Chinese president allows criticism from intellectuals
Chinese president allows criticism from intellectuals
Posted May. 02, 2016 07:31,
Updated May. 02, 2016 07:36
Up for the Cultural Revolution, which marks its 50th anniversary on May 16, Chinese President Xi Jinping has directed that the voice of intellectuals who are opposing the policy of the Communist Party should be allowed and even embraced. It is said that Xi may be giving a thought to those people who have expressed concerns over the idolization of Xi Jinping who has strengthened the control over media and thoughts.
According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency on Saturday, Xi held a round-table talk of young and intellectual workers during his visit to Hefei, capital city of east China's Anhui Province, and said that the government and the party should completely trust the intellectual.
President Xi added that it is an important mission of government officials to be good friends of highly-educated people whose criticism should be welcomed. “Even though they have prejudice and inaccurate information (on government’s policy), government officials should not find fault, beat them or label them,” he stressed. “Humans are not God. Our opinion and criticism can never be 100% accurate.”
Along with the act of dragging the intellectual with conical hat in the street, beating and labeling that he mentioned were the representative insult and violence that the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution did to them. The Chinese president also said on April 20 that the healthy online criticism on national policy should be further embraced at a round-table talk on the Internet security and informatization.
It appears that Xi intends to prevent the far-left image of the Revolution era by making a consecutive “appeasement comment” as controversy has been brewing over the strong ideology control of the government. The Financial Times has recently reported that Xi’s control over media is “Cultural Revolution-type censure.” It has been pinpointed that his government may be trying to dilute the image of censoring the media. South China Morning Post has also reported that the comments made by the highest Chinese leader are very different from heavy-handed policy that he used to make.
베이징=구자룡특파원 北京＝ク・ジャリョン特派員 bonhong@donga.com
According to China’s official Xinhua News Agency on Saturday, Xi held a round-table talk of young and intellectual workers during his visit to Hefei, capital city of east China's Anhui Province, and said that the government and the party should completely trust the intellectual.
President Xi added that it is an important mission of government officials to be good friends of highly-educated people whose criticism should be welcomed. “Even though they have prejudice and inaccurate information (on government’s policy), government officials should not find fault, beat them or label them,” he stressed. “Humans are not God. Our opinion and criticism can never be 100% accurate.”
Along with the act of dragging the intellectual with conical hat in the street, beating and labeling that he mentioned were the representative insult and violence that the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution did to them. The Chinese president also said on April 20 that the healthy online criticism on national policy should be further embraced at a round-table talk on the Internet security and informatization.
It appears that Xi intends to prevent the far-left image of the Revolution era by making a consecutive “appeasement comment” as controversy has been brewing over the strong ideology control of the government. The Financial Times has recently reported that Xi’s control over media is “Cultural Revolution-type censure.” It has been pinpointed that his government may be trying to dilute the image of censoring the media. South China Morning Post has also reported that the comments made by the highest Chinese leader are very different from heavy-handed policy that he used to make.
베이징=구자룡특파원 北京＝ク・ジャリョン特派員 bonhong@donga.com
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