In a post in Xian, way back at the beginning of our journey, I discussed some of the propaganda that the Communist Party was placing in subway tunnels and at bus stops. This propaganda in Xian was subdued, very much promoting this idea of Chineseness, but not all that in-your-face.
Xinjiang is different. The Party sees the ethnic conflicts in Xinjiang as an existential threat. When that happens, Chinese Communists become more conservative, which means going back to their roots, and there is little that is conservative about this series of wall propaganda that I came upon.
In this one, one man is attacking another man with a butcher knife (in Xinjiang, this happens often, as a manifestation of ethnic tensions). As the victim’s wife screams, a neighbor is calling the police, who immediately dispatch a patrol car. The caption in the top right corner reads, “Maintaining public security depends on everyone. If you discover suspicious persons or things, promptly call the public security organs to report it.”
In this propaganda painting, the police are barging in, guns drawn, on a group of men surreptitiously playing Mahjong. The first officer holds a sign that says, “No Gambling.” In the corner above them, the caption says, “Stay far away from pornographic things, gambling and drugs, and you will live a happy and healthy life.”
The message of this painting is less obvious. The caption reads, “Venerate Science, Oppose Superstition, Oppose Cults.” On the right is a man who looks fairly Han Chinese. He is standing behind his well-booked desk, and he is gesticulating towards a space shuttle and a satellite. To this man’s left are three people praying on their knees in front of a mosque, looking towards the science man. I am not clear on whether these propagandist are really suggesting that Islam is a cult and that praying is a kind of superstition.