Tiffany Monica Louie - Week 6 - China

People take photos in front of a display for the proposed Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on the Olympic Green in Beijing on March 28, 2015. (Mark Schiefelbein / AP Photo)

In Branding a Rising China: An Analysis of Beijing’s National Image Management in the Age of China’s Rise, author Sheng Ding explains the strengths and weaknesses in China’s management of its national image.  China’s national image has been difficult to manage for the past few years, starting with riots in Tibetan regions and protests in response to the 2008 Summer Olympics Torch Relay.  Many in academia and the media agree that Beijing’s response to natural disasters in 2008 was applaudable, but at the same time argue that they lost their national image over the riots.  There are two ways for a country to maintain its national image: through promoting the positive and highlighting past successful policies while concealing and alienating itself form negative and less successful endeavors.  China’s national aesthetic is based in creating and projecting a favorable image through strong cultural diplomacy and investment in creating an attractive culture (state-sponsored student exchange programs between China and other countries); have strong international ties in information and broadcast communications (overseas CCTV Channels, Xinhua News Agency, etc), and maintaining close relationships with the Chinese who have moved overseas (overseas Chinese and new Chinese immigrants practice cultural traditions to bring them closer to their ethnic and cultural identity, keeping the cultural autonomy to improve China’s image in their adopted nations).

Q: How will the rise of young political activists (first generation children of ) Chinese immigrants in the United States affect or change the national image of China over time?

Ding, Sheng. "Branding a Rising China: An Analysis of Beijing's National Image Management in the Age of China's Rise." Journal of Asian and African Studies 46.3 (2011): 293-306. Web. 

http://www.ctvnews.ca/sports/ioc-praises-beijing-s-2022-winter-olympics-bid-1.2302603