Comic capers amid Beijing’s state propaganda push
Communist Party boss Xi tightens his grip with Patriotic Education Law and national security crackdown
China is being smothered under a blanket of nationalism and jingoistic patriotic fervor for the ruling Communist Party.
In a move to “enhance unity,” General Secretary Xi Jinping has personally overseen the rollout of the new Patriotic Education Law. It will target every aspect of Chinese society, including kindergartens.
The legislation is closely linked to state security and warns of the dangers of “subversive forces.”
“On Sunday, the Ministry of National Security unveiled its first comic series, which [has been] adapted from real cases of counter-espionage operations,” state-run Global Times reported.
“It is particularly appealing to [teenagers] and can better improve public awareness of the importance of national security,” the tabloid newspaper said.
In the past few years, China “has released multiple films and television series” on the subject, such as Storm Eye, In the Silence, Enemy and Spy Game.
[Xi] grew up during the Cultural Revolution, and he is obviously a fan.
Wang Tiancheng, a director of the American-based Institute for China’s Democratic Transition
Leadership cult:
- “Xi’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” first surfaced in 2017.
- Since then, it has become compulsory reading across all levels of education, the workplace, and institutions.
- It is now at the heart of the Party and the country as a whole, and the Patriotic Education Law.
Delve deeper: “Elevating leaders’ ideas and treating them as [the] law is a key characteristic of the Communist Party’s totalitarian regime,” Wang Tiancheng, a director at the Institute for China’s Democratic Transition, told Radio Free Asia in October.
Between the lines: “[Xi] grew up during the Cultural Revolution, and he is obviously a fan. [Still, he] has problems – one is how to set up a dictatorship that will come into conflict with [political] forces,” he said.
Big picture: During his decade in power, Xi has expanded the Party’s presence in public and private life, while ramping up nationalism as the economy lurches into crisis.
China Factor comment: Hysterical propaganda has been a crucial component of Xi’s regime to combat the fallout from deteriorating relations with major global democracies.