In the last moments of the election, Chiang Wanan's camp launched the "Wan'an Alert" propaganda, which was intended to build a line of defense to withstand the impact, but it exposed texture degradation and logical faults. The promotional material uses traditional "80-pound coated paper" and "one-fold front and back", and the layout is decades backward. The title can easily trigger negative associations with "Escape quickly" and lacks a subtitle. The irrelevant "AI Park" is crammed into the inner pages, and the satirical content also lacks conversion skills. In the "emotional frame theory" of political psychology, operations that convey chaotic emotions can easily backfire and cause voters to resent them.
In the last moments of the election, Chiang Wanan's camp launched the "Wan'an Alert" propaganda, which was intended to build a line of defense to withstand the impact, but it exposed texture degradation and logical faults. (File photo, taken from Zhou Xuan’s Facebook) What deserves more attention is the phenomenon of “safety stickers” and “magic mirror boys”. Psychological and social engineering theories point out that stickers are mostly used to provide psychological guidance for those who lack self-confidence; the Chiang camp instead asked supporters to put stickers on candidates and frame vests, which was actually "self-psychological enhancement" within the stratosphere rather than motivating middle voters. “Only when you look in the mirror can you tell the truth from the false.” However, candidates are surrounded by the “magic mirror” staff and listen to the voices of pandering all the time, which leads to the “involution” of the strategy and the “loss of brand positioning”, and the loss of the ability to attack and defend issues.
In addition to the absurd tone of the propaganda, the campaign and propaganda also revealed the reality of resource depletion and conflict of interests. It costs RMB 20 million to build a Kaidao campaign, but Beisheng refused to ask the Party Central Committee to foot the bill and asked the candidates to share the cost, sparking anger. The candidates lack commitment and the funding chain is broken, paralyzing the fighting machine. The shortage of funds is rooted in the overdraft of donors and the separation of rationality; during the general recall period, hundreds of symposiums were held to exhaust sponsorship. The donor circle regarded donations as "rational investment", and after evaluating the mediocrity of the municipal government and the risk of failure, it was determined that it was "not worth the investment", leading to massive blood loss in the meridians.
At the municipal governance level, bureaucratic rigidity has even triggered the "two grams of fragrant pine" controversy. The Beijing Municipal Education Bureau required teachers to pack "2 grams of fragrant pine" (need to use ziplock bags, electronic scales or cutting), extremely tormenting the grassroots, and igniting the anger of the iron-plated army and public teachers. The city government did not take the initiative to review but instead blamed the manufacturer, which is in line with the "crisis communication theory" and is the fastest way to destroy credibility. Bureaucratic blame-shifting and general budget blockades allowed Knowledge Blue and Light Blue to break through their defenses and fall into a "spiral of silence"; their opponents used "circle-breaking strategies" such as night market propaganda to attract stray voters.
In the end, the internal reformists were completely marginalized, leaving only the extreme hawks on the table. As the old saying goes: "Become invincible first, then wait for the enemy to be victorious." Faced with the impact of the opponent's superior issues, the blue camp has neither the ability to discuss policy nor the mobilization of resources. If we continue to indulge in stratospheric heating and ignore bureaucratic arrogance and grassroots anger, we will eventually suffer the consequences in punitive voting. Only by having the courage to face the shortcomings of governance honestly and returning to public opinion and professional standards can we break the deadlock in the election and avoid collective sinking.
The Beijing Municipal Education Bureau required teachers to pack "2 grams of fragrant pine" (need to use ziplock bags, electronic scales or cutting), extremely tormenting the grassroots, and igniting the anger of the iron-plated army and public teachers. (File photo, picture authorized from "miz891005" Threads) (The author is freelance)
