New video making the rounds…I’m not sure whether to laugh, cry, or what. It’s a Will.i.am world, propaganda comes with a backbeat these days, I guess.

Required reading for all those who wonder why today’s Chinese 20-somethings on the road to yuppiedom are more angry with the West than they are with their government.

MANY sympathetic Westerners view Chinese society along the lines of what they saw in the waning days of the Soviet Union: a repressive government backed by old hard-liners losing its grip to a new generation of well-educated, liberal-leaning sophisticates. As pleasant as this outlook may be, it’s naive. Educated young Chinese, far from being embarrassed or upset by their government’s human-rights record, rank among the most patriotic, establishment-supporting people you’ll meet.

As is clear to anyone who lives here, most young ethnic Chinese strongly support their government’s suppression of the recent Tibetan uprising. One Chinese friend who has a degree from a European university described the conflict to me as “a clash between the commercial world and an old aboriginal society.” She even praised her government for treating Tibetans better than New World settlers treated Native Americans.

Reading it reminds me just how futile it is to try to convince Chinese readers why the Tibetans may deserve some sympathy. And why the Tibet issue has given the CCP a new lease on life. They should buy the Dalai Lama a car or a gift certificate for all the support this issue has generated for them in China.

[Note: This is a continuation of the post immediately below.]

Wait. I am not equating Jin Jing with Jesus or Mary. I am making the point that to hundreds of millions of Chinese around the world the image of Jin Jing in what apears to be a state of grace has an emotional appeal that parallels that which Christians (and even non-Christians such as myself) feel when looking at Michaelangelo’s Pieta. Whether I believe or not, the emotional impact of both images is undeniable. And whether either Mary or Jin Jing deserve to be viewed with such religious awe is irrelevant to my point, which is simply this: the image of Jin JIng has created an unprecedented flood of emotional patriotism and religious ecstasy among Chinese people all around the world.

The photo may have been stage-managed and her story embellished in the Lei Feng style. I don’t know, but based on past CCP deifications I’d be inclined to think it has. But that’s also irrelevant in terms of effect. Leni Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will is all about stage management and manufactured emotion, yet it achieved all of her and Joseph Goebbels’ objectives (mass hypnosis, idolization, turning the fuehrer into a cult figure, etc.).

So the picture of Jin JIng stands and it has worked its miracle, fair or not. I had dinner with a Chinese friend last night who told me there hasn’t been anything quite like it in his lifetime. Everone’s talking about it, especially friends and families overseas. It’s strengthening the bonds between these people and their mainland counterparts The Chinese people have rarely felt more unified, And this is not a personal theory of mine based on anecdotal evidence. From Canada’s Globe and Mail.

It was a moment so perfect that it could have been scripted by Beijing’s propaganda masters. A beautiful young Chinese woman, bravely ignoring her physical handicap, is shielding the Olympic flame with her body to protect it against Western attackers.

The incident, captured on video, has galvanized China’s masses and created a new national hero. A star has been born, and she is 27-year-old Jin Jing of Shanghai, an amputee in a wheelchair who was carrying the Olympic torch in Paris this week when she was confronted by protesters who wrestled for the torch.

The one-legged Paralympic fencing champion, whose picture has been splashed across front pages in China, has become an iconic image of everything the Chinese want to believe about the innocence of their country and the dastardliness of the West.

All week she has been mobbed by fans and glorified in the Chinese media, who dubbed her the “smiling angel in a wheelchair” and “saviour of the national honour.”

Her fans describe her as fearless and modest. “She has captured the hearts of millions of Chinese people,” the state news agency says. As for Ms. Jin, she smiles sweetly and then says, of the protesters, “I despise them.”

….There is mounting evidence — in Internet chat rooms, on the streets and everywhere else where public opinion can be measured — that the Chinese Communist Party has gained popularity and strength as a result of the violence and chaos of the past month.

It might be facing an Olympic opening ceremony boycott and mounting criticism from abroad, but the government has largely succeeded in mobilizing its 1.3 billion people into a unified force, giving it the domestic legitimacy it craves for its survival.

This brings me back to the headline of my earlier post and whether the events of the past week have been a PR disaster for China. They certainly started off that way. But I still believe it is much too early to determine the net effect of the media coverage of China’s Olympic-related activities. Yesterday I would have said the scales tipped slightly toward the disaster side. Now, as I see the news out of Argentina, I’d say the scale is about even. And remember, I am not talking about a scale of right or wrong, but of public perception.

What lies ahead is a huge question mark. I’ve always felt the government was hoisting itself on its own petard by saying it would open up the country to the media – a promise I can’t imagine them keeping (thus far they’ve done a pretty poor job of it). They may well get pulverized by the global media. But we saw this week that they are adept at turning the pulverization into a national rallying cry. Maybe it was pure luck that Jin JIng happened to be attacked the way she was. In any case, it was a gift from heaven for the CCP, like Bin Laden’s video right before the 2004 election was to George Bush.

Tibet. It popped up out of nowhere, All eyes were on Darfur as the huge thorn in China’s side, and suddenly Mia Farrow has been wholly overshadowed by the Dalai Lama. And that’s good for China in terms of support from its citizens. Tibet is an issue the Chinese are passionate about. Some Chinese I know had never even heard of Darfur and certainly felt no emotional attachment to the issues there. Tibet is another story. Watching the issue galvanize the country is astonishing. The way the situation is being manipulated might be comparable to the effectiveness of the Nuremberg rallies, but the effectiveness in and of itself is indisputable.

Shortly before the Olympic Games, China will also be hosting the Paralympic Games. I’ll put down money that Jin Jing will be making a strongly publicized appearance. (A side benefit, I hope, would be greater tolerance and compassion for the handicapped here in China. You so rarely see anyone in a wheelchair here in Beijing.)

Um, maybe. But for whom? You have to see this amazing post and its accompanying photos that tug at the heartstrings with just the right amount of pathos. Miraculous.

Hats off, gentlemen; a martyr is born. Maybe it’s not the PR disaster so many had thought. Will it actually boomerang from con to pro? At this point that appears very possible. I would say it’s nearly impossible to look at that young woman in the wheelchair being terrorized and not feel a surge of — well, take a look, and I think you’ll feel what I mean. Whether its deserved or not, she’s going to be a national hero the rest of her life.

Update: Slightly edited the morning after; I shouldn’t post so late at night.

One of my favorite reporters in China, Peter Ford, strives to provide some balance and perspective on this complex and emotionally charged topic. Although nothing he tells us is new to those who keep up with what’s happening here, it could be useful to the majority of human beings whose perceptions are formed by fiery op-ed columns, online forums and 30-second news clips on TV.

The question it addresses is simple: Have human rights improved in China over the past 25 years, and if so, how? The conclusion is predictable, but only because it is true: Of course human rights have improved, but Mao set the bar so low that even vast improvement is not enough; China still gets failing grades when it comes to rule of law, freedom of speech, and its oppression of groups such as Falun Gong, Uighurs, unauthorized churches, etc.

“Nothing we do today was possible 25 years ago. Compared with then, the human rights situation in China has improved like never before.”

And that enthusiastic assessment comes from a man who was fired from his job in 2006 as editor of a Communist youth newspaper for publishing an article that contradicted the party line, Li Datong.

But the baseline, he points out, was pretty low. “In 1983, I would probably have been arrested.”

Twenty-five years ago, Chinese citizens were not free to choose their jobs: The authorities assigned them work for life. Farmers were forbidden to live anywhere but the village where they were born. Nobody was allowed to travel abroad, except on government-authorized business. Nobody could dream of owning a car, let alone a house. Food was rationed. Nobody was allowed to set up a business. Western movies and books were banned.

Today, all that has changed. And as the state has relaxed its control over the minutiae of daily life, citizens have also felt freer to express themselves to each other. Among friends and neighbors, Chinese say what they think about everything, from their political leaders to rising prices to their country’s medal chances at the Beijing Olympics.

The dark side then follows, but the conclusion is clear: yes, human rights have improved for the majority of Chinese, and no, the reforms to date don’t go nearly far enough. Of course, to the polarized factions who dwell in the comments, simply acknowledging any improvement of any kind in China is to be a communist shill. And to others, bringing up the oppression of Falun Gong or Uighurs means “you don’t understand China” and “why don’t you just go home?”

Meanwhile, Peter Ford isn’t a shill for the CCP and I think he does understand China. It is hard for some to grasp, but you actually can hold contradictory opinions about China. You actually can reconcile your dislike for much of what the CCP represents with your finding some benefits (even – gasp – enjoyment) in living here. Just as I was able, when I moved back to the US in 2003, to reconcile my loathing of George Bush with my appreciation of the many freedoms we enjoy in America. My living there and enjoying my work and saying so did not make me blind to America’s evil or a shill for George Bush.

How can you reconcile the jailing of Hu Jia with your firm belief in fundamental freedoms? How can you reconcile the thousands of executions each year with your viewpoint that capital punishment is abhorrent? I can’t speak for anyone else. But I can say that for me, it is often very difficult. But just as when I lived in America, I saw the good of the people and the hope and, for many in China, the improvement in the quality of life, and I made the choice to be here, to observe, and to make my contribution by speaking out and condemning actions that I see as obscene and immoral. Like Hu Jia. Like the “cyber-dissidents” rotting in jail. Like Shi Tao and so many other journalists imprisoned for telling the truth.

It isn’t easy but it can be done, and doing so does not make someone evil. If so, then I have many, many, many evil friends, only I can promise you, they are among the most splendid people on the planet.

I’d follow her anywhere….

The post from which I stole this is wickedly funny, though totally devoid of any reference to China. Check it out, and don’t miss the comments. I was literally laughing out loud.

I know, I said I wouldn’t be posting until around May, but my schedule just got re-arranged so you’ll just have to deal with more frivolous bantering until I go away, around April 20.

Wow – off to a flying start, at least in terms of igniting a firestorm. John is one of the best and brightest when it comes to China (my own blog probably links more to his articles than those of any other journalist). Will blogroll this now.

Link via Danwei.

This is quite simply a must read.

This, too, is quite insightful. Doesn’t take a pro or con stand, but looks at the new political importance of the Olympic Games and how the current talks of boycotts differ from those we heard in 1980 and 1994.

Update: And another must-read.

And away we go…again.

Chinese authorities have stopped issuing multiple-entry visas and slowed visa processing in Hong Kong, a major gateway for travel to the mainland, until after the Beijing Olympics, local travel agents said Tuesday.

The Chinese foreign ministry, however, denied there was any change in policy.

Hong Kong-based travel agent Forever Bright Trading Ltd. said on its Web site that multiple-entry visas were suspended from March 28 until Oct. 17. The Beijing Olympics are scheduled to take place Aug. 8-24.

Travel agent Luk Tak said Chinese authorities are now only issuing single- or double-entry travel visas to foreigners in Hong Kong, scaling back a visa program that used to issue multiple-entry business visas that lasted up to three years.

I know many people here in Beijing take advantage of the Hong Kong border run to renew visas, a key option as there have been increasing reports about difficulties with visas at the PSB center here in Beijing and in a few other cities.

Anyone in the loop know more about what’s going on? Any recent visa stories to share?

Inspired by Seinfeld, this may soon become a blog “about nothing.” That’s just the way it is, at least through the first week of May. The next three weeks are the home stretch; May will be a lot easier.

Meanwhile, all I have time to say is that I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a mess of misconceptions, pre-conceived notions, hysterical reactions and mass obfuscation as I’ve seen over the past few weeks when it comes to Tibet – and that applies to all sides. It is almost impossible to read the newspapers and blogs (except this one) and come away with anything even faintly resembling the truth. I think the only truth we’d nearly all agree on is that when it comes to perceptions, the Party messed it up big-time and it may not recover; the shadow of Tibet could cast its pall over what was supposed to be the most crapspectacular demonstration of harmony and joy the world had ever experienced. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Open thread (if anyone’s still here).