My Take | It may not be a good propaganda move to showcase star CIA spy
- Douglas Mackiernan, the first black star on the agency’s Memorial Wall, may be too heroic for exposure of evil American plots against China
Mainland Chinese media, intriguingly, have been filled with stories about Douglas Mackiernan. While I can appreciate the anti-American public relations efforts, I am not sure about the result.
I consider myself as patriotic as the next Chinese; but if someone like me reacts this way, perhaps the Ministry of State Security really needs to revamp its propaganda department. Hey, I am happy to help!
In case you have never heard of Mackiernan, he is the first black star on the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) Memorial Wall, which represents agency operatives killed in the line of duty.
The Chinese news accounts somehow paint an authentic spy hero who was not only the three JBs (James Bond, Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer) rolled into one, but also scientist Alan Turing and imperial linguist T.E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) combined. I am pretty sure that wasn’t the intention. And, as shown in some photos, the guy was rather handsome in a rugged way. A lady killer, no doubt.
OK, I added in the last bit … already working on my blockbuster film script, you see. Tom Cruise to play the lead? Too old! Tom Hiddleston? The British accent is too heavy. Wait, Chris Hemsworth! Hollywood, where have you been?!
But I digress. The Chinese ministry got the ball rolling on Tuesday with its public account on WeChat. Since then, it has been picked up by several major mainland media, including Global Times.