Local media in the U.S. city of Seattle reported late last month that a 107-year-old warehouse building that had served as a temporary home for members of the Occupy Seattle movement was finally demolished by its owners. Media reports said Occupy members had fought to save the building since December, when 20 members were arrested for refusing to vacate the premises. In January, one Occupy member and activist, Babylonia Aivaz, said she would seek to marry the building in a last-ditch attempt to save it from demolition. A ceremony was reportedly prepared, but the building was demolished nonetheless. This story of a “forced demolition” in the United States was reported in China’s media and drew interest from readers in China, where forced demolition remains common and widely unpopular despite laws designed to curb the practice. In this cartoon, posted by artist Liu Xudong (刘旭东) to QQ.com, two demolition workers (with blond hair identifying them as “Americans”) stand by with hammers and saws as a voice rises from a warehouse building that says, “Who dares demolish my husband!”

In an article published in the most recent issue of the official Chinese Communist Party journal Seeking Truth (求是), Liu Yunshan (刘云山), the director of China’s Central Propaganda Department (CPD), introduces a new book issued by the CPD and authorized by the Party’s Central Committee outlining the basic policies on cultural development emerging from last October’s Party conference (Sixth Plenum of the 17th Central Committee).
The Central Propaganda Department first issued a formal announcement of the publication of the book, Theorizing Cultural Construction: A Collection of Important Expositions (论文化建设——重要论述摘编), on February 12 this year. That announcement described the book as follows:

The Collection offers a selection on various topics of a series of important expositions from Comrades Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, together reflecting our Party’s important theories and fundamental spirit (基本精神) on cultural construction (文化建设). It is crucial study material for the study and implementation of the spirit of the Sixth Plenum of the 17th Central Committee, further promoting cultural reform and development.

[ABOVE: A screenshot from China Central Television shows coverage on February 15 of the release of a new book from the Central Propaganda Department outlining new cultural policies and their implementation.]
Liu Yunshan’s introduction of the book in the current edition of Seeking Truth outlines six key points for cultural reform and development covered in the Central Propaganda Department volume, as follows:

1. Deeply understanding the important ideas of our Party concerning the status and role of cultural construction, firmly establishing a high-level consciousness and confidence in culture. [Basically, outlines China’s strategic need for not just “material” strength but also “spiritual” strength].
2. Deeply understanding the important ideas of our Party concerning the goals in the struggle for cultural construction, and the objective of firmly building a strong socialist cultural nation.
3. Deeply understanding the important ideas of our Party concerning the guiding principles of cultural construction, constantly expanding the breadth and prospects on the road of cultural development under socialism with Chinese characteristics (中国特色社会主义文化发展)
4. Deeply understanding the important ideas of our Party concerning the fundamental tasks of cultural construction, energetically promoting the building of the socialist core value system (社会主义核心价值体系).
5. Deeply understanding the important ideas of our Party concerning the impetus driving cultural development (文化发展动力), promoting the flourishing development of culture with a spirit of reform and innovation.
6. Deeply understanding the important ideas of our Party concerning the basic [ways of] ensuring cultural construction, promoting cultural reform and development in line with the strengthening and improvement of the Party’s leadership.

The full Chinese version of Liu Yunshan’s article in Seeking Truth follows:

深入学习党的文化建设理论:推动十七届六中全会精神贯彻落实
时间:2012年03月01日 09时00分 来源:《求是》 作者:刘云山
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　　经中央批准，由中央宣传部和中央文献研究室选编出版了《论文化建设——重要论述摘编》（以下简称《摘编》）。这是加强党的文化建设理论学习的重要举措，也是深入贯彻落实党的十七届六中全会精神、进一步推进文化繁荣发展的重要工作。《摘编》收录了毛泽东、邓小平、江泽民、胡锦涛同志关于文化建设的重要论述，凝聚着几代中国共产党人对社会主义文化建设规律的不懈探索，反映了我们党在文化建设领域取得的丰硕理论成果，具有很强的现实指导性。这些重要论述形成于不同时期，都坚持马克思主义立场，贯穿一切为了最广大人民的根本观点，贯穿辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的基本方法，一脉相承而又与时俱进，紧密联系而又各富创见，成为党的文化建设理论的核心内容，成为党的整个理论体系的重要组成部分，是我们党十分宝贵的精神财富，是推进文化改革发展、繁荣社会主义文化的强大思想武器。这些重要论述充分反映我们党是一个有高度文化自觉、文化自信的马克思主义政党，是一个高扬先进文化旗帜、坚持崇高文化理想的政党，是一个具有深邃文化眼光、宽广文化胸怀的政党，是一个勇于进行文化探索、善于把握文化规律的政党。
　　党的十七届六中全会以来，全党全社会把学习宣传贯彻全会精神作为重要政治任务，思想上高度重视，行动上高度自觉，工作上大力推进。总的看，学习宣传贯彻全会精神态势很好、效果显著，全党全社会的文化自觉文化自信得到提升，广大干部群众关注文化建设、投身文化建设的热情空前高涨，文化改革发展的政策条件不断完善、社会氛围更加浓厚。深入贯彻落实党的十七届六中全会精神，是一个不断深化认识的过程，需要坚持不懈地用党的文化建设理论统一思想、凝聚共识。《摘编》的出版，为学习党的文化建设理论提供了权威教材，为学习贯彻全会精神提供了重要遵循。学习好、宣传好、使用好《摘编》，对于深入落实全会精神有着重要意义。要以《摘编》出版为契机，紧密联系党领导人民进行文化建设的生动实践，紧密联系文化改革发展的具体实际，不断深化对党的文化建设理论的学习理解，更好地用党的理论创新成果武装头脑、指导实践，促进社会主义文化大发展大繁荣。
　　1．深刻理解我们党关于文化建设地位作用的重要思想，牢固树立高度的文化自觉文化自信。文化是民族的血脉，是人民的精神家园，也是政党的旗帜。作为马克思主义政党，我们党始终坚持以思想文化新觉醒、理论创造新成果、文化建设新成就，推动党和人民事业向前发展。在革命战争年代，我们党提出，文化是政治和经济的反映，同时又指导政治和经济斗争实践。在社会主义建设时期，我们党明确提出，“要把我们这个经济落后、文化落后的国家，建设成为富裕的、强盛的、具有高度文化的国家。”进入改革开放新时期，我们党反复强调，“不但要有高度的物质文明，而且要有高度的精神文明。”进入新世纪新阶段，我们党进一步提出，“文化是民族凝聚力和创造力的重要源泉，是综合国力竞争的重要因素，是经济社会发展的重要支撑。”这些重要论述，彰显了几代中国共产党人对发展文化历史责任的主动担当。党的十七届六中全会立足时代和实践的新发展，鲜明提出培养高度的文化自觉和文化自信，进一步深化了我们党对文化地位作用的认识，体现了我们党的战略眼光和远见卓识。
　　文化自觉、文化自信，反映着一个政党的理想追求和精神面貌，是一个政党是否成熟、是否有生命力的重要标志。深入贯彻落实全会精神，首要的就是提高对文化地位作用的认识，保持强烈的文化自信心和自豪感，坚定崇高的文化信念和文化追求。要更加自觉地认识到社会主义先进文化是马克思主义政党思想精神上的旗帜，始终坚持文化发展的正确方向，努力构筑精神文化高地，充分展现先进文化的强大感召力和吸引力。要更加自觉地认识到文化建设是中国特色社会主义事业总体布局的重要组成部分，关系实现全面建设小康社会和中华民族复兴的历史进程，把文化建设放在全局中来认识来把握，让文化真正成为推动经济社会发展的强大力量，成为促进社会文明进步的重要引擎。要更加自觉地认识到文化在综合国力竞争中的独特作用，积极抢占文化发展的制高点，不断增强国家文化软实力，扩大中华文化国际影响力。
　　2．深刻理解我们党关于文化建设奋斗目标的重要思想，进一步坚定建设社会主义文化强国的目标追求。在长期的革命、建设和改革实践中，我们党总是结合自己的历史使命，提出符合时代发展要求的文化发展目标。《摘编》关于文化建设奋斗目标的重要论述，集中体现了几代中国共产党人孜孜追求的文化理想，生动反映了党领导人民推进文化建设的思想轨迹。毛泽东同志早就预言：随着经济建设的高潮到来，不可避免地将要出现一个文化建设的高潮。邓小平同志曾引用毛泽东同志这一论断并指出：我们可以满怀信心地说，这种形势的出现已经为期不远。江泽民同志强调：在当代中国人民的伟大奋斗中，必将迎来社会主义文化建设的新高潮，创造出更加灿烂的先进文化。胡锦涛同志指出：中华民族伟大复兴必然伴随着中华文化繁荣兴盛，要更加自觉、更加主动地推动文化大发展大繁荣。党的十七届六中全会秉持我们党崇高的文化理想，把握文化发展趋势，展望文化发展前景，提出建设社会主义文化强国的奋斗目标，描绘了文化繁荣发展的宏伟蓝图。
　　建设社会主义文化强国的目标，与我国深厚文化底蕴和丰富文化资源相匹配，与建设富强民主文明和谐的社会主义现代化国家目标相承接，具有重大的现实意义和长远的战略意义。这是一个催人奋进的目标，顺应了国内外形势发展的新变化，顺应了各族人民精神文化的新期待，展示了我国文化繁荣兴盛的美好前景，要求我们不断用这一目标鼓舞人心，进一步激发全党全社会投身文化建设的热情，凝聚起推动文化改革发展的强大力量，不断开创文化建设的新局面。这是一个全面展现中华文化魅力和实力的目标，要求我们紧跟时代发展步伐，站在世界文明进步前沿，不忘本来、吸收外来、着眼将来，大力发展面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来的，民族的科学的大众的社会主义先进文化，使中华文化具有强大的吸引力影响力、强大的活力创造力、强大的实力竞争力。这是一个需要长期为之奋斗的目标，要求我们立足当前、着眼长远，持之以恒、不懈努力，以只争朝夕的精神开展工作，以强烈的责任感使命感落实好文化改革发展的各项任务，为建设社会主义文化强国奠定坚实基础。
　　3．深刻理解我们党关于文化建设方针原则的重要思想，不断开拓中国特色社会主义文化发展道路的广阔前景。坚持什么样的方针、什么样的原则，直接关系着文化发展的性质和方向。在长期历史实践中，我们党逐步确立了一整套关于文化建设的方针原则：坚持为人民服务、为社会主义服务，实行百花齐放、百家争鸣；坚持两手抓、两手都要硬，面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来；坚持团结稳定鼓劲、正面宣传为主，弘扬主旋律、提倡多样化；坚持以人为本，贴近实际、贴近生活、贴近群众，等等。这些都是对我国文化发展内在规律的深刻揭示，都是实践证明行之有效的方针原则。正是在这些方针原则指导下，我国文化建设取得重大历史性成就，走出了一条中国特色社会主义文化发展道路。党的十七届六中全会在深刻总结历史经验和新的实践的基础上，深刻阐述了这条道路的基本内涵，明确提出丰富拓展这条道路的实践要求。
　　中国特色社会主义文化发展道路是建设社会主义先进文化、实现中华文化繁荣兴盛的唯一正确道路，涵盖了文化建设的根本性质、根本目的、根本动力，规定了我国文化的基本属性和文化工作的基本遵循。要深刻把握中国特色社会主义文化发展道路的基本要求，坚持走先进文化之路，以马克思主义为指导，坚守正确的文化立场、文化取向，清醒认识纷繁复杂的社会文化现象，确保文化建设沿着正确方向发展；坚持走科学发展之路，用科学发展观统领文化建设，以科学发展为主题，把科学发展的理念贯穿到文化工作的各个方面、各个环节；坚持走强基固本之路，把社会主义核心价值体系作为基础工程，坚定理想信念，构筑精神力量，不断巩固全体人民团结奋斗的共同思想道德基础；坚持走以人为本之路，发挥人民在文化建设中的主体作用，坚持文化发展为了人民、文化发展依靠人民、文化发展成果由人民共享；坚持走改革创新之路，激发文化创造活力，解放和发展文化生产力，以与时俱进的精神不断开创社会主义文化建设新局面。
　　4．深刻理解我们党关于文化建设根本任务的重要思想，大力推进社会主义核心价值体系建设。社会主义核心价值体系是兴国之魂，是文化建设之本，决定着中国特色社会主义发展方向。毛泽东同志指出，我们党要有“共同语言”，我们社会主义国家要有“统一意志”。邓小平同志强调，“靠有理想，靠坚强的信念，什么困难都能克服。”江泽民同志强调，“一个民族、一个国家，如果没有自己的精神支柱，就等于没有灵魂，就会失去凝聚力和生命力。”胡锦涛同志指出，“社会主义核心价值体系是社会主义意识形态的本质体现”，“是我国社会主义文化的引领和主导。”重视凝聚共同意志和强大力量，成为我们党不断夺取胜利的一个根本保证。党的十七届六中全会把建设社会主义核心价值体系作为文化建设的根本任务，进行了系统阐述和全面部署，鲜明回答了在新的历史条件下我们党以什么样的思想精神带领人民前进、中华民族以什么样的精神风貌屹立于世界民族之林。
　　面对世界范围各种思想文化交流交融交锋，面对社会思想意识多元多样多变，迫切需要我们探索用社会主义核心价值体系引领社会思潮的有效途径，提高主流思想文化的主导力、整合力，最大限度扩大社会思想认同。要深刻认识推进社会主义核心价值体系建设的重要性紧迫性，铸造兴国之魂，传承文化精髓，坚定目标追求，用社会主义核心价值体系凝魂聚气，努力在多元中立主导、多样中谋共识。要紧密结合思想道德建设的实际，坚持不懈地用马克思主义中国化最新成果武装全党、教育人民，用中国特色社会主义共同理想凝聚力量，用以爱国主义为核心的民族精神和以改革创新为核心的时代精神鼓舞士气，用社会主义荣辱观引领社会风尚。要坚持知行统一、注重实践养成，把社会主义核心价值体系融入国民教育、精神文明建设和党的建设全过程，贯穿改革开放和社会主义现代化建设各领域，体现到精神文化产品创作生产传播的各方面，使之成为全体人民的自觉追求和实际行动。
　　5．深刻理解我们党关于文化发展动力的重要思想，以改革创新精神推动文化繁荣发展。改革创新是一个民族文化生生不息的活力源泉，是推动文化繁荣发展的关键所在。在领导文化建设过程中，我们党就文化发展的动力问题提出了一系列重要思想，始终强调要古为今用、洋为中用，推陈出新；强调要把握时代要求、着眼新的实践，积极进行文化创新，实现文化的与时俱进；强调文化是最需要创新的领域，改革是文化发展的必由之路，必须坚持解放思想、大胆创新，以改革促发展促繁荣。党的十七届六中全会贯穿改革创新的精神，从文化发展的更高起点出发，从建设社会主义文化强国的更高目标出发，对深化文化体制改革、推进文化创新、解放和发展文化生产力，提出新的更高要求，为增强文化发展的动力活力指明了方向。
　　现在，我国文化体制改革已进入全面深化的新阶段，文化发展已进入加速推进的新时期，巩固良好态势、破解前进中的问题，根本的途径还是靠改革创新。要坚持把转变观念作为总开关，把深化改革作为强大动力，把锐意创新作为不懈追求，坚持解放思想、实事求是、与时俱进，把改革创新精神贯穿文化建设全过程。要大力推进文化体制机制改革创新，深化文化管理体制改革，创新文化走出去模式，破除制约文化发展的体制机制障碍，着力构建充满活力、富有效率、更加开放、有利于文化科学发展的体制机制。要坚持导向为魂、内容为王、创意制胜，大力推进文化内容形式和方法手段创新，推进文化与高新科技的融合，不断提升文化的原创能力，增强文化的时代感和吸引力。要推动改革在重点领域和关键环节取得新进展，加大力度、加快进度、巩固提高、重点突破、全面推进，深化国有经营性文化单位转企改制，深化公益性文化单位改革，如期完成中央确定的阶段性改革任务，更好促进文化事业文化产业繁荣发展。
　　6．深刻理解我们党关于文化建设根本保证的重要思想，在加强和改进党的领导中推动文化改革发展。党管意识形态，党管宣传文化，是我们党在长期实践中形成的重要原则。我们党历来高度重视对文化工作的领导，在事业发展的不同阶段，都提出自己的文化纲领、文化目标、文化政策，有力推动了文化向前发展。改革开放的不断扩大，社会主义市场经济的深入发展，对党领导文化建设的能力水平提出了更高要求。在这样的形势下，如何牢牢把握意识形态工作主导权，瘴握文化改革发展领导权，是一项重大而紧迫的课题。党的十七届六中全会明谭指出，价强和改进党对文化工作的领导，吻推进文化改革发展的根本保证，也是加强党的执政能力建设和先进性建设的内在要求，必须从战略全局出发，把握文化发展规律，健全领导机制，改硷工作方式方法，增强领导文化建设的本领。
　　掌握领导权，才有主动权。各级党委政府要切?把文化建设摆在全局工作重要位置，纳入经济社会发展总体规划，纳入科学发展考核评价体系，与经济社会发展一同研究部署、一同组织实施、一同督促检查，确保文化改革发展的目标任务和政策举措落到实处。要把文化繁荣发展作为贯彻落实科学发展观的基本要求，作为坚持发展是硬道理、发展是党执政兴国第一要务的重要内容，像抓经济建设一样抓文化建设，像抓经济体制改革一样抓文化体制改革，像抓经济领域重点工程一样抓重点文化项目。要提高领导文化改革发展的科学化水平，坚持以科学制度作保障、以科学方法来推进，更好地用符合文化发展规律的思路和办法领导文化工作。要自觉贯彻党的群众路线，解决好“为了谁、依靠谁、我是谁”的基本问题，发挥好人民群众的首创精神和主体作用，更好调动文化工作者和全社会推动文化建设的积极性、创造性。要牢固树立人才是第一资源的思想，坚持尊重劳动、尊重知识、尊重人才、尊重创造，加大政策扶持，创造良好环境，形成人尽其才、才尽其用的生动局面，努力造就一批有影响的文化名家、文化大师和各领域领军人物，建设一支适应文化繁荣发展、建设社会主义文化强国需要的宏大文化人才队伍。
　　我们党关于文化建设的思想系统丰富，做好《摘编》的学习宣传使用工作十分重要。要把学习《摘编》作为推进学习型党组织建设的重要内容，纳入中心组学习计划，作为高校党校进行思想理论教育的重要材料，作为向基层干部群众进行宣讲的重要内容。要围绕我们党关于文化建设的重要论述，组织专家学者深入研究文化领域的重大理论和现实问题，研究关系文化发展的全局性、战略性、前瞻性问题，及时把实践经验升华为理论成果，不断丰富和发展中国特色社会主义文化理论，为推进文化建设提供学理支撑。要结合《摘编》的学习使用，切实加强对党的文化建设理论的宣传阐释，加强对中央关于文化建设决策部署的宣传阐释，加强对文化改革发展进展成效的宣传阐释，以良好的舆论环境，推动党的十七届六中全会精神深入落实，推动兴起社会主义文化建设的新高潮。
　　（本文系中共中央政治局委员、中央书记处书记、中宣部部长刘云山同志2012年2月15日在《论文化建设——重要论述摘编》出版座谈会上的讲话，发表时有删节。）

In recent weeks, China has been engulfed in a wave of state propaganda centered around Lei Feng (雷锋), a familiar Party exemplar from the country’s past. A self-sacrificing People’s Liberation Army soldier, Lei Feng ostensibly dedicated himself, heart and soul, to the Chinese Communist Party and its vision.
The new Lei Feng wave comes as China celebrates both the 50th anniversary of Lei Feng’s death in 1962 and the 49th anniversary of his formal status as a Party exemplar — March 5 each year is “Study Lei Feng Day.”
For Party leaders, re-visiting the spirit of Lei Feng is apropos in 2012 not just because of the above-mentioned anniversaries, but because there has been increasing concern, and also discussion, inside China about what many see as a progressive moral slide. Chinese — or so the argument goes — have become too selfish as rapid economic change has thrust the country forward, ahead of its own core values.

What are those core values? In the Party’s view, they must be “socialist core values” (社会主义核心价值), distinct from the universal values trumpeted in the West, as best suited (they say) to China’s unique culture and national circumstances (国情).
An important part of the program of broadly-touted “cultural system reforms” coming out of the sixth plenum of the 17th Central Committee last October was the promotion of these “socialist core values.” And so — (I’m still channeling one rather dominant Party discourse here) — in the same way that institutions like Hollywood and the Western press expound and project a set of Western “universal values”, Chinese culture in the broadest sense must transmit a unique set of Chinese values, an amalgam of (often twisted) ancient traditions and Party traditions.
Enter Lei Feng.
In an announcement earlier this week, China’s Ministry of Education said it was launching a movement of Lei Feng studies through the country’s education system, in order to “deeply implement the overall demands of . . . the Sixth Plenum of the Party’s 17th Central Committee.”
Said the announcement:

Lei Feng is a paragon for the practice of socialist and communist thought and morals, a model to be studied by the whole nation. The Lei Feng spirit is an important part of the spirit of the Chinese people, evincing the traditional virtue of the Chinese people, and in tune with our era of social progress. [It] manifests the inherent advancedness of our Party, and is a vivid embodiment of the socialist core value system.

As noted on the front page of the overseas edition of the People’s Daily today, the opening day of the National People’s Congress (NPC), March 5, also marks the 49th anniversary of the study of the “spirit of Lei Feng.” According to his official diary, Lei Feng died in 1962, but it was in 1963, 49 years ago, that Lei Feng was introduced to the Chinese public through a concerted propaganda campaign.
The Lei Feng wave fits nicely with the upcoming NPC not just because the session is the first since “cultural reforms” were trumpeted last October, but because public morals and broader social governance issues are likely to take a front seat at the session.
For example, there is talk that one agenda to be discussed is the creation of what has been called a “Good Samaritan law” — in other words, legislation encouraging citizens to assist those in need by lowering the risk associated with doing so. Talk of such legislation was ignited late last year after video surfaced of a toddler in the city of Foshan run over twice in succession by passing vehicles and then ignored by passersby.
What has the Lei Feng wave actually looked like in mainland Chinese newspaper coverage? Here is a graph showing the results day by day in more than 200 Chinese newspapers since February 1.

In an article published in at least 12 Party-run newspapers today, “The Eternal Summons: Century Symphony for the Lei Feng Spirit” (永恒的召唤: 雷锋精神世纪交响曲), China’s official Xinhua News Agency likens China to a grand symphony, in which of course everyone has their part to play.
The allegorical structure, in which Lei Feng serves as “first violin” (第一小提琴手), accords well with Hu Jintao’s notion of “harmony” and the “harmonious society”, or hexie shehui (和谐社会). All Chinese must play their part, subordinating their own tunes to the greater music of national peace and purpose.
Lei Feng, the tireless hero sacrificing personal interests for the greater good of the Party and the people, is the exemplar for all players — the virtuoso, if you will, of self-effacing struggle.
Much of the Xinhua piece is structured as a call and answer, again extending the musical theme. Like this portion, which introduces the idea that each member of Chinese society should serve as a brick in the great edifice that is China:

We ask: Lei Feng, how can we follow you today in moving forward?
Lei Feng once said: tall buildings are built up one brick and one stone at a time, and we must be the bricks and the stone, doing our piecemeal bit.
In the process of building our spiritual edifice (精神大厦), if only you are willing, we can all, like Lei Feng, be a single brick, a single tile, or even a single grain of sand . . . In Nanjing, after the Sichuan earthquake, an old man named Xu Chao (徐超) who made his way by begging, even after donating 5 yuan searched for all the cash on his person and finally went to the bank to change [the smalls] into a 100-yuan bill to put in the donation box. For this old man, this was a “bare donation” sparing nothing.
True goodness cares not who you are, or what your status is, and it cannot be measured by how much money you pay out. So long as it arises from love deep in your soul, every single person can be Lei Feng.

Of course, many Chinese would argue, and have, that the country’s present woes — including rising social unrest, and what might best be characterized as a general social malaise — are not the product of a moral deficit or an insufficiency of “spirit.” Rather, they are the product of political, social and economic marginalization.
Xinhua’s romantic story about the beggar Xu Chao exposes an appalling blindness to underlying social issues. Unpack the host of questions surrounding the poor Xu and you might have an illuminating case study on social and political gaps, on institutional negligence. But here, the hot tears of ideological fervor blind the reporters to the obvious.
As incidents like that in Guangdong’s Wukan village have sufficiently shown, Chinese are not lacking in political spirit or pluck. They certainly don’t need a moral pep-a-rally or a Lei Feng love fest.
What Chinese arguably do need, and what many increasingly demand, are institutions that, rather than exacting romantic self-sacrifice, enable participation and afford protection, so that every citizen can be clear where they stand — and can do good without fear.

The following post by Consensus Net (共识网), the official Weibo account of China’s Leaders (领导者) magazine, was deleted from Sina Weibo sometime before 3:46pm Hong Kong time, February 28, 2012. Lang Yaoyuan currently has just over 102,000 followers, according to numbers from Sina Weibo. [More on deleted posts at the WeiboScope Search, by the Journalism and Media Studies Centre].
The post came against the backdrop of renewed use in official Party media of the image and story of Lei Feng (雷锋), a People’s Liberation Army soldier held up in official Party propaganda in the 1960s as an exemplar of duty and devotion to the Party and the socialist cause. The dusting off of Lei Feng seems to have come amidst an invigorated official campaign in China to improve public morals.

Lei Feng, such a youthful screw [in the machine] http://t.cn/zOG5GhH Through his extended use in the propaganda of the national machine, spirit of Lei Feng has already become to tool advocating the individual’s sacrifice of private interests. The greater the sacrifice, the loftier the image, the greater the spirit. This kind of neglect of private interests, which from its very origin sets moral standards against private interests as a value orientation, must necessarily go against human nature. And so it is very difficult [for such a standard] to serve in raising the level of social morals.

The post by Consensus Net included the following image of Lei Feng:

The original Chinese-language post from Lang Yaoyuan follows:

雷锋，如此年轻的螺丝钉http://t.cn/zOG5GhH在国家机器长期宣传下，雷锋精神已经演变成国家提倡个人牺牲私利的工具：牺牲越巨大，形象越高大，精神越伟大。这样一种忽视个人利益、从一开始就将道德标准与私人利益对立起来的价值导向，必然是违背人性的，也就难以起到提高社会道德水平的作用.

NOTE: All posts to The Anti-Social List are listed as “permission denied” in the Sina Weibo API, which means they were deleted by Weibo managers, not by users themselves.

The following post by Lang Yaoyuan (郎遥远), the Hangzhou-based director of World Merchants Magazine, was deleted from Sina Weibo sometime before 6:00pm Hong Kong time yesterday, February 29, 2012. Lang Yaoyuan currently has just under 70,000 followers, according to numbers from Sina Weibo. [More on deleted posts at the WeiboScope Search, by the Journalism and Media Studies Centre].
Lang Yaoyuan’s post deals with the as-yet-unexplained unblocking on February 21 of an entry about former premier Zhao Ziyang (赵紫阳) on the Baidu website’s encyclopedia service, Baidu Baike (百度百科). According to some Chinese-language reports outside China, the Baidu page for Zhao Ziyang, a pro-reform figure who was ousted in the aftermath of the Tiananmen crackdown in June 1989, received more than two million visits within one day. The page has since been disabled.

That General Secretary who shed tears for our college students on the square was suddenly unblocked a few days back, and there were 2,16 million views that day. This old man, about whom for so long we could hear nothing, suddenly overnight appears again on the horizon of our awareness. Several million searches can be seen as several million tributes, so late but still not absent. At such a moment I feel how awesome (“NB”) it is to be Chinese. Chinese forget nothing.

The post by Lang Yaoyuan included the following image of Zhao Ziyang:

The original Chinese-language post from Lang Yaoyuan follows:

那位曾在广场对大学生流泪的总书记，前几天突然解禁，当天网络浏览216万次。“一个走得如此荒凉的老人，在这样一个偶然的夜里，又一次静静地出现在你我可以感知的边界。数百万条的搜索，就权当数百万次的注目礼吧，迟到了，却并不缺席。这一刻，感到身为一个中国人的NB。中国人，什么都没有忘记。”

NOTE: All posts to The Anti-Social List are listed as “permission denied” in the Sina Weibo API, which means they were deleted by Weibo managers, not by users themselves.

State media report today that Liu Binjie (柳斌杰), the head of China’s General Administration of Press and Publications (GAPP) — the agency that licenses journalists and print publications in the country and oversees ideological training campaigns for media — will serve as dean of the Tsinghua School of Journalism and Communication effective March 1.
Liu Binjie’s appointment to head up the journalism school at Tsinghua, generally recognized as one of China’s top universities, is explained in media reports as a routine replacement of Fan Jingyi (范敬宜), the previous dean (and the school’s first), who passed away on November 13 last year.
However, the fact that journalism schools at three of China’s top universities are now being run by former ministerial-level (正部级) officials has led to speculation on social media that Liu’s choice might be politically significant.
Liu Binjie served previously as minister of propaganda for the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League, and as the top Party propaganda official in China’s western Sichuan province.
The current dean at Peking University’s school of journalism is Shao Huaze (邵华泽), a former top official at the CCP’s flagship People’s Daily newspaper. The dean of the journalism school at People’s University of China is Zhao Qizheng (赵启正), the former director of China’s State Council Information Office, where controls on China’s internet are centered.
It was not immediately clear from Chinese news coverage whether Liu Binjie’s appointment would mean his replacement as head of GAPP, or whether he would hold the positions concurrently.

The following post by Sina-verified user @XiaoShanDoctorate (叶匡政), a researcher at an energy research center in Chengdu, was deleted from Sina Weibo sometime before 10:31pm Hong Kong time yesterday, February 28, 2012. @XiaoShanDoctorate currently has just under 30,000 followers, according to numbers from Sina Weibo. [More on deleted posts at the WeiboScope Search, by the Journalism and Media Studies Centre].
@XiaoShanDoctorate’s post, a re-post of a post by user @bxtv_XiaoFeng, criticizes the CCP-led cult around Guo Mingyi (郭明义), a manager at Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation (鞍山钢铁集团公司). Guo, previously dubbed an “Excellent Chinese Communist Party Member” (优秀共产党员), has been trumpeted as a modern-day Lei Feng (雷锋), an exemplar for all dutiful, obedient and hard-working Chinese. Fans of Guo Mingyi’s Sina Weibo account have topped six million, something Chinese internet users have questioned.

What qualification does someone whose fans are even fake have to be a moral exemplar? @bxtv_XiaoFeng: This thing is really building up! @AnGangGuoMingyi’s Weibo fan base has surpassed six million, but a great number of mummy fans (僵尸粉) are mixed in. I don’t know whether this is a propaganda strategy, but seeing it makes me a bit sick.

The post by @bxtv_XiaoFeng included the following image:

The original Chinese-language post from @XiaoShanDoctorate, with the post from @bxtv_XiaoFeng included, follows:

一个连粉丝都造假的人，有什么资格成为道德楷模？ @bxtv_小丰：事情果然闹大了！@鞍钢郭明义 的微博粉丝超过600多万，大量僵尸粉混杂其间，不知是不是宣传策略，反正看着有点恶心。现在一斤被大伙揪住了！

NOTE: All posts to The Anti-Social List are listed as “permission denied” in the Sina Weibo API, which means they were deleted by Weibo managers, not by users themselves.

The following post by Ye Kuangzheng (叶匡政), a Chinese poet and scholar, was deleted from Sina Weibo sometime before 3:45pm Hong Kong time yesterday, February 27, 2012. Ye Kuangzheng currently has just under 125,000 followers, according to numbers from Sina Weibo. [More on deleted posts at the WeiboScope Search, by the Journalism and Media Studies Centre].
Ye Kuangzheng’s post is simply a re-post of a string of separate posts on China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), which will go into full session early next week. The posts, by @LiuZhongshi @LinShaX and @ZhuoShuiQingShenZl, are critical of public security spending in China and the NPC as an empty body merely trumpeting the foregone decisions of the Chinese Communist Party:

//@LiuZhongshi: The people are treated like enemies! //@ZhuoShuiQingShenZl: The government is inactive, so the propaganda leaders are very busy; popular anger runs deep, so they emphasize that society is very harmonious; morals are lacking, so they soak us in great love; public order is great, so they mobilize vast police forces.//@LinShaX: The police forces they’ve mobilized now cost hundreds of thousands more than what America spends on its army, all for the sake of protecting the world’s best-known “great meeting of cheerleaders.”

It is not clear what @LinShaX is referring to in the line about U.S. military spending. China revealed last year, however, that it now spends more on internal security than it does on national defense.
The original Chinese-language post from Ye Kuangzheng, with posts from @LinShaX and @ZhuoShuiQingShenZl included, follows:

//@刘忠世:待民如寇仇！//@浊水清尘zl: 政府无为，所以宣扬领导都很忙；民怨很深，所以强调社会很和谐；道德沦丧，所以渲染我们有大爱；治安很好，所以动用强大的警力。//@林傻X：动用的警力比美国现役陆军的总数还多十几万，只是为了维护世界上最著名的“啦啦队大会”

NOTE: All posts to The Anti-Social List are listed as “permission denied” in the Sina Weibo API, which means they were deleted by Weibo managers, not by users themselves.

Chinese news media reported this week that Yunnan province in the country’s southwest will possibly face its worst drought in a century this year, and three cities in the province are already rationing water supplies. In the following cartoon, posted by artist Cao Yi (曹一) to QQ.com, the member of a Chinese ethnic minority group from Yunnan stands holding out a dish full of cracked, dry earth.
南方周末【云南，渴啊！】 中国水资源最丰富省份之一，云南，2012年春天迎来了又一个干旱开年。过去三年旱情叠加，让气象部门预测，云南可能遭遇“超百年一遇的干旱”。

Back in April 2011 Chinese economist Mao Yushi (茅于轼) set off a firestorm with a strongly worded criticism of Mao Zedong (毛泽东) posted to Caixin Online. This week Mao Yushi has again raised eyebrows, this time with a darkly frank assessment of China’s property market in an interview with Guangdong’s Southern Metropolis Daily.
In the interview, Mao Yushi argues that one key reason behind rising property prices in China in recent years has been a lack of good investment alternatives for China’s rich, fueling a boom in properties used largely for investment purposes but unaffordable for the vast majority of Chinese.
Citing a high rate of vacancy in Chinese properties (“possibly as high as 50 percent”), Mao suggests China’s property bubble must collapse, with properties losing at lease 50 percent of their value.

[ABOVE: Properties in Guangzhou’s Xian Village are vacated to make way for new property developments. The sign encourages local villagers to reach settlements on compensation for demolished property as early as possible. Photo by David Bandurski]
“Is there no remedy?” the Southern Metropolis Daily reporter asks towards the end of the interview. Mao Yushi answers by suggesting a tax on vacant properties, which he says might encourage a dramatic drop in rental prices and make apartments available to migrant workers. [Readers can click here to follow the conversation about Mao Yushi’s arguments on Sina Weibo.]

“No Medicine Can Cure [China’s] Property Market”
Southern Metropolis Daily
February 27, 2012
Southern Metropolis Daily: Recently, a number of projects in Lucheng (绿城) in Zhejiang province have been sold, exposing the existential crisis facing privately-run property enterprises. How do you view this phenomenon?
Mao Yushi: How can property enterprises make so much money? The direct reason is that property prices keep going up. Property buyers make money, and property sellers make money too.
Beginning in the second half of last year, you can already see the situation (in the market) changing. But many property developers haven’t yet seen these changes. So now properties are difficult to sell, money can’t be borrowed, and so (they) see the capital chain being broken.
Southern Metropolis Daily: Why is it that this phenomenon is quite common among private enterprises, but the situation at state-run property enterprises is somewhat better?
Mao Yushi: The difference between state-run and privately-run enterprises is in the ability to access money. But the larger climate dictates that the property sector faces huge dangers, whether state-run or privately-run. I said this the year before last. My friends in the property sector don’t like to hear me say it. They say why don’t you help us out. I say, if I help you this does you harm. Unfortunately, very few people understand this.
Southern Metropolis Daily: Many privately-run enterprises have been influenced heavily by macro-adjustments. Where is the development bottleneck here?
Mao Yushi: It’s about financing.
Southern Metropolis Daily: So because they have no cash, these private enterprises face a shrinking space?
Mao Yushi: The major banks don’t service small and medium-sized enterprises. This is the same around the world. The United States has more than 8,000 banks, the vast majority of these small banks. That is why there is no serious financing problem for small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S.
Southern Metropolis Daily: Where is the future space for development for privately-run enterprises in China?
Mao Yushi: If the problem of financing is not resolved there a large space for development doesn’t exist. The biggest source of financing for private enterprises right now is private lending (民间借贷). Now the government plans to chop this [source of financing] off, and the public response has been loud. Because if private lending is not available, this will further strengthen the monopoly of financing by state enterprises.
Southern Metropolis Daily: [Economist] Lang Xianping has said before that once private property developers are out of the picture, property prices will get even higher. What do you think about that view?
Mao Yushi: The problem for small and medium-sized enterprises is about financing, and the problem of financing doesn’t have much to do with property prices.
The Property Bubble Will Burst Sooner or Later
Southern Metropolis Daily: Some people already think that the property market [in China] has already entered an era without a sense of direction, and that the inability to come to a consensus about the property market is the fundamental cause of chaos in the market. Do you support that view?
Mao Yushi: No. I think there are a number of reasons why the property sector has become what we see today. One reason is that income distribution in our country is uneven, and the gap between rich and poor is too pronounced. Even if prices go up further, the rich can afford it, and so they don’t care how high prices go. Secondly, the rich have no good channels for investment. If there were good channels for investment, they would no longer go and buy property. Third, there are government controls on land. The government’s regulations concerning a bottom line (红线) for arable land protection at 180,000 mu [or 12,000 hectares] are extremely misguided. Land [availability] is the reason property prices are expensive, and insufficient supply (of land) drives property prices up.
Southern Metropolis Daily: On the one hand, property prices have risen significantly. On the other hand, the rate of empty properties in many areas is quite high.
Mao Yushi: In fact, the (the reason driving property price increases) isn’t because there is so much demand from people. Right now [as you say] many properties are empty, but I think in some cases properties have been empty for more than a decade.
Southern Metropolis Daily: You’ve said before that the greatest risk to China’s economy this year is the property market. Where specifically do you see [this danger] emerging?
Mao Yushi: Many properties standing empty spells a bubble. In my view, the biggest risk for China’s economy this year and next is the bursting of the property bubble. China’s situation, I’m afraid, is unique in the world, because there are so many empty [residential] properties, no one living there. This is the biggest bubble [you can imagine]. A sea of properties, and no one living in them. This is a frightening (thing).
Southern Metropolis Daily: Do you think the property bubble will burst this year?
Mao Yushi: It’s hard to say, but it will burst sooner or later. How could it not burst? You would have to have people living in all of these properties for the [problem of] empty homes to be absorbed. Is that possible. I don’t think it’s possible. Well then, the only road possible is the bursting [of the bubble]. What does bursting mean? It means the steady fall of [residential] property prices.
Southern Metropolis Daily: How far do you think property prices will fall if the bubble bursts?
Mao Yushi: I think 30 percent is too little. Dropping 50 percent is more like it. Actually, 50 percent isn’t really that high. Three years ago, property prices in Beijing went down that much.
Southern Metropolis Daily: According to your thinking, empty properties give rise to a bubble. Well then, in your view, are residential properties by nature supposed to serve a residential function?
Mao Yushi: The ultimate purpose of residential property is that it be lived in.
Southern Metropolis Daily: The only function of homes is to be lived in, so if it’s not this function [they are serving], then we can say something has gone wrong with [the] property [market]?
Mao Yushi: That’s not the way to view this situation. In the property market there should be speculative property (投机房), but the ratio should not very high. Homes can sit empty. But I’ve heard friends in the property market say the rate [of empty properties] should stand around 8-10 percent. Right now, it’s not even 30 percent, but possibly as high as 50 percent. With so many empty properties, can trouble be avoided?
Government Intervention is No Match for the Power of the Market (市场威力)
Southern Metropolis Daily: But looking at the situation this year, it seems that in some regions, owing to restrictions on property purchasing or prices, prices on the property market have gone down?
Mao Yushi: Not necessarily. Right now, the fall in property prices isn’t necessarily due to price or purchasing restrictions. I think its that the whole macroeconomy has met with trouble. I wrote an article before in which I said that now that buying restrictions were over the (government) should rely on the market here on out. Once the bubble bursts, the government should rely on the market. You tell me, what is the use of restricting prices and purchasing?
Southern Metropolis Daily: You’re totally against price and purchasing restrictions?
Mao Yushi: Totally against them.
Southern Metropolis Daily: Ok, what about property taxes (房产税)?
Mao Yushi: I don’t support them either. I’m in support of high taxes on investment gains (投资收益)?
Southern Metropolis Daily: What’s wrong with places like Chongqing and Shanghai charging property taxes?
Mao Yushi: Limits on purchasing and property taxes are limits placed on people buying homes, and I think they’re no good. Property taxes are not a way of dealing with the market [as a whole], but rather should be a normal form of tax, an normal part of the operation of the real-estate market.
Southern Metropolis Daily: So everyone has misunderstood property taxes?
Mao Yushi: We should have property taxes, but they are not a tool to tackle high property prices . . .
Southern Metropolis Daily: On November 10 last year, Zhongshan [in Guangdong province] issued an order on price restriction (限价令) capping property prices at 5,800 yuan/square meter up to December 31, 2011. But after the new year, the cap was raised to 6,590 yuan/square meter.
Mao Yushi: This is completely without reason. Price caps are an even bigger mess than purchasing limits.
Southern Metropolis Daily: But home buyers really benefitted.
Mao Yushi: The most important is balance. This kind of forced price drop will cause unhappiness among developers, and what happens later when no one goes and develops properties?
Southern Metropolis Daily: In fact no clear official document was released for this price standard in Zhongshan. [The government] simply refused to register any property [for sale] that was above this price.
Mao Yushi: Regardless of whether or not there was a document, price limitations are wrong. This just suggests that the government doesn’t want to take responsibility as it carries out a wrong-headed policy. We have a Commodity Price Law by which prices are determined by the market and not interfered with by the government. How do they decide 6,590 yuan/square meter is suitable and not 6,600 yuan/square meter?
Southern Metropolis Daily: The government calculated it on the basis of GDP growth of 13.5 percent last year.
Mao Yushi: Hitching price limits up to GDP makes even less sense.
Southern Metropolis Daily: What if they were connected to average disposable incomes?
Mao Yushi: That makes no sense either. The government needs to have an understanding of economics. They shouldn’t manage so much, but should let the market freely make adjustments.
Southern Metropolis Daily: Do you encourage people to purchase property?
Mao Yushi: In the current market environment I don’t advise people to buy property. Seeing as prices (for property) will drop, what reason would there be in buying something whose price will go down?
Southern Metropolis Daily: But you’ve said before that the government should encourage people to buy property.
Mao Yushi: There’s nothing wrong with the government encouraging people to buy property. But the government needs to open up land supply, expand avenues for investment, etcetera, and not apply limitations on property purchasing to bring prices down.
Charging a Tax on Empty Properties Could Help Dilute the Property Bubble
Southern Metropolis Daily: So what do you think should be done about China’s economy this year? Will there be any loosening of adjustments for the property market?
Mao Yushi: On this, let me just say that government adjustments are of no use. They are negligible compared to market forces. What the government can do is open up investment opportunities, allowing those with money to put that money in investments rather than purchasing property. This is what the government should do first and foremost. But it’s already late. In my view, the bursting of the property bubble is something that cannot be avoided.
Southern Metropolis Daily: It must burst? Is there no remedy?
Mao Yushi: (Things for several seconds) Let me offer one suggestion. Charge a tax on empty properties, and the result will be that rental prices drop dramatically. Then workers from outside the city could afford to rent apartments. If that were done I think it might have some benefit for the property market.
Of course, some people say this would be difficult to do, because it’s difficult to tell whether a property is vacant. But in my view, even if it’s very difficult, even if the costs of doing it are high, it is something that really needs doing, because the income would be very high. . . I think it could be done.
So a property that before could be rented for 2,000 could be rented for 1,000 [a month]. But seen from another angle, (this suggestion) does somewhat interfere with personal freedoms. But I think this is a matter of no alternative, otherwise the losses later will be even larger. When the property bubble bursts down the road, the properties will be worth even less.
Southern Metropolis Daily: Isn’t this suggestion of yours also a form of government regulation of the market?
Mao Yushi: It amounts to interfering with the market, but why is there a need to interfere? Because there is already a bubble. What use is restricting purchases? The purpose of [this] adjustment [I’m suggesting] is allowing people to live in these empty properties.