The documentary starts with the narrator, Chai Jing, explaining how originally, she nor anyone else really paid attention to the air pollution issue in China back in January 2013, despite going on four business trips to the provinces of Shaanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, and Zhejiang. It was not until Chai became pregnant that she started to take notice of the smog she was living in, not only because of her being concerned for her new child, but also because her daughter had to undergo surgery immediately after being born, due to the presence of a benign tumor. The child luckily survived the process, and from then on, Chai decided to tackle this subject. The narrator does an excellent job of capturing the audience’s attention with this initial story, which allowed the listeners to relate on a personal level with Chai and thus take the issue very seriously. She furthers this by equating the pollution situation in China to living under a sealed dome.

Chai then goes on to take about the scientific background of the smog issue, which she does a phenomenal job of explaining, using the evidence she gathered on her various trips to several experts. She explains the term of PM2.5, which refers to airborne particulate matter that have a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, thus rendering it essentially invisible to the human eye, but still dense enough to carry 15 types of harmful carcinogens; the results are clearly seen when utilizing a sampling device filter.

Using an informative video, Chai demonstrates the effects of these PM2.5 pollution particles on the human body. First, they enter the body through the nostrils. While most fragments are blocked or killed in this process, because PM2.5 particles are so small, they are able to slip right past. This applies to the upper respiratory tract in the throat as well. They keep sliding down until they reach their final point in the lungs. Because of the PM2.5 particles, there has been an increase in the number of lung cancer cases in China. Unfortunately, the issue of pollution did not gain much attention at the start; Chai attributes this to the media, which initially published the “smog” as merely just “fog” in as early as 2004.

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When I created this poster, I had the intentions of emulating the styles of traditional Chinese propaganda posters from the Cultural Revolution era. The power of the Chinese Communist Party was arguably at its strongest state during this period, and they aggressively promoted their agenda. To aid in this mission, the government distributed propaganda posters throughout the country. With this project, I attempted to display some of those concepts demonstrated back then.

On the top, I headed the poster with the Chinese phrase, “为国家服务…是为己自服务! (wei guo jia fu wu…shi wei zi ji fu wu!)”, which translates to “service to the country…is service to oneself!”. With this saying, I strived to emphasize the collectivist and socialist attitude the Communist government had implemented towards the people. This contrasts to western countries that traditionally promote individualism in a capitalist environment. The Chinese strongly believed in Communist doctrine, so much to the point that several five-year plans were created to meet production quotas for the entire country.

Additionally, I depicted a farmer in a motivational and revolutionary pose in an attempt to relate the poster content to everyday commoners, which in China back then were peasants that made the backbone of the agricultural work force. By gaining the trust of the general population, the government would be able to push its motives more easily. The Chinese government was able to essentially rule over the peasant population with no resistance. Even today, those working and living in distant rural areas in China are more susceptible to propaganda distributed by the Communist Party due to lack of technology, especially when compared to their counterparts living in urban cities.

On the bottom of the poster, I drew several armed soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army to represent the government and its large military force. With this representation, I made an effort to display the overwhelming power the Chinese Communist Party possesed. Prior to World War II, the People’s Liberation Army was known as the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army, or simply just the Red Army (中国工农红军).

David Shambaugh talks about the Chinese Communist Party and their role in creating and distributing propaganda throughout the country. He starts by declaring that there is currently a standoff between the requirements of a quickly modernizing economy and the desire by the CCP to continue to have absolute political power in the state. This contradiction highly affects the state of propaganda in China today. Compared to the earlier years under Mao Zedong, where propaganda was essentially thought control material meant to brainwash people, the role and impact of propaganda has diminished greatly in the modern age.

The increase in use and distribution of media, especially through the digital age, has made it pretty much impossible for the central government to control everything at once effectively. I was able to see this on a personal level, as the last time I visited China to spend time with family, my uncles kept discussing about the fact that they were able to “fan qiang”, which literally means “to flip over walls”, referring to their ability to bypass the Internet censorship and restrictions set in place by authorities. However, the central government is still capable of effective selective enforcement, censoring specific topics whenever it deems necessary. For example, in late 2010 and early 2011, there were pro-democracy riots and revolutions occurring in the Middle East; China naturally disliked this and worried its influence would potentially spread to its own land. As a result, the central government intensified Internet filtering to point where the key term “Egypt” resulted in few or no results.

Previously I posted about the trust between the people of China and the authorities. I mentioned that the citizens generally believed the central government was competent, but after reflecting upon the subject, perhaps this is only possible because of the CCP’s ability to selectively enforce what it needs to in order to maintain its political power. While this may not be as effective in urban cities where people use the Internet frequently, the farmers living in the rural regions may definitely have a manipulated, unhealthy positive view on the central government.

Being a Chinese American, I have extended family members in China and thus visit more often than most Americans. Last summer, I was in my father’s hometown of Chengdu with my parents, grandparents, uncles, and aunts. We visited many cities from there and explored many aspects of China that I had not known about before. However, one night at dinner I realized something. There seemed to be an underlying hierarchy system in the workplace, and it could easily be seen in places such as restaurants. Because my uncles worked in high positions at powerful businesses, my extended family could be considered part of the upper-class in China, and therefore took me and my parents to high-end restaurants to meet other important officials in their businesses.

At these restaurants, I noticed that the customers were rather harsh towards the waiters, waitresses, and other workers. They constantly demanded things while they raised voices and snapped there fingers as they called “fu wu yuan!” The workers seemed to just accept this and responded as if they were recruits at basic training (well, a little less then that, but still). As a person born and raised in the United States, and having been taught certain values about mutual respect, especially in the military, this environment seemed rather strange and I was kind of uncomfortable. When I placed my order, I did it calmly with respect and a smile, just like I would if ordering a burger from my nearby food joint; however, the waiter seemed a little shocked, much to my confusion and amusement.

My mother explained to me later that this was just a cultural thing, but this led to another discussion with her. We both had been noticing a much larger presence of Chinese tourists in foreign countries we have visited including Vietnam, Japan, France, and even Kenya, and of course the United States. I had been hearing stories about many natives of these countries disliking these tourists a lot. From personal observation, I strongly believe it is because the Chinese tend to bring their own culture with them while also ignoring indigenous traditions. Sometimes in certain countries, such as Vietnam, the Chinese tourists would treat the workers there with the same harshness as they would in their own country. This is probably a contributing reason as to why there is a large bribing issue with the Vietnamese customs at the border involving specifically Chinese travelers.

Tourists from China are also very concerned about spending money to buy items in foreign countries that otherwise would be expensive in their own nation. In France, my family stumbled upon a Chinese tour group at the Louvre during their own separate visit. They overheard the tour members all shouting to go to the malls and markets, but the tour guide responded with a hint of desperation: “Don’t worry, we”ll make sure that you’ll be able to spend all the money you brought here. But now that we’re here at this museum, you might as well take a look! Just a glance at least!”

As an American-born Chinese (ABC), I tend to react negatively to such behaviors, along with my parents (who have now lived here longer than they have in China since they immigrated) and the rest of my Chinese American friends, as it conflicts with many traditional American customs and culture that we have learned from birth. This is why it is easy to tell apart an ABC from a Chinese individual straight from the mainland, based on the way they act and interact. I tend to notice that many ABCs distance themselves from “authentic” Chinese people and interact much better with other ABCs, or even American-born Koreans and Japanese people; again, this is all just a cultural difference.

A reading written by Jie Lu discussed in class one day talked about the relationship between the people of China and its central government. It appears that there is high trust in the central government by the Chinese people, despite there being some negative reactions to certain unreliable and unfavorable aspects. However, even with its questionable nature, the Chinese national government is still about to create confidence from within the people, due to the fact that it is able to display an image of having good intentions for the citizens, and by acting like it knows the people well and that it is setting them up for success, this allows the general population to more likely evaluate the government as competent and trustworthy.

Of course, there are a number of environmental factors that have influenced the people’s ability to trust their government. Part of it is cultural; unlike Western states that seem to promote individualism, China has a large emphasis on collectivism, which results in more trust being easily gained, due to the fact that authorities really only have to fulfill the needs of the community, and not the more specific and difficult desires of each single person. Additionally, the national government and CCP control a large portion of the Internet, and thus can artificially alter the thoughts of the people about the government to an extent. Furthermore, since many parts of China are rural and distant from urban government areas, farmers and peasants, who make up a large portion of the Chinese Chinese population, are more inclined to give approval and trust of the government.

Despite the fact that China is a neoauthoritarian state, the idea of this article and overall situation can be applied to other states and forms of governance. China is a functioning and relatively stable country because even though the authorities have large control over the infrastructure, the people are in line with the government and believe the ruling party is competent. One speculated reason as to why democratic states work is because the citizens trust and cooperate with the government. As seen in developed nations like the United States, people generally accept the American federal government and have faith that it is genuinely doing its best to be fair and be concerned with the welfare of the citizens. However, countries like Venezuela have a very corrupt democratic government, thus people generally ignore and disobey the laws set in place by the authorities. As a result, the nation is very unstable and there are frequent cases of civil unrest, food and basic item shortages, and major economic problems.

After viewing the 2017 New Years address delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping, I believe he truly does care about the prosperity and future success of the People’s Republic of China. I think President Xi’s message was one filled with motivation and, to an extent, propaganda, to his people. In order to evoke a sense of comprehensive satisfaction, he essentially just listed accomplishments of China for a good part of his speech.

President Xi first touched upon the progress made with the 13th Five-Year Plan. He stated that China has made improvements in the development of society and economics. He also stated that there was a comprehensive reform plan that affected the supply side, national defense and military, and the judicial system, which resulted in more judicial fairness, social fairness, and justice.

President Xi emphasized pushing the forward the strict discipline of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and tackling the issue of corruption within the party, or “purifying” as he calls it.

The speaker later goes on to discuss several technological accomplishments. President Xi stated that the Aperture Spherical Telescope has been completed, and that the Wukong satellite has been deployed for a year now. Also deployed are the Micius Quantum Science Experimental Satellite, the Shenzhou II manned spacecraft, and the Tiangong 2 spacelab.

To evoke further patriotism, President Xi praised the Chinese athletes that participated in the most recent Olympics. Additionally, he mentioned several supposed improvements to the Chinese infrastructure, including citizenship approval for those that were relocated from rural areas, improved schooling conditions for children in poor areas, and registration approval for those who had no household registration. He expresses further concern for the poor, saying that he worries about their well being and their ability to work, learn, and obtain healthcare and housing.

President Xi goes on to talk about international issues and subjects, claiming that China was able to share its wisdom and proposals with the rest of the world community. In addition, he mentioned the launching of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. President Xi also passionately declared that China will stop at nothing to protect its territorial sovereignty and secure its maritime rights.

Alluding to the past, President Xi commemorated the 95th anniversary of the CCP, as well as the 80th anniversary for the Long March Victory of the Red Army. Looking into the future, he stated that China will initiate the 19th National Congress in 2017. President Xi concluded with the request that all 1.3 billion people in China would come together “with one heart”, and he extended that request even further to the international community.

As I watched the documentary in class over the course of several periods, one thing stuck out to me. I have always wondered what exactly it was that made Mao Zedong such a charismatic individual, to the point of being able to change the minds of the people of a large, densely populated country like China, and lead it through a Cultural Revolution. While some of it can probably be attributed to the possibility that he was naturally charming, there were many environmental factors that made him so influential.

Mao was able to identify and relate to the common Chinese peasant as he himself was born poor in Southern Hunan. He was against the foreign occupations, especially of that of the British, who came to establish their supposed superiority. Perhaps one of the biggest contributors to his influence was his efforts against the Japanese invaders.

While the documentary was clearly biased and the creator of the work was someone that did not really like Mao, it did present some interesting points. Mao was, as time continued, essentially worshiped like a deity of a religion. No matter what he ordered, people would carry out his commands, even if it meant attempting to produce unrealistic amounts of product for meeting ridiculous quotas (though the power Communist Party as whole definitely had an impact on people’s decisions as well), which resulted in famines and death. Mao was also able to turn the people against the enemies of the Party with ease, ordering their executions one by one.