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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/09/china-universities-must-become-communist-party-strongholds-says-xi-jinping The above article in the Guardian deal with Xi Jinping's speech about the need for ideological control of the academy. I snipped the following excerpt "Carl Minzner, an expert in Chinese law and politics from Fordham University in New York, said Xi’s speech appeared to signal the next phase of a decade-long campaign to wrest back control of areas it feared were “getting out of control” such as the media, public interest law and academia. “What you are seeing is a reassertion of ideological control because they feel that colleges and schools are the hotbeds for ideas that potentially could be problematic; ideas of constitutionalism, ideas of liberalism." Are the spectre of constitutionalism and liberalism haunting the Chinese Academy? Are Chinese students different from student elsewhere, who are moving into opposition to neoliberalism? I taught at a provincial Chinese University for the whole of 1990 and traveled reasonably widely at that time. I have often remarked that I never encountered a single Marxist.: Many members of the CCP but never a Marxist. In my classes on literature there was clearly articulated opposition to discussing the social or political context of the literary work. I interpreted that as a backlash against Maoist aesthetic tyranny. But I would say that the dominant political note was not a longing for constitutionalism or liberalism or pragmatism but an abiding hatred of the CCP hierarchy in the post Tienanmen Square climate. The university establishment countered with a pro-Confucian campaign. But I did not perceive any great impact among my students. There was evidence of Maoist nostalgia outside the academy. Of course all that is long ago and it is 24 years since I have been to China. But I like to hope that maybe, just maybe, the youth of China will find their way to assert the traditional desire of the young for autonomy and social justice in a way that is not based on liberalism and constitutionalism. comradely Gary _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
