Editorial: Blindfolded political dance; foreign propaganda-monologue | Apple Daily Hong Kong
On May 31, the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party conducted its 30th group study session on strengthening China’s communication capacity with the world. In his remarks, Xi Jinping stressed greater efforts to “better construct China’s stories and tell China’s discourse and narratives”, and extensive promotion of a more “reliable, admirable and respectable” image.
“Reliable, admirable and respectable”? Such unrealistic demands. Is a country that shredded the Sino-British Joint Declaration reliable? Is a country that adopts wolf warrior diplomacy admirable? Is a country that shirked responsibility and blamed others for the pandemic respectable?
The Politburo study session invited Fudan University professor Zhang Weiwei to deliver a presentation. Contributing no new, earth-shattering ideas, Zhang simply reiterated the CCP’s cliché propaganda slogans like a broken record: get a grip on a tone that is both open, confident, yet remaining humble, to create a reliable, admirable, and respectable Chinese image; oppose unilateralism and hegemony; make better use of high-level experts, international forums and meetings, as well as major foreign media platforms and stages to speak out; expand the friendship circle in the international community; and so on and so forth.
Does this prescription issued by Zhang Weiwei enough to cure the death of the current foreign propaganda? Singing such cliché and same old boring tunes, all senior officials of the CCP Politburo still have to learn humbly from Zhang Weiwei. This further proves that the CCP’s propaganda machine is walking into a dead end.
Zhang Weiwei is regarded as an international relations expert who has been rather active in the mainland current affairs forums. His most famous quote was “we’re lucky that our Chinese leaders went through the chaos of Cultural Revolution, and therefore we know how to handle hooligans,” which is nothing other than a shameless attempt to kiss the bottom of the members of the Politburo. Turned out that the Cultural Revolution left behind this political legacy – if we use the Red Guards against the U.S., would the U.S. end up flat on its back on the floor?
On April 4 this year, Zhang Weiwei appeared on Dragon TV to speak about China-U.S.-E.U. triangular relationship. Other than expressing his full confidence in the Sino-E.U. investment deal, he asserted that “the U.S. does not unite, the E.U. doesn’t obey, China doesn’t buy it,” and even prodded that it would be hard for the U.S. to call on another anti-China team of allies.
At that time, both parties in the U.S. Congress had absolute consensus over their stance toward the CCP, and passed a lot of the bills involving Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan with great majorities. How is the U.S. “not united”? At that time, the E.U. and NATO countries had already changed their stance on China, and expressed a clear stance on issues involving Xinjiang, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, not to mention the increasing calls to oppose the Sino-E.U. investment deals. How is the E.U. “not obedient”? As an international relations expert, he intentionally twisted the truths simply to flatter the CCP higher-ups shamelessly and lied irresponsibly to his fellow Chinese people.
The CCP Politburo is seeking advice from this “spin doctor” in the name of Zhang Weiwei, is it not exposing its shortcomings to the fullest?
The whole world knows that the CCP’s foreign propaganda machine has endured an unprecedented crash. Only until recently, the reason the CCP propaganda machine was able to perform so seamlessly well was thanks to the freedom of speech in the larger context of these democratic countries, as well as the careless and tolerant attitude these countries had toward the CCP’s infiltration. However, Trump wouldn’t play this game when he took office. The CCP propaganda agencies were ordered to register as foreign agents and under the supervision of the government; the CCP’s Confucius Institutes closed down one after another due to pressure; the foreign media bought up by the CCP also turned on it after the CCP’s authoritarian nature was totally exposed. Former U.S. Secretary of State, Pompeo, said to hold China accountable “not on the basis of what Chinese leaders say, but how they behave.” This was basically the start of the disintegration of the propaganda.
A little public relations for one’s own country was not a problem, but the problem was that it had turned public relations into cultural aggression and political infiltration. It had tried to alter the public opinion ecology and political infrastructure in other countries, and only to be met with sanctions and countermeasures. What the CCP should reflect on is the wrong intention and tactics in its past propagandas. More importantly, a straight foot is never afraid of a crooked shoe. Only coupled with good behaviors would the packaging of propaganda work; all evil-doings cannot turn black into white or evil into good.
CCP’s large-scale expansion in recent years to promote the Chinese authoritarian model, its genocide in Xinjiang, its shredding of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in Hong Kong, and its military intimidation in Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea are all disregards for universal values. Through wolf warrior diplomacy, it walked all over other countries rampantly. How are such behaviors to be easily smoothed over through mere propaganda?
When such propaganda finds itself in a corner, it is not to be rescued with bigger propaganda. If the CCP would give up its external expansion, let go of its wolf warrior diplomacy, it could perhaps partially restore its national image. However, the longer the CCP refuses to forgo authoritarian governance, the longer it insists on making universal values its enemy, there is no way the CCP could whitewash the notoriety of an autocrat and traitor to the people. No matter how deliberate it is with its propaganda efforts, it will remain nothing more than a soliloquy with little desired results.
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