“Low-end red” : when propaganda provokes ridicule

Being a Chinese Communist Party cadre is a privilege but also a heavy responsibility. Completed, the time when being a civil servant rhymed with receptions sometimes decadents and abundant corruption. Xi Jinping cherche, since the first day of his accession to power, to discipline these executives. In the party lexicon, precise terms designate these deleterious attitudes which are henceforth to be avoided : formalism (formalism), bureaucracy (bureaucracy), or more broadly those that show two "faces" (double face) to only cite a few.

Take a local official, leading a town of a few tens of thousands of souls. Concerned about his image, he wants to show his constituents – but also his bosses – the seriousness of his work. He then orders a series of articles in the local newspapers, showing the ardor with the task and its acute political conscience. Problem, our official is not a fine communicator, and his article is titled “ proud of communist values, the First Secretary studies the texts of the Party every evening by candlelight ». A ridiculous message, which is sure to be mocked on the internet.

This type of article and formulation are legion. This use of “vulgar” propaganda, "easy" or "racoleuse" is so little credible that it ends up serving the stated goals. This phenomenon is called, from 2015, « low-end red / premium black » (low grade red / Advanced black) : a diversion of socialist values ​​for the sake of popularity. Put another way, this is misguided populism, a propensity to disguise selfish or nepotistic intentions behind a falsely “socialist” attitude.