China is beefing up its defenses against foreign espionage, and they’re hoping to raise public awareness of this danger to national security with its first-ever National Security Education Day held last week.

As reported by China Law Translate, one of the propaganda materials released was called “Dangerous Love” that was seen in residential areas of Xicheng, Beijing.

The 16-panel cartoon follows the story of Xiaoli, a Chinese woman who works in an information department of the country’s civil service. Xiaoli is wooed by a foreigner named David who eventually convinces Xiaoli to hand over sensitive material. Police eventually confront Xiaoli with the revelation that David is in fact a spy, and that she herself is guilty of violating Chinese law regarding state secrets.

As with a number of recent Chinese propaganda releases, “Dangerous Love” uses cartoons as a way to make its content and intentions very clear to its readers.

As translated by China Law Translate, here’s the entire poster campaign:

(as seen above)
XIAOLI’s FRIEND: A foreign friend has organized a gathering tonight… You’re always trying to increase your foreign language level, why don’t you go with me?
XIAOLI: Sure.

DAVID: My name is David and I’m a visiting scholar researching issues about China. I’m really interested in chatting with all of you.

DAVID: Everybody please introduce yourself and say a little something about your work. Let’s start with this pretty lady.
XIAOLI: Oh, OK!

XIAOLI: I’m Xiao Li, I just tested into the civil service after graduating college and work in a foreign publicity (propaganda) department.
DAVID: OK

After that party, David began to meet with Xiao Li often and gave her gifts.
DAVID: You’re pretty, warm, and exceptional. To tell you the truth, I fell for you the first time I saw you.

XIAOLI (thinking to herself): Having a handsome, romantic and talented foreign boyfriend is pretty good!

The two begin a romantic involvement.
DAVID: My dear, what exactly do you do at your work?
XIAO LI: I write internal references as a basis for central policies.

DAVID: Great! Lend me those internal references so I can take a look. This will really help me write academic articles.
XIAO LI: I can’t, we have a confidentiality system.

DAVID: Dear, do you still need to keep secrets from me? I’m just taking a look to use in academic articles.
XIAO LI: Uhh, OK then.

XIAO LI: This is a copy I made, give it back as soon as you’re done.
DAVID: Don’t worry, sweetheart.

XIAOLI: What happened? David hasn’t called me recently, and his phone is always off.

OFFICER: Are you Xiao Li? We’re from the State Administration of National Security. Please come with us.
XIAO LI: What? What’s going on?

OFFICER: David is an overseas spy in China to steal political and military information, and we have already captured him. Did you provide him with these ‘internal references?’
XIAO LI: What?

XIAO LI: I didn’t know he was a spy, he used me!
OFFICER: You show a for a State employee. You are suspected of violating our nation’s law.

A warning from the National Security Organs. According to Chapter 1 on crimes endangering national security, article 111 of the Criminal Law of the P.R.C., whoever steals, secretly gathers, purchases, or illegally provides state secrets or intelligence for an organization, institution, or personnel outside the country is to be sentenced to not less than five years and not more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment; when circumstances are particularly serious, he is to be sentenced to not less than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment, or a life sentence; and when circumstances are relatively minor, he is to be sentenced to not more than five years of fixed-term imprisonment, criminal detention, control, or deprivation of political rights.

Article 27 of Chapter IV of the Counter-Espionage Law provides that: where extraterritorial institutions, organizations or individuals carry out, or instigate or financially support others in carrying out espionage activities, or where an institution, organization or individual within the territory linked to a foreign institution, organization or individual conducts espionage activities, and it constitutes a crime, it is pursued for criminal responsibility in accordance with law.

National Security Education Day also saw the following video made by the national PSB in Beijing. The video is in the style of a cartoon that uses depictions of James Bond and Ethan Hunt from Mission: Impossible to illustrate what is and isn’t a spy (no English subtitles).

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With the situation so dire that media reports are now calling cell phone addiction a disease, a solution is needed. That’s where this cartoon comes in.

This winner at the Central Art Academy is turning heads, even if it is turning them online and through a phone. Called “Living Life with Your Head Down”, this short animated video made by Xie Chenglin tells the story of how mobile phone addiction will eventually destroy the world. The video might be surprising to some with its violence and sexually suggestive themes.

Astute viewers will catch a real-life reference to how some opportunistic cell phone users used the scene of a accident as the background for their photographs.

Here’s the video:

The post Animated Video Shows Us How Mobile Phone Addiction Will Destroy the World appeared first on The Nanfang.

The Ministry of Culture is blacklisting a number of offending cartoons, the majority of which are Japanese, which appear on some of China’s most popular video streaming platforms, including Tencent, Youku Tudou, iQiyi, Sohu, Kumi, and LeTV. The Ministry vowed to punish any offenders that did not comply with its order to remove the offending material from their platforms. The Ministry’s actions are part of a broader attempt to control the Internet in China, which includes eliminating content that it considers a threat to Chinese society and the Communist Party.

Known as “Anime” elsewhere in the world, cartoons to be banned include Blood-C, Terror in Resonance, and High School of the Dead. Many programs are not suggested for younger audiences, and are given ratings that exclude viewing by children. China, however, has no viewing rating system, and films and television must be watchable by the entire public, or not watchable at all.

The post China Declares War on Japanese Anime, Saying it Corrupts Chinese Youth appeared first on The Nanfang.

The post itself is actually quite light-hearted):

Worthy of being called the “Kingdom of Anime”
Japanese students draw doodles into their school textbooks that are very imaginative. Some of them are even in 3D! Now, we finally understand why so many illustrators come from Japan… Hey there, fella: do you like to draw in your school textbooks?

The netizen response seemed to indicate surprise that CCTV wasn’t dealing with Japan in the singular way to which it is known, namely in a critical way. The phrase “Japanese…. are very imaginative” from this short post was enough for netizens to launch several tirades.

Here are some comments:

梦依丽：
There is nothing in China that can possibly compare with this. Those fenqing (angry youth) shouldn’t make a fuss, but better yet get to know themselves. Even though some fenqing will curse at inferior Japan on sight, they will secretly read Japanese manga in private.

涣雨自若：
It turns out that English exams for Japanese are the same for them as they are for us.

手机用户3529573360：
In China, this kind of thing wouldn’t be allowed to happen by the teacher. Books that are finished with must be kept in good condition like new. No marks or writing was allowed in the book. The difference in thinking (between the two cultures) is so great…

ydshujian：
This is the rhythm (sung) by the traitorous dogs of CCTV!

萝卜快了怎能不洗泥：
So has CCTV finally figured out that (Japanese) people have a good side to them?

费毕江：
CCTV is now beginning to disseminate Japanese culture!!! How is this good for our country?

_________周海明：
Huh? You’ve been scolded so many times that now you’ve changed your tune to praise Japan?

圣奇凌雪：
Chinese education is too poor [thumbsdown.emo]

年迈的小孩儿：
(Famous Tang dynasty poet) Du Fu laughs, but has no words for you!

历轩阳：
What chinese will draw are spoofs! What Japanese will draw is innovative!

艾琪就是艾琪：
What Japanese are more prone to drawing are things forbidden under eighteen years of age, while Chinese will draw Du Fu…

-观测者：
The Celestial Kingdom (China) is also capable of drawing these things! I have drawn such things in elementary school and was lauded by my schoolmates until I was discovered by my teacher… whereupon I was swiftly moved to the corner…

Mr22任进：
Although the Japs are despicable, you still have to admire them. Thinking back to my fellow countrymen once enrolling into school, our imagination has slowly been eaten away by rigid textbook knowledge…

太极风云网景游：
There are so many drawings like this in China, whereas drawings like this are rare in inferior Japan.

鹏越的世界2010：
I just want to know how Japan has become the “Kingdom of Porn”.

It appears these classroom doodles have indeed gotten certain Japanese schoolchildren into trouble; however, not with the classroom teacher, but with another authoritarian from farther away…

Photos: CCTV News

The post CCTV’s Praise Of Japanese Creativity Ignites Firestorm appeared first on The Nanfang.

As we slowly wind down this Dragon Boat Holiday, we thought we’d share this Weibo post shared by none other than the People’s Daily Online in celebration of this day.

The People’s Daily Online said:

#Hello again, childhood: Come on and take a look; can you find your childhood in here?

The accompanying photo is a cool art poster consisting of a stellar line-up of several cartoon figures, and a quick glance reveals some top names: Doramon, Pokemon, Dragonball Z, Astroboy, Totoro, Initial D, Sailor Moon… everyone and everything that was cool for a kid in the last thirty years that also happened to be imported from across the sea.

Yes, it’s a pure nostalgia trip for many of the readers of the People’s Daily Online. With so many amazing Japanese anime and cartoons, it’s hard to imagine Chinese not getting sentimental over these childhood favorites.

You may not be Chinese, but can you find your childhood in here? Take a look!

* Note: We’re not entirely sure, but this page in Japanese may be pointing out the same thing. And if someone can help us identify the artist of this collection of childhood Japanese memories, we’d appreciate it.

Photo: People’s Daily Online via Weibo

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His predecessors were known for their stoic public images, perhaps nobody more so than Hu Jintao. Hu’s contrived facial expression even stirred up speculation of facioplegia, the paralysis of facial muscles. Netizens even used “Hu Faciolegia” or Hu Miantan in Chinese to bypass the tightly scrutinized Internet when referring to him.

Xi, on the other hand, has earned himself a fan club on Sina Weibo called the “learning from Xi club”. (Some suspect it to be a slick propaganda move.) The latest effort to portray him as a down-to-earth state leader came when the state media Qianlong Net,  run by the Beijing Publicity Department, debuted the cartoon version of Xi in an article titled “Where has president Xi’s time gone?” on February 19. Clad in a grey jacket, with well-groomed hair, the chubby-faced Xi was seen with a sign in his left hand that says “Doing what I do basically means I don’t have any time to myself.”

The report said since Xi’s ascension to the country’s top job, he has made more than 80 inspection and overseas trips while balancing a busy meeting schedule. He had traveled across five continents and 14 countries, it said.

In his downtime, Xi enjoys reading, swimming, football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, martial arts and among others, according to the newspaper.

Xi, however, is not the first Chinese leader to have cartoon images. China’s former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping made his cartoon debut in 1986, the same year reform-minded leader Hu Yaobang was seen in a cartoon image titled “Comrade Yaobang leads us to sing new songs,” Economic Observer reported earlier.

Photo credit: Qianlong Net 

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