The CCP continues to tighten its control over the ideological sphere and diversify its means of monitoring public opinion. Recently, internal documents obtained expose the program of Guilin propaganda system to prevent ideological risks, the means of maintaining stability of online public opinion, and even the requirements for WIFI in public places.
Guilin propaganda system to prevent ideological risk program
Get the Guilin Municipal Committee of the Internet Information Office in recent years, “Guilin City to prevent and resolve major risks in the field of ideology work implementation plan”. The program proposes five major risk categories.
Among them, the CCP listed the so-called “infiltration of hostile forces” as the “first major risk category”. According to the document, it is necessary to “strengthen the guidance of public opinion, and strengthen the research and prediction of public opinion in response to sensitive events and sensitive public opinion hotspots at important time points, and formulate response plans.”
The “second major risk category” refers to the “control of ideology”. For example, “increase the monitoring, analysis and judgment of public opinion in the field of online ideology, and strengthen the dynamic tracking of online public opinion at major and sensitive time points,” and “carry out online ideological situation research and judgment meetings twice a year.
At the same time, “seize new media positions.” “Accelerate the construction of district and county-level integrated media centers, and cooperate with relevant departments to promote the integration and development of traditional media and emerging media.”
The Chinese Communist Party has listed the ideological field of colleges and universities as the “fourth most risky category,” saying that “problems in the ideological field of colleges and universities are frequent. Therefore, it is necessary to “strengthen the ideological and political work of colleges and universities and the management of their ideological positions,” such as actively contacting colleges and universities and holding special lectures on dealing with Internet public opinion.
In addition, the CPC also “strengthens the management of university teachers and students”, especially the tracking and management of expatriate teachers and students, the “ideological guidance” of overseas teachers and young teachers, and the management of foreign teachers and students.
In the “fifth risk category”, it is stated that the comprehensive management of campus network is carried out. “Standardize the management of teachers and students’ self media, and do a good job of guiding online public opinion on hot issues and prominent events.”
Guilin puts forward several requirements for WIFI safety
In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has been emphasizing “political security,” but outsiders have interpreted this as “regime security. Now, the Communist Party has also set security requirements for WIFI covering the public domain.
An internal document from the Guilin authorities reveals the authorities’ concern about WIFI security. The document was jointly issued by the Guilin Internet Information Office, Guilin Public Security Bureau and Guilin Industry and Information Technology Commission on August 23, 2016.
In the “Key Work” section, it is mentioned that in the implementation phase of public WIFI construction, “the construction of real-name authentication system, security audit system, security technology protection measures” should be synchronized; in the acceptance phase, the security assessment of the information system through the public security department. Ensure that the certification data back to the public security, while obtaining a record of information system security level protection certificate. At the same time, the Internet key data retained in real time and filed with the public security department.
According to the document, to master the local party and government organs, enterprises and institutions and key industries in use, under construction, the proposed public WIF Internet sites bottom; build WIFI Internet data comprehensive analysis platform.
Guilin City’s means of maintaining stability of public opinion on the Internet
The “Outline of Experience Exchange on Network Public Opinion Response and Disposal for Stability Maintenance” of Guilin Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department and Internet Information Office in 2014 reveals the mindset of the local Internet Information Office in suppressing public opinion when dealing with mass incidents.
The term “public opinion” is a Communist Party cultural term that essentially refers to public opinion and public opinion monitored by the CCP.
The document leaks that online public opinion on mass incidents is divided into two categories: one is when a mass incident has already emerged and has been reported by mainstream media and triggered online attention; the other is when information that may trigger a mass incident has emerged online, but the online attention is low.
The authorities’ response to the first category of public opinion is to use the “golden four-hour” rule before, but now it should be upgraded to “golden one hour”. According to the document, official information will be released as soon as possible to “seize the initiative of public opinion” within one hour.
The second type of public opinion response is: if more people are concerned about the comments, the official will intervene immediately to “calm the situation as soon as possible”; if few people are concerned about the comments, or if there are other highly publicized events happening on the Internet that are attracting public attention, then you can pay attention to the trend of public opinion and do not respond for the time being.
The document analysis says that all issues involving the government and officials; issues involving land demolition and expropriation, group petitions for the defense of rights, especially petitions for the defense of rights of veterans; issues involving conflicts between the police and the public, conflicts between city management and vendors; issues involving medical care, education, environmental pollution, food safety and other livelihood issues are prone to become hot spots of public opinion.
The Guilin Municipal Party Committee’s Internet Information Office’s November 26, 2020, “Summary of the Work of the City According to Law in 2020” exposes a series of means by which the authorities monitor public opinion and tightly control people’s lives and suppression of them.
According to the document, a daily information sharing platform and system is established to share information on network public opinion, and daily summaries of public opinion are reported to the municipal party committee, municipal government, the propaganda department of the municipal party committee and relevant counties and municipal departments involved in public opinion, while a separate letter is sent to each unit involved in the study with the request for timely feedback on disposal results.
At present, Guilin Municipal Party Committee’s Internet Information Office has submitted 311 issues of “Public Opinion Daily” and 119 issues of “City Creation Daily”, and monitored more than 1,150 articles of travel-related, social security, social livelihood, market supervision and other online public opinions, which have been distributed to 56 responsible units for disposal through the “Public Opinion Instant Office”.
Example of Guilin Public Opinion Stabilization
Guilin authorities have obtained a number of case documents related to the maintenance of stability of public opinion.
One is the case of a judge who fell to his death in Quanzhou County, Guangxi. The land media reported that in the early morning of November 9, 2020, He Bin, a judge and former vice president of the Quanzhou Court of Justice, fell to his death from the fifth floor of the Longteng Garden District in Quanzhou Town, Quanzhou County.
He Bin, born in 1970, joined the Quanzhou County Court in August 1992 and served as a clerk, assistant judge, vice president of the People’s Court of Ma, vice president of the Civil Division I, vice president of the Criminal Division, vice president of the Filing Division, and first-class post judge of the Quanzhou County Filing Division.
Get the 17th issue of the Quanzhou County Court General Office’s “Reflections”, which talks about the public opinion handling report on the He Bin incident. According to the document, the Quanzhou Court first reported the incident to the Guilin Central Court and the Quanzhou County Political and Legal Committee; it then activated the public opinion plan and did a good job of monitoring public opinion.
The other is the death of Chai Yuekui, a security guard at the Guilin Medical College Hospital.
On May 20, 2020, the hospital’s security guard Chai Yue-kui lost consciousness during the night shift and was resuscitated by the hospital’s neurology department, passing away at around 5 p.m. on May 29. On September 30, the Guilin Human Resources and Social Security Bureau issued a “decision not to recognize the work injury” for Chai Yue-kui.
After that, the family of the deceased communicated with the hospital, and was dissatisfied with the hospital’s reply. This is why they went online to ask for help, causing concern.
The “Report on the death of security guard Chai Yuekui at the Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College”, which was submitted to the Guilin Municipal Party Committee’s Internet Information Office on November 4, 2020, discloses how the hospital conducted public opinion monitoring operations and exerted strong pressure on the family to “maintain stability in public opinion”.
The document revealed that in the morning of October 31, the hospital’s publicity department monitored the public opinion and immediately asked the security department to understand the situation, then reported the situation to the hospital leader in charge of public opinion work, activated the public opinion emergency plan, and contacted the management of Guilin People’s Forum to request assistance in dealing with the public opinion.
On the morning of Nov. 4, the hospital began threatening the family. According to the document, the hospital asked the family “not to take excessive actions to discredit the school and the affiliated hospital, otherwise they will bear the legal consequences”.
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