Tracking People’s Daily — July 20, 2020

Page 1: Flooding across China is the key story on the front page, with a commentary exhorting people to get “prepared for battle.” There are no details about the floods on the page. Another piece talks about the improving epidemic situation in Beijing, with the emergency response level downgraded to level 3. The other two pieces on the page are about poverty alleviation and boosting agriculture.

Page 2: Three pieces on the page. First, there’s a piece about demand side pressures on export-oriented firms. It says that these enterprises have received state support in the form of tax rebates. From January to May this year, a total of 632.4 billion yuan of export tax refunds and exemptions for enterprises were handled nationwide. The second piece is about poverty alleviation in Guangxi, and finally, the release of the China Medical Reform Development Report (2020). There are some interesting data points in the report, which highlight achievements. But there should be much more that isn’t covered. One would have to get their hands on the paper.

• average life expectancy has increased from 74.8 years in 2009 to 77.3 years in 2019.
• maternal mortality rate has dropped from 31.9/100,000 to 17.8/100,000.
• the proportion of personal health expenditures in total health expenses has dropped from 37.5% in 2009 to 28.4% in 2019.
• As of the end of 2018, there were 1452 tertiary public hospitals and 2,746 secondary public hospitals providing telemedicine services.

Page 3: Here’s what I found noteworthy on the page:

First, there are two pieces on the issue of human rights. So at the ending of the forty-fourth meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded in Geneva, a number of Chinese organisations spoke, “expounding the socialist human rights development path with Chinese characteristics.” Basically, they touched upon poverty reduction, public health and stigmatisation.

The other human rights related story is also about the UNHRC, where “China stated that some countries have deep-rooted discrimination and social inequality, and that they have not taken measures to prohibit racial superiority, racial discrimination and hate speech, worsening the inherently fragile living environment of immigrants and harming immigrants’ rights.” China also hit out at the US on the issue of climate change, and its “unilateral sanctions against Sudan, Syria and Venezuela, and emphasized that U.S. unilateral sanctions have seriously harmed the economic and social development of these countries, caused great suffering to the people of these countries.”

Second, a commentary by Benjamin Davis, Senior Economist with FAO. He writes about the progress made in terms of poverty alleviation in China and the country’s collaboration with FAO.

Page 4: This page is all about the floods, and if you recall, I’d written last week that the floods are getting the heroic story treatment. We’ll there’s no better example than this page.

First, a report on the situation across different lakes and dams. So, there was discharge from the The Three Gorges dam, after the water level of the reservoir reached a record high of 164.18 meters during the flood season since the dam was built. Previously, its highest level was 163.11 meters. There was also discharge from the Meishan Reservoir in Jinzhai County in Anhui. Water levels in Taihu Lake, already at dangerous levels, are expected to rise further.

Some data points in the story: “According to statistics from the Ministry of Emergency Management, since July, floods have caused 23.857 million disasters in 24 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) including Jiangxi, Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Guizhou, etc., with 31 deaths and disappearances.” More details from CGTN in English here. It’s interesting that this reporting is now happening, mentioning July onwards. Here’s Associated Press’ reportage: “More than 150 people have died or are missing in flooding and landslides brought on by the torrential rains — 23 of them since Thursday alone. About 1.8 million people have been evacuated and direct losses attributed to flooding are estimated at more than 49 billion yuan ($7 billion), according to the Ministry of Emergency Management.”

The next lot of stories on the page, will talk about the narrative setting that I’ve mentioned:

• A commentary saying: “Let the party flag fly high on the front line of flood prevention and disaster relief.”
• A story about Lin Dan, a nurse in Hubei, who dealt with Covid and is now part of a volunteer team dealing with health issues connected to the flooding.
• A story about Wu Peng, an officer from Hongpu Police Station, Huaining County in Anhui, who has become “the vanguard of the police station in fighting floods.” Here’s an excerpt: “Wu Peng’s wife works in the Longshan Office of the Daguan District Government and has been on the front line of flood control in Haikou Town. The couple are less than 10 kilometers apart, but they have not met for more than half a month. The two young children are entrusted to their parents. ‘We husband and wife are both party members. I am still a public security policeman. We should do it for everyone.’ Wu Peng said with a smile.”

Page 9: Some interesting pieces to note on this page, which largely focuses on academic write-ups about international law.

First, Huang Jin, president of the China International Law Society and a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, talks about the significance and development of international law. Huang touches upon a number of principles, but the core argument is this:

“Promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and the joint construction of the Belt and Road, China is becoming an important force in safeguarding the international system with the United Nations at its core and international fairness and justice. China will work with more like-minded countries to promote the development of the international political and economic order in a fair and reasonable direction and inject more positive energy into the world.”

Second, Du Huanfang, researcher at the Institute of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era of the People’s University of China and a professor at the Law School, says that China is in “an era in which a large number of high-quality foreign-related legal professionals must be produced. It is necessary to give full play to the basic and leading role of college law education in the training of foreign-related rule of law professionals.”

For Du, Chinese “international law scholars should focus on national interests, strengthen their ideals and convictions, cultivate family and country feelings, focus on the domestic and international situations, correctly understand the development trend of China and the world, and clarify the responsibilities of the times and historical missions. Integrate international perspectives with Chinese issues, and strive to be proficient in international legal rules and good at handling foreign-related legal affairs, but also to find a correct position in international and cultural exchanges, stand firm, and better serve the overall situation of the party and the country.”

Finally, there’s apparently a new “Encyclopedia of the Belt and Road” which has been published.

Page 16: This was the international page. I didn’t find anything particularly interesting. The image below captures the stories that were covered.