Buck Rogerz

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 08:05:05 +0800

I really disagree with your dismissive conclusion. From China's perspective, if this project improves overall public perceptions/sympathy by any amount (obviously, the more, the better), it will be viewed as successful. Also, I doubt they are spending $6.6 billion with a short-term view. Rather they see it as national image-building which will take place over decades, not years. First and foremost, the target audience will be the Chinese diaspora of 125 million, which Beijing has never hesitated to leverage in the past, and events like this will become increasingly common. But it is not so much conspicuous actions that are most important. Rather it is the subtlety of opinions, biases, perceptions, etc. that are the real prize.

Shanghaiist: Beijing spending 45 billion RMB on pro-China international news network

Buck Rogerz