Full Text: Li Datong's Memo

These are the actions and attitudes of past League Central Secretariats and managing secretaries towards this paper. I have been at this paper for many years, and not a single reporter has ever thought or spoke the words that we were not a paper of the Party and the Youth League. On the contrary, former secretaries continued in the style of comrade Yaobang. They never gave crude orders, highly respected the internal rules to the conduct of journalism, made allowances for the difficulties of this paper, meticulously guided and cherished this paper and took the most responsibility for it. Who would deny that this was the time of greatest prestige for the China Youth Daily, and at the same time, that it belonged to the Communist Youth League?

The China Youth Daily did not develop in a vacuum. It was under the influence of the democratic style of comrade Yaobang, the correct leadership of past League Central Secretariats, and through the collected efforts of everyone from editor-in-chief to ordinary reporters that this newspaper could become a "prestigious, socially influential and reliable" newspaper. As a party paper, it is the most popular among readers. It is precisely this sense of honor that drives many reporters and editors to serve the paper for their whole lives. Many graduates from university journalism departments take pride in having the good fortune to find a post in this paper. We understand that party and institutional papers were created under the special conditions of war. After the founding the new country, this system persisted, but financial allocations, employee salaries and state subscriptions to the paper mostly come from the taxpayers contributions. Therefore, party and institutional papers have a reason to give something back to the readers and the people. Satisfying readers and the people is a responsibility of journalists working at this kind of paper; otherwise we are just holding down a job without doing a lick of work.

After Zhao Yong took control of the paper, he should have sought to thoroughly understand and continue the principles and leadership styles of past Secretariats. Instead, in his first speech before a meeting of section editors and higher officials, he took out the 1951 document that created this newspaper, and told us experienced journalists that the China Youth Daily was a paper that belonged to the Party and the Youth League, harshly declaring that those who did not like it could leave. Let me immediately refute this ... never before had a secretary come to the paper and used this threatening tone of voice, or uttered such an absurdity!

Was the China Youth Daily not a party paper and an institutional paper before Li Erliang became editor-in-chief? To deny this is to deny the correct leadership of the paper under all Secretariats before Zhou Qiang and Zhao Yong. It is to deny the accomplishments of past publishers and editors-in-chief that garnered the respect of their journalistic colleagues. It is to deny the traditions of the China Youth Daily as a party paper and an institutional paper. Most of all, it denies the traditions established and protected through the extraordinary efforts of several generations of China Youth Daily journalists.

Does Zhao Yong really believe that so many editors-in-chief and section heads don't have even this common sense? That they fail to understand these professional rules? That they lack this professional self-awareness? Of course not!

To sum up, in complete contrast to past Secretariats, he believes that the China Youth Daily is not the party and institutional paper that he desires. His ideal institutional paper is like the relationship between father and son. When the father cries out, the son should tremble. When the father says go north, the son dares not to go south. Why can't this paper be run according to his personal will? Now and then it even makes the colleagues in his official circles unhappy, threatening his own chances of promotion.

The harsh reality is, the China Youth Daily is already facing dire problems of survival and development. Circulation falls yearly, advertising revenue is nothing to speak of, and last year the paper took serious losses. At the same time, a set of city papers haw begun to emerge in the realm of mainstream papers, naturally taking responsibility for what mainstream papers usually report. Their news and editorials improve daily. In management, they have hundreds of millions in advertising revenue ... China's traditional mainstream papers are facing an unprecedented decline in influence and sales. This is the choice of the readers and the market. As to how to meet this fierce competition, to retrieve traditional party and institutional papers from decline, there is no choice but to win the people's confidence. Just as Marx wrote about "people's news" -- "It lives among the people, earnestly sharing their trials and tribulations, their weal and woe, their love and hate. It takes its hope and its misery from what it hears in daily life, and reports it publicly." Marx emphasized: "Publications rely upon the trust of the people to survive. Without this condition, a publication will completely lack spirit."

But has Zhao Yong "led" his official newspaper as the secretary of the Youth League Central? Many times he has ordered the cancellation of Youth Topics and Freezing Point. He couldn't do it at once, but he did cut out half the section. He demanded to cancel the most read scholars' columns. He even weakened the influence of these two brand-name sections. He clearly knows from the reader sureys that these two sections are historically the most read and widely enjoyed sections in the paper. (Every month exceeding 70 percent, and frequently over 80 percent; Freezing Point even reached 92 percent.) They are also the two most highly regarded brands in the journalistic world. Freezing Point was not only named by the Central Propaganda Department as a "Famous Section of Important Central Media" and by the National Journalists Association as a "Famous Section of Chinese Journalism" (the National Journalists Association surveyed readers in seven provinces and cities and found that Freezing Point received the most votes of any newspaper in China). Even in a survey of county and local Youth League secretaries, Freezing Point and Youth Topics were ranked first and second. You yourself even said to me: "You think I don't know what the readers like? My wife wants me to bring home the Wednesday paper every week to read Freezing Point!" Did you ever tell this to Zhao Yong?

Why is receiving the approval of the grand readership inconsistent with the principles and orientation of a party paper? Is this the Marxist theory of news? Is this a news and propaganda regulation from the Party? Does this tally with the governance ideas of the new Party Central with comrade Hu Jintao as its General Secretary?

Without doubt, the new rules that finally appeared reveal the true standards of you and the Youth League Secretariat for a party paper -- watch and see if a minority of officials leading higher organs are satisfied. If they offer praise then give rewards. If we are not careful and disturb their nerves or interests, bringing criticism, then punish until they lose their confidence. Let's see if you dare to do that again! Undoubtedly, this is a complete denial of the principles and standards of evaluation of all previous Youth League Central Secretariats.

Regarding the management and orientation of party papers, you also have your own understanding. Not long ago you returned from taking part in a "public opinion war" class. At the office meeting you discussed how you had a "profound realization." What was the realization? You said that you realized that "propaganda" can come from "needs." At the meeting, you singled out a reporter who wrote on Ren Changxia to point out that everyone knows that Ren's relations with her husband are strained, but when writing about a model you should write that they are good. This is a need. You also gave the example of Kong Fansen, saying that you knew him well. Event he was an excellent person, he had some shortcomings, "He is also flesh and blood, with abundant feelings, but we still publicize him, and we cannot write about this side of him. We can't write about his shortcomings, but rather what is good..." You laughed, and the audienced laughed too. It seemed they understood what "abundant feelings" was implying. As for "public opinion," you "realized" that you can do what you want. You can make rumors and fallacies. You said, "Didn't the United States do it to attack Iraq?"

Put aside the question of what the United States and the US media did. Even if it's true, that is not the model that we follow. Generating fallacies and fabricating reality according to "need" have both been abandoned by the Chinese media, and are vigilantly guarded against, at the repeated of the Central Propaganda Department. You came from the People's Daily. Have our colleagues at the People's Daily never painfully reflected on the terrible disaster visited upon the nation and the people by "propaganda" during the Great Leap Forward, the Anti-Rightist Movement, and the Cultural Revolution? Are these not activities that should be completely and forever banned from party papers, including this one? Didn't you notice that when you were discussing your "profound realization" that people at the meeting reacted with sarcasm?