Animated Movies from Shijiazhuang: Soft-Power Tools?

Main Link:
Activeley develop Domestic and Foreign High-End Cartoon Industry, “Going out” in Great Strides (积极开拓国内外高端市场动漫产业大步“走出去”)
Links within quotes and blockquotes added during translation.

China needed to build a sound, modern culture market system, the “Culture Document” (or “cultural decision”), approved by the 6th plenary session of the 17th Central Committee, stipulated in October 2011.

The focus must be on the development of books and other publications, digital audio and video products, performing arts and entertainment, television series, cartoons, animation, and [computer] games, and similar markets, for the further perfection of a comprehensive international Chinese platform on fairs and exhibitions, etc.

According to Shijiazhuang News Net (石家庄新闻网), the local cartoon industry is doing just that:

Since 2006 , under the close attention of the CCP municipal committee and the municipal government, our city’s cartoon industry has developed rapidly, and achieved notable results in satisfying the city’s needs of spiritual civilizsation, in spreading advanced culture, in enriching the masses’ lives, promoting the healthy adolescence of the young, and fostering the growth of a new economy. During the past seven years, no matter if established by locals or by companies who came to Shijiazhuang from elsewhere, they have enjoyed all the benefits of Shijiazhuang’s cartoon-industry policies, environment, and prospects. On this foundation, “cartoons made in Shijiazhuang” have gained the courage to display themselves, to develop markets, and with the advantages in branding, high-end orientation and originality, they have drawn widespread attention from industries at home and abroad.

2006年以来， 在市委、市政府的高度重视下，我市动漫产业迅速发展，在满足市民精神文化需求、传播先进文化、丰富群众生活、促进青少年健康成长、培育新的经济增长点方 面，取得了显著成效。7年来，无论是本土动漫企业还是来石创业的动漫公司，都享受到了石家庄动漫产业政策、环境、前景的利与好。 在此基础上，“石家庄原创动漫”勇于展示自我、敢于开拓市场，以品牌化、高端化、原创化的优势，引起了国内外业界的广泛关注。

By Shijiazhuang Newsnet reporter Wang Xin
本报记者王欣

As the saying goes, good wine needs no bush^*). However, this doesn’t apply in today’s increasingly competitive markets. After several years of development and carefully ripening the wine, its sweet smell attracts many investors and company founders. At the same time, cartoonists from Shijiazhuang also seize the opportunities of actively exploring domestic and foreign markets, to take Shijiazhuang cartoons to bigger arenas.

俗话说，酒香不怕巷子深。然而，在市场竞争日趋激烈的今天，好酒也怕巷子深。经过几年的发展，我市动漫产业如同一坛精心酝酿的老酒，持续散发出馨香的气 息，吸引了众多投资者、创业者前来。与此同时，石家庄动漫人也抓住机遇，积极开拓国内国外市场，把石家庄动漫推向更广阔的舞台。

The Shijiazhuang Animation Institute‘s (石家庄动漫协会), that of the beneficial support of the city government and the conducive industrial environment had all become the envy of companies elsewhere, according to Shijiazhuang Newsnet. “Publicity” (宣传) and promotion had made Shijiazhuang’s cartoon industry better known in China and abroad, making people coming to Shijiazhuang to seek cooperation. A Western Australian Film Office (西澳大利亚州政府电影融资发展局 – I’m not familiar with Australia’s film industry or the industry’s official promotional institutes) was currently seeking a cooperation partner with the Shijiazhuang Animation Institute’s assistance, according to the report. The Australians had been impressed with the originality and production levels of Shijiazhuang’s industry and had since visited four times, Shijiazhuang Newsnet quotes a member of the Shijiazhuang Animation Institute, Zhang Maolan (张茂兰).

DeepCG Animation Science and Technology gets a particular mention in the report. The general manager, Wu Yifeng (武义峰), doesn’t seem to be too specific about his company’s current prospects in Europe, but is quoted as saying that South-East Asia was the most promising market for one of his company’s works, a cartoon movie about late Han dynasty general Zhao Yun, given its richness with Chinese culture.

The cartoon’s title seems to translate Zhao Yun and the Clicking Sound of the Box (赵云与咔哒盒子).

It seems to be based on a theme previously used in a Zhao Yun movie (but not a cartoon) made in Hong Kong, in 2010.

Shijiazhuang News Net is the online platform of Shijiazhuang Daily (石家庄日报), an official CCP paper.

In a review of the 17th Central cultural decision in October 2011, David Bandurski of the China Media Project (Hong Kong) appeared to be skeptical of the impact Chinese media and culture could have under political and ideological controls.

It may be time for a first assessment of how things are going for the “cultural industry” in China – especially when it comes to its record abroad. Personally, I have no clue about cartoons, and not even a taste for them. Stuff like Zhao Yun and the Box (a sample video here) should be judged by bloggers or critics who really are into the genre.

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Note

^*) This isn’t an exact translation. The actual Chinese quote or proverb would be 酒香不怕巷子深 – something like the smell of wine isn’t afraid of a deep lane (or alley), meaning that good things will sell even without advertising them.

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Related

» Soft Power starts at Home, Jan 21, 2012
» A Low-Carbon Industry, Dec 2, 2011
» Shijiazhuang Cartoon School, CRI, Aug 20, 2009
» Go-Out Policy, Wikipedia, acc. 20130412
» Private investors, PD English, Aug 20, 2004

Is this (German) Soft Power?

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Maybe. Sort of.

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Related

» Not so Spy, March 5, 2011

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The “Great Leap Forward”, Frank Dikötter, and a Blogging Break

It’s time for a few days’ break from blogging, unless Jiang Zemin passes away, Yang Rui gets uncovered as a spy for the CIA, or if similarly sensational news should break. I will be back to blogging by this coming Friday.

Less than an hour before midnight (daylight saving time), June 23, 2012

This season involves a lot of work, and what remains of the day should be devoted to family, friends, and contemplation of the midnight sun. It’s not quite that in this region, but the northern fringes of the skies never turn completely dark. You may not see the road at certain times of the night, but you’ll see the light between the treetops.

* * * * * * * *

I have some reservations when it comes to the work of sinologists like Frank Dikötter or Thomas Weyrauch. Weyrauch is German, but when I read one of his books (and I’ve read only one by Weyrauch), it seemed to be a sample of how – old-school - Chinese Republicans abroad are ticking these days.

A lot has been made of the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation‘s co-sponsorship of Dikötter’s Mao’s Great Famine project. It wasn’t serious academics who took issue, as far as I can see, but many fenqings and CCP apologists did. After all, only the victorious must author China’s history. That’s tradition. At court, the good historian praises the powers that be, and denounces defeated previous dynasties. (It may be unthinkable for CCP fans that a funding organization may not necessarily determine the outcome of a project.)

Richard (The Peking Duck) embedded a documentary movie about the Great Leap Forward in one of his most recent posts. It seems to base its message basically on the takes of two academics, Yang Jisheng (杨继绳) and Frank Dikötter (and exclusively on Dikötter when it comes to statistics):

It was the Great Leap Forward. But the crazy dream became a nightmare, and dragged 650 million Chinese people into hell. The country sank into economic chaos, which caused an unprecedented famine. The terrible death toll was around 45 million.

People like Dikötter – and Weyrauch – play an important role, as they question a narrative or historiography which is to an unreasonable extent influenced by the CCP, even among foreign sinologists. But they, in turn, need to be questioned, too. A good article or review to that end, it seems to me, is a piece written by Cormac Ó Gráda, in 2011, on Dikötter’s Mao’s Great Famine.

A commenter thread on the Peking Duck‘s post starts here. For the dynamics of such threads as I see them, I would recommend to use such threads as some kind of quarry. Different commenters will gain from different chains of discussion within; and the Peking Duck’s threads are famous for starting with lively debates, and descending into dogged exchanges of more or less argumentative broadsides after the first one, two, or three dozens of comments.

In their own way, they are samples of what an anonymous or semi-anonymous discourse (as the late Mark Anthony Jones might have termed it) between CCP critics, apologists and the critics’ angry critics will usually look like.

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Related

» Mao’s Great Famine, documentary movie synopsis, 2011

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French Architect “with Bo Xilai Ties” Arrested in Cambodia

French architect Patrick Henri Devillers has been arrested by Cambodian police, reportedly with the co-operation of Beijing, which is seeking his extradition. Also reportedly, Phnom Penh is in a process of deciding whether to send Devillers to France, or to follow a demand to extradite him to China. According to the BBC’s Chinese website, Devillers is a friend of Bo Xilai‘s family, and a business friend of Bo’s wife Gu Kailai. According to a Le Monde report, Devillers had first met the Bo family in Dalian, just as another foreign Bo/Gu contact, Neil Heywood had.

But their businesses were different, and not interlinked, Deviller was quoted in the Le Monde report, in May this year (i. e. weeks before his arrest).

“What we had in common is that we were married to Chinese women. We knew each other (…). What I can say about him is that he wasn’t in the bluff. He had a great mental nobility, in the English traditions of honor.”

“On avait en commun d’être mariés à des Chinoises. On se connaissait (…). Je peux dire de lui en tout cas qu’il n’était pas du tout dans l’esbroufe. Il avait une grande noblesse d’âme, dans les traditions anglaises de l’honneur.”

Devillers had first arrived in China in 1987, aged about 27, to learn Chinese, according to Le Monde. It was there that he met his wife who studied the classical zither [probably the guzheng - JR], and started a movie project about the Tian An Men movement in 1989, which ended with the massacre.

During the 1990s, much of his work involved working with the Dalian city government’s architecture and urban planning department.

The way Devillers comes across in the Le Monde article suggests that he took a great interest in China’s intellectual history, and particularly in Taoism.

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Related

» Oh, Rule of Law, April 11, 2012

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Updates/Related

» No Extradition without Evidence, Telegraph, June 20, 2012

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Sunday Link Collection: Deutsche Welle under the Tyranny of Sina Weibo, and other Subtle Things

Deutsche Welle (Voice of Germany) has secured placement for a range of lifestyle and culture programs on four Chinese video portals, Kim Andrew Elliot wrote on March 14, quoting a March-12 Worldscreen report. Their videos are reportedly to be found on v.huanqiu.com, youku.com, tudou.com and ku6.com, who chose, among others, Chinese editions of Global Ideas and Future Now.

No indication that any of these programs will be translated into Chinese,

notes Elliot, and given that they are distributed via portals rather than television channels would probably also limit their audience potential.

It seems that Deutsche Welle, just like any other portal user, upload some of their videos there – this video from the fashion category, like most or all the others, comes without Chinese subtitles, and another, from the education category,  informs the German-speaking Chinese netizen that German schools’ realities are poisoned by cyber terror. The two videos haven’t got either “likes” or “dislikes” yet. The Deutsche Welle channel does have 177 fans, however. Uploads of January have been watched between seven and 82 times respectively (the latter one is Test it! Porsche). A Porsche’s language wouldn’t need translation anyway, and besides, that video is in English.

Unfortunately, Deutsche Welle seems to be facing poisoned realities of their own, on the Chinese internet. They had to reincarnate on their Sina-Weibo account in November last year, Oiwan Lam reported on Global Voices. Germany’s voice abroad – reportedly – raged about the tyranny of Sina, and their reincarnation statement in question (as linked to by Mrs. Lam) isn’t available anymore, either:

Sina Weibo: not even real-name registration can save you

Or maybe Deutsche Welle themselves deleted that micro post, seeing the uselessness of such undignified complaints.

Try shortwave, Deutsche Welle. Try shortwave.

Public Diplomacy, Networks and Influence picked up some remarks by British Council chief executive Martin Davidson, about Confucius Institutes:

[The Chinese] want to change the perception of China — to combat negative propaganda with positive propaganda. And they use the word ‘propaganda’ in Chinese. But I doubt they have to say, ‘We’ll only give you this money if you never criticize China.’ The danger is more of self-censorship — which is a very subtle thing.

Meantime, the BBC suspects Iran of a cyber-attack, and linked that to Iran’s efforts to disrupt the BBC Persian Service.

OK – when it’s about Iran, you can still call them out, especially when you are the Beeb. But either way, if you want to build a nicer and fairer world, you’ll need to choose your enemies carefully, and make sure that they are of a manageable size. Die Welt, a German daily (including a Sunday edition) apparently understands that. On January 2, 2012, an author there explained why George W. Bush was right after all, and that Iran and North Korea are indeed an axis of evil. This is the article’s conclusion:

Of course, regime change must not always be put into practice by military means, but Bush is right with his diagnosis: dictatorships remain dictatorships, evil and hostile. One must not tolerate them, but fight them with all means. Especially Iran and North Korea.

Natürlich dürfen die Wege zum Regimewechsel nicht immer nur militärische sein. Bush hat aber recht mit der Diagnose: Diktaturen bleiben Diktaturen, böse und feindselig. Man darf sie nicht tolerieren, sondern muss sie mit allen Mitteln bekämpfen. Besonders den Iran und Nordkorea.

With all means – you can read here how the press can do its share to fight evil dictatorships.

And you can read here why, maybe, they should resist that temptation to “fight”. It is, in fact, a very old story.

17th Central Committee’s “Culture Document” – 11: Go Global, and no Porn!

« Previous leg of this translation: part 10, Linking the Cultural Industries to the National Economy

The following is a translation of the fifth chapter of the CCP Central Committee’s “cultural document”. For more background concerning the document, see that previous post.

Main Link: http://gb.cri.cn/27824/2011/10/26/2625s3413678_3.htm

7) Deepen Reform and Opening Further, Accelerate and Establish Systems which are Conducive to the Prosperous Development of Culture

七、进一步深化改革开放，加快构建有利于文化繁荣发展的体制机制

Culture guides the mood of our times, and is the area most in need of innovation. We must firmly grasp the correct direction, accelerate the promotion of cultural mechanisms, built sound leadership by party committees, administrative management, industrial self-regulation, social supervision, enterprises, institutions and units (danwei) which operate in accordance with the law, based on cultural management systems and vigorous cultural production systems, bring positive market factors in to play in the process of cultural resource allocation, make culture get past [old] patterns, and add strong dynamic force to prosperous cultural development.

文化引领时代风气之先，是最需要创新的领域。必须牢牢把握正确方向，加快推进文化体制改革，建立健全党委领导、政府管理、行业自律、社会监督、企事业单位依法运营的文化管理体制和富有活力的文化产品生产经营机制，发挥市场在文化资源配置中的积极作用，创新文化走出去模式，为文化繁荣发展提供强大动力。

a) Deepen reform of state-owned cultural units. By focusing on establishing a system of modern enterprise, accelerate and promote the reform of operational cultural units, and foster mainframes in conformity with the market. Specify the cultural units’ characters and functions scientifically, distinguish between them, classify them, take a progressive approach, open them gradually, promote normal state-owned cultural ensembles and troupes, press products which are not about current affairs or politics, [ownership transformation of news websites (?) - 新闻网站转企改制], expand the fruits of publication, distribution, and the film industry’s reform, accelerate their transformation into companies and public limited companies, perfect corporate governance structures in line with modern enterprise system requirements, and reflecting the cultural enterprises’ characteristic assets and operations and management organization. Innovate the investment and financial systems, support state-owned cultural companies’ as they face the capital markets, and support them in attracting social capital, and in carrying out joint-stock transformation. Keep the attributes of public benefit in mind, strengthen the service functions, increase vital development, comprehensively promote cultural units’ human resources and income allocation, social insurance systems’ reform, clear service specifications and the strengthening of performance evaluation in mind. Innovate public cultural service facilities’ operational mechanisms, attract personalities who represent society, professionals, and apply grassroots participation and management. Promote the progressive perfection of party publications’, radio, and television management and operational mechanisms. Promote the application of entrepreneurial management at the units, such as normal current-affairs publishing houses, non-profit publishing houses, ensembles and troupes who represent national characteristics and the country’s artistic level, enhance exposure to the markets, and the ability to serve the masses.

(一)深化国有文化单位改革。以建立现代企业制度为重点，加快推进经营性文化单位改革，培育合格市场主体。科学界定文化单位性质和功能，区别对待、分类指导，循序渐进、逐步推开，推进一般国有文艺院团、非时政类报刊社、新闻网站转企改制，拓展出版、发行、影视企业改革成果，加快公司制股份制改造，完善法人治理结构，形成符合现代企业制度要求、体现文化企业特点的资产组织形式和经营管理模式。创新投融资体制，支持国有文化企业面向资本市场融资，支持其吸引社会资本进行股份制改造。着眼于突出公益属性、强化服务功能、增强发展活力，全面推进文化事业单位人事、收入分配、社会保障制度改革，明确服务规范，加强绩效评估考核。创新公共文化服务设施运行机制，吸纳有代表性的社会人士、专业人士、基层群众参与管理。推动党报党刊、电台电视台进一步完善管理和运行机制。推动一般时政类报刊社、公益性出版社、代表民族特色和国家水准的文艺院团等事业单位实行企业化管理，增强面向市场、面向群众提供服务能力。

b) A sound, modern culture market system. To promote cultural products and key elements floating reasonably all over the country, an orderly, modern market system for unified and open competition must be built. The focus must be on the development of books and other publications, digital audio and video products, performing arts and entertainment, television series, cartoons, animation, and [computer] games, and similar markets, for the further perfection of a comprehensive international Chinese platform on fairs and exhibitions, etc. Develop chain operation, commodity circulation and distribution, e-commerce and other modern organizations and forms, accelerate the building of large-scale distribution enterprises and logistical bases for cultural products, build distributional networks for cultural products that understand urban and rural needs, with the big cities as the centers, with small- and medium-sized cities complementing them. Accelerate the development of property rights [or ownership rights], copyright, and key markets like those for technology and information, carefully manage major exchange [markets] for cultural property rights, norms, and transactions of cultural assets and artistic works. Strengthen the trade’s organizational building, and build sound intermediary structures.

(二)健全现代文化市场体系。促进文化产品和要素在全国范围内合理流动，必须构建统一开放竞争有序的现代文化市场体系。要重点发展图书报刊、电子音像制品、演出娱乐、影视剧、动漫游戏等产品市场，进一步完善中国国际文化产业博览交易会等综合交易平台。发展连锁经营、物流配送、电子商务等现代流通组织和流通形式，加快建设大型文化流通企业和文化产品物流基地，构建以大城市为中心、中小城市相配套、贯通城乡的文化产品流通网络。加快培育产权、版权、技术、信息等要素市场，办好重点文化产权交易所，规范文化资产和艺术品交易。加强行业组织建设，健全中介机构。

c) Innovate the cultural management system. Deepen reform of administrative and management systems, accelerate the transformation of government functions, strengthen the functions of policy adjustment, market supervision, social management, and public service, promote the separation of politics and enterprise, separation of politics and business, and provide a reasonable order to the relationship between government and cultural enterprises and units, through control and adjustment. Perfect personnel management, operational management, asset management and lead it into the direction of a combined management system of state-owned cultural assets [or - not sure about the correct translation here - a state-owned management system]. Build a sound and comprehensive administrative and law-enforcement structure for the culture market, and promote a sub-provincial and sub-city administration and responsibility mainstay. Accelerate cultural legislation, define and perfect the laws and regulations concerning the protection of public cultural services, the rejuvenation of the cultural industries, cultural market management, and increase the legal level of cultural construction. Adhere to the management and organizational system, implement principles of who is responsible, and who is in charge, strictly apply policies of cultural capital, cultural enterprise, access and non-access to the cultural product markets, comprehensively apply legal, administrative, economic and technological means to increase management efficiency. Deepen the implementation of “Brush pornography away, and crack down on illegal publications”, perfect cultural market management, firmly remove decadent cultural garbage which poisons the peoples’ minds, conscientiously build a market order which ensures national cultural safety.

(三)创新文化管理体制。深化文化行政管理体制改革，加快政府职能转变，强化政策调节、市场监管、社会管理、公共服务职能，推动政企分开、政事分开，理顺政府和文化企事业单位关系。完善管人管事管资产管导向相结合的国有文化资产管理体制。健全文化市场综合行政执法机构，推动副省级以下城市完善综合文化行政责任主体。加快文化立法，制定和完善公共文化服务保障、文化产业振兴、文化市场管理等方面法律法规，提高文化建设法制化水平。坚持主管主办制度，落实谁主管谁负责和属地管理原则，严格执行文化资本、文化企业、文化产品市场准入和退出政策，综合运用法律、行政、经济、科技等手段提高管理效能。深入开展“扫黄打非”，完善文化市场管理，坚决扫除毒害人们心灵的腐朽文化垃圾，切实营造确保国家文化安全的市场秩序。

d) Perfect security system policies policy guarantee mechanisms. Ensure that growth in public financing of cultural construction exceeds normal growth in public finance revenues, increase the share of cultural expenses in public spending. Expand the range of public financing, perfect financial input methods, strengthen fund management, increase the efficiency of funding used, and ensure cultural service systems’ construction and operation. Implement and improve cultural economic policies, support societal organizations, organizations, donations to and start-ups of non-profit cultural activities, guide non-profit organizations to provide public cultural products and services. [...] Establish a national cultural development fund, expand the scale of related cultural funds and special funds, increase the share of all kinds of lottery-generated means for the funding of non-profit undertakings. Continue the use of coherent policies on the reform of the cultural system, and support the transformation of state-owned cultural units for another five years.

(四)完善政策保障机制。保证公共财政对文化建设投入的增长幅度高于财政经常性收入增长幅度，提高文化支出占财政支出比例。扩大公共财政覆盖范围，完善投入方式，加强资金管理，提高资金使用效益，保障公共文化服务体系建设和运行。落实和完善文化经济政策，支持社会组织、机构、个人捐赠和兴办公益性文化事业，引导文化非营利机构提供公共文化产品和服务。加大财政、税收、金融、用地等方面对文化产业的政策扶持力度，鼓励文化企业和社会资本对接，对文化内容创意生产、非物质文化遗产项目经营实行税收优惠。设立国家文化发展基金，扩大有关文化基金和专项资金规模，提高各级彩票公益金用于文化事业比重。继续执行文化体制改革配套政策，对转企改制国有文化单位扶持政策执行期限再延长五年。

e) Promote the Chinese culture’s process of going global. Carry out foreign cultural exchange on multiple channels, in multiple forms, and on multiple levels, broaden participation in the global dialog of civilizations, promote learning from each other, strengthen the inspiration that comes from Chinese culture, and Chinese culture’s influence, for the joint safeguarding of cultural diversity. Innovate ways and means of propaganda abroad, strengthen [the right to speak ones opinion - or the right to dominate others through words: 增强国际话语权], react appropriately to foreign concerns, enhance the international community’s basic understanding of our country, its values, its path of development, understanding for and knowledge of its domestic and foreign policies, and let them discover the our country’s civilizational, democratic, open, and progressive image. Implement the project of our culture going global, improve and support the policies and implementation of cultural products and services going global, support major media organizations in setting up overseas branches, foster a number of external cultural enterprises and intermediary organizations which are globally competitive, improve dubbing, recommendation and introduction, advisory and similar support mechanisms, and gain access to international cultural markets. Strengthen Chinese overseas cultural centers and Confucius Institutes, encourage academia and artistic organization which reflect our country’s level to play a constructive role within relevant international organizations, and organize the translation of outstanding artistic works and cultural quality products. Build mechanisms for cultural exchange, combine governmental exchanges and non-governmental exchanges, bring into play the role of non-governmental cultural enterprise, cultural non-profit organizations in international cultural exchanges, and support overseas Chinese in actively launching sino-foreign cultural exchanges. Establish cultural exchange mechanisms for young foreigners, and establish an award for contributions to the international dissemination of Chinese culture.

(五)推动中华文化走向世界。开展多渠道多形式多层次对外文化交流，广泛参与世界文明对话，促进文化相互借鉴，增强中华文化在世界上的感召力和影响力，共同维护文化多样性。创新对外宣传方式方法，增强国际话语权，妥善回应外部关切，增进国际社会对我国基本国情、价值观念、发展道路、内外政策的了解和认识，展现我国文明、民主、开放、进步的形象。实施文化走出去工程，完善支持文化产品和服务走出去政策措施，支持重点主流媒体在海外设立分支机构，培育一批具有国际竞争力的外向型文化企业和中介机构，完善译制、推介、咨询等方面扶持机制，开拓国际文化市场。加强海外中国文化中心和孔子学院建设，鼓励代表国家水平的各类学术团体、艺术机构在相应国际组织中发挥建设性作用，组织对外翻译优秀学术成果和文化精品。构建人文交流机制，把政府交流和民间交流结合起来，发挥非公有制文化企业、文化非营利机构在对外文化交流中的作用，支持海外侨胞积极开展中外人文交流。建立面向外国青年的文化交流机制，设立中华文化国际传播贡献奖和国际性文化奖项。

f) Actively absorb and learn from outstanding foreign cultural achievements. Adhere to the principles of self-dependance, self-regardness, to learning from every experience that helps to strengthen the building of our country’s socialist construction, from all positive achievements that can enrich our people’s cultural life, from everything that is conducive to our country’s cultural activities, and to its cultural management concepts and mechanisms. Strengthen our country’s intellectual fields, its talents, and its acquisition of technology. Attract foreign investment into fields and enterprises that are designed for this by rules and regulations, and guarantee the investors’ lawful rights and interests.Encourage cultural units to enter cooperation projects with powerful foreign cultural institutions, learn from advanced production technolgies, and from advanced management experience. Encourage foreign-invested enterprises to carry out cultural-technological research and development, and develop outsourcing. Develop international cooperation in the protection of intellectual property rights.

(六)积极吸收借鉴国外优秀文化成果。坚持以我为主、为我所用，学习借鉴一切有利于加强我国社会主义文化建设的有益经验、一切有利于丰富我国人民文化生活的积极成果、一切有利于发展我国文化事业和文化产业的经营管理理念和机制。加强文化领域智力、人才、技术引进工作。吸收外资进入法律法规许可的文化产业领域，保障投资者合法权益。鼓励文化单位同国外有实力的文化机构进行项目合作，学习先进制作技术和管理经验。鼓励外资企业在华进行文化科技研发，发展服务外包。开展知识产权保护国际合作。

To be continued.

17th Central Committee’s “Culture Document” – 11: Go Global, and no Porn!

[This was posted on Sunday, but appears as a Saturday post. This mess, and that mess, are somehow linked to each other, mefeels - JR]

Culture is a Low-Carbon Industry: the 17th Central Committee’s “Cultural Decision”, Implemented on the Ground in Shijiazhuang

The latest leg of my translation of the CCP central committee’s “cultural decision” document, plus more links concerning that document, can be found here.

The following is a translation of an article by Shijiazhuang Daily (石家庄日报), published online on Friday. The article isn’t part of the actual document, but is meant to describe the document’s implementation “on the ground” in Shijiazhuang.

Shijiazhuang is the capital of Hebei Province.

Main Link: http://www.sjzdaily.com.cn/main/2011-12/02/content_1443135.htm

By this newspaper’s reporter, Yue Jinhong (岳金宏). The other day, in order to carry out and implement the spirit of the 17th Central Committee’s Sixth Plenary Session, the provincial 8th Party Congress and the 9th City Party Congress and to promote the provincial capital’s great cultural development and great bloom, member of the city’s municipal committee’s standing committee and propaganda bureau director Sun Wanyong (孙万勇) came to the Animated-Cartoon-Building project¹⁾ in  Gaocheng City‘s Qiaodong District, for on-site inspection and exploration.
日前，为贯彻落实党的十七届六中全会、省第八次党代会和市第九次党代会精神，推进省会文化大发展大繁荣，市委常委、宣传部长孙万勇就我市文化产业发展、文化项目建设等情况到藁城市、桥东区、动漫大厦项目现场等地进行了实地调研。

At the building, Sun examined the progress on-site and listened to reports about the project’s development. Sun Wanyong granted affirmation to the planning, orientation and progress and pointed out the major tasks in the work on the building’s outside design, the childrens’ theme restaurant design, the deepening of the career experience hall’s rearrangements, etc..
在石家庄市动漫大厦暨中国动漫衍生产品集散交易中心项目现场，孙万勇实地查看了施工现场，听取了项目进展情况汇报。孙万勇对大厦的整体项目立项、定位及工作进展予以肯定，指出下一步要重点做好大厦的外立面设计、策划动漫主题儿童餐厅、深入修改职业体验馆等工作。

In Gaocheng City, Sun Wanyong successively visited the Tuntou Palace Lantern village²⁾, and Hebei Renowned Musical Instruments Co., Ltd. (formerly China Drumbeat Factory). In a discussion that followed, he gave the existing foundations of Gaocheng City’s cultural industry rather high ratings. He demanded that Gaocheng City should conscientiously explore the ways of transformation from a big to a strong city of civilization, to continue to increase the engagement in the cultural causes, to actively guide the development of lantern, musical instrument etc. trades’ healthy development, to continue to write the great chapter of the cultural industry’s development, to adminstrate the cultural cause for the people and the masses well, and to be good pioneers at the entire city’s cultural construction.
在藁城市，孙万勇先后深入屯头宫灯专业村、河北名华乐器有限公司（原中华鼓乐厂）进行实地调研。在随后举行的座谈会上，孙万勇对藁城市已经拥有的文化产业基础给予较高评价。他要求藁城市认真研究怎样实现从文化大市到文化强市的转变，继续加大对文化事业的投入力度，积极引导宫灯产业和鼓乐厂等文化产业健康发展，继续做好文化产业这篇大文章，多为人民群众办好文化事业，在文化建设上当好全市排头兵。

On November 30, in Qiaodong District, Sun Wanyong successively inspected the History and Culture Gallery at Minsheng Road, Letai Center, Zhongshan Warring States Cultural and Artistic Research Institute and other locations, and listened to reports from Shijiazhuang Space Animation City, Splendid International City and other projects, as well as a general report about Qiaodong’s general cultural construction. After listening, he pointed out that Qiaodong had always attached importance and priority to cultural construction, had incorporated cultural construction in its economic and social plans, and had marched to the forefront within the city. In its future work, Qiaodong District should play its cards in the areas of history and culture, originality, and in the cultural market well, brightly put the goal of a strong cultural district forward, make use of the good existing foundations, master the construction of its projects, achieve great breakthroughs, achieve great development and bloom for the entire city, and contribute to Shijiazhuang’s well-being.
11月30日，孙万勇到桥东区调研文化建设情况，先后察看了民生路历史文化长廊、勒泰中心、中山战国文化艺术研究院等地，听取了太空动漫城、锦绣国际城等项目以及桥东区文化建设总体情况汇报。孙万勇在听取情况后指出，桥东区历来重视文化建设工作，将文化建设摆上了重要位置，纳入了经济社会整体规划，在市里走在了前列。在今后的工作中，桥东区要打好历史文化牌、打好文化创意牌、打好文化市场牌，鲜明地提出建设文化强区这一目标，利用好现在的基础，抓好项目建设，争取有大的突破，为全市实现文化大发展大繁荣、建设幸福石家庄做贡献。

At the end of his exploration, Sun Wanyong emphasized that the 17th Central Committee’s Sixth Plenary Session had called for the great development and bloom of culture, and marked a new stage in our country’s cultural construction. Culture is an industry low in resource consumption, with no great negative impacts on the environment, a typical case of a low-carbon, green economy. To carry out and implement the spirit of the 17th Central Committee’s Sixth Plenary Session, our city has already made it clear that by 2015, the cultural industry’s development shall become a pillar of [Shijiazhuang's] national economy. The entire city’s propaganda and cultural systems must establish a strong political conscience, an awareness of the overall situation, a sense of responsibility and opportunity, a high degree of cultural consciousness and cultural self-confidence, closely connect to our city’s reality, by high standards and vigorous measures plan and promote cultural reform’s development, continuously strengthen cultural development’s overall strength and competitiveness, and make efforts to initiate the new situation of our provincial capital’s cultural reform and development.
调研结束后，孙万勇强调，党的十七届六中全会吹响了文化大发展大繁荣的号角，标志着我国文化建设进入了一个新的发展阶段。文化产业资源消耗低、环境污染少、科技含量高，是典型的低碳经济、绿色经济。为贯彻落实党的十七届六中全会精神，我市已明确提出，至2015年要把文化产业发展成为国民经济支柱性产业。全市宣传文化系统要树立强烈的政治意识、大局意识、责任意识和机遇意识，树立高度的文化自觉和文化自信，紧密结合我市实际，以更高的标准、更有力的措施谋划和推动文化改革发展，不断增强文化发展的整体实力和竞争力，努力开创省会文化改革发展的新局面。

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Notes

¹⁾ Shijiazhuang is trying to build itself into a cartoon harbor of the vast country (i. e. China), China Radio International (CRI) reported in August 2009. Some pictures and English remarks were made available by Hebei’s provincial government in 2010 and in 2011 respectively. The Animated-Cartoon Building is scheduled to become – or to include – a place for exhibiting and trading cartoons, and according to a schedule published by Hebei News Net in October this year, that place will be ready for business early in 2012.

²⁾ Tuntou Palace Lantern Village is described in a China Radio International article / broadcast of 2008 here.

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Related

» Cartoons: Lord Yegong Loves the Dragon, June 16, 2010
» Obituary: Hua Junwu, 1915 – 2010, June 14, 2010

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