For May 2018, we have just two Chinese Communist Party phrases topping the official discourse in the People’s Daily with “blazing” (沸) ratings. These are, perhaps not so surprisingly, “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era” (习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想), President Xi Jinping’s “banner term” (旗帜语), and “Belt and Road” (一带一路), China’s ambitious infrastructure-driven foreign policy program. Several other key terms saw relative cool downs in May. They include: “19th National Congress” (十九大); “China Solution” (中国方案); and “Two Centenary [Goals]” (两个一百年).
Which Party leaders got top billing in the People’s Daily? Xi Jinping was naturally in a league of his own, with 749 appearances (articles mentioning him) for the month. Premier Li Keqiang was a distant second, with 79 appearances. The next three members of the Politburo Standing Committee come in very close to one another, almost as though following an informal rule. They are: Wang Yang (汪洋), with 20 article mentions; Li Zhanshu (栗战书), with 19 article mentions; and Han Zheng (韩正), with 19 article mentions.
As for foreign leaders in the People’s Daily, Donald Trump still held the top position in May, with a total of 29 articles mentioning him. Relatively speaking, however, it was a cool month for the U.S. president, who had 49 mentions back in April.
We also take a look in this report at the phrase “Amazing China” (厉害了,我的国), inspired by the 90-minute propaganda film, billed as the highest-grossing documentary film in China’s history, that was released back in March. “Amazing China” peaked as a discourse phrase in the People’s Daily in March, but has since declined to zero. This follows rumors that the Central Propaganda Department ordered the documentary film’s removal from the internet back in April. That may have been the case, but we found that the film is still available online in a number of places, including at Tencent Video (腾讯视频) and Youku (优酷).
The full Chinese-language report, produced this month by Fei Yun, follows. Enjoy.