Chinese song implores women to marry someone like ‘Xi Dada’

BEIJING, March 1 (UPI) — For young Chinese women seeking a suitable husband, a new song celebrating the leadership has some advice: If you want to marry, marry someone like Xi Dada.

Xi Dada, meaning Uncle Xi in Chinese, refers to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who has reaped benefits from a state-sanctioned cult of personality since he assumed the presidency in 2012, the South China Morning Post reported.

The song has gone viral on the mainland and has generated a set of videos from Internet users complete with instructions on dance moves and insight into the song’s rhythm.

The song was not issued by Beijing. Hu Xiaoming, a relatively unknown Chinese singer, and composer Tang Jianyun, who identified himself as a “grass-roots” musician, uploaded the song that has circulated on social media, uninterrupted by Chinese censors.

The lyrics, however, segue seamlessly with Beijing’s attempts to mobilize citizens to bolster their support for Xi.

“If you want to marry, marry someone like Xi Dada, a man full of heroism with an unyielding spirit; no matter how the world changes and how many difficulties lie ahead, he will insist and keep moving forward,” the song goes.

For its part, China has tried to make Xi appear cool to young Chinese with a rap video about his political theory. State media has urged Xi’s speeches be combined with Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and a body of knowledge known as the Important Thought of the Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development.

That’s quite a list – but it should look familiar to those in China acquainted with the Communist party charter, which has incorporated these concepts.

The magnified veneration of Xi and the Chinese Communist Party has come at a price, and China is waging a stronger war against free speech, The Washington Post reported.

In early February, Xi visited China Central Television, People’s Daily and the Xinhua news agency to encourage journalism to “reflect the will of the Party.”

The news was followed by a crackdown of an influential dissenter. Ren Zhiqiang, a real estate mogul, had his social media account closed after he complained about Xi’s statement.