I think there is a general tendency to confuse extended non-violent hard power with soft power. I see some people saying that when other countries are drawn to admire your culture because you are powerful, that that is soft power, but to me, it is not, because it is reliant on and is backed by hard power. To me, it is extended cultural, nonviolent hard power that comes naturally as your core hard power is built. If you you disagree, could you fellas define what you think is the difference between soft and hard power?
@Wangxi from your post, I can say that Hong Kong is not a matter of soft power. The British had a de facto stranglehold over it and controlled what the young people were educated with. The ROC media is also controlled by their government, the primary principle of which is to hug America's leg and antagonize China ever since Chiang lost to Mao. It is extremely unfair for you to suggest that China can overturn this with some PR or "soft power." It is the same as saying that the US has terrible PR and soft power because North Korea, Iran, Venezuela will not follow it. The trend is the same all over the world with very little difference to PR skill but correlated perfectly or nearly perfectly with political alignment. China is seen positively in the countries that are politically aligned with China and poorly in countries aligned with the US and these alignments are made by hard power, which is why the US has more followers. During the Olympics, Russia automatically added the ROC and Hong Kong to China's medal count saying that nobody can beat China giving China a PR boost in Russia not because China asked for it, but because that's what they want to see politically and because China had the hard power to deliver it. In countries that are politically aligned with the US, even when China wins outright, they say that China cheated or suggest that somehow it's cheating to train your children from too young an age or to work them too hard. You cannot win this bullshit with soft power, only with hard power. Your recommendation of a massive expensive drive that will lead to very marginal gains that are very easily combatted by Western nations in their own territories or spheres of influence is a terrible way to spend money with very little change for the heavy price tag. In the end, the results will be the same; countries that are politically aligned with China will like China and those who are politically aligned with the US will hate China. China will gauge what it spends on PR based on the benefits it continues to receive vs the cost as going down this path will encounter severe diminishing returns while investments in hard power will compound in effect as the balance tilts. This will give you not only the hard power to fight irreconcilable rivals as well as supply the secondary effects of hard power (that people often confuse with soft power) to win over countries that aren't invested into either side. Investments in image PR will encounter heavy resistance while investments in hard power is a rolling snowball killing multiple birds with one stone.
@xypher Let's not make assumptions about what happened with Peng, the man she accused, and how the officials handled it. The facts are not out (but we do know she's been dining just fine).
Chinese entertainment and gaming need to be regulated and tamped down. Just because you're getting some international viewers doesn't mean it's worth the cost at home to have people idolizing the wrong image and wasting their time doing the wrong things. Chinese hard power depends on young people getting their heads in the game (and that, ironically, means
not a video game), studying and having the desire to serve the country instead of turning themselves into the soft cute boys seen on TV, so these regulations were made. Whatever international effects they have need to be sacrificed for China's hard power growth at home. Don't think that just because people like you more, you're doing the right thing.
As I said, countries like Japan, Korea, France, are often romanticized in the US-aligned countries because they are non-threatening and make people feel comfortable while just hearing China makes American's heart rate and blood pressure go up. You cannot compete with these countries in fuzzy feelings because China is, by nature, a nation that rivals their world structure and gives them nightmares in their sleep. This is natural, not due to any failure on China's part.
@escobar I like that new nickname
Thanks!