The policy proposals that the Chinese internet hates — online buzz about the Two Sessions
During this year's Two Sessions meetings, while many suggestions — such as improving laws protecting animals and legalizing egg freezing for single women — have received positive feedback from the public, some delegates dug themselves into unpopular positions by suggesting things that were greeted with wide criticism on the Chinese internet.
On May 28, China’s annual Two Sessions meetings came to their conclusion, marking the end of an unusual year for the country’s most important political event after a two-month delay caused by COVID-19.
In the past week, more than 5,000 delegates to the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Congress (NPC) convened in Beijing. They rubber-stamped policies that Xí Jìnpíng 习近平 and his seven-man Politburo Standing Committee had already approved, but they also discussed issues of importance to Chinese people and tabled proposals that could potentially influence future policies made by senior leaders.
While many suggestions — such as improving laws protecting animals and legalizing egg freezing for single women — have received positive feedback from the public, some delegates dug themselves into unpopular positions by suggesting things that were greeted with wide criticism on the Chinese internet.
Below are the proposals that have drawn the most disapproval:
Scrapping family planning policies in northeast China
In an effort to boost birth rates in northeast China, which have been consistently at the bottom (in Chinese) among all Chinese regions in the last few years, Chén Xiàngqún 陈向群, an NPC delegate from Liaoning, suggested ending all kinds of birth restrictions on households in northeast China.
China has been gradually relaxing its population control since the abolition of its decades-long one-child policy in 2015, but Chen’s proposal would make northeast China the first region to completely scrap all family planning rules in the country if passed.
However, Chen’s proposed solution to the declining birth rates was met with broadly unfavorable reactions from people, with many criticizing his suggestion for being simplistic and out of touch. According to them, relaxing regulations on family planning would be unlikely to have a real impact on people’s reproductive decisions due to a lack of effective measures supporting parents, such as lowering childcare costs and better maternity leave.
Canceling English translation services at government press conferences
In a bid to demonstrate China’s “cultural confidence” and increase “communication efficiency,” Yáng Wèiguó 阳卫国, an NPC delegate from Hunan Province, raised a proposal to end English translations at government press conferences and major events. In an interview (in Chinese) with People’s Daily Online, Yang said that the Chinese language “had a legal status in diplomatic events” because it’s one of the six official languages of the United Nations. “Chinese is the most spoken language in the world. As the saying goes: When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Foreign journalists should learn and speak Chinese if they want to attend events in China,” he explained.
Internet users were quick to slam Yang for making a “useless” proposal to stir up nationalistic sentiment among people. “There is a major misunderstanding between China and the rest of the world due to language barriers. Canceling foreign translation will only create more obstacles in communication!” a Weibo user wrote.
Reducing the importance of the English language as a school subject
When it comes to English, Táng Hǎilóng 唐海龙, an NPC delegate rom Beijing, embraced Yang’s line of thinking. In his proposal, Tang called for “a better protection of Chinese language” and “a reevaluation of the importance of English at schools.” In order to “highlight the advantages of Chinese as the country’s official language,” Tang also suggested increasing the Chinese portion of the national college entrance exam.
Unsurprisingly, Tang’s proposal faced a similar backlash on social media, with many people weighing in to lambaste Tang for being “narrow-minded” and “ignorant.” Some Cantonese speakers also pointed out that as China became increasingly aggressive in its initiative to push the use of Mandarin, their mother language was under serious threat. “Can the government stop forcing me to speak Mandarin? Cantonese needs some urgent protection,” a person from Guangdong wrote (in Chinese) on Weibo.
