China Turned On

10Television, Culture, and Politics

The electronic amplification of contradiction

China's motherland stretches from the vast Manchurian plains to the steep mountains of Tibet, from the foreboding Mongolian desert to tropical Hainan Island. The land itself has changed very little through the ages. Her political authority has likewise persisted. Beginning with the absolutist dictates of Qin Shi Huang, China's first feudal emperor, the idea of a supreme authority — one who stands above the people and guides them to their destiny — has been a fundamental trait of Chinese society. While forms of government ranging from the extreme right to the extreme left have ruled the country, Chinese people have always placed their trust in this notion of a central ...