July 1 marks the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) founding. Leading up to this centenary, the CCP hosted lavish celebrations, shimmering firework displays, futuristic light shows and all-star performances. Sites such as the Museum of the Communist Party of China and Shuangqing Villa, where the late Mao Zedong once lived (locations and tour routes aptly referred to it as “red tourism”), have seen a boost in visitors. Flags and banners adorning patriotic messages lined the streets as the country prepared for the highly-anticipated grand ceremony taking place today.
The pomp and circumstance is part of the CCP’s well-orchestrated campaign to distract the world from its human rights atrocities and to rev up patriotism and loyalty among the country’s citizens. On the surface, the party seems fearlessly valiant. But in reality, underneath it all, lies an insecure tyrant, desperately clinging to power by rewriting history and trying to control the global narrative about the country’s actions.
