CCTV FOLLIES 9.24 XI WINS BIG AT THE ASIAN GAMES!

Asian Games are all about Xi! -And to a lesser extent, all about China. -And to a lesser extent all about a China-led Asian order -"Triumph of the Will" redux for the digital age!

The news went overtime today due to the “historic” games in Hangzhou and the crowd-pleasing, patriotism-stirring, all-around inspiring appearance of you-know-who. In fact there was so little time for hard news, let alone news of China’s current economic hardships and harsh political purges, that 90% of the news slot was devoted to pagentry, mostly in service of the Xi personality cult and the red flag brand of Chinese hyper-nationalism.

So a quick review of the day’s three news stories and then back to what everyone really wants to see, which is more pictures of celebrity Xi aloofly and loftily presiding over the highly-choreographed opening ceremony of the Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Russia Defense Ministry footage leads the foreign news, as usual, giving a Russian-accented view of Ukraine. It’s an update on how the special operation is progressing, and it’s going very well, as Russia is steadily intercepting HIMARS missiles and precisely strikes only the most deserving of enemy military targets.

Ukraine is struggling in every aspect and can hardly hit a target without being intercepted by Russian defenses. The usual underwhelming images.

Meanwhile, the UK, already crumbling economically and ridden by strikes and popular unrest, has masses of citizens expressing discontent with Brexit.

Prices are dear and getting dearer, from the supermarket to the petrol station.

US is a crime-ridden land with so many shootings and violent incidents, CCTV can hardly keep up with it, but it makes for a nice closing segment to the news. Zai jian!

But wait, there’s more! Let’s go back to the top of the day’s news. See below.

Hangzhou is, quite simply, paradise on earth.

Don’t take CCTV’s word for it, Marco Polo said so!

(and it’s only gotten better since then)

And guess who’s the guest of honor in paradise?

The crowd leaps to its feet cheering, clapping, waving red flags, crying, shouting!

So overjoyed they are to get a glimpse of the paramount leader!

The leader benevolently acknowledges the love, respect and clamour of his people.

The stadium of 80000 carefully-selected, security-screened souls is trembling with joy.

But it’s not all personality cult. There’s also the cult of the PLA, the cult of the red flag, and the cult of communist China to nurture and put on display for all the world to see. Nothing like a little goose-stepping in view of the Great Wall to get patriotic juices flowing and Chinese chauvinisitic hearts all aflutter.

Precision military marching is enhanced with special effects to show the red flag gradually unfurling with each step of the soldiers; what a sight to behold!

Xi is accompanied by his loyalist sidekicks Cai Qi and Ding Xueliang; the rest of the politburo can watch on TV like everyone else.

It’s a stirring sight to see the cult of the red flag, and the red flag alone, dominate the proceedings at the so-called Asian games. It’s really the CCP games.

China’s national anthem is profoundly moving, and there are other sonic crowd-pleasers, too. The schmaltzy, self-referential “I love you, China” can be heard echoing in the stadium stands, as patriotic hearts blossom, counting the ways they love the motherland.

What’s not to love about being the country that is first among countries, with a leader first among leaders, not just of China but all mankind, a superior leader, a visionary leader whose Shared Future for Humanity and Belt and Road is rocking the world?

And, despite the extended, almost endless applause, the unvarnished joy, the unbottled admiration, the screams and cries and ecstatic accolades, Xi is such a simple, humble, kind-hearted man of the people, isn’t he?

He smiles so benignly. China is so lucky to have a leader like he. Like Xi.

The special effects were good, because China’s booming economy is doing so well that the government can afford to spend hundreds of millions on expensive, dazzling visual effects to impress the TV audience and VIP visitors.

And every penny is worth it when you have a world-renowned VIP statesman and fellow pro-Moscow autocrat to impress.

Xi’s politburo sidekicks are joined by the tired-looking but otherwise indefatiguable Wang Yi, who, despite giving his all to Xi, claps slowly and out of sync with his peers.

Chinese who attended the opening ceremony offer a recap, struggling to find words other than the usual rote phrases to describe the deep pride shared by “we Chinese.”

The games have hardly begun and already China is gobbling up most of the gold medals! China’s athletes already wrap themselves in the red flag, a gentle reminder to the world that China really is number one when it comes to nearly everything.

“Let’s let our friends from all over the world obtain a better understanding of China, and a better understanding of Hangzhou.”

(My understanding of Hangzhou has certainly been enhanced. After seeing this imaginative electronic version of a torchlight rally and mass parade with autocratic hero-worship at its core, I can see the similarities it shares with Nuremberg in 1935)