Pretty funny until you actually try to make sense of it/ extract some sort of concrete meaning. Take the following sentence for example:
” The policy of freedom of religious belief must be comprehensively implemented so as to achieve consensus with religious groups on major issues regarding the leadership of the CPC, the socialist system, national unification and social harmony, said Hu.”

First we have “The policy of freedom of religious belief must be comprehensively implemented ”
Right on, Hu! Freedom of conscience! Very progressive. Or so it seems until you read on to
” so as to achieve consensus with religious groups on major issues regarding the leadership of the CPC.”
Now he seems to be saying that freedom of religion must be implemented…with the caveat that all religious groups recognize the avowedly atheist government as “having leadership over” i.e. rigidly controlling all aspects of religious practice. But what else do the free religious groups need to come to a consensus on?
“the socialist system, national unification and social harmony.”
Hard to see how the “socialist system” enters into it, but “national unification” and “social harmony” are always nice empty phrases that can be employed in the justification of oppressing a minority opinion. I’m surprised that they didn’t manage to work the word “stability” in there somewhere.

July 15, 2006 @ 12:27 pm | Comment

“Newly emerged social classes should be respected and united and be guided to the cause of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.
“

Translation: You poor rural folks and migrant laborers who are paid a pittance to feed and build all those shiny new buildings for the urban middle class must swallow your grievances for the sake of stability.

I find it the very definition of irony that a country which proclaims socialism as a state ideology has an income gap worse than the United States. In China, 1% control 60% of the wealth compared to 5% in the US.

July 17, 2006 @ 8:51 am | Comment