Summary
As the Chinese Communist Party celebrates its 100th anniversary, Celia Hatton looks at how party slogans reveal the turbulent history of modern China. Throughout its existence, the party has used key slogans to communicate policy and mobilise the country's vast population. These messages reflect not just the ambitions of party leaders but also have a profound impact on the lives of millions. Using the BBC archive Celia examines the story behind eight key Communist Party slogans, from their early years as a guerrilla movement to the campaigns of China's current all-powerful leader Xi XInping.
Contributors: Professor Vivienne Shue, Dr Jennifer Altehenger, Dr Olivia Cheung, author Lijia Zhang, Dr Rowena He, and New York Times correspondent Christopher Buckley.
Presenter: Celia Hatton Producer: Alex Last Editor: Hugh Levinson
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | This was an impregnable fortress. The only way you get out was in a wooden box. |
| 0:05.0 | The controversial maximum security prison impossible to escape from. |
| 0:09.0 | And one of the duties of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.0 | The IRA inmates who found a way. of a political prisoner is the escape. |
| 0:12.5 | The IRA inmates who found a way. |
| 0:14.5 | I'm Carlo Gableer and I'll be navigating a path |
| 0:19.5 | through the disturbing inside story of the biggest jailbreak in British and Irish history. |
| 0:25.0 | The narrative that they want is that this is a big achievement by them. |
| 0:28.5 | Escape from the maze, listen first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.0 | BBC Sounds. BBC Sounds, music radio podcasts. |
| 0:39.0 | Come on in and get comfy. |
| 0:41.0 | This is seriously from BBC Radio 4 and I'm Vanessa Casile. |
| 0:46.4 | If you love unique documentaries this is the podcast for you. Each week you'll find two new episodes to discover. Here's the most |
| 0:56.0 | interesting thing you'll hear all week. For 15 years I lived in China working as a journalist. On my beloved sky blue bicycle I'd ride to and from work a little bit. |
| 1:10.0 | On my beloved Sky Blue bicycle I'd ride to and from work along the Capitol streets, |
| 1:16.6 | gliding along wide boulevards with special bike lanes, and then through narrow |
| 1:21.3 | laneways, zipping past parents, |
| 1:23.7 | taking their children to school, or grandma's |
| 1:26.4 | haggling over the price of vegetables. |
| 1:29.5 | And there was one thing that was impossible to ignore. |
| 1:33.0 | On my journey, I'd see slogan after slogan. |
| 1:36.5 | Political messages printed on red banners, billboards, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.