THE airing of a new TV drama about late leader Deng Xiaoping reflects growing tolerance toward artistic portrayal of sensitive political issues and figures in China, according to director Wu Ziniu. 

Deng Xiaoping at History’s Crossroads, a 48-episode prime-time TV series, depicts controversial politicians including Hua Guofeng and Hu Yaobang, and deals with rarely touched-on topics such as the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) and the Gang of Four. 

During an exclusive interview with Xinhua, Wu, who has been directing TV dramas and films for almost 30 years, said he has been witnessing an increasing freedom of expression on the screen. 

Wu said: “Back in 1986, I made a film with a part referring to the Cultural Revolution, but that was later cut for being ‘too sensitive’,” he said. 

“In 1991 I intended to make another film involving the subject but the script was not approved by the authorities.” 

A scene in the first episode depicts the dramatic arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976, following the death of Chairman Mao Zedong and marking the return to power of Deng Xiaoping.   

Restaurants in China are sparking a craze for robot workers. 

At a noodle restaurant in Xiamen in east China’s Fujian Province, a robot chef repeatedly shaves dough into a boiling wok with efficiency and precision. A human simply wouldn't be able to keep up.

The robot shaver, capable of making four bowls of noodles a minute, is also inexpensive. “A human shaver costs me at least 2,000 yuan (about £195) a month but the robot, working 10 hours a day, only costs 3kWh of power,” said Zheng Guozhao, owner of the restaurant.

“In a year, the money saved from hiring cooks will be enough to buy two more robots,” he said, which is a telling comment on the labour situation in China, which used to have an abundance of low-paid workers.

China’s top legislature is mulling a Bill to make it easier for citizens to take the government to court. 

If the standing committee of the National People’s Congress passes a draft amendment to the Administrative Procedure Law, actionable cases will no longer be confined to “specific administrative acts.” 

As the law stands, citizens, companies and other organisations may file suits against “specific administrative acts” by agencies or personnel which they believe to have infringed their rights. 

The amendment removes the word “specific,” which in practice sometimes becomes an excuse for courts to throw out cases. Currently, courts can only revoke an administrative act when it is deemed illegal. The draft allows protests against acts that are “evidently unreasonable.” 

The draft also compels defendants — representatives of the administrations concerned — to personally appear before the court. 

At present, some defendants simply ask their lawyers to represent them in court, which often does little to help settle the dispute. 

In practice, these stipulations have resulted in reluctance to change controversial decisions and thereby avoid being dragged into troublesome legal wrangling, rendering the administrative review system ineffective in some cases, China Daily said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has kicked off a campaign to revive the “mass line” among the 85 million members of the Communist Party of China (CPC). According to the People’s Daily, the CPC’s flagship publication, cutting itself off from the masses is the biggest threat to the ruling party.

The “mass line” is defined as “from the people, to the people.” In other words, when things go wrong the party should go and ask the people what they think should be done. An example of the “mass line” in action was the Xiaogang movement, which led to the dismantling of the communes in the late 1970s. Amid the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, the villagers of Xiaogang spontaneously formed the first “household responsibility” teams, which the CPC then adopted to replace the communes and revive agriculture. 

An upcoming “mass line” education campaign, including a crackdown on undesirable work styles, will bring the party closer to the people, a People’s Daily editorial said.