Or propaganda machines uses outdate manual?
Liberated serfs making a bonfire of feudal sutras in the alternative universe exhibition in Beijing
Last week, members of the vile western foreign media were invited to visitthe “50th anniversary of the democratic reforms in Tibet” exhibition. Party officials and “Tibet experts” were promised so few reporters, myself included, ventured to the “Minority cultural palace” to enjoy the show.
Most journalists on site were actually Xinhua folks, trying to interview foreign journalists about how their attitude, historical understanding and whole lives were changed by the event. Guess from this Xinhua slideshow they couldn’t squeeze enough sympathetic quotes to run a news item. Oh well, they’ve had better luck this week, when diplomats were invited to visit the same exhibition. That event, if you believe Xinhua’s headline, which you should, “Dispelled foreign ambassador’s misconceptions about Tibet”. Not bad for a few wax figures.
My personal favourite, except the dancing serfs shown above, was a “Demonstration aimed at showing the vast gap between the living standards of the ruling elite in feudal Tibet and that of the common people”. Loved the scene because it looked almost exactly like the scene in my Hutong, which sports a combination of newly renovated Siheyuans and crumbling slums. I’m always trying to be optimistic about China so will assume the designer was being ironic.
Seriously though. They put it nicely at the “China Media Project“, with a lengthy analysis of media sources and the inevitable question: What’s the point??? Why putting so much effort into anachronistic propaganda slogans that only serve to alienate everyone, and is being at any rate ignored in foreign countries?
What I’d really want to know (but probably never will) is: does anyone up there actually think there is a point? I’d understand if they would have just ignored the world’s opinion, but this… really diminish the CCP’s reputation for competence, doesn’t it?
The only explanation I can think of is that this is all done exclusively to manage public opinion within China: Doesn’t matter what the Lao-wai jurnos say, just get some footage of them being lectured on Tibetan history, which is fine, but even then, there are better ways to do it, right? This cultural revolution era rhetoric isn’t even appealing to many Chinese anymore. Is it possible the Ministry of Truth is unaware of that?
Take the recent blocking of Youtube (bloody annoying btw, guess I will get that VPN after all): Allegedly the tube is blocked because of that beaten monks video but hey, why not allow it, then let the Fenqings take care of the rest. They’ll be all too haapy to rip it apart and prove to the whole world it’s fake* – or at least prove it to themselves, but They are the ones that matter anyway.
I will never understand China.
* I’m not expressing an opinion here on whether the video is fake or authentic. I’m just saying he fenqings will prove it fake either way.