There was a time when China was referred to as a society which was Communist or Post-Communist; today, the terms Authoritarian Capitalist or Capitalist with Asian/Chinese Characteristics are more common. However, there is a new term that appears to be increasingly applicable to the operation of the Chinese state and its impact on the lives of Chinese people and, above all, the education of Chinese youth born in the 1990s. It is increasingly clear that China is the most powerful, mature and internationally accepted fascist state in global history and its status as such should cause us all a great deal of concern.

[...] Paxton provides a useful definition of fascism as “a form of political behavior marked by obsessive preoccupation with community decline, humiliation, or victimhood and by compensatory cults of unity, energy and purity, in which a mass-based party of committed nationalist militants, working in uneasy but effective collaboration with traditional elites, abandons democratic liberties and pursues with redemptive violence and without ethical or legal restraints goals of internal cleansing and external expansion.”

As an educator trying to inculcate a sense of global citizenship in young Chinese, these characteristics are far too common in my encounters with the minds of Chinese youth. The most succinct example of such indoctrination came when one of my “International Education” students became angry about a discussion concerning global environmental degradation. Despite the fact that the documentary which framed our discussion focused on a wide range of global environmental issues and that it in fact made no reference to China, she insisted that I was shaming Chinese people by talking about the environment. She followed on to insist that since China had been humiliated by foreign powers with advanced weaponry, they had no choice but to develop as quickly as possible better weapons so that they could regain their dignity and territorial integrity. The rapidity with which a discussion of global environmental issues jumped to a rant on Chinese national humiliation is telling: As anyone who has spent time face to face with regular Chinese people is aware, one never knows exactly what will trigger such mental leaps.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: fascism, nationalism, universities
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The International Committee of the Red Cross said the abducted Chinese workers travelled on board one of its aircraft from South Kordofan, Sudan, to Nairobi, Kenya, where they were handed over to Chinese embassy officials.

“The ICRC assisted in this operation on humanitarian grounds, after all the parties concerned accepted its offer to serve as a neutral intermediary,” Christoph Luedi, the group’s head of delegation in Nairobi said in a statement. The Red Cross said it played no part in the negotiations that led to the release.

China expressed gratitude to Sudan, South Sudan and the Red Cross for their efforts, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement cited by Xinhua News Agency. It also said the workers were in sound physical condition and would rest in Nairobi before returning home.

An earlier report in the Washington Post looked at popular reaction to the kidnapping and to the Chinese government’s actions:

When China evacuated some 30,000 of its citizens from Libya early last year, official media fell into patriotic rapture.

[...] A year later, patriotic pride has turned to anger amid growing frustration over the fate of 29 Chinese nationals abducted by rebels in Sudan on Saturday. The Chinese, employees of a huge state-controlled engineering and construction company, Sinohydro, are being held by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, a ragtag militant outfit.

The drama in Sudan’s remote, oil-rich South Kordofan region — the latest in a string of attacks on Chinese working overseas — poses a delicate problem for the ruling Communist Party: how to manage the growing nationalism that it has done so much to promote. Party propaganda, pride at China’s recent achievements and a deep sense of grievance over China’s mistreatment at the hands of foreigners in the past have combined to stir demands for robust action.

“Nationalism is a double-edged sword,” said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University. Instead of accepting that China’s expanding economic presence abroad inevitably increases the risk of trouble, many people react with “exaggerated emotion” and increasingly “think that China must do something muscular” in response to a crisis. “This is the frustration of a rising power,” he added.

For more on this story see: “Workers In Sudan Not Yet Freed (Updated)” and “China Seeks Help on Kidnapped Workers” via CDT. Read more about China and Sudan.

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Post tags: hostages, nationalism, Sudan
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Looking back at China’s internet in 2011, there were three broad trends that deserve greater attention. The first trend was a general shift from emotionally-driven nationalist chatter as the defining tone of China’s internet toward a more basic attention to issues of public welfare. The second was the rise of what we can call the “social power of the internet” (网络社会力). And the third trend was a more pronounced deficit in understanding on the government’s part about the role it should play in a networked society. While it became readily apparent, that is, that we now have a networked civil society in China, it became clearer at the same time that we lack government administrators who are internet literate (网络化的治理者) ….

Clearly, the winds are changing. When you cannot find safe milk for your child to drink, when their school buses are hazardous, when you worry that you might be exposed to dangerous recycled cooking oils if you go out to a local restaurant, when the city where you live is choked with pollution and you have no idea what the actual PM2.5 measures for the most dangerous air particles are, the question that possesses you above all else is what direction Chinese society is heading. You care more about how the people of China can enjoy lives of peace and prosperity, and less about the murderous logic of the Boxer Rebellion. [NOTE: Hu is suggesting here that trends of extreme nationalism in China are marked with the same sort of anti-foreign violence seen during the Boxer Rebellion.]

(Reading the entire piece is strongly recommended.)

Underlying these trends was the continued rise of the microblog. The number of weibo users reportedly quadrupled last year to a quarter of a billion, almost half of China’s online population, from 63 million at the end of 2010. But this growth tailed off in the second half of the year, according to a report from the China Internet Network Information Center [zh, PDF]. From China Real Time Report:

… [N]early half of China’s total 513 million Internet users were using microblogs, CNNIC said. The total number of Internet users, defined by CNNIC as anyone who used the Internet in the last six months, was up from 457 million at the end of 2010.

But user growth for China’s microblog services has slowed, the report said. “The explosion in users occurred in the first half of the year, with the user growth rate slowing in the second half… showing that after reaching high levels, microblog usage rates have ended their explosive growth.”

The government agency’s findings don’t entirely match data from the country’s microblog operators, possibly due to differing methodology and definitions. Tencent said it had 310 million registered Tencent Weibo users at the end of September, marking fast growth from the more than 200 million users it said it had in June, and exceeding the total number of Weibo users in China reported by CNNIC.

Sina reported having 227 million registered accounts on Sina Weibo at the end of September, an increase of 21% from the previous quarter.

The CNNIC figures don’t entirely match others issued by the government, either: State Council Information Office chief Wang Chen stated in September that the number of microbloggers in China had already passed 300 million.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: civil society, CNNIC, Hu Yong, int, Internet growth, microblogging, nationalism, online population, sina, tencent
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The flagship website of China’s resurgent New Left movement was brought down by hackers yesterday, interrupting its ferocious campaign against critics of Chairman Mao Zedong.

“Our website has been attacked by the forces of darkness,” Fan Jinggang, the co-founder of Utopia (www.wyzxsx.com), told the Herald. “I believe it is related to our recent campaign against Mao Yushi and Xin Ziling. This is a struggle between patriots and traitors, not leftists and rightists.”

China’s “leftists” tend to want to limit the market, glorify the country’s socialist past and protect it from foreign influence, while liberals typically call for constraints on the state in the economy, democratic political reforms and “universal values” ….

Mr Fan claimed the Chinese government was on its side and had even pledged to send technicians to restore its website.

Others, however, speculated it was the government that had brought down the site down yesterday morning (and then partially restored it) out of fear that its cultural revolution-style campaign could spill onto the streets.

The site appeared in a recent Economist article on the furious response to Mao Yushi’s essay:

“The whole nation is waiting for the dawn, the dawn of a day when Mao Yu-Shit (sic) and other anti-Mao reactionaries who vilify Mao are annihilated,” one person commented on Utopia, a website which is leading the campaign to get Mr Mao indicted. Utopia accuses Mr Mao of subversion and libel. It says funding given to Unirule by the Ford Foundation, based in New York, is evidence of “collusion” with foreigners in his alleged crimes.

Mao’s essay itself is available with translation and explanation on China Media Project. See also CMP’s explanation of why the Left is up in arms, and a New York Times article on Mao’s still divisive legacy, via CDT.

Another far-left website, that of the “Progress Society”, gained some notoriety last year by appearing to advocate the hanging of Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo and other “slaves of the West”.

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Post tags: leftist, Mao Yushi, Mao Zedong, nationalism, rightist, websites
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According to Dr. Fang’s public resume, he taught and conducted research from 1984-1999 at the School of Computer and Electronic Engineering at the Harbin Institute of Technology. From 2000-2006, he served as the Director and Chief Engineer of the National Computer network Emergency Responses technical Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT), a.k.a. the Great Firewall. Since 2005, he has also been a Specially Hired Professor (“????”) at the National University of Defense Technology. Among many other titles held by Dr. Fang, he has been the Ministry of Public Security’s Specially Hired Expert on Information Security since 2007; a member of the Informationalization Expert Consulting Committee of the People’s Liberation Army General Logistics Department; and in 2001 he was awarded the title of “Outstanding Individual”, jointly given by the Chinese Communist Party Central Organizational Department, Chinese Communist Party Central Propaganda Department, Chinese Communist Party Political and Legal Committee, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Civil Affairs and Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. In December 2007, he was appointed President of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. [Translated by Don Weinland]

Good morning students!

Today, we welcome the celebrated annual graduate commencement. Of course, this is a very important occasion in all of your lives. This is a ceremony of unique distinction. Teachers, students and classmates regretfully bid each other farewell and the campus is full of sadness. This is a ceremony of solemn declaration. You, who are armed with knowledge, are about to step into society and each of you are yearning for a wonderful future!

Just now, your teachers and classmates who are still in school extended their blessings to you. And you also expressed your gratitude to the school. Now, allow me to represent the school in expressing a wholehearted congratulations to the nearly 400 doctoral students and 2,100 master’s degree student of the 2011 graduating class! A sincere thanks to each graduate instructor and faculty member for the blood and sweat of your fruition! And heartfelt gratitude to the parents and loved ones who supported you in your graduation. (Applause)

During your last lecture from the President before you leave school, I feel there is so much I need to say. I would like to compliment once again your outstanding performance at all previous major activities, especially your volunteerism during the months-long Beijing Olympics and Special Olympics. You won respect for your country and smiles for Beijing. For Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, you won esteem. And for yourself, you won confidence. I would also like to borrow this to list the memories you have left for your school. For example, Xia Lu and 14 other students at the Institute of Communications applied for 16 patents during their research. Guo Shaoyong, Yang Xinxing and 19 other students at the Institute of Web Research won awards at 21 national graduate math competitions. I would also like to exhort you to continue to establish high ideals and distant boundaries. Improve yourselves and rule your family and country in peace. Meld your own growth and talent with the progress of your country and the revitalization of your nationality. Realize life’s greater significance. (Applause)

But, at this very moment, what I most want to speak with you about is “patriotism.” The first is patriotism in your heart. That is, using your wisdom and talent to make the country stronger. The second is the sentiment of patriotism. Just as you love and protect your eyes, you must preserve the stability of society.

First I’ll speak of the patriotism in your heart. During the past couple months, a series of big events have happened in our world. I won’t mention the regime changes in Tunisia and Egypt. These are, after all, other people’s internal affairs. Nor will I mention Japan’s tsunami disaster. Our county has, after all, seen several natural disasters during the past few years. I would like to speak of Libya, a small country that has received the world’s attention. Libya’s opposition group started an anti-government movement with half-baked results. After the initial headache, Libya again fortified its governmental power and the great powers of the world finally showed their teeth. They dispatched a great amount of firepower and carried out a heartless attack against a small army whose commander-in-chief is nothing more than a colonel. (Discussion in the audience) Of course, establishing a no-fly zone was authorized by the United Nations. That is, no planes can enter that air space without U.N. authorization. But the militaries of America, France and Britain, who are responsible for the no-fly zone, don’t understand the concept like this. They take the U.N.’s authorization to bomb Libya’s armed forces and military instillations. Because raining bombs on the country is not authorized by the U.N., never again will I refer to them as U.N. troops. But, as of right now, based on the dispatch of planes, I will call them an eight-country coalition [1]. I can’t help but think of a hundred years ago when China was trampled by an eight-country coalition. In the past 10 years, a coalition of many countries, including America and Britain, have also brought lasting turmoil to Afghanistan and Iraq. They have the power to crush a country but haven’t demonstrated the sense of responsibility needed for restoration. (Discussion in the audience)

We all can see that Libya has already deteriorated into a state of civil war. Under the name of protecting citizens from harm, the eight-country coalition led by America, France and England has gone to attack another group, which has, on the contrary, allowed for unceasing war. Frighteningly enough, they will strike until the fall of a legitimate government. Or perhaps it will lead to Libya splitting into two countries, or long-term civil war. Ultimately, it will cause an even greater loss of life. This starts under the guise of protecting the common people and ends in the epitome of the commoner’s death during war. Isn’t that what the 78 days of constant bombing from the American and British coalition disintegrated into in the former Yugoslavia?

There are people online who say that in today’s world, the Western powers first stir the people of a foreign country to kill each other. Then they help this group to kill the other group and finally get rid of all those who don’t listen. No matter how you put it, this is the result we see: The Western powers’ logic is the world’s logic. The Western powers’ principles are the world’s principles. In the media, we can see Russia’s Premier Putin evaluate this war as such: “All of this exists under the guise of protecting peace and the common people. Where’s the logic? Where’s the conscience? Neither is there.” “Libya’s situation demonstrates that Russia’s decision to strengthen its military power is correct.” I completely commend this opinion. If a country doesn’t want to end up like Libya or Iraq, it must have great defense power. If a country is not strong, it will be bullied. We won’t dominate, but we cannot end up where someone can attack us however they like! (Extended applause and cheers) Strength requires real power. This power is concentrated and manifests itself in our level of science and technology. Thus, repaying your country should be the first priority of each and every one of you. I hope you want to possess the power of patriotism while also using your own power to lift your homeland’s dignity and prosperity! (Applause)

Now I’ll talk a bit about the sentiment of patriotism. Political chaos in North Africa and the Middle East has enticed the great expectations of anti-China forces. Hillary Clinton greatly emphasized exporting democracy to China. The American ambassador himself went to the spot where the online incitement asked people to gather (Applause, laughter). I’m afraid he was counting on seeing a scene like that in Tunisia. More than ever, democracy activists abroad are taking advantage of the Internet. They are inciting netizens to take up planned, step-by-step action and bring about political chaos in China, accomplishing their goal through the work of others. Now the question is, Who is it that wants turmoil in China after all? Who is it that wants China to sink into the mire of chaos?

China has already become the world’s second largest economic body. Is this not an accomplishment? For a long period of time, China has been the world’s fastest growing economy. At what rate are Western economies growing? Economist and professor Lin Yifu predicts that China’s economy will catch up with America’s by 2030. Doesn’t this signify the correctness of China’s policy? Who is it that hopes our economic engine will stop and fall into chaos? Could it be those countries that we have pursued or will pursue economically? Suppose two people engage in a martial arts competition. If one imitates completely the other’s movements, how can one overcome the other? This is the fundamental reason why it is difficult for China to overcome Western Countries in the fields of science and technology. Because our research is always trailing one step behind countries with highly developed science and technology, we lack strategic innovation and industry-leading momentum. For these reasons, amidst this kind of mutual confrontation, the weaker party can only overcome its opponent by utilizing tactics different from its opponent. China’s economy has already proven that the Chinese system is successful and is good for economic development. By what standards must we adopt the Western Model? (Applause)

A bit more on democracy activists abroad. They sit comfortably at home, thinking only of how, through their fingertips on a keyboard, they can bring chaos to China by taking advantage of the Internet’s effectiveness as a multiplier. This is the same as a denial of service attack during an online attack, which is dependent on the web’s multiplier effect to strike its target. (Discussion in the audience) To what effect are they trying to incite the people to assemble? Are they really demanding benefit for the individual? Apparently not, because everyone’s situation is different. I support demands for personal interest. This is why I have opened my mailbox to the public. I welcome teachers and students to respond directly to their problems. Because if you have a problem, you should search for a solution. At the very least, I can tell you why a problem can’t be solved. But what common language is shared by a gathering of people with different demands? The only commonality is the evolution of demands for personal interests into the demand for political interests. Will this solve the problem for the demand for personal interests? In the end, haven’t they become the tool of these career politicians abroad? Isn’t it that they are looking to enjoy life abroad, turning the masses into their puppets and then reaping the benefits? Couldn’t they come home and help rule the country, making the Chinese economy even better? In fact, Western hostility toward China is far from being a mere ideological problem. It is a problem caused by China’s ever-increasing status on the world stage. Russia adopted the Western Model and aren’t they looked upon as enemies all the same?

A country’s political system is like a tall building. Just because a faucet has been fixed improperly, must we tear the whole building down? You should know that the cost of tearing down a building and erecting another is far more costly and tragic. (Discussion in the audience) Libya is demonstrating such a conclusion for us right now. Already 300,000 people have fled this country. Since we must continue living in this building, by no means can we allow anyone to do it damage. Thus, patriotism is protecting the home we rely on for survival. It’s resisting any attempt of those who stir rumor and confusion to bring chaos to Chinese society. The salt rush has already enlightened us in this sense: If everyone can resist those rumors and incitement and see the sinister and conspiring face beyond the confusion, only then can society preserve stability. Thus, the real sentiment of patriotism is the same as protecting your own eyes. It’s preserving the stability of society. (Applause)

Students, no matter where you go after today, no matter where you work, you all must adhere as you always have to the lessons of great virtue, learning, dedication and gregariousness. You must promote the school spirit of unity, diligence, preciseness and creativity. Every achievement you make is the greatest support and reward to your homeland and your alma mater! From the bottom of my heart, I hope every student forever bears patriotism in their hearts and forever expresses the sentiment of patriotism. Be healthy and happy. May your future be full of promise and may you go far in this world! Thank you! (Extended applause)
[1] America, France, Britain, Canada, Norway, Belgium, Qatar, U.A.E. [This is from original post on the BUPT's site. Historically, "The Eight Power Coalition" also refers to the international coalition responding to the Boxer Uprising (1900). ]

Read more about Fang Binxing via CDT, including an interview in Global Times and a report of how he was shouted off Sina Microblog by netizens angered by his role in creating the Great Firewall.

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Post tags: Fang Binxing, Great Firewall, nationalism, patriotism
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Exiled political commentator Hu Ping wrote his take on the incident (translated by CDT):

The White House has denied that there was any problem with Lang Lang’s performance at the State Dinner. However, when we reach the point that the White House has to deny that there is a problem with something, this indicates that there already is a problem. This incident has without a doubt already had a negative impact, but there is a discrepancy between the real impact and people’s estimates. I think the key to this incident is not Lang Lang but the China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. What we must closely examine are the responsible officials in the Ministry.

There are only three possibilities:

1. Before the performance, the officials had no idea what song Lang Lang was going to play.

According to the principle of the CCP that “there is no small matter in foreign relations,” this would accordingly constitute an oversight. But drawing a conclusion from the typical pattern, the possibility that officials did not know the song is pretty small. For such a sensitive occasion, they must have carefully scrutinized and arranged all details. Moreover prior to the state dinner Lang Lang gave an interview on Phoenix Television, in which he clearly stated that he would perform “My Motherland” (Wo de zuguo). How could officials at the Foreign Affairs Ministry not know?

2. Even though they did know, they didn’t pay it much mind, and didn’t consider the problems with the song’s background.

However, the problem is that though perhaps Lang Lang was truly ignorant, could officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs truly be that ignorant? With that level of ignorance how could they fulfill their responsibilities? They would be completely derelict in their duties.

3. Officials at the Foreign Affairs Bureau knew everything, knew that Lang Lang would perform “My Motherland,” and completely understood the background of this song. What would this mean? It goes without saying.

There are only these three possibilities. I would invite them to choose one of them.

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Hu U.S. visit 2011, Lang Lang, nationalism
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In our interview he didn’t seem to care whether his missiles were aimed at me personally or my profession, my country or the wider Western world. Australia was too insignificant to lecture China: ”You are driving a cart and we are driving a truck.” Ditto for Japan, given its entire stock of highways was no greater than China could build in a single year. And the New York Times was ”full of lies”.

On the subject of lies, I mentioned that his paper had egregiously misrepresented some of my own stories written in the Herald. He reassured me of his great personal commitment to truth and to pushing the boundaries of free speech. Earlier he had told me that Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel peace prize winner, deserved to be in prison for being ”a liar” who advocated ”Australian-style” democracy.

Now, after a fortnight of WikiLeaks, which reveal that the former prime minister Kevin Rudd was privately talking of containing China while saying the opposite in public, Australian diplomats are glancing nervously at the Global Times for advance warning on how the leadership might react. But Hu’s response to the Rudd revelations seemed more in pity than anger.

Rudd might dream about beating down China, said Hu, but China was not Iraq. ”The reality overwhelms hysterical ideas – can you block your own iron ore ships to China?” he said. ”You feel you are not powerful enough when competing with China in the economy and other fields, right? I am sorry about this.”

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2010. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Australia, Global Times, journalists, nationalism
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Tan Changliu, chairman of the committee, made every attempt to steer the conversation away from that subject. In a page seemingly taken from the Harry Potter books, he tried to avoid referring to Mr. Liu by name, instead calling him the man “with the three-character name.”

Mr. Tan said the prize was meant to give “a Chinese perspective on peace.” When pressed on its relation to the Norwegian prize, he said that China had had a longer history with peace. He added, “Did the Nobel Peace Prize influence Confucius, or did Confucius influence the Nobel Peace Prize?”

The panel distributed a booklet that opened with a paragraph saying the 1.3-billion-strong nation of China “should have a greater voice on the issue of world peace” and that “Norway is only a small country with scarce land area and population.”

[...] Worn down by so many questions, Zhao Zhenjiang, one of the judges, went on a tirade against the United States and wondered aloud why Barack Obama had won the Nobel Peace Prize last year when he is staging military exercises with South Korea in the Yellow Sea.

See also, “What if they gave a Confucius Peace Prize and nobody came?” from Useless Tree, which points us to these two videos:

A parody created by Next Media Animation:

And a report from Al Jazeera’s Melissa Chan:

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Post tags: Confucius, Liu Xiaobo, nationalism, Nobel Peace Prize, peace
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Rights advocates said Ms. Cheng’s sentence — which may be the first involving a microblog user — highlights the government’s anxiety over social networking services such as Twitter and Facebook, which is also blocked here.

Ms. Cheng, in some ways, personified that fear.

Renee Xia, the international director of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, said Ms. Cheng was part of a group of daring freelance advocates known as “weiguan” who travel across the country to show up at courthouses where dissidents are on trial.

Sometimes, when a friend has disappeared into police custody, the weiguan will post to Twitter personal details about the officials involved in the detention. In rare cases, the resulting deluge of phone calls has led to the speedy release of a detainee.

“There is a growing group of people like her, netizens who are moving from cyberspace to the real world,” Ms. Xia said. “Putting her into a labor camp shows that the government is prepared to come down hard on these people.

See another report on this story from the BBC.

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Post tags: activists, nationalism, online activism, Twitter
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For many Chinese, our “national image” is something sacred. But once sanctified, a concept hardens and become abstract. People start believing it can be created independent of all other factors, and they ignore larger social and political issues. So what if there are problems with China’s legal environment and its financial system? So what if authors are persecuted for their writing, citizens set fire to themselves to protest at the forced destruction of their homes, or rights petitioners are tossed into extralegal “black jails” simply for seeking justice? None of these things represent our national image. We suppose we can simply manufacture a “national image” independent of these facts, burying our heads in the sand and saying, “Look over here, everyone. This is the image approved by our government.”

It’s fine to film nice things and share them with people. You can film beautiful scenery to promote tourism. You can film life in the city and give people a taste of local culture. But these films convey only what you’ve chosen to film. They can’t possibly be representative.

The producer of the State Council publicity spots, Zhu Youguang, said recently that while “not every country has ‘national image publicity films’, all countries promote themselves in different ways”. The United States does not produce publicity films to promote its image, Zhu said, but this was simply because all of America’s feature films, animations and musical productions promoted its national image. It’s true that the so-called “American spirit” is constantly being promoted through popular culture. But Zhu has confused “image” and “concept”. American films are not produced with funding from the US government, and they are not in the business of manufacturing an American image. What they do is express ideas and concepts, which are intellectual and cultural aspirations. An image, by contrast, is something preconceived, a foregone conclusion.

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Post tags: Chang Ping, China's image, nationalism, propaganda
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