Tougher Anti-Monopoly Policies - Xi Thought: Deliberative Democracy & Cultural Confidence - Online Gaming Restrictions - Employment Plan - Covid Origins Probe Demand
Here are the stories and pieces from the August 31, 2021, edition of the People’s Daily that I found noteworthy.
Page 1: The lead story on the front page today (English report) is the statement following the 21st meeting of the central committee for deepening overall reform. Xinhua tells us that the meeting reviewed and approved a series of guidelines, including those on:
strengthening anti-monopoly regulation and promoting fair competition
improving the reserve system for materials of strategic importance or for emergency use
fighting pollution
giving better play to the supervisory role of statistical work
The story quotes Xi Jinping as saying that improving “anti-monopoly regulations and policies promoting fair competition is an intrinsic requirement for improving the socialist market economic system.” In addition, he called for “efforts to foster a level playing field, create broad development space for all types of market entities and better protect the rights and interests of consumers in accordance with the strategic vision of fostering a new development paradigm, and promoting high-quality development and common prosperity.”
Some of the other key points from the statement:
First, the statement talks about regulation having “achieved initial results” in preventing the disorderly expansion of capital and promoting fair competition. This also talks about anti-monopoly supervision and regulation of platform enterprises engaged in monopoly and unfair competition. 针对一些平台企业存在野蛮生长、无序扩张等突出问题，我们加大反垄断监管力度，依法查处有关平台企业垄断和不正当竞争行为，防止资本无序扩张初见成效，市场公平竞争秩序稳步向好.
The policy objective highlighted in the context is also “balancing development and security, efficiency and equality, vitality and order.” “Measures should be taken to guide enterprises to serve the overall interests of economic and social development under the leadership of the CPC.”
The meeting underlined the importance of moving faster to improve the market-access system, the fair competition review mechanism, the fair competition regulation system on the digital economy, and the system for preventing and restraining the abuse of administrative power to exclude and restrict competition.
It talks about adhering to the “two unwavering” and coordinated development of large, medium and small enterprises.
It talked about promoting “high-level opening-up, protecting property rights and intellectual property rights, and making policies more transparent and predictable.” The last one gave me such a chuckle, given what’s been happening for the past few months.
It talks about strengthening “supervision and law enforcement” in areas such as platform economy, scientific and technological innovation, information security, and people’s livelihood security. The anti-monopoly mechanism should be improved and the anti-monopoly supervision force should be strengthened.
In terms of the strategic reserves, it says that “state reserves and emergency response capacity should match its status as a major country.” It also talked about developing a “unified system for providing strategic and emergency response supplies.”
On pollution, it talked about working towards “the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development, and realize qualitative changes in improving the ecology.” Also, “measures should be taken to accelerate adjustments in the structure of industry, energy, transport and land use, while strictly controlling projects with high energy consumption and high pollution.” The PD report also talks about the need to “completely ban the import of ‘overseas waste garbage’,” something that I thought was already in place, and strict control over the ‘two highs’ projects. It also promises no leniency when it comes to the “destruction of ecological environment” warning of “severe punishments” in case of environmental violations. But in this context, there is this statement also about paying attention to local conditions - “no one size fits all” - 不搞一刀切.
Finally, on statistical supervision, it says that this has “achieved remarkable results” since the 18th Party Congress. Going ahead the focus should be “on the evaluation of the implementation of China's major development strategies, the handling of major risks and the solution of prominent problems that are of great concern to the people.” There’s talk about ensuring data accuracy and “integration of statistical supervision and disciplinary supervision, organizational supervision, inspection supervision, audit supervision.”
Next, we have reports of Xi’s chats with the leaders of Cuba and Ecuador. Speaking with President Miguel Diaz-Canel (English report), Xi promised pandemic-related support, strengthening exchanges and mutual learning in governance of party and state, and “practical cooperation.” But the more interesting bits are Xi’s comments about the cause of socialism.
He said that “Cuban comrades have forcefully defended their revolutionary achievements with no fear for the powerful and unyielding struggle. Historically speaking, the socialist cause has never been smooth, and the communists have always strived for survival, development and victory through struggles...China, Xi said, always believes that the right to choose one nation’s own path of social development should be respected, and that unilateral sanctions against other countries or external interference in other countries’ internal affairs should be opposed.”
Diaz-Canel backed the fight against “hegemonism, power politics, and the politicization and stigmatization of the epidemic” and backed the “one-China policy.”
Speaking to President Guillermo Lasso, Xi promised (English report):
to expand the scale of imports,
liberalize and facilitate bilateral trade and investment,
cultivate new growth points such as HSR, DSR and Green Silk Road
Xi wants to develop ties from a “strategic and long-term perspective” so as to “make the traditional friendship everlasting and the China-Ecuador relationship a benchmark for cooperation between developing countries.”
Xi spoke about pandemic cooperation, ties in areas like infrastructure, energy and minerals, and finance, safeguarding “international fairness and justice and the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries.”
Lasso said, as per Xinhua, that “Ecuador opposes politicizing and stigmatizing the pandemic and hopes to continue to deepen vaccine cooperation with China, he said, adding that the Ecuadorian side regards China as its most important comprehensive strategic partner and welcomes more Chinese enterprises to conduct investment and cooperation in Ecuador.”
Next, we have a commentary following the ethnic work conference. It says:
“To grasp the ‘outline’ of the party's ethnoc work in the new era, we must fully understand and grasp the great significance of building the Chinese national community consciousness, and accurately grasp the profound connotation of ‘building the Chinese national community consciousness, that is, guiding the people of all ethnic groups to firmly establish the concept of sharing weal and woe, sharing life and death, and sharing destiny’, and giving full play to ‘upholding equality of all ethnic groups and building the Chinese national community consciousness’ in our national system and national governance system.” -抓住新时代党的民族工作的“纲”，必须充分认识和把握铸牢中华民族共同体意识的重大意义，准确把握“铸牢中华民族共同体意识，就是要引导各族人民牢固树立休戚与共、荣辱与共、生死与共、命运与共的共同体理念”的深刻内涵，发挥我国国家制度和国家治理体系具有的“坚持各民族一律平等. -- I think this paragraph captures the policy direction well. It implies cultural homogenisation and erosion of governance autonomy.
This is made much clearer later on too.
“In order to promote the development of the common spiritual home of the Chinese nation in an all-round way, it is necessary to strengthen education with regard to modern civilization, carry engage in civilisation building, focus on people’s moral development and train the new generation in keeping with the times, and guide the people of all ethnic groups to move toward modernization in terms of ideology, spiritual tastes and lifestyles, so that the hearts and minds of all ethnic groups can converge and cling to each other in spirit, forming a strong spiritual bond of unity and advancement.” 全面推进中华民族共有精神家园建设，就要加强现代文明教育，深入实施文明创建、公民道德建设、时代新人培育等工程，引导各族群众在思想观念、精神情趣、生活方式上向现代化迈进，使各民族人心归聚、精神相依，形成人心凝聚、团结奋进的强大精神纽带.
The piece also talks about delivering on developmental goals, focusing on ideology to deal with “major risks and hidden dangers,” “governing ethnic affairs in accordance with the law,” and “strengthening international anti-terrorism cooperation” in this context too.
Finally, a report on the National Committee of the CPPCC meeting in Beijing to discuss “the building of a peaceful China at a higher level.” With Wang Yang in attendance, Guo Shengkun delivered a report at the meeting. He heard feedback from the members, but told them that to build a peaceful China at a higher level, “we must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, conscientiously study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on rule of law and follow the spirit of Xi Jinping's July 1 speech, strengthen the four consciousnesses, strengthen the four self-confidences, achieve the two maintenance, improve political judgment, political understanding and political execution, closely focus on achieving the two century goals…”建设更高水平的平安中国，要坚持以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，认真学习贯彻习近平法治思想和习近平总书记“七一”重要讲话精神，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，提高政治判断力、政治领悟力、政治执行力，紧紧围绕实现第二个百年奋斗目标，进一步明确阶段性目标任务，坚持党的领导，坚持以人民为中心，坚持总体国家安全观，坚持共建共治共享，不断提高防范化解重大矛盾风险的能力水平，确保人民安居乐业、社会安定有序、国家长治久安.
Xinhua English says that Guo “stressed efforts to uphold a holistic approach to national security, carry forward the social governance model based on collaboration, co-governance and common gains, and enhance the capability to forestall and defuse major risks.”
Page 2: Two pieces to note. First, a commentary in the series of commentaries on the party’s missions and contributions document. This one emphasizes the leadership of the Party, which is the anchor to achieve future goals. It says that “improving the Party leadership is the foundation and lifeblood of the Party and the country, and it concerns the interests and destiny of the people of all ethnic groups in China.” 完善党的领导是党和国家的根本和命脉，是全国各族人民的利益和命运.
That’s the broad theme of the piece. But also note this; it underscores the role of performance legitimacy.
“Strong leadership comes from correct leadership; correct leadership comes from correct decisions. Over the past 100 years, the CPC has been able to analyze the situation with foresight, comprehensively and objectively, and formulate realistic goals and tasks, policies and paths on the basis of this, so that the Party as a whole can carry out its work in an orderly manner under the guidance of the correct line.” 坚强的领导，来源于正确的领导；正确的领导，来源于正确的决策。100年来，中国共产党在历史重大转折到来时，能够比较好地、有预见地、全面客观地分析研究形势，并在此基础上制定切合实际的目标和任务、政策和路径，使全党在正确路线指引下有条不紊地开展工作.
Second, there’s a report drawing from a press conference which draws on the State Council’s new plan on boosting employment for the 14th Five-Year Plan period. The goal is to add over 55 million new urban jobs in the next five years. These were the three officials speaking Li Zhong, vice minister of human resources and social security, Gao Gao, deputy secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission, and Zhang Ying, director of the Department of Employment Promotion of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
The report tells us that the “structural employment contradiction will become the main contradiction when it comes to issues of employment in China.” What is meant by this is that there are structural problems that need to be addressed going forward, which will be the key component of employment policies. These, for instance, refer to issues like education and training not being in line with market demand for talents, or an aging workforce struggling to adapt to industrial upgrading. They also talked about some action areas going forward:
optimizing the employment and entrepreneurship environment
stabilizing employment for key groups
raising labor remuneration
improving employment services
protecting labor rights and interests
They also talk about the plan focussing on long-term issues, such as workforce aging and deployment of AI tools.
Some useful data points:
The total number of skilled personnel in the country is less than 30%, and the total number of skilled personnel in Germany, Japan and other manufacturing powerhouses is 70% to 80%. 全国技能人才总量占比不足30%，德国、日本等制造业强国的技能人才总量占比在70%到80%.
Employment pressure will persist with around 10 million people being added to the workforce each year going ahead, and there will still be a considerable number of rural surplus labor force too as industrialisation and urbanisation progresses. 同时，在工业化和城市化进程中，仍会有相当数量的农村剩余劳动力需要转移就业.
In the first seven months of this year, 8.22 million new jobs were created in cities and towns in China, and the average unemployment rate in cities and towns was controlled at 5.2%, which was 0.6 percentage points lower than that in the same period last year.
They talked about the service sector as a potential “reservoir to absorb employment” (这是吸纳就业的蓄水池); private enterprises, especially small and medium-sized private enterprises and individual entrepreneurs, providing more than 80% of jobs and more than 90% of new jobs, is the main force to absorb employment. 民营企业，特别是中小民营企业和个体工商户，提供了我国80%以上的就业岗位和90%以上的新增就业岗位，是吸纳就业的主力军.
Page 3: A few reports to note. First, Public Security Minister Zhao Kezhi met with (English report) DPRK ambassador Ri Ryong Nam. Second, Propaganda chief Huang Kunming met with (English report) Nguyen Trong Nghia, head of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee's Commission for Information and Education. Third, Chinese pandemic supplies have reached (English report) Cuba. Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui was present at a handover ceremony. So pandemic diplomacy is still going strong. Fourth, a report based on the Foreign Ministry’s comments with regard to the Blinken-Wang talks about the US IC community’s report on Covid-19’s origins. Wang Wenbin said:
“The so-called IC assessment on COVID-19 origins is a political report that runs counter to science, a scapegoating report that shifts the responsibility for the botched US response under the guise of origins study, and a false report that smears China with fabricated pretenses. This assessment is another testament to how the US seeks to mislead and deceive the international community just like the lie it spread alleging that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.”
Finally, there’s a commentary on the page, which calls the IC community’s report a “farce.” It says that the motive behind the US “politicizing” traceability has been to “blame, suppress and contain China.” The commentary adds that increasingly “scientific studies are showing that COVID-19 cases had already appeared in many countries and places outside of China in the months prior to the discovery of the virus in Wuhan.” But US politicians, motivated by “political self-interest” have ignored the common interests of the world.
“More than 80 countries have supported the China-WHO joint research report on traceability by sending letters to the WHO Director-General, issuing statements or notes, and opposing the politicization of traceability. More than 300 political parties, social organizations and think tanks from more than 100 countries and regions have submitted joint statements against politicization of traceability to the WHO Secretariat, which is proof that the international community adheres to scientific traceability and opposes political traceability. America should listen to these voices of justice.” 80多个国家以致函世卫组织总干事、发表声明或照会等方式，支持中国—世卫组织新冠病毒溯源联合研究报告，反对把溯源问题政治化，100多个国家和地区的300多个政党、社会组织和智库向世卫组织秘书处提交反对溯源政治化的联合声明，就是国际社会坚持科学溯源、反对政治溯源的明证。美国应该听一听这些正义声音.
Beyond the rhetoric, the core demand is this: “The second stage of traceability must proceed on the basis of the first stage of traceability in order to truly find the truth and answers.” 第二阶段溯源必须在第一阶段溯源的基础上全面延伸, 才能真正找到真相和答案.
Then the commentary says that
“The US was the earliest and is the most capable country when it comes to research on recombinant viruses. It is also the biggest funder and implementer of coronavirus research in the world, and the country with the worst safety record of biological laboratories. Experts from China and WHO have come to the conclusion that it is extremely unlikely for the virus to leak from Wuhan laboratory. Most scientists in the world, including American scientists, think that there is no evidence to support the theory of laboratory leakage. In the absence of any evidence, the US still stubbornly insists that laboratory leakage cannot be ruled out. In this case, based on the principle of fairness, justice and reciprocity, the United States should also open its own laboratories for investigation, give an account to the international community and the American people, and create favorable conditions for scientific traceability. Calling for an investigation into the Fort Detrick Base and the University of North Carolina in the United States is a reasonable and legitimate requirement to insist on scientific traceability. If the United States refuses to accept it, it will only once again reveal its true intention of politicizing traceability only for China.” 美国是重组病毒研究开展得最早、能力最强的国家，是全球冠状病毒研究的最大资助者和实施方，也是生物实验室安全记录最糟糕的国家。中国和世卫组织专家已经得出病毒从武汉实验室泄漏极不可能的结论，包括美国科学家在内的世界绝大多数科学家都认为没有任何证据支持实验室泄漏论。在没有任何证据的情况下，美方至今仍顽固坚持实验室泄漏不能排除的观点。既然如此，本着公平公正对等的原则，美国也理应开放本国实验室接受调查，给国际社会和美国民众一个交代，为科学溯源创造有利条件。呼吁调查美国德特里克堡基地、北卡罗来纳大学，是坚持科学溯源的合理正当要求。如果美国拒不接受，只能再一次暴露其将溯源政治化只为针对中国的真实用意.
Page 4: A bunch of history books being published, i.e., a brief history of the PRC, a brief history of reform and opening up and a brief history of socialist development.
Page 5: We’ve got the 32nd piece in the Xi Thought Q&A series. The first question is about the “uniqueness” of “deliberative democracy.” We are told that:
“Deliberative democracy means that under the leadership of the CPC, people from different sectors and segments of society conduct extensive consultations before and during policy decisions on major issues and practical issues that affect their vital interests, and strive to reach a consensus.” 协商民主，就是在中国共产党领导下，人民内部各方面围绕重大问题和涉及群众切身利益的实际问题，在决策之前和决策实施之中开展广泛协商，努力形成共识. --- I guess the tech sector feels deeply consulted in what’s going on.
It tells us that deliberative democracy has emerged from the “excellent political culture of the Chinese nation,” and developments over time have shown that this system “has a profound cultural, theoretical, practical and institutional foundation.”
We then get to the notion of democracy itself:
“Democracy comes in many forms. For a long time, some people have simply equated democracy with electoral democracy and have even worshiped Western-style electoral democracy. In fact, in the so-called Western democracies, people often have only the right to vote but not the right to participate widely. Such democracy is formalistic. In China, the people exercise their rights through elections and voting, and the people conduct full consultation across all segments of society before major decisions are two important forms of Socialist democracy...Practice has proved that deliberative democracy can effectively overcome the problems of political parties and interest groups competing with each other for their own interests, the problems of different political forces rejecting those who disagree in order to safeguard their own interests, the problems of unclear and self-righteous decision-making, the problems of the people being unable to participate in the country’s political life and social governance and the disadvantages of low consensus and lack of implementation of various policies.” 实现民主的形式是丰富多样的。长期以来，一些人把民主简单等同于选举民主，甚至膜拜西式选举民主。事实上，在西方所谓的民主国家里，人民往往只有投票的权利而没有广泛参与的权利，这样的民主是形式主义的。在我国，人民通过选举、投票行使权利和人民内部各方面在重大决策之前进行充分协商，是中国社会主义民主的两种重要形式...实践证明，协商民主能够有效克服党派和利益集团为自己的利益相互竞争甚至相互倾轧的弊端，有效克服不同政治力量为了维护和争取自己的利益固执己见、排斥异己的弊端，有效克服决策中情况不明、自以为是的弊端，有效克服人民群众在国家政治生活和社会治理中无法表达、难以参与的弊端，有效克服各项政策和工作共识不高、无以落实的弊端. -- Some of this is just wow, given that citizen journalists are in jail for reporting on Wuhan and that political loyalty is the first principle in just about everything now.
The next question is about cultural self-confidence and why is it more basic, broader and deeper?
“The rejuvenation of a nation requires enhancing material strength as well as spiritual strength. Without the active guidance of advanced culture, without the great enrichment of the people’s spiritual world, and without the continuous enhancement of the spiritual strength of the nation, no country or nation can stand tall among the nations of the world.” 一个民族的复兴需要强大的物质力量，也需要强大的精神力量。没有先进文化的积极引领，没有人民精神世界的极大丰富，没有民族精神力量的不断增强，一个国家、一个民族不可能屹立于世界民族之林.
“Owing to a history of being bullied, many places have remained underdeveloped to others; many people have low national self-confidence, and there is even an extreme argument calling for ‘total Westernization’. Comrade Mao Zedong once said, some people have been slaves for a long time, feel inferior to others in everything, in front of foreigners, they cannot even stand straight, like Jia Gui in the ‘Famen Temple,’ even when asked to sit, they say that they are used to standing and do not want to sit. The founding of New China allowed the Chinese people to stand up. Since the reform and opening up, especially since the 18th Party Congress, the practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics has created great achievements that have attracted worldwide attention. Great changes have taken place in the power gap between China and the West. The Chinese people have moved away from spiritual passivity, which has greatly enhanced the self-confidence of the Chinese nation.” 由于一直受人欺负，很多地方不如人家，许多人民族自信心不足，甚至出现了“全盘西化论”的极端论调. 毛泽东同志曾经讲过，有些人做奴隶做久了，感觉事事不如人，在外国人面前伸不直腰，像《法门寺》里的贾桂一样，人家让他坐，他说站惯了，不想坐. 新中国的成立，使中国人民真正站立起来了. 改革开放以来特别是党的十八大以来，中国特色社会主义实践创造了举世瞩目的伟大成就，中西力量对比发生了巨大变化，中国人民从精神上的被动转化为完全主动，极大增强了中华民族的自信心.
Just for reference: “In the Peking opera ‘Famen Temple’, the harlequin Jia Gui is a ridiculously classic character. He doesn't make many appearances, but his servile image can be called a classic.”
Next we are told that cultural confidence is:
Basic because it comprises the power of the core values. “The core values of freedom, equality and fraternity formed in the West for hundreds of years have defined the development direction of capitalist culture. The values put forward by our ancestors with ‘benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and faith’ as the main content are the spiritual core of Chinese traditional culture, and also the steady spiritual force for maintaining and consolidating the development of traditional society...Core socialist values are the quintessence of advanced socialist culture, the embodiment of the spirit of contemporary China and the common value pursuit of all people...Cultural self-confidence is related to the direction and value orientation of the path, theory and system, and it is associated with whether the path, theory and system can garner the people’s faith and their identification with it as their foundation.” 西方几百年来形成的自由、平等、博爱的核心价值观念，规定了资本主义文化的发展方向. 我们的先人提出的以“仁义礼智信”等为主要内容的价值观念，是中华传统文化的精神内核，也是维护巩固传统社会发展的稳定精神力量...社会主义核心价值观是社会主义先进文化的精髓，是当代中国精神的集中体现，凝结着全体人民共同的价值追求...文化自信关乎道路、理论、制度的前进方向和价值取向，关乎道路、理论、制度能否在人们的精神领域获得信念根基与牢固认同.
Broader because culture is ubiquitous and ever-present and penetrates all aspects of life.
Deeper because culture is rooted in history and historical experience.
The piece ends by saying:
“To strengthen cultural self-confidence, we must develop socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and unswervingly follow the development path of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. It is necessary to adhere to the guiding position of Marxism, develop socialist culture facing modernization, the world and the future, and promote the coordinated development of socialist spiritual civilization and material civilization.” 坚定文化自信，必须发展中国特色社会主义文化，坚定不移走中国特色社会主义文化发展道路。要坚持马克思主义指导地位，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文化，推动社会主义精神文明和物质文明协调发展.
Two other pieces on the page relate to the controversy surrounding minors and video games. First, the National Press and Publication Administration issued a notice on Monday on the “excessive” use of video games. This is viewed from the perspective of addiction, and of course, the stated goal is to “effectively protect the physical and mental health of minors.” The notice says that “all online gaming companies can only provide minors with 1 hour of service from 20:00 to 21:00 on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and legal holidays.” All users will be required to register using their real names and government-issued identification documents.
Second, there’s an exclusive interview with an unidentified official from the National Press and Publication Administration. The official talks about the 2019 Notice on Preventing Minors from Indulging in Online Games. This, he says, set up the base for real-name verification and laid the foundation of this “anti-addiction” work. The official talks about parents complaining about their kids being addicted to games; this “has seriously affected their normal study life and physical and mental health, and even led to a series of social problems.”
The official adds:
“Young people are the future of the motherland; the protection of the physical and mental health of minors is related to the vital interests of the masses and the cultivation of a new generation in the era of national rejuvenation.” 青少年是祖国的未来，保护未成年人身心健康关系到广大人民群众的切身利益，关系到培养民族复兴的时代新人.
The official the identifies the key parts of the notice:
Restricted times, as mentioned above
Real-name registration, as mentioned above
Tougher inspections and supervision
Actively guide families, schools and other segments of society to “earnestly assume the responsibility of guardianship” and “jointly create a good environment conducive to the healthy growth of minors.” 四是积极引导家庭、学校等社会各方面行动起来，切实承担监护守护职责，共同营造有利于未成年人健康成长的良好环境，形成防止未成年人沉迷网络游戏的工作合力.
On the time restriction for gaming, the official says that “this provision also reflects the requirements of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Minors, which came into effect on June 1 this year.” As per that law, it was stipulated that online gaming service providers must not provide online gaming services to minors in any form between 10:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. the next day. In fact, if one reads the law, the three-hour restriction per week is not there, but the direction of policy is clear.
Here’s also something extra from Article 58 of the law:
“Venues for activities not suitable for minors such as for-profit recreation venues, bars, or internet access service sites must not be established on the periphery of schools and kindergartens. Operators of venues for activities not suitable for minors such as for-profit song and dance entertainment venues, bars, or internet access service sites, must not allow minors to enter; recreation and entertainment venues setting up electronic gaming equipment must not provide them to minors except on legal holidays designated by law. Businesses shall put up signs in conspicuous places prohibiting or limiting minors' entry; and where it is difficult to tell whether someone is a minor, they shall be required to show their identification.”
The next bit is about what gaming companies must do. The official says that gaming companies are key to this, and they must keep social concerns and social responsibilities in mind in their operations. The official said that in the past two years, the agency has stepped up efforts to investigate and punish enterprises for anti-addiction; also in 2020, some 50 companies were dealt with in this context and some tens of thousands of games were inspected. 这两年, 国家新闻出版署加大企业防沉迷排查处罚力度，2020年共检查游戏上万款，会同各级出版管理部门约谈处理企业50多家，查处问题上千条.
Other Stories:
Although this isn’t in PD, this commentary by Li Guangman, which was shared by state media.
Reuters’ report on this says that the commentary calls the “moves to rein in giant internet firms are a sign of ‘profound’ political changes under way in the country…‘This is a transformation from the capital at the centre to people at the centre,’ nationalist author Li Guangman wrote in an essay originally posted on his official WeChat channel. ‘This is also a return to the original intentions of the Chinese Communist Party ... a return to the essence of socialism,’ he wrote in an article that was republished by the Xinhua news agency and the Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily. Li, identified as a former editor at a state-run publication, said China's markets would ‘no longer be a paradise allowing capitalists to get rich overnight", adding that culture would not be a haven for celebrities and public opinion would "no longer be a place to worship Western culture.’ ‘Therefore, we need to control all the cultural chaos and build a lively, healthy, masculine, strong and people-oriented culture,’ he wrote.”
He also wrote:
“The US has been imposing increasingly severe military threats, economic and technological blockades, financial strikes, and political and diplomatic encirclement on China, and is waging biological warfare, cyber warfare, public opinion warfare, and space warfare against China, with increasing efforts to launch a colour revolution against China through a fifth column within China.” 当前中国面临着越来越严峻复杂的国际环境，美国正在对中国实施越来越严厉的军事威胁、经济及科技封锁、金融打击、政治及外交围剿，正在对中国发动生物战、网络战、舆论战、太空战，力度越来越大地通过中国内部的第五纵队对中国发动颜色革命.
Finally, another story not in PD today: China to require foreign vessels to report in ‘territorial waters’