IS21. China Takes Aim at Western Culture
Дата публикации: Feb 20, 2016 5:41:49 PM
Transcript
Stan Grant: It could be called Hu Jintao's own cultural revolution. No red books or screaming messes but the message is loud enough ... ... Western influence in with Chinese culture. A prominent blogger and a social commentator Jeremy Foldkorn says president Hu is motivated by fear that outside influence would bring internal revolt.
Jeremy Foldkorn: I think he is basically, er, using the playbook of, er, a much older kind of communist re-tr.. and I don't think there's a real sense that China under attack. I think there's a lot of worries about color movements or, you know, jazzmen revolution, kind of an upr... of a spring that kind of movement coming to China.
SG: Who is t.... culture war? On one side is Western ex.. Lady Gaga. On the other more sed.. nationalistic performance. Worring about western seduction of Chinese youth, Chinese president wants a little more of this <Chinese song> and a little less of this <Lady Gaga performance>
JK: My sense was that, erm, the ... the fear, er, is that, er, the sense is not holding that the Party's propaganda is not longer working and that Chinese people are lost because the Communist Party is enforcing enough telling them what to do
SG: President Hu takes aim to what he calls the infiltration of western values and his ... were published in the official communist magazine "Seeking Truth". He says the West is using ideology and culture to attempt to divide China. (Citing) "We must clearly see that the international hostile forces are intensifying strategic attempts to westernize China ".
China already limits the publication of western books and ... twenty foreign films are allowed to be shown .. .. Artists, writers of complain to be arrested and some locked up .. not .. the party line.
Still The Internet has made sens ... harder
Take a look around. China is surrounded by Western ideas, fashion and culture. Just in this popular Beijing shopping center you've got Nike here, Starbacks over there, Puma there. All big brands side by side.
Presedent Hu urges China to be on guard and take forceful measures to respond to Western Culture .. reach.
Chairman Mao used the cultural revolution to help to find his legacy. President Hu is now preparing to hand on the power to a new generation. Leaders may change but the old battles often remain the same.
Stan Grant, CNN, Beijing
Comprehension Check
1. How does Jeremy Goldkorn comment on the current Chinese President’s policy? What is he mainly worried about?
2. What relation does this have to music?
3. What does the President take aim at?
4. How is this reflected in relation to the publishing of books, showing films etc.?
5. What does the President warn China about?
Wordlist
revolt noun BrE /rɪˈvəʊlt/ ; NAmE /rɪˈvoʊlt/
[countable, uncountable] a protest against authority, especially that of a government, often involving violence; the action of protesting against authority
synonym uprising
the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381
to lead/stage a revolt
The army quickly crushed the revolt.
the biggest back-bench revolt this government has ever seen
Attempts to negotiate peace ended in armed revolt.
(formal) The people rose in revolt.
seduction - something that strongly attracts people, but often has a bad effect on their lives
seduction noun BrE /sɪˈdʌkʃn/ ; NAmE /sɪˈdʌkʃn/
1. [uncountable, countable] the act of persuading somebody to have sex with you
Cleopatra’s seduction of Caesar
2. [countable, usually plural, uncountable] seduction (of something) the qualities or features of something that make it seem attractive
synonym enticement
Who could resist the seductions of the tropical island?
the seduction of fame
infiltration - becoming a feature of something gradually, without anyone noticing
infiltration noun BrE /ˌɪnfɪlˈtreɪʃn/ ; NAmE /ˌɪnfɪlˈtreɪʃn/ [uncountable]
infiltration (of somebody) (into something) the act of entering a place or an organization secretly, especially in order to get information that can be used against it
the infiltration of terrorists from across the border
infiltration (of something) (into something) the process of passing slowly into something
the infiltration of rain into the soil
seek verb BrE /siːk/ ; NAmE /siːk/ (formal), past simple sought BrE /sɔːt/ ; NAmE /sɔːt/
1. [transitive, intransitive] to look for something/somebody
seek something/somebody Drivers are advised to seek alternative routes.
seek for something/somebody (British English)
They sought in vain for somewhere to shelter.
2. [transitive, intransitive] seek (something) to try to obtain or achieve something
to seek funding for a project
Highly qualified secretary seeks employment. (= in an advertisement)
He intends to seek custody of the children.
We are currently seeking new ways of expanding our membership.
3. [transitive] to ask somebody for something
seek something I think it's time we sought legal advice.
seek something from somebody She managed to calm him down and seek help from a neighbour.
4. [intransitive] seek to do something to try to do something
synonym attempt
They quickly sought to distance themselves from the protesters.
5. -seeking (in adjectives and nouns) looking for or trying to get the thing mentioned; the activity of doing this
attention-seeking behaviour
Voluntary work can provide a framework for job-seeking.
see also heat-seeking, hide-and-seek, self-seeking
hostile - angry and deliberately unfriendly towards someone and ready to argue with them
hostile adjective BrE /ˈhɒstaɪl/ ; NAmE /ˈhɑːstl/ , /ˈhɑːstaɪl/
1. very unfriendly or aggressive and ready to argue or fight
The speaker got a hostile reception from the audience.
hostile to/towards somebody/something She was openly hostile towards her parents.
2. hostile (to something) strongly rejecting something
synonym opposed
hostile to the idea of change
The proposals have provoked a hostile response from opposition parties.
3. making it difficult for something to happen or to be achieved
hostile conditions for plants to grow in
4. belonging to a military enemy
hostile territory
5. (business) (of an offer to buy a company, etc.) not wanted by the company that is to be bought
a hostile takeover bid
intensify verb BrE /ɪnˈtensɪfaɪ/ ; NAmE /ɪnˈtensɪfaɪ/ [intransitive, transitive]
to increase in degree or strength; to make something increase in degree or strength
synonym heighten
Violence intensified during the night.
The fighting in the area has intensified sharply.
intensify something The opposition leader has intensified his attacks on the government.
The reforms served only to intensify the misery of the poorer peasants.
to urge - to strongly suggest that someone does something
urge verb BrE /ɜːdʒ/ ; NAmE /ɜːrdʒ/
1. to advise or try hard to persuade somebody to do something
urge somebody to do something She urged him to stay.
Police are urging anyone who saw the accident to contact them immediately.
urge that… The report urged that all children be taught to swim.
urge (somebody) + speech ‘Why not give it a try?’ she urged (him).
2. urge something (on/upon somebody) to recommend something strongly
The situation is dangerous and the UN is urging caution.
3. urge somebody/something + adv./prep. (formal) to make a person or an animal move more quickly and/or in a particular direction, especially by pushing or forcing them
He urged his horse forward.
To be on guard - the act or duty of protecting places or people, or of preventing prisoners from escaping
legacy noun BrE /ˈleɡəsi/ ; NAmE /ˈleɡəsi/ (pl. legacies)
money or property that is given to you by somebody when they die
synonym inheritance
They each received a legacy of $5 000.
a situation that exists now because of events, actions, etc. that took place in the past
Future generations will be left with a legacy of pollution and destruction.
The problems were made worse by the legacy of centuries of neglect.