No Thought Like Xi Thought - Xi's Calls to Leaders of Zambia & UAE - Package to Stabilise Economy - Wang Yi on US' China Policy - Yang Jiechi Talks to Jens Plotner - Xi's Qiushi Article
Before we get to today’s edition, if you are interested, I have a piece in the Hindustan Times, weighing in on the reports of and debate around the pushback against Xi.
Anyway, here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Wednesday, June 1, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: All but one of the stories on the front page today are about Xi Jinping. First, at the top of the page, is a report about Xi sending a letter to congratulate the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation on its 40th anniversary. Xinhua reports:
“Over the past four decades, the CSCLF, under the leadership of the CPC, has carried forward the lofty spirit of Madame Soong Ching Ling and played an important role in promoting friendly international relations, expanding exchanges across the Taiwan Strait and with Hong Kong and Macao, and developing youth programs, Xi said in the letter. Xi expressed his hope that the CSCLF will carry on Madame Soong's faith of "always staying with the Party together," further promote friendly people-to-people cooperation, advance peaceful reunification of China, facilitate the growth of youth, and develop public interest activities and charity.”
Wang Yang and You Quan attended the anniversary event. Wang called on the foundation to “thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter, adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, strengthen the ‘four consciousness’ and ‘four self-confidences’ and and achieve the ‘two safeguards’...”
Second, there’s a report about Xi’s congratulatory letter to the China National Children's Center over the 40th anniversary of its founding. This is in the context of today being International Children’s Day. In the letter, Xi praises the centre for having “adhered to the original mission of educating people for the Party and the country, implemented the fundamental task of cultivating people through moral education, served the majority of children, and made positive contributions to training builders and successors of socialist cause.”
Third, there’s a report about Xi’s call with Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema. Xi called the two countries “all-weather friends”, adding that “the friendship between the two countries is unbreakable.” Xinhua reports that China-Zambia two-way trade has hit a record high and among all African countries, Zambia has the most Chinese direct investment in Africa.
“Xi stressed that the two sides should view bilateral relations from a strategic height, support each other on issues concerning their respective core interests, strengthen inter-party exchanges, and share experience in governance. He also called for strengthening strategic communication and policy synergy, fully implementing the nine programs announced by China at the 8th Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation(FOCAC) in 2021, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, pushing for more Zambian goods, especially quality agricultural products, to enter the Chinese market, and strengthening anti-epidemic cooperation. Xi called on both sides to carry forward the Tanzania-Zambia Railway spirit, keep it updated in accordance with the trend of the times, and make the railway an important transportation channel in the region, Xi noted. China and Zambia are both developing countries, Xi stressed, noting that promoting solidarity and cooperation with Zambia and other African countries is China's long-term and firm strategic choice. The two sides, Xi said, should adhere to independent diplomatic policy, firmly safeguard international fairness and justice and uphold the international system with the United Nations at its core and the international order based on international law.”
Hichilema, as per Xinhua, said that the “Chinese people, under Xi’s outstanding leadership, have achieved prosperity and development, and the Zambian side deeply admires those achievements…He said that the Zambian side is ready to strengthen exchanges with and learn from the Communist Party of China...Zambia firmly follows the one-China policy and supports the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative…Hichilema also wished that the 20th National Congress of the CPC will be a complete success.” –
Fourth, there’s a report about Xi’s call with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Xinhua reports that after praising the development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two sides and recalling Sheikh Mohamed’s visit to China during the Beijing Olympics, Xi said that:
“The Chinese side firmly supports the UAE in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and stability and independently exploring a development path suited to its national conditions…China is willing to work with the UAE to firmly support each other’s core interests, and safeguard basic norms governing international relations as well as the common interests of developing countries…China stands ready to deepen anti-pandemic cooperation with the UAE, strengthen the synergy of the Belt and Road Initiative with the UAE’s development strategies, and facilitate the deepening of bilateral cooperation…China is ready to maintain close communication with the UAE on international and regional affairs, strengthen coordination on the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, safeguard peace and stability in the Middle East, push for a more just and equitable global governance system, and make positive contributions to lasting peace and long-term development of the world.”
Xinhua tells us that Sheikh Mohamed was “delighted” to attend the Beijing Olympics opening; “he cherishes the deep brotherly friendship with President Xi, and will do his best to promote the continuous development of the UAE's relations with China. Reaffirming that the UAE will always stand together with China as it has done in the past and at present…”
Fifth, there’s a long feature about Xi’s concern and aspirations for China’s children. He wants them to strive to become “socialist builders and successors”. The piece begins with Xi’s May 2014 visit to then Beijing Haidian Minzu Primary School. The piece’s big message is captured in the paragraph below, with quotes from Xi:
“the most important aspiration in life should be linked with the motherland and the people”; "your generation should be said to have the strongest sense of national pride and honour”; “the Chinese dream of China’s socialist modernisation and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be realised in your hands in the future”... 寄语“人生最重要的志向应该同祖国和人民联系在一起”；强调“你们这一代应该说是民族自豪感荣誉感最强的”；嘱咐“我国社会主义现代化、中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦，将来要在你们手中实现”…
Sixth, we have the next story in the series on following Xi’s footprints. This one covers Heilongjiang. Seventh, a report about Qiushi publishing a new article by Xi on building a modernization where humanity and nature coexist in harmony. This is basically drawn from Xi’s speech at the Politburo study session on April 30, 2021.
Xi called the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature one of the vital characteristics of China's socialist modernization. He calls for:
promoting green and low-carbon development
enhancing efforts on the fight against pollution
improving the quality and stability of the ecosystem, which entails increasing the supply of high-quality ecological products
participating in global environmental governance and strengthen international cooperation in the fields of climate change, marine pollution control and biodiversity protection
advance the modernisation of China's governance system and capacity on issues related to the ecological environment
Xi calls on Party committees and governments at all levels to fulfil the “political responsibility of ecological civilisation construction and resolutely enforce orders and prohibitions…”
And after all this, at the bottom left-hand corner of the paper is a report about Wang Yang meeting with Salah Goudjil, speaker of the Algerian Council of the Nation.
Page 2: A report about the State Council issuing a circular on Tuesday detailing a policy package that aims to stabilise the economy. This is basically about the 33 measures across six areas that were announced last week. The six areas covered are:
fiscal policy (tax refunds and credits and clearing local government bond issuance and use)
monetary and financial policy (loan repayment deferrals, support through financial institutions for investment projects, improving the financing efficiency via capital markets)
stabilising investment and promoting consumption (investments in water conservancy projects, transportation infrastructure, urban underground pipelines along with promoting the healthy development of the platform economy, and increasing the consumption of automobiles, household appliances, etc.)
ensuring food and energy security
maintaining industrial chain and supply chain stability (reduce cost of water, electricity, broadband, etc. for market players, support them in rent reductions and exemptions, provide specific support for market entities hard hit by the pandemic, improve logistics, and encourage major foreign-funded projects to actively attract foreign investment.)
ensuring people’s basic livelihood
Also on the page is a report with comments from officials like the NDRC’s Zhao Chenxin, MIIT’s Xu Xiaolan, Li Zhong, from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, Ministry of Transport’s Zhao Chongjiu, etc., on the economic measures.
The one bit that I found noteworthy in this was Li Zhong informing us that considering the challenges of unemployment, the benefits of one-time worker retention subsidy will be extended from small, medium and micro enterprises in medium-high risk areas to large enterprises in these areas. Also, depending on the impact of the pandemic and the balance of funds, provinces can extend the coverage to enterprises in the catering, retail, tourism, civil aviation and road, water and railway transport sectors in non-medium-high risk areas. Li also says that if an enterprise recruits college graduates in the graduation year, signs a labour contract and participates in unemployment insurance, local governments can grant a one-time employment expansion subsidy of no more than 1,500 yuan per person. 留工补助范围更广。一次性留工补助受益范围由出现中高风险地区的中小微企业扩大至该地区的大型企业。同时，各省根据疫情影响程度和基金结余情况，还可扩大到未出现中高风险疫情地区的餐饮、零售、旅游、民航和公路水路铁路运输等5个特困行业企业。支持扩岗举措更新。《一揽子政策措施》提出，企业招用毕业年度高校毕业生，签订劳动合同并参加失业保险的，可按每人不超过1500元的标准，向企业发放一次性扩岗补助，具体补助标准由各省、自治区、直辖市确定。
Zhao Chongjiu talked about rural road construction. “China will complete the reconstruction of an extra 30,000 km of rural highways this year, bringing the total annual reconstruction goal to 150,000 km. He also talked about efforts to rebuild 8,000 unsafe bridges in rural areas this year, an increase of 3,000 bridges from the previously announced targets.”
Page 3: A one-paragraph report about a meeting between Yang Jiechi and Jens Plotner, foreign and security policy advisor to the German chancellor. All it says is that the two sides exchanged views on Sino-German relations and international and regional issues of common concern.
Second, a report on Wang Yi’s visit to Tonga. Apart from his Tongan counterpart, Wang met with King Tupou VI and Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni. King Tupou said that “Tonga firmly adheres to the one-China policy and will continue to take this as the cornerstone to promote the continuous development of bilateral relations.”
Wang told Tupou that this “visit to Tonga is to put into practice the diplomatic concept that all countries, big or small, are equal, and China takes concrete measures to support Tonga in accelerating post-disaster recovery and reconstruction. He added that China “deeply understands the legitimate needs and urgent aspirations of developing countries” and is ready to do the utmost to help them catch up with the trend of the times and accelerate development and revitalization.
Xinhua English’s report covers Wang’s meeting with the Prime Minister. It says that:
“The prime minister said that he is delighted to meet with the Chinese delegation at the China-aided government building, adding that the visit to Tonga after taking a long journey despite the pandemic fully demonstrates the solid and friendly relations between the two countries…The Tongan prime minister thanked China for its selfless help in Tonga's socioeconomic development, particularly swift assistance in Tonga's response to the volcanic tsunami disaster as well as strong support for Tonga's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Noting that both countries stick to the principles of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs and respecting other countries' sovereignty, he said that Tonga will stay committed to the one-China policy as well as the effort to advance the bilateral friendly relations. Tonga looks forward to promoting synergy with China in joint construction of the Belt and Road, and deepening practical cooperation in various fields, said the prime minister.”
“Wang said that China will work to ensure the success of the projects including on sports venues and wind power infrastructure, and to promote sub-national exchanges and cooperation, so as to make the bilateral friendly relations more fruitful, bringing more tangible benefits to the Tongan people. Wang said that the Chinese diplomacy features non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, mutual benefit and win-win results, while noting that leaders of island nations in the South Pacific region have recently made clear that their countries are not a ‘backyard’ of any country but independent and sovereign states, who have the right to decide on their own affairs. China fully understands and supports their stance, Wang said. Wang said that China is willing to work with all parties in an open manner to deepen the mutually beneficial cooperation with Pacific island countries, promote multilateralism, oppose any act of unilateral bullying, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the developing countries, especially the smaller nations.”
Third, there’s a report on Wang Yi’s comments (English report) at a Symposium on Dr. Kissinger and China-U.S. Relations. Wang’s essential message is captured in the excerpt below:
“Wang Yi pointed out that China-U.S. relations are encountering more and more challenges, the historical narrative of China-U.S. relations has been artificially distorted, and the development direction is in danger of being further led astray. If the United States continues to turn back the clock of history on the Taiwan question, it will fundamentally undermine peace across the Taiwan Straits and will eventually hurt itself. China-U.S. relations cannot continue to deteriorate. We must make the right choice. We need to correct our strategic perception and abandon the Cold War mentality. We need to consolidate the political foundation and properly manage differences. We need to move forward from the logic of competition and enhance exchanges and cooperation. Wang Yi said that the current atmosphere of China-U.S. relations is much abnormal, and the high anxiety of the U.S. side is completely unnecessary. China’s overriding task is to concentrate on developing itself and meet its people's aspirations for a better life. If the United States keeps defining its relations with China in terms of major power competition and sets its policy goal as ‘I-win-you-lose’, it will only push China and the United States into confrontation and conflict and the world into division and turmoil.”
Fourth, a report on Defense Minister Wei Fenghe’s call with his Tanzanian counterpart Stergomena Lawrence Tax. Wei said that China and Tanzania are “devoted brothers, trustworthy friends and sincere partners.” The official English report from the meeting says:
“China is ready to work together with the international community including Tanzania, upholding the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, to implement the Global Development Initiative (GDI) and Global Security Initiative (GSI) with concrete actions, and contribute to building a world of lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity, said Wei. China's defense chief told his Tanzanian counterpart that the Chinese military will continue to strengthen strategic communication with the Tanzanian military, build and make good use of the cooperation mechanism, enhance the quality and effectiveness of joint exercises and training, carry forward the traditional friendship and push forward the relations between the two militaries.”
Page 4: A report informing that Zhang Gong has been named as acting mayor of Tianjin. SCMP reports: “Zhang, 60, who has headed the State Administration for Market Regulation since July 2020, was named as deputy Communist Party chief of the northern port city on Saturday before the city’s legislature confirmed him in the role of acting mayor on Tuesday. The appointment followed the sudden death of the previous mayor Liao Guoxun who died late in April aged 59. A government statement said he had died after a sudden illness but did not provide further details.”
Another report that informs that in Chongqing, Chen Min’er has been appointed as Party Secretary. It’s a post that he has held since 2017. Hu Henghua and Li Mingqing have been confirmed as deputy secretaries; and Lu Kehua, Song Yijia, Jiang Hui, Cai Yunge, Zhang Hongxing, Chen Mingbo, Yu Huiwen and Lu Hong are part of the Chongqing Municipal Standing Committee.
Finally, a report of State Councilor Wang Yong speaking at a national video conference on production safety. He spoke about the need to launch a production safety overhaul and carry out in-depth safety rectification in key fields.
Page 8: Today, we have the 8th piece in the series excerpted from the book Face to Face with the Century-old Party. This one answers the question: “Why is it said that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has achieved a new leap in the sinicization of Marxism?” At the outset, let me say that this was a really difficult read. I’ve tried my best to capture the essence of what was argued, but I apologise if there are translation issues.
The article begins by telling us that human activities can roughly be classified into two types: thought and action. “There is no revolutionary action without revolutionary thought, and thought precedes action as lightning precedes thunder. Each era should have its own theory to guide the actions of that era. With great political wisdom and theoretical courage, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, have created Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which has greatly changed China and influenced the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping, as the core of the CPC Central Committee and the whole Party, is the main founder of this thought and has played a decisive role and made decisive contributions to its establishment. Looking around in the world today, there is no thought like Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The changes it is ushering in are epoch-making, the problems it is solving are global, it is impacting billions of people, and the values it comprises are of universal significance to mankind. This contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st century Marxism has made the great theory of Marxism shine with brilliance — through original theoretical contributions, a rigorous scientific system, landmark ideas and values-based actions — it has achieved a new leap in the sinicization of Marxism and marked a new height of the Communist Party of China’s theoretical innovation.” 人类活动千差万别，归结起来大致可以分为两种：思想和行动。没有革命的思想就没有革命的行动，思想走在行动之前，就像闪电走在雷鸣之前一样。每个时代都应该有自己的理论，从而指导这个时代的行动。以习近平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人，以巨大的政治智慧和理论勇气，创立了习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想，极大地改变中国、影响了世界。习近平总书记作为党中央的核心、全党的核心，是这一思想的主要创立者，为这一思想的创立发挥了决定性作用、作出了决定性贡献。遍观当今世界，没有一种思想能像习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想这样，引领的变革是划时代的、解决的问题是世界性的、影响的人群是数十亿量级的、蕴含的价值是具有人类普遍意义的。这个当代中国马克思主义、21世纪马克思主义，让马克思主义这一伟大学说大放异彩，以原创性理论贡献、严密性科学体系、标志性思想观点、引领性行动价值，实现了马克思主义中国化新的飞跃，标注了中国共产党理论创新的新高度.
The first section basically argues that the reason why Marxism has been able to maintain its salience is because “it has continuously explored new topics raised by the development of the times and responded to new challenges faced by human society.” It adds that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese characteristics for the New Era is a model for upholding and developing Marxism. It has not forgotten the ancestors; it has consciously observed the times with Marxism as a ‘telescope’ and a ‘microscope’, and has added a lot of new material, composing a new chapter in the history of Marxism with a brand-new logical starting point and theoretical construction. 习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想，是坚持和发展马克思主义的典范，既不丢老祖宗，自觉用马克思主义这个“望远镜”和“显微镜”来观察时代，又讲出了许多新话，以全新的逻辑起点和理论建构谱写了马克思主义新的篇章.
It adds that this thought has put forward a series of important scientific conclusions and important ideas in terms of the correct direction, political guarantee, path selection, value basis, etc., for national rejuvenation. It also talks about how Xi thought “integrates the ideological essence of Marxism and the spiritual characteristics of Chinese culture, fully absorbs the essence of more than 5,000 years of splendid civilization, and enriches the spiritual world of Chinese people today…this thought is the essence of the Chinese culture and Chinese spirit of the times, full of rich Chinese flavour, profound Chinese sentiment and noble national soul…” 习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想深深扎根于中华大地，把马克思主义的思想精髓和中华文化的精神特质融会贯通起来，充分汲取5000多年璀璨文明的精华养分，丰富当代中国人的精神世界，为增强民族自信自强注入更为主动的精神力量。这一思想是中华文化和中国精神的时代精华，充盈着浓郁的中国味、深厚的中华情、浩然的民族魂，具有强大的历史穿透力、文化感染力、精神感召力，堪称推进“两个结合”的光辉典范.
The next section says that any classical theory that transcends time and space and has far-reaching influence must have some constant essential and prescriptive characteristics. Otherwise, there will be disputes and disagreements such as those encapsulated in the Theseus paradox or the Buddhist parable of the war drum (Ā néng hē gǔ - 阿能诃鼓). At the same time, this theory must undergo constant innovation keeping in mind the changes to historical conditions, cultural background and realistic needs, otherwise it will inevitably meet the fate of the ship being destroyed and the drum being broken. There are usually two types of actions that are involved in the process of ensuring that theoretical classics keep pace with the times – one is quantitative accumulation, which involves enriching and improving while maintaining the original theoretical framework, and the other is to carry out an overall upgradation, which involves breaking through the original theoretical framework and carrying out new construction.” 任何一种超越时空、影响深远的理论经典，必须有某些恒定的本质性、规定性特质，否则就会产生“忒修斯之船”“阿能诃鼓”的争论和分歧。同时，这种理论必须随着历史条件、文化背景、现实需要等变化而不断创新，不然就会不可避免陷入“船毁鼓破”的历史结局。在推动理论经典与时偕行的过程中，通常会出现两种形式，一种是量的积累，在原有理论框架下进行完善和丰富，一种是整体升级，突破了原有理论框架进行新的建构.
It then adds that “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has achieved a new sublimation of the Sinicization of Marxism and is an epoch-making scientific theoretical system. Through the exploration of theory and practice in the new era, this system has gradually become mature and perfected, providing a clear, complete, logical and self-consistent theoretical framework and ideological content.” 正是从这个意义上说，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想实现了马克思主义中国化新的升华，是一个划时代的科学理论体系。这个体系经过新时代以来理论和实践的双重探索，逐渐走向成熟、趋于完善，呈现出清晰完整、逻辑自洽的理论框架和思想内容.
The article talks about “两个始终” - the Two Always/from beginning to end: Always adhering to the original mission and always strengthening the ideals and beliefs, which are the starting point and the end result of all the Party’s struggles over the past 100 years, and the logical origin and fundamental aim of the Party's theoretical innovation in the new era. The most important theoretical connotation and practical direction of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is to seek the happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation for the Chinese nation, and to better adhere to the communist ideals and socialist beliefs. By understanding the fundamental thread of the Two Always, we can understand the basis of construction and theoretical development of this thought.” 理论线索贯穿于“两个始终”。始终坚守初心使命、始终坚定理想信念，是100年来党一切奋斗的出发点和落脚点，是新时代党的理论创新的逻辑原点和根本旨归。新时代中国特色社会主义思想最重要的理论旨趣和实践指向，就是更好为中国人民谋幸福、为中华民族谋复兴，更好坚持共产主义理想和社会主义信念。理解了“两个始终”的根本线索，就理解了这一思想的建构基点和理论展开.
The next paragraph then talks about the 10 clears, which were outlined in the third history resolution, as the “core essence and basic spirit” of Xi thought. The piece then lists the 10 clears. It further adds that Xi ——Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era provides a profound answer to the major issues of the times about what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics should be upheld and developed in the new era, and how to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics; Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era:
provides a profound answer to the major issues of the times around what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics should be upheld and developed in the new era, and how to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics
provides a profound answer to the major issues of the era about what kind of socialist modern country to build and how to build a great modern socialist country
provides a profound answer to the major issues of the times about what kind of Marxist party exercising long-term governance should be developed and how should this be done
The third and final section informs us that Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is an “ideological beacon, a spiritual banner, and a program of action that guides hundreds of millions of people in pursuing their dreams of rejuvenation.” 思想航标、精神旗帜、行动纲领，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想指引亿万人民追求复兴梦想. It is the compass (指南针) and the Big Dipper (北斗星) that guides “the road to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It contains powerful spiritual and material power, and guides nearly one-fifth of the world’s population to engage in the most ambitious and large-scale social experiment in human history.” 习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想是中华民族复兴路上的“指南针”“北斗星”，蕴含着强大的精神力量和物质力量，指引着全球近1/5人口进行人类历史上最为宏阔、最大规模的社会实践.
Page 13: A couple of reports to note. First, a report on Zhang Jinghua, former deputy secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, being expelled from the CPC and removed from public office over serious violations of Party discipline and laws. Xinhua English has a detailed report too:
“The punishment was announced by the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, China’s top anti-graft body, in a statement on Tuesday. The statement said the authorities had carried out an investigation of Zhang’s case and found that he had been disloyal and dishonest to the Party and refused to cooperate in the investigation. The statement also accused Zhang of conducting superstitious activities and violating the eight-point code on Party and government conduct by accepting others' money and gifts. In addition, he failed to report his personal information as required and had sought benefits for others in selection and appointment of officials. The statement accused Zhang of having a distorted view of official performance, saying that he had faked economic figures for personal promotion and meddled in market activities in violation of relevant rules. The investigation found that Zhang had conducted power-for-money trades, taking advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others in terms of business operation and project contracting, and accepting a huge amount of money and gifts in return. The statement said Zhang had severely violated the Party's political discipline and rules as well as the Party's code of conduct in organization, clean governance, work and life…”
Second, a report about Li Zefeng, former senior political advisor of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, being punished and demoted for serious violations of Party discipline and laws. Li has been given penalties including a one-year probation within the Party and removal from his current administrative post. Xinhua reports that “by accepting money against relevant rules, had violated the eight-point code on Party and government conduct. He was also found to have taken advantage of his posts to seek benefits for others and accepted money and gifts in return. The statement said Li had seriously violated the Party’s disciplines, committed duty-related wrongdoings, and showed no sign of restraint even after the 18th CPC National Congress. However, he had been cooperative in the investigation, confessing to his wrongdoings and being cooperative in returning all his illegal gains, facts that had granted a lenient punishment.”
Page 15: Two reports to note. First, a report that draws from Nature’s survey, which found that most American children under the age of 17 have been infected by COVID-19.
Second, an essay by Chinese Ambassador to Costa Rica Tang Heng. This is a really interesting article because the ambassador is clearly working hard to appease the big boss. For instance, he talks about Xi and Peng Liyuan visiting a local farm owned by the Zamora family and spending time chatting with them during their visit to the country in 2013.
The ambassador says that this Spring Festival, he traced Xi’s footprints and visited the Zamora family. He writes:
“Mr. Zamora enthusiastically took out the book ‘Xi Jinping: The Governance of China’ and showed me the photos of President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan visiting his home. Talking about the visit that year, the Zamora family gasped with admiration: ‘China’s national leaders are proud that they were farmers once; this has impressed and inspired us deeply’. ‘This is the kind of leader that the people await/desire/look forward to’. President Xi Jinping's ‘farm diplomacy’ has opened up a new chapter in China-Costa Rica relations and friendship between the two peoples.” 今年春节，我追寻习近平主席的脚步，拜访了萨莫拉一家。萨莫拉老先生热情地取出《习近平谈治国理政》一书，向我展示其中收录的习近平主席和夫人彭丽媛到访他家的照片。谈及当年的访问，萨莫拉一家赞叹，“中国的国家领导人为自己曾经是农民感到骄傲，这让我们印象深刻，也深受鼓舞”，“这才是人民所期待的领导人”。习近平主席的“农庄外交”既充满家国情怀，也为中哥关系和两国人民友谊翻开新篇章.
After this, the ambassador writes about the development of China-Costa Rica ties since the establishment of diplomatic relations on June 1, 2007. For instance, he talks about China being Costa Rica’s second largest trading partner; Costa Rica exporting more than 200 types of commodities to China; Chinese funding building the country’s national stadium; the use of Chinese-built trains and electric busses in Costa Rica; a drinking water project cooperation in the country; the Chinese language being listed as one of six languages in Costa Rica’s bilingual promotion plan, etc.