1. A Visit to Inner Mongolia
Lunar New Year’s eve is here, and old comrades get their visits from active cadres as every year. Meantime, Xi Jinping went to Inner Mongolia, braving the cold and having lunch with the guardians of the motherland’s borders.
CCTV’s Xinwen Lianbo had an epic tale of the tour last night (click picture for video).
As modest as Joe Biden: CCP secretary-general / state chairman / CMC chairman Xi Jinping has lunch with the warriors in Inner Mongolia
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2. Local Press Coverage on Mass Line’s second Phase
Local media reported the beginning of the second phase of mass line education last week. “Holy Tibet”, a People’s Broadcasting Station (PBS / CPBS) broadcast in English, reported remarks by Liu Yunshan on Tuesday, exactly one week after they were made on January 21. The radio announcement is slightly different from this Xinhua (English) article, but its content is similar. Listen here. (Recording may be removed in a week.)
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Yongzhou City government in southern Hunan Province republished on Monday an article by Yongzhou Daily.
In the morning of January 24, the first phase of the party’smass line education ended with a summary, and a video conference making arrangements for the second phase was held. The main task of the conference was to conscientiously study the implementation of the spirit of secretary-general Xi Jinping’s important speeches, and the spirit of the Central Committee’s meetings, to carry out a summary of the first phase of educational activities in our province, and to make arrangements for the second phase of educational activities. Tang Songcheng, Gao Jianhua, Tang Ding, Dong Shigui, Yi Jialiang, Jiang Shansheng, Zhu Yinghong, Shi Yanping, Zhang Hengzhou and other municipal leaders took part in the video conference from their homes [that’s what the article apparently says – ….. 张恒洲等在家的市级领导参加永州分会场会议].
1月24日上午，全省党的群众路线教育实践活动第一批总结暨第二批部署视频会议召开。会议 的主要任务是，认真学习贯彻习近平总书记重要讲话和中央会议精神，对我省第一批教育实践活动进行总结，对第二批教育实践活动作出部署。唐松成、高建华、唐 定、董石桂、易佳良、蒋善生、朱映红、石艳萍、张恒洲等在家的市级领导参加永州分会场会议。
The meeting pointed out that the effects and experiences needed to be conscientiously summarized, and the results of the first phase of educational practice be continiously consolidated and broadened. Ever since the first phase of educational practice activities had been started, the entire province, elders and the young, have closely connected to the theme of “for the people, practical work, honesty”, comprehensively implemented “looking into the mirror, dressing accurately, taking a bath, treating the illnesses”, emphasized leadership by example, adhered to open doors [to the cadres’ offices, for the public, apparently], boradened the masses’ participation, implemented strict requirements, showed the courage to face [tough issues of?] competition, and these activities have achieved first successes (取得了阶段性成果).
会议指出，要认真总结成效和经验，不断巩固和扩大 第一批教育实践活动成果。第一批教育实践活动启动以来，全省上下紧紧围绕“为民、务实、清廉”这一主题，全面落实“照镜子、正衣冠、洗洗澡、治治病”的总 要求，注重示范带动，坚持敞开大门，扩大群众参与，落实从严要求，敢于较劲碰硬，活动取得了阶段性成果。
The meeting believed that doing a good job at the second-batch educational activities is an inevitable necessity for implementing the scientific development of the [Hunan] province, enriching the people and strengthening the province, whole-heartedness and cohesion; an inevitable necessity for accelerating the building of a service-oriented party organization and doing good mass work, the inevitable necessity for concentrated reflection on the solution of outstanding problems, for a yet closer relationship between the party and the masses, and for consolidating the fruits of the first phase of activities and ensuring the activities’ success from the beginning to the end. […]
会议认为，抓好第二批教育实践活动是落实全省科学发展，富民强省、凝心聚力的必然要求，是加快整合服务型党组织建设和做好群众工作的必然要求，是集中反映解决突出问题、进一步密切党群干群关系的必然要求，是巩固第一批活动成果，确保活动善始善终的必然要求。[…..]
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3. Central-Level Mass-Line Meeting
The central-level conference for summarizing the first phase of mass line practice education and for arranging the second phase had taken place in Beijing, four days earlier. In a report on the same day – January 20 -, Xinhua newsagency reported that secretary-general, state chairman and central military commissions’ chairman Xi Jinping attended the meeting and delivered an important speech, summarizing the first phase of educational activities and making arrangements for the second phase.
He emphasized that ample use of the experiences from the first phase needed to be made, [the need for] staunch opposition against the “four winds” [i. e. undesirable working styles], to start with the issues that most concerned and pressed the masses, making efforts to solve problems of immediate concern to the interests of the masses, solving problems of bad work style (or malpractice) where this occured next to the people [this seems to target lower-rank cadres who are dirctly in touch with the public], implementing the results of improved work style at the grass roots, letting the masses enjoy the benefits and striving to achieving substantial results in the masses’ satisfaction.
他强调，要充分运用第一批活动经验，紧紧扭住反对“四风”，从群众最关心、最迫切的问题入手，着力解决关系群众切身利益的问题，解决群众身边的不正之风问题，把改进作风成效落实到基层，真正让群众受益，努力取得人民群众满意的实效。
Politburo standing committee members Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli attended the meeting, and central party mass line education practice activities group leader Liu Yunshan chaired the meeting. The meeting was carried out as a video and telephone conference, open to the county-level units and to the above-regiment units of the PLA and the armed police.
中共中央政治局常委李克强、张德江、俞正声、王岐山、张高丽出席会议，中央党的群众路线教育实践活动领导小组组长刘云山主持会议。会议以电视电话会议形式举行，开到县一级和人民解放军、武警部队团级以上单位。
Xi Jinping, too, pointed out “first successes”, such as having put brakes on the spread of the four undesirable work styles (刹住了“四风”蔓延势头), and overall improvements in social atmosphere (社会风气整体好转). The masses fully identified [with the mass line], and assessments within and without the party had been positive.
Xi Jinping emphasized that the first phase of educational practise activities had achieved important results, mainly maintaining leadership by example by leading cadres, by maintaining open doors [see Yongzhou government quote], outstanding [or prominent] problem-orientation, making a start by rectifying problems, injecting momentum through rectifying problems, providing answers by rectifying problems, upholding standards, exercising strict control, continuously tightening the screws, tightening and winding up the clockwork, and making sure that the activities aren’t carried out only formally.
习近平强调，第一批教育实践活动之所以能够取得重要成果，主要是我们坚持中央和领导干部带头示范，坚持开门搞活动，突出问题导向，以问题整改开局亮相，以问题整改注入动力，以问题整改交出答卷，坚持标准，严格把关，不断拧紧螺丝、上紧发条，保证活动不走过场。
Xi was also quoted as saying that ideals and faith were the “calcium” of a communist’s spirit (理想信念是共产党人的精神之“钙”), and as emphasizing the value of criticism and self-criticism. He also re-iterated his (“maoist”) slogan of “looking into the mirror, dressing accurately, taking a bath, treating the illnesses”, as later repeated on provincial levels (see Yongzhou).
Xi Jinping emphasized that more attention needed to be paid to bringing the masses’ enthusiasm [or initiative, 积极性] into play. The second phase of education practise activities needed to develop at the doorsteps of the mass families. It is necessary that open-door activities are adhered to, that the participation and supervision of/by the masses is ensured at every link and every piece of work, that the judgment of the masses is asked for, that attitudes are sincere, that guidance is strengthened, that methods are paid attention to, and that the party’s correct becomes the conscious [or voluntary] action of the masses. […]
习近平强调，要更加注重发挥群众积极性，第二批教育实践活动在群众家门口开展，必须坚持开门搞活动，确保每个环节、每项工作都让群众参与、受群众监督、请群众评判，态度真诚，加强引导，讲究方法，把党的正确主张变为群众的自觉行动。 […..]
Members of the politburo, central committee secretariat, party members of the NPC and vice chairman (or vice chairpersons) of the NPC, members of the state council, the chairman of the supreme court,the head of the supreme procurate, CPPCC party members and deputy CPPCC vice chairman (or vice chairpersons) took part in the conference.
A number of organizations are also said to have attended, apparently to illustrate the remark about county-level (and military regimental) units. The Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, for example, attended the conference, too.
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Related
» “Holy Tibet” Radio (state propaganda)
» Censorship row, Asahi Shimbun, Jan 14, 2013
» A million emancipated serfs, Peking Review, 38/1975
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