Termed as the wedding of the decade, the Royal Wedding may be over, but the debate on the allure of old Britain’s soft power, which powerful China lacks, has just begun. White bridal lace and the full array of British royal regalia seem an unlikely starting point for soul-searching by a nation living in the fast lane and striving for recognition as a superpower in the Internet age.
Chinese have written admiringly about the ability of British Businesses to translate the fascination with the young royal couple’s marriage into an array of collectibles, souvenirs, tourist’s revenues and most importantly, a lingering spot in the global limelight.
“I was glued to the TV and to my computer for the day,” says Maggie Wu, a real estate agent who always dreamed of studying in the United Kingdom. “It was just like in those Taiwanese soaps that we watched in university night after night where the common girl gets the son of the tycoon. But this was real.” Maggie says the savings from her commissions will be spent on her first trip abroad, and not surprisingly this will be to the UK.
One Chinese newspaper, China Times wrote in length about the “royal wedding economy.” Another paper, China Business Journal invited experts to appraise the effect of the royal wedding as “commercial driving force for the digital era.” The Life weekly devoted a 10-page report on the enduring soft power of the “old empire”, delving back in history and trying to shed light on the reasons behind the undying interest in the royal family.
Like many world issues now-a-days, internet has been the center stage of this debate with internet sites being setup for royal wedding. One particular Chinese site, Kaixin net, has seen 1.6 million visits on the day of the marriage, and some 110,000 comments. “I think it made so much impression on Chinese people because it showed that the British embraced both past and future and was equally proud of both,” suggests Li Guangdou who comments on Chinese celebrities and what he terms the “China national brand”. The UK’s royal wedding came at a time when China is attempting to magnify its own soft power. But it appears uncertain what image it wants to project.
The outreach of China’s new soft power, which began in earnest before the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, is gathering speed. Chinese performing art and drama are featuring prominently in two of the UK’s prestigious arts festival this year - in Edinburgh and Salisbury. China is also the theme of the London Book Fair next year.
The British Council, which has been promoting the teaching of English language and the popularization of the UK’s finest cultural traditions since the late 1930s, now has teaching centers in some 42 countries. In just seven years since its creation, its Chinese equivalent - the Confucian Institute, has opened branches and teaching rooms in more than 80 countries.
