Politics

posts on political issues relevant to Greater China

Propaganda trailers at cinemas

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Source: China Film Insider (6/30/17)
Chinese Cinemas to Show Propaganda Trailer Ahead of Screenings
By WAN HUANG

In preparation for an important Party meeting later this year, four videos remind viewers of key ideological points.

Moviegoers in China will have to watch public service advertisements that extol the “China Dream” and other ideological slogans, according to a directive from the country’s media regulator that will take effect July 1.

Industry insiders said that cinemas have been instructed to show one of four, minute-long videos collectively titled “The Glory and the Dream” before every movie screening. The clips will be shown from July through October in the run-up to the Communist Party’s 19th National Congress in November — China’s most important political event held every five years. Continue reading Propaganda trailers at cinemas →

Freedom of expression under attack in HK

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Posted by Jeff Wasserstrom <wasserstromjeff@gmail.com>
Source: Dissent (7/4/17)
Freedom of Expression Under Attack in Hong Kong
By Louisa Lim

“Enthusiastically Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to the Motherland…” (courtesy Sampson Wong)

Late last week, as Hong Kong celebrated the twentieth anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty, pixels of white flickered on the slick glass façade of Hong Kong’s second-tallest skyscraper. The Chinese characters gliding up the building’s 108 stories bore a staunch Communist-style exhortation: “Enthusiastically Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Hong Kong’s Return to the Motherland, Fervently Welcome President Xi Jinping’s Inspection of Hong Kong.” This greeting—coinciding with President Xi’s first visit to Hong Kong since taking power—is now raising fears about the freedom of artistic expression in Hong Kong, calling into question its future as an international arts hub. Continue reading Freedom of expression under attack in HK →

making fun of Xi Jinping in HK

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For a look at some of the media memes making fun of Xi Jinping’s visit to HK, see the article below (too many images, screen shots, and videos to post in full here)–Kirk <denton.2@osu.edu>

Source: Quartz (6/30/17)
Hong Kong is relentless in its memes making fun of Chinese president Xi Jinping and his followers
By Nicole Kwok

Hong Kongers are known to have a good sense of humor. And with Chinese president Xi Jinping’s visit to Hong Kong for the 20th anniversary of the territory’s handover, locals have been laughing off the tense political environment. There’s been no shortage of memes surrounding Xi’s trip…

Growing hopelessness in HK

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Source: SCMP (6/25/17)
Beijing cannot wish away the growing sense of hopelessness in Hong Kong
Alice Wu says rather than the big political rows, it is the day-to-day frictions with the mainland that lead many Hongkongers to feel a sense of alienation in their own hometown, and the central government must address this problem
By Alice Wu

Commercial buildings in the business district of Central in Hong Kong. Runaway home prices exacerbated by cross-border capital flight have made home ownership an increasingly unattainable dream for many Hongkongers. Photo: EPA

Calls for Hong Kong independence are a non-starter. But here we are being hammered by a seeming avalanche of talk on the subject by those who don’t want us to talk about it. This isn’t exactly how I imagined we would be celebrating the 20th anniversary of the handover.

Such tough talk is worrisome. It widens the already wide gulf of distrust between Beijing and Hong Kong. With emotions running high, it is time to call for pause and caution. Continue reading Growing hopelessness in HK →

Informants in the classroom

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Source: Forbes (6/28/17)
Chinese Informants In The Classroom: Pedagogical Strategies
By Andrs Corr

Children play chess on a giant chess board at a primary school in Handan in China’s northern Hebei province on June 19, 2017. The ‘live’ chess game was played by 32 students to promote chess at the school. Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images

For about a month, the media has reported on Chinese influence in Australian politics and universities. The news led to discussions among China experts on the role of government-linked Chinese student organizations that allegedly monitor and report on Chinese student speech in the classroom, and pedagogical strategies to encourage safe spaces for the intellectual growth of Chinese students abroad. These pedagogical antidotes include the banning of government-linked Chinese student organizations, free speech activists seeking to join Chinese student organizations, anonymous student classroom participation groups, mandatory debating team assignments on “sensitive” topics, and frank classroom discussions of student speech monitoring by Chinese authorities. Continue reading Informants in the classroom →

Joint Declaration ‘no longer has any realistic meaning’

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Source: SCMP (6/30/17)
Sino-British Joint Declaration on Hong Kong ‘no longer has any realistic meaning’, Chinese Foreign Ministry says
Ministry spokesman issues retort to foreign countries’ statements on the political condition of the city, as it marks 20 years since the handover
By Joyce Ng

Lu also said that what made Hong Kong a success ‘was not up to any outsider to comment on’. Photo: Kyodo

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has declared the Sino-British Joint Declaration, that laid the groundwork for Hong Kong’s handover, a “historical document that no longer has any realistic meaning”, after Britain and the United States spoke of the binding effect of the 1984 treaty on China and the city.

Ministry spokesman Lu Kang hit back at remarks from the two countries on Friday, hours after they issued statements on the political condition of the city, as it marks 20 years since that handover, from British rule to Chinese. Continue reading Joint Declaration ‘no longer has any realistic meaning’ →

video of Liu Xiaobo in prison surfaces

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Source: SCMP (6/29/17)
Video surfaces apparently showing terminally ill Nobel Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo’s life in prison
The video seems to show the Chinese activist taking part in activities in jail and his medical treatment, but it is not clear whether the man shown is Liu, or where the video was filmed
By Mimi Lau

A three-minute video apparently showing aspects of Chinese Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo’s time in prison appeared on YouTube late on Wednesday, as criticism mounts worldwide over whether the authorities’ sudden decision to grant him parole on medical grounds because of his cancer came too late.

The source of the video and where it was filmed were not immediately clear, but it purported to show Liu in Jinzhou prison in the northeastern Liaoning province, where he had served eight years of an 11-year term for inciting subversion of state power.

He had faced the charge after helping to write a petition known as Charter 08, calling for sweeping political reforms on the mainland. Continue reading video of Liu Xiaobo in prison surfaces →

My friend Liu Xiaobo

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Source: Quartz (6/26/17)
I’m sad for my friend Liu Xiaobo, and for a China that can’t cherish its finest
By Ilaria Maria Sala

Liu Xiaobo, winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize and one of China’s greatest thinkers and pro-democracy activists, is in dire health, diagnosed with terminal liver cancer after serving nine years out of an 11-year sentence for “inciting subversion of state power.” I found out about my friend’s illness on Monday (June 26), as information from his lawyers spread across social media, close to a month after he was reportedly diagnosed with cancer.

The Liaoning Prison Administrative Bureau released a statement Monday saying that Liu has been granted medical treatment outside prison. It is not yet clear at this stage how much his legal status has changed, with some news outlets reporting that he is now free, and others that he has been only transferred for treatment. Continue reading My friend Liu Xiaobo →

All the president’s men

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Source: SCMP (6/29/17)
All the president’s men – the key players at Xi Jinping’s side in Hong Kong
The handful of trusted officials include party big shots and close companions, such as the PLA’s top general, who are rarely seen during the leader’s trips
By Jun Mai

President Xi Jinping waits to meet Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying after arriving in the city on Thursday. Photo: Reuters

As President Xi Jinping landed in Hong Kong for the first time as the country’s top leader on Thursday, he and his wife were accompanied by a pool of officials in charge of Beijing’s policies for the city.

The handful of officials, most of them Xi’s trusted aides, include party big shots involved in top-level policymaking, government and foreign affairs. They include companions rarely seen in Xi’s domestic and overseas trips, such as the PLA’s top general, and those who run the nerve hubs of China’s legislature and consultation body that ensure the loyalty of social elites.

The offices involved cover all channels of command between Beijing and Hong Kong. So who are they and what do they do? Continue reading All the president’s men →

Xinhua raps handover anniversary

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Source: Sixth Tone (6/27/17)
Hong Kong State of Mind: Xinhua Raps Handover Anniversary
Following the young tradition of upbeat propaganda songs, hip-hop video stresses ‘one country, two systems.’
By Kenrick Davis

A screenshot from Xinhua’s ‘one country, two systems’ animated rap video.

China’s state news agency Xinhua has released an animated music video celebrating the upcoming 20th anniversary of the British ceding control of Hong Kong to the mainland.

The upbeat song gives a detailed explanation of “one country, two systems,” the policy that allows Hong Kong and Macau, China’s special administrative regions (SARs), to retain their capitalist economic and political systems. July 1 marks 20 years since the handover.

Ahead of the 20th anniversary of Britain handing over control of Hong Kong to China, state news agency Xinhua has released an animated rap video stressing the ‘one country, two systems’ principle. Continue reading Xinhua raps handover anniversary →

Liu Xiaobo released on his last legs

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Source: Sup China (6/26/17)
Liu Xiaobo released on his last legs
By Jeremy Goldkorn

One of the most recognizable figures of the quashed pro-democracy movement within China, Liu Xiaobo 刘晓波, has been released from prison on medical parole due to late-stage liver cancer, the New York Times reports (paywall). The Times cites one of Liu’s lawyers as saying that he was initially hospitalized a few weeks ago in the northeastern city of Shenyang, though the disease appears to be “very serious, very serious,” and “at this late stage, the treatment seems much more difficult.” Continue reading Liu Xiaobo released on his last legs →

Book of Xi’s anecdotes

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Source: China Daily (6/16/17)
Book of Xi’s anecdotes a best-seller
Volume presents stories president has used in speeches and articles
By LI XIAOKUN | China Daily

Book of Xi's anecdotes a best-seller

The cover of Anecdotes and Sayings of Xi Jinping

A new look at President Xi Jinping’s style and thoughts about China will open a fresh window on his leadership as a book of anecdotes and sayings he has mentioned in his speeches and articles is already gaining widespread interest from bookstores and the public just days after publication.

The book, Anecdotes and Sayings of Xi Jinping, is also winning over literary critics with its informal look on the challenges facing 21st century leadership.

“President Xi Jinping’s public speaking style has two characteristics — it is highly persuasive and has a strong cultural appeal. Reading this book, I’m reminded of his unique charisma,” said Kang Zhen, a professor at the School of Chinese Language and Literature of Beijing Normal University. Continue reading Book of Xi’s anecdotes →

“Soft Burial” banned

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Source: Hong Kong Free Press (6/12/17)
China bans ‘Soft Burial’, an award-winning novel about the deadly consequences of land reform
By Oiwan Lam

soft burial

A banner in a literature criticism seminar in Wuhan calls “Soft Burial” a “poisonous plant”. Photo: Weibo/Fangfang.

The Chinese government has recently banned the sale of an award-winning novel, “Soft Burial,” written by Fang Fang about China’s land reform in the 1950s.

The novel tells the story of an old woman who suffered from amnesia after she witnessed her husband’s entire family driven to take their own lives during the Chinese Communist Party’s nationwide land reform, which aimed to eliminate the landlord class not long after the People’s Republic of China was established in 1949. The buried memories haunt the woman throughout her life, and her son decides to investigate her past. Continue reading “Soft Burial” banned →

protest over school dispute

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Source: US News and World Report (6/14/17)
Beijing Protesters in Rare Clash With Police Over School Dispute
By Yawen Chen and Thomas Peter

Reuters

Police detain people during a protest denouncing a local authoritiy’s decision to reassign their children to an undesired school in Beijing, China June 14, 2017. REUTERS /Thomas Peter

BEIJING (Reuters) – About a hundred protesters clashed on Wednesday with police in downtown Beijing after authorities abruptly reassigned their children to a school in a rough neighborhood, a rare display of public anger in the Chinese capital.

Large protests are rare in heavily-guarded and affluent Beijing, but the reassignment plan comes at a time when educational resources have become increasingly stretched, while home prices have soared. Continue reading protest over school dispute →

Shanghai protest over property rule change

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Source: Reuters (6/11/17)
Rare public protest in China’s Shanghai over property rule change
By Andrew Galbraith and Yawen Chen | SHANGHAI/BEIJING

Hundreds of demonstrators have marched through a shopping district in the Chinese city of Shanghai to protest against changes to housing regulations, in a rare show of public dissent in the financial hub.

Footage of the late Saturday protests shared on social media showed hundreds of demonstrators holding placards and shouting slogans while marching along Nanjing Road, a glitzy shopping strip in the city center.

One video seen by Reuters showed police setting up blockades and dragging a demonstrator away. Media carried no reports of the demonstrations, while mentions of the protests on social media were scrubbed by internet censors. Continue reading Shanghai protest over property rule change →