As I mentioned in class, I was a little surprised by the formality of President Xi’s New Year Address. It was very stoic and anticlimactic where I anticipated dragons and celebrations to highlight all the party had accomplished and plans to do. Several of my classmates made not of President Xi “calling out” the party specifically for their acts of corruption. I found this to be a tactic to distract from his own corruption considering his alteration of the constitution to extend his terms. I also thought he would have spent more time on the One Belt One Road project, highlighting the progress of it. I wonder how much of his address format and subject matter was adjusted due to Western powers. Would the formal style create and air of more legitimacy and less propaganda? Would attention to OBOR hurt the progress as countries might still shift around their position or receive pressure from the US?
I’m also very curious of how this was received with the population as a whole. Were the Chinese more or less receptive? More or less moved by the speech?