Chinese State Media: Earnest Expectations

1.

China Central Television (CCTV), via Enorth (Tianjin),  May 21, 2015

Communist Party of China Secretary General, State Chairman, and Central Military Commission Chairman Xi Jinping has recently given important instructions on the occasion of People’s Daily’s foreign edition’s 30th anniversary, fully approved the successes achieved by People’s Daily’s foreign edition during the past thirty years, and stated clear demands and earnest expectations concerning further foreign propaganda, and innovation in foreign propaganda methods.

中共中央总书记、国家主席、中央军委主席习近平近日就人民日报海外版创刊30周年作出重要批示，充分肯定人民日报海外版30年来取得的成就，对进一步做好对外宣传工作、创新对外宣传方式提出明确要求和殷切期望。

Xi Jinping pointed out in his instructions that during the past thirty years, People’s Daily’s foreign edition actively spread splendid Chinese culture, proclaimed and introduced Chinese development and changes, and played an important role in foreign propaganda. He hoped that based on the past thirty years since People’s Daily’s foreign edition’s first publication, [the paper] would sum up their experiences, exploit their advantages to the full, innovate with keen determination, accept foreign readers’ methods with pleasure, and use easily understandable language when telling China’s story, propagating China’s voice, enhancing trust and dispelling doubts, to put together and accumulate bridges and ties.

习近平在批示中指出，30年来，人民日报海外版积极传播中华优秀文化，宣介中国发展变化，在外宣工作中发挥了重要作用。他希望人民日报海外版以创刊30年 为起点，总结经验、发挥优势、锐意创新，用海外读者乐于接受的方式、易于理解的语言，讲述好中国故事，传播好中国声音，努力成为增信释疑、凝心聚力的桥梁 纽带。

Member of the politburo’s standing committee and secretary of the CPC secretariat Liu Yunshan, member of the politburo’s standing committee, secretary of the CPC secretariat and head of the central committee propaganda department Liu Qibao respectively also gave instructions and demanded conscientious implementation of Secretary General Xi Jinping’s instructions, a grasp of the correct guidance, innovation of content and form, bringing into play characteristics and advantages, to further strengthen international discourse power and influence.

中共中央政治局常委、中央书记处书记刘云山，中共中央政治局委员、中央书记处书记、中宣部部长刘奇葆也分别作出批示，要求认真贯彻习近平总书记重要批示精神，把握正确导向，创新内容形式，发挥特色优势，进一步增强国际传播话语权、影响力。

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2.

Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation QSL, 1987

China Radio International (CRI), April 21, 2015

On April 20, State Chairman Xi Jinping held talks with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad. After the talks, Xi Jinping and Nawaz Sharif inagurated the Sino-Pakistani United Research Center for small-scale hydropower and the Islamabad Chinese Cultural Center projects. Photos by Xinhua reporter Lan Hongguang.

CRI online report (reporter Wang Qi): At 20 hours local time, Chairman Xi Jinping, on his visit to Pakistan, is taking part in inauguration ceremonies of major Sino-Pakistani cooperation results, in video-link activities, and a second round of signing and exchange [of signed documents] ceremonies. State Chairman Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also inaugurated China Radio International’s FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station in the station’s production room.

国际在线报道（记者 王琦）：当地时间20日，正在巴基斯坦访问的习近平主席在巴首都伊斯兰堡出席中巴重大合作成果揭牌仪式、视频连线活动和第二批文本签字和交换仪式。期间，国家主席习近平和巴基斯坦总理纳瓦兹·谢里夫共同为中国国际广播电台FM98中巴友谊台制作室揭牌。

The host said: “Respected Chairman Xi Jinping, respected Excellency Prime Minister Sharif, please allow me now to delcare the ceremony opened. The leaders are asked to inaugurate these eight project plates: the Sino-Pakistani United Research Center for small-scale hydropower, the Islamabad Chinese Cultural Center projects, the China Radio International FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station production room …”

主持人说：“尊敬的习近平主席、尊敬的谢里夫阁下，现在请允许我宣布仪式开始。请领导人为以下8个项目揭牌，中巴小型水电技术国家联合研究中心、伊斯兰堡中国文化中心、中国国际广播电台FM98中巴友谊台制作室……”

In July 2010, then Chinese state chairman Hu Jintao and then Pakistani president Zadari jointly witnessed China Radio International and the Pakistani Broadcasting Corporation signing a media cooperation agreement. Starting on January 17, 2011, China Radio International started started broadcasting its Urdu and English programs in the five Pakistani cities of Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan and Kohat. In October 2012, the China Radio International FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station, cooperatively run by China Radio International and the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation, officially started broadcasting. Then member of the CPC politburo standig committee Li Changchun and then Pakistani president Zadari attended the opening ceremony together, and revealed the commemorative plate of the ceremony. The Islamabad FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station was China Radio International’s first FM station in Pakistan.

2010年7月，在时任国家主席胡锦涛与时任巴基斯坦总统扎尔达里的共同见证下，中国国际广播电台与巴基斯坦国家广播公司正式签署媒体合作协议。自 2011年1月17日起，中国国际广播电台开始在巴基斯坦伊斯兰堡、卡拉奇、拉合尔、木尔坦和科哈特五座城市播出其乌尔都语和英语节目。2012年10 月，中国国际广播电台与巴国家广播公司合作的伊斯兰堡FM98中巴友谊调频台正式开播，正在巴基斯坦访问的时任中共中央政治局常委李长春、时任巴基斯坦总 统扎尔达里共同出席开播仪式，并为开播纪念牌揭幕。伊斯兰堡FM98中巴友谊调频台是中国国际广播电台在巴基斯坦首家整频率电台。

Currently, China Radio International programs cover all of Pakistan by FM, medium wave, and shortwave, among which FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station broadcasts a daily 18-hours program on the ground in Islamabad and Karachi, with six hours in Urdu and twelve hours in English. FM-93 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station broadcasts six hours daily in Lahore, Peshavar and Multan, with two hours in Urdu and 4 hours in English.Since their launch, the programs have become loved by Pakistani listener friends. Currently, there are more than 680 listerner clubs, building a bridge of friendship between the two peoples of China and Pakistan.

目前，中国国际广播电台节目已通过调频、中波、短波等制式覆盖巴基斯坦全境，其中调频FM98中巴友谊台在伊斯兰堡、卡拉奇落地，每天共18小时节目，包括6小时乌尔都语和12小时英语节目，调频FM93中巴友谊台在拉合尔、白沙瓦、穆尔坦落地，每天共6小时节目，包括2小时乌尔都语和4小时英语节目。节目自开播以来深受巴基斯坦听众朋友喜爱，目前已拥有680多个听众俱乐部，为中巴两国人民架起了一座友谊的桥梁。

Concerning the future plans for the FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station’s production room, Chen Xiang, responsible for the production room, said: “in future, FM-98 Sino-Pakistani Friendship Station’s production room, under the management of the Chinese side’s management team, by hiring local media professionals, will create a  radio, video and new media broadcast products liked by local listeners, in accordance with localized broadcasting development thought, based on market research and listeners’ feedback. We will comprehensively enhance China Radio International’s propagation effectiveness, actively coordinate the ‘One Belt and One Road’ and the ‘Sino-Pakistani Economic Corridor’ national strategies, and provide our own contribution to boosting our two countries’ traditional friendly  foundations, in accordance with the will of the people.”

FM98中巴友谊台制作室建立后未来将作何规划，制作室负责人陈翔说：“未来FM98中巴友谊台将按照本土化传播的发展思路，在中方管理团队的管理下通过招聘当地媒体专业人士，根据市场调研和听众反馈设计和制作本土听众喜闻乐见的音频、视频和新媒体传播产品，全面提升国际台在巴社会和民众中的传播效力，积极配合‘一带一路’和‘中巴经济走廊 ’国家战略，为夯实两国传统友好的民意基础做出自己的贡献。”

U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB) audience research analyst Kim A. Elliott put together English-languages sources from China and Pakistan in October 2012, when then Pakistan president Asif Ali Zadari and China’s then top propaganda official Li Changchun opned the FM-98 station. Back then, too, localization of program content (and staff) was one of the issues mentioned in the communiqués and statements.

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3.

World of Radio / DX Listener Digest, April 30, 2015, quoting Bill Whitacre, of IBB frequency monitoring:

When we “test” to see how serious the Chinese are about jamming a particular frequency used for Mandarin or Tibetan by moving the new frequency is found and jammed within 4 minutes. That`s one helluva of a monitoring network and rivals what the Russians could do in the depth of the cold war.

Beijing is also known to “go after” some religious broadcasters and as Gary points out they are notoriously paranoid about any “movement” that puts anything above the State.

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4.

Oriental Outlook / Sina, via Zhangjiakou Online, April 28, 2015:

Just when the BBC discontinued their Chinese broadcasts, you only needed to turn on a radio in any corner in London and tune it to AM 528, and you could listen to China’s international broadcasting station’s English program for three hours a day. “Our broadcasts have many listeners not only in Britain, but even in Europe”, station manager Zhang Zhe told our reporter.

就在BBC停止中文广播时，在伦敦的每一个角落，只要打开收音机，放到AM528的波段上，每天都能听到来自中国国际广播电台3个小时的英文广播节目。“我们的广播在英国乃至整个欧洲都有不少听众。”中国国际广播电台驻英国的站长张哲对本刊记者说

The original article was apparently first published in Oriental Outlook (望东方周刊). Author: Wang Yahong (王亚宏). Probably years ago, but ZJK online treats it as “news”.

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Related

» 向世界讲好厦大故事, Xiamen University propaganda, May 23, 2015
» A look at the Rumors, April 13, 2015
» BBC accuses China of Jamming, Febr 26, 2015

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Eurasian Challenges (1): Belittling Taiwan to Please China

Following his attendance in Moscow at the commemoration of the 70th VE Day anniversary, Chinese party and state leader Xi Jinping paid a three-day state visit to Belarus. Tokyo-based online magazine The Diplomat published a summary of Xi’s visit on May 12, quoting Belorussian president Alexander Lukashenko – as, in turn, quoted by Xinhua newsagency -, as saying that

I adopted China’s step-by-step economic reform style in Bearus and believe that the most important prerequisite for economic development and economic reforms is social stability.

The Diplomat article also quoted Xi Jinping, again via Xinhua, as saying that the “Chinese president” wanted to turn a joint Belarus-Sino industrial park into a pearl on the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The article points out that public attitudes in Eastern Europe were generally more open toward China than in Western Europe, and describes how Beijing tunes its policies and institutions on these two regions, depening on the degrees of openness.

Both Lukashenko and Xi noted that Belarus, thanks to its geographical placement as the gateway between Eurasia and Europe, has a major role to play in bringing the Silk Road Economic Belt to Europe, according to The Diplomat.

As on May 8 in a ceremony in Moscow, Xi also presented medals to World War 2 veterans in Belarus. In both ceremonies, the veterans had reportedly fought in the Japanese War.

Belarussian English-language media – there doesn’t seem to be a great deal of them – appear to remain silent on a joint statement published by the two heads of state, which includes a regular Belarussian political tribute: belittling Taiwan to please China, as Taiwan News put it on Tuesday.

According to the Chinese version of the joint statement,

Belarus reiterated that it it adhered to the one-China policy, acknowledged that the People’s Republic of China represents the entirety of China as its only legal government, that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China’s territory, that [Belarus] opposes any kind of “Taiwan independence”, promises not to establish official relations with Taiwan or to officially interact with Taiwan, that it opposes the accession of Taiwan to any international or regional organizations [where participation is limited to] sovereign states, that it will not sell arms to Taiwan, that it will support peaceful development across the Taiwan Strait and all the Chinese government’s efforts to achieve national reunification.

白方重申坚持奉行一个中国政策，承认中华人民共和国政府是代表全中国的唯一合法政府，台湾是中国领土不可分割的一部分，反对任何形式的“台湾独立”，承诺不与台湾建立官方关系和进行官方往来，反对台湾加入任何仅限主权国家参加的国际组织和地区组织，不向台湾出售武器，支持两岸关系和平发展及中国政府为实现国家统一所作的一切努力。

According to the Taipei Times on May 13, Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Anna Kao (高安) said the ministry “deeply regrets” that Minsk reiterated the position it had long held for the sake of “ingratiating itself with mainland China”.

Radio Taiwan International (RTI) also reports the reaction from Taiwan’s foreign ministry:

Concerning the content of mainland China’s and Belarussia’s joint joint communiqué, the Republic of China’s [Taiwan] foreign ministry said yesterday evening (May 12) that when mainland Chinese chief state councillor Wen Jiabao visited Belarus in 2007, and when the Belarussian president visited mainland China in 2013, all joint communiqués signed by the two sides mentioned “opposition against Taiwan joining any international and regional organizations [with participation limited to] sovereign states”. This time’s repetition of the old tune shows Belarus’ [is prepared to] curry favor with mainland China by issuing this statement which is ignorant of international realities and which inappropriately affects our country’s legal interests, on which the foreign ministry expressed regret.

針對中國大陸與白俄羅斯發布的聯合公報內容，中華民國外交部昨天(12日)晚間表示，2007年大陸總理溫家寶訪問白俄，2013年白俄總統訪問大陸時，雙方所簽署聯合公報就提及「反對台灣加入任何僅限主權國家參與之國際和地區組織」，如今舊調重彈，顯示白俄羅斯長期為討好大陸，而發表此一昧於國際現實並影響我國權益之不當聲明，外交部至表遺憾。

The foreign ministry reiterated that the Republic of China [Taiwan] is a free, democratic sovereign state with the right to apply, in accordance with the people’s wishes, for membership in international organizations in accordance with its legal interests. This decision and approach is unaffected by any individual country’s talk.

外交部重申，中華民國是一個自由民主的主權國家，依據人民意願有權利申請加入攸關其權益之國際組織，此一決心與作法，不受個別國家論調影響。

The foreign ministry said that after the Soviet Union’s disintegration, the Republic of Taiwan [Taiwan] had established a representative office in Belarus, but because of the low volume of business, decided to close it down in 2005. Business was taken care of by the representative office in Russia. Had there ever been arms trade between Taiwan and Belarus? Chiang Su-yih, former representative to Belarus, said that this was “absurd. That has never happened.”

外交部表示，蘇聯解體後，中華民國曾在白俄羅斯設立代表處，但由於業務量低，2005年決定裁撤，業務由駐俄代表處兼管。至於台灣與白俄羅斯間是否曾有武器交易？我國駐白俄羅斯前代表姜書益表示，「荒謬，從沒這回事」。

In an editorial on May 14, the Taipei Times cited the Belorussian-Chinese joint statement as an example of how President Ma Ying-jeou‘s concept of a “1992 consensus” had failed:

In view of Beijing’s continued denigration of Taiwan’s status, it is obvious that such a cross-strait consensus does not exist.

The Taipei Times’ Chinese-language sister paper, the Liberty Times, questions that a meeting between Eric Chu, chairman of president Ma Ying-jeou’s KMT, and Xi Jinping, in China earlier this month, was showing any positive effects, and quotes KMT legislator Johnny Chiang‘s (江啟臣) interpretation of the joint statement:

[Chiang said] Xi Jinping wanted to turn the cross-Strait- bottomline into an international bottomline, as a foretaste for Taiwan’s general elections next year, as a “warning” for Taiwan. The [oppositional] Democratic Progressive Party’s China Department director and [the party’s] legislator Chao Tien-lin believes that dignified and meaningful participation in international organizations was the common position of the Taiwanese people and should not be affected by unreasonable suppression and restrictions. Beijing should respect the Taiwanese peoples’ will and expectations, and “should not deepen Taiwanese society’s negative impression of Beijing”.

對於上述聲明，國民黨立委江啟臣認為，習近平把兩岸關係的底線，放在 國際上變成底線，有針對台灣明年大選情勢的味道，這是對台灣的「示警」。兼任民進黨中國事務部主任的立委趙天麟則認為，有尊嚴、有意義參與國際組織，這是 台灣人民的共同主張，不應遭受不合理的打壓與限制，北京應尊重台灣人民的意志與期望，「不要讓台灣社會加深對北京的負面觀感」。

Now, if you wonder how Beijing likes Taiwanese coverage of Chinese policies, Xinhua provides the answer. They aren’t happy at all.

Whenever that happens, and when criticism right from the CCP’s mouthpieces themselves would appear unbelievable even to a, by now, pretty conditioned Chinese public, one should look out abroad for a voice sympathetic to ones’ own position. Xinhua has found that Taiwan’s Want Daily (旺报) – apparently, according to Xinhua’s excerpts, anyway – commiserates with China, an innocent victim of Taiwanese media aggression.

Xinhua:

An editorial published [by Want Daily] on May 14 points out that Taiwanese media, when reporting or commenting on mainland or cross-strait news, are often full of bias and errors, having misguided Taiwanese peoples’ knowledge of mainland China and of mainland Chinese policies towards Taiwan. When influential Taiwanese media always report mainland Chinese and cross-strait news based on wrong understanding and with a partial attitude, how can the two sides of the Taiwan Strait ever open exchanges further up, and deepen goodwill and understanding, and how can the two sides of the Strait move from confrontation to reconciliation and blend with each other?

14日发表社论指出，台湾媒体报道或评论大陆与两岸新闻时经常充斥偏见与错误，长期误导台湾人对中国大陆及大陆对台政策的认知。如果有影响力的大众媒体总 是以错误的理解与偏颇的态度报道大陆与两岸新闻，两岸怎么可能借着交流的开放与深化增进善意与理解，两岸又怎么可能从对抗走向和解与融一？

Coverage on the joint statement with Belarus is among the list of media sins:

[…] The third is about the joint statement issued by the mainland and Belarus on May 10. A television station’s horse race was that “Belarus opposes Taiwanese participation in sovereign states’ organizations”.

[…..] 三是大陆与白俄罗斯于10日发表联合声明，一家电视台的跑马是“白俄罗斯反对台湾参加以主权国家参加的国际组织”。

But even in the eyes of somewhat critical Chinese readers, the way the Taiwanese paper – allegedly – defends the joint statement might come across as pointless:

As for Belarus’ and Beijing’s joint statement’s wording, it was used as early as in the two sides’ 2007 and 2013 communiqùés, and to keep playing the same tune is without much significance. The expanded interpretations by the media is only needed for internal political struggles.

至于白俄罗斯与北京联合声明中的用语，早在2007及2013年的双方公报中，都曾经出现过这些字眼，旧调重谈实无特别重要涵义。媒体扩大解读，只是为了内部政治斗争的需要。

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Related
» Quoting Ma Ying-jeou, May 20, 2011

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China’s Press commemorates WW2: Criticizing the Impenitent by Lauding the Remorseful

This was the commemoration of VE day, but the military parade in Moscow on Saturday rather looked like VJ Day. Chinese party and state leader Xi Jinping took the seat that had been US president George W.Bush’s ten years earlier, and proably would have been Barack Obama’s, hadn’t he stayed away, as most Western leaders did, as a reaction to Russia’s Ukraine policies.

Xi Jinping’s Moscow Mercedes: Germany’s leaders boycotted the parade, but the German-made car pool didn’t (CCTV/Xinwen Lianbo coverage, click picture for Youtube video)

Also, for the first time ever, according to Chinese media, a Chinese guard of honor took part in the parade. Xinhua celebrated the great moment:

Greeting the air of spring in Moscow and marching to the “Katyusha” theme, the 102-strong People’s Liberation Army guard of honor, full of high spirits, passed Moscow’s Red Square, showing military prestige, and manifesting national power. On the reviewing stand, Chairman Xi Jinping stood and waved to them.

迎着莫斯科的春光，踏着《喀秋莎》的旋律，由１０２人组成的中国人民解放军仪仗方队意气风发走过莫斯科红场，走出了军威，彰显了国威。检阅台上，习近平主席起身向他们挥手致意。

But they didn’t only attract the world’s attention for their gallant formation and morale, and not only for their distinctive arrangement rhythmic marching pace, and also not only this was the first time that this was the first time China dispatched a guard of honor to take part in a Red-Square military review.

在莫斯科红场，中国军人吸引了世界的目光，这不仅仅是因为他们军容严整、士气高昂；不仅仅是因为他们独特的队形编排和富有韵律的步态步速；也不仅仅因为这是中国首次派出仪仗方队参加红场阅兵。

The Chinese troops on Moscow’s Red Square attracted millions of peoples‘ attention. This guard of honor, representing the Chinese troops‘ image, vigour and strength made people remember the sacrifices made by the Chinese and Russian armies in the world’s just war against and victory over fascism, manifested the strategic and coordinated relationship between the Chinese and the Russian armies, taking the common mission of their two countries to maintain the peaceful development of the world.

在莫斯科红场，接受检阅的中国军人令万众瞩目。这支代表中国军队形象、精神和实力的仪仗方队，令人追忆中俄两国两军为世界反法西斯正义战争胜利作出的牺牲和贡献，彰显着中俄两国两军全面战略协作关系，承载着两国共同维护世界和平发展的使命。

As China’s military passed across Moscows Red Square, the sound of their footsteps expressed the solemn promise of forever remembering history.

当中国军人走过莫斯科红场，铿锵的足音里，表达出铭记历史的庄严承诺。 […]

Forgetting history spells betrayal (忘记历史就意味着背叛), writes Xinhua. Probably, this does not refer to the way the article itself celebrates what was the CCP’s Red Army at the time of World War 2, and ignores the role of the KMT’s – then regular – Chinese troops.

To commemorate war means avoiding war. Seventy years ago, Chinese and Russian did immortal deeds in the world’s war against and victory over fascism. In this 21rst century, the two countries are permanent members of the United Nations‘ Security Council, and bear a great responsibility for the protection of the fruits of victory in World War 2 and international fairness and justice, for the promotion of the international order taking a more just and reasonable direction, for regional and global peace, security, and stability.

纪念战争是为了避免战争。７０年前，中俄为世界反法西斯战争胜利建立了不朽的功勋。在２１世纪的今天，两国作为联合国安理会常任理事国，对共同捍卫二战胜利成果和国际公平正义，对促进国际秩序朝着更加公正合理的方向发展，对地区及世界的和平、安全、稳定，都负有重大责任。

Kind of naturally, the mainstream Western press is taking a less cordial look at the parade and its supposed implications.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has used the anniversary to whip up patriotism and anti-Western sentiment; at a parade in Kiev, President Petro Poroshenko said Moscow was trying to hog the credit for the World War Two victory at Ukraine’s expense,

says an article published by the Daily Telegraph on Sunday, and concerning Russian-Chinese cooperation, the Guardian’s foreign affairs commentator Natalie Nougayrède wrote on March 26 that

China has a 2,500-year history of strategic thinking driven by a deep distrust of external players. Don’t expect a People’s Daily front page proclaiming a new era of Chinese openness towards the west. Nor should Vladimir Putin’s Russia think that it will find an amenable partner in Xi’s China if it continues to turn its back on Europe. China sees Russia as a declining power that can eventually be transformed into an economic colony – reduced to the role of oil and gas provider. China believes it can make strategic gains if Europe and Russia continue to clash.

While German chancellor Angela Merkel, just as the majority of Western leaders, boycotted the military parade on Saturday, she did meet with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday, to hold talks after they had laid down a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier together. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) refers to Merkel as having acted as the West’s chief interlocutor with the Kremlin throughout the Ukraine crisis, which might serve as one explanation why Merkel didn’t avoid meeting Putin altogether. But in its English broadcast on Monday, Radio Japan added another interpretation:

Merkel and other Group-of-Seven leaders cited the Ukrainian crisis for their absence from Saturday’s parade in Moscow, marking seventy years since the victory over Nazi Germany. But Merkel attended a wreath-laying ceremony in an apparent attempt to show that Germany has faced up to the responsibility for the Nazi atrocities.

That, however, didn’t keep Merkel from unusually plain talk at a joint press conference with the Russian leader. While Putin referred to Germany as a partner and friend, and, according to Süddeutsche Zeitung, even suggested that Germany had been the first victim of the Nazis, Merkel said that German-Russian cooperation has suffered a grave setback by Russia’s criminal annexation of Crimea, in violation of international law, and the military conflict in Ukraine (hat durch die verbrecherische und völkerrechtswidrige Annexion der Krim und die militärische Auseinandersetzung in der Ostukraine einen schweren Rückschlag erlitten).

On May 6, in a speech at Schloss Stukenbrock, a prisoner-of-war camp in western Germany’s state of Northrhine-Westphalia, German president Joachim Gauck, known as a fiery anti-communist, made a speech which took many political observers, at least in Germany itself, by surprise. He addressed a fact that is frequently unknown or hardly known among Germans, and particularly West Germans (thanks not least to what China’s media might have criticized as cooked history textbooks, if West Germany had been Japan):

We have gathered here today in Schloß Holte-Stukenbrock to recall one of the worst crimes of the war – the deaths of millions of Red Army soldiers in German prisoner-of-war camps. They died in agony without medical care, starved to death or were murdered. Millions of prisoners of war for whose care the German Wehrmacht was responsible under the law of war and international agreements.

These prisoners were forced on long marches, transported in open goods wagons and sent to so-called reception or assembly camps that provided almost nothing at the start – no shelter, not enough food, no sanitary facilities, no medical care. Nothing. They had to dig holes in the ground and build makeshift huts for shelter – they tried desperately to survive somehow. Huge numbers of these prisoners were then forced to do hard labour which, in their weakened and starving condition, they often did not manage to survive.

The Beijing Evening News (北京晚报) combined a rendition of Gauck’s speech with another laudably self-critical one by Germany’s permanent representative at the United Nations, and a much less laudable one (at least according to the paper itself) by Japan’s permanent representative:

In contrast [to the German permanent representative’s speech], Japan’s permanent representative at the UN, Motohide Yoshikawa, only said: “Our behavior created misery for the peoples of the Asian countries. We must not close our eyes to this.” After that, he made big words about Japan’s “contributions to international peace, and Japan’s support for the United Nations”.

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Related

» China invites Russian Troops, Kyiv Post / Reuters, May 11, 2015
» Even closer, The Atlantic, May 10, 2015
» Wo sind die Nachtwölfe, Telepolis, May 10, 2015
» India’s Grenadiers join Parade, Telegraph India, May 9, 2015

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Xi Jinping’s May 1 Address to the Party, the Labor Unions, and the Model Workers

On Tuesday, Xinhua Newsagency (in Chinese) published party and state leader Xi Jinping‘s Labor Day address, celebrating national model workers and advanced workers, expressing the party’s and the people’s gratitude to them, and emphasizing the need for the whole society to learn from them (党和人民感谢你们!全社会都要向你们学习). The traditional ceremony awarded national model workers.

However, Xinhua Newsagency’s claim (in English) that the award ceremony had championed worker protection, higher working standards and stronger unions was hardly telling its foreign audience the entire truth. In fact, stronger unions in English spells party-led unions in CCP-Chinese (see last paragraphs of this post).

While the speech quoted in this post was held in Beijing, a similar ceremony went on tour in April last year, to Urumqi (click picture to get there)

On “Youth Day” in 2013, almost two years ago, Xi had tried to blend individual ambitions with party and state goals. And just as in last week’s Labor-Day ceremony, outstanding workforce (or outstanding youth representatives, as it was about youth day back then) were at the center of the event in 2013. This is a pattern that repeats itself on all kinds of occasions.

The following are excerpts from Xi Jinping’s speech during the Labor Day ceremony last week.

After the foundation of New China, our country’s working class became the leading class, and our country’s workers class and broad working masses became the masters of the country, thus giving our commemoration of May 1 international labor day a new, epoch-making meaning.

新中国成立后,我国工人阶级成为国家的领导阶级,我国工人阶级和广大劳动群众成为国家的主人,我们纪念“五一”国际劳动节具有了新的时代意义。

The times we live in are a great, inspiring era, and the cause we are undertaking is unprecedented. What we are engaging in right now, the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, is the common cause of the entire people. The comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, the building of a prosperous and strong, democratic, civilized and harmonious, socialist and modernized country depends completely on work, on creation by the workers.Therefore, no matter where the epochal conditions may change, we will always value work, respect the workers, always attach importance to bringing the role of the main force – the working class and the broad working masses – into play. This is what makes our commemoration of May 1 international labor day so significant.

我们所处的时代是催人奋进的伟大时代,我们进行的事业是前无古人的伟大事业,我们正在从事的中国特色社会主义事业是全体人民的共同事业。全面建成小康社会,进而建成富强民主文明和谐的社会主义现代化国家,根本上靠劳动、靠劳动者创造。因此,无论时代条件如何变化,我们始终都要崇尚劳动、尊重劳动者,始终重视发挥工人阶级和广大劳动群众的主力军作用。这就是我们今天纪念“五一”国际劳动节的重大意义。

[…]

To promote the strategic design of the four comprehensives,  we must amply mobilize the broad people’s and masses’ enthusiasm, initiative, and creativity.

在前进道路上,我们要始终坚持人民主体地位,充分调动工人阶级和广大劳动群众的积极性、主动性、创造性。人民是历史的创造者,是推动我国经济社会发展的基本力量和基本依靠。推进“四个全面”战略布局,必须充分调动广大人民群众的积极性、主动性、创造性。

Another buzzword in Xi’s address was consociationalism (协商民主).

We must promote grassroot democratic building, establish work units with worker’s congresses as the base, and with a democratic management system, implement the employed masses’ right to know, right to participate, right to expression, and oversight.

要推进基层民主建设,健全以职工代表大会为基本形式的企事业单位民主管理制度,更加有效地落实职工群众的知情权、参与权、表达权、监督权。

Also mentioned was the “Chinese Dream”, and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people (最广大人民根本利益).

Job creation, skills training, income distribution, social security as well as migrant workers got short nods, too, and so does mass work (做好群众工作).

Labor relations are among the most basic relations. To the greatest measure, harmonious factors must be increased, and unharmonious factors must be reduced to the lowest measure, to build and develop harmonious work relations, and to promote social harmony [harmony in society]. The legal rights of employees must be protected, a system for comprehensive coordination of work relations be built, and contradictions and disputes in work relations be timely and correctly be handled.

劳动关系是最基本的社会关系之一。要最大限度增加和谐因素、最大限度减少不和谐因素,构建和发展和谐劳动关系,促进社会和谐。要依法保障职工基本权益,健全劳动关系协调机制,及时正确处理劳动关系矛盾纠纷。

Xi mentioned the 90th anniversary of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions‘ foundation, and expressed the

hope that all organizations and the vast cadreship at the unions will unswervingly walk the development road of socialism with Chinese characteristics, adhere to main battlefield of union work, pay close attention to the central responsibilities of union work, to fulfill the organization of the unions’ political responsibilities in an exemplary way, and to bring the unions’ organizational role into play better and better. Keep to the fine tradition of free-willed acceptance of party leadership, the firm grasp of the correct political direction, the firm grasp of our country’s labor movement’s theme of the times, and to guide hundreds of millions of working masses to unswervingly go with the party.

希望各级工会组织和广大工会干部坚定不移走中国特色社会主义工会发展道路,坚守工会工作的主战场,狠抓工会工作的中心任务,模范履行工会组织的政治责任,更好发挥工会组织作用。要坚持自觉接受党的领导的优良传统,牢牢把握正确政治方向,牢牢把握我国工人运动的时代主题,带领亿万职工群众坚定不移跟党走。

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Related

» Falling Growth, Rising Vigilance, Jan 20, 2014
» The Railroader’s Dream, June 21, 2013

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