Last week, the Wall Street Journal pointed to a document from Beijing, released in November, that said, “Patriotism is the most natural and simple emotion of the Chinese. We must insist on starting from when they are babies, focusing on consolidating the roots, concentrating on the soul.”
The report said the younger Chinese generation is “fiercely patriotic.” Since 2013, these children have been exposed to the campaign.
For many in the country, its economic growth and its effective management of the virus outbreak has been a source of national pride. A recent survey showed 90 percent of teenagers polled used terms like “lucky” and “satisfied” when asked about growing up in China, and fewer seem eager to move to a western country than in years past.
Part of the initiative included the centralization of ideas. Textbooks now need to be approved by authorities in Beijing.
The report said Beijing authorities also use short video clips and video games to sell their message. The Journal spoke to a graduate student from China’s Inner Mongolia University who analyzed 541 Communist Youth League videos and found the videos geared to the very young depicted competing countries, such as the U.S., as silly cartoon animals.
The videos, which were released from 2018 to 2020, are considered a smashing success and garnered at least 100 million views on the country’s video platform hosting site, Bilibili.
TOP TREND FOR 2021: “CHINA 2021: THE CHINESE CENTURY”
The 20th century was the American century – the 21st century will be the Chinese century. The business of China is business; the business of America is war. While the rest of the Western world is relocking down its economies, China, where the virus first broke out, is completely reopened. Of all the world’s major nations whose gross domestic products will be in decline, China stands alone in having its GDP rising into positive territory.
