Xi's Rule of Law Thought - 'Inhumane' American Democracy - Red Footprints & the 'Two Musts' - Carbon Peak Leading Group Meeting - China-US Trade Talks
Here are the stories and pieces from the People’s Daily’s May 28, 2021, edition that I found noteworthy.
Page 1: Today’s front page is basically about Xi Jinping. First, there are two stories about letters that Xi has sent. The first of these stories is about a letter (English report) to mark the 40th anniversary of China Daily. He told the paper that it should “take the 40th anniversary as a new starting point, innovate its approach to better communicate with international readers, establish an all-media communication framework and build a high-caliber team, so as to expand its global influence and better introduce China's development philosophy, path and achievements.”
The other one (English report) is Xi’s letter to the World Symposium for Marxist Political Parties. He said that the CCP wants to “jointly promote the cause of human progress and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind with Marxist political parties worldwide.” He said that “Marxist science, which is a powerful weapon of thought to know and transform the world, reveals the law of human society's development, points out the road for humanity to seek liberation, and has facilitated the process of human civilization.”
He added that “Marxism is radiating new vigor and vitality in the 21st century of China…” and that he hoped the discussions at the symposium will lead to new ideas to promote the development of Marxism in the 21st century.
Next we have the piece on Xi’s red footprints. Today’s piece reminds us of Xi’s December 2012 visit to Fuping County and 2013 visit to Xibaipo town, both in Hebei. While visiting the latter, Xi went to Xibaipo Memorial Hall, Mao Zedong’s former residence, the Central Military Commission’s war room, and the site of the Second Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee. This, of course, refers to a time period around the final years of the Civil War between the CCP and the KMT. The piece briefly mentions that history and then talks about tourism at the memorial hall. “In the memorial hall, old photos, old objects and electronic screens, virtual reality panoramic tour system, and a sliding track touch screen display, allow people’s thoughts to travel through time and space and return to the revolutionary years.”
Like in other such pieces, this bit about revolutionary history is woven in with the narrative of development. So we quickly jump to Xi’s February letter to the party cadre in Beizhuang Village, Xibaipo, telling them about their inheritance of the “red gene” and applauding their efforts to alleviate poverty.
The piece then turns to Fuping, telling us a bit about its history, before focussing on a discussion that Xi had in 2013 with “rural cadres, veteran party members and representatives of the masses in Pingshan County.” At the time, Xi stressed on leading cadres adhering to the “two musts” and “leading by example.” The PD story explains what these mean historically, but this SCMP piece might be useful for context. It talks about the conversation that Xi had that’s being referenced. Do note that the “two musts” were part of a speech by Mao Zedong. They refer to the need to “preserve modesty and prudence, while sticking to a plain lifestyle and keeping up the struggle.”
The PD piece then turns to Liangjiagou Village, Xibaipo Town, only one kilometer away from Xibaipo Memorial Hall. The narrative here is about how a “once impoverished and backward” area grew well off by using red resources and cultivating “red tourism.” The story tells us that developing facilities and building red tourism required people to relocate and initially villagers were “suspicious” and “did not want to relocate.” But once they did and red tourism was developed, the “per capita income has increased from 3,300 yuan in 2009 to 25,000 yuan as of 2020.”
We then finally come to Xi’s visit to Luotuowan Village, Longquanguan Town, Fuping County, on 30 December 2012. The article tells us about how he visited the home of two local families, living in a mountainous area. He sat “cross-legged,” “hand-in-hand” with the villagers, asking them “how much income they had in a year, whether food was enough to eat, whether quilts were available for winter, whether coal for heating was enough, whether children were far away from school, and whether it was convenient to see a doctor.” 总书记逐一走进困难群众唐荣斌家、唐宗秀家看望，盘腿坐在炕上，同乡亲手拉手，详细询问他们一年下来有多少收入，粮食够不够吃，过冬的棉被有没有，取暖的煤炭够不够，小孩上学远不远，看病方便不方便. The next line calls for leading cadres to work while keeping in mind those that are needy. The piece then ends highlighting economic development and poverty alleviation in the regions discussed.
Next, we have Li Zhanshu speaking at a meeting of the NPCSC (English report) on the implementation of the Rural Revitalization Promotion Law. He talked about how the Party Central Committee and Xi in particular attach great importance to rural revitalization. “It is necessary to further improve the political position, understand the importance of the Rural Revitalization Promotion Law from the strategic perspective of the party and the country's overall cause, and implement this law,” he said.
He then said that the law,
primarily aims to enhance farmers’ incomes and livelihood.
should address issues of safety and supply of agricultural goods
should protect the rural ecology
should “strengthen the construction of socialist spiritual civilization in rural areas, adhere to the dominant position of farmers, comprehensively improve the quality of farmers in the new era, and develop new farmers with high quality.”
So what needs to be done for all this? Li says that it is important to
tailor measures as per local conditions and promote the development of rural industries.
train, educate and guide a new generation of farmers
“inherit the excellent rural traditional culture, advocate scientific and healthy production and lifestyle...”
strengthen rural ecological and environmental protection
strengthen the construction of rural grassroots political power
safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of farmers
Finally, PSC member Han Zheng spoke at the first plenary meeting (English report) of the Leading Group for Carbon Peak and Carbon Neutrality. He said that:
The decision “to achieve carbon peaks by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060 are a major strategic decision made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core after careful consideration. Achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality are the inherent requirements for China to achieve sustainable and high-quality development, and it is also an inevitable choice to promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.”
He said that there was a need to “strengthen the top-level design, guide and supervise the scientific setting of targets and formulate action plans for localities and key areas, industries, and enterprises.” He also spoke about the need to publicize China’s “determination, goals, measures, and results in tackling climate change.”
The immediate tasks at hand for Han are:
“At present, we should focus on promoting the optimization of industrial structure, promoting the adjustment of energy structure, supporting the research and development of green and low-carbon technologies, improving the green and low-carbon policy system, and perfecting the laws, regulations and standards system.” 当前要围绕推动产业结构优化、推进能源结构调整、支持绿色低碳技术研发推广、完善绿色低碳政策体系、健全法律法规和标准体系等，研究提出有针对性和可操作性的政策举措.
Page 2: There’s only one piece on the page worth noting. It draws from Xi’s comments on technological development and specifically self-reliance in core technologies and then identifies examples of Chinese companies and researchers pursuing these objectives.
The technologies referenced are:
Guangzhou Institute of Biomedicine and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences, discovering a new mechanism of RNA regulation of heterochromatin formation in mammals.
Xi’an Institute of Optics and Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, researcher Yang Jianfeng’s work to develop an X-ray imager that will be launched as “one of the three payloads of ASO-S, China’s first comprehensive solar exploration satellite” into space to observe solar flares.
Ice lithography work being carried out at West Lake University.
Companies working on mass spectrometers, in the field of AI and automated control systems, gas and steam turbines, aero engine blade manufacturing, etc.
Page 3: First, Vice Premier Liu He held a phone conversation with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. PD says that the two sides held “candid, practical and constructive exchanges in the spirit of equality and mutual respect.” They “believe that the development of bilateral trade is very important, and they exchanged views on issues of mutual concern and agreed to continue to communicate.”
USTR’s statement said that “during their candid exchange, Ambassador Tai discussed the guiding principles of the Biden-Harris administration’s worker-centered trade policy and her ongoing review of the U.S.-China trade relationship, while also raising issues of concern.” Tai also told Reuters that “the overall challenges that we have with China are also still there and they are very large.” She said the Phase 1 trade deal should be seen in the context of “the overall U.S.-China trade, and economic relationship which is very, very challenging. And requires our attention all across the board.”
Do note this from WSJ’s coverage of the call.
“In advance of Wednesday’s virtual meeting, officials with the U.S. Trade Representative’s office held a call with their Chinese counterparts Tuesday night, according to people with knowledge of the situation. During that conversation, the Chinese officials called on the U.S. to roll back remaining tariffs on Chinese products, the people said. The tariffs have led to a decline in Chinese imports to the U.S. U.S. importers, which must pay the levies on imported Chinese goods, have also pressed the administration to lift the tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump. Beijing also wants Washington to relax sanctions against Chinese companies, especially telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co., Chinese officials say.”
Also check out this excellent graphic and assessment on the Phase-1 deal by PIIE’s Chad P. Bown.
Anyway, there are lots of brief reports on the page; these are basically the same as their corresponding English reports from Xinhua. First, Hu Chunhua’s meeting with French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. They spoke about bilateral economic ties, the WTO and G20 agenda. Interestingly, no mention of the China-EU investment agreement in this. Then there’s Wang Yi’s meeting with DPRK's new ambassador to China Ri Ryong Nam. Useful to note the bit about talks regarding “the situation on the Korean Peninsula,” but this bit from Wang is also noteworthy: “China firmly supports the DPRK in developing its economy and improving people's livelihood, and is willing to continue to provide the DPRK with assistance within its capacity.”
Then we have Zhao Kezhi talking to Serbia’s Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin. Xinhua says that Zhao emphasised the need to boost “pragmatic cooperation on combating terrorist forces, enhance security cooperation along the Belt and Road, and deepen practical cooperation in fields such as building law-enforcement capacity. Echoing Zhao's remarks, Vulin said that Serbia is willing to continuously strengthen the law-enforcement and security cooperation between the two sides.” Lastly, the International Liaison Department organised a museum tour for ambassadors from 16 countries to China to highlight party history and diplomacy.
Finally, on the page, we have a Zhong Sheng commentary (English version), talking about how the pandemic in American has hurt those who are already disadvantaged the worst.
“The White House responded with inaction in the early stage of the pandemic, and it still didn't do enough to cope with the virus in the following days. As a result, the U.S. government could do nothing but watch situations lose control. More shockingly, the U.S. leader at that time ignored the warning from scientists and intentionally played down the risks. Besides, he also controlled the spread of information, and even released false messages to mislead the public, saying the COVID-19 pandemic was a flu, the risk to the American people remained very low, and the disease would "miraculously" be gone. However, the consequence could only be the golden window-period being wasted.” 去年疫情暴发后，美国政府先是不作为，后又在相当长时间里不甚作为、不善作为，最终眼睁睁看着疫情失控. 更令人震惊的是，时任美国领导人无视科学警告刻意淡化疫情风险，不仅对各种警告置之不理，而且专注于控制信息传播，甚至发布虚假信息误导民众，称新冠病毒是“大号流感”，感染病毒的风险和死亡率“非常低”，疫情会很快“奇迹般地消失”. 其后果，就是防控疫情的“黄金窗口期”被白白浪费.
The piece is rightly critical of the debate over wearing masks and politicisation of the pandemic. The big argument in this context is leadership failure in the US. The author says:
“The right to life and health are the most basic human rights. The loss of control of the US epidemic reflects the disregard and contempt of some US politicians for basic human rights…”
And of course, this:
Such anti-science and conscienceless political manipulation presented, in a clearer manner, what kind of political achievements the American democracy is chasing. Putting private political gains, party interests, and economic benefits above the lives and health of the people, the so-called American democracy is doing nothing but hurting the people. 透过如此违反科学、悖逆良知的政治操作，世人进一步看清什么是美式民主孕育的政绩观——把政治私利、党派利益、经济利益置于广大民众生命权和健康权之上，赤裸裸暴露出美式民主的“损民”底色.
And this:
“Obviously, the American democracy is inhumane, let alone not conforming to the international humanitarianism. As humans share a same future, the fight against the virus needs solidarity and mutual assistance. However, the ugly performance of some U.S. politicians has totally gone against human civilization. When most of the countries in the world joined hands to fight the virus last year, the U.S. intercepted medical materials of other countries and withdrew from the World Health Organization. This year, when billions of people were expecting COVID-19 vaccines, the U.S. was hoarding the shots and reluctant to share. It even banned the export of vaccine materials. How selfish, cold, and narrow it is!” 美式民主根本不是讲人道的民主，更谈不上国际人道主义精神。人类命运与共，抗击疫情需要各国团结合作、同舟共济。但是，美国一些政客的丑陋表演已经完全跌破了人类文明的底线——去年，当全世界绝大多数国家选择携手抗击疫情之时，美方公开争抢他国医疗防护物资，悍然退出世界卫生组织；今年，当全球数十亿人焦急等待新冠疫苗之时，美方却囤积新冠疫苗到过剩的程度，不仅迟迟不愿与他国分享疫苗，甚至还禁止疫苗原料出口。何等自私、何等冷漠、何等狭隘!
Page 4: Much of the page discusses the changes to Hong Kong’s legislative system which has now been approved by the Legislative Council. SCMP reports that the bill in LegCo was passed with 40 pro-establishment lawmakers voting “yes”, while two independent opposition members – Cheng Chung-tai and Dr Pierre Chan – remained against it. It adds that in Beijing, the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, a cabinet-level agency overseeing the city’s affairs, welcomed it as a significant achievement in “rectifying the wrongs”, while ushering in a “new chapter” of good governance. Other government departments in Beijing would offer support to the city in promoting the new electoral arrangement, the office said.
Beijing’s liaison office in the city said in a separate statement that the reform would uphold Hong Kong’s constitutional order – as set out in the national constitution – and the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law . The overhaul would also “allow the implementation of the principles of Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong, with patriots forming the mainstay”, it said.
These are the comments that you will find in different reports in PD on the page.
Page 6: The two historical figures discussed today are Jiao Yulu and Wang Jinxi. I’ve covered Jiao earlier too. But he essentially is seen as a model county party secretary. Wang, meanwhile, earned the tag of China’s “iron man.” He drilled the first well of China’s largest oil field in Daqing and was eventually voted as a national role-model from the industrial sector.
The other noteworthy piece on the page tells us that the the Central Propaganda Department, the Central Internet Information Office, the Ministry of Education and the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League have arranged and deployed a number of high-quality ideological and political WeChat official account work in colleges and universities. There are some 12 types of accounts, with a total of 200 accounts identified. Basically, these accounts are being asked to adhere to the guidance of Xi Thought.
In terms of content, the piece says that these accounts should focus on “carrying out in-depth publicity and education on Xi Jinping's ideological study of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, party history, the history of new China, reform and opening up, and the history of socialist development, (and they should) organically integrate into the teaching of ideological and political theory courses…”
Page 13: On the Theory page today, the lead piece is by the Party Group of the Supreme People’s Court of the Communist Party of China. The piece mentions Xi’s name 32 times, excluding the headlines. But then it is about endorsing Xi’s thought on rule of law. It begins by saying that:
“Xi Jinping’s thought on rule of law is a major theoretical innovation that came into being in response to the requirements of the era of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is the latest achievement of the Sinicization of Marxist theory of the rule of law. It is the fundamental action guide for the comprehensive rule of law in the new era.”
It adds that:
“The people’s courts should adhere to Xi Jinping’s thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era as a guide, pursue in-depth implementation of Xi Jinping’s thought on the rule of law, enhance the ‘four consciousness,’ strengthen the ‘four self-confidences’, and achieve the ‘two safeguards.’ They should firmly adhere to the absolute leadership of the Party on judicial work, unswervingly follow the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics rule of law, keep in mind the overall situation, persist in serving the people...constantly improve the quality, efficiency and credibility of justice, and promote the quality development of the work of the people’s courts in the new era.”
Thereafter, the first section is basically about praising Xi’s thought and highlighting its significance. This below is worth noting that there is an acceptance of the presence of systemic competition and the superiority of the Chinese system:
“This great theoretical achievement embodies our party's experience and wisdom in leading the construction of the rule of law, shows our party's firm will to enforce the rule of law and strengthen the country according to the law, reveals the strong vitality and great superiority of the road, theory, system and culture of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics...” 这一重大理论成果凝聚着我们党领导法治建设的经验和智慧，彰显了我们党厉行法治、奉法强国的坚定意志，揭示了中国特色社会主义法治道路、理论、制度、文化的强大生命力和巨大优越性，必将凝聚起全党全国人民坚定不移走中国特色社会主义法治道路的磅礴力量，必将在全面建设社会主义现代化国家新征程上更好发挥法治固根本、稳预期、利长远的保障作用.
Here’s more praise:
“Xi Jinping's thought of the rule of law has drawn a magnificent blueprint for the construction of China under the rule of law in the new era, which contains profound strategic thinking, clear political orientation, strong historical responsibility and sincere feelings for the people. It provides a powerful ideological weapon for advancing the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity and promoting the high-quality development of economy and society on the track of the rule of law, and provides legal guidance for coping with major challenges, resisting major risks, overcoming major obstacles and solving major contradictions, which will surely lead China's socialist rule of law to a new realm of good governance.”习近平法治思想擘画了新时代法治中国建设的壮阔蓝图，蕴含着深远战略思维、鲜明政治导向、强烈历史担当、真挚为民情怀，为在法治轨道上推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化、推动经济社会高质量发展提供了强大思想武器，为应对重大挑战、抵御重大风险、克服重大阻力、解决重大矛盾提供了法治指引，必将引领我国社会主义法治不断迈向良法善治新境界.
The next section of the article talks about practice. It begins by emphasising firm adherence to the Party leadership throughout the judicial system.
“The absolute leadership of the Party runs through the entire process of the people’s courts performing their duties in accordance with the law, and court officials across the country have inscribed in their hearts and implemented the political requirements of maintaining the core, being absolutely loyal, listening to the Party’s command and being brave in taking responsibility.” 党的绝对领导贯穿人民法院依法履职全过程，全国法院干警将维护核心、绝对忠诚、听党指挥、勇于担当的政治要求铭刻于心、落实于行.
Then it talks about taking the law and human feelings into account in the “pursuit of justice,” which entails “striving to achieve the unity of the political, legal and social effects of a case.” The piece also talks about judicial capacity, efficiency, use of new technology, and expanding international recognition, exchanges and credibility of China’s judicial system.
There’s a paragraph on promotion of “core values,” which emphasises work to “punish evil and promote good, take a clear-cut stand to protect the rights and interests of martyrs and heroes, protect honesty and trustworthiness, punish illegal and immoral behaviors, guide value orientation…”