National Image
By billzehua
@billzehua (573)
China
August 21, 2010 10:05am CST
I heard that China has started a project called National Image Propaganda program. It is supposed to be broadcasted in world-level medias like CNN,BBC to, quote, face the audiences all over the world. Currently I know there'll be 50 celebrities involved in this propaganda video to interpret China's national image, such as Yaoming, the NBA player, Zhiyi Zhang, the famous actress, and so forth.You know, that brings me a perplexity, which is, why when we come to the image issue, we would intuitively think of celebrities,famous buildings and successful stories? It's more or less the same as that when you go to interviews, you would all be asked about your successful experience in the past. This ideology is also reflected in the planning of our modern cities. Clearly city image in the eyes of the bureaus equals the word 'new'. Everything has to look like it's new. To present the best side of Guangzhou in the upcoming Asian Games, the government is now churning the city all over. It's renovating buildings besides the mainroads, changing the streets lights into brand-new ones and expelling the street peddlers.Local citizens are being so disturbed by the on-going constructions all around. Of course I can picture a new city would be borne later on because of this Asian Games,but isn't that sounding like a makeshift of the government? How do we measure the image of a city? Numbers of skyrocketing buildings? Expressways? If yes, then it'd be too superficial.
In Chinese, we have an expression Baofahu, means an upstart, but it's attached with negative sense to represent the riches who rises to the economic height yet still lacks of skills and qualities to live up to that position. China has indeed risen to an economic power nowadays with a large GDP number, but if we split that GDP into each one of the population or go down to the mainstream public, we are still much lagging behind so many other countries in terms of life quality, education level and Medicare. So what I want to say is that we should not always look up to the big numbers and be satisfied. It shows that China looks like an upstart who is so eager to show around.As a matter of fact, what's more powerful is not these politically yet-to-verified numbers, it's rather the hidden soft power within the huge population. What the western world knows is that how bureaucratic and centralized the communist government system is, yet they should not overlook how powerful the collectivism when the country is suffering! How diversified the country is! and how much different of a history that China has gone through. In a nutshell, it's time for China to grow up and to understand itself more. National image is more than some political figures!
1 person likes this
2 responses
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
22 Aug 10
Many of us are still mad at the image of that little girl who was a good singer, but whose picture was replaced by a better looking one because that first little girl was not as good looking,so I know what I mean. It seems that you have the same problem we have when someone shows how rich all Canadians and Americans are, that it is a false image.
I would rather see documentaries about how the Chinese people really live, then a false picture that would give the idea that all Chinese are rich. Also when they fix up those cities and makes them presentable, what happens to the people they kick out of their homes? I am sure that they do not show the poverty of people in the country, of how people work long hours in factories, the danger of not having enough light to work with, the outdated machineries in factories, the women who are forced to have abortions and given nothing to kill the pain. No such would damage their image! The trouble is that many only believe the false image given by the bureaucrats.
@suspenseful (40193)
• Canada
24 Aug 10
I could not have said it better myself. You have expressed what we all have felt. I hope that little girl gets justice. Even if the little girl was not that good looking in Chinese eyes, beauty does not make one have a good talent.
And that photo also damaged the image of China's leaders.
@billzehua (573)
• China
22 Aug 10
I feel very ashamed and angry for that incident as well.First of all, who defined the surrogated girl was better-looking than the replaced one? and base on what did he come to that conclusion? This is definately narrow-minded way of thinking.He must have forgotten that Olymic was a show for audiences all around the world.It must be a slap in the face to the director that if you remind him of Lvyan, an utterly close-to-urgly girl in the eyes of traditional Chinese, becoming world-class model in the fashion industry.Secondly,they should have pronounced the stand-in to the public for the sake of humanity and fairness at least.But they tried to keep people all over the world in the dark. You know if someone stand upfront you telling you how rich and elegant he is by showing off his new clothes that he deems to be beautiful.what would you think of him? Superficial!Shallow!Emptiness!
1 person likes this
@artnoble123 (198)
• Philippines
22 Aug 10
yes, i read in the newspaper that China has surpassed Japan in Economic today and they are 2nd in the whole world.
You right about your comments on promoting National Image. But I think, there is far more than that in China's goals. I think China wanted to impress more investor and do as the sayings says "STRIKE while the IRON is HOT". That is why we can see aggressive military activities of China in ASIA to assert it's active and dominant role in ASIA economically and politically.
@billzehua (573)
• China
22 Aug 10
I have to agree your point somehow. If we see this issue from your angle, then this video would be to demonstrate to outsiders how large the market is and how appealing the investment environment is.But I have a doublt about this propaganda is mainly for busines end, coz it's a no-need-to-argue fact for any busimess group that China is indeed a large market, even for the most luxious industry. Two decades ago some multinational companies smelled the mild business aroma here and with more and more overseas investment that the aroma has been strong enough to impress any one.We can understand the motive more if we go to an official deputy director's explaination,quote,'China has come to the point where it needs to establish the national image'.So what I can translate from his words is they want to set up an sound image of being a civilized country with progresses in its social and cutural development, and that iamge, I doubt,can not be interpreted truthfully by the piling of celebrities and political figures.
