NEW LEARNING CENTER TO PROMOTE MARXIST THEORY;
CULTURAL LIBERALIZATION INCHES FORWARD

The China Reform Monitor, edited by Joshua Eisenman, reported on December 28 that the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has established a Research Academy on Marxism (RAM), Beijing's according to the Guangming Ribao newspaper. Founded on the anniversary of Mao Zedong's 112th birthday, the RAM was approved by the Central Political Bureau Standing Committee on May 19, 2005 as a means to examine "Marxist history and reality, theory and practice, as well as all aspects of Marxist studies in China and around the world."

 

The RAM will be divided into five research sections dedicated to the study of Marxist-Leninist Principles, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, and Jiang Zemin's "Three Represents" Theory, among others. "The hostile forces of the West are stepping up their efforts to Westernize and divide us, the ideological struggles are intense and complicated, and Marxism is faced with harsh challenges from all sides," the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Permanent Vice President, Leng Rong, explains. "Under these historical conditions, it is undoubtedly a very important and urgent strategic task of the party to strengthen Marxist theoretical research, consolidate Marxism's guiding position in the ideological realm, and uphold and develop Marxism in practice."

 

On January 8, 2006, Xinhua newspaper reported that a farmer angry over a court ruling in a property dispute has set off a bomb in a Chinese courthouse, killing himself and four other people. The explosion killed the president of the county court and a local Communist Party official in Gansu Province. The bomber - a farmer named Qian Wenzhao -forced his way into a meeting room on the courthouse's fourth floor and ignited the explosives. It remains unknown if the slain court president, Chen Xingrong, and the party official, Wang Qiang, were the targets of the attack.

 

[Editor's Note: Bomb attacks motivated by grudges or business disputes are common in China, where gun control is strict but explosives remain widely available.]