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SAY IT LOUD, I'M PRC AND I'M PROUD

Wu Zhong

Asia Times, September 23, 2009

HONG KONG - In preparation for October 1, when grand celebrations will be held in the Middle Kingdom to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the government has released a set of 50 slogans to get people into the right mood.

China has undergone many changes over the past six decades in its march towards superpower status. But the CCP's rule has been constant. The party has changed in some ways, with softer attitudes on revolutionary class struggle, but certain rituals introduced by the founding leaders, such as National Day, are marked each year with grand celebrations.

Following a similarly long-observed ritual, the CCP last week publicized a set of 50 slogans which are to be painted on walls, written on placards and flags and carried by people during the PRC's birthday celebrations.

Since the time of Mao Zedong, paramount leader of the PRC from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976, the party has kept tight control on propaganda. In Mao's view, the party's two key weapons in its struggle for power were the gun and the pen. Mao's teaching is still faithfully followed, with the CCP keeping a tight grip on the military and on state propaganda.

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