The Moon - China's Next Big Thing?

The big news in mainland Chinese news portals was the recent return of the Shenzhou 7, the Chinese spacecraft that carried a manned shuttle into orbit. One of the crew, Zhai Zhigang, became the first Chinese to space walk, exiting the ship for just shy of fifteen minutes. The effort was a ringing success, aside from disgruntled commercial air passengers who had flights grounded, without prior warning, before the lift-off and the comical mistake on the part of the Xinhua news agency who reported a successful launch, including detailed dialogue with the crew, before the ship had left the platform.

The Chinese space program is an interesting phenomenon. The rise of taikonauts to join the ranks of astronauts and cosmonauts is peculiar in a post-Cold War era where the advent of space tourism is on the up. Additionally, before this and earlier flights, cries directed at the reasonableness of such a program in a country that has no lack of needy programs. Zhang Hong in the Guardian puts it rather directly noting that “Since China started this programme, there's no sign that it will stop any time soon. The undisclosed cost of the Shenzhou programme, normally calculated into the military's expense, will keep rising in the foreseeable future without any practical benefits. This would likely spark dissatisfaction among lawmakers since China has many other areas hungry for capital, including the rebuilding of the earthquake-hit areas, the anti-poverty strategy in rural areas and the huge hole in the pension system.” But what Zhang Hong notes there at the beginning of his quote is perhaps the most important point. Manned flights and space walks are just the beginning, even according to Chinese space program authorities.

But the resounding question is why? There are two reasonable options: (1) a heightened competition with the United States in the global hegemony tug of war. Space represented and important front in the posturing of the Cold War, and there is plenty pointing to the possibility that China is doing a lot of posturing behind the smoke and mirrors of their claims to a “peaceful rise.” Among these would include the dramatic investment in their military and the not so subtle buddying up with authoritarian regimes in Central Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. (2) the Chinese see this as a source of pride that will only add to their claim to be a world power of the highest sort and will put before the people yet another grand vision of national unity and collective accomplish for the glory of the motherland and the benefit of the future.

Personally, I am not sold on the first of these options. It is one better known to neo-conservative foreign policy types who are always looking for the next country trying to dislodge American pre-eminence. I in no way believe in the peacefulness or benevolence of the Chinese government, but the Communist Party leadership knows as well as anyone that they are joined at the hip with the US and cannot afford to directly confront them, nor do they have much reason to want to.

The second option is strangely compelling, especially given the timing of the launch. Late September puts us one month beyond the mother of all national unity events in China. The Olympic Games were a historical moment that overwhelmed the last seven years of Chinese political and social life. Much was sacrificed and sanctioned in the name of the harmonious society necessary for a successful games. Homes were torn down, money spent in absurd quantities, rights suspended, and lives co-opted all in the name of the Olympics. And the amazing thing was how the people bought this. It would not be overdoing it to say that the Hu Jintao leadership and his emphasis on a harmonious society were sincerely aided by the presence of the games and the “Olympic Spirit.” One need look no further than the riots in Tibet and the reaction in mainland China to realize the scope of its influence. Reactions were in no way turned to trying to explain why a whole minority group would so violently show their disapproval and rather were turned to a fierce defense of the pride of a nation coming under increasing scrutiny from abroad. The internet was flooded with anti-Western media content and one couldn’t speak a word otherwise without being branded a traitor. Newspaper editors who said otherwise were hounded out of their jobs and a Duke student was made famous when she came under attack from the wrath of the netizen mob.

Thus, it would be unexceptional for the Party to be seeking for a replacement for the Olympic spirit. It is conceivable that a moon landing could, in some smaller way, be the next source of nationalistic fervor. Without doubt, the Apollo program captured American imagination and sentiments in a way that could still bring a crumbling country together. Could Chinese leaders be hoping for a similar source of social cohesion? They have, historically, been nigh shameless in their use of symbols for nationalistic fervor, with Japan being an unfortunate recipient of much of that ire. Nationalism and ethnic unity have been vital to continued Party dominance. We just might be seeing the man behind the curtain trying to change the wizard’s face. And that, to answer Zhang Hong's question of whether China can afford such a program, as we saw with the spectacular Olympic spectacle, is always worth it.