On a trip to China a couple of years ago I noted that much of the writing there is nothing but a collection of familiar idioms, clichés and catch-phrases. I asked Chinese people about this and they all said that in China, that's how a writer shows mastery: More repeating old literature than by than creating new.

And yesterday my Hong Kong-based speechwriting pal Lorne Christensen sent me a piece from China Daily. Columnist Liu Shinan writes about the sorry state of speechmaking in China:

"In most cases, the speeches delivered by officials at various levels can be cut by half at least. Actually in many cases, they can be cut by two-thirds or three-fourths without hurting the essential information the speaker intends to impart. This is because the core information, if there is any, is wrapped in flamboyant, empty formulae."

As editor of Speechwriter's Newsletter, let me tell you: The same could be said for many Western political and corporate speeches. Liu goes on:

"... officials ... try to make their speeches comprehensive, deep and high. Shorter speeches would be regarded as demonstrating poor ability backed by inadequate homework. No one would want to leave such an impression on the superiors present at the meeting."

Liu remembers Chairman Mao as someone who knew how to give a speech: "Sixty-five years ago, Mao Zedong published his famous Oppose Stereotyped Party Writing during the Communist Party's campaign to rectify its work style. He called for a terse, straight-to-the-point style of writing and speaking. Now, we need another campaign to rectify the present corrupted way of using our language."

Of course, anyone who has read Mao's little red book knows that the man believed in the power of the platitude above all else. But at least his platitudes were pithy.