For the original cartoon, check Where has President Xi’s time gone?
Cartoon of hard-working Xi moves Chinese netizens
An online cartoon entitled "Where Has Chinese President Xi Jinping's Time Gone?" has hit the headlines, depicting the leader's hard work via cute animation.
It portrays Xi in a gray jacket and blue trousers with maps and charts featuring his busy schedules, including both domestic and foreign travels, the meetings he has presided over and his hobbies.
The cartoon, released by Beijing-based qianlong.com on Wednesday, has been much discussed in online forums, with "President Xi works too hard" and "the cartoon figure is so cute" typifying the comments.
Yang Mingxing, who is responsible for the cartoon, told Beijing News that her team was inspired to make the cartoon by comments Xi made at the Winter Olympic Games.
During his visit to Sochi for the opening ceremony of the Games, the president said in an interview with Russian media that he devoted most of his time to work while quoting a song named "Where Has Time Gone?" that was performed at this year's Spring Festival gala.
According to the cartoon, since Xi was elected general secretary of the Communist party of China (CPC) Central Committee in November 2012, he has made 12 research trips throughout China, covering 11 provincial-level regions.
The cartoon also shows that Xi has spent 39 days on five trips overseas, covering 14 countries on five continents, since he took the helm as Chinese president in March 2013.
In 2013, Xi attended meetings on a monthly basis, with the number of such commitments peaking at six. The most important meetings have been the annual gatherings of the National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top advisory body.
Xi chaired the group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on 12 occasions, covering topics including anti-corruption drives, deepening reform and "cultural soft power."
During his tiny amount of spare time, Xi is a big reader and loves sports, turning his hand to swimming, climbing, ball games and martial arts, according to the cartoon.
In order to create a vivid image of the president, Yang's team gathered a number of his pictures to "grasp his expressions and features."
The clothes were based on his daily wear, and the cartoon figure stands with his feet pointing to different sides, an illustrators' technique designed to make the image more cute and friendly.
A netizen with the screen name "Xiaodipanwuxianda" suggested on Twitter-like Weibo.com that the comic maker should make a series of such animations.
"Guduqiudan" wrote, "President Xi works really hard and I should be introspective about where my own time has gone."
Zhu Lijia, professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, said that such cartoon imagery breaks the conventional mystery surrounding leaders of China and creates closer ties with the Chinese people.
It is a sign for Chinese society to be more open and confident, Zhu added.
In October last year, Xi appeared in cartoon form for the first time in a five-minute animation that compared China's government system with that of the United States and Britain.
The video, produced by a studio called "On the road to revival," featured stories about Xi, U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.
The animation surprised Internet users with its frankness on leaders with both Chinese and English versions, and has been viewed over two million times online. - Xinhua
Drawn together: Xi Jinping cartoon puts people over politics
Animated cartoon – The makings of a Chinese leader
The five-minute animation introduced the tough promotion process through which Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power from the grassroots. It is the first time a Chinese leader has appeared in cartoon images. The animation, with both Chinese and English versions, was produced by a studio called "On the road to revival," about which no more details are available. [Read more]
● Weibo posts
Public eats up Xi’s trip to steamed buns shop
President Xi Jinping's surprise visit to a fast food eatery on last December 28 in Beijing has drawn unprecedented attention, which shored up his everyman image that had rarely been seen among top-level Chinese officials in the past.
Blurred photos of Xi queuing at a restaurant, holding his own plates and dining at a table were posted online by Net users first in the afternoon. The photos were forwarded by Xinhuashidian, an official Weibo account run by the Xinhua News Agency.
Given no official media accompanied the president during his surprise visit to the eatery, all the photos and videos were taken by diners with their cellphones.
'Fan club to learn from Xi' welcomed by the public
A Sina Weibo account called Xuexifensituan, which means "Fan club to learn from Xi," became quite popular online for its real-time reports of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping's inspection tour of Gansu Province in 2013.
The account published the details of Xi's Gansu tour starting on February 3, 2013 and set itself apart by publishing close-up photos of the leader, some of which are exclusive. The man behind the account identified himself as an ordinary netizen when responding to the public's queries about his true identity, according to a report from the Shanghai-based Oriental Morning Post on February 5, 2013.
Having first been registered on November 21, 2012, this account had over 480,000 followers as of 4 pm, February 6, 2013. Editor's Note
Previously, a video titled The makings of a Chinese leader went viral online in October last year via popular video website Youku, in which China's top leadership was presented in animation.
| Latest News |
Xi’s cartoon depiction breaks taboo
A cartoon depiction of President Xi Jinping in an infographic, the first such image of him carried by a State-run media outlet, has triggered much discussion of the new attitude toward publicizing China's top leadership.
Leader cartoon screened
A video depicting China's top leadership in an animated cartoon has been played during the five-day visit of a Chinese delegation sent to Laos to promote the spirit of the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) since December 18, cpc.people.com.cn reported on December 20, 2013. Drawing the People Together
| Comments |
Chinese media:
Zhengzhou Evening Post
Cartoons are a good way to present officials as everyday people. Politics are a serious subject, but politicians are regular people. China’s grassroots officials should learn from the President and try to better connect with the people.
The Beijing News
Cartoons of China’s top leaderships not only bring them closer to the common people, but also help the public better understand their political views.
Chengdu Business Daily
Cartoons of top leaders are a modern and effective way to connect with the public. They help people learn about their leader’s schedules and activities through humor. The Party and the government are seeking new ways to connect with the public, such as through Weibo and WeChat, and this will increase in the future.
Weibo voices:
@小地盘无限大: The cartoon is very cute. Hope to see more.
@一零六点一: I like President Xi very much. He doesn’t use a lot of official jargon during his speeches and is easy to understand.
- Web editor: guwei@globaltimes.com.cn
The force that drives successes in China is not the communism or socialism but Chinese characteristics.
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