Was randomly channel surfing today when I came across some kind of documentary (Please Vote for me) on BBC World. The documentary was part of BBC World’s Inside China week. It followed the lives of some kids against the ordinary backdrop of school life in China. From the part where I tuned in, it seemed like an election for the representative of the class was taking place. The entire event had all the makings of an election feature. At one end we had the incumbent monitor (A), a small little dictator who had been known to use his fists to maintain order. His challengers included (what I gathered was) his former friend turned rival (B) and the customary female lead (F).

It began with the pre-election campaigning, with all the candidates debating on the issues important to the class. B seemed to be a clever little strategist, carefully mapping his opponents weaknesses and using his speeches to expose them in front of the class. F looked a bit clueless in the whole scheme of things. The first debate between B and F went B’s way. In the second debate , by a very clever play on the victim’s psychology (B himself had been beaten up by A) turned the tables on A. At this point it seemed like B was going to win, but a last minute underhanded effort by A (he gave gifts to all the voters… pray where is the election commission ?) got him his throne back.

In many ways this is an interesting look into today’s China. It’s a tale of innocence and childhood lost. China’s one child state directives have produced a generation of overprotective and pushy parents. Parents who are determined that their children excel at everything. This is reflected in the documentary quite well, as though the children take the stage in class, it’s really the parents who are pulling the strings. We see how parents sit with their kids, coach them to speak better, give them a whole lot of information on the “grown-up” world of being politically correct and how to “take care” of their opponents. One father even gets a bagful of gifts to be handed out in class so that his son can get the most votes. The voter enticements are cleverly disguised as gifts given on festive occasions.To a large extent there are similarities with what we often see in real life elections.

In the end, the bad guy wins, the good guys cry and I was left with the feeling that if this is the next generation in China, heaven save us from the dawn of the age of “the little emperors”.

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