Xi Jinping"s Potatos

Environmental & Science Education, STEM, Agriculture, Sustainability, Science & Society, Global Change, Climate Change

Ed Hessler

This BBC video titled Is Xi Jinping's Potato Miracle All That It Seems? (3 m 26 s), an example of Betteridge's Law of Headlines.

The BBC description of the video is useful before viewing it.

"China’s leader Xi Jinping will soon be given a historic third term in power, at the country's Communist Party Congress, which opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sunday. (This event -a coronation? - has already occurred.)

"In the run up to the meeting, the propaganda effort – boosting the president's image – is in full swing, with state media describing the almost miraculous transformations said to have taken place in poorer towns, following a visit by Mr Xi.

"The BBC's Stephen McDonell visited Zhangbei in Hebei Province, northern China - an area said to have been lifted out of poverty after President Xi suggested farmers change the type of potatoes they were planting."

McDonnell reporting is from the ground, with farmers who are very much affected by this massive attempt in changing their lives. The depth of their poverty is way beyond my experience. There was a deeply moving moment when a mother talked about the choices she has made in educating her sounds, hoping that this will give them a chance for a different way of life. I found the witnesses very powerful and honest voices.

I post it because I knew nothing about it and thought you might be interested.