Social media is bursting with images of protest and police citizen clashes across China, but not a peep on CCTV which sails through first ten minutes singing praise of Xi Jinping and the victorious 20th party congress.
Scenes from Hotan in Xinjiang where citizens waving red flag break through police barrier manned by white suits.
Similar street battles reported in Tianjin, Guangdong, Chongqing and elsewhere.
And now the news....
"We have some big stories today..."
-Success of Xi Jinping's 20th Congress
-Success of scientific and correct Covid Policy
-Russia strikes foreign fighters in Ukraine
It's all canned footage, almost ten minutes of it, singing praise of Xi, showing replays of the lofty leader in action (from 2018)
Oh, and did I mention the 20th party congress?
Victorious.
(Yeah, that's the one where party elder Hu Jintao got thrown off stage)
China is so strong
And the people are so happy
I attribute the success to "the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping at the party's 20th congress"
The CCP uses shots of the Great Hall and Tiananmen Gate to bolster their legitimacy, but it's wearing thin.
And they love the agriculture shots of bumper harvests and sheep grazing under solar power panels.
I learned a lot from the 20th party congress, for example...
With the guidance of the party, all kind of improvements are possible.
Apparently, it now takes only one man to change a light bulb.
With computer technology, one can monitor the community and make it a model community.
Not sure why this picture was shown.
What does this little tyke thinks about the "20th?"
Grain is being grown and harvested for food.
It is important to have enough wheat for winter
This is China's "Africa" conference.
It reminds me of one of those "womens" conferences staged by the mullahs in Iran.
And now the news that everyone's waiting for.
What's up with the lock downs?
It turns out that the middle name of "Zero Covid" is Xi.
In other words, it's the correct policy, but alas, there have been failures of implementation at the local level.
"The 20 points are the guideline of our epidemic control"
(For example, it shortened quarantine from 10 to eight days for close contacts of infected people and for inbound travelers.)
Everything's under control and orderly
"Optimization" of uncompromising implementation of Covid controls is the key.
"We need stricter food safety"
The visuals here suggest that vigilance is needed when it comes to shipping produce and comestibles, with a strong hint (see Thai durian below) that imports are suspect
(because foreign germs come with foreign things?)
Prevention and controls with scientific standards is the way forward....it's people first and life first.
A look at China's Covid stats...
A look at USA Covid stats...
China's Navy sets sail for international fleet review in Bangladesh...
But wait, there's more!
"A new journey to build Shanghai into an international financial center..."
And now, we turn to Russia's Defense Ministry for an objective update on Ukraine
Russia uses advanced technology to flush out the foreign mercenaries in Ukraine
Ukraine fights back
Breaking news directly from US media...
"The US approach to Covid is a complete failure"
Fighting along Iraq-Iran border
Japan space agency admits its research team tampered with experiment data
And let's conclude the news with something not in the news.
CCTV FOLLIES 11.28 China's clarion call to the world
News opens at Tiananmen. It features scenes of mass gatherings, enthusiastic youth and heroic accomplishments. It will tell a fairy tale about a nation that has rejuvenated itself under the firm guidance of a very wise man.
Today, the big news:
-Xi welcomes the Mongolian president
-Xi has a meeting with the Mongolian president
-The legendary story of how China rejuvenated under Xi
-Russia strikes military targets in Kherson
The audience is about to begin. Mongolia's president is taken to Tiananmen Square. He treads the VIP red carpet to mount the steps into the Great Hall of the People.
When the going gets hot, CCTV plays it cool.
As protests proliferate in China's cities, CCTV talks about the weather. Let it snow!
-China economy good
-Snow in north China
-Fewer fairy lights on high streets of England this year.
From Shanghai to Beijing, new businesses are doing well
Foreign Minister Wang Yi warmly welcomes the new Russian ambassador to Beijing.