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Debunking stereotypes about CPC schools
From:Shanghai Daily  |  2021-06-23 08:29

FOR many, China’s Communist Party schools are shrouded in mystery. These establishments are off limits to ordinary people, and provide exclusive training to rising leaders.

Established against a political backdrop, they are often imagined as heavily guarded territory where strait-laced officials are spoon-fed ideological education. However, a recent media tour has shattered such stereotypes.

Last Friday, the China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong (CELAP), one of the top schools in the Communist Party system, opened its doors to foreign and domestic media, inviting them to discover a real Party school in person.

Contrary to the popular myth, the academy is sleek, cosmopolitan and in sync with the times, inside and out.

Cameras clicked away as reporters were shown around the campus. Red as the dominant hue is never really in doubt, while the stylish design by French architect Anthony Bechu came as a revelation. Brick-and-glass structures, in styles of desks, pen holders and books, meld into the natural surroundings of waterways and gardens, so unlike those faceless business blocks.

As reporters were led to a gallery chronicling 31 years of changes in Pudong, many marveled at its success — from farmland to a synonym for modern China. A prime example is Lujiazui’s skyline, which has been dramatically pushed upward from 24 to 623 meters high over three decades. “It’s great,” one Western reporter blurted out.

To create an “immersive experience,” the school allowed reporters to sit in on a lecture where renowned photojournalist Deke Erh shared his sailing stories and views on cross-cultural communication.

The afternoon class was moved to an artificial intelligence (AI) museum in Zhangjiang, the city’s innovation highland, to offer firsthand insights into how technologies are reshaping the world. Robots were in place to show their “talents” — planting vegetables, brewing coffee and performing operations.

“I love the curriculum. It vividly tells about the reform and opening-up of Pudong and Shanghai,” said Liu Cheng, deputy director of the Hainan provincial department of tourism, culture, radio, television and sports. He is among the cultural officials currently training at CELAP.

The curriculum has broken through superficial misconceptions that cadres go to Party schools just to learn about things like Marxism. Liu said students are not chained in classrooms, and instead are taken on walking tours around the city, such as historical strolls in downtown areas.

It sounds more like a fun summer camp, but it has yielded a lot of information

“Yesterday, we visited renovated old buildings in Xuhui District. I think Hainan can borrow a lot from that. I was also impressed by Xuhui’s public cultural services which were sent to residents based on their orders. Hainan is badly in need of such a thing,” he said.

“Today has inspired me a lot, especially Zhangjiang’s exploration of AI in health care,” Liu added. “Hainan is also focusing on developing high technologies, but we lag behind. In Bo’ao, we have a pilot zone to develop international medical tourism-related businesses. I see complementary advantages and cooperation potential with Zhangjiang. It offers a precious chance for us to learn from Shanghai, especially its experiences in building a free-trade zone. Hainan now has the country’s biggest free-trade port. Honestly, there is a gap between Shanghai and Hainan, but we have our own advantages. We hope to develop together with Shanghai.”

CELAP adheres to an innovation-driven teaching method that combines lectures, site visits and scenario simulation. The AI museum is just one of hundreds of teaching sites outside of classrooms, according to Zheng Jinzhou, vice president of the school.

“We are open and evolve with the times,” he said. “We have introduced classes about urban renewal, digital transformation and the Belt and Road Initiative.”

Song Jin, member of the school’s executive committee, added that CELAP specializes in international cooperation.

“We foster our students to have an international vision, and teach them how to communicate with foreigners,” she said. “Also, we welcome foreigners to have cultural exchanges. As of June, we have received more than 11,000 foreign visitors.”

Big names include Lee Kuan Yew, former prime minister of Singapore, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Dominique de Villepin, former prime minister of France.

As its introduction leaflet says, CELAP’s role: internally, it helps Chinese leaders build up an international perspective and improve their ability to communicate with the outside world; externally, it strives to share China’s stories and air China’s views on the global stage.

“Ancient China comes across as very conservative, but in reality it wasn’t. China’s intercultural communications with the world go beyond imagination,” Erh said.

In 1866, the Foochow Shipbuilding Institution opened as China’s first school taught by foreigners — the French taught shipbuilding and the British taught sailing. The “Father of China’s railroad” Zhan Tianyou was one of the students.

For a much earlier example, in 1598, Italian Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci created the earliest version of today’s pinyin, a phonetic system derived from the Latin alphabet. He intended to help foreign priests learn Chinese better, but it has evolved into today’s official Romanization of Mandarin.

Erh hopes he can continue the tradition and be a cultural messenger.

“I have met many voyagers in Europe. They told me that during the past 100 years they hadn’t seen Chinese sailboats in their ports. Those words really stirred inside me. I think carrying on this history is the historical mission of our generation,” he said.

“I hope to build my boat into a mobile bookstore that does cultural commutation in every port. There should be a Chinese captain to tell Chinese stories to the world,” he added.

However, it’s never an easy task, according to Wang Shiquan, director of the school’s teaching experiment and case development center.

“Our culture is so old that even some Chinese don’t thoroughly know about our 5,000 years of civilization, so it’s super hard for foreigners to understand our culture,” he said.

It’s a tough task to use modern languages to explain China to the world, from its past culture to its present development.

“Now, China is greatly valued on the global stage, but it’s less understood. Maybe it will take decades longer to educate the world about China,” Wang said. “As such an old and distinctive civilization, China is rising, and we need to decode it in a friendly, down-to-earth way. I really welcome foreigners to stay longer in China, visit more places and do more interviews.”

One way to better tell Chinese stories to the world, according to Wang, is to train cadres to stand in front of cameras and participate in interviews.

“I have to admit that many Chinese cadres don’t know how to deal with the media properly, which is rooted in our cultural history. For thousands of years, we have believed that mature and well-educated men should be low key. However, it’s not proper in today’s world. So, we have to change ourselves. Our school built the country’s first media laboratory to train leaders. We have trained about 800,000 leaders already,” he said.

When asked how to answer sensitive questions, Wang said: “Tell the truth.”

“We believe in seeking truth from facts,” he said, and cited Zhao Qizheng, former head of the State Council Information Office and former vice mayor of Shanghai.

Once in an interview with international media, Zhao said: “If you report about Beijing’s rubbish dump every day, the whole world would consider Beijing a city of rubbish. It’s not true. But if you turn to report Beijing’s gardens every day, then the whole world would think Beijing is a garden. It’s not true either. So just report it as it is.”

Wang gave an example of the recent controversial debate over Xinjiang-grown cotton.

“I’ve worked in Xinjiang as an English teacher for 10 years. I have many students and friends from ethnic minorities. We live in harmony So I know the accusations against Xinjiang are total lies,” he said. “We have to be honest when we report. Under China’s policy, we are sending officials to assist Xinjiang’s development generation by generation, which is why Shanghai is paired with Kashgar.”

“But I have to admit that cultural differences may create some problems,” he added. “We have 56 ethnic groups, and it takes time to integrate different groups. Like in Xinjiang, not everyone can speak Chinese. Renowned Sinologist Lionel Vairon pinpointed it during his visit to Xinjiang. He said it’s a big problem that some Chinese can’t speak the national language.”

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