Thought control called for at universities
Vice-President Xi Jinping has ordered universities to step up ideological control of students and young lecturers ahead of the keynote 18th party congress this autumn, CCTV reported yesterday.
Xi is expected to succeed President Hu Jintao in a new Politburo line-up at the Communist Party's 18th national congress - with the party seeking a smooth transition and attempting to remove threats to its political control.
'University party organs must adopt firmer and stronger measures to maintain harmony and stability in universities. Daily management of the institutions should be stepped up to create a good atmosphere for the success of the party's 18th congress,' Xi said yesterday in Beijing at a gathering of Communist Party representatives from universities.
The party, unnerved by a series of riots, demonstrations and strikes caused by land seizures, pollution and labour disputes, is stepping up control on different fronts - such as in propaganda, media and social controls - to minimise political risks ahead of the congress.
The revolutions in the Middle East last year, along with online postings calling for similar ones in China, have also put the party on high alert.
Universities have long been regarded as the most important stronghold for the party's grip on ideology.
Liu Yandong, the highest-ranking woman in the party and in charge of education, said a series of plans had been made - including holding university presidents responsible for political missions, enhancing the capability of leaders in managing universities, and having active and strong party influence at the grass-roots level - to ensure the smooth opening of the congress.
The transition of power from Hu to Xi will represent the passing of the baton from the fourth-generation party leadership to the fifth, and intense jockeying for power is expected in the coming months.
Xi also emphasised the importance of keeping an eye on lecturers, especially young ones.
'Young teachers have many interactions with students and cast significant influence on them,' Xi said, adding that their political opinions and moral standards 'have a very strong influence on students. They also play a very important role in the spread of ideas'.
Xi said universities must make it a paramount task to 'instruct' the thoughts of young lecturers and recruit more of them to join the party.
