Red song campaign in China

[bhchao]

Bo Xilai has launched a red song campaign in Chongqing to invite people to pay tribute to the Communist Party on its 90th anniversary. The invites have evoked memories of political correctness from the Cultural Revolution days. People seeking an aspiring career who receive the invites have to accept it. But are they accepting it with passion? Or just pragmatic self-interest?

'Red song' campaign in China strikes some false notes

[Lu]

From what I see around Beijing (not even Chongqing), people, mostly middle aged to elderly people, are immensely enthousiastic. Red singing groups are everywhere and they are growing. The one near my house has acquired first a saxophone player and then a clarinet player as well. They don't always sound very euphonic, but they're certainly enjoying themselves. Recently I was in Tiantan park, and there were even more and larger groups there.

What I wonder: who initiates these things, especially outside Chongqing? Is there an organisation providing people with song suggestions or appointing group leaders and getting groups together (after which they perhaps grow naturally)? Or is this a spontaneous thing?

[Chinese thinker]

Well, I am not from chongqing but I cannot see any thing that the whole campaign is a self-motivated one. Elderly love to sing red songs is basically a sort of remembrance only, since they don't have too much songs to sing at that period of time, which means when they were young. I am not saying this is just a kind of entertainment, still there are some expression of their love to communism and the idealistic world in their mind, this is not majority, though. The trend could be seen in Chongqing that I think might be initiated by that promotion department in government(it really exist) is a propaganda only, the purpose is to draw people's attention from making money to some higher values, to some extent, it is good. Yet, the campaign might be some formalistic thing to a great part of those people who was born after the revolution tide had been ended.