China to strengthen patriotic education; new law goes into effect on New Year's Day (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

中国、愛国教育を強化へ　元日に新法施行 (1/2)

2024.01.28 Sun posted at 11:30 JST

香港（ＣＮＮ） １２月のある日、中国南東部の都市、福州の中学生たちが、習近平（シーチンピン）国家主席の思想を学ぶために地元の公園に集まった。

生徒たちは、「政治とイデオロギーの歩く教室」と書かれた赤い横断幕を広げ、「悟り」を求めて、２０２１年に習氏が地元を訪問した際に歩いた道をたどった、と国営メディアは報じた。

また中国北部の沿岸都市、天津では、若者のグループが要塞（ようさい）を見学し、「外国からの攻撃に立ち向かった中国人たちの悲劇的な歴史」に思いをはせた。

これらの活動は、近年、中国が進める国家主義教育の強化の一環であり、今月１日には愛国主義教育の強化策を盛り込んだ新法「愛国主義教育法」が施行された。

この新法は、「国家の結束強化」を目的とし、幼い子どもから、あらゆる分野の労働者や専門家に至るまで、全国民の仕事や学習に国家と中国共産党への愛を盛り込むことを義務付けている。

中国政府の報道官は先月、同新法は「思想の統一」および「強い国づくりと国家の活性化という偉大な目標を達成するために国民の力を結集すること」を目的としている、と述べた。

中国の国民が国や共産党を愛するよう強要されるのは今に始まったことではない。中国では、約７５年前の建国以来、愛国主義やプロパガンダが教育、企業文化、生活の重要な一部となっている。

中国の愛国主義は、ここ数十年で最も独裁的な指導者である習氏の下で一層強化されてきた。

習氏は、国を「活性化」し、世界で強力かつ重要な地位を確立すると公約するとともに、西側諸国との緊張が高まる中、攻撃的な「戦狼外交」を奨励してきた。

この極端な国家主義はソーシャルメディアにも浸透しており、ライブ配信者、コメディアンから海外のブランドに至るまで、中国を侮辱したとみなされると激しい反発や不買運動に見舞われる。

習氏は以前から、国民生活のあらゆる面で共産党の存在感を高める取り組みを進めており、今回の新法制定もその延長線上にある。

しかし、中国では数年に及ぶ厳格なゼロコロナ政策の結果、２０２２年に若者たちによる前例のない規模の抗議行動が勃発。また現在も経済は低迷し、若者の失業率は過去最高を記録した。このような状況下で新法が施行され、国民の不満は今後さらに高まる恐れもある。

この点、専門家らは、中国政府はこの新しい法的枠組みについて、今後さまざまな課題が予想される中、社会の安定を確保するために、国民の愛国主義を駆り立て、力を結集するための手段と見ている可能性もあると指摘する。

中国は長年、国民が国のビジョンを一種の「社会契約」のように受け入れてくれることを当てにしてきたが、今後数年間は大きな困難に直面するだろう、と語るのは、英ノッティンガム大学の准教授で中国政治が専門のジョナサン・サリバン氏だ。

サリバン氏は「景気の低迷が長引けば、国民を説得するのは困難になるだろう（中略）中国政府は、政治的に正しい考え方を完全に確立し、共産党の手段こそ中国にとっての唯一の手段であり、国を愛しているなら共産党も愛すべき、という考え方を確固たるものにしようと努めている」と述べた。

香港では１９年に民主化を求める大規模なデモが起きて以来、中国政府のこのメッセージが強調されてきた。

中国政府は、香港で新世代の愛国者たちを育成する意向を明確に示し、愛国主義教育の規則と、非愛国者とみなされた者が公職に立候補することを禁じる政治的制約を導入した。

また今年は１０月１日に中華人民共和国建国７５周年を迎える。当局者らは、愛国主義が間違いなく祝福され、国民からの反発の可能性を完全に排除しなくてはならないというプレッシャーにさらされることだろう。

(to be continued)

Translation

HONG KONG (CNN) - One day in December, middle school students in the southeastern Chinese city of Fuzhou gathered in a local park to learn about the ideology of President Xi Jinping.

State media reported that the students unfurled a red banner reading "Walking Classroom of Politics and Ideology" and retraced the path taken by Mr. Xi during his 2021 visit to the local area in search of "enlightenment”.

In Tianjin, a coastal city in northern China, a group of young people toured a fortress and reflected on the "tragic history of the Chinese people in the face of foreign attacks."

These activities were part of China's efforts to strengthen nationalist education in recent years, and on the 1st of this month, a new law, the ``Patriotic Education Law,'' was enacted that included measures to strengthen patriotic education.

The new law aimed to "strengthen national unity" and requires all citizens, from young children to workers and professionals in all fields, and it would be mandatory to incorporate love for the country and the Chinese Communist Party into their work and learning.

A Chinese government spokesperson said last month that the new law aimed to "unify ideas" and "mobilize the power of the people to achieve the great goals of building a strong nation and revitalizing the nation."

It was not new for Chinese citizens to be forced to love their country and the Communist Party. Patriotism and propaganda had been an important part of education, corporate culture and life in China since its founding some 75 years ago.

Chinese patriotism had further strengthened under Mr. Xi, the most authoritarian leader in decades.

Mr. Xi had vowed to "revitalize" the country and establish a strong and important position in the world, and had encouraged aggressive "wolf warrior diplomacy" amid rising tensions with the West.

This extreme nationalism had also permeated social media, where everything from live on-line streamers and comedians to foreign brands were met with intense backlash and boycotts when they were seen as insulting China.

Mr. Xi had been working for some time to increase the Communist Party's presence in all aspects of people's lives, and the enactment of this new law would be an extension of that effort.

However, as a result of several years of strict zero-coronavirus policies in China, an unprecedented scale of protests by young people broke out in China in 2022. Furthermore, the economy was currently in a slump, and the youth unemployment rate had reached an all-time high. With the new law coming into effect under these circumstances, there could be a risk that public dissatisfaction would further increase in the future.

In this regard, experts pointed out that the Chinese government possibly might use this new legal framework as a means to encourage people's patriotism and mobilize their forces in order to ensure social stability amid various challenges expected in the future.

China, which had long relied on its people to buy into its vision as a kind of "social contract," would face major challenges in the coming years, said Jonathan Sullivan who was the associate professor at the University of Nottingham in the UK. specialized in Chinese politics.

Sullivan said, `If the economic downturn continues, it will be difficult to convince the public...The Chinese government has fully established its politically correct thinking, and the Communist Party's way are China's only way, if you love your country, you should love the Communist Party, effort is made in striving to solidify the idea."

This message had been emphasized by the Chinese government ever since large-scale pro-democracy demonstrations broke out in Hong Kong in 2019.

The Chinese government had made clear its intention to cultivate a new generation of patriots in Hong Kong, introducing rules on patriotic education and political restrictions that barred those deemed unpatriotic from running for public office.

This year, October 1st marks the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China. Officials would definitely bless patriotism, yet they could be exposed to pressure to completely eliminate the possibility of any backlash from the people.

(to be continued)

Note:

1.  According to the web-site of University of Nottingham, Dr Jonathan Sullivan is a China specialist and political scientist. He has worked extensively with various governments and government departments, including an ESRC funded collaborative project with the FCDO. Dr Sullivan has extensive engagement with the media, frequently writing and commenting on issues relating to China. (https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/politics/people/jonathan.sullivan)