Citing a stirring tale of a patriotic sentry guarding an island outpost, President Xi Jinping has urged the Chinese people to show more dedication, as propaganda officials unveiled a plan to bring unruly intellectuals to heel after statements critical of the Communist Party.
Mr Xi pointed to the dedication shown by Wang Jicai, who unflinchingly manned his Kaishan Island bunker in the Yellow Sea for 32 years, his wife by his side, before dropping dead last month aged 58.
“The spirit of Wang Jicai should be adopted as an example to all hardworking Chinese people in the new era,” said the president, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party.
In March, Mr Xi abolished term limits on his rule, centralising power around himself and clearing the way for him to rule indefinitely beyond 2022, when his term would otherwise have expired. This has coincided with a crackdown on civil society, with thousands of rights activists and lawyers detained.
The president’s grip on power seems solid, but there have been dissenting voices from liberal intellectuals in recent weeks that have chimed with public anger over faulty vaccines and dodgy peer-to-peer (P2P) investment schemes.
Toting AK-47s and wearing combat gear, the late Mr Wang and his wife Wang Shihua stood guard over Kaishan Island, 20km off the coastal city of Lianyungang, for 32 years, raising the flag and logging passing shipping between South Korean and Japanese waters.
The pair were hailed as “national role models of the time” in 2014.
“For those who dedicate themselves to difficult posts for a long time like Wang, organisations at all levels should proactively help them overcome difficulties, and care for them more in their thoughts, work and lives,” said Mr Xi, quoted by the Xinhua news agency.
Critique
The propaganda campaign among intellectuals was perhaps inspired by an article from a well-regarded academic, Xu Zhangrun, who last month published an eviscerating 10,000-character critique called “Imminent Fears, Immediate Hopes”.
The statement called for China to be more representative and slammed Mr Xi for using policies reminiscent of founding father Mao Zedong, building a cult of personality around himself.
The propaganda ministry issued a notice calling on intellectuals to “promote the spirit of patriotism and building a new era”, Xinhua reported.
The central government’s efforts to bring dissenting intellectuals into line are filled with the language of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).
During that period of tumult, academics, teachers, or often anyone with an education, including Mr Xi and his family, were oppressed and sent into the countryside to be re-educated in the ways of communist dogma and learn the way of the workers.
A circular issued this month by the propaganda department calls for a “striving modern spirit”, and urges the intelligentsia to rally behind “pursuing the great endeavour of the party and the people”.
The government wants to build a talent pool of bright people with a spirit of patriotism, devotion and innovation, especially young and middle-aged intellectuals. The group would focus on media promotion and study sessions.
The circular outlined a need to strengthen “political guidance” of intellectuals and to bring their “ideological and political identification” in line with goals set out by the party and the nation.
“All of these thoughts are respected by generations and generations of intellectuals,” the circular said, reminding thinkers their role is to “ordain conscience for Heaven and Earth” and “secure life and fortune for the people”.
