7 ms·

Why is this relevant?

kieselguhr_kid 4y ago
Seriously. It'd be one thing if this was about tensions in the South China Sea but this is a story about peppers for fucks sake.
- HorizonXP 4y ago
  I actually do think it’s relevant. They build credibility in your mind space via innocuous stories about peppers, so you’re more likely to accept their articles about more charged topics in the future.
  - bell-cot 4y ago
    Perhaps. OTOH - looking over Sixth Tone's front page, there are many "Here is a serious problem in China..." headlines. Far fewer "All is well" or "Interesting Story" headlines. And zero headlines about politics or national security issues, for Sixth Tone to be building cred on those subjects.
    - alisonatwork 4y ago
      Sixth Tone represents a sort of progressive Shanghai-based view of China that is more palatable to people in democratic countries than the usual party line reporting. But, to be sure, the level of criticism is still always below the threshold of what the party deems acceptable. That doesn't mean the stories aren't pertinent or interesting, but it's worth keeping in mind that they will only ever go so far in reporting the facts on the ground. You may see criticism of corrupt behavior or generally "uncivilized" practices, but not of the broader party policies that led to the situation. In China, this is the best you can hope for.
      - Markoff 4y ago
        And how is this relevant to story about chilli peppers? You all are just feeding troll when you approve pointing out company ownership at story about chilli peppers. Next time you see story about sausages on DW.com I hope you won't forget to analyze how it's site funded by German gov, same with France24 and French gov.
  - kieselguhr_kid 4y ago
    I think this is a weird take. You could analyze every human interest piece this way. Is that what the NYT does with Page Six? I read that and then don't think about the fossil fuel or tech companies' influence on their stories? Just read a story about chili peppers and don't get all Joseph McCarthy about it.
    - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
      > Is that what the NYT does with Page Six? Absolutely. They pushed the US Middle East wars at key points. Why not?
- bootstrappit 4y ago
  I doubt this piece was signed off personally by Xi Jinping or anything, but all these little details lodge subconsciously in your mind. Like, you might not specifically think of Chairman Mao as a poor rural dweller famous for his love of spice after reading this article, but after reading dozens of pointless details like it you might start to think he wasn't such a bad guy after all.
  - shadowofneptune 4y ago
    George Washington was so honest he could not lie about chopping down a cherry tree, so maybe you won't lie either. This doesn't seem to be a literary habit particular to China.
    - quesera 4y ago
      It's propaganda though. Some advertisers spend on relevant keywords, others pay for generalized brand awareness. Many do both. Anything published by a government in a foreign language has an agenda. It's propaganda. In this case, "brand awareness" propaganda. Maybe the goal is to promote tourism, or to give a boost to exports. Maybe it's to keep the country/government in the front of foreign readers' minds, to foster a sense of commonality or appreciation. Whatever. There's an agenda. It's worth discussing and thinking about. Like with advertising, it's important to know what role you are playing in the publisher's agenda. Accepting the material uncritically is not a neutral position -- it makes you a unwitting player in their game. You are completely correct that the US does it too, both internally (presidential mythologies, to use your example) and externally (Radio Free X etc etc).
      - shadowofneptune 4y ago
        I'm glad you see it that way. My response was so flippant because I do think people often see China as personally run, in its entirety, by Xi. Any news coming out of China, from as grave as genocide to as minor as Olympics festivals, is seen as part of a single plan. The actions of the Chinese gov't and press can be just as much bottom-up as top-down, even if the top takes credit.
Georgelemental 4y ago
It's nice to know these things, even if it doesn't necessarily invalidate the content of the article. "The CCP is investing in sharing China's history with Anglophones" is interesting and important to know.
newaccountagain 4y ago
Speaking as a non-american non-asian I think this is very relevant. Southwest china speaks a separate language, and has a military history. I think kumintag (later forced to move to taiwan) and ccp had battles there, probably significant ones but can’t recall details. Ccp had to keep handling unrest until few years after the civil war. So the article saying chili-red revolution is odd to say the least. There’s more, that it relates pepper and peasants. the article also starts off by mcdonalds and kfc, which are not the most high-end food, and also not chinese businesses. As for military history, some of southwest china is mountainous, mongols had a hard time capturing it too. Mongke khan died there, and according to wikipedia, some fortresses kept fighting for a few years after southern song falls. Is the article relating those who fight for southern song to be just McDonalds superfans?!! If that’s a thing! Of course not… but my guess it is saying something, maybe this is an anti mcdonalds ad?! I can’t tell, or care really. I’d rather read from a proper source about peppers than what is almost surely micro propaganda, Even good quality ones.

Seriously. It'd be one thing if this was about tensions in the South China Sea but this is a story about peppers for fucks sake.

HorizonXP 4y ago
I actually do think it’s relevant. They build credibility in your mind space via innocuous stories about peppers, so you’re more likely to accept their articles about more charged topics in the future.
- bell-cot 4y ago
  Perhaps. OTOH - looking over Sixth Tone's front page, there are many "Here is a serious problem in China..." headlines. Far fewer "All is well" or "Interesting Story" headlines. And zero headlines about politics or national security issues, for Sixth Tone to be building cred on those subjects.
  - alisonatwork 4y ago
    Sixth Tone represents a sort of progressive Shanghai-based view of China that is more palatable to people in democratic countries than the usual party line reporting. But, to be sure, the level of criticism is still always below the threshold of what the party deems acceptable. That doesn't mean the stories aren't pertinent or interesting, but it's worth keeping in mind that they will only ever go so far in reporting the facts on the ground. You may see criticism of corrupt behavior or generally "uncivilized" practices, but not of the broader party policies that led to the situation. In China, this is the best you can hope for.
    - Markoff 4y ago
      And how is this relevant to story about chilli peppers? You all are just feeding troll when you approve pointing out company ownership at story about chilli peppers. Next time you see story about sausages on DW.com I hope you won't forget to analyze how it's site funded by German gov, same with France24 and French gov.
- kieselguhr_kid 4y ago
  I think this is a weird take. You could analyze every human interest piece this way. Is that what the NYT does with Page Six? I read that and then don't think about the fossil fuel or tech companies' influence on their stories? Just read a story about chili peppers and don't get all Joseph McCarthy about it.
  - aaaaaaaaata 4y ago
    > Is that what the NYT does with Page Six? Absolutely. They pushed the US Middle East wars at key points. Why not?
bootstrappit 4y ago
I doubt this piece was signed off personally by Xi Jinping or anything, but all these little details lodge subconsciously in your mind. Like, you might not specifically think of Chairman Mao as a poor rural dweller famous for his love of spice after reading this article, but after reading dozens of pointless details like it you might start to think he wasn't such a bad guy after all.
- shadowofneptune 4y ago
  George Washington was so honest he could not lie about chopping down a cherry tree, so maybe you won't lie either. This doesn't seem to be a literary habit particular to China.
  - quesera 4y ago
    It's propaganda though. Some advertisers spend on relevant keywords, others pay for generalized brand awareness. Many do both. Anything published by a government in a foreign language has an agenda. It's propaganda. In this case, "brand awareness" propaganda. Maybe the goal is to promote tourism, or to give a boost to exports. Maybe it's to keep the country/government in the front of foreign readers' minds, to foster a sense of commonality or appreciation. Whatever. There's an agenda. It's worth discussing and thinking about. Like with advertising, it's important to know what role you are playing in the publisher's agenda. Accepting the material uncritically is not a neutral position -- it makes you a unwitting player in their game. You are completely correct that the US does it too, both internally (presidential mythologies, to use your example) and externally (Radio Free X etc etc).
    - shadowofneptune 4y ago
      I'm glad you see it that way. My response was so flippant because I do think people often see China as personally run, in its entirety, by Xi. Any news coming out of China, from as grave as genocide to as minor as Olympics festivals, is seen as part of a single plan. The actions of the Chinese gov't and press can be just as much bottom-up as top-down, even if the top takes credit.

Georgelemental 4y ago

It's nice to know these things, even if it doesn't necessarily invalidate the content of the article. "The CCP is investing in sharing China's history with Anglophones" is interesting and important to know.

newaccountagain 4y ago

Speaking as a non-american non-asian I think this is very relevant. Southwest china speaks a separate language, and has a military history. I think kumintag (later forced to move to taiwan) and ccp had battles there, probably significant ones but can’t recall details. Ccp had to keep handling unrest until few years after the civil war. So the article saying chili-red revolution is odd to say the least. There’s more, that it relates pepper and peasants. the article also starts off by mcdonalds and kfc, which are not the most high-end food, and also not chinese businesses. As for military history, some of southwest china is mountainous, mongols had a hard time capturing it too. Mongke khan died there, and according to wikipedia, some fortresses kept fighting for a few years after southern song falls. Is the article relating those who fight for southern song to be just McDonalds superfans?!! If that’s a thing! Of course not… but my guess it is saying something, maybe this is an anti mcdonalds ad?! I can’t tell, or care really. I’d rather read from a proper source about peppers than what is almost surely micro propaganda, Even good quality ones.