A Guide To Contemporary China

‘Museum Power’ By 2035’

China plans to be a “real museum power” by 2035 and in this regard the central government has introduced new regulations for management of artifacts in state-owned museums. They will have to set up special departments to deal with collection of artifacts with steep fines prescribed for procuring items from unknown sources. Officials said the new rules will bring transparency and credibility in the operation of state museums. It will also push them ahead of private museums that are widely suspected of buying artifacts from tomb robbers.

Source: Global Times

Government Claims Victory In War Over Drugs

A government crackdown on the narcotics trade has seen a decline in the number of drug users. Officials claim that the number of drug addicts is around 1.8 million, which is 30% less than what it was in 2016. Last year, there were reportedly some 155,000 new drug addicts, less than half the number recorded four years ago. Liang Yun, director at the drug control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security stated in a press conference that drug production in the country has fallen from a peak of 70% to 13% now. Drug related crime has also declined significantly in the past year with 64,000 crimes reported last year compared to 128,000 in 2016.

Source: Sixth Tone

Football Star Deletes Lesbian Post

Li Ying the star of the national women’s football team officially came out as a lesbian in a post on Weibo, then just as suddenly deleted it. Netizens wondered whether she had done so under pressure from the authorities. There is no legal framework for LGBTQ+ rights although an increasing number of people are becoming vocal about their sexuality. Three months ago, 19-year-old dance influencer Abbily garnered broad public support after she referred to her successful gender-affirming surgery. Transgender celebrity Jin Xing is today the public face of Dior.

Source: Radii China

Improving The ‘Scientific Quality’ Of Citizens

The government is on a drive to improve the “scientific quality of citizens” and lay the ground for scientific and technological innovation. The State Council’s ‘Outline of Action Plan for National Scientific Literacy (2021-2035)’, calls for ‘scientific dreams’ to be planted in the minds of children, and promised that “silver-haired people” will be able to cross the “digital divide.” Meng Qinghai, vice chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, says the government’s goals are to ensure that by 2025, around 15% of citizens would be “scientifically literate”. Also, the uneven development of scientific literacy among regions and populations will be significantly improved. This will be done through science popularisation in schools and colleges, promoting the deep integration of traditional media and new media, and even developing science fiction films and novels to encourage innovation.

Source: Xinhua

Betting Big On ‘Red Tourism’

“Patriotic travel destinations” are now popular among China’s domestic travellers. Travel agency Ctrip has released the ‘Red Tourism Big Data Report for the First Half of 2021, which showed that bookings for red tourist attractions in the first half of the year doubled over the same period last year. Fang Zeqian, an industry analyst at Ctrip Tourism Research Institute, believes that with the popularisation and normalisation of “patriotic education”, red tourism has gradually entered the public eye and is growing in popularity among young people. The other reason is also the pandemic which has restricted global travel. As far as the destinations are concerned, the National Museum of China, Tiananmen Square, Xichang Satellite Launch Center, and Chinese People’s Revolution Military Museum are the five most popular red tourist attractions for families.