Commentary: Why does the "Generation Z" who are struggling to suffer from themselves innovate theories

Jinhua, May 5 (Reporter Zhang Bin) "We initially considered going to Shanghai or Hangzhou, but we heard that Zhejiang is taking the 30th anniversary of the implementation of the 'Eighth Strategy' as an opportunity to go into the county to innovate and carry out squatting propaganda, which is very consistent with our purpose, so we decided to organize everyone to study." Although the time is longer, the distance is longer, and the itinerary is more 'special forces', but the gain is more. Recalling the experience of squatting in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province not long ago, Gao Chang, a 00 doctoral student in the Department of Chemical Engineering of Tsinghua University who is a "post-2022s", told Chinanews.com.

At Dongyang Hengdian, the instructors and members of the propaganda team take a group photo with the Hengdian actors (third from right). Photo courtesy of Dongyang Rong Media Center

At the beginning of April this year, dozens of students from Zhejiang University and representatives of the "Upward Youth" from Pan'an, a mountainous county in Zhejiang, came to the local area to carry out the "4 Strategy" - "Qingma Upward" study camp activities around them through the "sparrow anatomy" research in a township. Attracted by this, in mid-May, Gao Chang and more than 5 other members of the doctoral lecturer group of Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University and other scientific research institutions, as well as more than 50 young people from party and government organs, enterprises and institutions in Jinhua City and county, came to the three top <> counties under the jurisdiction of the city: Yiwu City, Dongyang City, Yongkang City, to carry out squatting propaganda activities.

Most of the participants in the above-mentioned squatting propaganda activities are "Generation Z" like Gao Chang - why do they innovate theoretical preaching?

As everyone knows, the purpose of the party's theoretical propaganda is very clear, that is, to unify thinking and build consensus. Unfortunately, some localities and departments have fallen into the "strange circle" of formalism when carrying out propaganda. Especially at the grassroots level, confined to busy daily affairs, preaching has become a "task to be completed", but it has formed a "burden" for those who speak and listen.

"Zhejiang Propaganda" previously published an article that under the background of the whole party's in-depth thematic education and Daxing investigation and research, exploring and promoting squatting propaganda is a "revolution" in propaganda work. The article said: "We not only urgently need to find a way to solve difficult problems through investigation and research, but also need to unify thinking and build consensus through theoretical propaganda." From 'stressing theory through achievements' to 'stressing methods through problems', squatting propaganda pays more attention to using the world outlook and methodology in the party's innovative theory to solve practical problems. ”

According to the observation of the reporter of China News Network, the squatting propaganda highlights the characteristics of "reality, truth, and integration", and tries to break the trap of "performance-style propaganda" and "false big empty propaganda".

The so-called "real" lies in the tight itinerary and solid content.

Considering that most of the members of the group are young people with physical strength, the squatting propaganda deliberately enriches the itinerary, "works hard", and does in-depth work in the form and content of the activities.

In the squatting propaganda of Yiwu, the world's largest small commodity distribution center, Dongyang Hengdian, Asia's largest film and television base, and Yongkang, China's hardware capital, the members of the group entered the market, set, factory, campus, community, and neighborhood with questions, debated, gave lectures, and cut videos... After the journey from morning to night, the average number of steps of the group members was already 10,000 or 20,000, but they still had to prepare the next day's results report under the guidance of the instructor, and many people were busy until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. Some members of the regiment bluntly said when reporting that this activity can be called "special forces-style propaganda".

Members of the propaganda team took a group photo in Yongkang City. Photo by Lv Yuning

"It was already early in the morning when our group was preparing the results report. At that time, the neighborhood near the hotel was still brightly lit and crowded. "When receiving more than 3800,<> crews in Hengdian Town, Dongyang City, Gao Chang personally felt the vitality and prosperity brought to China's towns by the development of characteristic industries. During the meeting, the members of the group met Yu Jian, an actor who has been working hard in Hengdian for seven years and is also a "Generation Z", and learned about the challenges and opportunities faced by an ordinary person in the Hengdian film and television culture industry chain through his experience. "Caring about Hengdian film and television cultural industry is concerned about human development. This is precisely the people's nature that the 'Eight-Eighth Strategy' focuses on, emphasizing people-oriented. Xin Hao, a mentor of the Dongyang Group and an advanced individual in the national grassroots theoretical propaganda, said.

The so-called "truth" lies in the truth of the problem and the truth of the feeling.

Crouching propaganda avoids simply creating a "great good" "scene", but returns to the essence of theoretical propaganda, and faces real achievements and problems through grassroots cadres and people.

"When we collected questions from the squatting places in the early stage, everyone was more 'stunned' and asked if they could 'talk more about the achievements'. Because most of the previous preaching only talked about 'good', but the squatting preaching was problem-oriented, and the real problem was solved with the help of preaching. A cadre from the Theory Department of the Propaganda Department of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee said.

For example, in Pan'an, the organizers not only introduced the excellent traditional culture at the grassroots level, but also explained "How to rely on party building to guide villages with weak party organizations to resolve conflicts and disputes?" and other questions are thrown out, showing the "AB side" of local society, promoting participants to communicate with grassroots cadres and people and think deeply, so as to generate real feelings. "Only through dealing with grassroots cadres and people can we truly understand the concept of 'people-centered' and understand the complex social relations made up of people." Bao Dawei, deputy secretary of the Youth League Committee, researcher and doctoral supervisor of Zhejiang University, who participated in the activity, commented.

In Yiwu, in addition to learning about the foreign trade situation and countermeasures from merchants, the delegation members also walked into the Jimingshan community, which is adjacent to Yiwu International Trade City and attracts thousands of foreigners to live, and held group discussions and exchanges with resident representatives and Chinese and foreign businessmen. "Many foreign friends told me that they have regarded Yiwu as their 'second hometown', and Chinese and foreign residents in the Jimingshan community have long carried the concept of 'building a community with a shared future for mankind' into their lives." Zhang Jiahui, a young horse student of Zhejiang University and a 2021 master's student at the School of Media and International Culture, said.

The so-called "integration" lies in the integration of people's hearts and results.

Through the "both true and real" squatting lecture, members of different backgrounds and professions went from strangers to acquaintances, and they also combined their own knowledge with social reality to produce a wonderful "integration effect".

In the process of Yiwu, Dongyang and Yongkang's squatting propaganda, members from scientific research institutions such as Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University, as well as party and government organs, enterprises and institutions in Jinhua City and County, were disrupted and divided into three groups, cooperating and inspiring each other in the squatting point, debate, reporting and other links. "I rushed to work with everyone and regained the feeling of doing my graduation project two years ago." After the event, Zhang Bowen, a young cadre of the Propaganda Department of the Pan'an County Party Committee, sent a message on WeChat. Xu Chenji, a member of the "Wujiang Chaosheng" standard-bearer propaganda group from Yongkang, admitted that the members of the non-local group "see the problem more thoroughly" when they squat. "Many foreign team members were surprised when they saw our rich hardware products - it turned out that China's high-quality hardware products have been integrated into their lives. Therefore, we also proposed in our report that the next step should be to let more people outside the industry understand the Yongkang 'Hardware Capital' brand and increase publicity. ”

Chen Yuxin, a young cadre of the Propaganda Department of the Jinhua Municipal Party Committee, said that the squatting propaganda hopes to give full play to the professional advantages of young people, especially students from first-class universities such as Tsinghua University and Zhejiang University, so that their theoretical advantages can be combined with the actual "source living water" at the grassroots level to solve practical problems. "Young people should squat in different 'fields' and have a deeper understanding based on the livelihood of the grassroots people and the situation of the people around them." Liang Long, winner of the special prize of the Zhejiang Province "Common Prosperity Youth Talk" Propaganda Challenge, said.

In fact, there are similarities and differences with some young people's "special forces tourism", some of the members are studying at school or just joining the work, and they are trying to balance their studies, work and life. As far as they are concerned, they chose to take the initiative to participate in this "special forces-style propaganda" instead of "finding hardships for themselves", precisely in the hope of understanding the details behind the grand word "China" in the critical period of "fastening the first button of life", so as to better tell and use the party's innovative theory.

"Familiarity is not necessarily true knowledge, true knowledge needs to be done in real work, and true work needs to be done in truth." Bao Dawei said that young people should develop with the pace of the times and the country, and only by going through the different links of "from big city to small city", "from city to village" and "from classroom to society and back to the classroom" can we understand the extent of China's development and build the "laboratory" on the needs of the people and the market. (End)