Top universities detail ideology plans

Marxism role in academia to be strengthened

Three of China's most prestigious universities will issue statements on strengthening ideological work in the latest issue of Qiushi, a journal under the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

The three articles will be written by the Party committees of Peking University, Fudan University and Sun Yat-sen University, and will be published in Qiushi on Monday.

The editorial board of Qiushi said that the intention behind inviting the three universities to contribute was to explore "how to strengthen ideological work in universities under new historical conditions."

The three articles will describe future ideology work from three perspectives, including "using new media to build new platforms," "guiding teaching staff's healthy growth," and "creating a practical and healthy atmosphere on campus."

The board said that the confluence of diverse ideological trends and a more complex online public opinion environment have impacted the thoughts and behaviors of college teachers and students in important ways, Shanghai-based news website thepaper.cn reported.

This is one reason why Party authorities feel the need to intensify ideological work, analysts say, not only on campuses, but also in other academic fields where people might be led astray by exposure to diverse ideologies.

Yin Yungong, an expert on the socialist system at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said that government and Party authorities have looked to colleges and social academies to promote and intensify socialist ideologies.

But recent years have seen many problems caused by overly liberal college professors focusing on teaching students their personal views, rather than providing proper ideological guidance.

Authorities have taken note of this dangerous trend and are trying to shift students and teachers back onto the right track, Yin told the Global Times.

Research fellows at CASS, China's top think tank, were also recently warned not to stray out of the ideological mainstream.

Wang Weiguang, director of CASS, said on Tuesday that research fellows in CASS are "soldiers" on the Party's ideological battlefield rather than "freelancers" beholden only to themselves.

Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the importance of ideological work at a national conference on publicity and ideology in Beijing in August last year, adding that ideological work is mainly to ensure the leading position of Marxism in the clash of ideologies.

Party schools, social academies and universities should make courses on Marxist theory compulsory, and remain at the forefront of learning, researching and promoting Marxism, Xi said.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education published a statement in May 2013 urging universities to enhance ideological work for young teachers as some young college teachers "are confused or vague about their political ideologies."