CHINA-INTERNAL: IDEOLOGICAL EDUCATION IN ACADEMIA

China's Education Minister Yuan Guiren, writing in the latest edition of the influential Communist Party theoretical journal Qiushi (Seeking Truth), said universities were the "front line of ideology" and that there were some trends on campus that required closer attention. He said "Young teachers and students are key targets of infiltration by enemy forces" and "Some countries have seen China's development as a challenge to their system and values and have stepped up infiltration in more discrete and diverse ways, resulting in a more difficult task to manage publicity and ideology." He said classroom guidelines would be drafted to put "Marxism at the forefront" and textbooks that spread incorrect Western viewpoints would be steadily barred from campus. Controls over philosophy and social science forums would be stepped up to stop "wrong talk". The article comes hard on the heels of Yuan Guiren's meeting with university chiefs last week, where he urged the institutions to exert tighter control over the use of imported textbooks "that spread Western values" and keep classrooms clear of remarks that "defame the rule of the party, smear socialism or violate the constitution and laws". It also came days after he ignited controversy by insisting that textbooks that promote Western values should be kept out of classrooms. PRC Education Minister Yang Guiren's comments were in response to a joint directive from the State Council and the CCP Central Committee's General Office regarding ideology in universities.





Subscribe to Newswire | Site Map | Email Us
Centre for China Analysis and Strategy, A-50, Second Floor, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057
Tel: 011 41017353
Email: office@ccasindia.org