China is using a new propaganda app to promote President Xi Jinping’s ideology among schoolchildren.
Pupils as young as six must read articles praising their leader regularly on the app and discuss how they benefit from them with each other.
The news comes after a similar app, which is aimed at adults and billed as President Xi’s digital ‘Little Red Book’, became the most downloaded smartphone software in the country and started a ‘Xi cult’.
Pupils across China must now use a new propaganda app to study their President Xi Jinping’s ideology. Children are pictured saluting the national flag at a remote village school in Sichuan
The Communist app (screen shots above) was released as part of a year-long, nation-wide campaign to urge pupils across China to read patriotic articles. With the theme ‘study new thoughts, be good successors’, the campaign was launched by the Ministry of Education
The latest Communist app, called ‘Shao Nian’ (少年) or ‘Juveniles’, was released as part of a year-long, nation-wide educational campaign to urge pupils across China to read patriotic articles.
It has been dubbed the junior version of President Xi’s digital ‘Little Red Book’ by media.
With the theme ‘study new thoughts, be good successors’, the campaign was launched by the country’s Ministry of Education in January and will last until December.
The Ministry says in a statement that the campaign can ‘firmly establish the idea and belief of following the party forever among schoolchildren’ and inspire them to shoulder the responsibility of being ‘qualified builders and reliable successors to Socialism’.
The news comes after a similar app, which is aimed at adults and billed as President Xi’s digital ‘Little Red Book’, became the most downloaded smartphone software in the country and started a ‘Xi cult’. The Chinese President is pictured in France on March 26 during a state visit
A website (above) has also been rolled out to match the content of the smartphone app
The app, together with a corresponding website, was rolled out by Chinese state-run newspaper People’s Daily in February.
It will contain 30 articles for pupils from the first to the third grade, 45 articles for pupils from the fourth to the sixth grade, 60 articles for pupils in middle school, and 60 article for those in high school, according to the Ministry.
Articles for primary school students will be updated at least once a week while teenagers will be able to read up to three new articles a week.
Schools are ordered to treat the reading of the app as part of their ethical education curriculum to ensure the children are ‘awoken’ by the study sessions, says the authority.
Earlier this year, a Communist software called ‘Xuexi Qiangguo’ or ‘Study (Xi) Strong Country’ became the most used app in China, beating hugely popular rivals such as messaging app WeChat and video app Douyin.
Its name is a witty wordplay as President Xi’s family name can also mean ‘study’ in Chinese.
China’s ruling Communist Party, which has approximately 90 million members, has reportedly required all of its members to download the ‘Xuexi Qiangguo’ app and use it on a daily basis
The app topped the download chart for free apps for both iOS and Android systems after being released by China’s central propaganda department on January 1.
It is reported that China’s ruling Communist Party, which has approximately 90 million members, has required all of its members to download the app and use it on a daily basis.
Apparently, many private companies also require their employees to study it every day. Workers must submit daily screenshots to document their progress or face having their wages deducted, according to New York Times.
The Communist app has been billed as the modern-day equivalent to the ‘Little Red Book’, a pocket-sized booklet with Chairman Mao’s philosophy and a must-have item for Chinese people in the 1960s and 1970s.
The ‘Xuexi’ app has been billed as the modern-day equivalent to the ‘Little Red Book’ (right), a booklet with Chairman Mao’s (left) philosophy and a must-have item in China in the 1970s
It is estimated that more than one billion copies of Chairman Mao’s ‘Little Red Book’ were circulated during China’s Cultural Revolution, making it the second-most printed book in the world after the Bible.
Xi Jinping has been widely considered as China’s most powerful leader since the nation’s founding father Chairman Mao who ruled from 1949 to 1976.
Xi could potentially rule China for life after Chinese lawmakers in March last year abolished presidential term limits that had been in place for more than 35 years.
His ideology, formally known as Xi Jinping Thought, was also incorporated into China’s Constitution to further solidify his power.
Last year, Xi was named by Forbes as the most powerful person on Earth, ending Putin’s four-year reign at the top and pushing Trump down to the third.