In this Tuesday photo released by China’s Xinhua News Agency, President Xi Jinping talks with local people in Hangzhou, capital of east China’s Zhejiang Province
Rapturous crowds. Beaming workers. Pep talks for the troops.
The TV coverage yesterday of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to an eastern province was a tour de force of Communist propaganda, showcasing what’s seen as an emerging cult of personality around the country’s strongest leader in decades.
While such treatment isn’t unusual for Chinese leaders, the high-octane 17-minute report on state broadcaster CCTV was the most extensive in some time. With the economy ailing and morale low among bureaucrats, Xi could use the image boost to show he’s concerned with public welfare, political analysts say.
“Xi’s in a situation where he’s facing dissatisfaction on various levels. His best move is to go straight to the people for support,” said Zhang Lifan, a Beijing-based historian and independent political commentator.
The report, which topped CCTV’s noon broadcast, showed Xi visiting a shipyard, government planning offices and unusually tidy villages full of rosy-cheeked farmers. On each occasion, he was met and seen off by cheering, clapping crowds who seemed barely able to contain their enthusiasm, in a style reminiscent of Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong or current North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
“As long as we can make the most of talented people and give full play to innovation, China’s development will have a promising future and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be soon,” Xi was quoted as saying by CCTV.
The province Xi was visiting, Zhejiang, is one of China’s most economically vibrant, and the visit’s imagery coincides with Xi’s calls for more sustainable, higher-quality growth as China’s overall economy decelerates from the breakneck pace of the past three decades.
Xi spent five years as party secretary of Zhejiang, located just outside Shanghai, and has continued to accord it special attention since moving to Beijing in 2007 — assuring him of an especially enthusiastic reception as he seeks to drum up support among the masses.
The visit comes amid worries that slowing growth could spark mass unemployment, creating social friction and adding to the estimated 150,000 incidents of unrest striking the vast nation each year.
“Xi felt he had to drum up mass support to bolster his base,” said Willy Lam, an expert on Chinese politics at Hong Kong’s Chinese University, “so in a sense it was a sign of weakness.” Christopher Bodeen, Beijing, AP
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