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Zhang Boshu (张博树): An Insider’s Account of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Part II)

China Geeks has translated a second article by Zhang Boshu, a political philosopher and constitutional scholar, about his experiences inside the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Part I is here:

Zhang joined the CASS in 1991 as an Assistant Researcher after getting a PhD. By 1993, if not for political reasons, he should have been promoted to the next rank. He explains how the system works:

The position at CASS (research grade) is comprised of four ranks: Researcher, Deputy Researcher, Assistant Researcher and Research Intern, respectively corresponding to senior, deputy senior, middle and junior ranks. According to regulations at CASS, fresh PhD graduates can join as Assistant Researcher. Two years later, they can apply for promotion to Deputy Researcher. At the end of 1993, I can apply for a Deputy Researcher position. Although I haven’t published any articles in China after 1989, I have already published one major work, one translated work and over ten articles before the ‘June Fourth Incident. In 1993, my English work was also due to be published. According to the norms at CASS, one book or just one to two influential articles would be sufficient to get you to a Deputy Researcher position. Despite my plenty of research, I was not promoted because of my insistence on political principles.

He applied for a promotion in 1994, but was rejected again. This had financial implications, and between 1995 and 2000, he ventured into businesses, which included opening two schools and one private enterprise. But throughout this period, he was still officially affiliated with the CASS, and his plan to start a private university in 2000 made his relationship with the CASS closer. It is under this background that he applied for a promotion again in 2000, only to fail once more.

Between October 2001 and January 2002, he went to a university in Michigan as a visiting scholar. Upon returning to China, he started working on the sensitive book From May Fourth to June Fourth. In 2004, 2005 and 2006, he made applications for promotion, which were all unsuccessful. As a result, he had been an Assistant Researcher for a total of 19 years, from 1991 to 2009.
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- March 11, 2010 12:25 PM
Zhang Boshu (张博树): An Insider’s Account of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

ChinaGeeks translates an article by Zhang Boshu, political philosopher and constitutional scholar, about his experiences at the China Academy of Social Sciences:

Since CASS engages in social sciences, it should of course be a professional academic institution. However, under the present political system, CASS also functions as an ideological institution, propagating party’s policies and principles, and serving the party’s purposes. CASS, directly under the State Council, is a ministerial-level unit. Each research institute of CASS is a bureau-level unit. Every province and municipality directly under the central government also has its own social sciences academy, albeit with a lower administrative rank. At present, CASS has several dozens research institutes, over a hundred journals, various ‘research centres’, and several thousand researchers and administrative staff. Each year it spends several hundred millions of government funding.

Since CASS is first and foremost an ideological institution, it being led by ‘leftist’ or party officials should not come as a surprise. But this is after all a place where talents gather. At CASS, He Lin, Jin Yuelin, Zheng Zhenduo, Qian Zhongshu and Lu Shuxiang were all leading scholars in their respective field. CASS has also produced dissidents like Gu Zhun and Li Shenzhi. During the 1989 democratic movement, CASS was known as a ‘crisis area’. Many researchers and ordinary staff were participants of the demonstrations. Over ten bureau-level cadres at CASS were punished. But overall, CASS is the Communist Party’s ‘imperial academy’. It must listen to the party; as a result it has produced numerous party mouthpieces.
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- February 21, 2010 5:02 PM
China Academy of Social Sciences: 2009 China Internet Public Opinion Analysis Report

The Chinese government’s censorship of the media and the Internet has been widely reported, and CDT has been closely tracking netizens’ resistance to such censorship. Intensified Internet controls have coincided with the Internet’s increasingly critical role in Chinese politics, a fact that the country’s leaders are well aware of. The “2010 Society Blue Paper,” published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences on December 22, 2009, contained a paper titled, “2009 China Internet Public Opinion Analysis Report,” written by analysts Zhu Huaxin (祝华新), Shan Xuegang (单学刚) and Hu Jiangchun (胡江春) of the Public Opinion Monitoring and Measuring Unit of People’s Net. The following excerpts of the report have been translated by CDT’s E. Shih:

Introduction:

In the “2008 China Internet Public Opinion Analysis Report,” we have created the concept of “new opinion class”, to use it to describe those netizens who are concerned with news and current affairs, and express their opinions online. In recent years, they have leveraged the “All communicate to all” strength of the Internet, and expressed their views on all kinds of problems in China’s social development. They can gather consensus, transform emotions, induce action and influence society within a very short period of time. In 2009, the scale of the “new opinion class” has been expanded further. According to the survey of CNNIC, on June 30, 2009, the population of Chinese netizens reached 338 million. The online population has increased 40 million within 6 months. Internet users are more than 25% of the total population, above the world average.

In the background of the world financial crisis, all kinds of contradictions that accumulated during the economic growth and social transformation of the last thirty years have emerged, and sometimes, in some places, they have accelerated. Netizens’ willingness to express themselves and to participate [in public affairs] is increasing and their voices are dynamic. On a series of sudden events, “New Opinion Class” demonstrated their enormous energy to incite public opinion. The government both intensified Internet control, in order to manage overly-radical expressions, and accelerated their reaction to Internet public opinion. Both the central government and local governments have established monitoring and measuring, feedback and absorbing mechanisms for such online public opinion.

在《2008年中国互联网舆情分析报告》中，我们提出了“新意见阶层”这个概念，用以描述关注新闻时事、在网上表达意见的网民。近年来，他们凭借互联网“所有人对所有人的传播”优势，对中国社会发展中的种种问题畅所欲言，能在极短时间内凝聚共识，发酵情感，诱发行动，影响社会。2009年“新意见阶层”规模进一步扩大。据中国互联网信息中心调查，截至2009年6月30日，中国网民达到3.38亿人，仅半年时间就增长了4000万人；全国互联网普及率25.5％，超过世界平均水平[①]。在世界金融危机的背景下，中国30年经济增长和社会转型所积累的各种矛盾凸显，在有些时候、有些地方呈现激化态势。网民的表达意愿和参与意识持续高涨，踊跃发声建言。在一系列突发事件上， “新意见阶层”进一步显示出巨大的舆论能量。政府一方面强化网络管理，以抑制过于偏激的言论；另一方面对网络舆论的反应提速，从中央到地方初步形成了政府对网络民意的监测、反馈和吸纳机制。
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- February 11, 2010 9:23 AM
Offcial Report: Microblogging Became the Most Powerful Public Opinion Carrier

One of the most popular Chinese tweets in Fall 2009 read, “If Twitter can be blocked, then pigs can climb trees.” (Twitter封得住，母猪会上树). Researchers from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences seem to agree.

From China Net, via Netease, excerpts translated by CDT:

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences published the Society Blue Paper 2009 《the Analysis and Prediction of the Situation of Chinese Society in 2010 》. The Blue Paper pointed out that the Internet has become an independent source of news and public opinion, and the Internet, together with cell phones, has become the most powerful public opinion carrier.

On December 21, 2009, The Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Social Science Documents Publishing House jointly held a press conference on China’s social situation and the publication of the Society Blue Paper 2009. The conference provided in-depth analysis of important events and hotspot issues which influenced the development of Chinese society in 2009, and speculated the trends and main problems with development of Chinese society in 2010, and formally announced the publication of《Analysis and Prediction of Situation of Chinese Society in 2010 》.

《Society Blue Paper》pointed out that in 2009, the Chinese Internet has reached 26% of the population, surpassing the average global rate. Worth special mention is the rise of micro-blogging, and the expansion of topics on the Internet. The government has intensified Internet management on one hand, and sped up its response to online public opinion on the other. From central to local levels, the government has formed mechanisms for monitoring, feedback, and absorbing online public opinion, and listed online reporting as the new channel for Party discipline, administration discipline and judicial monitoring.

From the analysis of 77 influential hot social events in 2009, done by Online Public Opinion Monitoring and Measuring Department of the People’s Net, 23 of those events – or 30% of the total events – came from the Internet and then caught the public’s attention. This is to say, about 30% of social opinions are generated by the Internet, so the Internet has become an independent source of news and public opinions.

… The Internet is now integrated with wireless terminal products (cell phones), so users can create more convenient and faster information dissemination through cell phones. This is not only limited to text, but also taking pictures and videos on the spot, then uploading to the network. Microblogging has been especially active in 2009. Micro-bloggers can publish their thoughts, emotions, opinions and what they see anytime, from any location, through cell phones or web pages. Each post is within 140 characters length. One does not need someone’s agreement to follow him/her on a microblogging platform. Some opinion leaders on Twitter (a micro-blogging commercial service based in US) have more then ten thousand “followers”, and have extremely powerful influence and capacity for incitement. Unlike micro-bloggers in the West who mostly talk about their daily lives, Chinese micro-bloggers pay strong attention to current affairs. Netizens form micro-blogger tribes through “follow” links, equivalent to a small scale forum or platform of news and politics. Those “citizen journalists,” who are temporarily played by ordinary netizens, can cover sudden incidents live on the spot. For example, during the Shishou riot, one anonymous netizen reported live about 200 posts on fanfou.net [a Chinese micro-blogging service, already closed] . Micro-blogging has successfully broken certain information filtering mechanisms, and publishes a large quantity of first-hand information before traditional media and government news publishing. It has become the most powerful public opinion carrier.

有线载体（互联网）和无线终端（手机）结合，网友通过手机能够进行更为便捷的信息传播，而且不限于文字，还可以将现场拍摄图片、视频上传。特别是微博客，在2009年十分活跃。微博客可通过手机或网页登陆，随时随地发布自己的所见所闻、所思所感，一次不超过140字。在微博客上跟从网民，无须对方同意。一些“意见领袖”的Twitter（总部在美国的微博客提供商）“跟从”者过万，对网民的感召力或煽动性极强。与西方微博客多谈论网民日常起居不同，中国微博客强烈关注时事。网民通过“跟从”链接而形成的微博客群落，相当于一个小型的时政新闻平台和论坛。由普通网民临时客串的“公民报道者”，可在微博客上对突发事件进行“现场直播”。例如，在石首骚乱中，一位匿名网民在饭否网上实时播报街头消息约200条。微博客有效地突破了某些信息屏障，赶在了传统媒体报道和政府新闻发布的前面，第一时间发布大量第一手的信息，成为杀伤力最强的舆论载体。
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- December 22, 2009 1:03 AM
The Key to Corporate Social Responsibility is in Respecting People’s Rights

Tim Hathaway translates a Southern Weekend article on Chinese corporate social responsibility:

The economics department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recently issued the “2009 Blue Book on Chinese Corporate Social Responsibility” (中国企业社会责任蓝皮书2009). Not surprisingly, it claims that the overall level of corporate social responsibility in China is rather low. However, the two conclusions in the report are worth discussion: Among each kind of ownership structure, central-state owned enterprises have the most social responsibility, and the larger the business, the more social responsibility there is.

The compilers of this report quoted many statistics and used many complex mathematical formulas to come up with these two conclusions. However, if statistics and mathematical formulas contradict what is commonly observed in society, then by default there must be something wrong with the premise. Unfortunately, this is the very problem with the Blue Book.

The irony of all this is that the same day the Blue Book was released, the State Electricity Regulatory Commission released a set of contradictory data. It said that the ten largest coal burning electricity producers created 87 billion RMB in environmental damage last year. Of these, Huaneng [华能] and Datang [大唐] are the two largest producers of carbon emissions and therefore have the worst impact on the environment. Yet they rank fourth and fifth respectively on the list of of most socially responsible enterprises. This is proof enough that the Blue Book’s conclusions are unrealistic.

However, if we take a step back and assume these two conclusions are correct, it is still important to provide an explanation based on the facts as well as some constructive deductions. The extrapolations made by the compilers of the Blue Book, however, are extremely biased.
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- October 26, 2009 9:58 PM
Xu Youyu (徐友渔): From 1989 to 2009: 20 Years of Evolution in Chinese Thought (1/2)

During Mother’s Day weekend on May 10th, a number of intellectuals in Beijing organized a seminar discussing 20 years of the democracy movement in China. The seminar started with a moment of silence, paying tribute to the Tiananmen Mothers.

Xu Youyu (徐友渔), professor and researcher at Philosophy Institute of CASS, presented the following text at the seminar, from peacehall.com, translated by E. Shih:

From 1989 to 2009: 20 Years of Evolution in Chinese Thought (conference paper for “2009, Beijing, and the June Fourth Democracy Movement.”)

The events of June 4th, 1989 shocked China and the world. It was a watershed within Chinese history and politics, as well as a watershed for thought. June 4th did not change the Chinese political system, but it changed the basic conditions for thought, and it was a foundational starting point for changing the political system.

Advocating “people’s democratic dictatorship,” China’s political system have already been comprehensively exposed as anti-citizen, anti-humanity and fundamentally out of sync with human civilization. This is evident in the so-called “land reform” and “anti-counterrevolutionary movement” of the 1950s; the anti-rightist movement, the Great Leap Forward, and the commune movement. It reached its peak in the Cultural Revolution. But the Chinese people are a people accustomed to suffering through authoritarianism and hardship. On top of that, the regime in charge has created a seamless trap of fantastic ideology. Over the years, with the exception of those with foresight such as Lin Zhao, few have reflected critically on the level of system and understood the necessity for a fundamental change. The June 4th incident (at Tiananmen Square) caused the situation to change. The knives, bullets and spilled blood cultivated a tragedy that awakened and educated the people to much more effect than any Enlightenment movement, a hundred Enlightenment thinkers or ten thousand Enlightenment books.
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- May 26, 2009 5:25 AM
Earthquake Predicted? Rumors Rife

As the rescue crews continue to drag bodies out of the rubble of the Wenchuan earthquake, Meng Zhang at Global Voices translates a blog post written by CASS researcher Li Shihui, in which the seismologist says one of his colleagues had tried to warn officals that such a disaster was imminent:

Today is May 12, 2008, Chinese seismologist Geng Qingguo is suffering with tearless grief. In 2006, according to the relationship between drought and earthquake he predicted in recent years there would be a serious earthquake over 7 magnitude in Aba autonomous region. After a group discussion on April 26 and 27, 2008, Committee of Natural Hazards Prediction subordinate to Chinese Geophysical Society (CGS) reported that “a 6-7 magnitude earthquake may occur to the south of Lanzhou, around the borders of Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai.” (the written report had been sent to the China Earthquake Administration by confidential letter on April 30). What’s more, Geng Qingguo clearly indicated that “the dangerous point of an earthquake over 7 magnitude in Aba region is on May 8 (within 10 days before or later)” in accordance with the magnetic storm Combinations.（The prediction above had obviously pointed out all the three essential factors). Geng Qingguo, an undoubted national treasure, is excluded by the earthquake experts of mainstream, and can only depend on a meager pension to continue his research. The pity is what this old seismologist said didn’t make any difference.

As Meng notes, the post was removed from Li’s blog, but not before it spread rapidly through BBS forums where it has set off an impassioned and interesting debate over whether the government should be held responsible for ignoring the warnings.

The Li post looks to be only one of many claims that the earthquake had been foreseen, some of which are clearly fabrications. Rob at Black and White Cat takes the Epoch Times (a newspaper with ties to the Falun Gong) over helping spread the worst of these here.

UPDATED: Earthquake threat：On May 9,2008,hundreds of thousands of toads went on a journey in Mianzhu City,near Wenchuan County,in Sichuan. Many people worried about it as the threat of natural disaster. Local TV station reported it,a so-called forestry expert denied that it was the threat of natural disaster,so nobody valued it.

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_puPpfoR1g&eurl=http://virtualreview.org/china/zoom/578225/2008-5-9-100000-toads-went-on-a-journey-in-mianzhusichuan]

See also a New York Times report: “Superstitions About Quake Meet the Web, Irritating the Chinese Authorities.”
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- May 15, 2008 11:58 PM
Blue Book Reflects Marriage Trends – China Daily

From China Daily via Xinhua:

The 2008 blue book the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences released last Thursday has a chilling message for Chinese men – some of them will have to wait quite a long time to find a spouse in the years ahead.

The book on marriage trends of the Chinese found a drop in marriages in the country and an increase in the average age of first-time brides and grooms. Also high were divorce and remarriage rates….[Full Text]
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- January 8, 2008 7:51 AM
China’s Economic Output per Person Forecast to Reach US$3,000 by 2010 – AP

From AP via IHT:

China’s rapid growth should boost annual output per person to US$3,000 by 2010, nearly 3 1/2 times its level of a decade earlier, according to a government report cited Friday by an official news agency.

The estimate by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, or CASS, shows the country quadrupling year 2000 output levels earlier than expected. The official goal was to quadruple per capita gross domestic product by 2020….[Full Text]
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- January 4, 2008 2:44 PM
How Did False Information Circulated Online Become National News?

In China, the phrase “white collar” brings to mind a comfortable life and social status, while the country’s rapid development and urbanization process has created many regional, social and economic inequalities. That’s why the most recent hot news item in China was headlined “Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Published the Standard Salary Level of a White Collar Worker in Main Cities.” According to today’s Liberation Daily, the official Party newspaper of Shanghai, more than 2,190,000 search results appeared for this story on Chinese search engine Baidu. (CDT just checked this search again and Baidu has already blocked most of these pages from the search results. But by varying the search a little, one can find at least tens of thousands of pages still containing this information.) Several hundred websites made special topic pages for this “investigative report.”

But CASS has now officially denied it ever published this “report.”

So how did this happen? Here is a timeline, from Harbin Daily, about how this false information became a major news story in China this week:
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- November 7, 2007 12:06 PM
Updated: Entry Level Salary of a White Collar Worker – Lola Xu’s blog

[UPDATE: Yesterday, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) denied that they published the list of entry level salaries for white collar workers. CASS said they would investigate this list and find who originally fabricated this news. Here is the CASS's official statement . The news spread very quickly online and raised heated discussion.]

Recently, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) published the living standards of so-called white collar workers, from Msn space translated by CDT:

Evaluating the consumer price index, living expenses, transportation costs, degree of modernization and other factors in different cities, CASS published the entry level salary standards for a white collar worker in China. For migrant workers from other cities, 1800 yuan should be added to the numbers. Here is the list (RMB):

First LevelÔºöHong Kong 18500, Macau: 8900;

Second Level: Shanghai 5350, Shenzhen 5280, Wenzhou 5020, Beijing 5000;
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- November 7, 2007 11:25 AM
China Carries Out Test of Fusion Reactor – Alexa Olesen

From AP:

Scientists on Thursday carried out China’s first successful test of an experimental fusion reactor, powered by the process that fuels the sun, a research institute spokeswoman said.

China, the United States and other governments are pursuing fusion research in hopes that it could become a clean, potentially limitless energy source. Fusion produces little radioactive waste, unlike fission, which powers conventional nuclear reactors.

Beijing is eager for advances, both for national prestige and to reduce its soaring consumption of imported oil and dirty coal. [Full Text]

See the description under the photo from AP/Xinhua “In this photo released by China’s official Xinhua news agency, a scientist debugs the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) in the Institute of Plasma Physics of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Hefei, east China, on Thursday September 28, 2006. Scientists on Thursday carried out China’s first successful test of an experimental fusion reactor, powered by the process that fuels the sun, a research institute spokeswoman said…”
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- September 28, 2006 1:43 PM
China’s Rich People Feel ‘Insecure, Troubled’ – China Daily

From chinadaily.com.cn:

Chinese millionaires feel insecure and troubled, even as they enjoy the social status and the sense of accomplishment their wealth brings.

That’s the finding of a survey by the Guangzhou-based newspaper Nanfang Weekend, which has selected 80 persons for its annual domestic wealth creator list every year since 2004…The surveyed millionaires have an average wealth of 2.2 billion yuan (US$275 million) and range in age from 33 to 68. More than half of them have had higher education.

…Most of these millionaires said do not believe in any formal religion. Only 10 said they were Buddhists. Half of them said they were tolerant of extramarital affairs in general. [Full Text]

Technorati Tags: China

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- July 20, 2006 2:46 AM
English-language China Economist magazine launched – Xinhua

From Xinhua:

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) launched the English-language China Economist magazine Saturday to introduce China’s economic development to overseas readers.

The magazine, to be published every two months, will feature academic advances on economics and management studies with original academic papers and research reports on China’s economy, as well as articles on business management and scientific and technological achievements.

CASS Vice-President Chen Jiagui said he expected that the magazine would stimulate dialogue between Chinese and foreign business and economic circles.[Full Text]
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- July 16, 2006 5:08 AM