India must influence Chinese public opinion in Mandarin just as China undertakes English language propaganda.
One moment it is the Chinese allegedly using microwave weapons. At another time, it is a parade of drones or conspicuous displays of supposedly cutting-edge winter clothing and winter housing. Then there is a clutch of reports about a Chinese village coming up in Bhutan and arms depots being established near Doklam.
When will we realise that we are being had by the Chinese propaganda machine? Our armed forces know how to separate the wheat from the chaff and would have taken necessary countermeasures. We the general public, with zero military/strategic expertise and without any direct access to the LAC are needless distractions.
The Chinese don’t want to fight a war any more than we do. Their raw soldiers are being chewed by the nasty winter every day and they are not nearly as well-geared as they lead us to believe. Sure, India is decidedly the weaker side. But can we give the Chinese a bloody nose? Surely yes. So, China wants to win the war by subduing our will to fight. Propaganda is thus a force multiplier for China.
No uncomfortable questions please
But the best part for Xi Xinping is that while toilet paper Global Times’ (and a host of Chinese proxy media and writers) trope is swallowed hook line and sinker in English-speaking India, the average Chinese person doesn’t read English and almost everything that they read and write in Mandarin is heavily censored. Therefore, very few are able to ask tough questions of Xi…such as how many Chinese soldiers perished in Galwan. This contrasts with the noisy daily grilling of our policymakers and army in response to the latest Chinese propaganda piece.
We haven’t been creative in influencing Chinese public opinion in Mandarin despite our excellent relations with Chinese-origin nations like Singapore and Taiwan.
Contrast this with the immense soft power that India wields in Pakistan due to Bollywood, our common language and heritage.
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