Chinese Rapocracy

The first is a song commissioned and distributed by the People’s Liberation Army as a recruitment tool to attract millennials “raised on pop tunes and video games,” according to Russia-related website Sputniknews.

The lyrics might be off-putting to some people but were obviously designed to appeal to youngsters enamored of violent video games. “Just waiting for the order to kill, kill, kill,” goes one line. “War can break out at any time, are you ready?” is another.

The South China Morning Post reports that the PLA feels it has to compete with the private sector, so it stresses a sense of “adventure.”

Then there is a second rap song and video that is used as the theme for a nine-part TV show about the founder of Marxist doctrine, Karl Marx, which is scheduled to be broadcast in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The purpose is to encourage viewers to read Marx’s works. But if the song was targeted regionally, it has become a hit nationwide through the Internet.

Called “Marx Belongs to the 90s,” it features text in both Chinese and English and is performed by a group of young people.

The singers explain how surprised they were at the appeal of Marxist theory.

”One day I will know how cool he is,” goes the refrain. The two videos follow in the success of a childlike pop song released last year to promote the Communist party’s next five-year plan. The video includes a likeness of President Xi Jinping dressed up “as David Bowie,” according to Sputniknews.