" incredibly shrewd and successful propaganda campaign that hinged on two words"

[mim0za]

"What the government needed at this point was not some upbeat slogan, but a radical new approach to explaining why foreign notions were a trap and why communism was still the best path for China.

This new idea had to be something big. It couldn't admit mistakes or failures of any kind by communist leaders. And it would be great if this new idea had some truth in it, because truth is the magic ingredient in strong propaganda. What the party decided on was--

Evan Osnos

Guochi, national humiliation. The term itself is wuwang guochi, never forget national humiliation.

Nancy Updike

Humiliation, in this context, has a precise meaning.

Evan Osnos

It means defeat at the hands of foreign armies. It means invasion.....       

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/575/transcript