.

Read in Chinese

Speakers:

Sun Yeli, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC)

Sheng Ronghua, deputy director of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and vice minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)

Lu Yingchuan, vice minister of culture and tourism

Meng Dong, vice minister of the National Radio and Television Administration of China (NRTA)

Chairperson:

Chen Wenjun, spokesperson of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee

Date:

Aug. 18, 2022

Chen Wenjun:

Ladies and gentlemen, good morning. Welcome to this press conference held by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. Today, we are holding the 21st press conference under the theme of "China in the past decade." We will be briefing you on the publicity and cultural work in the new era and answering your questions. Next, I would like to introduce the speakers taking part in today's press conference. They are: Mr. Sun Yeli, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee; Mr. Sheng Ronghua, deputy director of the Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission and vice minister of the CAC; Mr. Lu Yingchuan, vice minister of culture and tourism; and Mrs. Meng Dong, vice minister of the NRTA .

Sun Yeli:

Friends from the press, good morning. I am very pleased to have this opportunity to brief you on the publicity and cultural work in the new era. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, we have upheld socialism with Chinese characteristics, rallied public support, fostered a new generation with sound values and ethics, developed Chinese culture and built a positive image of China. We have also tackled problems at their roots, kept to the right path and made innovations. Adhering to a people-centered approach, we have pressed ahead with developing a strong socialist culture in China and improved the quality of cultural works. The Party and people of all ethnic groups have greater confidence in Chinese culture, social unity has been intensified, and the ideological field has changed fully and fundamentally. All these have provided an ideological guarantee, public support, motivation and cultural prerequisites for breaking new ground in the great cause of the Party and nation. I will introduce our work from the following four aspects:

First, the whole Party and the whole nation have stronger belief and convictions. We have upheld the guiding role of Marxism, educated the whole Party and the people in the latest achievements of adapting Marxism to China's realities, and guided them to further study Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We have promoted the study of books related to the thought. We have edited and published four volumes of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China," as well as an outline of the thought and Q&A book. We have improved the performance and efficiency of Party committees and Party leadership groups in theoretical study, and created a fine atmosphere in the Party and society for studying the thought. We have also created new ways and methods for publicizing theories. We have published articles such as "Socialism Has Not Failed China" and "China Has Not Failed Socialism," created special TV programs such as "Historic Journey" and "Making a New China," compiled reference books to interpret the theories, and made good use of the Xuexi Qiangguo platform, thus promoting the Party's innovative theories among the people. Additionally, we have strengthened the research and publicity of theories. Utilizing the project on researching and developing Marxism, we have built key Marxist colleges across China, established research institutes on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and generated a series of important studies providing in-depth analysis. By doing so, officials and the people can understand why our Party is capable, why Marxism works and why socialism with Chinese characteristics can benefit the people. This has given them greater faith and confidence in realizing the Chinese national rejuvenation by upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

Second, the sphere of public opinion has been made cleaner, more positive and more inspiring. We have coordinated domestic and overseas publicity, both online and offline, and publicized and explained the Party's guidelines, principles and policies. Officials and the people have greater consensus on and appreciation for the CPC Central Committee's major policies, have greater trust and confidence on the CPC Central Committee, and mainstream opinion has grown more robust and positive. We meticulously planned celebrations for the centenary of the CPC's founding, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the 40th anniversary of reform and opening-up, the successful building of a moderately prosperous society in all aspects, and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. By doing so, we have bolstered the morale of the Chinese people to unite and work hard. The core socialist values have taken root in the people's minds, been protected by laws and regulations, and integrated into people's daily lives. We have launched themed publicity campaigns for the public, established New Era Civilization Practice Centers, and selected and publicized a number of role models to guide people to learn from them. Focusing on media integration, significant changes have taken place in the various methods of spreading content at different levels. Major state media outlets have transformed using innovative methods, 2,585 county-level integrated media centers have been put into use, and the penetration, guidance, influence and credibility of the media have been strengthened. We have improved our ability in international communication in a bid to tell China's stories well, to make China's voice heard, to deepen exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and to promote the common values of humanity. In this way, we can present an image of a reliable, loveable and respectable China, and boost the influence of Chinese culture. 

Third, the cultural undertakings and industries have flourished. We have deepened cultural reform to meet people's increasing demands for cultural products. We have strengthened planning, compiled and implemented the Outline of Building a Strong Socialist Culture in China (2021-2035) and the 13th and 14th five-year plans for cultural development, and deepened supply-side structural reform in the cultural sector to guide high-quality cultural development. We have also launched major cultural projects, and built the Museum of the Communist Party of China and the National Archives of Publications and Culture. We have set up national parks under the themes of the Great Wall, Grand Canal, Long March, Yellow River and Yangtze River, and developed cultural programs such as the "Library for National Rejuvenation," the third edition of "Encyclopedia of China" and the new edition of the "General History of China." Additionally, we have created excellent cultural works such as the film "The Battle at Lake Changjin," the TV series "The Age of Awakening" and "Minning Town," which were well-received and went viral. China produces the largest number of books, TV series and animations worldwide. The scale of its film market has broken records several times, with its number of films screened and box office returns both ranking first in the world. Meanwhile, we have focused on creative evolution and development, launched the project of inheriting fine traditional Chinese culture, and launched explorations into the origin of Chinese civilization. We have promoted the major "Chinese Archaeology" project, established the Chinese Academy of History, and made progress in utilizing and protecting cultural relics and ancient books, and inheriting intangible cultural heritage. 

Fourth, governance of the publicity and cultural sector has been advanced. We have upheld CPC leadership over publicity and ideological work, and the Party's leadership over publicity and culture has grown ever stronger. We have focused on innovating cultural institutions and mechanisms, and established a framework for cultural reform, so as to successfully reform publicity organizations. We have also rolled out Party regulations such as the CPC regulations on publicity and communication work, made and revised laws including the Law on Guaranteeing Public Cultural Services, the Film Industry Promotion Law and the Copyright Law. The legal system for socialist culture with Chinese characteristics has been improved. Additionally, we have improved our abilities and conduct. We have arranged campaigns to help those working on publicity to improve their ability to reach the grassroots, observe clearly, think profoundly and write powerfully. We have launched campaigns to encourage them to produce works drawing inspiration from everyday life and the experiences of the people. We have implemented plans to build talented teams in the fields of theory, literature, art, press and publication. Our purpose is to forge a workforce that is politically upright, highly competent, innovative and practical-minded. 

That is all for my introduction. Thank you.