Recently, the Communist Party of China (CCP) staged another drama of “low-level red” brainwashing propaganda campaign in Tibet. A video titled “Spring Plowing Initiative” released by Tibetan state media went viral on the internet, showing villagers carrying or driving carts with portraits of CCP leader Xi Jinping, marching in formation. The visual effect was likened by netizens to a “funeral procession.” Due to widespread backlash, the official media hastily deleted the video, sparking widespread ridicule of the CCP’s grassroots political mobilization and formalism above all.
On March 16, the CCP’s official account on Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) of the Tibetan Daily News posted a promotional video titled “Formal Launch of Spring Farming Production” (
video link
), documenting agricultural ceremonies in counties such as Qusong in Shannan City. The footage showed rows of tractors with blood-red flags hanging from their fronts, while a giant portrait of Xi Jinping was prominently displayed in the center.
The video also featured numerous villagers dressed in white Tibetan robes, marching in groups while holding the portraits in the fields. Once these clips circulated on overseas social media platforms, they quickly drew attention. Netizens commented, “This isn’t farming but clearly a funeral, white robes with portraits, the high-level ‘blackness’ at the grassroots level is truly unstoppable,” and “Excessive flattery has turned spring plowing into a funeral.”
An academic from Chengdu specializing in literature and history, using the pseudonym Yu Tian, told reporters that such activities are part of the long-term political mobilization by the CCP in border regions, aiming to reinforce ideological control over the populace through collective rituals: “Most of the local officials in Tibet are Han Chinese. They were dispatched to the region with the sole intention of climbing up by praising Xi Jinping, but now they’ve shot themselves in the foot, expressing loyalty and becoming a hidden trouble.”
Yu Tian further stated, “This incident has become a political mishap for the Tibetan Daily News, with the motives of the organizers being scrutinized, and someone is going to be blamed.”
In addition to the agricultural production scenes, the video also showed scenes of participants wearing white clothes and marching with portraits. After these clips spread on social media, some netizens interpreted them as resembling a “funeral” scene, leading to a deluge of mockery.
One netizen commented, “This doesn’t look like spring plowing, it looks more like a funeral procession.” Another remarked, “They are trying too hard with the formality, and it’s backfiring.” Such comments were widely circulated in a short period of time.
Currently, the original video cannot be found on the Douyin platform, with related links showing as inactive. However, these images and videos have become a topic of discussion among netizens on overseas websites. The official reason for the video’s removal has not been publicly disclosed.
In recent years, the CCP has continued to strengthen political propaganda and social mobilization in areas like Tibet, especially during major festivals or agricultural milestones, often reinforcing political expressions through collective rituals. These activities are mostly implemented by local governments or propaganda systems.
Regarding the CCP’s ruling methods in Tibetan areas, a former aid official to Tibet, Mr. Wang, told reporters that the core of so-called aid to Tibet work is actually “brainwashing.” He pointed out that despite the authorities’ relentless efforts to promote political education over decades, attempting to replace religious beliefs, the results have been in vain: “In Tibet, political slogans cannot defeat steadfast faith. This deep-rooted faith in the soul is something the Communist Party system can never understand.”
Mr. Wang stated that the Tibetan Daily News’s official Douyin account releasing the promotional video “Formal Launch of Spring Farming Production” was definitely not done by Tibetans: “It must be something done by Han Chinese officials; Tibetan officials wouldn’t do such a thing. This is a good one, hahaha.”
Currently, there is no public information indicating official accountability or disciplinary action related to the incident. Various claims of “officials being dealt with” mostly stem from online dissemination and secondary interpretations, lacking official confirmation.
Analyzing the dissemination path, the video was widely shared shortly after its release, discussed and reposted on multiple platforms, and then deleted. This process is similar to several cases in recent years where “propaganda disasters were quickly removed from circulation.”
Scholars studying China’s public opinion environment have noted that within the current communication system, if content is deemed to carry a “risk of misinterpretation,” even if the original intent was positive propaganda, it will swiftly be dealt with to prevent further escalation of public opinion.
Following the incident, discussions on “formalism” and “excessive political statements” continue to heat up. Some comments believe that such phenomena reflect the exaggeration and loyalty pressure faced by officials at the grassroots level when executing political tasks, eventually deviating from their original purpose.