September 27, 2017
The Party’s ‘Hurdles’: the Internet, Propaganda, and Power
Ahead of China’s annual National Cyber Security Publicity (Propaganda) Week, the Cyberspace Administration of China’s Theoretical Studies Center Group published an article in Qiushi, the leading Chinese Communist Party (CCP) journal on theory, highlighting Xi Jinping’s strategic thinking on building China into a “powerful cyber nation” (or ‘cyber superpower,’ 网络强国). Their commentary (translated here) highlights core elements of China’s evolving national cyber strategy, which includes a focus on enhancing the country’s overall level of cyber security, particularly the protection of critical information infrastructure, and advancing indigenous innovation. In particular, this article clearly articulates the CCP’s perception of power and control in cyberspace as an imperative with existential stakes. The authors gravely declare, “If our Party cannot traverse the hurdle represented by the Internet, it cannot traverse the hurdle of remaining in power for the long term” (我们党过不了互联网这一关,就过不了长期执政这一关).
Read the full op-ed in The Diplomat.
More from CNAS
-
Indo-Pacific Security / Energy, Economics & Security / Technology & National Security
Selling AI Chips Won’t Keep China Hooked on U.S. TechnologyU.S. policy should not rest on the illusion that selling chips can trap China inside the American tech ecosystem....
By Janet Egan
-
Will New Delhi-Beijing Move Beyond Friction Points? | Ex-White Official On India-China Reset
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that India and China, as two major economies, must work together to bring stability to the global economic order. NDTV's Gaurie Dwi...
By Lisa Curtis
-
How Big Will China’s Nuclear Arsenal Get?
China’s nuclear expansion is already feeding an arms race—a contest that is accelerating partly because the finish line remains unknown....
By Jacob Stokes
-
China Military Scholar Elsa Kania on the PLA’s Dramatic Modernisation
Today we speak with Elsa B. Kania, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, about China’s military modernisation. How good is the People’s Liberation A...
By Elsa B. Kania