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“Whereas the West wields its discourse power, the Third World is reduced to merely imitating its values”

There have been reports in the previous week that China's top institutions have decided not to participate in international school rankings this year. This is the harbinger of the Chinese intellectuals’ "true self-confidence and a feat of breaking free from foreigners' spiritual bonds," according to Prof. Chen Xianyi, a Party member and former propaganda officer who served as deputy director and chief editor of the PLA Daily's Literature and Art Department.

Chen recounts two recent instances that he believes demonstrate "the self-reliance and self-confidence of Chinese education."

First, a viral video showing Tsinghua history and literature professor Peng Lin refusing to wear Western-style academic robes in graduation ceremonies, asking, "It was China that trained me to become a doctor of philosophy, so why must I wear a foreign dress?”

Peng is also quoted as saying, “For a scholar, one's home country's cultural identity is far from inconsequential; it is a first-class topic that concerns one's cultural values. Wearing clothes that are derived from the Christian robe is unacceptable for a graduate of a Chinese university. Why should I have to dress like them?”

The second important marker, according to Chen, is Renmin University of China’s (RUC) last week’s announcement that it would no longer provide data to western university ranking agencies starting from 2022. Chen also commends Lanzhou University and Nanjing University for joining RUC’s decision.

Below are additional excerpts from Chen’s article:

“These prestigious colleges have studied the shortcomings of "foreign indexes" and made a conscious and sensible decision to no longer be held hostage by them. Getting rid of foreign targets, according to Renmin University and other universities, is the return of China's educational sovereignty; the return of educational sovereignty is the return of culture, and the return of culture is the only way to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

“Whoever has the power to make these evaluations is acting on behalf of their own country. If they desire to culturally colonize China, the criteria will be infused with content that facilitates that colonization. Participating in such an exercise is the equivalent of stretching out our necks for the executioner.

“Another example is the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Nobel Peace Prize, both of which are entirely based on Western values. Nonetheless, some of us revere the criteria for winning them as gods, treating them with reverence as if they were actually exceptional.

“In fact, when these two awards are given out, they are based on ideological criteria. Want to win? Then you should begin by openly cursing your own country, cursing your ancestors, cursing your country's “nefarious” system, and even slandering your own leaders through your work.

“We have experienced significant cultural losses throughout the years. For example, many films and television shows must depict the Chinese people's stupidity, ignorance, as well as their retarded and authoritarian nature.

“The foreigners will invite you abroad and hang a medal around your neck as long as these portrayals make references to or besmirch our leaders. Some of us are so eager to get these ancestor-bashing bragging rights that they clench their buttcheeks with delight at the very thought of accepting the accolades.

“This includes our little sissy faggot idols 小娘炮小鲜肉 who are adored by the Americans. They truly believe they have become world-class celebrities, and when they return to China, they parade around deceiving their fellow citizens.

“In reality, they’re just a bunch of cultural traitors to our nation 文化汉奸; they have been groomed for this purpose in a methodical and planned manner. In recent years, China has been able to expose the strategic goals of the US and the rest of the Western world and has made significant efforts to prevent this cultural trash from soiling our culture on the silver screen.

“Nowadays, any man who wants to be like that, talk big, feeling pride for expressing his feminine side, will become the anathema of society and detested like a street rat.” (Kunlun Policy Research Institute）

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“Russia had had enough of the massacres of Russians in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Ukraine's determination to join NATO was the final straw. It just goes to show that national narratives are critical issues that must be addressed by the state and that without the power to control discourse, even blood brothers can become mortal enemies”

Prof. Qiu Wenping is the guest speaker this week on Prof. Zhang Weiwei's China Now talkshow. He contends that Russia's "just war" against the US-led West's hegemony and challenge to Anglo-Saxon capitalists can teach China a lot about how to deal with ethnic minorities and the importance of controlling national narratives.

Prof. Qiu is a Visiting Fellow at the China Institute of Fudan University, a think-tank directed by Prof. Zhang Weiwei and whose Chairman of the Advisory Committee is billionaire Eric Li; he is also the Director of the Institute of Religious Studies at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences (SASS), which is overseen by the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and has alleged ties to the Ministry of State Security. Islam and Middle East affairs, Judaism and the State of Israel, ethnic minorities, and Xinjiang are among his study interests.

Excerpts:

“As I read Putin's March 16 speech [in which he declared that Russia is fighting "for the future of our country and our children"], I suddenly had flashbacks to December 26, 1991. I was a sophomore at the time, and I was strolling along a freezing street late that evening when I heard over the loudspeakers that the Soviet Union had collapsed.

“Back then, I hadn’t realized the enormity of this event for the world and Russia, but with the benefit of thirty years of hindsight, we can clearly see the harsh consequences that await those great nations that abandon their beliefs 信仰.

“The first point I'd like to make is that the Russia-Ukraine conflict is Putin's “counter-strike” against the US-led West’s plan to dismember Russia. Those who have been following international affairs for a long time recognize how they have long been instigating "color revolutions" in the former Soviet states.

“As a spokesman for our Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “have the US and the West ever paused to contemplate the repercussions of forcing a world power into a corner?" When a major power has no other option, it's like a desperate man who has been pushed beyond his breaking point and cannot endure any longer.

"As Chairman Mao famously observed during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea (the Korean War): “One solid punch will spare you the trouble of delivering a hundred punches." There are two types of wars: just and unjust, and this conflict is Russia's just response to the US and the West's desire to dismember the country.

“Ukraine has fashioned up a new national narrative with the loyal assistance of the US and the West, steadily undoing 300 years of a shared history of fraternal alliance between Russians and Ukrainians, and pushing both sides down the path of hostility.

“Russia had had enough of the massacres of Russians in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Ukraine's determination to join NATO was the final straw. It just goes to show that national narratives are critical issues that must be addressed by the state and that without the power to control discourse, even blood brothers can become mortal enemies. This is the core principle underlying China's Five Identities 五个认同, which has been prioritized in relation to ethnic issues.

“Lastly, China is in a position that is somewhat comparable to Russia's. Consider the labeling tactics used by the US and the West to stigmatize China: "ethnic cleansing," "cultural genocide," and "authoritarian dictatorship." Does any of this sound familiar? The US is clearly manipulating the "Taiwan issue" and constantly fanning the flames in order to dismember China by creating a "Ukraine of the Orient."

“So-called "public intellectuals" and "social justice warriors" are the bulk of those who dread foreigners like tigers; in contrast, our youth, the generation that has stood up, is China's hope for the future.

”The "West's lapdogs" 慕洋犬 are no longer in the mainstream. Putin's words about the so-called "West" and its subservient "fifth column" who'd sell their own mother and buy everything else in the belief that we will inevitably fall and retreat, applies to China; they are wrong; they simply do not understand our history and our people 人民.

“The profound racism of the United States and the West has been exposed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict; in the eyes of Anglo-Saxon capitalists, they are the masters of the world, while other nations and religions are only "expendables" for their servitude.

“A slave should kneel before his master, and those who disobey him should be brutally punished; the heaviest penalty should be meted out to Russia, which has dared to question the British-American hegemonic order.

“Russia has made them strip away all pretenses of so-called "democracy" and "freedom," revealing the brutal and savage nature 残暴野兽本性 underneath their masks. Therefore, we must thank Russia for putting the US and Western limits to the test for us, and by "limits" I mean their complete absence.” (DragonTV)

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“The Chinese People's Liberation Army has shown its might, capability, and strength in past wars; we will never let the American "proxy war" in the Asia-Pacific prevail”

Mr. Wang Zaixi, a former head of the mainland's semi-governmental organization for managing ties with Taiwan, claims that the US wants to use the "proxy war" model it uses in Ukraine for Russia in the Taiwan Strait against China in the future, so Beijing should be wary of NATO's Asia-Pacific expansion.

Wang is the former deputy director of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, former vice president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, vice president of the National Society for Taiwan Studies, and vice president and senior researcher of the Kunlun Policy Research Institute.

Excerpts from an op-ed he published on Thursday for the Global Times (in Chinese):

“The "War in Ukraine" has the US believe that waging "proxy wars" is more cost-effective [than a true war] because the conflict is taking place on the territory of another country, and the casualties are citizens of that other country.

“Not only does the United States exploits the war to weaken its adversary, but it also stands to turn an economic profit. (Do you really think the aid to Ukraine is free of charge? It is certainly not. Not long ago, the US announced the confiscation of all Russian assets in the US, to be utilized in the future for the "reconstruction of Ukraine.")

“While helping Ukraine, the US has not given up on its efforts to contain China and use the "Taiwan card." Its goal is the "Asia-Pacificication of NATO's eastern expansion." This is a new and extremely dangerous trend.

“On April 27, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a speech: “Now we want a 'global' NATO" - That really shocked me! Where do you think she gets these wild ambitions? The US has her back! NATO aspires to become a "globalized military alliance" based in Western Europe.

“During a press briefing, our Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin asked, "Does this mean NATO would mess up the Asia-Pacific region as it did for Europe? Does it mean that it will mess up the world?"

“Clearly, the US intends to replicate Ukraine's "proxy war" strategy in Taiwan. When that happens, it is expected to similarly carry out a diplomatic containment and assist the Taiwan authorities with intelligence, weapons, and equipment. It's not unlikely that they will deploy NATO "advisors" to aid the ruling DPP authorities.

“Therefore, I believe we need to prepare for such a rainy day. This issue should be addressed in our propaganda, and brought up for public political debates, while our Taiwanese compatriots should be informed about America’s true intentions.

“On the surface, the US is concerned about Taiwan, and it appears to support it in its efforts to "resist China and safeguard Taiwan." In reality, its nefarious goals are self-evident. "Today's Ukraine is tomorrow's Taiwan" is a ruse to tether Taiwan to the US war chariot, so that in the case of a future war, the only losses and casualties on both sides of the Strait will be Chinese people!” (Global Times)

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"When the war erupted, many Chinese media outlets relied on Russian sources, which were not only less comprehensive and objective, but also sought to harm Ukraine...The current deterioration in Ukraine's disposition toward China is evident"

Dr. Fan Hongda, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University's Middle East Studies Institute (MESI), emphasizes the need for Chinese media to provide objective coverage of international conflicts.

Excerpt: "In today's conflict-ridden world, China, as a third party, must urgently respond to external crises in a more suitable manner. It is a basic fact that the US is suppressing, containing, and bashing China, which has an inherent necessity to respond firmly to US assault.

”[However,] as it engages the US in struggle, China must be more cautious in its retaliation and try to avoid inflicting harm to third parties. In particular, as a third party in international conflicts, it should, at minimum, avoid incurring the resentment or even hostility of the opposing parties, even if it cannot earn their friendship." (Pengpai | Follow Prof. Fan on Twitter @fan_hongda)

“The conflict's root cause is not Russia and Ukraine, but Russia and the United States; the conflict's essence is not the confrontation between Russia and Ukraine, but the tug of war between Russia and the United States; and the conflict's impact is not limited to Russia and Ukraine but has global ramifications”

Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency recently published a series of five articles about the "global shock wave" triggered by the war in Ukraine, each of which provides an "in-depth analysis" of a different dimension: international order, international security, the global economy, the dollar's hegemony, and science and technology.

Each article’s premise is conveyed in the title:

International Order: “The profound evolution of the international order: US hegemony is an immoral cause with few supporters."
International Security: “As NATO's confrontation with Russia intensifies, the inequitable nature of exclusive security becomes clearer.”
The Global Economy: “The spillover effects of Western sanctions put the global economy at risk.”
The Dollar Hegemony: “The dollar hegemony cannibalizes itself, dealing a major blow to the financial order.”
Science and technology: The West's "scientific decoupling" from Russia jeopardizes international scientific collaboration.
(Xinhua)

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Playing in the Background

Speaking of Western cultural accolades, I was listening to this double album by David Byrne, the Academy Award winner, Grammy Award winner, Tony Award winner, Golden Globe winner, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer (and the lead singer of the Talking Heads).

The concept album Here Lies Love chronicles the life of the mother of the Philippines’ new President-Elect, First Lady Imelda Marcos. It was co-produced with DJ Fatboy Slim and adapted into an award-winning Off-Broadway musical.

Discourse Power is written by Tuvia Gering, a research fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a Krauthammer Fellow, specializing in Chinese security and foreign policy, and emergency and disaster management. Any views expressed in this newsletter, as well as any errors, are solely those of the author.
Follow Tuvia on Twitter @GeringTuvia

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Discourse Power

Discourse Power | May 15, 2022