CCTV FOLLIES 8.18 Another bad hair day for Xi

Xi still hiding from the cameras, but he did write a letter -Wang Huning and Cai Qi share top billing -Flood cleanup excellent, harvest will be good -Trains boost trade -Why isn't Biden in Hawaii?

Xi Jinping has not appeared on prime time news for 18 days and counting, but who’s counting? There are plenty of re-runs of Xi’s best hits to reassure the restive populace, though the grand personality cult has taken a hit due to the dearth of fresh footage.

Less air time for Xi is arguably good for Chinese TV, as it gives CCTV more time to cover essential stories of more urgent interest to the Chinese rank and file, such as today’s big expose on the utter destruction of the Maui wildfires and the poor US government response. (It’s been a dominant news story, taking up valuable air time and resource deployment on China’s domestic news every day for a full week now)

Today’s Maui report has the nerve to raise the question as to why Biden isn’t at the beach, consoling the victims of the Hawaiian wildfire. Hello? Did anyone see Xi Jinping in the disaster zone of North China?

Whether hidden in Beijing, or at the party meeting in beachside Beidaihe, Xi was practically walking distance from t…