Demonstrations against propaganda posters are forcing local authorities to climb down. But that doesn’t mean the Communist Party is reforming. The poster installed by the local government in a residential neighborhood of Xiangtan city was ominous. It listed HIV patients, the mentally ill and parents who have lost their only child as “targets for monitoring and supervision.” It was part of a nationwide campaign called “Eliminate the Dark and Evil Forces,” launched by China’s Xi Jinping government in 2018. But the street-corner poster’s offensive suggestions, made in March, drew outrage from locals, and on China’s internet. And a nervous district government offered “sincere apologies” and withdrew the poster. Billed as an anti-corruption movement, the “Eliminate the Dark and Evil Forces” campaign is a cornerstone of Xi’s efforts to further consolidate his power, after constitutional changes last year allowed him to stay in office indefinitely. Across China, government officials are installing propaganda posters for the campaign on streets and in museums, schools and the subway. Campaign messages play out on cable TV. The drive has drawn comparisons with Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution from commentators, including from renowned Chinese politics scholar Minxin Pei. But unlike during the Cultural Revolution, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and its local arms are, over the past few weeks, responding to any public anger the campaign propaganda sparks with apologies, not brutal crackdowns, seemingly desperate to avoid alienating the broad population. | 