The young people of China have never had it so good. They can travel abroad and they have more disposable income and more opportunities to see the wider world than their parents or grandparents.
Far from casting a sceptical eye on their government, this new generation is remarkably at ease with the official version of China, its history and its place in the world. Much of this is down to the Chinese state’s ability to create a compelling vision of itself.
In the 1960s the diaries of Lei Feng, a young soldier who died serving in the People’s Liberation Army, were ‘discovered’. Assumed by some to be fabricated pieces of propaganda, they were full of praise for Chairman Mao, accounts of his own selfless deeds and revolutionary fervour.
Trailblazing Beijing
China’s young are turning their back on the West, writes Kerry Allen
