The 30th Shanghai TV Festival Magnolia Awards came to a close on the evening of June 27, with actor Jin Dong, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, winning the Best Actor award for his role as Xi Zhongxun, the father of the current leader of the Chinese Communist Party, in the TV drama “Northwest Years,” sparking dissatisfaction and criticism among netizens.
In a recent article by mainland China’s self-media “Guangying Xintiandi,” it listed “Six Injustices of the Magnolia Awards,” explicitly stating, “The Best Actor award should not have gone to Jin Dong.”
The article mentioned, “Among the five nominated actors for Best Actor, both Yu Hewei and Wei deserve recognition without dispute. Yu Hewei’s role portrayal in ‘I Am a Detective’ is exceptionally strong, very lifelike, without any trace of acting, and he brings a great dramatic tension to this realistically styled TV drama.”
The author analyzed, “Even if not given to Yu Hewei, Wang Baoqiang from ‘The Chess Player’ would have been acceptable. Wang Baoqiang, who has been in the industry for many years, played a villain for the first time and truly impressed people this time. His character transformation was linear. Yet, the award went to Jin Dong from ‘Northwest Years.’ Of course, giving it to him was tacit, everyone knows what’s going on, but it is indeed unfair!”
Other netizens also criticized Jin Dong, who was promoted last year to head the CCP Coal Mine Art Troupe (China Safety Production Art Troupe), saying “He’s just a wooden face, not even qualified, and he still gets an award,” and “If Jin Dong doesn’t win again, it will be even harder for him in the future. He is gradually getting rid of his actor identity, even if he can participate, it’s mostly just cameo appearances.” Overseas X platform netizens sarcastically commented, “Self-hype,” “Who dares to compete for this Best Actor award,” “Whoever plays the role will be the best.”
In fact, on June 28, official Chinese media reported that at the 30th Shanghai TV Festival on June 27 at the Shanghai Lingang Performing Arts Center, Jin Dong won the Best Actor award for his outstanding performance in “Northwest Years.” However, the news completely failed to mention what kind of TV drama “Northwest Years” is or highlight the protagonist of this drama.
Information shows that the main character of “Northwest Years” is Xi Zhongxun, the father of the current CCP leader Xi Jinping. The drama is a so-called “major revolutionary-themed TV drama” guided by the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department and the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and was a project supported by the special cultural industry development funds of the Central Propaganda Department in 2024, lasting six years from project planning, script creation to completion of filming. The chief screenwriters are Long Pingping and Xia Meng, director Dong Yachun, producer Wang Yong, and Jin Dong as Xi Zhongxun, with actress Ni Ni playing Xi Zhongxun’s wife Qi Xin, making the drama crew a powerhouse.
On November 5 last year, the drama was aired simultaneously on CCTV-1, Tencent Video, iQIYI, and Mango TV, followed by Beijing TV and Shaanxi TV. At that time, the official propaganda reports of the Central Propaganda Department stated that the drama “is set against the backdrop of the revolutionary struggles in the vast northwest region, telling the story of Xi Zhongxun…growing into an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and national leader.” However, a few months later, the propaganda by the official CCP media changed to say that the drama “tells the story of Xi Zhongxun and the other elderly proletarian revolutionaries,” apparently deliberately downplaying the fact that Xi Zhongxun is the main character.
Some netizens lament that mainland Chinese actors have become a tool for the CCP’s propaganda, whitewashing for the CCP, while also keenly observing that the CCP authorities are intentionally downplaying this TV drama, indicating a change in the current political situation rumored on the streets that Xi’s power is on the decline, further adding evidence.