Three-Child Policy - Xi & Kids - Lab-Leak Theory as 'Nonsense' - China's Human Rights Discourse
Here are the stories and pieces from the June 1, 2021, edition of People’s Daily that I found noteworthy.
Page 1: Let’s begin with the big decision taken at the Politburo meeting on Monday. The big discussion here was with regard to China’s population policy. Xinhua tells us that “the meeting stressed that proactively responding to the ageing population directly relates to the country’s development and people's well-being, and it is an important measure to achieve the high-quality development of the economy and safeguard national security and social stability.”
It reports that “the meeting called for efforts to raise the statutory retirement age in a steady and gradual manner, improve a multi-level system for pension and aged-care social protection, explore building a systematic framework for long-term nursing insurance and accelerate the building of the systems for elderly care and health support that combine elderly care, health and medical services to be available both at homes and within communities.”
On the third child policy, the Politburo said that “education and guidance should be provided to promote marriage and family values among marriage-age young people...efforts are needed to improve prenatal and postnatal care services, develop a universal childcare services system, promote fairness in education, increase the supply of quality educational resources, and reduce family spending on education.”
PD’s report says that the Politburo believes that the two-child policy that has been followed since 2013 and then 2016 has “achieved positive results.” It also added that “it is necessary to improve the maternity leave and maternity insurance systems, strengthen taxation, housing and other supporting policies, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of women in employment.”
Also: “It is necessary to deepen the research on the national medium and long-term population development strategy and regional population development planning to promote the long-term balanced development of the population.”
There have been lots of social media memes and comments around the change in population policy in China. What’s on Weibo offers a good window into public reaction. I guess this bit from The Economist’s coverage captures the sense.
“But reactions to the announcement on social media hardly brimmed with enthusiasm. “Do they not yet know that most young people are exhausted just supporting themselves?" commented one netizen on Weibo, a Twitter-like site. “This policy is totally out of touch with the people,” wrote another. An online poll by Xinhua, a state news agency which broke the news, asked if people would consider having three children. Just 5% of respondents said they would. Most others said “not at all”. At least 31,000 took part in the survey before it was hastily taken down. Netizens devised a new interpretation of a common idiom, minbuliaosheng, which means “the people have no means of livelihood”. They repurposed it to mean “not even speak of giving birth”.”
There’s also an interview on the second page with unidentified officials from the National Health Commission. The official says that since 1982, “the family planning work has made great achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. The excessive growth of the population has been effectively controlled, the quality of the population has been significantly improved, and the rapid economic development and social progress have been promoted.”
The official then praises the current decision, saying:
“At present, China is in a period of great strategic opportunities for the transformation from a populous country to a powerful country with human capital. Based on the national conditions and following the laws, implementing the policy that a couple can have three children and supporting measures can maximize the active role of population in economic and social development, firmly grasp the strategic initiative, actively respond to the risk of continuous decline in fertility level, and solve the population problem in an overall way, thus creating a good population environment for building a socialist modern power in an all-round way.” 当前，我国正处于人口大国向人力资本强国转变的重大战略机遇期，立足国情，遵循规律，实施一对夫妻可以生育三个子女政策及配套支持措施，能够最大限度发挥人口对经济社会发展的能动作用，牢牢把握战略主动权，积极应对生育水平持续走低的风险，统筹解决人口问题，为全面建成社会主义现代化强国创造良好的人口环境.
The official then acknowledges challenges with fertility rates, but says that this is a problem with developed countries. “With the continuous improvement of my country’s urbanization, industrialization, and modernization levels, the popularization of higher education and the improvement of social security, fewer births and better births have become the norm in society.” 随着我国城镇化、工业化、现代化水平不断提高，高等教育普及，社会保障完善，少生优生成为社会生育观念的主流.
The official then lists reasons for this:
The number of women giving birth has fallen and the age of marriage and childbearing is being delayed.
Decline in people’s willingness to have children
And, the official says that COVID-19 “has caused a decline in fertility levels.”
The thing is that none of what the official said really tells us how policies will alter this structural dynamic to enhance the fertility rate.
It’s interesting to note that this announcement of the new population policy came a day before Children’s Day in China. So today in the People’s Daily, we have a piece titled “The story of Xi Jinping and children.” I’m not going to share translations. That would be too dull. I am going to instead tell you a story.
Did you know that Xi Jinping feels bad that little kids have to end up wearing glasses? One must take care of their eyes, the General Secretary says. Of course, we also learn about how keen he is for kids to play sports. Xi’s one of the lads, shoulder bumping ice-skaters and sharing his skating experiences. But it’s not all play. The General Secretary wants kids to learn about hard work and diligence; therefore, every year he participates in “voluntary tree planting activities” in Beijing, working with children to “plant seedlings, cultivate soil, carry buckets for watering,” and so on.
He tells kids that they “should establish the concept of cherishing glory in labor from an early age, do your own things, help others to do things, and strive to do things for public welfare, sow hope and harvest fruits through labor, and temper your will and exercise yourself through labor.”
And then during the Sichuan earthquake in 2013, he visited the “resettlement site in the Lushan County Gymnasium. There, he met Luo Juncheng, who was only one and a half years old at the time. The general secretary smiled and touched Luo Juncheng's face and kissed him. The tender scene touched everyone present.”
You know, whenever he goes to the disaster area, General Secretary Xi Jinping is always concerned about the lives and education of children. In the earthquake-stricken area of Ludian, Yunnan, he “brought children’s day gifts to the students and promised to ‘make the schools in the disaster area stronger and more beautiful’.”
Anyway, you get the drift; he wants hard work, cultivation of core socialist values, is supportive and caring and so on.
Let me end with this bit:
“General Secretary Xi Jinping’s words are earnest, like spring breeze and morning dew, caring for young saplings, until they gather trees into forests and become the pillars of the future construction of the motherland.” 习近平总书记言语谆谆，如春风，似朝露，呵护稚嫩的树苗，直至聚木成林，成为祖国未来建设的栋梁.
There’s also a story about Xi responding to a letter by young pioneers of Xin’an Primary School in Huaian City, Jiangsu Province. He told them that:
“I hope you can learn the history of the party well in combination with your own growth and practice; take heroes and model characters as examples, and be determined to listen to and follow the party since childhood. Study hard, establish ideals, strengthen your character, increase your skills, and strive to achieve a comprehensive development of morality, intelligence, sports, and beauty.” 希望你们结合自身成长实际学好党史，以英雄模范人物为榜样，从小坚定听党话、跟党走的决心，刻苦学习，树立理想，砥砺品格，增长本领, 努力实现德智体美劳全面发展.
Next a brief report about the Qiushi journal publishing today Xi’s article about learning the “four histories” and keeping in mind the original mission. Finally, a commentary drawing from Xi’s speech on technology last week. It doesn’t say anything very new or different compared to the speech last week and yesterday’s commentaries.
Page 2: A report about Wang Chen’s visit to Yan’an, where he visited Mao’s old residence in Yangjialing and the site of the Seventh Party Congress. He then emphasised that “the important role of red resources in party history study and education, revolutionary tradition education, and patriotism education should be used.” He also discussed the significance of implementing the new development pattern, which he spoke about while visiting Baota District, High-tech Zone, Yanchuan County.
Page 3: First, during the State Council Information Office held a press briefing on May 31, officials spoke about the implementation results of the National Human Rights Action Plan (2016-2020) and answered questions from reporters. This is a useful read if you are looking at the arguments with regard to rights protection being made in China. I thought this bit was noteworthy:
“At present, some Western media and think tanks believe that China is rewriting the Western definition of human rights. In response, Li Xiaomei, the special representative for human rights affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded that China is one of the few countries that have been elected as a member of the UN Human Rights Council five times. In the past few years, China has combined the development of the international situation and domestic human rights work and put forward proposals in the UN Human Rights Council. A series of initiatives. The major idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind has increasingly become an important part of the international human rights discourse system. ‘It can be said that the human rights concepts promoted and advocated by China are constantly enriching the international human rights discourse system, promoting the healthy development of international human rights governance, and receiving positive responses and support from the international community, especially the vast number of developing countries’.” 当前一些西方媒体和智库认为，中国正在改写西方一直以来对人权的定义。对此，外交部人权事务特别代表李笑梅回应说，中国是少数几个5次当选联合国人权理事会成员的国家，过去几年，中方结合国际形势发展以及国内人权工作，在联合国人权理事会提出了一系列倡议。构建人类命运共同体的重大理念已经日益成为国际人权话语体系的重要组成部分。“可以说，中国所推动和倡导的人权理念正在不断丰富国际人权话语体系，推动国际人权治理健康发展，得到国际社会特别是广大发展中国家的积极响应和支持。”李笑梅说.
Next, a very short report telling us that ILD chief Song Tao talked to major political parties in Nepal and the ruling party of Pakistan about pandemic-related cooperation. Then we have Xia Baolong, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Chinese chairman of the China-Russia Friendship, Peace and Development Committee, meeting with Russia’s ambassador to China Andrey Denisov.
Finally, we have a Zhong Sheng commentary. This one criticises the US in connection with the controversy over the origin of COVID-19. It talks about the recent discussions over the lab-leak theory to say that “driven by the political virus, this kind of ‘presumption of guilt’, no matter how well packaged, cannot conceal the sinister intention of stigmatizing other countries through the epidemic.” Basically the argument is that “the ‘laboratory leak theory’ is pure nonsense.” “实验室泄漏论”纯属无稽之谈. And that it is being pursued for political ends by American politicians, and that the “presumption of guilt” inherent in the discourse is problematic.
Page 6: The two historical figures highlighted today are Mao Yisheng and Tu Youyou. Both are rather well known, so I am not going into the details.
Page 13: First, a piece by Wang Changlin from the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in Beijing.
Wang writes that “constructing a new development pattern clarifies that the choice of the path of China’s economic modernization is a strategic choice to meet the opportunities and challenges in the new development stage and implement the new development concept, and is a major strategic task related to China's overall development in the 14th Five-Year Plan...It is necessary to realize scientific and technological self-reliance, realize the safety and controllability of the industrial chain and supply chain, build a strong domestic market, and open to the outside world at a high level.” 构建新发展格局明确了我国经济现代化的路径选择，是应对新发展阶段机遇和挑战、贯彻新发展理念的战略选择，是“十四五”和今后一个时期关系我国发展全局的重大战略任务，需要实现科技自立自强、实现产业链供应链安全可控、建设强大国内市场、实行高水平对外开放等.
He emphasises promoting high quality development, pursuing supply-side structural reform “as the main line,” and speed up the construction of a new development pattern. He adds that in terms of strategies, what’s needed is:
“the implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating the country through science and education, strengthening the country through talents, innovation-driven development, manufacturing and strengthening the country, expanding domestic demand, rural revitalization, regional coordinated development strategy, main functional area strategy, new urbanization strategy, sustainable development strategy, free trade zone promotion strategy, national strategy of actively responding to population aging, national security strategy, etc.” 包括实施科教兴国战略、人才强国战略、创新驱动发展战略、制造强国战略、扩大内需战略、乡村振兴战略、区域重大战略、区域协调发展战略、主体功能区战略、新型城镇化战略、可持续发展战略、自由贸易区提升战略、积极应对人口老龄化国家战略、国家安全战略等.
Next, we have a piece by Hao Ping, PKU President. He talks about the “Four Histories” learning campaign in universities. He writes that
“We will continue to enhance the political identity, ideological identity, theoretical identity and emotional identity of young students, and effectively guide them to build their careers in the great practice of building a modern socialist country in all aspects. From the height of training socialist builders and successors, and from the overall situation of the Party and the national cause, young students are guided to deeply understand the great contribution made by the CPC to the country and the nation, to deeply appreciate the CPC's original purpose of always serving the people, to deeply study the major theoretical achievements of the CPC in promoting the Sinicization of Marxism, and to deeply inherit the great spirit forged by the CPC in its long-term struggle.” 不断增进广大青年学生的政治认同、思想认同、理论认同、情感认同，有效引导广大青年学生在全面建设社会主义现代化国家伟大实践中建功立业。从培养社会主义建设者和接班人的高度，从党和国家事业全局出发，引导广大青年学生深刻认识中国共产党为国家和民族作出的伟大贡献，深刻感悟中国共产党始终不渝为人民的初心宗旨，深入学习中国共产党推进马克思主义中国化形成的重大理论成果，深情传承中国共产党在长期奋斗中铸就的伟大精神，坚定不移听党话、矢志不渝跟党走。抓好高校“四史”宣传教育，要注重方式方法创新，在务求实效上下功夫.
He then talks about using online and offline tools and methods for history learning, and use people and cultural relics, etc, to do a good job.