Xi on COVID Control - Pilot Program on National Resource Assets Management - CAC's Qinglang 2022 - Ideological & Political Education - Zhong Sheng on US Bio-military Labs - MoFA's Responses on Ukraine
Here are the stories and pieces that I found noteworthy from the Friday, March 18, 2022, edition of the People’s Daily.
Page 1: At the top of the page, there’s a one-line report about the Joe Biden-Xi Jinping call, which will cover “China-U.S. relations and issues of mutual concern.” Looking forward to reading how this went, but I am not holding my breath about a change in Chinese policy on Ukraine.
Anyway, let’s begin with a report about yesterday’s Politburo Standing Committee meeting, which focussed on the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Xinhua English has a detailed report drawing from Xi’s comments.
“Since the COVID-19 response measures were enforced on a regular basis, China has effectively responded to regional cluster infections and provided the best protection for people's lives and health as it can, Xi said. The country’s economic performance and COVID-19 response, which both led the world, fully demonstrated its strength and capacity in epidemic prevention and control. It also showed the advantages of the CPC's leadership and the socialist system, he noted.”
“‘Victory comes from perseverance,’ Xi said. He asked all departments and regions to prepare for complexity and difficulty in COVID-19 response at home and abroad. The people should always come first, said Xi. He stressed science-based and accurate measures and the adherence to the dynamic zero-COVID policy to curb the spread of the epidemic soonest. He called for further scientific and technological innovation in research and development of vaccines, rapid testing reagents, and medicines to make the prevention and control more targeted. More effective measures should be taken to achieve maximum effect in prevention and control with minimum cost, and to reduce the impact on socioeconomic development as much as possible, said Xi.”
Some other key points:
The meeting called for stringent implementation of the policy of early detection, reporting, quarantine and treatment.
The meeting stressed the need to secure the production and supply of daily necessities and ensure people’s need for medical treatment.
It also underlined the importance of comprehensively improving the capacities of epidemic transmission monitoring, early warning, and emergency response.
The meeting asked for strengthened virus control efforts at ports and enhanced regular prevention and control measures in schools and other key places.
Greater efforts ought to be made in advancing the administration of COVID-19 vaccines and raising the vaccination rate.
The meeting urged all localities to stay on high alert, lose no time, and attend to every aspect and detail when implementing epidemic containment measures.
In regions where the epidemic has hit, officials at all levels must consider epidemic prevention and control their top priority and put their utmost effort toward the successful containment of the virus, the meeting underscored.
Officials who have lost control of the epidemic due to dereliction of duty must be investigated immediately following discipline and regulations.
Two reports worth reading on China’s current approach to dealing with Covid:
There’s also a front page commentary on the PSC meeting. It argues that “doing a good job in epidemic prevention and control has a bearing on people’s lives, health and public safety, which is the premise and foundation of economic and social development.” It talks about Xi having personally led the fight against the pandemic.
It adds that “China’s epidemic prevention and control has achieved the greatest results at the lowest cost. It has protected people’s lives and health to the greatest extent, and maintained China’s leading position in the world in economic development and epidemic prevention and control. This fully reflects the strength and tremendous capabilities of China’s epidemic prevention and control efforts, and fully demonstrates the remarkable advantages of the Communist Party of China’s leadership and China’s socialist system.” 我国疫情防控坚持以最小成本取得最大成效，最大限度保护了人民生命安全和身体健康，经济发展和疫情防控保持全球领先地位，充分体现了我国防控疫情的坚实实力和强大能力，充分彰显了中国共产党领导和我国社会主义制度的显著优势.
“Practice has proved that the general strategy and general policy of normalised epidemic prevention and control are correct and effective, and the key is that we should continue to persist in our efforts, without wavering or slackening our efforts. All localities and departments should unswervingly implement the decision-making arrangements of the Party Central Committee, further mobilise, unify thoughts, strengthen confidence, persevere, and pay close attention to all epidemic prevention work.” 实践已经证明，常态化疫情防控总策略、总方针是正确的、有效的，关键是我们要继续坚持，不动摇、不放松。各地区各部门各方面要坚定不移贯彻落实党中央决策部署，进一步动员起来，统一思想，坚定信心，坚持不懈，抓细抓实各项防疫工作.
Also on Page 2 today, we have a report about epidemic control activities from different parts of the country.
The next paragraph reiterates key directives highlighted in the earlier report on the PSC meeting, beginning with the need to adhere to the people first, life first, scientific, accurate and dynamic zero Covid policy. The commentary ends by again saying that persistence is victory.
Next, there’s a report (English report) on Li Keqiang’s instructions regarding efforts to resolutely prevent major forest and grassland fires during the fire-prone season by facilitating the source control of fires and improving firefighting capacity. Wang Yong spoke at the meeting.
Next, there’s a report about the new Pilot Program of the Principal-Agent Mechanism for Ownership of Natural Resource Assets Owned by the All the People 全民所有自然资源资产所有权委托代理机制试点方案. The plan seeks to establish a principal-agent mechanism in order to promote the reform of the property rights system of natural resource assets in an overall way and implement the unified exercise of the responsibilities of owners of natural resource assets that are owned by all the people.
The plan talks about the importance of work in this direction being guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilisation. The pilot initiative will cover eight types of natural resource assets, such as land, minerals, oceans, forests, grasslands, wetlands, water and national parks owned by all the people. Pilot projects will be carried out simultaneously in all provinces. To implement this program, an inter-ministerial coordination group led by the Ministry of Natural Resources will be established.
The report further informs:
The ownership pattern: The State Council exercises the ownership over natural resources owned by all the people on behalf of the State, and authorises the Ministry of Natural Resources to perform the responsibilities of owners of natural resources assets owned by all the people. Some of the responsibilities are directly performed by the Ministry of Natural Resources, and some of the responsibilities are entrusted by the Ministry of Natural Resources to provincial, municipal and prefecture-level governments, unless otherwise provided by law.
The second point calls for lists to be drawn up to clarify the natural resources where the central government directly exercises ownership and the pilot areas must draw up a list of natural resources where provincial and municipal governments exercise ownership.
Third, relevant departments, provincial, municipal and prefecture-level governments shall establish and improve the ownership management system according to the owner’s responsibilities.
Fourth, study and explore the entrustment management objectives and work priorities for different resources.
Fifth, improve the supporting system of the principal-agent system, explore the establishment of an assessment mechanism for the performance of ownership responsibilities and establish a working reporting mechanism for the agent to report to the principal.
All of this basically sounds like the central government essentially extending its authority over local governments by establishing this principal-agent mechanism. So what’s the goal?
“By 2023, the principal-agent mechanism of ownership with unified exercise, classified implementation, graded agency, and equal rights and responsibilities will be basically established. The main body of property rights will be fully implemented. The management rights and responsibilities will be more clear. The assets will be basically known. The resources will be more effectively protected. Asset allocation will be more efficient and the income management system will be more perfect. The assessment and evaluation standards will be initially established, and owners’ rights and interests will be effectively safeguarded, and a number of reform achievements that can be replicated and promoted will be established, which would have led to the accumulation of practical learnings for the comprehensive implementation of unified exercise of owners' responsibilities and revision and improvement of relevant laws and regulations.”《方案》提出，在各省（自治区、直辖市）和新疆生产建设兵团同步试点。到2023年，基本建立统一行使、分类实施、分级代理、权责对等的所有权委托代理机制，产权主体全面落实，管理权责更加明晰，资产家底基本摸清，资源保护更加有力，资产配置更加高效，收益管理制度更加完善，考核评价标准初步建立，所有者权益得到有效维护，形成一批可复制可推广的改革成果，为全面落实统一行使所有者职责、修改完善相关法律法规积累实践经验.
Finally, there’s a new column being launched, called Our New Era 我们的新时代. I guess the theme is to talk about people and their achievements. Anyway, this piece today talks about the development and achievements of China’s deep-sea manned submersible Fendouzhe.
Page 2: There’s a report about the press conference by the Cyberspace Administration of China, which talked about the 清朗 - Qinglang - series of actions expected in 2022. But first, a report card on the work done last year. The CAC says that:
It removed more than 22 million pieces of illegal or irregular information from the internet in 2021. This information, the report says, related to bad online behaviour like fan circles, abuse of network account management and harassment of underage people.
It dealt with 1.34 billion internet accounts, banned more than 7,200 streamers, took down 2,160 mobile apps or mini apps and shut down more than 3,200 websites.
The PD report has Zhang Yongjun, CAC Director, saying that 879,000 pieces of harmful information have been removed last year and more than 41,000 illegal accounts were dealt with in the fight against online violence. He also talked about the next steps that platforms must take. Those comments are mentioned below in the SCMP article that I’ve referenced.
In 2022, there are a bunch of different areas that will be the focus of CAC action. There are, in fact, 10 goals for 2022. These range from
regulating short video and livestreaming productions. Livestreamers will also be punished for putting up fake viewer counts and sales data. They will crack down on tipping.
creating a cyberspace environment for minors during winter and summer breaks
efforts to battle online rumours, fake reviews and sales, ghost followers, and the ‘Internet water army’
intensifying the regulation of the use of algorithm technologies, the information provided by mobile applications, and the operation of internet accounts
Entertainers who have broken the law or transgressed social morality, as well as internet accounts that have been banned, will be strictly prevented from making a comeback
SCMP’s story also discusses the press briefing:
“The CAC also touted achievements made by internet censors, saying that they worked hard to reduce online “attacks and abuse” against Eileen Gu and Zhu Yi, two US-born athletes who represented China at this year's Beijing Winter Olympics. The agency will direct internet platforms to establish a computer model to monitor and predict online violence, and add in-app features such as blocking direct messages from unknown accounts, said CAC official Zhang Yongjun. He said the blocking feature - which has already been adopted by short video-sharing app Douyin, China's version of TikTok - is working well. Zhang added that agents who represent influencers are "related to, or are even the cause" of certain online chaos. He pointed out that some agents tried to bump up page views by fanning emotions, making semi-pornographic content, as well as creating content related to to science, history or international relations that have "misguided values". China implemented a new regulation this month to rein in the use of algorithms in apps, a technology that is widely used by Big Tech firms such as Alibaba Group Holding, social media and video gaming giant Tencent Holdings, and TikTok owner ByteDance. The rules are partly designed to address "algorithmic discrimination", where products and services are priced differently for different online users, officials said.”
On Comprehensive Algorithm Management 算法综合治理, the PD piece talks about the recent regulation that came into force on March 1. The report adds that this year the focus will be on implementation and punishment for violations of the rules. In addition, ‘information cocoons’, ‘algorithm discrimination’ and ‘big data killing’ will be the focus of this year’s work on algorithm management.
Page 3: First, a report about Wang Yi meeting with SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming in Beijing. Wang Yi said:
“The SCO should actively practice the common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept to maintain regional stability and security...Wang voiced opposition against reviving the Cold War mentality and stoking confrontation between blocs, adding the pursuit of exclusive security and absolute security is futureless and harmful. The Chinese foreign minister also called for resolutely opposing illegal unilateral sanctions, respecting the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and safeguarding international justice and equity. The SCO is highly concerned about the situation in Ukraine and hopes that peace will be restored and the long-term peace and security of the world will be realized, Zhang told Wang. Zhang added he will lead the SCO secretariat to actively perform its duties, carry out solid work, coordinate and promote cooperation in various fields, and make due contribution to the development of the SCO.” — No mention of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity here.
A brief report about the upcoming visit to China by foreign ministers of Algeria, Zambia and Tanzania. Third, a report (English report) about China speaking on behalf of over 60 countries about the inequitable allocation and unbalanced vaccination for COVID-19 at the UNHRC,
“The world is still far behind schedule to achieve the World Health Organization’s goal of 70 percent COVID-19 immunization coverage by mid-2022, Chen Xu, head of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations Office at Geneva, told the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. ‘The 'vaccine divide' poses the biggest obstacle in defeating the pandemic, as only 5 percent population in low-income countries are fully vaccinated, far lower than the high-income countries,’ Chen noted.”
Chen also backed a UNGA meeting on vaccines, calling on all countries to put the rights to life and health first, uphold the primary attribute of vaccination as a global public good, ensure equitable distribution of vaccines and speed up vaccination, so as to close the gap in immunization.
Finally, there’s a piece by Siamelie Latu, Secretary-General of the Tonga-China Friendship Association, praising China as the “most trusted friend” owing to its pandemic-related support and aid following the recent volcanic eruption.
Page 4: A report calling for speeding up the development of a training system for ideological and political teachers. The piece informs that by the end of 2021, China had more than 127,000 full-time and part-time ideological and political education teachers in colleges and universities. It adds that 77.7% of these are aged less than 49 years and 35% have senior roles. The piece adds that there are 41 national training bases and 32 preparation centres that are training 6,000 new teachers every year.
In addition, there were more than 1,440 Marxist colleges in colleges and universities in the country as of 2021. The Central Propaganda Department and the Ministry of Education are also focussing on building 37 national key Marxist colleges. The Ministry of Education is also supporting the development of more than 200 excellent teaching and research teams.
Page 15: On the international page, the lead report is about international reportage and comments about US bio-military activities in Ukraine, which the report says are “just the tip of the iceberg.” The report adds that the US should, “in a responsible manner, provide a comprehensive clarification of its bio-military activities in Ukraine and around the world.”
And this is followed by another Zhong Sheng commentary attacking the US on its alleged bio-military activities in Ukraine.
“The US first dismissed Russia’s accusations as ‘disinformation’ and ‘conspiracy theories’, and then alleged that ‘Russia intends to use chemical and biological weapons against Ukraine’. Officials from the White House, the State Department and the Department of Defense took turns to come to the rescue, saying that the US has always been ‘open and transparent’ and ‘fully abides by the Biological Weapons Convention and the Chemical Weapons Convention’. The US has also issued what it calls ‘factual documents’ in an attempt to ‘clarify’ its biological military activities in Ukraine and around the world. However, the US clarification is so flawed that even the most basic information, such as the number of its collaborating laboratories in Ukraine, is inconsistent and unconvincing. ‘Compliance’ and ‘verification’ have always been frequently used words in American diplomacy. For decades, the United States has been pointing fingers at other countries’ compliance, ‘expressing concern’, requiring other countries to accept verification, and even looking for various excuses to impose sanctions and use force against other countries. When it comes to accusations against the United States, it is now unwilling and afraid to face them with a correct attitude, and just wants to deal with it with the phrase ‘I have complied’. This is a typical double standard.” 美方先是把俄罗斯的指控一概称为“虚假信息”和“阴谋论”，接着又指称“俄方要对乌克兰使用生化武器”。发现这样无法蒙混过关，白宫、国务院、国防部一批官员轮番出面“救场”，声称美方“历来公开透明”“完全遵守《禁止生物武器公约》和《禁止化学武器公约》”。美国还发布所谓“事实文件”，试图对其在乌克兰和全球的生物军事活动作出“澄清”。然而，美方的澄清漏洞百出，连其在乌克兰的合作实验室数量这种最基本的信息都前后不一，无法令人信服。“遵约”“核查”一向是美国外交惯用的高频词。几十年来，美国动不动就指手画脚，对别国遵约情况“表达关切”，要求别国接受核查，甚至寻找各种借口对别国实施制裁、动武；轮到对自己的指控，美国却不愿、不敢以正确的态度面对，只想用一句“我遵约了”应付了事。这是典型的双重标准.
Later the article argues:
“Times are changing, but the United States has never changed its hypocritical logic - it only demands compliance from other countries and never accepts inspections on itself. The US has been doing whatever it wants in the face of international rules, applying them when it suits and discarding them when it doesn't, which has made its true nature of hegemonism increasingly clear to people…As a member of the international community, the United States has an obligation to follow international rules and give the world an account of its biological military activities. Clinging to double standards will only ruin their credibility. 时代在变，美国的这种虚伪逻辑却从未改变——只要求其他国家遵约，自己绝对不接受核查。美国在国际规则面前为所欲为，合则用、不合则弃的行径，让人们日益看清其霸权主义的本色...作为国际社会大家庭的一员，美国有义务遵守国际规则，就其生物军事活动给世界一个交代。固守双重标准只会让自己信誉破产.
Finally, this bit from yesterday’s MoFA press conference is reported on the page.
Hubei Media Group: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a press conference on March 16 that the international community must stand in solidarity and Japan “calls on China to take responsible action” on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Besides, the Japanese government has announced multiple sanctions on Russia after the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out. The Prime Minister called the southern Kuril Islands Japan’s inherent territory which is illegally occupied by Russia, and said Japan considers revising its National Security Strategy to comprehensively strengthen Japan’s defense capability. What is China’s comment?
Zhao Lijian: On the Ukraine issue, China has been making positive efforts to deescalate the situation as we are committed to promoting peace talks and proposing our initiative to resolve the current crisis. Our position is objective, fair, constructive and beyond reproach. Due to the aggression of Japan’s militarism in modern history, Japan’s moves in the military and security fields have always been followed closely by its Asian neighbors. We have noted that some political forces in Japan have been using the Ukraine issue as a pretext recently to deliberately play up external threats and seek stronger military forces and capability. A stern warning to Japan: The victorious outcomes of the World Anti-Fascist War should be earnestly respected and upheld. The Japanese side should deeply reflect on history, draw lessons from the past, respect the security concerns of its Asian neighbors, stay committed to peaceful development, and do more things that benefit regional peace and stability instead of the opposite.
I am sharing a few other exchanges, which are telling but are not in PD today. There’s much more in there that I would recommend going through the entire briefing.
We also have confirmation that Xi has not spoken to Zelensky. Also, when asked about the former head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service saying that only Xi Jinping can influence Putin and stop the war in Ukraine, Zhao Lijian said:
“China has been promoting dialogue for peace and making efforts for peacefully resolving the Ukraine crisis. Such efforts include the phone calls and personal efforts made by President Xi Jinping with leaders of relevant countries. China will continue to play a constructive role in the Ukraine issue. However, it takes the one who started the issue to resolve it. I want to stress that those who caused the Ukraine crisis should reflect on the roles they have played, earnestly shoulder their due responsibilities, take concrete actions to ease the situation and solve the problem, instead of shifting the blame onto others.”
AFP: Staying with the Ukraine crisis, there’s mounting evidence now of several Russian attacks on civilian targets in Ukraine. Yesterday, Russian forces are believed to have attacked a theater in the city of Mariupol. Hundreds of civilians were thought to be sheltering inside at the time, and the Russian word for “children” was clearly painted on the ground outside. And yet they still attacked, killing an unknown number of civilians. My question is given that China has not explicitly opposed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, should we assume that China therefore has no problem with this kind of indiscriminate killing of civilians? President Biden has called President Putin a “war criminal”. Does China agree that Russia may have committed war crimes in Ukraine?
Zhao Lijian: On the Ukraine issue, China has made its view known that the international community should focus on two things, namely, peace talks and avoidance of a large-scale humanitarian crisis. We have also made huge efforts in this regard. China has proposed a six-point initiative on easing the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and has taken real actions. We will continue to provide new humanitarian assistance as needed. I want to stress that China’s position on peace talks is consistent. You may refer to China’s statements on hotspot issues including Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine and Israel. When it comes to civilian casualties and humanitarian situation, I wonder if you were equally concerned about the civilian casualties in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine. Do these civilians mean nothing to you? Do not forget Serbia in 1999, or the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Did you show any care about civilian casualties there? If not, then you are in no position to make accusations against China. China’s position is aboveboard, objective and just. But the US, NATO and some western media are very hypocritical, especially as some reports smack of racism. We suggest some media focus more efforts on things that are conducive to promoting peace. They may advise the US and NATO countries not to supply ammunition or add fuel to the flame, but to sit down and build peace by talking with Europe, Russia and Ukraine.
Phoenix TV: China has always emphasized its impartiality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But there are comments that China’s position is becoming increasingly “uncomfortable” and “awkward” as the situation develops. What is your response to this?
Zhao Lijian: I have elaborated on China’s position on the Ukraine issue many times. Unlike that of a few countries, China’s position is aboveboard, objective, fair and beyond reproach. Speaking of “uncomfortable”, it is those countries that delude themselves into thinking that they can lord it over the world after winning the Cold War, those that keep driving NATO’s eastward expansion five times in disregard of other countries’ security concerns, and those that wage wars across the globe while accusing other countries of being belligerent, that should really feel “uncomfortable”. I learned that cats, dogs and trees in Russia will be sanctioned. I also heard that Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake is axed. But Tchaikovsky was a famous composer, who died over 100 years ago. What faults can be found with him or his Swan Lake, a timeless masterpiece of ballet?