http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/05/post-earthquake-politics-in-japan-and-china/ Informed reflection on the events of the day Wed, 15 Jul 2015 17:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.4.23 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/05/post-earthquake-politics-in-japan-and-china/comment-page-1/#comment-7244 Fri, 13 May 2011 22:04:00 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=4949#comment-7244 There is a dilemma for authoritarian leaders, especially in China.
Yu Jie, a dissident writer, wrote a book titled China’s Best Actor: Wen Jiabao (Zhongguo Yingdi Wen Jiabao), Hong Kong: New Century Press. As the provocative title suggests, Yu’s argument crystallizes the popular political caricature that depicts Wen as the “best actor.” Sincerity of his performance is seriously challenged in light of the regime’s suppression on dissidents, lack of response about the school collapse issue, and Wen’s son’s alleged exploiting his identity to reap economic benefits. This strong criticism indicates a greater dilemma in addition to the scene issue discussed here. When popular perceptions do not make a distinction between the leader and the regime, the leader’s performance hinges on the regime’s performance. If there is a discrepancy, sincerity of the leader’s will be questioned. When his image is separated from the regime, as I have maintained, his performance enhances his personal image but does help enhance legitimacy. Other interesting phenomena, such as Wen’s open call for democratic reform and resort to public opinions to consolidate his status, could also be topics for future research on political performance.

]]> http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/2011/05/post-earthquake-politics-in-japan-and-china/comment-page-1/#comment-6128 Wed, 04 May 2011 23:02:17 +0000 http://www.deliberatelyconsidered.com/?p=4949#comment-6128 I think it’s a shame that politicians have to manage media so carefully in order to appear engaged, empathetic and competent. Their photo-ops can mean little in terms of the effectiveness of actual policy, for example Bush’s bullhorn moment. I was not aware of remarks by Wen Jiabao about democracy in China. All I’ve read about is repression and detention of pro-democracy activists there, but it’s encouraging to read about this here. In regards to the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, I found it extremely sad that the construction of the schools throughout the region was so poor that they completely crumbled. At least in Japan, the building codes withstood the initial earthquake pretty well. The great death toll came mainly as a result of the tsunami. Also, from what I’ve read and seen in reports, the call for accountability coming from the parents of the children killed in the poorly constructed schools in China has been squelched by their political leaders.

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