CCTV FOLLIES 11/18 APEC gone Amok
Xi stirs up Bangkok
China dominates rote proceedings
Hailing new emperor in land of kings
Kowtows, clasped hands
Cheers for 20th congress, Belt and Road and recitation of "One China" Policy
Waiting for Xi, Thai leader gets no respect
Thai Prime Minister Prayut went to the airport and waited in hot sun to greet Xi with a polite bow.
Protocol was such that only the visiting "Emperor and Empress" went unmasked.
Locals and social subordinates, such as Thai Prime Minister and APEC host Prayut, had to mask up.
Xi wasn't too keen on shaking Prayut's hand either.
Not as iconic as John Foster Dulles refusing the outstretched hand of Zhou Enlai in 1954, but it must sting nonetheless.
Prayut, a ruthless self-appointed military leader in the eyes of Thai opposition is like a timid choir boy in the company of Big Xi.
Thai gala cultural fest hosted by Thai PM Prayut.
Justin Trudeau is seated suitably distant from Xi.
The PRC camped out in swanky Oriental Hotel and commandeered the gilded ballroom so that Asian leaders might be recorded having a CCTV-controlled audience with Xi following strict Chinese protocol.
The Sultan of Brunei listens with clasped hands.
The President of Chile attempts an awkward kowtow.
Xi doesn't blink.
Chilean President Gabriel Boric listens to Xi's deep and profound thoughts with clasped hands.
"Chile is a country in South America..." begins Xi.
NZ premier Jacinda Ardern hides her hands from view entirely, but nods frequently as the master speaks...
When CCTV catches her jotting some notes, they like it so much they run the exact same footage twice, then jump-cut back to the hands-on-the-side shot.
The leader of Papua New Guinea listens reverently with head bent and clasped hands.
After praising Belt and Road, he is quoted as saying that "nothing ever will be allowed to interfere with China-Papua relations."
CCTV then finds echoes and accolades in a sweep of the region, finding heaps of praise of China in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
And that's CCTV's report of the day on APEC Thailand.
What you didn't see on CCTV were the anti APEC protesters trying to get close to the venue
They didn't get close, they got clobbered.
The Thai opposition rightly recognizes that gala fests such as APEC do nothing for the people.
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