Thread by @jinpeili

CCTV FOLLIES 12.16 Xi finds cure for Covid!
-Ignore it on nightly news
-Flood the zone with Xi talking about anything but
-Adopt "Yanan Spirit"
-Celebrate "New Era" (Xi era)
-Read Xi's writings
-Xi economy
-China has Chinese medicine
-Russia bombs Ukraine
-US at fault

The top of the news "speech" goes on for 15 arduous minutes. Xi, being a genius, does not refer to notes, he doesn't have to, in part because he just babbles party speak naturally, but also because it's entirely voiced over, a tidied up read-out produced by his PR team.

Xi, as befitting a man who bends the laws of nature to his iron will, does not wear a mask, but the rest of the politburo does, including Wang Huning and Cai Qi.

Even powerful men take notes when Xi speaks (R) unless they were among the likely authors of said speech (L)

The speech, in all its profundity, is summarized for viewer convenience:
...New Era...Spirit of the 20th...modernization with Chinese characteristics....development...

And now, a palette cleanser, something a little different?

Alas, no. It's more of the same. Xi speaks. People listen.
Only this time he's phoning it in to COP15 in Montreal where his glowing, flickering presence was most probably the highlight of the show.

Ready for some news without the word "Xi" in it?

Dream on. There's much more to come. Not only does CCTV promote Xi's latest magazine article, but reads half of it out loud.

Sound's like a rehash of Xi's boastful and spurious claim to be the embodiment of the Yanan spirit.

At this point, Xi-ed out viewers might be gulping for air, and not without reason.

Xi sucks up so much of the oxygen of the nightly news.

So, let's chill by reviewing China's remarkable development under Chairman Xi's wise stewardship...

"Party chairman Xi is the core of our party..."

Xi is almost indescribable in words, but CCTV's repeating visual motif of big, heavy, ponderous, overladen cargo ships barging ahead spewing toxic smoke and oil in their wake gives you the general idea.

In other news, China is enjoying an abundant autumn of record-breaking bumper crops.
Grain, grain, grain, everywhere, even up in the air...

And there's no shortage of medicine in this country.
Why, there are boxes and boxes of the stuff.
The pharmacies are well-stocked.
If you can't find it, we'll arrange for you to get it, by moving things from where they have more than enough to places that don't have enough.

These two gentlemen were looking for something and they were able to find what they were looking for.

And BTW, China's Covid numbers are REAL low for a country of a billion-plus.

Russia attacks, Ukraine fights back.

Donetsk allegedly hit by 40 US missiles.
Ukraine has no comment.
(note: CCTV has been celebrating Russia missile launches as a kind of fireworks show, never once pausing to wonder where they landed or who got killed.
But when Russia-annexed Donetsk gets hit, it's news.)

Whereas China does everything right, some countries do everything wrong. Look at the US press. By its own admission, US does bad things. Bad, bad things.
The Russian embassy in Washington, pictured below right, is becoming CCTV's go-to information source for scoops about the USA.

Meanwhile, Serbia wants to station military police in Kosovo. Just because.
If there's trouble, blame it on NATO

To summarize, "unfair" US sanctions against Russia are creating energy woes across Europe, wrecking the English economy, and intensifying worries about economic downtown, causing Wall Street to tank.