A morals campaign in China

As China rapidly gains a greater share of the world's attention and wealth, its leaders have begun a quiet campaign that blends traditional Chinese and patriotic communist messages to ensure the country doesn't lose its soul.

Described as an "ideological morals" campaign, and given strong backing by President Hu Jintao, the deeply conservative initiative counters TV violence, unpatriotic school texts, the "corroding influence" of the Internet, and public figures that don't dress or dye their hair properly. It even advocates a renewed learning of revolutionary communist songs.

More than a decade ago China unleashed a spirit of commercialism with the motto "to get rich is good." Now experts say the Communist Party is seeking to curb the excesses of a newly individualistic mercantile spirit - including greed and corruption - by appealing to shared values of patriotism, and clean, healthy living.

"The traditional communist ideology is being weakened by globalized values and economy, and the Chinese government is taking a leading role in trying to revive the Chinese nation," says Li Xiguang, journalism professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing. "Hu Jintao and a set of intellectuals are taking the lead in this."

Every week seems to bring a new phase: Some 80 million Chinese Internet users this week were urged to report suspicious or unusual cyberspace activity to authorities. Chinese "netizens" can now help blacklist websites with content including religious cult activity, violence, porn, or politically sensitive subjects - by informing through a special website. Informers will have their safety and privacy ensured, according to the People's Daily.

Last week brought a ban on new Internet cafes. An age requirement of 18 was imposed on visitors to currently open cafes, which are often portrayed as dens of iniquity by state media.Dance clubs located near schools are being targeted for closing. Authorities are pressuring shops that allow photocopies of "rebellious" or "incorrect" materials. Censors are replacing evening TV programming that contains violence - including many Western programs - with Chinese family dramas. Cartoons must be family oriented.

Even rumors in late May about a visit by pop star Britney Spears became an opportunity for sending a message: If she comes to China, any revealing outfits used on stage would need official approval. No bare midriffs.

Patriotic moral campaigns have a long history in China, and some experts feel that the current one won't succeed. The early 1980s, for example, brought an initiative against "spiritual pollution" - designed to combat foreign influences and keep the body politic pure and stable, they say. But it was swept aside by China's accession to world markets, and today it is largely forgotten.

Yet unlike previous heroic patriotic campaigns that overloaded even China's ample propaganda machinery, current purification efforts seem more discreet. Party cadres and intellectuals around Mr. Hu are overseeing a series of small but numerous programs aimed broadly at the public, but especially at youth. The cause: high-level concerns over the social effect of avaricious commercialism, and new trends showing greater violence and lack of discipline among youth under 20.

In random interviews on the street, few Chinese knew ofthe morals campaign. "Most kids today know more about pop stars than about Chinese history," says one couple, new parents who work in an office complex. "We agree that Internet cafes are bad, but we think the Internet itself is a good technology."

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