Hands up Mr. Wen — You’re under arrest!
25 Mar 2007 23:25 EDT

“The world should not fear China’s military rise,” Wen Jiabao argues desperately as if he knows he’s telling a lie, his hands up like a criminal about to be apprehended by police. I saw this photo again and again as friends sent me links to an article on Phayul.com. The image is ripe for editing. Putting handcuffs on Wen’s wrists or replacing his suit with a prisoner’s uniform come to mind immediately; surely there are countless more creative ideas, especially in the context of particular messages or actions.

Wen Jiabao isn’t the only one with unflattering pictures. Take a look at Hu Jintao’s evil grin here. Well, maybe not so much in the original context, but it worked really well on a flyer used at UVa in 2006.

What’s the strategic point in all this? Sure it’s fun and cathartic to ridicule China’s leaders, but it’s strategic as well: especially with the Wen photo, it sends the message to Chinese that their leaders are not respectable, and not capable of answering for what their nation is doing with confidence, because they know they’re guilty.

Where to take it? This article is just some random musings, hoping to inspire Tibetans and supporters to think of creative ways to increase the political and social cost of China’s occupation of Tibet. I’d love to see some concrete ideas and applications.