What Makes a COVID Hero in China? —A Glimpse of Heroism in Xi Jinping’s New Era

Abstract

ABSTRACT After rising to power, Xi Jinping has strengthened the institutional construction of heroism to safeguard ideological security. Hero honouring system was redesigned. Laws and policies were enacted to protect heroes and encourage the public to emulate them. Xi himself delivered many speeches about his views of heroism and ordinary heroes in the New Era, but his hero discourse lacks clarity, especially in terms of heroic qualities and the concept of ordinary heroes he has emphasized. Using qualitative textual content analysis method, this research analyzed Renmin Ribao’s news stories about COVID heroes reported in 2020 and explored how heroism in the New Era was presented and exemplified in China’s most important print media. The research analyzed heroic actions the heroes carried out, heroic qualities they demonstrated, the sacrifices they made and rewards they received, and concluded that ordinariness, or ‘banality’ of heroism is the defining feature of the COVID heroes and perhaps of the heroism in the New Era. It is argued that by making heroes more accessible to ordinary people, the practicality of using heroism as a social control and governance means is enhanced.