Peng Liyuan, the wife of the pending Chinese President, Xi
Jinping will purportedly be taking a more active role on behalf the PRC. The
Financial Times of March 13, 2013 (see: http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/d83a8ed4-8bbf-11e2-8fcf-00144feabdc0.html#slide0)
wrote a column on how the folk singer first lady will be part of the new
President’s arsenal and a new personification of the Chinese government.
This approach is quite a departure from the past and in my
view, a pretty good idea on a lot of levels. First of all, by having his wife
travel with him he won’t hear her complaining about his travels. More
importantly, putting a soft (and attractive) face on a government that has
generally been labeled in less than flattering terms is a proven technique.
We live in a visual age. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and
other channels are the direct links to much of the world’s population. US
Presidents have had mixed success in promoting their wives as alternative faces
of America.
Michelle Obama has been a rousing champion for her husband
and a credible, likeable and seemingly omnipresent alter ego. She has appeared
on everything from children’s TV shows suck as “I Carly” to the Academy Awards.
She is photogenic, strong and appealing, yet projects a ‘soft power image’.
Hillary Clinton on the other hand has faired far better
since moving out from her husband’s shadow while the Bush wives never seemed to
ruffle the airwaves.
If the new Chinese President is savvy enough to harness his
wife’s star power and charisma, this may be an intelligence indicator that the
strategic influence battle is about to be taken in a new direction.
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