Dark attire is first indication that something happened.
It did.
Jiang Zemin is dead.
CCTV can make the protests go away with a magic wand, they can make Jiang's successor and Xi's predecessor disappear from the stage in real time,
but how long can they deny this story? Perhaps a short delay in the announcement of Jiang's passing to conjure up a narrative favorable to Xi, but they can't hide it for long.
Here he is. A man who helped Xi in his unexpected rise but got no gratitude. Banished like a Buddha on a shelf.
The leading organs of the Chinese Communist Party join in making this notice. This goes on for ten unblinking minutes.
What a difference a day makes!
Xi Jinping's image appeared 13 times in the first ten minutes of yesterday's news. It was all about him, and still is, in a way...
Next, some (grainy) images of Jiang Zemin during his heyday. This section is laudatory but accounts for only 3 minutes of this special edition of Xinwen Lianbo that runs way over time to 70 minutes.
(otherwise there would hardly be room to show Xi in action and cheer Russia.)
The images will evoke nostalgia in many, if only because China is a much more cold, closed and clammy place now.
Scenes of Jiang mixing with the masses, inspecting crop yields and showing solicitude to farmers, while not so different from today's photo ops, show a human touch.
And then there's the industrial sector to play act for.
Helmets on!
And science and other things.
There's lots of posing involved, but Jiang, in contrast to his current successor, was well-educated, urbane, a man of science and spoke several languages fluently.
He could recite the Gettysburg address in English.
He also show a sense of humor, albeit it somewhat corny, and a range of human emotions not obvious in the current paramount leader.
Jiang could be charming, even sweet, at times.
And he paid his dues, playing to the camera, inspecting flood zones and the like.
He presided over the return of Hong Kong in 1997.
That's Li Peng on his right.
And he could really ham it up. I saw him speak at Harvard and he was good with the crowd. I shouted out a question about human rights (only to be denied floor by host Ezra Vogel) by Jiang said he had good hearing and tried to respond anyway.
He studied electrical engineering in the Soviet Union and presided over opening the controversial Three Gorges Dam, a scheme first dreamed up by Mao and long a pet CCP project.
He was open to "foreign influences" and pushed hard for modernization, even if it meant diluting the what Xi Jinping calls "the original mission" of the party.
Diplomats found him funny, even "fuzzy." He played the Titanic theme song for a group of American visitors in his home in Zhongnanhai.
Can't picture Xi doing that (though Xi reported likes at least one Hollywood movie--"The Godfather")
Jiang was the first Chinese leader to readily participate in international summitry.
So now, the party under Xi Jinping, perhaps sensing that some people may miss those less stringent days, heaps rote praise upon the deceased former leader in a way that gives Xi the last word.
CCTV FOLLIES 12.02 Jiang Zemin: burying with praise
The first minute of Xinwen Lianbo is promising as it's got some facts about Jiang's childhood and pretty stock pictures. As he gets older, the narration gets more turgid and laden with his increasingly lengthy titles.
He went to high school in Yangzhou and studied at Jiaotong University in Shanghai. He opposed the Japanese invasion and welcomed the CCP liberation of Shanghai. In the 1980's he promoted science and traveled.
The enunciation of slogans soon replaces any meaningful comment about the man's life
The whole "great glorious tribute" seems a power play to bury his memory.
Rote words replace story and it goes on and on
One gets the sinking feeling it will last exactly one hour, and it does
Gloomy mourning rites for Jiang Zemin (10 minutes)
-Things brighten up at a CCP museum exhibit personally inspired by Xi Jinping
(It's like the Wizard of Oz going from B&W to color.)
-Russian update on Ukraine
-US stealing oil
The camera starts with Xi and his wife and then turns its hierarchy-sensitive gaze to the rest of the masked politburo. What? Xi wearing a mask? Outside in the fresh air?
Symbolism.
He's at one with the mourning elite today.
The Nightly News recounts the drama of Jiang Zemin's body being flown into Beijing.
"Jiang was a great Marxist...an outstanding leader of our great cause...an incalculable loss"
"In accordance with China's practice, foreign governments, political parties and friendly personages will not be invited."
Xi Jinping (top of the list, large print) heads the honorary funeral committee. This section includes hundreds of names and goes on for a mind-numbing five minutes.
Fun fact: Hu Jintao ranks 36th in the titular hierarchy.
Sometimes CCTV wows its viewers with spectacular images.
-Ten year's of success under Xi
-No corner of China untouched by the Xi "touch"
-Covid prevention now even more correct than before
-Xi congratulates Russia-China on energy ties
-Putin does too
-Russia bombs Ukrainian tanks
Another big news day at CCTV, which starts out with an 8-minute segment of scenic canned footage. Some of the footage is stunning, but it's all in service to the party line.
CCTV takes us to a far-away, but not forgotten corner of China where the roads are narrow and winding.
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.