The directive translated here, issued by the Communist Youth League (CYL) Central Committee in March 2014, details Internet propaganda work requirements for all branches of the CYL at institutes of higher education nationwide. Since taking control of the CCP, Xi Jinping has made the promotion of ideological orthodoxy in the Party and among the populace a primary concern, and central authorities have simultaneously gone to great lengths to reinforce their capabilities for guiding public opinion on the Internet. Recently, Xi called for “better ideological guidance” in universities, and a central government directive this week put Xi’s call into practice. While the directive below predates these developments, it serves to illustrate continuing Party efforts at guiding ideology among Chinese students.

Communist Youth Leagues of every province, every autonomous region, every municipality, Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps Committee:

In order to fully implement the directives of the Party Central Committee and General-Secretary Xi Jinping; to sufficiently display the power of the university and college Communist Youth League cadres, the mobilization of team cadres, and the strength of young students vigorously advocating for socialist values on the Internet; and to enhance main themes online, in accordance with the directives contained in “Regarding Suggestions for the Implementation of Introductory Propaganda Work for the Strengthening of the Communist Youth League,” the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League (CYL) has decided to establish internal Internet propaganda teams at universities and colleges nationwide. The notice of related arrangements is as follows:

I) Targets for Make-up and Number of Personnel

1. Assembling Personnel
   1. At the level of the School Department, CYL Central Committee: Includes all cadres at the school department, CYL Central Committee and Chinese university students who support the cultivation of scholars.
   2. At the level of school departments of provincial-level CYL committees: Includes all cadres at school departments in provincial-level CYL Committees and provincial-level Chinese university students who support the cultivation of scholars.
   3. At the level of university and college CYL committees: Includes, but is not limited to, university and college CYL committee secretaries, assistant secretaries engaged in propaganda work, propaganda department heads, faculty and department committee (CYL main branch) secretaries, classroom CYL branch secretaries and propaganda committee members; basic requirements are excellent political and ideological quality, familiarity with Internet work, and a strong sense of responsibility.
2. Number Targets
   1. School department, CYL Central Committee shall directly contact roughly 500 individuals.
   2. Each school department of each provincial-level CYL committee shall directly contact roughly 200 individuals.
   3. Each school department of each provincial-level CYL committee is responsible for making an overall plan for the number of local university and college propaganda team members (for the standard quota please see Appendix 1). In principle, the number of Internet propaganda team members at the undergraduate level or higher should not be less than 1.5% of the total student body,while the number of Internet propaganda team members at professional schools, private colleges, and independent institutes should not be less than 1% of the total student body. A province may choose to increase the amount and scale of the standard quota goals in response to their individual circumstances.

 
II) Contact Mechanisms

A tiered system shall be used to manage university and college CYL Internet propaganda teams.

1. Each university or college CYL committee shall establish a school-wide Internet propaganda working group. The university or college committee secretary shall be the head coordinator, and should build the basic foundation for information management, a mechanism for the mobilization of a normalization of relations. They should maintain a contact list, should be able to be easily contacted, and should be vocal and effective. Each university or college committee should set up a QQ group and WeChat group as mediums for coordination and work communication.
2. Each school department of each provincial-level CYL committee shall establish a province-wide Internet propaganda working group. The head of the school department of the provincial committee shall be the coordinator. Each school department of each provincial CYL committee should set up a QQ group and WeChat group as mediums for coordination and work communication, and in each province the assistant secretary of propaganda responsible for each university or college CYL committee should join these online groups.
3. The school department and CYL Central Committee shall establish an Internet propaganda working group. They should set up a QQ group and WeChat group as mediums of coordination and work communication, and the head of each provincial-level CYL committee and a specific work contact person should join these online groups.

 
III) Major Responsibilities

When building university and college CYL Internet propaganda teams, emphasis should be placed on developing the effectiveness of a given team, to construct a clear and bright cyberspace, and to positively contribute to strengthening mainstream ideology and public opinion online. Responsibilities are as follows:

1. In accordance with the unified directive, enthusiastically participate in the CYL-wide “Voice of the Youth” [青年好声音] Internet culture movement. Collect and disseminate “Voice of the Youth,” vigorously amplifying main themes of youth ideological guidance and shaping strong positive energy among the youth.
2. Share and discuss the assigned content of the CYL Central Committee, the school department of the CYL Central Committee, and local university and college CYL groups on WeChat, Weibo, QQ, Fetion, Renren, and other forums and online spaces which popular with young students.
3. Share and discuss the content published on the official CYL Central Committee Weibo, official Weibo of the school department of the CYL Central Committee, CYL student public WeChat posts, and the official Weibo of local university and college CYL groups, and follow their public WeChat accounts.
4. Share and discuss any and all politically correct content from various media platforms received via personal accounts.
5. Participate in the work of commenting on, reposting, and discussing content in accordance with requirements in assigned online spaces, promptly posting, consciously providing correct information in response to incorrect opinions and ways of thinking online, and strengthening mainstream ideology and public opinion.
6. Every person should repost no less than five posts per week.

 
IV) Related Requests

1. Each school department of each provincial-level CYL committee and each university or college CYL committee, being amply aware of the new circumstances, shall emphasize the importance and urgency of Internet propaganda work and the primary significance of Internet propaganda teams, emphasizing it strongly and firmly promoting the implementation of related work.
2. Each school department of each provincial-level CYL committee shall promptly distribute this notice to university and college CYL committees, oversee university and college CYL committees’ completion of school-wide Internet propaganda work, and set up QQ groups, WeChat groups, and othercommunication platforms; while at the same time working to set up QQ groups, WeChat groups, and other communication platforms in accordance with the requests of local Internet propaganda work groups.
3. Each school department from each provincial-level CYL committee shall complete the necessary organization of Internet propaganda team member contact lists and data collection work for the local province (including universities and colleges) before April 10; before April 15, each department shall send an electronic copy of the contact list for all of the Internet propaganda teams of the local province, and the contact list for the work contacts of the school departments of the provincial-level CYL committees, to be sent as an electronic attachment to an email sent to the school department of the CYL Central Committee (for specific information, see Appendices 2 and 3).
4. Each school department from each provincial-level CYL committee shall emphasize the building of Internet propaganda teams and implement timely development and training work through various means, promoting Internet propaganda workers’ quality of ideological capabilities and promoting their professional development.

The school department of the CYL Central Committee shall conduct investigations of Internet propaganda teams at universities and colleges around the country at regular intervals, and in light of their findings will furthermore provide public praise and rewards to work groups and individuals which develop successfully.

Contact person: Ren Boyuan, Wang Yakun

Contact telephone: (XXX) XXXXXXXXXXX

Email address: XXXXXX

Appendices:

1. Table of standard quota distributions of Internet propaganda workers for every province
2. Registration form with basic information for Internet propaganda workers
3. Contact list for school departments of provincial-level CYL committees

Office of the CYL Central Committee

March 19, 2014

Attached: Appendix 1:

[Chinese]

Translation by Nick.

Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.