡导志愿服务，宣扬雷锋精神。

Ai Wenli and his entourage first came to the park’s plaza to learn about the activities. More than twenty volunteer service groups were on the plaza, carrying out dental services, eyesight tests, Chinese massage, haircut and shaving, legal advice, car, mobile-phone and household appliances repairs, all in all nearly thirty volunteering activities. Ai Wenli had cordial converstations with the participants and Shijiazhuang citizens, asking them about their views and feelings about the Learning-from-Lei-Feng activities. In the park’s rockery, Ai Wenli took part in the task of planting trees and encouraged the volunteers who were with him: “there are more and more young people learning from Lei Feng who are born after the 1980s or 1990s, just like you. Lei Feng’s spirit will never go out of fashion and Lei Feng’s spirit must be inherited and developed ever further.”

艾文礼一行首先来到公园广场，了解志愿服务活动开展情况。在公园广场上，有超过20支志愿者队伍，正在为市民开展口腔义诊、视力检查、中医按摩、理发剃须、法律咨询、汽车手机家电维修等近30项志愿服务。艾文礼与正在这里参加活动的志愿者和市民亲切交谈，询问他们对学雷锋的看法和感想。在公园假山上，艾文礼参加了义务植树并勉励身旁的志愿者：“现在你们这样80后、90后学雷锋的年轻人越来越多。雷锋精神永远不过时，一定要把雷锋精神传承弘扬下去。”

Yesterday morning, at the New Railway Station’s entrance, waiting hall, ticketing hall and inquiry counters, at West King Bus Station and at the main traffic crossroads, etc., one could see young peoples’ silhouettes wearing red caps to attract attention, helping to keep the traffic orderly, showing people the way, advocating standing in line, carrying out civilizational guidance, etc.. They were young volunteers from the provincial capital’s [i. e. Shijuazhuang's] colleges and universities. Shijiazhuang Vocational Technology Institute‘s volunteering student Tian Yudui told this reporter: “being a student, to do some duties in your spare time can help everyone to do something meaningful, something helpful. This is fulfilling and makes you feel that you are valuable.”

昨天上午，在新火车站的进出站口、候车大厅、售票大厅和咨询台，在西王客运站、主要交通路口等地，都能看到一个个年轻的身影，他们头上戴着的一顶顶小红帽格外引人注目，他们在帮助交警维持交通秩序、义务指路、倡导排队、进行文明引导等，他们是来自省会高校的青年志愿者。石家庄职业技术学院志愿者田宇对记者说：“作为一名学生，课余时间闲下来的时候做些义务劳动，能为大家做一点有意义、有帮助的事，这样很充实，觉得自己很有价值。”

Volunteers^*) were active in all community areas, some tidying and cleaning the places, some giving advice to older empty-nesters, some using their expertise to carry out useful services. Han Wei does repair work in some household appliance shop in the provincial capital. Yesterday, in the Zhuoda Rose Garden Park’s community area, he offered some voluntary household-appliance repair work. “Usually, after the [spring festival] holidays, when you come to these small community areas and help everyone reparing and maintaining their household appliances, it’s a service which is really welcomed. After helping others, you feel particularly good yourself, and really happy.”

在各个社区，也活跃着社区志愿者的身影，他们有的整治社区环境卫生，有的慰问空巢老人，有的利用自己的特长开展便民服务。韩伟是省会某家电卖场的维修工，昨天在卓达玫瑰园社区开展家电维修志愿服务活动。“平时过节假日，就到小区里面，帮助大家维修保养各种家电，还挺受欢迎的。帮助了别人之后，自己心情感到特别好，挺高兴的。”

According to provincial civilizational statistics, this city carried out various Lei-Feng activities yesterday, with fourty volunteer groups, nearly two-hundred volunteering organizations, about seven-thousand volunteers in the streets, entering schools, vilages, community areas to popularize knowledge about civilized manners, public civilizational guidance, legal advice, service on the three rural issues, medical services, convenience services, environmental cleaning and maintenance, tree-planting and greening activities, showing care and love for vulnerable groups and other Lei-Feng volunteering activities. Action with a red cap spells the “spirit of Lei Feng”.

据省会文明办统计，昨天，我市广泛开展了多种形式的学雷锋志愿服务活动，全市共有40个志愿服务支队、近200个志愿服务组织、约7000名志愿者，走上街头，深入学校、农村、社区，开展了普及文明礼仪知识、公共文明引导、法律咨询、服务三农、医疗义诊、便民服务、环境清洁、植树绿化、关爱弱势群体等学雷锋志愿服务活动。一顶顶“小红帽”用行动诠释了“雷锋精神”。

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Footnote

^*) Here, too, only “silhouettes” were seen. This may be meant to depict a certain atmosphere, or to make all the goodwill appear countless and collective. When it comes to traffic regulation, the silhouette talk could make a lot of real sense, though.

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Related

» How Lei Feng Embodies China’s Political Advantage, Febr 26, 2012
» The Good and Respectable Market Stall Operator, Nov 14, 2011
» Propaganda will set you Free, Aug 9, 2009

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