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If you’re familiar with the spread of DEI as a sort of overarching guide to life and politics, one that has infiltrated colleges, schools and workplaces, then this story about China’s attempts to spread Xi Jinping’s socialism will sound familiar.
Formally, it’s called Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and in practice it’s an attempt to stamp the entire country with his personal brand. There has been a concerted effort to market Xi Jinping Thought as a way to put him on part with Mao and his little red book. But Xi has one advantage that Mao never had. He has the internet, or at least the walled garden that is the Chinese internet. And within that garden, Xi Jinping Thought has been gamified.
A young Chinese Communist Party official pulls out his phone on the bus home from work and opens the “Rejuvenation No. 1” app.
It’s not a style or a shopping site. It’s an app devoted to the sayings of Xi Jinping, China’s leader, and the official’s dedication to it propels his Communist Party branch to the top of the leader board. Smiling, he punches the air in celebration.
The man is the star of an advertisement encouraging officials to sign up in the app for a nationwide quiz on Xi’s personal ideology. So far this summer, 700,000 cadres have logged into the app daily to take part by trying to recall what Xi said about, well, almost everything.
To reach the final next month, they need to accurately answer hundreds of multiple-choice questions like: “In modern China, the essence of patriotism is to resolutely love the nation and the party and be highly unified in […].” Is the answer A) loving socialism, B) pursuing progress, C) daring to take responsibility or D) honing our ability to struggle? (It was A.)
The article explains that Xi Jinping Thought isn’t really an original philosophy so much as it’s just a collection of whatever Xi has said on various topics over the years. Given that Xi has delivered a lot of speeches at this point, the material is almost endless. State newspaper People’s Daily tried to turn it into an infographic back in 2018:
People’s Daily’s courageous attempt at using infographics to explain Xi Jinping Thought.
