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CHINA'S 'SOFT POWER' AND A REAL 'RED DAWN' January 3, 2013 
The most under reported, but potentially explosive story of 2013, is shaping up to be the rise of the "Soft Power" tactic currently being implemented by the Peoples Republic of China in the United States Because America's debt is exploding to unmanageable proportions, the United States finds itself financially dependent on China as one of its main creditors. We owe The Peoples Republic well over a trillion dollars and are going further into debt, but the Communist ruling elite in Beijing are not satisfied with having the U.S. as a virtual debtor client state. China's political elite are also using their financial power to manipulate how Americans think -- or don't think -- about China. Along with computers, electronics, and house wares, a new kind of Political Correctness is also being manufactured in China.  
Since the time of Lenin, Communists have understood the value of mass propaganda through the entertainment industry. In the 1930s and early 40s, individual writers and producers in Hollywood actively towed Moscow's political line. (For instance, they were against U.S. involvement in World War II when the Soviet Union was allied with Nazi Germany, and then in favor of entering WWII when Hitler invaded the USSR). More recently, top Hollywood figures have fawned over the tropical gulag that is Communist Cuba. China, however, is going beyond merely relying on sympathetic Hollywood stooges. Beijing is now a major financial partner in Hollywood, a place where money has always trumped art, let alone truth. Communist China will now take a direct hand in the manufacturing of what American audiences see. The Communist elite which controls China wants Hollywood to portray the Peoples Republic in a favorable light to American audiences, while rewarding the hard Left U.S. film industry with hefty profits for their cooperation. The main goal is to desensitize the American people to Communist China's growing military power, outright aggression against its neighbors, and the continuing brutal oppression of its own people. China now has a "blue water" navy, which is capable of not only intimidating its neighbors, but eventually challenging the U.S. fleet in the Pacific. Beijing boldly claims the entire South China Sea, which puts America's allies Japan and Philippines in danger, and China's six hundred missiles aimed at the free, democratic island of Taiwan is a stark warning that the Peoples Republic is ready to use force to bring 23 million Taiwanese under its control. These are dangerous events which directly threaten the United States. These are also developments which China's smiling Communist elite do not want Americans to think about. We are to think of the Peoples Republic in terms of valuable business partners and graceful practitioners of Tai Chi. The threats offered by an increasing powerful Communist China are already all but ignored by the American mass media, both on the Right as well as on the Left. Beijing's elite, however, are taking no chances. Ignoring the China threat is not enough, the American people must be made to love the Peoples Republic and all its works. And the new leader selected by the Communist Party elite is the man for the job. 
The new General Secretary of the China's Communist Party and the man who will be China's new president, Xi Jinping, is interested in Hollywood and Hollywood is interested in Mr. Xi. China is "keen to influence Hollywood's perception of China," stated one overseas report. Xi visited Hollywood in February 2012 to introduce himself and his ideas to the Hollywood elite. This was no problem for Xi, in view of Hollywood's fondness for Communist rulers. As a result of Xi's efforts, more Hollywood films will be heading toward China, and a joint China-American film partnership is developing. The Communist Party elite will be better able to tell their story to the American people. Chairman Mao, please be ready for your close up. 
Communist China's interest in the U.S. film audience, however, did not begin with Secretary Xi's travels to tinsel town. In September of 2012, Wang Jianlin, the owner of the Dalian Wanda Group, the world's biggest owner of movie theaters, purchased the AMC theatre group, the second largest movie chain in the U.S. Wang now owns the largest chain of theaters in the world. Ironically, this writer saw the most recent version of Red Dawn in one of Mr. Wang's AMC theaters. It is no coincidence that the producers of Red Dawn changed the Communist attackers from Chinese to the completely improbable North Koreans for the film to be shown. Wang is also interested in co-producing films with Hollywood, as well as buying hotels and other significant holdings in the U.S. All of which are examples of "Soft Power," the use of economic muscle to attain Party goals instead of using raw power to gain national goals. The more diplomatic definition of "Soft Power" is "cultural diplomacy" to win "hearts and minds." See this definition used in the Reuters article on Mr. Wang's expansion into the U.S. movie and hotel business, which could amount to as much as ten billion dollars. One individual whose heart and mind has been won over by PRC "Soft Power" is none other than Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric and chairman of the President Barack Obama's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Immelt recently praised China on CBS. "Their government works," according to Immelt. Immelt demonstrates that "Soft Power" does lead to soft thinking. General Electric is making billions in China, and Immelt is profiting from how Communist China "works." In an earlier era, other captains of industry, as well as politicans, echoed Immelt's sentiments about the effectiveness of the dictatorships in Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union. The praise ended, however, in the face of aggression and war. Within the velvet glove of "Soft Power" is the steel fist of growing military might. China has launched its first aircraft carrier and plans as many as five carrier task forces in the future. Advanced stealth fighters will be on the flight decks. China is also forging ahead with sophisticated cyber war techniques, powerful intercontinental missiles, and is aiming at establishing a lunar colony, possibly with Russia. China's espionage against the United States is at Cold War levels, and Beijing, along with Moscow, is taking full advantage of Cuba's sharing of its highly effective spy operations directed against the U.S. The rise of China's "Soft Power" must be recognized as the threat it is. Americans must demand that the mass media, especially the Conservative mass media, address the reality of the growing power of the Peoples Republic "Soft Power" phenomenon. Americans should contact their representatives, call talk radio programs, and demand news outlets inform the public of the dangers China's "Soft Power" presents to the U.S. We must counter China's "Soft Power" now, or wake to a real Red Dawn in the not too distant future. We appreciate your assistance:
Mr. Westerman is the editor/publisher of International News Analysis Today (www.inatoday.com ) and is author of the recently published monograph, "Putin's Process: From the 'New' Russia to a Reinvigorated Soviet State," and the book Lies, Terror and the Rise of the New Communist Empire: Origin and Directions. International News Analysis
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