Chinese Soft Power and Media Discussion and Updates

[Temstar]

There's an upcoming movie in China about Battle of Penghu, a historical event were Qing navy defeated Ming Zheng (allied forces of Southern Ming based in Taiwan) forces and captured Penghu, becoming the springboard to Qing's defeat of Southern Ming.

Naturally we're going to see a lot of drama from all those han supremist / Ming supporter guys similar to the deal with that game Wuchang last year. That nonsense aside do you guys foresee the movie causing much reaction in terms of cross strait relations? I think there's a chance of it causing butthurt in ROC much like how The Letter to Grandma is causing Singapore to flip out currently.

 

[siegecrossbow]

There's an upcoming movie in China about Battle of Penghu, a historical event were Qing navy defeated Ming Zheng (allied forces of Southern Ming based in Taiwan) forces and captured Penghu, becoming the springboard to Qing's defeat of Southern Ming.

Naturally we're going to see a lot of drama from all those han supremist / Ming supporter guys similar to the deal with that game Wuchang last year. That nonsense aside do you guys foresee the movie causing much reaction in terms of cross strait relations? I think there's a chance of it causing butthurt in ROC much like how The Letter to Grandma is causing Singapore to flip out currently.

I don’t think the DPP regime cares much about Ming Zheng since they don’t identify with their Chinese heritage at all. If China made a movie about catching and cooking sailfish they’d probably be more offended.

 

[Temstar]

I don’t think the DPP regime cares much about Ming Zheng since they don’t identify with their Chinese heritage at all. If China made a movie about catching and cooking sailfish they’d probably be more offended.

Southern Ming's history is surprisingly similar to ROC rump state in Taiwan though, that's not just me saying that I've seen folks like Julian Kuo say the same, and that's an ex-DPP man. I think some drawing of parallel would be inevitable when this movie comes out.

I think it could be a similar situation with Letter to Grandma were different parties draw all sorts of different conclusion to the movie, something like:

pan-green: this movie is a barely disguised threat
your average Taiwanese: this movie is united front effort
ham supremist: this movie proves deep state is real and is a Manchu cabal
mainland audience: this movie is boomer trash and spits on history

 

[Temstar]

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Shilao, Shenyi and Xingzhi discussing the softpower effects of Lai Ka-ying going up to Tiangong on Shenzhou 23.

They notice that this event seems to have had quite an impact on the psyche of the Hong Kong people. With one of their own now in low earth orbit they feel much more buy-in into CNSA manned space program and by extension being Chinese. Just look at this end credit screen for the news on the day of the launch:


They reckon the effect is a bit like the carrier visits, only even more intense. Yes, being a western colony means you've seen some shit and not easily impressed, but here is a thing that only the very best of the west can achieve and its yours if you want it. Before if a Hong Kong kid has aspirations for space the best path way for him would be to move to the US, try to join NASA and at best become someone like:


But now if a Hong Kong kid wans to be a space man he/she knows CNSA mission specialist door is open, you only have to qualify and you're going 200km up. This is a bonafide opportunity that anyone can point at if someone wants to question what benefit has 1997 return bought.

Because of this, Shenyi says he has noticed there really are now Hong Kong 大儒 that will jump to CNSA's defence online if they see Taiwanese talk down on it and give them the "you're just sour because there's a party in orbit with chicken wings and steak and you're not invited because you're a little bitch".

Looking further out, there are two Pakistani astronauts in training right now with CNSA an one of them is very likely to go up as early as late this year in Shenzhou 24. I know Pakistan has already had an astronaut lady who did a suborbital flight on commercial space but a six month trip to a space station should be something else. I think this is going to be another big soft power win for China and a big moment for global south. And you can bet we'll get a lot of entertainment out of this because Pakistan iron brothers are going to do what they do best and troll Indians about it.

 

[GulfLander]

Western media, The Economist seems to be covering this

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[Heresy]

Western media, The Economist seems to be covering this

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Posting something from the Economist should be considered the same as posting something from a rando on Twitter; utterly irrelevant, utterly non-credible, and utterly pointless. Who cares what that rag says, thinks or does? The only thing that will be of note is when it inevitably shuts down and ceases operations.

 

[Puss in Boots]

a six month trip to a space station should be something else.

I'm fairly certain the Pakistani astronauts will likely only stay in space for less than a week, because we all know China plans to have one astronaut stay in orbit for a year, which almost certainly means the Pakistani astronauts won't be replacing any other astronaut on a six-month stay. Nevertheless, this is still a very significant achievement for Pakistan, considering its economic size; it's already quite remarkable that it's on par with India.

 

[Wrought]

I have long maintained that the Indian government is relatively sane, but their incentives are twisted by the need to pander to delusional voters.

As

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and China work to steady their relationship after years of border tension, Indian filmmakers say projects inspired by the 2020 Galwan Valley clashes are being reworked, delayed or shelved following official warnings against “China-bashing”.

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heavyweight Salman Khan’s war drama, initially titled Battle of Galwan, was reportedly asked to change its name to Maatrubhumi: May War Rest in Peace, with several scenes requiring reshoots. A separate film, The Lion of Galwan, has been shelved entirely. The developments have drawn criticism from filmmakers and academics, who say they expose the selective application of creative freedom in Indian cinema.

“With Pakistan, it is easy to do, but with China, it isn’t,” she said. “We have a sensitive relationship with China. Freedom of expression in India always comes with caveats tied to India’s relationship with its neighbours and its sovereignty. The government is keen that only its narrative should be supported by filmmakers. It makes freedom of expression an illusion.”

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[Puss in Boots]

I have long maintained that the Indian government is relatively sane, but their incentives are twisted by the need to pander to delusional voters.

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You can't push a populist movement when you need votes and then blame voters for being radical when you fail.
Using populism to gain power is like making a deal with the devil; everything comes with a price.

 

[Wrought]

You can't push a populist movement when you need votes and then blame voters for being radical when you fail.
Using populism to gain power is like making a deal with the devil; everything comes with a price.

Sure you can; it just means that you played yourself and have nobody else to blame. That they ultimately entrapped themselves doesn't change the fact that the manipulators are far more sane than the manipulated.