Chinese Public Opinion - AUKUS Just Another US Encirclement Strategy
Chinese media want the Chinese public to feel aggrieved and blame the west especially the US. With a creative blending of fact and fiction, cynicism can be sustained.
11 May 2023
From Small Events, Big Conspiracy Theories Are Born:
10 May’s episode of Focus Today （今日关注）CCTV 41 carried three encirclement stories, since repetition of the encirclement and containment theory has long been a staple of Chinese 新闻舆论管理 public opinion guidance.
Korean WWII Compensation to Encirclement In the North:
The first section was not on AUKUS but on the US role in getting Japan and South Korea to improve their relationship. This focused on compensation for Korean laborers who suffered during WWII.
The Chinese spin is that the US Role in encouraging Japan to settle compensation is to get South Korea and Japan working not just separately with the US to encircle China, but to work together and with the US to more effectively encircle China.
discussion of these protesters in South Korea (above)…
segues into the line (partially obscured below)
美日韩加速靠近， 离三国军事同盟还有多远 ?
The United States, Japan and South Korea are quickly becoming closer. How long until there is a military alliance of the three countries?
AUKUS - Encirclement In The South
AUKUS. The propaganda organs reflex action is to immediately talk about the risk of nuclear proliferation and compare it with the “unfairness” meted out against friendly Iran’s “purely civil” nuclear programme.
Apparently Australian access to nuclear powered subs 构成严重的核扩散风险 / constitutes serious nuclear proliferation risks.
破坏亚洲地区和平稳定：（Australia getting subs will) destroy peace and stability in the Asian region.
Our new subs will use enriched uranium circa 93 %, above 90 %. US claimed Iran was breaking rules when it upgraded over 86 %. So another western double standard here…2
So when discussing AUKUS with people who get their news from Chinese language media bear in mind the obscured subtitle above:
美英澳核潜艇合作或打开“潘多拉魔盒” U.S.-UK-Australian nuclear submarine cooperation may open the "Pandoras Box".
AND 高科技军事同盟 AUKUS plus - will allow France and Japan to assist - creating a high tech military alliance intensifying military competition in the region.
More encirclement for containment.
Encirclement From The Center
The last story of the night:
Taiwan talks with the US about cooperation with US, Japan, South Korea, and the Phillipines to create ammunition storage centres to ensure the right ammunition is in the right place at the right time.
Taiwan to become America’s Ammunition Store ? Taiwan Media: Civilian Safety Will Be Endangered.
Rather than admitting these moves are a response to Chinese actions, talking heads describe the US taking advantage of the opportunity (of escalated tensions) to get Taiwan to put itself at risk to help the US contain China.
The host summarises with the point that these three actions described in this action mean that China must be on the alert.
Shouting Into Buckets
Focus Today is available on Youtube but does not permit clipping and does not permit auto generated English or Chinese subtitles3. This suggests they want Chinese diaspora to watch it, but don’t want anyone else to watch it.
You can’t discuss issues with people if you don’t know what they are thinking. And the CCP don't want you confusing Chinese people with non-CCP approved ideas, so they think it's best if they wear their bucket and you wear yours.
None of the above are military secrets, but watching what Chinese people watch, reading what they read, enables us to perceive what Chinese people might think based on the information available to them.
Reading, watching and understanding CCP controlled content is the first step in facilitating respectful, sensible conversation.
If we want to change hearts and minds, we first need to know what is going on in the hearts and minds of ordinary Chinese people.
Otherwise China / ROW (Rest of World) dialogue is like shouting into buckets.
Sounds loud to you but the other party cannot hear or make out what you are saying. China/ CCP wants 话语权 （dialogue rights), but this means the right to be heard, not the willingness to listen.
Outside China’s borders at least, we need to thwart this.
Read, watch, listen, talk. Let Chinese people know we are not the enemy they have been taught to believe we are.
The full show is here, there’s a new one nearly each day.
via YouTube or the CCTV app or website
Unless, like me, you think it is unreasonable to compare Iran with it’s history of perpetrating and backing violence and terrorism, with Australia.
Chinese subtitles are a big help to people studying Chinese language, and those who speak a dialect other than mandarin.