Lei Xiying, a PhD student at the Australian National University. The video has had particular resonance in China given the way official party rhetoric has doubled down on its invective aimed at the prominent four-day political show trial of lawyers and legal rights advocates, with the party-controlled judiciary portraying those on trial as having conspired with foreign agents to subvert the Chinese state, rather than seeking to advance rule of law in their country. The video was posted on the Supreme People's Procuratorate official Weibo account, contributing to its popularity and local media coverage. In an interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Lei said ordinary Chinese netizens were outraged by the court's evidence that the lawyers had "received funding from foreign forces" to destabilise China's domestic order. "The trials exposed them receiving training from overseas forces, accepting funds from foreign forces, and maliciously spreading rumours ... how can this not make people angry?" When asked if he considered Australia part of the US-led "hostile forces", Mr Lei said: "If as a reporter, you can't tell a country apart from forces and organisations that exist within that country, this is not up to professional standards". Australia as a country, he said, had established a comprehensive strategic partnership with China, but at the same time, it couldn't be ruled out that there were elements in Australia "who want to see a colour revolution in China".

The propaganda film employs numerous images of China's armed forces. Mr Lei criticised Australia's alliance with the US, accusing the Australian government of unable to think for itself, including in its endorsement of last month's international ruling on the South China Sea: "There aren't many middle powers left in the world who do not have their own objective political stances and attitudes ... in truth [Australia] is but a vassal of the United States." The video's credits production to Dujia Media, of which Mr Lei lists himself as a vice-president on his LinkedIn page. He told Fairfax Media he collaborates with Dujia on a project-based basis, and worked with a "few friends" on the video. When asked if any party organs, including the Communist Youth League, had commissioned or cooperated with Dujia, he said "as a market-oriented company, Dujia can collaborate with anyone, I don't think this violates any market rules". The film rallies viewers to defend against the threat of "foreign hostile forces" fomenting a "colour revolution" on Chinese soil. Far from being an obscure brand of neo-Maoist thought, it has become increasingly mainstream Communist Party rhetoric that US-led overseas forces, including the mainstream Western media, have helped fan independence-leaning movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan, unrest in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the unfavourable international tribunal ruling on the South China Sea. Each issue was covered in Mr Lei's video.

A hallmark of Xi Jinping's presidency has been China's great rejuvenation as a global economic, political and military power, often projected with heavy nationalistic overtones. It has contributed to a tangible undercurrent of rising jingoism, particularly among younger Chinese. It has not been without questionable outcomes, including the revelation that the Communist Youth League endorsed a young rapper whose lyrics include calling the Taiwanese president a "bitch" and foreign reporters "f****ts". A still from the propaganda film showing legal assistant Zhao Wei, right, who is accused in the video of accepting financial assistance from overseas. Mr Lei pointed to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's furious rebuke of a Canadian journalist during a visit to Ottawa in June when she questioned China's human rights record. He said Mr Wang's response was widely reflective of views held by China's youth, and that with more and more Chinese holding those views, it is something that the Western media must become accustomed to. "In the past, the Western media felt that when it says something, Chinese people will really care," Mr Lei said. "But a media outlet's influence stems from a country's power. With the West as a whole becoming weaker, it is fated that Western media will also weaken." The film warns that an Arab Spring-style revolution would plunge China into the kind of turmoil and bloodshed seen in Syria.

Despite opting to pursue his studies in the Australian capital for the past few years, Mr Lei has made no secret where his loyalties lie. In previous interviews with Chinese media, he has criticised various aspects of life in Australia, and said he felt Chinese students were often subject to racial discrimination. Loading In an opinion piece for the Global Times in December 2014, he argued Australia was "inviting trouble" by getting too close to the United States. And reacting to the Australian government's endorsement of the Hague-based international tribunal's ruling against China on the South China Sea last month, Mr Lei posted on his Weibo account: "When I graduate with my PhD I'm going to leave this stupid c*** [Australia], the political running dog of the United States, not even a bit of ability to think independently." "You tell me, what's good about Australia? The environment?" Mr Lei asked Fairfax Media. "China is in a rapid economic growth phase, smart young people, if they don't return to China, don't tell me they will stay in Australia to misspend their youth?"