MTV might not run it, but China's most heavily played music video this week stars Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (
Soldiers cheer and grateful citizens weep in the clip as a shrill soprano extols communism's love for the common people.
"United with one heart, conquering adversity," read the words superimposed over the final image of a smiling Wen leading response efforts in Harbin.
The video -- produced virtually overnight and aired incessantly on state television -- illustrates how hard China's leaders are working to shore up their credibility in the face of a rising wave of manmade disasters ranging from environmental meltdowns to carnage in the workplace.
China's government has only lately begun accounting for the toll of fast economic growth in terms of deadly accidents and damage to the country's rivers, soil and air.
With a recent order to declassify disasters, officials are under even more pressure to respond effectively.
That's a major challenge for an authoritarian government not accustomed to airing its dirty laundry in public -- or answering to its citizens. While seeking to portray the Chinese Communist Party as responsible, the increased publicity risks giving the impression that such disasters are out of control.
"With more reporting on the disasters and accidents, Chinese are probably feeling that there are so many of them," said Dali Yang (
"Hence the need to extol how the system is doing well to deal with the problems," Yang added.
The Wen video accompanied the suspension of water to Harbin for five days after a factory explosion last month released 100 tonnes of cancer-causing chemicals into the Songhua River.
Officials were initially accused of hiding the threat, but the city soon thrust itself into an all-out effort to deliver emergency water supplies to the 3.8 million people without service and safeguard public health.
Just days later, a coal mine explosion in the same region killed at least 164 workers -- the latest in a string of mining catastrophes.
Such disasters feed into growing complaints from the public that China's economic growth is occurring at the expense of people's basic rights.
China has seen an unprecedented number of public protests this year, fueled by anger over government corruption and inaction in cases of illegal land seizures by developers or industrial pollution, among other issues. While many have been suppressed by force, leaders in Beijing have urged local officials to address such grievances with meaningful reforms.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS