Archive for ‘philosophy’

  |  
24/05/2020

Xi Focus: “What is people first?” Xi points to how China saves lives at all costs

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, May 23 (Xinhua) — “What is people first?” Chinese President Xi Jinping asked, before offering his own answer when he was talking with lawmakers at the ongoing national legislative session.

“So many people worked together to save a single patient. This, in essence, embodies doing whatever it takes (to save lives),” he said.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, is a deputy to the 13th National People’s Congress.

During his deliberations with fellow deputies from Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Friday, “people” was a keyword.

Xi referred to a story told by another deputy that morning. Luo Jie, from the COVID-19 hard-hit province of Hubei, told reporters at the session how medical workers in his hospital spent 47 days saving an 87-year-old COVID-19 patient.

“About 10 medical workers meticulously took care of the patient for dozens of days, and finally saved the patient’s life,” Xi said. “I am really impressed.”

In the COVID-19 pandemic, health workers around the world got to know the elderly are the most difficult to treat and require the most sophisticated medical resources. China has given every patient equal treatment irrespective of their age or wealth.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, takes part in a deliberation with his fellow deputies from the delegation of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the third session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing, capital of China, May 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

In Hubei alone, more than 3,600 COVID-19 patients over the age of 80 have been cured. In the provincial capital Wuhan, seven centenarian patients have been cured.

“We mobilized from around the nation the best doctors, the most advanced equipment and the most needed resources to Hubei and Wuhan, going all out to save lives,” Xi said during the deliberations, adding that the eldest patient cured is 108 years old.

“We are willing to save lives at all costs. No matter how old the patients are and how serious their conditions have become, we never give up,” Xi said.

Xi joined political advisors and lawmakers on Thursday and Friday in paying silent tribute to the lives lost to COVID-19 as the top political advisory body and the national legislature opened their annual sessions.

This year’s government work report said China’s economy posted negative growth in the first quarter of this year, but it was “a price worth paying” to contain COVID-19 as life is invaluable.

“As a developing country with 1.4 billion people, it is only by overcoming enormous difficulties that China has been able to contain COVID-19 in such a short time while also ensuring our people’s basic needs,” the report said.

Epidemic response is a reflection of China’s governing philosophy.

The fundamental goal for the Party to unite and lead the people in revolution, development and reform is “to ensure a better life for them,” Xi said.

The nation’s average life expectancy reached 77 years in 2018, more than double that in 1949, when the people’s republic was founded.

Chinese people are not just living longer but better lives, with more material wealth and broader choices to pursue individual dreams. All rural poor will bid farewell to poverty this year as part of the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The Party’s long-term governance, Xi said, rests on “always maintaining close bond with the people.”

“We must always remain true to the people’s aspiration and work in concert with them through thick and thin,” Xi said.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in "a price worth paying", "What is people first?", 13th National People's Congress (NPC), 1949, 2018, advanced, age, around the world, at all costs, Beijing, better lives, broader choices, Building, capital of China, centenarian, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, China, China's, Chinese President Xi Jinping, close bond, COVID-19, Covid-19 pandemic, development, doctors, double, dreams, elderly, epidemic response, founded, fundamental goal, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, goal, governing, health workers, Hubei, individual, inner mongolia autonomous region, irrespective, lead, Life expectancy, lives, living longer, long-term governance, maintaining, material wealth, medical workers, mobilized, moderately prosperous, nation, national legislature, negative growth, Party, Patient, People’s Republic, philosophy, political advisory body, poverty, provincial capital, pursue, reached, reflection, reform, reporters, revolution, rural poor, saves, society, sophisticated, thick and thin, this year, to unite, treatment, Uncategorized, wealth, Wuhan | Leave a Comment »

13/05/2020

Xinhua Headlines-Xi Focus: Xi stresses achieving moderately prosperous society in all respects

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts at an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou District of Datong City, north China’s Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

— Xi stressed addressing the difficulties faced by enterprises in resuming production and operation.

— Xi underscored lifting the remaining poor population out of poverty.

— Xi required implementing pro-employment policies.

TAIYUAN, May 12 (Xinhua) — Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed efforts to complete building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and ride on the momentum to write a new chapter in socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour in north China’s Shanxi Province.

Xi called for efforts to overcome the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic and make greater strides in high-quality transformation and development to ensure that the target of poverty eradication is reached and the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects is completed.

During the tour from Monday to Tuesday, Xi inspected work on coordinating the regular epidemic response with economic and social development, and on consolidating the poverty eradication results.

While visiting an organic daylily farm in Yunzhou, Datong City, on Monday, Xi said what he cares about the most after poverty eradication is how to consolidate the achievements, prevent people from falling back into poverty, and make sure rural people’s incomes rise steadily.

He said an important benchmark to evaluate an official’s job performance is to see the amount of good and concrete services he or she has delivered to the people.

When visiting a community of relocated villagers, Xi said relocation is not only about better living conditions but also about chances to get rich. He called for follow-up support to residents with tailor-made rural business projects to ensure sustainable development.

Highlighting that whether the people can benefit shall be a top concern, Xi demanded more supporting policies be put in place in terms of industrial development, financing, agricultural insurance, among others.

Xi applauded the strenuous efforts made by primary-level officials on helping people fight poverty.

At the home of villager Bai Gaoshan, Xi chatted with Bai’s family as they sat on a “kang” — a bed-stove made out of clay or bricks in north China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, learns about poverty alleviation efforts in a village of Xiping Township in Datong City, north China’s Shanxi Province, May 11, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Xi said the CPC wholeheartedly seeks happiness for the Chinese people, having stopped collecting agricultural taxes and fees, helping the impoverished rural residents with housing and medical service, training them with skills, and finding ways for them to live a prosperous life.

“I believe our villagers will enjoy better days ahead,” Xi said.

On top of that, he called for consolidating achievements in poverty alleviation, and then focusing on rural vitalization to ensure a better life for rural residents.

He then went on to visit the 1,500-year Yungang Grottoes, a “treasure house” of artifacts featuring elements blending Chinese and foreign cultures, as well as cultures of China’s ethnic minorities and the Central Plains.

Xi stressed that historical and cultural heritages are irreplaceable precious resources, and protecting them should always be put in the first place in tourism development.

Noting that tourism should not be over-commercialized, Xi said tourism should become a way for the Chinese to understand and appreciate the culture of the nation and enhance their cultural confidence.

The historical implications of communication and integration behind the Yungang Grottoes should be further explored to enhance the sense of community for the Chinese nation, said Xi.

During a research tour in a stainless steel manufacturer in the provincial capital Taiyuan on Tuesday morning, Xi said products and technology are the lifeline of businesses, calling for more efforts in technological innovation to make a greater contribution to the development of advanced manufacturing.

He also called on businesses to strictly implement epidemic prevention and control measures to ensure the safety and health of their workers, while promoting the resumption of work and production to make up for the time lost.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, waves to workers during a research tour in a stainless steel manufacturer in Taiyuan, capital city of north China’s Shanxi Province, May 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Later on, Xi went to check the ecological protection work of the Fenhe River in the city, and urged the incorporation of environment protection, energy revolution, green development, and economic transformation.

After hearing the work reports of the CPC Shanxi Provincial Committee and the provincial government on Tuesday afternoon, Xi stressed that no relaxation is allowed in epidemic prevention and control, noting that efforts should be made to guard against both imported infections and domestic rebounds, improve regular prevention and control mechanism, and prevent new outbreaks.

Xi called for efforts on more promptly and effectively addressing the difficulties faced by enterprises in resuming production and operation, on solid implementation of all the policies and measures for expanding domestic demand, and on strengthening the competitiveness and quality of the real economy, especially the manufacturing industry.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, speaks with workers during a research tour in a stainless steel manufacturer in Taiyuan, capital city of north China’s Shanxi Province, May 12, 2020. (Xinhua/Xie Huanchi)

Continuous efforts should be made to promote the adjustment and optimization of China’s industrial structure, and scientific and technological innovations should be greatly enhanced to continue achieving breakthroughs in new infrastructures, technologies, materials, equipment as well as new products and business models, Xi said.

He stressed overcoming the difficulties and obstacles facing reforms in key areas, including state-owned enterprises and assets, the fiscal, tax, and financial system, business environment, the private sector, domestic demand expansion, and urban-rural integration.

Xi also highlighted efforts to improve the country’s system and mechanism for opening-up.

China will uphold the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, and steadily implement the national strategy for ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin, he said.

More should be done to accelerate institutional innovation and strengthen the implementation of institutions to help form a green way of production and living, he said.

Efforts should be made to solidify the foundation for the development of agriculture and rural areas, beef up policy support for grain production and lift the remaining poor population out of poverty, Xi said.

Authorities should adhere to the people-centered development philosophy and ensure the bottom line of people’s livelihood, Xi said. He added that efforts should be made to implement pro-employment policies and facilitate the employment of key groups such as college graduates, veterans, rural migrant workers and urban people facing difficulties.

Efforts should be expedited to improve the weak areas in the public health system exposed by the epidemic and shift the focus of social governance to the primary levels, Xi said.

The rich and colorful local history and culture as well as revolutionary cultural resources should be fully drawn on and used to promote cultural advancement, Xi said.

He stressed consistent efforts to promote core socialist values to guide Party cadres as well as the public to enhance morality, cultivate good ethics and strengthen cultural confidence.

Xi also called for efforts to improve the Party’s political ecosystem, strictly observe the Party’s political discipline and rules and fight against corruption and undesirable conduct.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in "kang", "treasure house", accelerate, adverse impacts, agricultural, agriculture, authorities, bed-stove, benchmark, blending, bottom line, bricks, Building, Central Plains, Chairman of the Central Military Commission, chapter, Chinese, Chinese Characteristics, Chinese President Xi Jinping, clay, Collecting, college graduates, concept, conduct, consolidating, coordinating, corruption, COVID-19 epidemic, Datong City, daylily, development, difficulties, ecological protection, Economic, efforts, epidemic, epidemic prevention and control, epidemic response, ethnic minorities, evaluate, exposed, facing, Farm, Fenhe River, foreign cultures, foundation, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, good ethics, grain production, green way, Happiness, high-quality, high-quality development, housing, implementation, impoverished, industrial structure, inspection tour, institutional innovations, institutions, invaluable assets, job performance, livelihood, living, local history, lucid waters, lush mountains, medical services, migrant workers, moderately, momentum, Monday, Morality, national strategy, North, north China's, organic, out of poverty, overcome, Party's political discipline, Party's political ecosystem, people-centered development, philosophy, poor population, poverty eradication, pro-employment, production, prosperous society, public health system, revolutionary, rich and colorful, ride, rural, rural areas, rural residents, scientific, shanxi province, skills, social development, social governance, Socialism, solidify, stressed, Taiyuan, taxes and fees, technological innovations, to complete, to write, tourism development, training, transformation, Tuesday, Uncategorized, undesirable, urban people, urban-rural integration, veterans, wholeheartedly, Xiping Township, Yellow River basin, Yungang Grottoes, Yunzhou | Leave a Comment »

19/04/2020

Supporting WHO means to safeguard multilateralism: Chinese FM

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) — Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Saturday that at the critical moment when the world is combating the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting the World Health Organization (WHO) and its director-general is to safeguard the philosophy and principle of multilateralism.

He made the remarks when holding a phone conversation with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, noting that the support is also an act to secure the United Nations’ status and role and maintain the international solidarity in the face of the disease.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in Beijing, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, combating, Covid-19 pandemic, critical moment, director general, Disease, Face, international, maintain, means, multilateralism, philosophy, principle, remarks, safeguard, Saturday, solidarity, status and role, supporting, the world, Uncategorized, United Nations, WHO, World Health Organization (WHO) | Leave a Comment »

08/07/2019

Seven Silk Road destinations, from China to Italy: towns that grew rich on trade

  • Settlements along the route linking Europe and Asia thrived by providing accommodation and services for countless traders
  • Formally established during the Han dynasty, it was a 19th-century German geographer who coined the term Silk Road
The ruins of a fortified gatehouse and cus­toms post at Yunmenguan Pass, in China’s Gansu province. Photo: Alamy
The ruins of a fortified gatehouse and cus­toms post at Yunmenguan Pass, in China’s Gansu province. Photo: Alamy
We have a German geographer, cartographer and explorer to thank for the name of the world’s most famous network of transconti­nental trade routes.
Formally established during the Han dynasty, in the first and second centuries BC, it wasn’t until 1877 that Ferdinand von Richthofen coined the term Silk Road (historians increasingly favour the collective term Silk Routes).
The movement of merchandise between China and Europe had been taking place long before the Han arrived on the scene but it was they who employed troops to keep the roads safe from marauding nomads.
Commerce flourished and goods as varied as carpets and camels, glassware and gold, spices and slaves were traded; as were horses, weapons and armour.
Merchants also moved medicines but they were no match for the bubonic plague, which worked its way west along the Silk Road before devastating huge swathes of 14th century Europe.
What follows are some of the countless kingdoms, territories, (modern-day) nations and cities that grew rich on the proceeds of trade, taxes and tolls.

China

A watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, a desert outpost at the crossroads of two major Silk Road routes in China’s northwestern Gansu province. Photo: Alamy
A watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, a desert outpost at the crossroads of two major Silk Road routes in China’s northwestern Gansu province. Photo: Alamy

Marco Polo worked in the Mongol capital, Khanbaliq (today’s Beijing), and was struck by the level of mercantile activity.

The Venetian gap-year pioneer wrote, “Every day more than a thousand carts loaded with silk enter the city, for a great deal of cloth of gold and silk is woven here.”

Light, easy to transport items such as paper and tea provided Silk Road traders with rich pickings, but it was China’s monopoly on the luxurious shimmering fabric that guaranteed huge profits.

So much so that sneaking silk worms out of the empire was punishable by death.

The desert outpost of Dunhuang found itself at the crossroads of two major Silk Road trade arteries, one leading west through the Pamir Mountains to Central Asia and another south to India.

Built into the Great Wall at nearby Yunmenguan are the ruins of a fortified gatehouse and cus­toms post, which controlled the movement of Silk Road caravans.

Also near Dunhuang, the Mogao Caves contain one of the richest collections of Buddhist art treasures any­where in the world, a legacy of the route to and from the subcontinent.

Afghanistan

Afghanistan's mountainous terrain was an inescapable part of the Silk Road, until maritime technologies would become the area's undoing. Photo: Shutterstock
Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain was an inescapable part of the Silk Road, until maritime technologies would become the area’s undoing. Photo: Shutterstock

For merchants and middlemen hauling goods through Central Asia, there was no way of bypassing the mountainous lands we know today as Afghanistan.

Evidence of trade can be traced back to long before the Silk Road – locally mined lapis lazuli stones somehow found their way to ancient Egypt, and into Tutankhamun’s funeral mask, created in 1323BC.

Jagged peaks, rough roads in Tajikistan, roof of the world

Besides mercan­tile exchange, the caravan routes were responsible for the sharing of ideas and Afghanistan was a major beneficiary. Art, philosophy, language, science, food, architecture and technology were all exchanged, along with commercial goods.

In fact, maritime technology would eventually be the area’s undoing. By the 15th century, it had become cheaper and more convenient to transport cargo by sea – a far from ideal development for a landlocked region.

Iran

The Ganjali Khan Complex, in Iran. Photo: Shutterstock
The Ganjali Khan Complex, in Iran. Photo: Shutterstock

Thanks to the Silk Road and the routes that preceded it, the northern Mesopotamian region (present-day Iran) became China’s closest trading partner. Traders rarely journeyed the entire length of the trail, however.

Merchandise was passed along by middlemen who each travelled part of the way and overnighted in caravan­serai, forti­fied inns that provided accom­mo­dation, storerooms for goods and space for pack animals.

The good, bad and ugly sides to visiting Chernobyl and Kiev

With so many wheeler-dealers gathering in one place, the hostelries developed into ad hoc marketplaces.

Marco Polo writes of the Persian kingdom of Kerman, where craftsmen made saddles, bridles, spurs and “arms of every kind”.

Today, in the centre of Kerman, the former caravanserai building forms part of the Ganjali Khan Complex, which incorporates a bazaar, bathhouse and mosque.

Uzbekistan

A fort in Khiva, Uzbekistan. Photo: Alamy
A fort in Khiva, Uzbekistan. Photo: Alamy

The double-landlocked country boasts some of the Silk Road’s most fabled destinations. Forts, such as the one still standing at Khiva, were built to protect traders from bandits; in fact, the city is so well-preserved, it is known as the Museum under the Sky.

The name Samarkand is also deeply entangled with the history of the Silk Road.

The earliest evidence of silk being used outside China can be traced to Bactria, now part of modern Uzbekistan, where four graves from around 1500BC-1200BC contained skeletons wrapped in garments made from the fabric.

Three thousand years later, silk weaving and the production and trade of textiles remain one of Samarkand’s major industries.

Georgia

A street in old town of Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: Alamy
A street in old town of Tbilisi, Georgia. Photo: Alamy

Security issues in Persia led to the opening up of another branch of the legendary trade route and the first caravan loaded with silk made its way across Georgia in AD568.

Marco Polo referred to the weaving of raw silk in “a very large and fine city called Tbilisi”.

Today, the capital has shaken off the Soviet shackles and is on the cusp of going viral.

Travellers lap up the city’s monaster­ies, walled fortresses and 1,000-year-old churches before heading up the Georgian Military Highway to stay in villages nestling in the soaring Caucasus Mountains.

Public minibuses known as marshrutka labour into the foothills and although the vehicles can get cramped and uncomfortable, they beat travelling by camel.

Jordan

Petra, in Jordan. Photo: Alamy
Petra, in Jordan. Photo: Alamy

The location of the Nabataean capital, Petra, wasn’t chosen by chance.

Savvy nomadic herders realised the site would make the perfect pit-stop at the confluence of several caravan trails, including a route to the north through Palmyra (in modern-day Syria), the Arabian peninsula to the south and Mediterranean ports to the west.

Huge payments in the form of taxes and protection money were collected – no wonder the most magnificent of the sand­stone city’s hand-carved buildings is called the Treasury.

The Red Rose City is still a gold mine – today’s tourists pay a hefty

US$70 fee to enter Petra

. The Nabataeans would no doubt approve.

Venice

Tourists crowd onto Venice’s Rialto Bridge. Photo: Alamy
Tourists crowd onto Venice’s Rialto Bridge. Photo: Alamy

Trade enriched Venice beyond measure, helping shape the Adriatic entrepot into the floating marvel we see today.

Besides the well-documented flow of goods heading west, consignments of cotton, ivory, animal furs, grapevines and other goods passed through the strategically sited port on their way east.

Ironically, for a city built on trade and taxes, the biggest problem Venice faces today is visitors who don’t contribute enough to the local economy.

A lack of spending by millions of day-tripping tourists and cruise passengers who aren’t liable for nightly hotel taxes has prompted authorities to introduce a citywide access fee from January 2020.

Two thousand years ago, tariffs and tolls helped Venice develop and prosper. Now they’re needed to prevent its demise.

Source: SCMP

Posted in accom­mo­dation, Adriatic, Afghanistan, architecture, armour, arms, Art, Asia, Bactria, bandits, bathhouse, bazaar, Beijing, bridles, bubonic plague, Buddhist art treasures, camels, caravan­serai, caravans, carpets, Caucasus Mountains, Chernobyl, cloth of gold, commercial goods, craftsmen, Death, Dunhuang, Egypt, Europe, exchanged, Ferdinand von Richthofen, floating marvel, Food, fort, from China to Italy, funeral mask, Ganjali Khan Complex, Gansu Province, garments, Georgia, Georgian Military Highway, German geographer, glassware, Gold, goods, Great Wall, grew rich, Han Dynasty, horses, hostelries, iran, Jordan, Kerman, Khanbaliq, Khiva, Kiev, languages, lapis lazuli, Marco Polo, maritime technology, marketplaces, marshrutka, medicines, Merchandise, Mesopotamian region, Mogao Caves, Mongol capital, Mosque, Museum under the Sky, Nabataean capital, pack animals, Palmyra, Pamir Mountains, paper, Persian kingdom, Petra, philosophy, punishable, Red Rose City, Rialto Bridge, saddles, Samarkand, Science, Silk Road, Silk Road destinations, silk worms, skeletons, slaves, sneaking, Space, spices, spurs, storerooms, Syria, Tajikistan, Tbilisi, Tea, Technology, towns, Trade, traders, Tutankhamun, Uncategorized, Uzbekistan, Venetian gap-year pioneer, Venice, weapons, Yunmenguan Pass | Leave a Comment »

14/03/2019

China Focus: Tibetan Buddhism well respected, preserved: political advisors

BEIJING, March 13 (Xinhua) — Chinese religious figures serving as political advisors at this year’s “two sessions” are pleased with the country’s protection of Tibetan Buddhism in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.

Political advisor Lhapa from Jokhang Temple is among the over 2,000 members of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), who gathered in Beijing for this year’s session that started on March 3 and concluded Wednesday.

Jokhang Temple, in downtown Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet, is a must for visitors to Tibet and a sacred site for Tibetan Buddhists. It attracts about 800,000 tourists and receives over three million Buddhist followers each year.

Built in the 7th century in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Jokhang Temple is home to plenty of historical relics and typical Tibetan architecture. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000.

The Chinese government has attached great importance to the protection and preservation of the temple, said Lhapa, executive deputy director of the management committee of Jokhang Temple. Five years ago, for example, the government invested over 60 million yuan (8.94 million U.S. dollars) in gilding the five golden roofs of the temple.

The Buddha figures, Thangka and murals in the temple have also been well preserved. To better protect these precious cultural relics, a database for Buddha statues and Thangka in both Mandarin and Tibetan languages, launched in 2015, will be completed next year, he added.

Experts from Beijing and Xi’an have been invited to help build the database. More than 6,000 Buddha statues and over 600 Thangka have been included in the database, according to Lhapa.

“The government has invested 100 million yuan in protecting the cultural relics,” Lhapa said. “I’m really satisfied with the government’s role in protecting the temple, a treasure of the country.”

As a political advisor from the religious circles, Lhapa said he must serve all the people, including tourists, believers and researchers who visit the temple.

“We have personnel working 24/7 in the halls of the temple, including monks, firefighters and police officers to prevent the cultural heritage from being destroyed or stolen, and to ensure tourists’ safety,” Lhapa said.

The monks in Jokhang Temple usually spend about nine hours every day conducting religious activities such as chanting sutra and learning Buddhist doctrine, Lhapa said.

“Anyone who comes to Jokhang Temple will see worshippers crowd the square in front of the main hall throughout the year,” Lhapa said.

Every Tibetan New Year, Jokhang Temple opens for 24 hours to provide convenience for believers and tourists.

“On the Lamp Festival, we have Dharma assembly here and the butter lamps are lit on top of the temple. Believers come to pray for happiness and health,” he said.

Similar to Jokhang Temple, almost all the temples and monasteries in Tibet are under national or regional protection, according to Lhapa.

Living Buddha Drigung Khyungtsang echoed Lhapa’s ideas, saying today’s Tibet observes many traditional folk and religious activities. The Shoton festival at Zhaibung Monastery and the worship activities at Sera Monastery are among the most popular ones.

“Tibetan Buddhists, young and old, would sway their praying wheels and chant sutras when significant activities are launched,” said Drigung Khyungtsang.

As vice chairman of the Tibet branch of the Buddhist Association of China, Drigung Khyungtsang is in charge of the Kangyur printing. The precious wooden templates of the Kangyur have been well preserved and printing is suspended in winter because cold weather may cause damage to the templates.

Political advisor Lodro Gyatso, a senior monk from the Sakya Monastery, the earliest monastery of the Sakya Sect of the Tibetan Buddhism, in Xigaze Prefecture, told Xinhua that the monastery has two Buddhist colleges, offering various classes including Tibetan language, Tibetan calligraphy, Buddhist texts, astronomy, calendrical calculation and philosophy to monks and lamas.

Thanks to a digital archive project launched in 2017 in the monastery, the original sutra books and archives have been preserved while their digital versions are available online.

Living Buddha Jewon Koondhor has a story different from other political advisors. He had spent most of his life outside and returned to his hometown, the city of Qamdo in Tibet, when he was 60 in 2011.

“My hometown Qamdo has changed a lot and is continually improving. The traffic there today is much more convenient. I’m happy to be back,” he said.

Source: Xinhua

Posted in astronomy, Beijing, Buddha statues, Buddhist Association of China, Buddhist doctrine, calendrical calculation, China alert, Dharma assembly, Drigung Khyungtsang, Jewon Koondhor, Jokhang Temple, Kangyur printing, Lamp Festival, Lhapa, Lhasa, Living Buddha, Lodro Gyatso, Mandarin, monks and lamas, National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), philosophy, Political advisor, praying wheels, Qamdo, Sakya Sect, Sera Monastery, Shoton festival, sutras, Tang Dynasty, Thangka, Tibet Autonomous Region, Tibetan Buddhism, Tibetan calligraphy, Tibetan language, Tibetan New Year, Uncategorized, unesco world heritage, vice chairman, Xi'an, Xigaze Prefecture, Zhaibung Monastery | Leave a Comment »

07/03/2019

In sensitive year for China, warnings against ‘erroneous thoughts’

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ruling Communist Party is ramping up calls for political loyalty in a year of sensitive anniversaries, warning against “erroneous thoughts” as officials fall over themselves to pledge allegiance to President Xi Jinping and his philosophy.

This year is marked by some delicate milestones: 30 years since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square; 60 years since the Dalai Lama fled from Tibet into exile; and finally, on Oct. 1, 70 years since the founding of Communist China.

Born of turmoil and revolution, the Communist Party came to power in 1949 on the back of decades of civil war in which millions died, and has always been on high alert for “luan”, or “chaos”, and valued stability above all else.

“This year is the 70th anniversary of the founding of new China,” Xi told legislators from Inner Mongolia on Tuesday, the opening day of the annual meeting of parliament. “Maintaining sustained, healthy economic development and social stability is a mission that is extremely arduous.”

Xi has tightened the party’s grip on almost every facet of government and life since assuming power in late 2012.

ROOTING OUT DISLOYALTY

The party has increasingly been making rooting out disloyalty and wavering from the party line a disciplinary offence to be enforced by its anti-corruption watchdog, whose role had ostensibly been to go after criminal acts such as bribery and lesser bureaucratic transgressions.

The graft buster said last month it would “uncover political deviation” in its political inspections this year of provincial governments and ministries.

Top graft buster Zhao Leji, in a January speech to the corruption watchdog, a full transcript of which the party released late February, used the word “loyalty” eight times.

“Set an example with your loyalty to the party,” Zhao said.

China has persistently denied its war on corruption is about political manoeuvring or Xi taking down his enemies. Xi told an audience in Seattle in 2015 that the anti-graft fight was no “House of Cards”-style power play, in a reference to the Netflix U.S. political drama.

The deeper fear for the party is some sort of unrest or a domestic or even international event fomenting a crisis that could end its rule.

Xi told officials in January they need to be on high alert for “black swan” events..

That same month the top law-enforcement official said China’s police must focus on withstanding “colour revolutions”, or popular uprisings, and treat the defence of China’s political system as central to their work.

The party has meanwhile shown no interest in political reform, and has been doubling down on the merits of the Communist Party, including this month rolling out English-language propaganda videos on state media-run Twitter accounts to laud “Chinese democracy”. Twitter remains blocked in China.

The official state news agency Xinhua said in an English-language commentary on Sunday that China was determined to stick to its political model and rejected Western-style democracy.
“The country began to learn about democracy a century ago, but soon found Western politics did not work here. Decades of turmoil and civil war followed,” it said.
Source: Reuters

Posted in anniversaries, anti-corruption watchdog, “luan” or “chaos”, black swan, bloody crackdown, Central Party School, China alert, chinese communist party, civil war, Communist Party, Customs minister, Dalai Lama, Defence, delicate milestones, diplomats, disciplinary offence, disloyalty, Duncan Innes-Ker, Economist Intelligence Unit, edge allegiance, English-language propaganda, erroneous thoughts, fake loyalty, founding of Communist Chin, founding of Communist China, graft buster, House of Cards, Ideology, Inner Mongolia, leadership, Ni Yuefeng, October 1 1949, Party building, philosophy, political loyalty, political reform, President Xi, President Xi Jinping, pro-democracy demonstrators, regional director for Asia, rubber stamp parliament, ruling communist party, sensitive year, Tiananmen Square, Tibet, turmoil and civil war, turmoil and revolution, Twitter, Uncategorized, warnings, Western-style democracy, Xinhua, Zhao Leji | Leave a Comment »

  |  
CCChang

Law of Unintended Consequences

continuously updated blog about China & India

ChiaHou's Book Reviews

continuously updated blog about China & India

What's wrong with the world; and its economy

continuously updated blog about China & India