Can we really say Wen is insincere?
Wen Jiabao’s lack of action on political reform, has led many to doubt his sincerity. But what about those other eight guys on the politburo?
Search Results for “political reform”
You have failed us, Mr. Wen
Reviewing decades of disaster and human folly, and years of wasted words about political reform, Zhai Minglei makes an impassioned case for democracy as the only way forward for China.
Enforcing the CCP’s Media Leadership
At this year’s gathering of top propaganda officials in China, held last week, the emphasis was once again on the CCP’s dominance of the message — in the media, propaganda, and culture more broadly. The prominent use of a new Xi Jinping catchphrase made clearer than ever who is in charge of the national narrative.
The Telegram
In this wonderful reflection from our 2014 archives, former CMP director and veteran journalist Qian Gang shares his experiences as pro-democracy demonstrations gripped China in the spring of 1989 — and the consequences of his own support for a newspaper editor at the center of events.
China’s ‘Xivilizing’ Mission
Beijing says it has created “a new form of human civilization” for other countries to emulate, built around Xi Jinping’s theories. But what exactly is China talking about when it talks about civilization, and what will it mean for the world to be Xivilized?
Transparency
The Chinese leadership sees transparency as important to promote state legitimacy. But it treats it as a matter of discipline and top-down supervision, rather than as a question of press freedom and citizen participation. The right to “open government information” (政府信息公开) is recognised in law, but may not infringe upon the interests of the Party State.
Buzzword Babble
The study of keywords can unlock the secrets stored away in the CCP’s bewildering official reports. But using the wrong terms only adds to the confusion.
Pen Names for Power Struggles
A historical look at the internal system of not-so-secret codes by which those in positions of power in China can make their views known through the official media system.
Main Melody
The term “main melody,” or zhu xuanlü (主旋律), is frequently found in contemporary Chinese Communist Party discourse to describe activity in the cultural sphere, including media and journalism, that sticks to the main political line of the CCP. Emerging in the 1980s to refer to developments in film, the phrase can now refer more generally to the need to ensure the Party’s voice is dominant in media and the arts, and leads the chorus.
Historical Revisions
Published days ahead of its centennial, the official chronicle of the history of the Chinese Communist Party offers a revealing glimpse into how the current leadership would like to remember, and forget, the past.
