Xi Jinping Style

Yesterday, Mashable ranked Gangnam Style as the second Most Viral Video of 2012, and now, Tibetan activists are getting in on the action with this parody from Students for a Free Tibet, a US-based organization advocating for Tibetan independence. 

Psy’s infamous horse-riding dance has gotten over 720 million views on YouTube since its release in mid-July, spawning an overwhelming number of parodies, including the widely-seen Mitt Romney-style and an unprecedented North Korean parody. This isn’t even the first Chinese spoof, with dissident Ai Weiwei recycling Grass Mud Horse style, a popular Hong Kong versionthat pokes fun at mainlanders, and a zany rendition from the Zhangjiajie Tourism Bureau. 

While we have no explanation for the correlation between Chinese viral videos and bulls, we’re still waiting for the meta-mashup-parody of the parodies. Gotye, eat your heart out.

Nonetheless, the Tibetan version may be the cleverest one yet, timed to coincide with the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Party Congress taking place in Beijing over the past week. (You can find OpenCanada.org‘s coverage on the Congress here, here and here.) The target of the parody is Xi Jinping, the man expected to take over the leadership of the CCP on Thursday (and possibly the Central Military Commission), before assuming the Chinese presidency early next year. 

From the video’s description:

A takeoff of Korean star Psy’s uber-popular Gangnam Style, the video features China’s heir apparent as a dimwit — a big-headed oaf whose only response to Tibetans’ growing resistance is to arrest, beat and torture protestors. But Xi — like the four generations of undemocratic CCP heads before him — cannot stop Tibetans who are moving beyond fear and challenging the very foundations of Chinese rule in Tibet. Ultimately, the joke is on Xi Jinping, the soon to be leader of the unfree world and a remnant of authoritarian rulers of the past. Xi: Resolve the Tibet crisis now or Tibet will soon become your biggest headache.

While Chinese officials have exerted themselves to communicate how happy Chinese-ruled Tibet is, noting that Lhasa has been voted (by whom?) the happiest city in China four times in a five-year period, the self-immolations continue unabated:

The same day [November 9th], on the edge of Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, Communist Party delegates gathered to discuss the situation in Tibet. The afternoon meeting was part of the 18th Party Congress, a once-in-five-years communist leadership confab that began on Nov. 8, a day after the record five self-immolations took place. (A sixth fiery protest occurred on the Thursday the Party Congress first convened.) 

While Tibet is obviously not a new challenge for China’s leaders, it is clear that Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang have their work cut out for them. As the Congress closed earlier today in Beijing, journalist Tom Lasseter couldn’t help but notice that the fire brigade (the Anti-Immolation Squad?) was still standing guard in Tiananmen Square.

Noted on my way out of the 18th that the fire brigade was still at the ready on Tiananmen twitter.com/TomLasseter/st…

— Tom Lasseter (@TomLasseter) November 14, 2012