When someone shares with you something of value, you have an obligation to share it with others.
Thursday, 19 February 2009
Mainlanders see inferno as just deserts for domineering CCTV
The spectacular fire that gutted the high-rise Mandarin Oriental building attached to China Central Television’s new iconic headquarters one week ago still remains the talk of the town in the capital.
Mainlanders see inferno as just deserts for domineering CCTV
Wang Xiangwei 16 February 2009
The spectacular fire that gutted the high-rise Mandarin Oriental building attached to China Central Television’s new iconic headquarters one week ago still remains the talk of the town in the capital.
The official media has focused on the heroism of the firefighters and the technical challenges of battling the blaze in the 30-storey structure, and reignited a debate on whether fireworks should be banned during the traditional Lunar New Year celebrations. The inferno, which killed one fireman and injured at least seven people, was triggered by an unauthorised fireworks display to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the last day of the holiday.
But privately and in internet chat rooms, the fire has made CCTV, one of the Communist Party’s most pervasive propaganda arms, the butt of jokes and ridicule, with millions of bloggers and netizens using the incident to vent their anger and frustration over the mainland’s propaganda policy and management.
CCTV and its avant-garde complex of headquarters symbolise the extravagant, arrogant, domineering and monopolist approach that characterises the powerful elite who appear to lord it over ordinary mainlanders.
The biggest lesson the party leadership can probably take from the fire is the response of mainlanders, reactions that vividly illustrate how the propaganda machine is viewed by its target audience.
From reading internet blogs or talking to people on the street, it is clear that apart from the death of a fireman, mainlanders have little sympathy for the damage done by the blaze - which could mount to at least 100 million yuan (HK$113 million).
Instead, they appear unable to contain their glee at the fire, with many joking that it was punishment for CCTV’s whitewashed news reports, and others saying sarcastically that it was CCTV’s most entertaining event in decades.
More serious bloggers and netizens have questioned the arrogance and domineering attitude of the CCTV officials who openly flouted fire regulations by letting off powerful fireworks in the open area between the hotel building and the main structure.
While state media blamed low-level officials for breaching the rules, analysts said the infractions reinforced the popular belief that the powerful and the upper echelons lived by a different set of rules and only the unlucky ones were punished.
The feelings of ill will also reflect distaste for CCTV’s dominion over mainland TV and its excessive spending on its new headquarters.
CCTV has dominated mainland television since its establishment 50 years ago and, when it marked its half-century in December, it vowed to become even more dominant and expand its influence overseas. Domination of the industry has been very profitable, and last year CCTV’s revenues were estimated at 23 billion yuan, according to its president, Zhao Huayong.
The new complex, which was scheduled to open in October, has long been mired in controversy because of its 5-billion-plus yuan price tag, which covers such extravagant facilities as a five-star hotel, swimming pools and a fancy shopping arcade housed on one of Beijing’s most expensive pieces of land.
Many argue that the money could have been spent on building better schools and helping the poor, particularly after thousands of children perished in shoddy school buildings brought down by the Sichuan earthquake last year. Officials admitted a lack of funding was partly to blame for the poor construction of those school buildings.
CCTV’s long-standing practice of focusing on propaganda in its news programmes is also under fire. While bloggers uploaded reports and pictures of the fire within minutes of it erupting, CCTV only reported the blaze in a short dispatch without showing any footage, hours after the fire started.
Its brazen ways of whitewashing news events are highlighted daily in CCTV’s half-hour, prime-time 7pm broadcast. The self-styled news programme, which must be carried by all TV stations across the country, usually contains a mix of updates on mainland leaders’ speeches, inspection trips, meetings with foreign visitors and bland news events.
As economic growth falters and unemployment soars amid the global economic crisis, one popular text message poking fun at the programme hits home: in the first 10 minutes, the broadcast shows mainland leaders are busy; in the next 15 minutes, it shows the Chinese people are happy; and in the remaining five minutes, it shows the rest of the world living in misery.
1 comment:
Mainlanders see inferno as just deserts for domineering CCTV
Wang Xiangwei
16 February 2009
The spectacular fire that gutted the high-rise Mandarin Oriental building attached to China Central Television’s new iconic headquarters one week ago still remains the talk of the town in the capital.
The official media has focused on the heroism of the firefighters and the technical challenges of battling the blaze in the 30-storey structure, and reignited a debate on whether fireworks should be banned during the traditional Lunar New Year celebrations. The inferno, which killed one fireman and injured at least seven people, was triggered by an unauthorised fireworks display to celebrate the Lantern Festival, the last day of the holiday.
But privately and in internet chat rooms, the fire has made CCTV, one of the Communist Party’s most pervasive propaganda arms, the butt of jokes and ridicule, with millions of bloggers and netizens using the incident to vent their anger and frustration over the mainland’s propaganda policy and management.
CCTV and its avant-garde complex of headquarters symbolise the extravagant, arrogant, domineering and monopolist approach that characterises the powerful elite who appear to lord it over ordinary mainlanders.
The biggest lesson the party leadership can probably take from the fire is the response of mainlanders, reactions that vividly illustrate how the propaganda machine is viewed by its target audience.
From reading internet blogs or talking to people on the street, it is clear that apart from the death of a fireman, mainlanders have little sympathy for the damage done by the blaze - which could mount to at least 100 million yuan (HK$113 million).
Instead, they appear unable to contain their glee at the fire, with many joking that it was punishment for CCTV’s whitewashed news reports, and others saying sarcastically that it was CCTV’s most entertaining event in decades.
More serious bloggers and netizens have questioned the arrogance and domineering attitude of the CCTV officials who openly flouted fire regulations by letting off powerful fireworks in the open area between the hotel building and the main structure.
While state media blamed low-level officials for breaching the rules, analysts said the infractions reinforced the popular belief that the powerful and the upper echelons lived by a different set of rules and only the unlucky ones were punished.
The feelings of ill will also reflect distaste for CCTV’s dominion over mainland TV and its excessive spending on its new headquarters.
CCTV has dominated mainland television since its establishment 50 years ago and, when it marked its half-century in December, it vowed to become even more dominant and expand its influence overseas. Domination of the industry has been very profitable, and last year CCTV’s revenues were estimated at 23 billion yuan, according to its president, Zhao Huayong.
The new complex, which was scheduled to open in October, has long been mired in controversy because of its 5-billion-plus yuan price tag, which covers such extravagant facilities as a five-star hotel, swimming pools and a fancy shopping arcade housed on one of Beijing’s most expensive pieces of land.
Many argue that the money could have been spent on building better schools and helping the poor, particularly after thousands of children perished in shoddy school buildings brought down by the Sichuan earthquake last year. Officials admitted a lack of funding was partly to blame for the poor construction of those school buildings.
CCTV’s long-standing practice of focusing on propaganda in its news programmes is also under fire. While bloggers uploaded reports and pictures of the fire within minutes of it erupting, CCTV only reported the blaze in a short dispatch without showing any footage, hours after the fire started.
Its brazen ways of whitewashing news events are highlighted daily in CCTV’s half-hour, prime-time 7pm broadcast. The self-styled news programme, which must be carried by all TV stations across the country, usually contains a mix of updates on mainland leaders’ speeches, inspection trips, meetings with foreign visitors and bland news events.
As economic growth falters and unemployment soars amid the global economic crisis, one popular text message poking fun at the programme hits home: in the first 10 minutes, the broadcast shows mainland leaders are busy; in the next 15 minutes, it shows the Chinese people are happy; and in the remaining five minutes, it shows the rest of the world living in misery.
Post a Comment