Last month President Xi Jinping praised a young blogger, Zhou Xiaoping, who is best known for his articles condemning America. In the New York Times, Edward Wong looks at the phenomenon of Zhou Xiaoping as part of a broader message put forward by the Party to vilify foreigners, even as China’s political and economic power is rising globally:
In one widely circulated essay published by the state news outlets titled “Nine Knockout Blows in America’s Cold War Against China,” the blogger, Zhou Xiaoping, Argued that American Culture was “eroding the moral foundation and self-confidence of the Chinese people.” He compared unfavorable American news coverage of China to Hitler’s treatment of the Jews. In another essay, he said that the west had “slaughtered and robbed” China and other civilizations since the 17th century, and was now “brainwashing” it.
[…] His embrace of Mr. Zhou, who has been hailed by propaganda officials but widely mocked by scholars here, is just the latest sign of rising anti-Western sentiment, bordering on xenophobia, that has emanated from the highest levels of the communist party and sent a chill through Chinese civil society and academia.
[…] But unlike earlier campaigns targeting the West, the current wave of nationalism comes as China is ascendant. Mr. Xi presides over a country that is on the verge of overtaking the United States as the world’s largest economy and that enjoys influence around the world, especially in Asia, where it has sought to expand its territorial footprint. [Source]
See also, “China targets ‘hostile foreign forces’ in crescendo of accusations” from the Christian Science Monitor. The mainland and Hong Kong governments accused “hostile foreign forces” of being behind the Hong Kong protest movement. Read more on Zhou Xiaoping via CDT.
