Turns out–after an investigation–that the People’s Education Press has been using the questionable photos (see previous post) for over ten tears??! There are three theories of why the escalation of complaints hinge on rumors of turmoil at the top.

• The ideological direction of the country has shifted;
• The purpose of the scandal is to redirect public attention from larger issues, and;
• The fight to control the profits from the textbook monopoly has broken out into the open.

The conclusion? No matter what the primary reason for media focus on textbook illustrations might or might not be, the actual situation is most likely related to the 20th Party Congress in October this year.