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2019: Avid Reader Xi Jinping -- Reading Das Kapital by Lamplight

“Avid Reader” Xi Jinping: Reading Under a Kerosene Lamp, Thoroughly Read Das Kapital Three Times “书迷”习近平：煤油灯下读书　三遍通读《资本论》2019年04月23日 14:01:24 来源： 人民网　作者： Seeking Truth [Party ideological journal] Network April 23, 2019, 14:01:24 Source: People’s Daily Online Author: Compiled from People’s Daily, People’s Daily Overseas Edition, Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News New Media, Guangming Daily, Party…

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2024: 1863 Russian Novel "What is to be Done?" Inspires Xi Jinping

Australian China specialists John Garnaut and Sam Chetwin George December 15 New York Times article claimed “This Unreadable Russian Novel Is Xi Jinping’s Spiritual Guide” on how the mid 19th century novel “What is to be Done” by Nikolay Chernyshevsky is inspiring the Secretary Xi Jinping of today.

The obscure and radical novel that the Chinese leader cited as his inspiration offers a glimpse…

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2024 PRC State Security -- No Trash Talking the PRC Economy!

Inspired by Professor Victor Shih’s Bluesky social media feed: I did a full translation of the article he mentioned. The Chinese Communist Party’s anxieties are expressed by repression, threats and warnings. Even the first article of the latest version of the PRC State Constitution has a warning in very broad language: Article 1 The People’s Republic of China is a socialist state governed by…

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2014 Nicander: PRC, Swedish Language Policy Histories Compared

Increased communications and wider use of computerized devices such as auto-correct functions in word processing and texting may accelerate the pace of language change. Frida Hylander @fridahylander.bsky.social noted on Bluesky recently that autocorrect functions for texting on the iphone give incorrect ‘corrections’ for the use of compound words in Swedish, erroneously indicating that they…

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2016: The Issue of Cadres is the Key to Governing China

Fears of pernicious western ideologies (except for Marxism, a good one) and growing corruption are among Xi Jinping’s tightening of Party control over society, officials and the Chinese Communist Party itself. This 2016 article points to the urgent task of correcting ideological deviations among Party and government officials that could threaten Party survival and its central mission of guiding…

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1972-76: Deng Xiaoping Letters to Mao and Hua Guofeng

Letters to political leaders reflect contemporary attitudes, concerns, and worries. That was then and this is now! Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era Student Reader — Elementary School lower grades. Deng Xiaoping’s letters to Mao Zedong and Hua Guofeng, if compared with Deng’s subsequent career would be examples. Deng as Hua’s successor used leader…

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1943 Wartime Japanese Children's Literature: Pearl Harbor Day in a Japanese Village

I came across Niimi Nankichi’s wartime Japanese children’s story on the 青空文库 Azora Bunko. The Azora Bunko is apparently a parallel to the Gutenberg Project — its volunteers make older Japanese literature available online. After translating the story, I got interested in its context, so I found some background materials that I have included below. You may wish to skip directly to the story. This…

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1958: Zhang Chunqiao "Abolishing the Bourgeois Concept of Legal Rights"

Zhang Chunqiao, a future member of the Gang of Four, got Mao’s attention when he published this article “Abolishing the Bourgeois Concept of Legal Rights”. The article was personally recommended by Mao Zedong for reprinting in People’s Daily in October 1958. From Chineseposters.net, a Great Leap Forward poster:Put organizations on a military footing, put actions on a war footing, put life on a…

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Japan-China: "I don't feel any affinity" increased to 73.1% in a survey of Japanese people's attitudes toward China

Sasakawa Japan-China Friendship Fund Japan-China relations public opinion survey reported on Science Portal China of the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Using ChatGPT4o Japanese-English machine translation. I was going to use the DeepL machine translation but realized there was a problem in the translation of the key Japanese word used in the survey 親しみ感じ . The correct translation should…

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2024: China-Russia Undersea Cable Sabotage Practice in Baltic?

In the Baltic Sea, two damage to communication cables have been detected within a short time: in the cables between Finland and Germany and Sweden and Lithuania. Lithuania says it will increase surveillance of its maritime areas because of the incident, and Germany’s defense minister believes it is a hybrid operation. The key question at the moment is what caused the damage to the cables and…

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2024: Shen Zhihua on Cold War Origins, Robert Suettinger on Hua Guofeng

From PRC Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping’s points on US-China relations Fourth, it is important not to challenge red lines and paramount principles. Contradictions and differences between two major countries like China and the United States are unavoidable. But one side should not undermine the core interests of the other, let alone seek conflict or confrontation. The one-China…

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1957: XIII Rightist Critiques of Renmin University Educational Bureaucracy, Talks on Ideology, Society, Soviet Foreign Policy, Press Freedom, and the Hu Feng Case

This thirteenth and final installment of this series translates the two final appendices to Selected Rightist Statements from Institutions of Higher Education published by the Office of Socialist Ideology Education, Communist Party Committee, Renmin University of China 【高等学校右派言論选編 中共中国人民大学委員会社会主义思想敎育办公室】that was published in September 1958. This internal distribution only book published for…

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1957: XII 'Rightist' Criticisms -- Hungary, Industrialization, Slandering the Soviet Union

Hundred Flowers period ‘rightists’ criticisms of the Soviet intervention in Hungary, industrialization policy and slanders against the Soviet Union and China-Soviet friendship are the topics in Part XII. This is an installment in a full translation of  Selected Rightist Speeches from Institutions of Higher Education published by the Office of Socialist Ideology Education, Communist Party…

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1957: XI Hundred Flowers Criticizing Party Leadership, Policies, and Marxism

Criticisms by Hundred Flowers period ‘rightists’ opposing the Chinese Communist Party’s leadership, guidance and thought reform of intellectuals, opposing Marxism and criticizing how unqualified people who believe in communist ideology are preferred over experts are the topics this Part XI. This is an installment in a full translation of  Selected Rightist Speeches from Institutions of Higher…

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2024 Liu Jun: Beijing Does Not See Russia Using Nukes in Ukraine

October 6, 2024 interview in Russian business newspaper Kommersant      “In general, Disbelief prevails that the conflict will escalate into a nuclear war” Chinese expert Liu Jun on how Beijing perceives the upcoming changes in Russia’s nuclear doctrine [Professor Liu Jun is a distinguished scholar at East China Normal University (ECNU) in Shanghai, China. He serves as the Dean of the School…

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2024: Trade Diversion Boosts Demand for China-Russia Freight Links

Demand for freight links from China and Kazakhstan to Russia boosted as well by trade diverted from Russia to Central Asia that is then destined (what a surprise!) to be passed along to sanctioned Russia. Robin Brooks at Brookings posted a graph of vastly increased exports from some EU countries to Kyrgyzstan which lies between China and Kazakhstan Freight transportation market October 16,…

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2024: Russia - China Discuss Trade, Need to Improve Coordination on Developing Countries

DeepL machine translations from the Russian business newspaper Kommersant on Russia-China relations and trade. China. Relations with Russia October 10, 2024       No ideology, only pragmatics Russian and Chinese experts assessed the development of Moscow’s and Beijing’s relations with the developing world The development of cooperation between Russia and China in Eurasia, and especially in…