Much of that story is fictional, many commentators say, but it’s officially sanctioned and may not be questioned. March 5 has been designated “Learn from Lei Feng Day,” and young people across the country attended ideological courses on him, “so that the Lei Feng spirit will shine in the new era,” state broadcaster CCTV said. Meanwhile, volunteers turned out in cities and rural areas to offer their skills and expertise for free, from haircuts and blood pressure checks to lessons in how to use technology, it said.
fredag 7. mars 2025
China’s propaganda machine raises profile of model soldier Lei Feng
Lauded by supreme leader Mao Zedong as a role model, 1960s soldier and folk hero Lei Feng is getting renewed attention in China under President Xi Jinping’s push for patriotic education. The ruling Communist Party’s propaganda machine has been churning out stories about Lei washing his comrades' feet and darning their socks after a long march, propaganda posters of him helping villagers lay sandbags or wielding hand-grenades in a snowstorm, as well as a slew of books and patriotic movies about his life.
Much of that story is fictional, many commentators say, but it’s officially sanctioned and may not be questioned. March 5 has been designated “Learn from Lei Feng Day,” and young people across the country attended ideological courses on him, “so that the Lei Feng spirit will shine in the new era,” state broadcaster CCTV said. Meanwhile, volunteers turned out in cities and rural areas to offer their skills and expertise for free, from haircuts and blood pressure checks to lessons in how to use technology, it said.
Much of that story is fictional, many commentators say, but it’s officially sanctioned and may not be questioned. March 5 has been designated “Learn from Lei Feng Day,” and young people across the country attended ideological courses on him, “so that the Lei Feng spirit will shine in the new era,” state broadcaster CCTV said. Meanwhile, volunteers turned out in cities and rural areas to offer their skills and expertise for free, from haircuts and blood pressure checks to lessons in how to use technology, it said.
