The expected successor to Chinese President Jiang Zemin has called for a propaganda war aimed at unifying the nation behind the Communist Party, state press reported yesterday.
"The next 20 years, especially the next 10 years, will be a very critical period for our party, country and people," Vice President Hu Jintao (-J錦濤) said in a speech to a national conference on propaganda.
"Under the new conditions, a stronger ideological basis for unified national struggle, and especially the firming up of the ideological faith of our party members and cadres, will be a very important and difficult task," he said.
Reports on the speech were carried by all major dailies yesterday. The speech was seen as further evidence that Hu, who is widely believed as being groomed as the Chinese Communist Party's next-generation leader, was bent on maintaining the party's draconian control of the Chinese media.
"The main melody and what is most important is to hold high the banner of Marxist-Leninism, Mao Zedong thought and the theories of Deng Xiaoping," he said.
In the speech colored with allusions to war, Hu said propaganda workers "should exploit the advantages of propaganda and ideological work to the maximum," while workers on the "cultural battlefront" should produce ideological works "appealing to the masses."
He said the Chinese news media "must adhere to the party's line and mobilize the people to safeguard stability and solidarity and create good public opinion for reform, opening up and the modernization drive."
RSS