By Ben Lowsen
Among his directives: “The PLA Daily must continue to take ‘Party’ as its surname.”
During a visit to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily last year on Christmas Day, Chinese President and Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping laid down the law for China’s top military news outlet.
His official speech was not immediately made public, but thanks to an article published last month in the Party’s Hongqi Wengao (Red Flag Manuscript), we now have a window into Xi’s thinking on media affairs. Among his directives: “The PLA Daily must continue to take ‘Party’ as its surname.” He explains that taking “Party” as a surname means “a reaffirmation of the basic principle of ‘the political leadership running the press.’”
This may sound strange, but we should note that in Chinese surnames come first. What Xi is saying is that the newspaper should be the “Party PLA Daily.” We can also extend this to the military itself, meaning that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (which includes all of China’s military forces) is in fact the “Party Army,” a tried and true principle among China watchers.
The character for “party” appears to have its origins as a family name in the Spring and Autumn period, although it is quite uncommon today. At least as late as 2006, however, orphanages would actually assign the surnames ‘Party’ and ‘Nation’ to their wards based on gender (see the Xinhua story here). Obviously the orphanages wanted to show their loyalty, but the gesture also carried the idea of China as one great family… under the Party naturally.
Read the full story at The Diplomat