Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Two different narratives -- PLA image at home and aboard.

It is striking to see the difference between the Chinese edition of the PLA Daily to that of the English one. The headline of the English edition features smiling nurses playing with locals -- a nice soft-power touch.  Flip to the Chinese edition, and the PLAN's hard power is shown with its Marines training the Tanzania military.  It seems even the PLA has to justify its military spending to the old-hundred-names at home.

From the English Edition.
"Soldiers of Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Seventh Escort Task Force, sing with students at an elementary school in Dar es Salaam, capital of Tanzania, March 28, 2011. Some officers and soldiers of PLA Navy Seventh Escort visited the school and donated materials including television, clothes, etc. to the school.(Xinhua/Fan Junwei)"


From the Chinese Edition:





1 comment:

Unknown said...

the last two photos are so queer :)