MEDIA ORDERED TO PRAISE COMMUNISTS AHEAD OF CONGRESSPublished by World Tibet Network News - Thursday, July 31, 1997
BEIJING, Jul 31, 1997, (Reuter) -- China's powerful propaganda czar Ding Guangen has moved to further tighten the Communist Party's grip on state media leading up to a crucial party congress held every five years.
Ding, head of the party's Propaganda Department, ordered state media to sing the praises of the party to create a favorable atmosphere for the 15th party congress, the People's Daily Overseas Edition said on Thursday.
He also called on state media to back Communist Party chief and state President Jiang Zemin, who is eager to assert his authority at the congress, expected to be held in late September or early October. State media should focus on the economy and strengthening "spiritual civilization," Ding said. Jiang has promoted "spiritual civilization" as a way to revive communist doctrines of civic responsibility and self-sacrifice, which have been eroded by nearly two decades of capitalist-style economic reforms.
Ding made the appeal amid disclosures of factional strife among the Communist Party elite. Analysts say the revelations mark the start of a campaign to discredit leftists opposed to economic reform and to Jiang's rule.