Xi & Grassroots Formalism - 仲音 Commentary: Dynamic Clearing is 'Sustainable & Must Persist' - China at UNHRC - Pursuing Chinese-style Modernisation

Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy in the Tuesday, October 11, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.

Page 1: At the top of the page is a brief report on Xi Jinping congratulating Alexander Van der Bellen on his re-election as federal president of Austria. 

The other leading story is a summary of the efforts of the Party Central Committee with Xi as the core to rectify formalism and reduce burdens at the grassroots level since the 19th Party Congress.

The piece says that a report on rectifying the practice of pointless formalities and reducing burdens on those working at the grassroots since the 19th Party Congress was placed before the Politburo during its September 9 meeting. The report said that “‘rectifying formalism to reduce the burden at the grassroots level has become part of standardised work style construction in various regions and departments; it has also become a powerful starting point for promoting the in-depth development of the comprehensive and strict management of the Party.’ This evaluation highlights the solid achievements of the Party Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at the core in rectifying formalism and reducing burdens at the grassroots level.” rectifying practice of pointless formalities and reducing burdens on those working at the grassroots since the 19th Party Congress2022年9月9日，一份名为《关于党的十九大以来整治形式主义为基层减负工作情况的报告》，摆在了出席中共中央政治局会议同志的案头。“整治形式主义为基层减负已成为各地区各部门抓作风建设的常态化工作，成为推动全面从严治党向纵深发展的有力抓手。”中肯的评价，彰显了以习近平同志为核心的党中央整治形式主义为基层减负工作的扎实成果.

The piece then says that Xi has led this effort to reduce formalism with “firm determination and strong will.” It talks about his visits to primary schools and poor neighbourhoods and meetings with grassroots cadres, as setting an example for Party members in terms of conducting investigation and research. The article talks about how Xi was particularly annoyed at formalism amid the pandemic containment effort.

“On February 3, 2020, at the meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee, General Secretary Xi Jinping seriously criticised the problems related to formalism in the anti-epidemic fight in some areas. ‘Some municipal and county health bureaus, emergency response bureaus, government offices, county party committees, women’s federations, education bureaus, agriculture and rural bureaus, etc. have each put together one or several forms, requiring grassroots cadres to fill them out and report back quickly. The contents of these forms are almost the same, but there is no document or department to help villages and towns solve the problems of the availability of masks or bottles of disinfectant that are urgently needed’!” 2020年2月3日，中央政治局常委会会议上，习近平总书记严肃批评了部分地区在抗疫中出现的形式主义问题——“有的地方市县卫健局、应急局、政府办、县委办、妇联、教育局、农业农村局等都各自制作一份或几份表格，要求基层干部填写并迅速上报，这些表格的内容其实相差无几，但没有一个文件、一个部门帮乡镇解决急需的哪怕一个口罩、一瓶消毒水的问题”!

The next section of the article talks about some of the steps taken to ease burdens and guidelines issued for this purpose. The final section says the total number of imperative/veto tasks have been reduced significantly for cadres, and there is much public satisfaction. For instance, the 2022 telephone survey of social conditions and public opinion by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that 83.8% of the public were satisfied with the fact that the localities and units had overcome formalism and bureaucracy, and 75.6% of the public thought that the burden reduction policy at the grassroots level had achieved good results. 2022年国家统计局社情民意电话调查结果显示，83.8%的社会公众对所在地方和单位克服形式主义、官僚主义的情况表示满意，75.6%的社会公众认为基层减负政策取得较好成效.

Page 2: There’s another 仲音 commentary today about the dynamic clearing policy. And this one is much clearer than yesterday’s. It says that the policy is sustainable and must persist. 

“We must be soberly aware that China is a big country with a population of more than 1.4 billion. In addition, the regional development is unbalanced and the total medical resources are insufficient. Relaxation of prevention and control is bound to increase the risk of infection among those who are susceptible. Once a large-scale rebound takes place, the spread of the epidemic will inevitably have a serious impact on the economic and social development, and the final price will be higher and the loss will be greater.” 必须清醒看到，我国是一个有着14亿多人口的大国，加上地区发展不平衡，医疗资源总量不足，放松防控势必令易感人群感染风险加大，一旦形成规模性反弹，疫情蔓延势必会对经济社会发展造成严重冲击，最终付出的代价会更高，损失会更大.

“Persisting with dynamic clearing has enabled us to better balance the relationship between epidemic prevention and control and economic and social development, allowing us to achieve the greatest prevention and control effect at the least cost, and minimise the impact of the epidemic on economic and social development. From a practical point of view, it is precisely because we have insisted on dynamic clearing that we have ensured extremely low morbidity, mortality and hospitalisation rates, as well as the smooth operation of society and economy. If we compute the general ledger, our epidemic prevention measures have proven the most economical and effective. Practice has fully proved that China’s epidemic prevention and control has a good cost-benefit ratio, and dynamic clearing is the anti-epidemic strategy with the lowest comprehensive social cost; it is the best choice for China to control the epidemic in a timely manner at this stage.” 坚持动态清零，较好地平衡了疫情防控和经济社会发展之间的关系，能够让我们用最小的代价实现最大的防控效果，最大限度减少疫情对经济社会发展的影响。从实践来看，正是因为坚持动态清零，我们才保证了极低的发病率、死亡率和住院率，以及社会、经济的平稳运行。如果算总账，我们的防疫措施是最经济的、效果最好的。实践充分证明，我国疫情防控有良好的成本效益比，动态清零是综合社会成本最低的抗疫策略，是现阶段我国及时控制疫情的最佳选择.

The next paragraph talks about the transmissibility of the Omicron variant and points to China’s large elderly population facing a threat.

“There are 267 million people aged 60 and above in China, and there are a large number of elderly people. If we choose to ‘lie flat’, the spread of the epidemic will inevitably lead to more serious losses of people’s lives and property; the public health risks this will bring are difficult to estimate. Persisting with dynamic clearing is the best practice of the concept of people first and life first, and it is also the best choice to consolidate China’s hard-won prevention and control achievements.” 我国60岁及以上人口达2.67亿，老年人群体数量多，如果选择“躺平”，疫情蔓延开来势必造成人民生命、财产更严重损失，其所带来的公共卫生风险难以估量。坚持动态清零，就是对人民至上、生命至上理念的最好践行，也是巩固我国来之不易防控成果的最佳选择。

The next paragraph says that dynamic clearing does not imply achieving zero infections. Rather it means identifying and eliminating infections together, in order to prevent the spread of the virus where an outbreak has taken place and to prevent it from spreading to other areas. Doing this requires neither relaxing control nor adopting a “one-size-fits-all” approach. What is needed is to “continuously improve the level of scientific prevention and control and precise prevention and control.” 应该看到，动态清零并不是追求完全零感染，而是发现一起、扑灭一起，既不让新冠病毒在疫情发生地流行，也防止病毒传播扩散到其他区域。这意味着，一方面我们不能放松防控，搞“一放了之”；另一方面我们也要警惕过度防疫，坚决防止简单化、“一刀切”和层层加码等现象。坚持动态清零，必须不断提高科学防控、精准防控水平. — 

In this, the argument seems to be in favour of different localities attempting different styles of control. But then, is it really politically feasible for a local official to not take the strongest possible measures?

Page 3: First, there’s a longish piece reviewing recent developments at the UNHRC. It talks about how the Chinese delegation “thwarted a draft proposal by the United States and western countries concerning Xinjiang, resolutely refuted the slanderous attacks of a few western countries, and firmly safeguarded national sovereignty, security and development interests.” 9月12日至10月7日，联合国人权理事会第五十一届会议在瑞士日内瓦举行。会议期间，中国代表团通过国家发言、共同发言、举办边会和图片展等多种形式，全面宣介中国人权理念和成就，挫败美西方国家涉疆决定草案，坚决驳斥少数西方国家诬蔑攻击，坚定维护国家主权、安全、发展利益。

The piece says that when the final vote on the Xinjiang issue appeared on screen, “there was warm applause at the venue, and envoys from some countries congratulated the representatives of China.” 当表决结果出现在大屏幕上时，会场上响起了热烈掌声，一些国家的使节纷纷向中国代表表示祝贺。

This is followed by reporting of Chinese envoy Chen Xu’s comments. Xinhua had reported these a few days ago.

“The United States and some other countries tabled the draft decision and packaged it as a procedural issue, attempting to justify the unauthorized and illegal ‘assessment,’ and to put Xinjiang-related issues that do not exist at all on the agenda of the council, said Chen Xu, head of the Chinese Mission to UN in Geneva. ‘The Xinjiang-related issues are by no means human rights issues. They are about counter-terrorism, deradicalization and anti-separatism,’ Chen said…”

This bit was also interesting, since it ties into China’s attempts to cast itself as a champion of developing countries. “Chen further stressed that so far, all country-specific resolutions of the Human Rights Council are aimed at developing countries, and the United States and some other countries, in disregard of their own serious human rights violations, are indulged in pointing fingers at others.”

The rest of the piece talks about the different statements/interventions that Chinese officials made at the UNHRC during this session.

“At this session, the Chinese delegation has made many speeches, calling on all countries to promote economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights in a balanced manner, and calling on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to pay greater attention to and invest in economic, social and cultural rights, the right to development and the right to health, and to respect the human rights development path independently chosen by all countries according to their national conditions. China's delegation also stood up for developing countries, supported them in safeguarding their own interests, and opposed the politicisation of human rights issues and interference in the internal affairs of developing countries by the US and western countries.” 在本届会议上，中国代表团多次发言，呼吁各国平衡推进经社文权利和公民政治权利，呼吁联合国人权高专办加大对经社文权利、发展权和健康权的重视和投入，尊重各国根据本国国情自主选择的人权发展道路。中国代表团还为发展中国家仗义执言，支持发展中国家维护自身利益，反对美西方国家将人权问题政治化、干涉发展中国家内政.

Page 4: There’s another 仲音 commentary; this one appears to be a series on reform and opening up, which I’ve caught mid-way.

This article begins by talking about Xi’s December 2021 visit to Lianhuashan Park in Shenzhen, where he paid homage to Deng Xiaoping. The article says: Xi planted a tree in the park, “declaring his firm determination to ‘continue to push forward reform and opening up’. ‘What the General Secretary planted is an evergreen tree, and it is also a tree of confidence and a tree of hope for China's reform and opening up’!” 2012年12月初，党的十八大闭幕不久，习近平总书记第一次出京考察，便选择了在我国改革开放中得风气之先的广东。总书记专程来到深圳莲花山公园，向邓小平铜像敬献花篮，并亲手种下一棵高山榕，宣示“将改革开放继续推向前进”的坚定决心。“总书记种下的是长青树，更是中国改革开放的‘信心树’‘希望树’!”

The piece calls reform and opening up “the key measure to determine the fate of contemporary China, and also the key measure to achieve the two centenary goals and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” It says that Xi has pursued reform and opening up since the 18th Party Congress through comprehensively deepening reform and made arrangements for the reform of the economic system, political system, cultural system, social system, ecological civilisation system, national defence and army, and party building system. Doing so, the party has achieved “a series of new major breakthroughs in the theory and policies of reform.

It says that over the past 10 years, the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at the core has pushed forward comprehensively deepening reform with greater political courage and wisdom, dared to gnaw hard bones…constantly furthering comprehensively deepening reform in breadth and depth. In doing so, it has created a new situation in China's reform and opening up; he socialist system with Chinese characteristics has become more mature and standardised; the modernisation level of the national governance system and governance capacity has been continuously improved, and the cause of the Party and the country has shown new vitality. 十年来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央以更大的政治勇气和智慧推进全面深化改革，敢于啃硬骨头，敢于涉险滩，真枪真刀推进改革，不断推动全面深化改革向广度和深度进军，开创了我国改革开放新局面，中国特色社会主义制度更加成熟更加定型，国家治理体系和治理能力现代化水平不断提高，党和国家事业焕发出新的生机活力.

On opening up, the piece says that China’s door will only open wider. It says that “in the past ten years, we have unswervingly implemented a high level of opening to the outside world, deepened the opening of commodities, services, capital, talents and other factors, steadily promoted the construction of rules, regulations, standards and other systems, and built an open economic system featuring mutual benefit and win-win, diversified balance, security and high efficiency.” 这十年，我们坚定不移实行高水平对外开放，深化商品、服务、资金、人才等要素流动型开放，稳步推进规则、规制、管理、标准等制度建设，构建互利共赢、多元平衡、安全高效的开放型经济体系。

Page 17: On the theory page, the lead article is by the Jiangsu Research Center on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The piece talks about Chinese-style modernisation. The piece makes the following points:

First, the Party’s leadership is critical to achieving Chinese-style modernisation.

“Only by adhering to the leadership of the Communist Party of China can Chinese-style modernisation have a strong leadership core and overcome various risks and challenges on the road ahead. Under the strong leadership of the Party, the top-level design of China's socialist modernisation has been continuously improved, and the political guarantee has become stronger and stronger. China took a few decades to complete the industrialisation process that developed countries have gone through over hundreds of years. Since the 18th Party Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with comrade Xi Jinping at the core, the socialist modernisation drive has made great strides, and the cause of the Party and the country has made historic achievements and undergone historic changes, laying a solid foundation for development and creating many favourable conditions for building a comprehensively modern socialist country. 只有坚持中国共产党领导，中国式现代化才有坚强领导核心，才能战胜前进道路上的各种风险挑战。正是在党的坚强领导下，我国社会主义现代化建设的顶层设计不断完善、政治保证愈益坚强，用几十年时间走完了发达国家几百年走过的工业化历程. 党的十八大以来，在以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚强领导下，社会主义现代化建设高歌行进，党和国家事业取得历史性成就、发生历史性变革，为全面建设社会主义现代化国家奠定了雄厚发展基础、创造了诸多有利条件. The article also says that over the past 10 years, the Party’s political leadership, ideological leadership, mass organisation, and social appeal have been significantly enhanced.

Second, adherence to socialism is critical for achieving Chinese-style modernisation. In this, the piece talks about the achievement of Xiaokang as a key goal. Then it focuses on common prosperity.

“Common prosperity is the essential requirement of socialism. Chinese-style modernisation is committed to promoting social fairness and justice and gradually realising the common prosperity of all people by consciously and actively solving the regional gap, urban-rural gap and income distribution gap. In the new era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, in leading and promoting the process of Chinese-style modernisation, has thoroughly studied the goals of different stages, emphasising the promotion of common prosperity in stages. Constantly promoting common prosperity in the process of modernisation profoundly embodies the socialist nature of Chinese-style modernisation, and highlights the distinct advantages of Chinese-style modernisation compared with the polarised modernisation of the West.” 坚定不移推动实现共同富裕。共同富裕是社会主义的本质要求。中国式现代化致力于通过自觉主动地解决地区差距、城乡差距、收入分配差距，促进社会公平正义，逐步实现全体人民共同富裕。进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央在领导和推动中国式现代化进程中，深入研究不同阶段的目标，强调分阶段促进共同富裕。在现代化进程中不断促进共同富裕，深刻体现中国式现代化的社会主义本质规定性，彰显中国式现代化相较于西方两极分化的现代化的鲜明优势. 

Also, the article argues that Chinese-style modernisation entails coordinated development of material civilisation, political civilisation, spiritual civilisation, social civilisation, and ecological civilisation, and adherence to the path of peaceful development. In regard to the latter, the article berates the Western development path of “expansion and plunder,” contrasting China’s development as peaceful, win-win and offering a new path towards modernisation for developing countries.

Third, the final point being made is that the goal of Chinese-style modernisation is national rejuvenation. 

Quick thought: This is an important bit to keep in mind, particularly in some quarters in the West where there seems to be an assumption that Chinese policies are simply ideologically driven. Essentially, the argument is that Beijing isn’t out to upend the world order simply owing to an ideological predilection. The goal of its domestic and foreign policies is national rejuvenation. So, for instance, one should not assume that China is simply going to support an authoritarian regime because it is authoritarian. At the end of the day what matters is whether doing so serves its strategic interest.