MCLC: China's Obama impersonator

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China’s Obama impersonator
Source: China Real Time, WSJ (9/23/15)
Fake It ‘Til You Make It: China’s Obama Impersonator Sets Sino-U.S. Stage
By Laurie Burkitt and Olivia Geng
U.S.-China relations are a little frosty these days, just as Chinese President Xi Jinpingheads to the U.S. to meet with President Barack Obama. But China’s star Obama impersonator Xiao Jiguo would never know it from the warm reception he gets in the Middle Kingdom.
Demand for Mr. Obama’s attendance at charity events and birthday parties all across China is as high as ever, says 29-year-old Mr. Xiao, who bears a striking resemblance to the 44th president despite being more than two decades younger than him. President Obama, or rather suit-donning Mr. Xiao, travels around China a few times a month, attending fundraisers and christening new Chinese businesses. He cheers on job creation and supports local communities.
“Everyone wants a picture,” Mr. Xiao said in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, adding that he also belts out a few Chinese songs for the crowd here and there.
In many countries, impersonators serve as decent barometers of public sentiment, if not exaggerated reflections of social and political landscapes. Two years ago, a woman in England attacked a Taylor Swift impersonator, breaking her jaw. Elvis impersonators for decades were a dime a dozen. And if The Wall Street Journal weren’t a family paper, we could mention what singer Miley Cyrus did with a Bill Clinton impersonator.
When it comes to U.S.-China ties, polls show increasingly negative views in each country amid a raft of disputes over issues ranging from cybersecurity to islands in the South China Sea. Only 38% of Americans view China favorably, while 44% of Chinese have a positive view of the U.S., according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.
Against such a gloomy backdrop, Mr. Xiao attributes his popularity to pure oddity. “It’s very rare for a Chinese person to look like a Westerner,” he said.
A native of China’s southwest Sichuan province, Mr. Xiao said he got the idea while working at a factory in 2008, when a co-worker pulled him aside to say,  “Don’t take offense, but I have something to ask you.” He added, “Have you ever noticed that you look like Obama?”
Taking a hard look in the mirror, Mr. Xiao admitted it was true.
>From a certain angle, Mr. Xiao said he is a dead ringer for the politician.  And with a little brow fluffing and makeup, he has been able to perfect the look from all angles.
Now, bubbly Mr. Xiao is mostly swarmed with selfie requests.
But there are a few interesting insights to glean from Mr. Xiao’s line of work. Curiously, Mr. Xiao said he’s never met with anyone pretending to be Chinese President Xi Jinping, and there don’t appear to be many out there (although there is a meat pie peddler in China’s central Hunan province who is a spitting image of him).
“They’re mostly Chairman Mao,” Mr. Xiao said of the other impersonators he meets in his circles. And indeed, Mr. Xiao is right: there are many Mao Zedongs, along with Michael Jacksons and Taiwanese pop stars.
Mr. Xiao never leaves time for Q&A from audiences, which he says might easily lend to sensitive discussions.
And when it comes to stump speeches, some might say Mr. Xiao has perfected the art of pretending to be a politician. “It’s all fake,” said Mr. Xiao, explaining that because he doesn’t speak English he makes up speeches that sound like English. To a native English speaker, Mr. Xiao’s oration sounds something like the fictitious Klingon or Na’vi languages, though perhaps less comprehensible.
At the end of the day, however, Mr. Xiao said if the crowd turns on him, he has an out: “I can always tell them I’m Chinese,” he said.
–Laurie Burkitt and Olivia Geng. Follow Laurie on Twitter @lburkitt and Olivia at keikogfy.
by denton.2 at osu.edu on October 13, 2015
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