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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Going to the Grassroots: Li Huadian & The Volunteers provide Tianjin Airforce with Spiritual Nourishment

This is from the same Enorth series as this previous translation. The context of these  events is the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Links within blockquotes added during translation – JR

Main Link: Greeting the 18th National Congress of the CCP – Tianjin Public Culture Volunteers Corp contributes arts at the barracks

Enorth (Tianjin), November 3, 2012

In the morning of November 3, the Tianjin Public Culture Volunteers’ Corps went to an PLA air force unit stationed in Tianjin, to perform wonderful cultural arts in front of the troops. This is another one among the “volunteers’ performances to greet the 18th National Congress” activities.

11月3日上午，天津市公共文化服务志愿者总队走进驻津空军某部，将精彩的文艺演出送给那里的官兵们。这也是本市“喜迎十八大志愿者在行动”系列演出活动之一。

Among the performances, the volunteers had brought along wonderful male and female solo songs, reality-fantasy magician performances, xiangsheng, Pingju Opera song series, and other wonderful gigs. To express their gratitude, and to display the talents within their barracks, the soldiers also performed some wushu and guitar performances of their own.

演出现场，志愿者们带来了精彩的男女生独唱、亦真亦幻的魔术表演、诙谐幽默的对口相声、韵味十足的评剧联唱等精彩的文艺节目。为了表达谢意，也是展示军营风采，战士们也表演了自己拿手的舞剑和吉他弹唱。

The atmosphere of the scene was unusually warm. Apart from performing a song arranged on his own, young actor Du Lei also impersonated Liu Dehua, Liu Huan, and other voices, thus winning enthusiastic applause from the troops. Young singers Meng Fanjin and Wang Suiru, in beautiful voices, sang “Sincere Beauty” and “Xinjiang Story”, and one sang the popular songs “The Sun will never Set” and “Legendary”. The two young ladies’ silvery voices attracted the young soldiers. They all incessantly gave flowers to them to express their joy.

演出现场气氛异常热烈。年轻演员杜磊除了表演安排好的歌曲以外，又现场即兴表演起模仿秀，他先后模仿了刘德华、刘欢等人的歌声，赢得官兵们一阵阵热烈的掌声。年轻的姑娘孟凡津和王葰如一个用美声唱法演唱了歌曲《真诚的美丽》和《新疆故事》，一个演唱了通俗歌曲《日不落》和《传奇》。两位年轻姑娘银铃般的歌声吸引了年轻的战士们。大家不断向台上的姑娘献花，表达他们的喜悦心情。

[...]

Famous singer Li Huadian, as a member of the Volunteers’ Corp experts committee, also took part in the performances. It was the first time that he wore the green T-shirt as the volunteer-corp symbol. Li told the reporter that this was a very particular feeling. He said: “It’s my honor to be a volunteer, to come to the barracks to perform, and to serve the soldiers who are defending Tianjin. As a working man of the arts, one has to go to the grassroots, to perform among the masses, and to give ones best to everyone. I will continue to come to the grassroots frequently, to give the best spiritual nourishment to everyone.”

著名歌唱家李华典作为公共文化服务志愿总队专家委员会成员，也参加了本次演出。穿上代表志愿者身份的绿色T恤表演还是第一次。李华典告诉记者，这种感觉很特别。他说：“作为公共文化服务志愿者，到军营来表演，为守卫天津的战士们服务，这是我的荣幸。作为艺术工作者，就是要扎根基层，在群众中多表演，把自己最好的一面展现给大家。以后我还要经常到基层来，为大家送去最好的精神食粮。”

[...]

These were successful performances, the performers saw the needs and the yearning of the soldiers for the arts, and the soldiers liked the cordiality in the performances. Next, the Tianjin Public Culture Volunteers’ Corps will make more grassroot performances, promote this city’s cultural volunteering work, unite more cultural volunteers, to provide even more high-quality spiritual nourishment to the common people.

这次的演出是成功的，演员们看到战士们对于艺术的需求和向往；战士们也喜欢演员们情感真挚的表演。接下来，天津市公共文化服务志愿总队将连续推出多场次的下基层慰问演出，推动本市公共文化志愿服务工作，将更多的文化志愿者们联合起来，为更多的普通公众提供优质的精神食粮。

(Wu Hong reporting / 记者吴宏)

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Related

» Welcoming 18th National Congress, Nov 3, 2012
» Go Global, and no Porn, Febr 12, 2012

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Everyday Propaganda: How Green was our Internet

Links within blockquotes added during translation – JR.

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1) Nanchang (Jiangxi Province), September 2012

Nanchang News Net / Nanchang Evening Post (南昌新闻网-南昌晚报) —

From September 10 to 16, Nanchang holds its third minors protection propaganda week. Recently, this reporter has learned that to do a good job at the work for the propaganda week, the city minors’ protection committee office started the 2012 minors’ protection propaganda week activities to further increase attention within all society for a good environment centering on the protection of minors.

9月10日至16日，是南昌第三个未成年人保护宣传周。近日，记者获悉，为切实做好今年未成年人保护宣传工作，在全社会进一步营造关心、重视未成年人保护的良好氛围，市未成年人保护委员会办公室启动2012年未成年人保护宣传周系列活动。

Reportedly, the propaganda week activities’ theme is “care about minors, and build a wonderful tomorrow together”.

During the activities, Nanchang will focus on the launch of a minors protection law, and educational activities with Jiangxi Province’s minors protection regulations as the major theme, propaganda aimed particularly at minors’ parents and elementary and middle school teachers, to improve entire society’s awareness of responsibility and participation.

据悉，宣传活动周主题为“关注未成年人，共筑美好明天”。活动期间，南昌将集中开展未成年人保护法、江西省未成年人保护条例等主题宣传教育活动，面向社会公众，特别是未成年人父母和中小学教师，就未成年人保护问题，举办形式多样的法制宣传教育活动，提高全社会的责任意识和参与意识。

Reportedly, Nanchang will, during the propaganda week, make full use of newspapers, websites, and its official microblog channel[s] [this may also simply refer to the Sina Weibo microblog], explore the use of cartoons, videos, public-service advertising and oher new methods, carry out audio-visual theme propaganda through various channels concerning the concepts of minors’ protection, the safeguarding of their legal rights, case studies, related legal responsibilities etc., [...], actively create a good environment, and promote the healthy adolescence of minors.

据悉，在宣传周期间，南昌将充分利用广播、电视、报刊、手机报，以及网站、官方微博等宣传阵地，探索运用动漫、视频、公益广告等新方式，多渠道对未成年人保护理念、合法权益保障方法、典型案例、相关法律责任等内容进行直观、实在的主题宣传，扩大未成年人保护宣传教育覆盖面，积极营造良好氛围，促进未成年人健康成长。

Also, using the Youth League’s Nanchang 12355 official Sina Weibo channel as an internet platform to announce all activities during the minors’ protection propaganda week, to concentrate the announcements and to broaden the range of coverage.

此外，市未成年人保护委员会将以共青团南昌市12355官方微博为网络宣传平台，对未成年人保护宣传周期间各项活动，进行集中发布，扩大活动覆盖面。

This reporter learned that during the propaganda week, Nanchang will organize all industries’ grassroot “juvenile rights protection guards and 12355 juvenile service counters with volunteering experts, rights and interests messengers, etc., combine all responsibilities, to enter the streets, communities, schools, villages etc., launch special protection [issues'] service counters and activities, promote more grassroot party and government department, companies and all kinds of social service structures’ participation in the juvenile rights protection guards’ activities, to protect minors’ legal rights from a multitude of perspectives. [Following line inverse font, as my translation may be incorrect] In particular concerning idle juveniles and village liaison groups shall continuously strengthen legal-system propaganda and the protection of rights.

记者了解到，在宣传周期间，南昌将组织各行业系统基层优秀“青少年维权岗”及12355青少年服务台专家志愿者、权益使者等，结合各自职责，深入到街道、社区、学校、农村等地未成年人当中，开展专题维权服务活动，推动更多的基层党政部门、企事业单位、各类社会服务机构参与青少年维权岗创建活动，多角度维护未成年人合法权益。特别是针对闲散青少年和农村留守未成年人群体，将不断加强法制宣传、权益维护。

Besides, during the activities, Nanchang will also combine educational and other strengthening training aimed at [handling] injuries which typically occur to minors, how to react to all kinds of complicated situations, and launch natural-disaster and accident-situation avoidance/escapes, self- and mutual aid, and self-defense, so as to improve juveniles’ abilities to protect themselves.

此外，活动期间，南昌还将结合未成年人的年龄特点和容易出现的意外伤害，有针对性地组织和教育未成年人如何应对各种各样的复杂情况，开展面临自然灾害、意外情况时的避险逃生和自救互救，受侵害时的自我保护等方面比较系统的强化训练，切实提高青少年自我保护能力。

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Tianjin, 2007

From Tianjin Juvenile Service Online‘s “About Us” on Enorth:

To thoroughly implement the document “On Several Issues about Further Intensifying the Ideological and Ethical Improvement among Minors formulated and published by the Central Committee of the CPC and the State Council of China” [literally, the document refers to itself as "several ideas" or "opinions" (若干意见) concerning those "several issues"], to actively answer to the CCP Central Committee’s and the [Tianjin] Municipal Committee‘s calls for a “civilized creation of the web” and a “civilized use of the web”, to build a positive, uplifting, healthy and civilized internet environment, Tianjin Spiritual Civilized Building Committee’s office entrusts North Net [i. e. Enorth] to operate Tianjin Municipality’s minors’ service.

为深入贯彻落实 《中共中央、国务院关于进一步加强和改进未成年人思想道德建设的若干意见》，积极响应中央和市委提出的“ 文明办网、文明上网”的号召，构建面向未成年人的积极向上、健康文明的网络环境，天津市精神文明建设委员会办公室依托北方网，开办了天津市未成年人服务网。

The internet centers on the objective of educating, guiding, and serving minors. By the principle of serving every community, every school, every household and every child, with a function to provide an information channel and garden to grow up, for expert advice, to enable talents to give full play to their talents, exchange and interaction, maintaining publicly beneficial principles, in accordance with minors’ characteristics, needs, interests and hobbies, to provide them with an adequate “green”^*) internet. A new platform shall be created, a new space through [this] internet implementation, to further mobilize societal forces’ participation, to promote social integration of resources, to shape all kinds of concerted efforts, to turn it into a new channel of minors’ ideological and ethical establishment.

网络围绕 教育、引导、服务未成年人这一宗旨，以服务每一个社区、服务每一个学校、服务每一个家庭、服务每一个孩子为服务理念，以信息提供渠道、专家咨询窗口、展示才华舞台、交流互动桥梁、健康成长乐园为功能定位，坚持公益性原则，根据未成年人的身心特点、成长需求和兴趣爱好，为他们量身打造适合于自己的“绿色”网络。通过网络的实施，进一步动员社会力量参与，促进社会资源整合，形成社会各方合力，使之成为我市加强未成年人思想道德建设的新途径，满足未成年人精神文化生活需求的新空间，实现 学校教育、家庭教育、社会教育三方互动的新平台。

Tianjin Juvenile Service Online has, by the Municipal Committee’s and the Civilization Committee’s Civilization Guidance Committee, been determined as the entire municipality’s minors’ ideological and ethical establishment’s major project.
The Municipal Committee, the municipal government, and all departments in charge attach great importance to it. The Municipal Committee’S sECRETARY zhang Gaoli, the Municipal Committee Deputy Secretary, City Mayor Dai Xianglong wrote congratulatory messages on the opening of the website. In the process of establishing the website, the Municipal Committee’s Education and Health Work Committee the municipal education committee, culture office, [...], the municipal womens’ federation, work committees et al gave vigorous support, and persons from all walks of life actively joined the establishment of the website, creating a good atmosphere by a spirit of a shared homeland.

天津市未成年人服务网是市委和市文明委确定的2007年全市未成年人思想道德建设的一项重点工程。市委、市政府及各有关部门领导高度重视。市委书记张高 丽，市委副书记、市长戴相龙为网站开通题写贺辞。在网站的建设过程中，市委教卫工委、市教委、市文化局、团市委、市妇联、市关工委等有关单位给予了大力支 持，社会各界人士积极投身网站建设之中，营造了共建共享精神家园的良好氛围。

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Note

^*) Green was, among others, the “color” of Green Dam, a censoring software that was once meant to come manditorily with every computer sold in China, “to protect children” surfing the internet. It met with a lot of public resistance, and seems to have been scrapped for good in 2010. “Green” Propaganda, of course, stays around.

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Related

» Patriotic Education in HK, July 30, 2012
» Open House, May 25, 2012
» Chinese Characteristics, CMP, Aug 8, 2007

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Confucius Institute: State Department Directive “an Untimely End to Chinese Classes”

Main Link: Huanqiu Shibao, May 24, 2012, 03:29.

Translated off the reel, and posted right away. A link to the State-Department directive can be found under footnote 2. Links within blockquote added during translation.
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A notice issued by U.S. State Department officials on May 17, to all Confucius Institutes in America, has caused great controversy. The new notice requires existing Confucius Institutes to apply for American “certification”, to become part of regular courses, and bans Chinese teachers and volunteers to teach in middle and elementary schools. A Hanban responsible, on May 23, expressed “shock” to a Huanqiu Shibao reporter, as no consultations had preceded this notice. Insiders told this reporter that to date, American officials hadn’t explained to whom the Confucius Institutes should turn for certification. U.S. “Higher Education News”¹⁾ wrote on May 21 that the notice would disrupt Confucius Institute teaching activities. “People don’t undersstand the State Department’s sudden notice. Actually, Confucius Institutes have been on American campuses for almost ten years.” An insider told the Global Times reporter on May 23 that currently, Confucius Institutes were highly successful and influential in America, that many Americans learned Chinese, and that America was somewhat worried about this. In addition, it was election year in America, and political consideration could be behind the measures taken.
美国国务院官员签发的一项公告5月17日发往全美孔子学院，引起巨大争议。新公告规定现有孔子学院必须申请美国“认证”，成为正式课程的一部分，且禁止中方教师和志愿者在美国中小学的孔子学堂教学。国家汉办负责人23日向《环球时报》记者表示，对美方在事先没有任何协商的情况下发出这样的公告感到“震惊”。有知情者告诉《环球时报》记者，孔子学院不计学分，不授学位，不具认证的前提，美国官方迄今也从未说明孔子学院应该向谁认证。美国“高等教育新闻”网站21日载文称，国务院这一公告将打乱孔子学院的教学活动。“人们不明白美国国务院为何突然出台此项公告，毕竟，孔子学院在美国校园内已有近十年时间”。一名了解内幕的人士23日向《环球时报》记者介绍，目前孔子学院在美国搞得很成功，影响很大，美国学习汉语的人很多，美方对此有所担心。再加上今年又是美国的大选年，美国出台这些措施可能有政治方面的考量。

The notice was reportedly issued by Robin Lerner, the State Department Deputy Secretary in charge of Educatonal and Cultural Matters and private-sector exchange. The notice says that while Confucius Institutes may be beneficial to promoting cultural exchange, its activities “need to be in accordance with the standards of exchange, and respect the relevant law and regulations”. “Professors, researchers, short-term visiting scholars or institutes, as well as students, were not allowed to teach in primary schools²⁾. [...] The notice also says that “to ensure that the Confucius Institute education corresponds with and maintains suitable regulations and standards, the Institutes must apply for American certification”, “on initial examination, it isn’t clear if the Confucius Institutes will get American certification”. The State Department allows currently teaching Confucius Institute teachers with J-1 visa to continue teaching until the end of the school year in June, but won’t renew their visas. If they wish, they can return to China to apply for appropriate exchange project visas.
据悉，签发这一公告的是美国国务院负责教育和文化事务局私营部门交流的副助理秘书长罗宾•勒纳。公告称，尽管孔子学院可能有益于促进文化交流，但其所从事的活动“必须符合正确的交流规范，遵循相关法规”。“教授、研究学者、短期访问学者或学院、大学学生不允许在公立和私立小、中学教学，否则便与有关交流访问项目法规相违。 [.....] ”公告还称，“为确保孔子学院的教育符合和保持适合的规定标准，孔子学院必须申请美国认证”，“美国国务院的初步审视并不清楚这些孔子学院是否得到美国认证”。美国务院允许目前持有J-1签证的孔子学院教师继续留至2012年6月本学年结束，但不会为他们续签签证。如果他们愿意，可回中国再申办一种合适的交流项目签证。

There are Confucius Institutes at 81 American universities. The notice has caused wide-spread shock, confusion, and incomprehension. Confucius Institutes in all places said that the notice was “surprising” or “unusual”, and there were discussions everywhere as to how to deal [with the situation]. Huanqiu Shibao has learned that J-1 visas are a kind of non-immigration visas, issued to foreigners who participate in “exchange and visitor programs approved by the State Department”. An official survey concerning J-1 visa holders was carried out early this year.
81所美国大学内设有孔子学院。这一公告已引起广泛的震惊、困惑和不解，各地孔子学院均表示此项公告“令人吃惊”、“很不寻常”，都在讨论如何应对。《环球时报》记者了解到，J－1签证是一种非移民签证，签发给来美国参加美国国务院批准的“交流访问者计划”的各类外籍人士。今年年初，美国官方曾对持有J－1签证人员情况进行过调查。

A lady who had taught for Confucius Institutes in America told Huanqiu Shibao on May 23 that teachers sent by China to teach abroad were mainly government-sponsored, or volunteers. They all held visitor J-1 visas. She had been a volunteer, and a visa had been rather easy to obtain.
一名曾在美国孔子学院授课的女士23日向《环球时报》记者介绍，中方派驻国外孔子学院的授课老师主要有公派教师和志愿者两种，他们所持的都是访问学者J-1签证。她当时就是作为志愿者授课的，获得签证比较容易。

What people find most incomprehensible is that American officialdom requires Confucius Institutes to carry out so-called “certification”. Huanqiu Shibao has learned that to date, the State Department has not said where Confucius Institutes should turn for certification. By comparison, nothing has been heard of German Goethe Institutes, French Institutes or other cultural exchange bodies in America having received American certification. People in charge at the first Confucius Institutes established in the U.S., University of Maryland Confucius Institute and George Mason University Confucius Institute, express confusion, and say that the “certification” issue is currently being discussed. The person in charge at the George Mason University Confucius Institute hopes that the notification came without political considerations. After all, Obama’s initiative to have 100,000 students study in China was about encouraging American students to study Chinese.
令人最为不解的是美国官方要求对孔子学院进行所谓“认证”。据《环球时报》记者了解，美国官方迄今从未说明孔子学院应该向谁认证。横向比较一下，从未听说德国的歌德学院、法国的法语联盟等在美文化交流机构须得到美国认证。在接受本报记者采访时，美国第一家孔子学院———马里兰大学孔子学院及乔治•梅森大学孔子学院负责人均表示，对这一公告感到困惑，校方均在就“认证”一事进行讨论与沟通。乔治•梅森大学孔子学院负责人说，希望国务院出台的公告没有政治方面的考虑，毕竟奥巴马推动美国10万学生赴华留学项目也是鼓励美国学生学习中文。

According to explanations by a Hanban person in charge, made to Huanqiu Shibao, Hanban has sent a letter to university presidents, to carry out negotiations. The letter says that Confucius Institutes in America were established at American requests, and run in cooperation with Hanban and Chinese institutions of higher education. The Chinese side fully respected the esteemed universities’ powers to make their own decisions (自主权)³⁾, and there had never been special instructions concerning the teaching and cultural-exchange activities carried out by the Institutes. The central office provided help, such as support in that it sent volunteers, as requested by the American side. The letter also says that the Chinese side respects American governmental law and regulations, but that in this process, we do not wish to see that volunteer projects get disrupted, as this would lead to many quickly-developing Chinese-language classes coming to an untimely end, resulting in losses for the schools and students.
据国家汉办负责人23日向《环球时报》记者介绍，该机构已致信下设孔子课堂的美国大学校长，就此事进行交涉。信中表示，美国孔子学院是由美方自愿申请，并与汉办和中方高校合作举办的。中方充分尊重贵校的办学自主权，对孔子学院开设课程和开展文化交流活动及下设孔子课堂，从未有过专门指令。总部向孔子学院提供的包括派遣志愿者在内的所有帮助，均系美方所要求。信中还表示，中方尊重美国政府的法律和规定，但在此过程中，我们不愿意看到因此而造成中断志愿者项目的后果，否则将会导致很多学校蒸蒸日上的中文课程由于教师缺失而被迫夭折，致使这些学校和学生蒙受损失。

The person in charge also said that before volunteers head for America, they get an invitation from the American schools, in accordance with the Sino-American school agreements, and apply for and obtain a visa. From 2005 on, China had developed Chinese language education to help America, and had sent more than 2,100 teachers. The project had always worked smoothly. It had been believed that once teachers received an American invitation, the application would lead to a visa, and that there would be no problems. No consultations had preceded the State Department’s May-17 notice, and this was felt to be very sudden and surprising by those in charge at the Confucius Institutes.
这位负责人还表示，志愿者赴美前，是按照中美双方学校的协议，接受美方学校的邀请，申请并获准签证的。从2005年起，中方为帮助美国发展汉语教学，已派出2100多名教师，项目执行一直很顺利。原以为教师接受美方邀请，申请并获准了赴美签证，就不会产生问题。在事先没有任何协商的情况下，美国国务院5月17日发布公告，作为主管孔子学院的负责人，他感到很突然、很吃惊。

Many presidents [of universities with Confucius Institutes] were disgusted by the State Department notice, and had many objections, as they believed it interfered with their universities’ autonomy³⁾. They currently contacted the State Department and negotiated. Huanqiu Shibao also learned that to address the doubts, a State-Department official was to be sent to Maryland University to have direct talks with people in charge at the university and the Confucius Institute.
美国多所设有孔子学院的大学校长对美国这一公告非常反感，很有意见，认为它干涉了学校的办学自主权，目前正与美国国务院进行联系和交涉。《环球时报》记者还了解到，面对质疑，美国国务院官员23日将赴马里兰大学，与马里兰大学校方、孔子学院负责人一起进行面对面的沟通与交流。

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Notes

¹⁾ This is my translation of 美国“高等教育新闻”网站 – the website’s real name may be different.

²⁾ Quote:

Teaching positions in primary and secondary schools (K-12) are only authorized under the “Teacher” category set forth at 22 CFR 62.24. Teaching primary and secondary school students in public school systems or private schools is not permitted by professors, research scholars, short-term scholars, or college/university students.

(Guidance Directive 2012-06 Exchange Visitor Program – Confucius Institutes)

³⁾ 自主权, which may be translated either as the right to make decisions of one’s own, or autonomy. The term for provincial or territorial autonomy in China, for places like Tibet, would be 自治区 (autonomous regions), and is therefore not exactly the same term.

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Related

» Three Eight-Hundreds, April 19, 2009

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Experts: How to Win Friends Abroad, and to Lose them at Home

Huanqiu Shibao quotes the gist of what ten academics said in a Central Party School discussion on May 5. This post contains translations from four of the quotes, and a few comments from the Huanqiu readership.

Wang Fan (王帆, Professor, Director of the Institute of International Relations, and Assistant President, China Foreign Affairs University):

In terms of power and politics in Asia, the cold-war mentality won’t go away. China should reduce the negative effects of cold-war mentality, manage crises, and take preventive measures against crises. In the framework of the maintained status quo, a consensus with America should be worked out. On the one hand, multilateral security cooperation should be strengthened, on the other, untraditional security cooperation should be strengthened, and the East Asia Kyousei Forum (东亚共生) model be used, to solve issues of balanced development in East Asia.
从亚洲地区权力与政治的现状来看，冷战思维是不可能消除的，中国应减少冷战思维的负面影响，管控危机、预防危机。在维持亚洲现状的情况下与美国达成共识。一方面加强多边安全合作，另一方面加强非传统安全合作，充分利用东亚共生的现象，解决好东亚均衡发展问题。

Zhang Yansheng (张燕生, the Institute for International Economics Research of the National Development and Reform Commission’s academic-commission secretary):

In the next few years, according to the current pace of development, the size of China’s economy will overtake America’s. During this process, there will be competition between China and America, and China  [correction, May 12: America] will do everything in its power to hold China back. This is a critical stage for China as a country. To respond to these unfavorable prospects, China needs to change its development pattern and establish a pattern which lends support to a order and to a legal system. From an export-oriented economy, it must internationalize [in terms of] talent, markets, industry, capital etc., strategically and structurally link China with the international systems, and structural transformation is the core here.
未来几年，按照现有的发展速度，中国的经济规模将会超过美国。在这个进程中，中美会出现竞争，美国会千方百计地阻止中国。因此，对中国来说，这是一个国家发展的关键时期。中国若要应对这一不利前景，必须改变前30年的发展模式，建立一个基于规则和法制的发展模式，由外向型经济转变为人才、市场、产业、资本等的国际化，在体制、战略和结构上与国际制度接轨，其中体制转变是核心。

Shao Feng, (邵峰, CASS Global Economics and Politcs Research Institute’s Strategy Office director):

A country’s overall level of development is the actual embodiment of its soft power. Four international strategic issues urgently need research and solutions:

• the issue of strategic timing, how China should seize its opportunities and solve issues inherited from history
• the issue of China having too few friends internationally, of how to win more friends through the establishment of common values and common benefit
• the issue of raising China’s international image, and
• the issue of building the national economy and society.

国家整体发展水平才是国家软实力的体现。中国国际战略研究急需研究解决以下四个课题：一是战略时机问题，中国应如何抓住时机，解决历史遗留问题；二是中国在世界上朋友太少，如何通过建立共同价值观和共同利益，在国际社会争取更多朋友；三是提升中国国际形象；四是加强国家经济、社会等建设。

Wang Hongxu (王红续, Central Party School International Strategic Research and Chinese Diplomacy Research Office director):

In the definition of international strategies [an international strategy], the domestic environment and the international environment are equally important. China’s current unbalanced development and cultural soft power stays far behind its economic development, and its position in international public opinion and  discourse dominance [also: the right to speak - 话语权] is weak. In view of that, China still needs to practise, on the global stage, the basic strategy defined in the 1980s. Obviously, there need to be adjustments in accordance with new situations and new characteristics. China hasn’t yet achieved an international cultural strategy, and that has to change.
在制定国际战略时，国内环境和国际环境同样重要。中国目前的发展不平衡，文化软实力大大滞后于经济发展，在国际舆论和话语权方面处于弱势地位。鉴于以上情况，中国在上世纪80年代制定的基本战略还需要继续实行。当然，要根据新形势和新特点，进行适当调整。目前，中国还没有成体系的国际文化战略，这一情况需要改变。

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Comments from the Huanqiu Shibao readership:

It only takes very small numbers of troops to regain ones territories and territorial waters! Why all the pondering? In the War to Resist America and to Aid Korea, and the self-defense strike against Vietnam, it took very few troops! These so-called experts are apparently all women! — There is no masculine disposition here! This becomes especially apparent in the ideological methods. Take these [experts] and put them next to Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping to compare their ideological methods would do too much honor [to these experts].
收复自己的领土领海而动用非常少量的军队!用得着这样思前想后的吗?和在抗美援朝战场及对越反自卫击战投入的兵力比 真的只需动用非常少量的军队!这几位所谓的专家应该都是女性!—没有男子汉的气质与胆量!特别是体现在思维方式上更是如如此 当然啦 拿这几位和毛泽东,邓小平去比较思维方式确实是太高看其人了.
– 21 minutes ago

This bunch of traitors is misleading the citizens! Stomp [them]!
这群汉奸又在误导国民。脚踩！！！
– 26 minutes ago

In reply to the previous comment:
Correct. 正确
– 13 minutes ago.

[A rather sophisticated comment - and too sophisticated for JR to grasp its first line (谁想打仗让谁上好了)]:

[...] A bunch of screaming and chattering lunatics. Do you know the cruelty of war?
谁想打仗让谁上好了,－群哇哇乱叫的疯子,知道战争的残酷吗?
– one hour ago

I can’t translate the replies to the latter comment, but neither of them appears to be friendly, but one of the three (possibly all the same person) writes:

In the past, territory was given away in exchange for peace, but in the end, there was still war. Cruelty? I would rather die than live without dignity, sovereignty is fought for, it’s not resistance with each passing day.
你就是一sb，以前用领土换和平还不是最后要打仗，残酷？情愿死也不要无尊严的活着，主权是打来的，不是天天抗议
– one hour ago.

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Related

» First School Lesson: Patriotic Essays, Sept 1, 2009
» Concerning Traitors, Aug 25, 2009
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Update/Related

» Orgasm is Easy, Rectified.Name, May 12, 2012

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Joachim Gauck’s Acceptance Speech

____________

Update / Related

» acceptance speech in full, March 18, 2012

Related

» Gauck elected, HuffPost, March 18, 2012
» Constitutional Patriotism, Jan-Werner Müller, 2006

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“Soft Power”: Comparing China and Europe

The following are perceptions of European “soft-power” policy concepts as reviewed by He Zengke (何增科), a Chinese researcher in an official academic function, in an article published by ChinaReform (中国改革论坛网), on December 23, i. e. last month. The paragraphs from his article translated or described here are focusing on France and Germany, plus some European interaction with UN bodies like UNESCO. He’s  emphasis is on cultural soft power.

Saarländischer Rundfunk, Europawelle Saar (SR-1), QSL, 1980s, featuring the Heusweiler medium wave transmitter of 1936. Click photo for a history of the Heusweiler transmission site.

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Some of He Zengke’s views on America‘s “soft-power” policies or public diplomacy can be found in this previous post/translation.

Different from  that previous post’s arrangement, I’ve put He’s footnotes [in square brackets] to the end of this post, rather than within the translations. There’s only one note of my own in this post, following He Zengke’s.

Main link: http://www.chinareform.org.cn/Explore/perspectives/201112/t20111223_130890.htm

Links within blockquotes added during translation.

France was one of the first countries to understand the role of cultural soft power. Napoleon once said that a pen was equal to 1,000 Mauser rifles^*), and a former French minister of culture said that culture and the economy are one and the same battleground. French people believe that a cultural mission can take the place of a country’s military power.[9] In 1883, France established the Alliance Française to promote French culture. Starting in 1959, France began to define the “First Five-Year Plan for the Expansion of French Cultural Activities”, and afterwards, 25- and 35-year plans etc. were gradually developed. From the total amounts spent and per capita, France belongs to the first-ranking countries worldwide.[10] From that, it can be seen that France attaches great importance to the development and use of soft power.

法国是最早懂得文化软实力的地位和作用的国家之一。拿破仑曾经说过，一支笔等于1000支毛瑟枪。法国前文化部长曾经说过：文化和经济是同一场战斗。 法国人认为，文化使命可以代替国家武力。[9]1883年法国就建立了法语联盟，在世界各地讲授法语，推广法国文化。从1959年起，法国开始制定“关于 在国外扩张和恢复法国文化活动的第一个五年计划”（1959－1963），后来又陆续制定了“二五”、“三五”计划等。法国的国际文化交流支出从总数和人 均来看都居于世界第一的位置。[10]由此可见法国对发展和运用文化软实力的高度重视。

(…)

The state in America is described as a facilitator for cultural management, who mainly takes the role of creating favorable conditions (by tax relief or exemptions, for example), and somewhat similarly, He sees Britain as an indirect-support or state-sponsorship model, or sponsorship at arm’s length (以“一臂间距”的方式 – the government [and parliament] pass the budgets, but expert artists, by anonymous review, make the individual decisions, and box office incomes, private donations and the Arts Council England are major funding sources). France belongs to a third category, in He’s view:

France represents the direct-sponsorship model. The state finances culture through the ministry of culture, the funding decisions are made by government officials, and an artist’s position is decided by direct government funding. As artists’ decisions are respected, the official artistic community enjoys a certain degree of autonomy all the same. [25]

以法国为代表的“直接主办型”。国家通过文化部资助文 化艺术，资助决定由政府官员作出，艺术家的经济地位由政府的直接资助决定。由于尊重艺术家的决定，官方的艺术团体仍享有一定程度的自治。[25]

To complete the menu, He adds a fourth type or model, represented by the former Soviet Union:

All cultural and artistic institutions are owned and run by the state, the political leaders make the funding decisions, and the state only funds cultural product which correspond to the political standards, but doesn’t support the creative process itself.[25]

以前苏联为 代表的“直接操作型”。文化艺术机构全部由国家所有和国家经营，资助决定由政治领导人作出，政府只支持那些符合政治标准的文化艺术产品，而不是支持创造性 过程本身。[25]

In the wake of – or the run-up to – the Commission on Global Governance‘s “Our Global Neighborhood” report and the UNESCO’s “Our Creative Diversity” report in 1995 and 1996, the Council of Europe authored (or commissioned) a report titled “In From the Margins” (从边缘到中心) which emphasized that if culture was ignored, sustainable development would not be possible.

He Zengke’s description of these international processes seems to be correct, at least according to the European Institute for Comparative Cultural Research (take a look at the organizers listed at the beginning):

The themes discussed during the [North South] Conference [in September 1999] on Cultural Research and Development were identified in the Action Plan adopted by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development in Stockholm, 1998, itself inspired by reports like Our Creative Diversity of the UN/UNESCO World Commission on Culture and Development, to which a Council of Europe Task Force contributed the Report In From the Margins, 1997.

“Creative Europe” (2002) was another step in the process, also mentioned by He.

The “Creative Europe” report, published in 2002, proposed a comprehensive definition of cultural governance, and determined the direction into which public offices [or organizations - 公共部门] , private organizations and volunteering and non-profit organizations should cooperate to promote cultural development. Cultural autonomy, decentralization (分权化), encouragement of creativity, and the turning of broader participation into a part within the cultural governance concept, were to guide the direction of the cultural system’s reform.[26]

2002发表的《创造性的欧洲》的报告为文化治理提出了一个全面的定 义，后者指的是为文化发展确定方向的公共部门、私营机构和自愿∕非赢利性机构相互合作共同推动文化发展。文化自治、分权化、鼓励文化创造性、更大范围的参 与成为文化治理理念所倡导的文化体制改革方向。[26]

He Zengke seems to read the collapse of the USSR and its eastern and central European satellite regimes (that’s obviously not how he refers to them) as the starting point of the global cultural designing process he describes, and he views decentralization and public funding at arm’s length as defining marks of developed countries’ cultural policies. He names Canada, Australia, Britain, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and other countries in this context, but:

[..] it should be pointed out that Germany and France maintain a negative attitude to the “arm’s-length” principle. In Germany, cultural administrative power rests with different levels of government and departments belonging to government, and artistic boards are mainly forums, limited to protecting and supporting artists, and to provide some professional advice. And France hasn’t left any room for cultural administration by boards. The government, through its own cultural administrative departments, formulates the cultural policies, establishes cultural organizations, and makes cultural funding decisions.  National support and protection plays a major role in cultural development. [27]

但需要指出的是，德国和法国对“一臂间隔”原则明显持消极态度。德国对文化的管理权主要还集中在各级政府及其所属行政部门，艺术理事会只是一种论坛性机构仅限于对保护和扶持职业艺术家提供一些专业咨询意见。法国则根本没有为艺术理事会在文化管理中留下一席之地，政府通过自己的文化行政部门制定文化政策，兴办文化机构，作出文化资助决定。国家的扶持和庇护在文化发展中发挥着主要作用。[27]

[...]

France turned its cultural diplomacy into a national strategy. There are clear common goals,  and a clear division of labor between the French government and its quasi-governmental organizations.[41] France took the lead in advocating the principle of “cultural diversity”, and therefore achieved a favorable position internationally, besides America. France established many “Alliance Francaise” and other institutions in other countries, to spread the French language and culture. There are currently 1,040 Alliance-Francaise locations in 136 countries on all five continents, with 460,000 students. The way France spreads its culture and values,  in the process of spreading its language and culture and thus expands its influence on other countries is something to draw lessons from, to some extent.[42]

法国将文化外交上升为国家战略。对外文化交流由法国政府或准政府机构推动，彼此之间有着明确的分工和目标。[41]法国率先提出和倡导“文化多样性”原则，为美国以外各国文化发展争取有利的国际空间。法国在许多国家建立了“法语联盟”等传播法语和法国文化的机构。目前有1040个法语联盟遍布世界五大洲136个国家，拥有学生46万名。法国在全球推广法语和法语文化过程中传播法国文化价值观扩大其国际影响力的做法对其他国家有一定的借鉴作用。[42]

The way Germany shapes its image to raise its soft cultural power has commonalities with other countries, but unique aspects, too. What is unique is the way it shapes its image by historical self-examination. Germany had the dishonorable history of Nazi Germany’s launch of the Second World War and the Holocaust. After the Second World war, German governments made deep reflections on this criminal period in history and made sincere apologies. All governments in succession have insisted on facing history squarely, on reflecting the war with an attitude of profound repentance, and achieved international good will by doing so. The German population also reflected deeply on the war, thus increasing its awareness and reflection of this period. German governments turned international cultural exchange into one of the country’s three pillars of foreign policy, actively carries out foreign cultural exchanges, teaching of the German language, and public diplomacy, thus expanding its cultural influence. The “Voice of Germany” [Deutsche Welle] does its utmost to attract an audience abroad, as a provider of objective, neutral, and balanced news and commentary. Germany’s universities and foundations actively unfold initiatives to attract overseas students and visiting scholars, thus efficiently expanding Germany’s ideological and cultural influence abroad.[43]

德国在塑造国家形象提高文化软实力方面的做法与其他国家既有相同之处，又有独特之处。其独特之处在于通过反思历史重塑国家形象。德国曾有过纳粹德国发 动第二次世界大战屠杀犹太人的不光彩历史。二战后，德国政府对这段罪恶的历史进行了深刻的反省和诚挚的道歉，历届德国政府均坚持正视历史、反省战争、深刻 忏悔的态度，从而在国际上赢得了普遍的好感。德国民间也对战争进行了深刻的反思，使民众提高了对这段历史的认识和反省。德国政府将对外文化交流作为本国对 外政策的三大支柱之一，积极开展对外文化交流、德语教学和公共外交，扩大自身文化影响力。 “德语之声”尽量以客观、中立、平衡的新闻报道和评论来吸引国外听众。德国的大学和基金会在吸引留学生和访问学者、开展国际学术交流方面积极主动，有效地 扩大了德国思想文化在海外的影响力。[43]

-

He Zengke’s Footnotes

[9] quoting Gong Tieying (龚铁鹰), “A Systematic Analysis of Soft Power” (软权力的系统分析), Tianjin People’s Publishing House, 2008, p. 154

[10] ibid, pp. 155 to 157

[25] Zhang Xiaoming (张晓明), “Drawing on Organizational Reform and Policies Useful Experiences Abroad, Stepping up the Promotion of Our Country’s Establishment of Public Cultural System” (吸取国外体制改革和政策创新的有益经验，加快推动我国公共文化服务体系建设), recorded at the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department’s Cultural System Reform and Development Office, and the CCP’s Shenzhen Municipal Propaganda Department’s “Cultural Development Strategy Forum Reader”, volume 2 (文化发展战略论坛文集（二）) – Guangdong People’s Publishing House, 2006, pp. 139 to 141.

[26] Guo Lingfeng (郭灵凤), “EU Cultural Policies and Cultural Management”, (欧盟文化政策与文化治理), in: “European Research” (欧洲研究), No. 2, 2007, pp. 64 to 76

[27] Li He (李河),  “Developed Countries’ Contemporary Cultural Policies at a Glance” (发达国家当代文化政策一瞥), China Net (中国网) as quoted by a website which apprently no longer provides the source – http://www.jllib.cn/lecture/ref/20040630.pdf

[41] Zeng Heshan (曾河山), “Looking at the Molding of the Country’s Image from Britan’s, France’s and South Korea’s Cultural Strategies” (从英法韩文化战略看国家形象的塑造), in: “The Great External Dissemination” (对外大传播), No. 2, 2007, pp. 53 to 54.

[42] Zheng Tianzhe (郑天喆), “France’s Experience in and Inspiration from the Establishment the Establishment of Soft Power”, research sub-report, 2009

[43] Lu Lu (鲁路), “Federal Germany’s Policy of Promoting Cultural Soft Power” (联邦德国促进文化软实力的政策), research sub-report, 2009

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Note

^*) The Mauser arms company was established in the 1870s. Chinese history-writing may be rather focused on the Mauser, as the KMT used one of Mausers’ later models (apparently the Mauser Karabiner 98 kurz)during the 1927 Shanghai uprising (see second half of that post). It may also be that Napoleon III, for example, rather than Napoleon I, made this gun-pen comparison after his abdication, or that “Mauser” is a rather free translation by He, for French or German firearms in general.

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Related

» Truthfulness is Everything, April 8, 2011

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17th Central Committee’s “Culture Document” – 9: Arranging the Classical Records

This is the 5th chapter of the CCP central committee’s “cultural decision”.  The 4th chapter’s last paragraphs’ translations or explanations can be found here.

Main Link: http://gb.cri.cn/27824/2011/10/26/2625s3413678_2.htm

5) Exerting Great Efforts to Development of Non-Profit Cultural Causes, Safeguarding the People’s Fundamental Cultural Rights

五、大力发展公益性文化事业，保障人民基本文化权益

To meet the people’s fundamental cultural needs is the fundamental task of socialist cultural construction. It is necessary to maintain governmental guidance, and to strengthen the building of a basic cultural infrastructure, to perfect a public cultural network, to let the broad masses enjoy basic public cultural services in accordance with the criteria of non-profitability, fundamentality, impartiality, and convenience, at no costs or or at favorable prices.

满足人民基本文化需求是社会主义文化建设的基本任务。必须坚持政府主导，按照公益性、基本性、均等性、便利性的要求，加强文化基础设施建设，完善公共文化服务网络，让群众广泛享有免费或优惠的基本公共文化服务。

a) Build a public cultural service system. Strengthen the role of public cultural service as the materialization of the people’s fundamental cultural rights. It is necessary to perfect a functional, practical and highly efficient cultural service system which covers the cities and the countryside, with public finances as support, non-profitability as the backbone, the entire people as the object of this service, and by safeguarding that the people and the public watch television, listen to the radio, read books and newspapers, conduct appraisals of these, and have a share in public cultural activities and similar fundamental cultural rights. Process regular budgets for major cultural products and service projects and non-profit cultural activities. Take measures for government procurement, project subsidies, directional [or directed] sponsorship, loans, tax deduction and similar policies to encourage all kinds of cultural enterprises to participate in public cultural service. Encourage the gratuitous use of state-invested, subsidized or copyrighted cultural products within the public cultural system. Strengthen the construction of cultural centers, museums, libraries, art galleries, science museums, memorial halls, workers’ cultural palaces, youth palaces, and similar infrastructure and patriotic-educational model bases, and perfect cultural service open and free for society, encourage other state-owned cultural units educational institutions etc. to carry out non-profit cultural activites, and provide facilities for mass activities in public places. Comprehensively plan and build a cultural infrastructure on a basic level, equally emphasize project planning, construction and management, apply resource integration, and joint construction and use. Strengthen neighborhood and public cultural infrastructure, include neighborhood cultural centers’ construction in urban and rural planning and design, and broaden investment channels. Perfect cultural service infrastructure for women, minors, the elderly, and the handicapped. Guide and encourage forces within society to provide facilities and other forms of participation in public cultural service, by setting up entities, by project funding, and sponsorship. Promote the creation of national cultural service system model areas. Establish index systems for the public cultural service systems and methods to measure their achievements.

(一)构建公共文化服务体系。加强公共文化服务是实现人民基本文化权益的主要途径。要以公共财政为支撑，以公益性文化单位为骨干，以全体人民为服务对象，以保障人民群众看电视、听广播、读书看报、进行公共文化鉴赏、参与公共文化活动等基本文化权益为主要内容，完善覆盖城乡、结构合理、功能健全、实用高效的公共文化服务体系。把主要公共文化产品和服务项目、公益性文化活动纳入公共财政经常性支出预算。采取政府采购、项目补贴、定向资助、贷款贴息、税收减免等政策措施鼓励各类文化企业参与公共文化服务。鼓励国家投资、资助或拥有版权的文化产品无偿用于公共文化服务。加强文化馆、博物馆、图书馆、美术馆、科技馆、纪念馆、工人文化宫、青少年宫等公共文化服务设施和爱国主义教育示范基地建设并完善向社会免费开放服务，鼓励其他国有文化单位、教育机构等开展公益性文化活动，各类公共场所要为群众性文化活动提供便利。统筹规划和建设基层公共文化服务设施，坚持项目建设和运行管理并重，实现资源整合、共建共享。加强社区公共文化设施建设，把社区文化中心建设纳入城乡规划和设计，拓展投资渠道。完善面向妇女、未成年人、老年人、残疾人的公共文化服务设施。引导和鼓励社会力量通过兴办实体、资助项目、赞助活动、提供设施等形式参与公共文化服务。推进国家公共文化服务体系示范区创建。制定公共文化服务指标体系和绩效考核办法。

b) Developing a Modern Mass Media System. To improve the energy and influence of socialist advanced culture, it is necessary to accelerate the development a dissemination system with advanced technology, efficient transmission, and broad coverage. Party newspapers and journals, news agencies, radio and television stations, and important publishing houses must be strengthened; editorial, distribution, and dissemination systems continuously be perfected; and digitization and expansion of effective coverage be accelerated. The building of international dissemination must be strengthened, first-class international media be created, the rate of own news material, of news first published, and effective news¹⁾ must be increased. Create a unified, jointly active, safe and reliable national emergency broadcasting system. Perfect the building of a national digital library. Integrate cable television networks, and build a television network company on the national level. Promote the integration of communication networks, broadcasting networks, and the internet, the building of an integrated broadcasting control platform, a pattern of innovative business, bring all sorts of information network facilities into a function of cultural dissemination, and achieve connected, interflowing, orderly operations.

(二)发展现代传播体系。提高社会主义先进文化辐射力和影响力，必须加快构建技术先进、传输快捷、覆盖广泛的现代传播体系。要加强党报党刊、通讯社、电台电视台和重要出版社建设，进一步完善采编、发行、播发系统，加快数字化转型，扩大有效覆盖面。加强国际传播能力建设，打造国际一流媒体，提高新闻信息原创率、首发率、落地率。建立统一联动、安全可靠的国家应急广播体系。完善国家数字图书馆建设。整合有线电视网络，组建国家级广播电视网络公司。推进电信网、广电网、互联网三网融合，建设国家新媒体集成播控平台，创新业务形态，发挥各类信息网络设施的文化传播作用，实现互联互通、有序运行。

c) To establish a transmission system for superior traditional culture. Superior traditional culture condenses the Chinese nation’s restless strife and the spiritual richness of long-standing renewal is the solid foundation of developing the advanced socialist culture, and an important sustenance for the building of the Chinese nation’s common spiritual home. It is necessary to know the motherlands traditional culture, to remove what is useless, to make old things work in our times [or to put the past at the service of the present], to make it newly helpful in development, with equal emphasis on maintaining and protecting what is useful, and on its popularization. [It is necessary to] strengthen the excavation and elucidation of traditional cultural ideological values, to maintain the fundamental elements of national culture, and to let superior traditional culture become the people’s inspiration on their road forward to spiritual strength. Strengthen the arrangement and publication of cultural classics, and promote the digitization of the classical resources. Strengthen the country’s important cultural and natural heritage, the units in charge of protecting major cultural objects, the maintenance and restoration of famous historical cities, towns, and villages, and the transmission of immaterial cultural heritage. Unearth traditional popular festivals’ contents, and broaden the development of superior traditional education’s popularization. Bring into play the fundamental function of popular education in the innovation of cultural dissemination, improve the contents of lessons in superior traditional culture, and improve the establishment of teaching and training bases for superior traditional culture. Vigorously promote and regulate the use of a common state language and and written characters, scientifically protect every nationality’s lettering. Enable the prosperous development of the cause of national minorities’ culture, carry out the work of protecting the national minorities’ cultural peculiarities, strengthen party newspapers and party magazines in the language of the national minorities, radio and television programs, publications and translations. Strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation with Hong Kong and Macau, and all kinds of cultural exchange with Taiwan, to unfold Chinese splendid²⁾ culture together.

(三)建设优秀传统文化传承体系。优秀传统文化凝聚着中华民族自强不息的精神追求和历久弥新的精神财富，是发展社会主义先进文化的深厚基础，是建设中华民族共有精神家园的重要支撑。要全面认识祖国传统文化，取其精华、去其糟粕，古为今用、推陈出新，坚持保护利用、普及弘扬并重，加强对优秀传统文化思想价值的挖掘和阐发，维护民族文化基本元素，使优秀传统文化成为新时代鼓舞人民前进的精神力量。加强文化典籍整理和出版工作，推进文化典籍资源数字化。加强国家重大文化和自然遗产地、重点文物保护单位、历史文化名城名镇名村保护建设，抓好非物质文化遗产保护传承。深入挖掘民族传统节日文化内涵，广泛开展优秀传统文化教育普及活动。发挥国民教育在文化传承创新中的基础性作用，增加优秀传统文化课程内容，加强优秀传统文化教学研究基地建设。大力推广和规范使用国家通用语言文字，科学保护各民族语言文字。繁荣发展少数民族文化事业，开展少数民族特色文化保护工作，加强少数民族语言文字党报党刊、广播影视节目、出版物等译制播出出版。加强同香港、澳门的文化交流合作，加强同台湾的各种形式文化交流，共同弘扬中华优秀传统文化。

d) Speed up a united urban-rural cultural development. Add to the quantity of cultural services in the countryside, reduce the gap between urban and rural cultural development – to build a new pattern of united [or concerted] cultural development between the cities and the countryside is of major significance for the advancement of the new socialist countryside. With the countryside and the China’s western regions as key areas, the building of county-level cultural palaces and libraries, combined township cultural stations, rural cultural rooms must be strengthened, rural infrastructure must be deepened in terms of radio and television broadcasts, shared use of cultural information resources, rural film screenings, farming book rooms and other cultural projects which are beneficial for the people, with broadened coverage, and the elimination of blind spots, increased standards, perfected service, and improved management. Support and assistance for cultural services in old liberated areas [or early revolutionary base areas, 革命老区], national minority areas and poor areas must be intensified. The entire people’s reading, sports, and cultural scientific hygiene sanxiaxiang³⁾ must be deepened and promoted, and scientific and educational writing styles, law and hygiene, the “Four Communities” (四进社区), giving pleasure to the grassroots and other activities must become regular.  Companies, communities [or neighborhoods] must be lead to carry out activities beneficial to migrant workers, and migrant workers be in the best possible ways be integrated into the urban cultural service systems. Joint mechanisms between the cities and their rural hinterlands must be established, cultural resources be allocated between cities and the countryside in a reasonable way, cities be encouraged to support the countryside, and helping the countryside must become a fundamental indicator of a city’s civilizational level. Cultural units must be encouraged to provide mobile services, network services, media be encouraged to arrange publication and frequency supply in the countryside, and the work of having party papers and magazines be subscribed and read for free at the rural grassroots levels. Cultural enterprise must be supported in building chains of cultural networks at the grassroots and in the countryside, cinema chains be promoted, and performing arts be extended into cities and counties, and performing artists be supported in going deep into the grassroots and the countryside to perform. Special funds are to be established at the central, provincial and municipal levels, and the allocation of certain amounts of centrally-provided funding to the building of culture in [rural] towns and villages be guaranteed.

(四)加快城乡文化一体化发展。增加农村文化服务总量，缩小城乡文化发展差距，对推进社会主义新农村建设、形成城乡经济社会发展一体化新格局具有重大意义。要以农村和中西部地区为重点，加强县级文化馆和图书馆、乡镇综合文化站、村文化室建设，深入实施广播电视村村通、文化信息资源共享、农村电影放映、农家书屋等文化惠民工程，扩大覆盖、消除盲点、提高标准、完善服务、改进管理。加大对革命老区、民族地区、边疆地区、贫困地区文化服务网络建设支持和帮扶力度。深入开展全民阅读、全民健身活动，推动文化科技卫生“三下乡”、科教文体法律卫生“四进社区”、“送欢乐下基层”等活动经常化。引导企业、社区积极开展面向农民工的公益性文化活动，尽快把农民工纳入城市公共文化服务体系。建立以城带乡联动机制，合理配置城乡文化资源，鼓励城市对农村进行文化帮扶，把支持农村文化建设作为创建文明城市基本指标。鼓励文化单位面向农村提供流动服务、网点服务，推动媒体办好农村版和农村频率频道，做好主要党报党刊在农村基层发行和赠阅工作。扶持文化企业以连锁方式加强基层和农村文化网点建设，推动电影院线、演出院线向市县延伸，支持演艺团体深入基层和农村演出。中央、省、市三级设立农村文化建设专项资金，保证一定数量的中央转移支付资金用于乡镇和村文化建设。

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Notes

¹⁾ This is about Chinese international media (such as China Radio International, CNTV, etc.) should begin to set the global news agenda, with news which a) hasn’t been published elsewhere before, and b) actually catches international interest. The intention probably is to make not only such media’s newscasts internationally relevant, but their editorials, too.

²⁾ Just as in the previous lines, when translated as “superior”, the adjective used in the document is 优秀 (yōuxiù). However, I chose “splendid” as a translation here, because the intended meaning of “superior” isn’t necessarily “superior to other cultures”.  A discussion of what yōuxiù usually stands for might be useful here.

³⁾ san xia xiang refers to the three activities mentioned above, and seem to involve stays by college students or graduates in the countryside to “spread science” there, especially in these three fields.

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Related

» Propaganda will Set You Free, Aug 9, 2009

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Continued here »