Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
Just minutes ago, my Shanghai television tuned to CNN, I was watching a report on yesterday's release of Chinese artist and dissident Ai Weiwei. I briefly saw tape of a smiling Weiwei ducking into his home without answering reporter questions about his nearly three-month detention, then, as the announcer began filling in background, the screen went blank. Strangely enough, my other channels continued operating and the CNN feed resumed a few minutes later, but I missed the story on Weiwei.
In related news, the Asian edition of the Wall Street Journal reported this week on the rise of a "new left" in Chinese politics. One leader is Bo Xilai, party chief of the enormous southwestern city of Chongqing.
HONGQING, China—When Bo Xilai, a rising star in the Communist Party, began sending mass text messages with Maoist slogans and organizing revolutionary singing pageants in the megacity he runs, few people elsewhere in China took it seriously.
Three years on, however, Mr. Bo's "red" campaign is sweeping the nation after earning public plaudits from party chieftains over the past few months, to the delight of China's increasingly vocal "new left" intellectuals, and the outrage of liberals and the many victims of the Mao era.
Mr. Bo, 61 years old, is fast emerging as the most charismatic, controversial—and perhaps most influential—of the next generation of Chinese leaders, who are expected to take control of the world's second-largest economy at a once-a-decade shuffle of the party's top brass in 2012.
The latest indication came on Thursday, when 90 Chinese ministers and vice ministers gathered in Beijing to sing the revolutionary classic "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China" which was featured in a musical film during the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution, according to state media reports.
China's old "new left" aims to reassert the Communist Party's dominant role in society and the economy. In a Maoist turn, Mr. Bo is "ordering local students and officials to work compulsory stints in the countryside, and forcing the main local satellite-TV station, which is government-owned, to drop all advertising and screen only revolutionary programs." A largely hidden battle is shaping up between Party liberals and Bo's revanchist brigade.
The US presidential election may not be the world's most consequential 2012 political contest.
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May '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
Good observation. If Bo Xilai or fellow travelers take power, I see a good chance that China's urban real estate bubble pops (I understand it's already deflating). I also imagine they would be quicker on the trigger to dump U.S. debt. It will be easy to argue we shouldn't care if China wants to cut its own throat in a fit of Maoist nostalgia, but for better or worse we're locked in a sort of bear hug with them.
(Dr. Savage, at some point I'd like to see you open a conversation about investing in the middle of political or social instability, e.g., China, Turkey, South Korea, Taiwan, Israel, Russia.)
Edited on Jun 23, 2011 at 4:39pmJun '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
The only way China cuts its US debt holdings is if it's balance of trade position changes for the worse, and if that happens China is tube-diving and the Communist Party with it.
Nov '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
Another concern, as various pressures build up in China, is that the powers there will attempt to divert attention from a domestic crisis by fomenting a foreign one. Things are heating up domestically, but there is also a warming trend in the South China Sea, raising concerns in Vietnam, the PI and other places.
May '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
I don't disagree with you, but a committed Maoist (if that's what they are, and these guys seem to have some of the symptoms) doesn't necessarily operate on those same assumptions of what is in their best interests.
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
What an arresting formulation. I'm not quite sure I'd agree--the contest in this country will condition events in China, as indeed in the entire world--but I have to take your point. I wish I didn't, but I do.
Jun '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
Matthew Gilley
I don't disagree with you, but a committed Maoist (if that's what they are, and these guys seem to have some of the symptoms) doesn't necessarily operate on those same assumptions of what is in their best interests. · Jun 23 at 5:31pm
If they don't allow the money out of the country they risk domestic inflation driven by foreign currency. Marxist or no that's a huge problem for China given the disparity between rural and urban wealth.
May '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
I wonder how long it will be before Barak and Michelle invite Lang Lang back to lead a rousing chorus of "Without the Communist Party, There Would Be No New China" at the next star-studded White House pow-wow. It might be as big a hit as "My Motherland" was for that crowd.
May '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
"Mr. Bo, 61 years old, is fast emerging as the most charismatic, controversial—and perhaps most influential—of the next generation of Chinese leaders..."
I always say that China would be a fascist country, except that it lacks a charismatic leader. My prediction: If Bo wangles his way into a leadership position, China will be the Germany of the 21st Century...and the USA will be distracted by adventures in third-rate countries until it is too late.
Nov '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
Arguably. Or perhaps this just means that the difference --fascism v. communism-- is often nominal. It was clear to me after a brief teaching stint that membership in the Party --despite mandatory attendance at tedious meetings-- is no more than a way to get ahead; it is membership in the established Church. But a thin-skinned nationalism --the Great Wall mentality-- really animated some of my students. Leftist (e.g.'Red Song') revivalism just exemplifies the ongoing Party struggle to claim the meaning of China's national identity.
Feb '11
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
What a strange list!
May '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
MMPadre has it exactly right. Anyone who thinks that communist ideology, as opposed to pure corrupt power games, is the driver in modern China has not spent any meaningful time there, especially away from the standard tourist sites.
To quote a several-year China resident and scholar who went to see the new party propaganda movie (partly funded by GM!) in Beijing last week: if "you want to visit the site of the First Party Congress in Shanghai where the men so daringly risked exposure and death to create the formal party apparatus, it has been turned into a lovely and informative museum. To get there, go into the high-end shopping district in the former French Concession and turn right at the Ferrari dealership. You can’t miss it."
Edited on Jun 24, 2011 at 5:42amMay '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
MMPadre
Arguably. Or perhaps... But a thin-skinned nationalism --the Great Wall mentality-- really animated some of my students. ... · Jun 24 at 2:35am
Precisely.
May '10
Re: Censorship in Real Time and China's New Left
Israel P.
What a strange list! · Jun 24 at 2:58am
It is. The only common element among them is that political unrest, war, or any other kind of calamity may flare and put your investment at risk. For instance, I'd be very comfortable investing in an Israeli company because the rule of law prevails and the economy is highly advanced; however, you must factor in the security situation in the neighborhood (the same would generally hold for South Korea). On the other hand, I'm not so worried about armed conflict in Beijing, Shanghai, Moscow or St. Petersburg but I would be very concerned about the fickle "legal" systems and whether they would honor my property rights.
Interesting footnote - pick up Dan Senor's book Start-Up Nation and read about Berkshire Hathaway's decision to invest in Iscar and how it kept operating during the 2006 war with Hezbollah. Good stuff.