
In a Fortnight

The “Democratic Life Meetings” of the Chinese Communist Party Politburo
Introduction: The CCP Politburo and “Democratic Life Meetings” On December 26 and 27, China’s central leadership held a “democratic life meeting” (民主生活会, minzhu shenghuo hui) for the full membership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo (Xinhua, December 27, 2019). This has become an annual... MORE

The State Response to a Mystery Viral Outbreak in Central China
Introduction: The December Viral Outbreak in Wuhan In December, a mysterious outbreak of infectious disease emerged in the central Chinese city of Wuhan (Hubei Province). The epicenter of the outbreak was the Wuhan Huanan Seafood Market (武汉华南海鲜批发市场, Wuhan Haixian Pifa Shichang), which was closed by... MORE

The CCP’s Renewed Focus on Ideological Conditioning, Part 2: The New Five-Year Plan for Training Party Cadres
Author’s Note: This is the second part of a two-part series that addresses new directives issued by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the field of ideological “education.” The first part (The CCP’s Renewed Focus on Ideological Indoctrination, Part 1: The 2019 Guidelines for “Patriotic... MORE

The CCP’s Renewed Focus on Ideological Indoctrination, Part 1: The 2019 Guidelines for “Patriotic Education”
Author’s Note: This is the first part of a two-part briefing series that will address new directives issued in November 2019 by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the field of ideological “education.” This first part examines a new set of directives for intensified “patriotic... MORE

The Xiangshan Forum and Emerging Themes in PRC Military Diplomacy
Introduction: The Beijing Xiangshan Forum and the PRC’s International Security Propaganda In October, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) hosted two events that illustrated the PRC’s continuing and expanding efforts in the field of military diplomacy. The first of these was the seventh Military World... MORE

The PRC and ROC National Day Ceremonies Offer Starkly Contrasting Views of “One Country, Two Systems”
Introduction Both the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan, observe their national holidays in October. For the PRC, October 1 marks the date in 1949 when the Chinese Communist Party, victorious in the country’s civil war, declared China... MORE

Military-Civil Fusion and Electromagnetic Spectrum Management in the PLA
Introduction: EMSM as a Key Element of “Military-Civil Fusion” Modern battlefield environments will contain a greater proliferation of electromagnetic emitters than ever before—including but not limited to radars, communications networks, and jamming systems—employed by many different platforms across multiple warfare domains. As a result, electromagnetic... MORE

The United Front Work Department Assumes a Diplomatic Role
In the first week of September, a “United Front Organizations Special Symposium” (统一战线组织专题研讨会, Tongyi Zhanxian Zuzhi Zhuanti Yantaohui) was held in Beijing. Under the official slogan of “Forging Synergy and Promoting Consensus” (凝心聚力, 增进共识 / Ning Xin Juli, Zengjin Gongshi), this meeting brought together representatives... MORE

Chinese Covert Social Media Propaganda and Disinformation Related to Hong Kong
Introduction: “Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior” Related to the Protest Movement in Hong Kong On August 19, the microblogging platform Twitter announced the suspension of 936 accounts originating in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which the company identified as part of an “information operation focused on... MORE

The Legacy of Li Peng in Chinese Politics
Introduction Amid a flurry of late July news stories related to China—to include continuing unrest in Hong Kong, U.S.-China trade talks, and joint Sino-Russian military flights over the Sea of Japan that touched off a confrontation with Republic of Korea aircraft (China Brief, July 30)—the... MORE