Revision as of 03:53, 6 November 2009 edit66.57.240.8 (talk) →Taiwan terminology: correcting confusing grammar and wikilinking PRC.← Previous edit | Latest revision as of 01:20, 26 December 2024 edit undoKaltenmeyer (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users118,243 editsm clean up, typo(s) fixed: Mainland China → mainland ChinaTag: AWB | ||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|none}} | |||
<!-- Image with inadequate rationale removed: ] -->'''Propaganda in the People's Republic of China''' refers to the ]'s use of ]. | |||
{{for|propaganda in the Republic of China era (1912-1949) and subsequently on Taiwan|Propaganda in the Republic of China}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} | |||
{{Infobox Chinese | |||
| s = 中华人民共和国宣传活动 | |||
| t = 中華人民共和國宣傳活動 | |||
| p = Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó xuānchuán huódòng | |||
| order = st | |||
| pic = Spectators in front of a large sign on Nixon's motorcade route in China. - NARA - 194413.tif | |||
| piccap = A large sign featuring a propaganda slogan in 1972: "Long Live the Great, Glorious, and Correct Communist Party of China!" | |||
}} | |||
'''Propaganda in China''' is used by the ruling ] (CCP), and historically by the ] (KMT), to sway domestic and international opinion in favor of its policies.<ref name="bradygh">{{cite journal |last=Brady |first=Anne-Marie |author-link=Anne-Marie Brady |year=2006 |title=Guiding Hand: The Role of the CCP Central Propaganda Department in the Current Era |journal=Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=58–77 |doi=10.16997/wpcc.15 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Shambaugh" /> Domestically, this includes ] of proscribed views and an active promotion of views that favor the government. ] is considered central to the operation of the CCP and the ],<ref name="mitter">{{cite book|last=Mitter|first=Rana|title=Entry on "China" in Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 to the Present|publisher=ABC-ClIO|year=2003|isbn=9781576078204|editor=Nicholas J. Cull|pages=73–77|oclc=51779499|editor2=David Colbert|editor3=David Welch}}</ref> with propaganda operations in the country being directed by the CCP's ]. | |||
Aspects of propaganda can be traced back to the earliest periods of Chinese history, but propaganda has been most effective in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries owing to mass media and an authoritarian government.<ref name=mitter /> The earliest Chinese propaganda tool also was an important tool in legitimizing the ] ] from ] to ] in 1949. | |||
Propaganda during the ] was known for its constant use of mass campaigns to legitimize the party and the policies of leaders. It was the first time the CCP successfully made use of modern mass ], adapting them to the needs of a country which had a largely rural and ] population.<ref name=mitter /> Today, propaganda in China is usually depicted through cultivation of the ] and ].<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last1=Link |first1=Perry |author-link=Perry Link |last2=Kurlantzick |first2=Joshua |author-link2=Joshua Kurlantzick |date=2009-05-25 |title=China's Modern Authoritarianism |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124319304482150525 |url-status=live |access-date=2020-06-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716230948/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124319304482150525 |archive-date=16 July 2017 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref>{{Update inline|date=March 2023|reason=Outdated}} | |||
== Terminology == | |||
{{Infobox Chinese | |||
|title= Xuanchuan | |||
|t= {{linktext|宣傳}} | |||
|s= {{linktext|宣传}} | |||
|l= spread transmit | |||
|p= xuānchuán | |||
|w= hsüan-ch'uan | |||
|j= syun1 cyun4 | |||
|h= siên-chhòn | |||
|mc= sjwendrjwen | |||
|oc-bs= *s-qʷarm-tron | |||
|hangul= 선전 | |||
|rr= seonjeon | |||
|mr= sŏnjŏn | |||
|kanji= {{linktext|宣伝}} | |||
|hiragana= せんでん | |||
|revhep= senden | |||
}} | |||
While the English word usually has a pejorative connotation, the Chinese word ''xuānchuán'' (宣传 "propaganda; publicity", composed of ''xuan'' {{linktext|宣}} "declare; proclaim; announce" and ''chuan'' {{linktext|傳}} or {{linktext|传}} "pass; hand down; impart; teach; spread; infect; be contagious"<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=DeFrancis |editor-first=John |date=2003 |title=ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |pages=1087, 124}}</ref>) The term can have either a neutral connotation in official government ] or a pejorative one in informal contexts. The term is not used for censorship, as it might connote in other parts of the world.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edney |first=Kingsley |url=https://archive.org/details/globalizationofc0000edne/page/22/mode/1up?view=theater |title=The Globalization of Chinese Propaganda |date=2014 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan US |isbn=978-1-349-47990-0 |location=New York |pages=22–24, 195 |language=en |doi=10.1057/9781137382153}}</ref> | |||
''Xuānchuán'' first appeared in the 3rd-century historical text '']'' where its usage referred to the dissemination of military skills.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last=Li |first=Jie |title=Cinematic Guerillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China |publisher=] |year=2023 |isbn=9780231206273 |location=New York, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|page=6}} In pre-modern times, the term was used to refer to dissemination of ideas and information by ruling elites.<ref name=":Qian">{{Cite book |last=Qian |first=Ying |title=Revolutionary Becomings: Documentary Media in Twentieth-Century China |date=2024 |publisher=] |isbn=9780231204477 |location=New York, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|page=103}} The meaning of "to explain something to someone, or to conduct education" might first appeared in ]'s (c. 320) '']'' criticism of effete scholars who ] (r. 75–88) extravagantly rewarded. | |||
<blockquote>These various gentlemen were heaped with honors, but not because they could breach walls or fight in the fields, break through an enemy's lines and extend frontiers, fall ill and resign office, pray for a plan of confederation and give the credit to others, or possess a zeal transcending all bounds. Merely because they expounded an interpretation of one solitary classic, such were the honors lavished upon them. And they were only lecturing upon words bequeathed by the dead. Despite their own high positions, emperors and kings deigned to serve these teachers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ge |first=Hong |url=https://archive.org/details/alchemymediciner00ware |title=Alchemy, Medicine, Religion in the China of A.D. 320. |date=1966 |publisher=Cambridge, Mass., & London |isbn=9780262230223 |language=en |translator-last=Ware |translator-first=James |page=231}}</ref>{{primary source inline|date=May 2024}}</blockquote> | |||
It was chosen to translate the ] concept of Russian ''propagánda'' {{linktext|пропаганда}} in the early 20th-century China. Within the broader context of Marxism-Leninism, "propaganda" has neither dismissive nor negative connotations.<ref name=":Wang">{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Frances Yaping |title=The Art of State Persuasion: China's Strategic Use of Media in Interstate Disputes |publisher=] |year=2024 |isbn=9780197757512}}</ref>{{Rp|page=29}} | |||
Some ''xuanchuan'' ]s usually refer to "propaganda" (e.g., ''xuānchuánzhàn'' 宣传战 "propaganda war"), others to "publicity" (''xuānchuán méijiè'' 宣传媒介 "mass media; means of publicity"), and still others are ambiguous (''xuānchuányuán'' 宣传员 "propagandist; publicist").<ref name="John DeFrancis 2003">Translations from John DeFrancis, ed. (2003), ''ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary'', University of Hawaii Press, p. 1087.</ref> The term ''xuanchuan'' also conveys the meaning of education, whereas the English word propaganda does not.<ref name=":83" />{{Rp|page=34}} | |||
During the 20th century, use of the term propaganda in China approximated its meaning in early modern Europe, "to propagate what one believes to be true."<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=19}} Operating according to this terminology, the CCP is open about the importance of its propaganda work, which it views as having a positive impact on informing the Chinese people and promoting social harmony.<ref name=":922">{{Cite book |last=Šebok |first=Filip |title=Contemporary China: a New Superpower? |publisher=] |year=2023 |isbn=978-1-03-239508-1 |editor-last=Kironska |editor-first=Kristina |chapter=Social Control and Propaganda |editor-last2=Turscanyi |editor-first2=Richard Q.}}</ref>{{Rp|page=106}} ],<ref>{{cite journal |last=Shambaugh |first=David |author-link=David Shambaugh |date=January 2007 |title=Propaganda System: Institutions, Processes and Efficacy China's |journal=] |volume=57 |pages=25–58 |doi=10.1086/tcj.57.20066240 |s2cid=222814073 |url=http://myweb.rollins.edu/tlairson/china/chipropaganda.pdf |access-date=15 May 2024 |archive-date=22 December 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222164530/https://myweb.rollins.edu/tlairson/china/chipropaganda.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>{{rp|29}} a scholar of Chinese politics and foreign policy, describes "proactive propaganda" in which the Chinese Communist Party Propaganda Department writes and disseminates information that it believes "''should'' be used in educating and shaping society". In this particular context, ''xuanchuan'' "does ''not'' carry negative connotations for the CCP, nor, for that matter, for most Chinese citizens." The sinologist and anthropologist Andrew B. Kipnis says unlike English ''propaganda'', Chinese ''xuanchuan'' is officially represented as language that is good for the nation as a whole.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kipnis |first=Andrew B. |date=January 1995 |title=Within and Against Peasantness: Backwardness and Filiality in Rural China |journal=] |language=en |volume=37 |issue=1 |pages=110–135 |doi=10.1017/S0010417500019563 |s2cid=144272199 |issn=0010-4175}}</ref>{{rp|119}} However, the CCP is also sensitive to the negative connotations of the English word ''propaganda'', and the commonly used Chinese term ''xuanchuan'' acquired pejorative connotations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mackinnon |first=Stephen R. |date=January 1997 |title=Toward a History of the Chinese Press in the Republican Period |journal=] |language=en |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=3–32 |doi=10.1177/009770049702300101 |issn=0097-7004 |jstor=189462|s2cid=148316475 }}</ref>{{rp|4}} In 1992, ] ] asked one of the CCP's most senior translators to come up with a better English alternative to ''propaganda'' as the translation of ''xuanchuan'' for propaganda targeting foreign audiences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schoenhals |first=Michael |date=2008 |title=Abandoned or Merely Lost in Translation? |journal=Inner Asia |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=113–130 |doi=10.1163/000000008793066777 |issn=1464-8172 |jstor=23615059}}</ref>{{rp|125}} Replacement English translations include ''publicity'', ''information'', and ''political communication'' domestically,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brady |first=Anne-Marie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uj-1sxeO99kC |title=Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China |date=2008 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7425-4057-6 |language=en |oclc=968245349 |author-link=Anne-Marie Brady |access-date=2020-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230308184443/https://books.google.com/books?id=uj-1sxeO99kC |archive-date=2023-03-08 |url-status=live |page=73}}</ref> or ''media diplomacy'' and ''cultural exchange'' internationally.<ref>{{cite book |last=Edney |first=Kingsley |date=2014 |url=https://archive.org/details/globalizationofc0000edne |title=The Globalization of Chinese Propaganda: International Power and Domestic Political Cohesion |publisher=] |doi=10.1057/9781137382153|isbn=978-1-349-47990-0 |page=24 }}</ref> | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===Republican era=== | |||
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2009}} | |||
{{Excerpt|Propaganda in the Republic of China|only=paragraph|paragraphs=1-3}} | |||
The history of ] propaganda in China predates the establishment of the PRC, and it has since manifested itself in various forms, such as songs, paintings, posters, and films. ] has traditionally served as a major national conduit for televised propaganda, while the '']'' newspaper has served as a medium for print propaganda. | |||
===Mao era=== | |||
] with the grave of an American soldier]] | |||
The origins of the CCP propaganda system can be traced to ] and the rectification movements carried out there.<ref name="Frederick">{{cite book|last=Teiwes|first=Frederick C.|title=Politics and Purges in China: Rectification and the Decline of Party Norms, 1950-65|publisher=Armonk: M. E. Sharpe|year=1993|isbn=978-1563242274|edition=2nd|chapter=1,2|oclc=925200696}}</ref> Following which it became a key mechanism in the Party's campaigns.<ref name="Shambaugh" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Solomon|first=Richard H.|title=Mao's Revolution and the Chinese Political Culture|date=1971|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02250-8|language=en|oclc=916968066}}</ref> Mao explicitly laid out the political role of culture in his 1942 "Talks at the ] on Art and Literature". The propaganda system, considered a central part of CCP's "control system",<ref name="Shambaugh" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Schurmann|first=Franz|title='']'' |date=1968|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=0-520-01151-1|edition=2d ed., enlarged|location=Berkeley|oclc=174950}}</ref> drew much from Soviet, Nazi, imperial China, Nationalist China, and other totalitarian states' propaganda methods.<ref name="Shambaugh" /> It represented a quintessential ].<ref name="Shambaugh">{{cite journal|last=Shambaugh|first=David|author-link=David Shambaugh|date=Jan 2007|title=China's Propaganda System: Institutions, Processes and Efficacy|journal=China Journal|volume=57|issue=57|pages=25–58|doi=10.1086/tcj.57.20066240|jstor=20066240|s2cid=140932475}}</ref> ] observes that propaganda and indoctrination are considered to have been a hallmark of the Maoist China;<ref name="Shambaugh" /> the CCP employed a variety of "thought control" techniques, including incarceration for "thought reform," construction of role models to be emulated, mass mobilization campaigns, the creation of ideological monitors and propaganda teams for indoctrination purposes, enactment of articles to be memorized, control of the educational system and media, a nationwide system of loudspeakers, among other methods.<ref name="Shambaugh"/> While ostensibly aspiring to a "Communist utopia," often had a negative focus on constantly searching for enemies among the people. The means of persuasion was often extremely violent, "a literal acting out of class struggle."<ref name="brady08"/> | |||
According to academic ], CCP propaganda and thought work (''sīxiǎng gōngzuò'' 思想工作) traditionally had a much broader notion of the public sphere than is usually defined by media specialists.<ref name="brady08" /> Chinese propagandists used every possible means of communication available in China after 1949, including electronic media such as film and television, educational curriculum and research, print media such as newspapers and posters, cultural arts such as plays and music, oral media such as memorizing Mao quotes, as well as thought reform and political study classes.<ref name="brady08" /> ] (CCTV) has traditionally served as a major national conduit for televised propaganda, while the ''],'' the official newspaper of the ], has served as a medium for print propaganda. During the ], a distinctive feature of propaganda and thought work was "rule by editorial," according to Brady. Political campaigns would be launched through editorials and leading articles in ''People's Daily'', which would be followed by other papers.<ref name="brady08" /> Work units and other organizational political study groups utilized these articles as a source for political study, and reading newspapers in China was "a political obligation". Mao used Lenin's model for the media, which had it function as a tool of mass propaganda, agitation, and organization.<ref name="brady08" /> | |||
In ], traveling drama troupes did propaganda work and were particularly important during ] and other mass campaigns.<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=48}} In 1951, a directive to develop a nationwide propaganda network designated individuals in each school, factory, and ] as propaganda workers.<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=48}} CCP propaganda sought to promote ]s and soldiers whose productive examples were promoted to the public via radio, and other media.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Tim |title=Betting on Macau: Casino Capitalism and China's Consumer Revolution |date=2023 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-5179-0031-1 |series=Globalization and Community series |location=Minneapolis}}</ref>{{Rp|page=24}} In 1955, the ] sought to develop rural cultural networks to distribute media like other performances, ], books, cinema, radio, books, and to establish newspaper reading groups.<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=48}} Salaried workers at rural cultural centers toured the countryside distributing propaganda materials, teaching revolutionary songs, and the like.<ref name=":10" />{{Rp|page=48}} | |||
In arts like ], the early PRC had promoted Soviet art styles over traditional Chinese forms.<ref name=":Laikwan">{{Cite book |last=Laikwan |first=Pang |title=One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty |date=2024 |publisher=] |isbn=9781503638815 |location=Stanford, CA |doi=10.1515/9781503638822}}</ref>{{Rp|page=137}} By the mid-1950s, ], and Mao became increasingly interested in promoting China's own national path.<ref name=":Laikwan" />{{Rp|page=137}} As part of this effort, propaganda campaigns encouraged re-adoption of traditional Chinese art styles.<ref name=":Laikwan" />{{Rp|page=137}} | |||
In the 1960s, Chinese propaganda sought to portray contrasting images of the United States government and the United States public.<ref name=":Minami">{{Cite book |last=Minami |first=Kazushi |title=People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=] |isbn=9781501774157 |location=Ithaca, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|page=17}} Propaganda sought to criticize the government for its ] while praising the public for ].<ref name=":Minami" />{{Rp|page=17}} As part of propaganda efforts during the 1965 Resist America, Aid Vietnam Campaign, the CCP organized street demonstrations and marches and promoted campaign messages using cultural media like film and photography exhibitions, chorus contests, and street performance.<ref name=":Minami" />{{Rp|page=29}} | |||
] ] over a mass rally]] | |||
During the ], CCP propaganda was crucial to intensification of ], as well as mobilizing popular participation in national campaigns.<ref name="landsberger">{{Citation| url = http://www.iisg.nl/landsberger/mods.html| title = Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages.| last = Landsberger| first = Stefan R.| year = 2010| access-date = 3 April 2010| archive-date = 27 September 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200927230054/http://www.iisg.nl/landsberger/mods.html| url-status = live}}</ref> Past propaganda also encouraged the Chinese people to emulate government approved model workers and soldiers, such as ], Chinese Civil War hero ], Korean War hero ], and Dr. ], a Canadian doctor who assisted the CCP ] during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It also praised ] revolutionaries and close foreign allies such as ] and ] while vilifying both the American "]" and the Soviet "]" (the latter of whom was seen as having betrayed Marxism–Leninism following the ]). | |||
===Modern era=== | |||
], China facing ], ]. Sign says "Peaceful Unification. ]".]] | |||
Following the ] in 1976, propaganda was used to blacken the character of the ], which was blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. During the era of ] and ] that was initiated by ], propaganda promoting ] was distributed. The first post-Mao campaign was in 1983 which saw the ]. | |||
In 1977, Deng initiated a propaganda campaign to promote science as the cornerstone of China's modernization, in advance of the 1978 National Science Conference.<ref name=":Minami" />{{Rp|page=82}} The campaign helped advanced Deng's efforts to improve the quality of science in China, particularly basic research, following the Cultural Revolution.<ref name=":Minami" />{{Rp|page=82}} ] vice president ] led the campaign in having schools, factories, and communes organize youth-focused events to celebrate science and technology.<ref name=":Minami" />{{Rp|page=82}} | |||
The ] were an indication to many elders in the CCP that liberalization in the propaganda sector had gone too far, and that the Party must re-establish its control over ideology and the propaganda system.<ref name="brady08"/> | |||
Brady writes that propaganda and thought work have become the "life blood" of the Party-State since the post-1989 period, and one of the key means for guaranteeing the CCP's continued legitimacy and hold on power.<ref name="brady08">{{cite book|last=Brady|first=Anne-Marie|title=Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2008|isbn=978-0742540576|page=1|oclc=968245349|author-link=Anne-Marie Brady}}</ref> | |||
In the 1990s, propaganda theorists described the challenges to China's propaganda and thought work as "blind spots"; mass communication was advocated as the antidote. From the early 1990s, selective concepts from mass communications theory, public relations, advertising, social psychology, ] and other areas of modern mass persuasion were introduced into China's propaganda system for the purpose of creating a modern propaganda model.<ref name="brady08"/> | |||
Particularly since the 1990s, China has engaged in propaganda seeking to eliminate the traditional ].<ref name=":53">{{Cite book |last=Santos |first=Gonçalo |title=Chinese Village Life Today: Building Families in an Age of Transition |date=2021 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-295-74738-5 |location=Seattle |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=6–10}} | |||
===Recent developments=== | |||
] of the ] (2017).]] | |||
The ] were portrayed by the Chinese government as a symbol of China's pride and place in the world,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Olympic-Games-all-about-China-Chinese-3274954.php|title=→Beijing Olympic Games all about China, Chinese Leaders keen to impress, inspire their own people|author1=April Rabkin|date=1 August 2008|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=17 March 2010|archive-date=19 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119225630/http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-08-01/news/17121901_1_international-olympic-committee-s-choice-beijing-torch-protests|url-status=live}}</ref> and seem to have bolstered some domestic support for the Chinese government, and support for the policies of the CCP, giving rise to concerns that the state will possibly have more leverage to disperse ].<ref name="legacy2">{{cite web|last=Gardner|first=Dinah|title=China's Olympic legacy|date=25 August 2008|url=http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/beijing08/2008/08/20088255274440438.html|access-date=29 August 2008|archive-date=29 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829090422/http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/beijing08/2008/08/20088255274440438.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In the lead-up to the Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for their reporting during the Games: most political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed; topics such as pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements were not to be reported on, as were food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hutcheon|first=Stephen|date=2008-09-15|title=Was China's milk scandal hushed up?|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/was-chinas-milk-scandal-hushed-up-20080916-gdsv15.html|access-date=2020-06-15|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|archive-date=25 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200725065428/https://www.smh.com.au/world/was-chinas-milk-scandal-hushed-up-20080916-gdsv15.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As the ] broke in September 2008, there was widespread speculation that China's desire for a perfect Games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated ].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Spencer|first=Richard|date=2008-09-15|title=China accused over contaminated baby milk|language=en-GB|work=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/2963808/China-accused-over-contaminated-baby-milk.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/2963808/China-accused-over-contaminated-baby-milk.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2020-06-15|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Barboza|first=David|date=2008-09-23|title=China Says Complaints About Milk Began in 2007|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/world/asia/24milk.html|access-date=2020-06-15|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=29 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129060401/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/24/world/asia/24milk.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In early 2009, the CCP embarked on a multibillion-dollar global media expansion, including the 24-hour English-language news channel ] (CGTN) in the style of Western news agencies. According to Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher at ], it was part of CCP general secretary ]'s plan to "go global" and make "the voice of China better heard in international affairs", by strengthening their foreign-language services, and being less political in their broadcasting. Bequelin notes that their function is to channel a specific view of China to an international audience, and their fundamental premise remains the same; that all information broadcast must reflect the government's views. The Chinese government encouraged the adaption of Western style media marketing in their news agencies due to internal competition with national commercial media.<ref name=":5">{{Cite news |last=Bequelin |first=Nicholas |date=2009-01-30 |title=China's New Propaganda Machine |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123326012456829891 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2020-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116112518/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123326012456829891 |archive-date=16 November 2017 |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> | |||
In 2011, then ] ] ] and the city's Propaganda Department initiated a 'Red Songs campaign' that demanded every district, government departments and commercial corporations, universities and schools, state radio and TV stations to begin singing "red songs", praising the achievements of the CCP and PRC. Bo said the aim was "to reinvigorate the city with the Marxist ideals of his father's comrade-in-arms Mao Zedong"; although academic Ding Xueliang of ] suspected the campaign's aim was to further his political standing within the country's leadership.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2011-04-20|title=Chinese city of 30m ordered to sing 'red songs'|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/chinese-city-of-30m-ordered-to-sing-red-songs-20110420-1dohw.html|access-date=2020-06-15|website=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411223715/https://www.smh.com.au/world/chinese-city-of-30m-ordered-to-sing-red-songs-20110420-1dohw.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>http://politics.gmw.cn/2011-04/20/content_1864216.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323074523/http://politics.gmw.cn/2011-04/20/content_1864216.htm |date=23 March 2012 }} 重庆要求组织干部群众集中传唱《走向复兴》等36首红歌 |http://www.gmw.cn 2011-04-20 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070217164128/http://www.gmw.cn/ |date=17 February 2007 }} 20:32:38</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-03-27|title='Red Songs' fuels Chinese politician's ambitions|website=]|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/red-songs-fuels-chinese-politicians-ambitions|access-date=2020-06-15|agency=Associated Press|language=en-US|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609172325/https://www.foxnews.com/world/red-songs-fuels-chinese-politicians-ambitions|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Branigan|first=Tania|date=2011-04-22|title=Red songs ring out in Chinese city's new cultural revolution|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/22/red-songs-chinese-cultural-revolution|access-date=2020-06-15|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=10 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610212700/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/apr/22/red-songs-chinese-cultural-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Since ] became in 2012 the CCP general secretary, censorship and propaganda have been significantly stepped up.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Denyer |first=Simon |date=25 October 2017 |title=China's Xi Jinping unveils his top party leaders, with no successor in sight |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinas-communist-party-unveils-new-leadership-with-no-obvious-successor-to-xi-jinping/2017/10/25/efe67876-b8fc-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813203127/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/chinas-communist-party-unveils-new-leadership-with-no-obvious-successor-to-xi-jinping/2017/10/25/efe67876-b8fc-11e7-9b93-b97043e57a22_story.html |archive-date=13 August 2019 |quote=Censorship has been significantly stepped up in China since Xi took power.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Economy |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Economy |date=29 June 2018 |title=The great firewall of China: Xi Jinping's internet shutdown |newspaper=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/29/the-great-firewall-of-china-xi-jinpings-internet-shutdown |url-status=live |access-date=4 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010172129/https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/jun/29/the-great-firewall-of-china-xi-jinpings-internet-shutdown |archive-date=10 October 2019 |quote=Before Xi Jinping, the internet was becoming a more vibrant political space for Chinese citizens. But today the country has the largest and most sophisticated online censorship operation in the world. |ref=none}}</ref> During a visit to Chinese state media, Xi stated that "]" and that the state media "must embody the party's will, safeguard the party's authority".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zhuang |first=Pinghui |date=19 February 2016 |title=China's top party mouthpieces pledge 'absolute loyalty' as president makes rare visits to newsrooms |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1914136/chinas-top-party-mouthpieces-pledge-absolute-loyalty |access-date=14 August 2022 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331170900/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/1914136/chinas-top-party-mouthpieces-pledge-absolute-loyalty |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, as part of an overhaul of CCP and government bodies, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) was renamed into the ] (NRTA) with its film, news media and publications being transferred to the Central Propaganda Department.<ref name=":412">{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Chris |date=2018-03-21 |title=China Gives Communist Party More Control Over Policy and Media |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping.html |access-date=2022-12-29 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112211222/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Additionally, the control of China Central Television (CCTV, including its international edition, China Global Television), ] (CNR) and ] (CRI) were transferred to the newly established ] (CMG) under the control of the Central Propaganda Department.<ref name=":412" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=22 March 2018 |title=三台合一, 发出更强"中国之声" |trans-title=Merge of Three Stations into One, Sending Out a Stronger "Voice of China" |work=] |url=http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/n1/2018/0322/c1001-29883390.html |access-date=29 December 2022 |archive-date=10 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210910022043/http://politics.people.com.cn/GB/n1/2018/0322/c1001-29883390.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Starting in June 2021 and continuing through at least 2024, ] has engaged in a propaganda campaign to promote court cases decided in favor of ] workers against the companies for which they did work.<ref name=":Zhang">{{Cite book |last=Zhang |first=Angela Huyue |title=High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy |publisher=] |year=2024 |isbn=9780197682258}}</ref>{{Rp|page=|pages=182–183}} The judicial system's newspapers and magazines have promoted coverage of typical cases and relevant studies.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|pages=182–183}} Academic Angela Huyue Zhang writes that because court rulings in China do not create ], the campaign is a mechanism for guiding courts to tighten regulation in this area, particularly where platform workers lack contracts or have been characterized as independent contractors but are in fact subject to tight monitoring by the platform companies that dispatch them.<ref name=":Zhang" />{{Rp|page=183}} | |||
==== Xinjiang ==== | |||
{{Further|Persecution of Uyghurs in China|Xinjiang internment camps}} | |||
During the ], CCP officials moved swiftly in a public relations campaign. According to '']'', CCP officials felt that the recent riots risked tarnishing China's global image, and underwent a public relations program involving quickly getting out the government's official version of the events, as well as transporting foreign journalists to riot affected areas. The growth in new technologies, such as email and SMS, forced the CCP's hand into taking up spin. | |||
Since 2017, the Chinese government has engaged in a propaganda campaign to defend its actions in Xinjiang.<ref name="NYT Wonderful">{{Cite news |last=Qin |first=Amy |date=5 April 2021 |title=China Tries to Counter Xinjiang Backlash With ... a Musical? |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/world/asia/china-uyghurs-propaganda-musical.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517031825/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/05/world/asia/china-uyghurs-propaganda-musical.html |archive-date=17 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="wsjFaceProp">{{Cite news |last=Xiao |first=Eva |date=2 April 2021 |title=Facebook Staff Fret Over China's Ads Portraying Happy Muslims in Xinjiang |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-staff-fret-over-chinas-ads-portraying-happy-muslims-in-xinjiang-11617366096 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516193405/https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-staff-fret-over-chinas-ads-portraying-happy-muslims-in-xinjiang-11617366096 |archive-date=16 May 2021 |quote=Beijing is beating back international criticism of its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with a propaganda push on Facebook, Twitter and the big screen.}}</ref><ref name="China Digital Times Brouwer 2021">{{Cite news |last=Brouwer |first=Joseph |date=6 April 2021 |title=Propaganda Films Attempt to Cloak Xinjiang in Disinformation |work=] |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/04/propaganda-films-attempt-to-cloak-xinjiang-in-disinformation/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517025744/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2021/04/propaganda-films-attempt-to-cloak-xinjiang-in-disinformation/ |archive-date=17 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Kim |first=Jo |date=16 December 2019 |title=Why China's Xinjiang Propaganda Fails |work=] |url=https://thediplomat.com/2019/12/why-chinas-xinjiang-propaganda-fails/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414195509/https://thediplomat.com/2019/12/why-chinas-xinjiang-propaganda-fails/ |archive-date=14 April 2021}}</ref> China initially denied the existence of the Xinjiang internment camps and attempted to ] their existence.<ref name="Griffiths CNN 2021">{{cite web |last1=Griffiths |first1=James |date=17 April 2021 |title=From cover-up to propaganda blitz: China's attempts to control the narrative on Xinjiang |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/china/beijing-xinjiang-uyghurs-propaganda-intl-hnk-dst/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422163904/https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/china/beijing-xinjiang-uyghurs-propaganda-intl-hnk-dst/index.html |archive-date=22 April 2021 |access-date=23 April 2021 |website=CNN}}</ref> In 2018, after being forced to admit by widespread reporting that the Xinjiang internment camps exist, the Chinese government initiated a propaganda campaign to portray the camps as humane and to deny human rights abuses occur in Xinjiang.<ref name="ABCChiProp">{{Cite news |last1=Dorman |first1=Mark |last2=Stephen |first2=Hutcheon |last3=Dylan |first3=Welch |last4=Taylor |first4=Kyle |date=31 October 2018 |title=China's frontier of fear |work=] |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-01/satellite-images-expose-chinas-network-of-re-education-camps/10432924?nw=0 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517170456/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-01/satellite-images-expose-chinas-network-of-re-education-camps/10432924?nw=0 |archive-date=17 May 2021}}</ref> In 2020 and 2021 they expanded the propaganda campaign due to international backlash against government policies in Xinjiang<ref>{{Cite news |last=Shepherd |first=Christian |date=2 April 2021 |title=China intensifies Xinjiang propaganda push as global backlash grows |work=] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/80a4500d-84b0-4e4e-b208-7cf3e7d80df4 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516193359/https://www.ft.com/content/80a4500d-84b0-4e4e-b208-7cf3e7d80df4 |archive-date=16 May 2021}}</ref> and worries that the Chinese government no longer had control of the narrative.<ref name="Griffiths CNN 2021" /> | |||
The Chinese government has used social media as a part of its extensive propaganda campaign.<ref name="wsjFaceProp" /><ref name="rcTikTok">{{cite news |title=Xinjiang's TikTok wipes away evidence of Uyghur persecution |work=] |agency=] |url=https://www.rappler.com/technology/features/xinjiang-tiktok-wipes-away-evidence-uyghur-persecution-coda-story |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508044444/https://www.rappler.com/technology/features/xinjiang-tiktok-wipes-away-evidence-uyghur-persecution-coda-story |archive-date=8 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="RapSanitizedTikTok">{{cite news |last1=Cockerell |first1=Isobel |date=19 September 2020 |title=Welcome to TikTok's sanitized version of Xinjiang |work=] |url=https://www.rappler.com/technology/features/tiktok-sanitized-version-xinjiang-coda-story |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414152322/https://www.rappler.com/technology/features/tiktok-sanitized-version-xinjiang-coda-story |archive-date=14 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="supFaceProp">{{cite news |last1=Niewenhuis |first1=Lucas |date=2 April 2021 |title=How will Facebook deal with Beijing's propaganda on Xinjiang? |work=SupChina |url=https://supchina.com/2021/04/02/how-will-facebook-deal-with-beijings-propaganda-on-xinjiang/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417085940/https://supchina.com/2021/04/02/how-will-facebook-deal-with-beijings-propaganda-on-xinjiang/ |archive-date=17 April 2021}}</ref> ], the ] sister app to ByteDance-owned social media app ], presents users with significant amounts of Chinese state propaganda pertaining to the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.<ref name="rcTikTok" /><ref name="WaPoTikProp">{{cite news |last1=Fifeld |first1=Anna |date=27 November 2019 |title=TikTok's owner is helping China's campaign of repression in Xinjiang, report finds |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/tiktoks-owner-is-helping-chinas-campaign-of-repression-in-xinjiang-report-finds/2019/11/28/98e8d9e4-119f-11ea-bf62-eadd5d11f559_story.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191128183415/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/tiktoks-owner-is-helping-chinas-campaign-of-repression-in-xinjiang-report-finds/2019/11/28/98e8d9e4-119f-11ea-bf62-eadd5d11f559_story.html |archive-date=28 November 2019}}</ref><ref name="SCMPTikProp">{{cite news |last1=Borak |first1=Marsha |title=ByteDance says TikTok and Douyin are different, but they face similar criticisms |work=] |url=https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3040147/bytedance-says-tiktok-and-douyin-are-different-they-face-similar |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415152751/https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3040147/bytedance-says-tiktok-and-douyin-are-different-they-face-similar |archive-date=15 April 2021}}</ref> | |||
Chinese government propaganda attacks have targeted international journalists covering human rights abuses in Xinjiang.<ref name="NYT Suds">{{Cite news |last=Qin |first=Amy |date=1 April 2021 |title=BBC Correspondent Leaves China, Citing Growing Risks |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/world/asia/bbc-china-john-sudworth.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415194159/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/01/world/asia/bbc-china-john-sudworth.html |archive-date=15 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Tarabay |first=Jamie |date=4 March 2021 |title=China's BBC Attacks Show Growing Sophistication, Group Says |work=] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/china-s-bbc-attacks-show-growing-sophistication-group-says |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210519004052/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-03-04/china-s-bbc-attacks-show-growing-sophistication-group-says |archive-date=19 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Yan |first=Sophia |date=4 March 2021 |title=China using Big Tech firms to attack BBC in state propaganda campaign, says report |work=] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/04/china-using-big-tech-firms-attack-bbc-state-propaganda-campaign/ |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/03/04/china-using-big-tech-firms-attack-bbc-state-propaganda-campaign/ |archive-date=12 January 2022}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After providing coverage critical of Chinese government abuses in Xinjiang, ] reporter ] was subjected to a campaign of propaganda and harassment by Chinese state-affiliated and CCP-affiliated media.<ref name="NYT Suds" /><ref name="BBC Suds">{{Cite news |last=Sudworth |first=John |date=2 April 2021 |title='The grim reality of reporting in China that pushed me out' |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56607815 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517184422/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-56607815 |archive-date=17 May 2021}}</ref><ref name=":43">{{Cite news |last=Sudworth |first=John |date=31 March 2021 |title=BBC journalist John Sudworth flees China after state harassment campaign |work=] |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-journalist-john-sudworth-flees-china-after-state-harassment-campaign-96g2v937j |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504122940/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bbc-journalist-john-sudworth-flees-china-after-state-harassment-campaign-96g2v937j |archive-date=4 May 2021}}</ref> The public attacks resulted in Sudworth and his wife ], who reports for ], fleeing China for ] for fear of their safety.<ref name="BBC Suds" /><ref name=":42">{{Cite news |date=31 March 2021 |title=RTÉ reporter in Beijing flees China with husband after threats |newspaper=] |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/rt%C3%A9-reporter-in-beijing-flees-china-with-husband-after-threats-1.4525041 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401165355/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/asia-pacific/rt%C3%A9-reporter-in-beijing-flees-china-with-husband-after-threats-1.4525041 |archive-date=1 April 2021}}</ref> | |||
Between July 2019 and early August 2019, the CCP-owned tabloid ''Global Times'' paid ] to promote tweets that deny that the Chinese government is committing human rights abuses in Xinjiang; Twitter later banned advertising from state-controlled media outlets on 19 August after removing large numbers of ] from the social network.<ref name="InterceptTwit">{{cite news |last1=Gallagher |first1=Ryan |date=19 August 2019 |title=Twitter Helped Chinese Government Promote Disinformation on Repression of Uyghurs |work=] |url=https://theintercept.com/2019/08/19/twitter-ads-china-uighurs/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821021612/https://theintercept.com/2019/08/19/twitter-ads-china-uighurs/ |archive-date=21 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="SCMPTwitBot">{{cite news |last1=Borak |first1=Masha |date=5 December 2019 |title=New swarm of pro-China Twitter bots spreads disinformation about Xinjiang |work=] |url=https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3040686/new-swarm-pro-china-twitter-bots-spreads-disinformation-about-xinjiang |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517082020/https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3040686/new-swarm-pro-china-twitter-bots-spreads-disinformation-about-xinjiang |archive-date=17 May 2021}}</ref> China has spent heavily to purchase ] advertisements in order to spread propaganda designed to incite doubt on the existence and scope of human rights violations occurring within Xinjiang.<ref name="wsjFaceProp" /><ref name="supFaceProp" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mac |first1=Ryan |title=These New Facebook Ads From Chinese State Media Want You To Believe Xinjiang's Muslim Internment Camps Are Just Great |work=] |url=https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/chinse-media-facebook-ads-xinjiang-uighur-propaganda |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190821055957/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/chinse-media-facebook-ads-xinjiang-uighur-propaganda |archive-date=21 August 2019}}</ref> | |||
In April 2021, the Chinese government released propaganda videos titled, "Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land", and produced a musical titled "The Wings of Songs" in order to portray Xinjiang as harmonious and peaceful.<ref name="NYT Wonderful" /><ref name="AustraliaBC Wonderful">{{cite news |last1=Xiao |first1=Bang |date=7 April 2021 |title=Uyghur community leaders in Australia appalled and outraged the government allowed a Chinese Communist Party propaganda parade |work=] |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-07/uyghur-leaders-call-china-atrocities-genocide-xinjiang/100053014 |url-status=live |access-date=18 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520105916/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-07/uyghur-leaders-call-china-atrocities-genocide-xinjiang/100053014 |archive-date=20 May 2021}}</ref><ref name="China Digital Times Brouwer 2021" /> The Wings of Songs portrays an idyllic rural landscape with a cohesive ethnic population notably devoid of repression, surveillance, and Islam.<ref>{{cite web |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=3 April 2021 |title=China launches musical in bid to counter Uyghur abuse allegations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/03/china-launches-musical-in-bid-to-counter-uyghur-abuse-allegations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413202604/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/03/china-launches-musical-in-bid-to-counter-uyghur-abuse-allegations |archive-date=13 April 2021 |access-date=13 April 2021 |website=]}}</ref> It is near impossible to get accurate information about the situation in Xinjiang domestically in China,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jordan |first1=Zoe |title=Xinjiang Cotton and the Shift in China's Censorship Approach |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/xinjiang-cotton-and-the-shift-in-chinas-censorship-approach/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210504171643/https://thediplomat.com/2021/04/xinjiang-cotton-and-the-shift-in-chinas-censorship-approach/ |archive-date=4 May 2021 |access-date=5 May 2021 |website=] }}</ref> concerns within the domestic audience are also downplayed because many aspects of the abuse such as forced labor are seen as commonplace by many Chinese citizens.<ref name="What Do Chinese People Think Is Happening in Xinjiang?">{{cite web |last1=Tiezzi |first1=Shannon |title=What Do Chinese People Think Is Happening in Xinjiang? |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/05/what-do-chinese-people-think-is-happening-in-xinjiang/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210530151753/https://thediplomat.com/2021/05/what-do-chinese-people-think-is-happening-in-xinjiang/ |archive-date=30 May 2021 |access-date=31 May 2021 |website=] }}</ref> In 2021, Chinese officials ordered videos of Uyghur men and women saying that they deny the U.S. charges that China that is committing human rights violations.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Kang |first=Dake |date=May 20, 2021 |title=Chinese authorities order video denials by Uyghurs of abuses |work=] |url=https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-technology-f6ffda9288b1671da741c07d8f4f8afc |url-status=live |access-date=May 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520220308/https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-technology-f6ffda9288b1671da741c07d8f4f8afc |archive-date=20 May 2021}}</ref> | |||
Critics have said that government propaganda plays into existing colonial and racist tropes about the Uyghurs by depicting them as dangerous or backwards. Domestic propaganda has increased since the international community began considering designating the abuses against the Uyghurs as a genocide. Domestic pushback against the genocide label is also emotional and follows a similar pattern of denial to the genocide committed against the Native Americans.<ref name="What Do Chinese People Think Is Happening in Xinjiang?" /> | |||
====COVID-19 pandemic==== | |||
{{Further|COVID-19 misinformation by China}} | |||
In 2020, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping and the rest of the CCP began propagating the idea of "winning a battle against America" in containing the ]. The numbers are ] by Chinese authorities, but the CCP has continued to take to the media, pointing out "the failures of America", even though the numbers are manipulated. The now former Secretary of State ] accused the CCP of spreading disinformation on 17 March. Chinese officials in Japan have referred to the disease as the "Japanese coronavirus", even though there is no such evidence it originated there. The CCP has also used transmitting "positive energy" to promote itself.<ref>{{Cite news|title=China Wants to Use the Coronavirus to Take Over the World|url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-china-seeks-increase-geopolitical-power/|last=Maçães|first=Bruno|date=3 April 2020|access-date=6 April 2020|work=]|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406033239/https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-pandemic-china-seeks-increase-geopolitical-power/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=China's coronavirus propaganda campaign is putting lives at risk|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/18/chinas-coronavirus-propaganda-campaign-is-putting-lives-risk/|last=Rogin|first=Josh|date=18 March 2020|access-date=6 April 2020|newspaper=]|archive-date=19 March 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200319145226/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/18/chinas-coronavirus-propaganda-campaign-is-putting-lives-risk/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=The Chinese People Step up to Enforce China's Nationalist Propaganda|url=https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/the-chinese-people-step-up-to-enforce-chinas-nationalist-propaganda/|last=Kim|first=Jo|date=5 May 2020|access-date=6 May 2020|work=]|archive-date=6 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200506053359/https://thediplomat.com/2020/05/the-chinese-people-step-up-to-enforce-chinas-nationalist-propaganda/|url-status=live}}</ref> After Mike Pompeo's accusation that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, which ] denied on 5 May, Chinese officials launched a ] on the same day against him with multiple propaganda outlets calling him a liar.<ref>{{Cite news |date=May 5, 2020 |title=As Trump Blames China, Beijing Directs Fury at His Top Diplomat |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-05/as-trump-blames-china-beijing-directs-fury-at-his-top-diplomat |access-date=April 8, 2024 |work=] |archive-date=6 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220506093739/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-05/as-trump-blames-china-beijing-directs-fury-at-his-top-diplomat |url-status=live }}</ref> During the ], the CCP criticized the US for failing to address racial equality. On 30 May 2020, ] urged on Twitter for "freedom loving people" to hold the CCP to impose plans on Hong Kong for national security legislation. Her counterpart, ], responded back with "I can't breathe", obviously a reference to Floyd's last words. Some people responded with "I can't tweet" and some have accused the government of using the same police brutality tactics that killed Floyd, with Chinese censors simply deleting the complaints.<ref>{{Cite news|title=In George Floyd Protests, China Sees A Powerful Propaganda Opportunity|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/868566978/in-george-floyd-protests-china-sees-a-powerful-propaganda-opportunity|last=Ruwitch|first=John|date=3 June 2020|access-date=7 June 2020|work=]|archive-date=4 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604012258/https://www.npr.org/2020/06/03/868566978/in-george-floyd-protests-china-sees-a-powerful-propaganda-opportunity|url-status=live}}</ref> In Wuhan, where the outbreak first emerged, television shows and documentaries portrayed the response positively, as a heroic success taken care of by "warriors in white coats".<ref>{{Cite news|title=As China's Propaganda Push Continues, Wuhan Emerges as a Star|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/06/world/asia/covid-coronavirus-china-wuhan.html|last=Wang|first=Vivian|date=November 6, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2020|work=]|archive-date=11 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211233050/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/06/world/asia/covid-coronavirus-china-wuhan.html|url-status=live}}</ref> ]'s theory of coronavirus-disease 2019 coming from Italy instead of Wuhan which was taken out of context has sparked Chinese propaganda newspapers following the narrative, with even one headline saying, "China is Innocent!" Kekulé himself says it is pure propaganda.<ref>{{Cite news|title=China Peddles Falsehoods to Obscure Origin of Covid Pandemic|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/06/world/asia/china-covid-origin-falsehoods.html|last=Hernandez|first=Javier|date=December 6, 2020|access-date=December 11, 2020|work=]|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123185015/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/06/world/asia/china-covid-origin-falsehoods.html|url-status=live}}</ref> State-owned outlets such as ] and the ''People's Daily'' have blamed elderly deaths in Norway and Germany on COVID-19 vaccines, even though there is no scientific evidence, and have accused English media of downplaying it.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hui |first=Mary |date=January 21, 2021 |title=China's vaccine diplomacy has an aggressive anti-vax element |work=] |url=https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/ |url-status=live |access-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123184106/https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/ |archive-date=23 January 2021}}</ref> | |||
In 2020, propaganda from China has been controlled by ] and CCP-run outlets such as the nationalistic ] ''Global Times'', which portray the handling of ] as a success.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Roberts |first=Jeff |date=30 March 2020 |title=China's coronavirus propaganda has shifted dramatically, report finds |work=] |url=https://fortune.com/2020/03/30/china-coronavirus-propaganda-has-shifted-dramatically/ |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406191924/https://fortune.com/2020/03/30/china-coronavirus-propaganda-has-shifted-dramatically/ |archive-date=6 April 2020}}</ref> On 11 June 2020, Twitter announced that they deleted over 170,000 accounts tied to a Chinese-state linked operation because they were spreading false information about the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Miller |first=Maggie |date=11 June 2020 |title=Twitter deletes over 170,000 accounts tied to Chinese propaganda efforts |work=] |url=https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/502371-twitter-deletes-over-170000-accounts-tied-to-chinese-propaganda-efforts |url-status=live |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626022327/https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/502371-twitter-deletes-over-170000-accounts-tied-to-chinese-propaganda-efforts |archive-date=26 June 2020}}</ref> On 22 June 2020, the ] designated several Chinese state media outlets as ].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Fox |first=Ben |date=22 June 2020 |title=U.S. moves to restrict Chinese media outlets as 'propaganda' |work=] |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-moves-to-restrict-chinese-media-outlets-as-propaganda |url-status=live |access-date=21 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200722022833/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-moves-to-restrict-chinese-media-outlets-as-propaganda |archive-date=22 July 2020}}</ref> In December 2020, an investigation by '']'' and ] revealed leaked internal documents showing the state's instructions to local media regarding the death of ]. The documents address news organizations and social media platforms, ordering them to stop using ], make no comment on the situation and control any discussion of the event happening in online spaces. The documents also address "local propaganda workers", demanding they steer online discussions away from anything that "seriously damages party and government credibility and attacks the political system".<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Zhong |first1=Raymond |last2=Mozur |first2=Paul |last3=Krolik |first3=Aaron |last4=Kao |first4=Jeff |date=19 December 2020 |title=Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus |work=] |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/leaked-documents-show-how-chinas-army-of-paid-internet-trolls-helped-censor-the-coronavirus |url-status=live |access-date=20 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219101738/https://www.propublica.org/article/leaked-documents-show-how-chinas-army-of-paid-internet-trolls-helped-censor-the-coronavirus |archive-date=19 December 2020}}</ref> Pro-Chinese government spam networks also attempted to discredit U.S. vaccines.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Glaun |first=Dan |date=February 4, 2021 |title=Chinese Spam Network Aims to Discredit U.S. COVID Vaccine |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/chinese-spam-network-aims-to-discredit-u-s-covid-vaccine-and-response-report-finds/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210204175607/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/chinese-spam-network-aims-to-discredit-u-s-covid-vaccine-and-response-report-finds/ |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
On the 29th of April 2020, an animated video was posted on Twitter and YouTube, called ''Once Upon a Virus'', used Lego figures to represent China through hospital workers and ] representing America, was posted by Xinhua News Agency. ], for their part, said they had nothing to do with the video in question. In the video, the hospital worker repeatedly warns the US about the outbreak, but they dismiss them, talking about lockdowns being a violation of human rights, or paywalls. By that point, Lady Liberty is hooked up to an IV and looks severely ill, and at the end, the US says "We are always correct, even when we contradict ourselves", and China responds with "That's what I love best about you Americans, your consistency". The Chinese government delayed warning the public about the outbreak, even as doctors tried to warn people via social media. The ] reports "China's rigid controls on information, bureaucratic hurdles and a reluctance to send bad news up the chain of command muffled early warnings".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Timsit |first=Annabelle |date=2 May 2020 |title=A Chinese propaganda video mocks America's response to the coronavirus crisis |work=] |url=https://qz.com/1850097/chinese-propaganda-video-mocks-us-response-to-coronavirus-crisis/ |url-status=live |access-date=3 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503083427/https://qz.com/1850097/chinese-propaganda-video-mocks-us-response-to-coronavirus-crisis/ |archive-date=3 May 2020}}</ref> | |||
====100th Anniversary of CCP==== | |||
In 2021 the state orchestrated a propaganda and information control campaign to bolster the ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Sarah |title=Reading Between the Lines of the CCP's Centennial Propaganda Blitz |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/reading-between-the-lines-of-the-ccps-centennial-propaganda-blitz/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210630212612/https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/reading-between-the-lines-of-the-ccps-centennial-propaganda-blitz/ |archive-date=30 June 2021 |access-date=1 July 2021 |website=] }}</ref> Chinese state owned media claimed without evidence that the CIA was recruiting Chinese-speaking spies, an assertion which went viral in the Chinese internet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 October 2021 |title=Analysis: China's propaganda machine is intensifying its 'people's war' to catch American spies |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/china/cia-spies-mic-intl-hnk/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116011012/https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/china/cia-spies-mic-intl-hnk/index.html |archive-date=16 January 2022 |access-date=2022-01-16 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> In 2021, the ] announced that CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's socio-political policies and ideas would be included in the curriculum from primary school up to university level.<ref name="france24.com">{{Cite web |date=2021-09-01 |title=China's kids get schooled in 'Xi Jinping thought' |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210901-china-s-kids-get-schooled-in-xi-jinping-thought |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318112608/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210901-china-s-kids-get-schooled-in-xi-jinping-thought |archive-date=18 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> The 4-volume '']'' textbooks for primary, secondary and tertiary school students were subsequently introduced in the new school year in 2021,<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |date=2021-11-24 |title=China's students are getting new school textbooks — and they reveal a lot about where China is headed |language=en-AU |work=] |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-25/chinese-school-textbooks-reflect-rise-of-xi-personality-cult/100640642 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310093508/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-25/chinese-school-textbooks-reflect-rise-of-xi-personality-cult/100640642 |archive-date=10 March 2022}}</ref> educators were instructed to "plant the seeds of loving the party, the country and socialism in young hearts".<ref name="france24.com"/> This has led to comparisons of the cults of personality cultivated by Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-08-25 |title=China schools: 'Xi Jinping Thought' introduced into curriculum |language=en-GB |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58301575 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317032945/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58301575 |archive-date=17 March 2022}}</ref><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-09-02 |title=Xi Jinping Thought, for children |newspaper=] |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2021/09/02/xi-jinping-thought-for-children |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2022-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318113339/https://www.economist.com/china/2021/09/02/xi-jinping-thought-for-children |archive-date=18 March 2022 |issn=0013-0613}}</ref> | |||
====Russian invasion of Ukraine==== | |||
{{Further|China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine}} | |||
During the ], Chinese diplomats, government agencies, and state-controlled media in China have adopted a sympathetic view of Russia, while emphasizing that the war was caused by the United States and NATO.<ref>{{cite news |date=9 March 2022 |title=China blames NATO for pushing Russia-Ukraine tension to 'breaking point' |language=en |work=] |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china-blames-nato-pushing-russia-ukraine-tension-breaking-point-2022-03-09/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318075720/https://www.reuters.com/world/china-blames-nato-pushing-russia-ukraine-tension-breaking-point-2022-03-09/ |archive-date=18 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zhou |first=Maria Repnikova, Wendy |date=2022-03-11 |title=What China's Social Media Is Saying About Ukraine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/china-xi-ukraine-war-america/627028/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317144658/https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/03/china-xi-ukraine-war-america/627028/ |archive-date=17 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kroll |first=Andy |date=2022-03-02 |title=China's Propaganda Machine Gears Up for Putin -- and Blames America for the Invasion |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-china-ukraine-propaganda-invasion-ccp-1315024/ |access-date=2022-03-18 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US |archive-date=3 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303134311/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/russia-china-ukraine-propaganda-invasion-ccp-1315024/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
On the eve of the attack, ''Shimian'', a digital outlet owned by newspaper ], accidentally posted an internal memo of the ] to media outlets. The outlets were told to "publish neither information favorable to the United States nor critiques of Russia", the media were also tasked to censor user comments and trend hashtags released by the three state-owned media, ], China Central Television (CCTV) and the ''People's Daily''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Liu |first1=Tracy Wen |title=China's Propaganda Over Ukraine Is Shifting and Uncertain |work=] |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/01/china-propaganda-ukraine-russia/ |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306022347/https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/01/china-propaganda-ukraine-russia/ |archive-date=6 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Edward |last2=Lin |first2=Andy |last3=Mitchell |first3=Tom |date=26 February 2022 |title=Don't mention the invasion: China spins Russia's war in Ukraine |work=] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/8d2e9f59-06b2-4e90-aba9-fd32249f67be |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307054714/https://www.ft.com/content/8d2e9f59-06b2-4e90-aba9-fd32249f67be |archive-date=7 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Feng |first1=John |date=23 February 2022 |title=China censors appear to ban anti-Russia media content on Ukraine invasion |language=en |work=] |url=https://www.newsweek.com/china-censors-appear-ban-anti-russia-media-content-ukraine-invasion-1681638 |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317192358/https://www.newsweek.com/china-censors-appear-ban-anti-russia-media-content-ukraine-invasion-1681638 |archive-date=17 March 2022}}</ref> | |||
Xinhua, CCTV and '']'' often posted unverified news from Russian state-controlled network ], that were later proven to be erroneous; examples of which were when ''Global Times'' posted a video saying that a large number of Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered, or when CCTV reported that Ukrainian President ] had fled Kyiv during the initial stages of the war.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Yuan |first1=Li |date=4 March 2022 |title=How China Embraces Russian Propaganda and Its Version of the War |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/business/china-russia-ukraine-disinformation.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318003021/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/business/china-russia-ukraine-disinformation.html |archive-date=18 March 2022}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{cite news |title=China's media echoes Russia on Ukraine war |language=en |work=CNA |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/ukraine-invasion-chinas-media-echoes-russia-2562881 |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314122449/https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/ukraine-invasion-chinas-media-echoes-russia-2562881 |archive-date=14 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Oliver |date=2022-03-12 |title=Chinese State Media Reinforces Russian Disinformation About War in Ukraine |url=https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2022/03/chinese-state-media-reinforces-russian-disinformation-about-war-in-ukraine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318101106/https://chinadigitaltimes.net/2022/03/chinese-state-media-reinforces-russian-disinformation-about-war-in-ukraine/ |archive-date=18 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> In the midst of the invasion, China Global Television Network (CGTN) interviewed ], a Ukrainian separatist leader, who claimed that the "vast majority of citizens want to be as close to Russia as possible".<ref name=":7" /> CCTV also censored the live speech of ], president of the ], during the opening ceremony of the ] held in Beijing, as he condemned the war and called for diplomacy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Robinson |first1=Jonathan Cheng and Joshua |date=4 March 2022 |title=China Censors Paralympics Opening Ceremony, Premier League Over Ukraine |work=] |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-paralympics-opening-ceremony-premier-league-ukraine-11646410117 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305132300/https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-paralympics-opening-ceremony-premier-league-ukraine-11646410117 |archive-date=5 March 2022}}</ref> | |||
Besides official state media channels, private Chinese tech giants such as ], ] and ]<ref>{{cite news |last1=White |first1=Edward |date=11 March 2022 |title=China's tech platforms become propaganda tools in Putin's war |work=] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d460c6f6-ffc7-4d61-9350-bef378fcc5c5 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318015443/https://www.ft.com/content/d460c6f6-ffc7-4d61-9350-bef378fcc5c5 |archive-date=18 March 2022}}</ref> also amplified conspiracy theories created by Russian state media, such as the false claims of nefarious US biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine<ref>{{cite news |last1=Langley |first1=William |last2=White |first2=Edward |date=14 March 2022 |title=China backs Russian allegations about US biological weapons |work=] |url=https://www.ft.com/content/3f9b8164-e9d6-4dfd-880a-f4fa96966439 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317161636/https://www.ft.com/content/3f9b8164-e9d6-4dfd-880a-f4fa96966439 |archive-date=17 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=China Pushes Conspiracy Theory About U.S. Labs in Ukraine |work=] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/china-pushes-russia-conspiracy-theory-about-u-s-labs-in-ukraine |url-status=live |access-date=18 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316135009/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-08/china-pushes-russia-conspiracy-theory-about-u-s-labs-in-ukraine |archive-date=16 March 2022}}</ref> and propagating the notion that Ukrainian government consists of neo-Nazis<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haime |first=Jordyn |title=China adopts Russia's 'denazification' myth to rationalize invasion of Ukraine |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/china-adopts-russias-denazification-myth-to-rationalize-invasion-of-ukraine/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220310203703/https://www.timesofisrael.com/china-adopts-russias-denazification-myth-to-rationalize-invasion-of-ukraine/ |archive-date=10 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=] |language=en-US |quote=Official Chinese news sites have published baseless claims in recent articles claiming that the United States trained Ukrainian neo-Nazis to destabilize Hong Kong during protests there in 2019.}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite news |title=In China, a battle for public opinion over Ukraine pits facts against propaganda |language=en-US |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/10/china-russia-ukraine-media-eu/ |url-status=live |access-date=2022-03-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220313094916/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/03/10/china-russia-ukraine-media-eu/ |archive-date=13 March 2022 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> and that the Ukrainian army were sabotaging their own nuclear plant.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine: How China is censoring online discussion of the war |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/60684682 |access-date=18 March 2022 |work=BBC News |date=12 March 2022 |archive-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317090920/https://www.bbc.com/news/60684682 |url-status=live }}</ref> Chinese streaming platform ] also cancelled the broadcast of the ] to avoid showing the football teams' support for Ukraine.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frater |first=Patrick |date=2022-03-09 |title=Chinese Streamer iQiyi Seeks Funding as it Blocks Ukraine Coverage, Courts Controversy Over Korean Drama |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/asia/iqiyi-funding-ukraine-soccer-korea-1235199740/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316044617/https://variety.com/2022/tv/asia/iqiyi-funding-ukraine-soccer-korea-1235199740/ |archive-date=16 March 2022 |access-date=2022-03-18 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
There were also numerous reports of censorship of ] comments by Chinese academics, celebrities and micro-influencers on social media.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Liy |first1=Macarena Vidal |title=Russia's propaganda campaign around the war in Ukraine reaches China |url=https://english.elpais.com/international/2022-03-14/russias-propaganda-campaign-around-the-war-in-ukraine-reaches-china.html |access-date=18 March 2022 |work=EL PAÍS English Edition |date=14 March 2022 |language=es |archive-date=17 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220317174314/https://english.elpais.com/international/2022-03-14/russias-propaganda-campaign-around-the-war-in-ukraine-reaches-china.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":9" /> | |||
==Mechanics== | |||
{{Politics of China |expanded = Publicity }} | |||
{{Politics of the Republic of China}} | |||
Propaganda and censorship in China are centrally directed by CCP's ] (CPD).<ref name="Xu&Albert">{{Cite news |last1=Xu |first1=Beina |last2=Albert |first2=Eleanor |date=17 February 2017 |title=Media Censorship in China |newspaper=] |url=https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-censorship-china |url-status=live |access-date=20 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200726005300/https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-censorship-china |archive-date=26 July 2020}}</ref> David Shambaugh, American professor and ], wrote in 2007 that the CCP's propaganda system extends itself as a sprawling bureaucratic establishment, into virtually every medium concerned with the dissemination of information.<ref name="Shambaugh" /> Shambaugh noted that according to the CCP publication ''Zhongguo Gongchandang jianshe dazidian.''<ref name="Shambaugh" /><ref>{{cite book |title=Zhongguo Gongchandang jianshe dazidian 1921–1991 (An Encyclopedia on the Building of the CCP) |publisher=Chengdu: Sichuan Renmin Chubanshe, 1992 |page=676}}</ref> numerous public places, such as media and news organizations, educational institutions, literature and art centers, and cultural exhibitions come under CCP's propaganda oversight. Shambaugh believed that this expansive definition implies that every conceivable medium which transmits and conveys information to the people of China falls under bureaucratic purview of the CPD.<ref name="Shambaugh" /> Shambaugh stated that the writ of the CPD has remained unchanged since the Maoist era, although the mechanics of oversight and active censorship have undergone considerable evolution.<ref name="Shambaugh" /> | |||
According to official government reports in 2003, channels of propaganda dissemination of the CPD included 2,262 television stations (of which 2,248 were "local"), 2,119 newspapers, 9,074 periodicals and 1,123 publishing houses,<ref name="Shambaugh" /><ref>{{cite book |title=National Bureau of Statistics of China, China Statistical Yearbook 2004 |publisher=Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2004 |pages=844–46, 853}}</ref> in addition to internal circulation papers and local gazetteers, approximately 68 million internet accounts with more than 100 million users, and more than 300 million mobile phone users who fall under the system's purview.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Xiao |first=Qiang |url=https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/4.14.05qiang_xiao_wrts.pdf |title=China's State Control Mechanisms and Methods |date=2005 |publisher=U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission |location=Washington |language=en |oclc=60931696 |access-date=15 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204913/https://www.uscc.gov/sites/default/files/4.14.05qiang_xiao_wrts.pdf |archive-date=24 June 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
According to Brady, propaganda work by the CCP has been historically divided into two categories: directed towards Chinese people (internal or ''duinei'') and directed towards foreigners and the outside world (external or ''duiwai'') as well as four types: political, economic, cultural and social.<ref name="bradygh" /> The Central Propaganda Department oversees internal propaganda, and, the closely linked bureaucracy, The Office of Foreign Propaganda matters relating to external propaganda.<ref name="bradygh" /> | |||
Shambaugh stated that the propaganda system, including the Central Propaganda Department, are highly secret and does not appear in officially published diagrams of the Chinese Bureaucratic System, whether in Chinese or in other languages.<ref name="bradygh" /><ref name="Shambaugh" /> The Office of External Propaganda (OEP) itself is more commonly known as ']' (SCIO), under the ] system, according to Brady.<ref name="bradygh" /> | |||
The Central Propaganda Department has direct control over the National Radio and Television Administration.<ref name=":52">{{Cite news |last=Buckley |first=Chris |date=2018-03-21 |title=China Gives Communist Party More Control Over Policy and Media |language=en-US |work=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping.html |access-date=2021-11-12 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=12 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211112211222/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/21/world/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping.html |url-status=live }}</ref> It additionally manages the China Media Group, which controls several of China's largest news agencies. In 2014, the OEP was absorbed into the larger Central Propaganda Department, turning the SCIO into an external nameplate of the department.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last1=Lulu |first1=Jichang |last2=Jirouš |first2=Filip |last3=Lee |first3=Rachel |date=2021-01-25 |title=Xi's centralisation of external propaganda: SCIO and the Central Propaganda Department |url=https://sinopsis.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/scio.pdf |access-date=2021-11-20 |website=Sinopsis |language=en-US |archive-date=20 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120213638/https://sinopsis.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/scio.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Control of media=== | |||
Media operations and content are tightly controlled,<ref name="Xu&Albert" /><ref name=":52" /> and the CCP, primarily through its Central Propaganda Department, determines what appears in news reports. Controlling media content allows the CCP to disseminate propaganda supportive of government policies, censor controversial news stories, and have reports published criticizing political adversaries of the CCP.<ref name=":52" /><ref name="Esarey1">{{cite web|last=Esarey|first=Ashley|date=31 July 2007|title=Access to Information in the People's Republic of China" presented before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission|url=https://archive.org/details/AccessToInformationInThePeoplesRepublicOfChina}}</ref> In 2005, ] published a report about China's official news agency, the Xinhua News Agency, calling it "the world's biggest propaganda agency", and said that it was "at the heart of censorship and disinformation put in place" by the government.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-09-30|title=Xinhua: the world's biggest propaganda agency|url=https://rsf.org/en/reports/xinhua-worlds-biggest-propaganda-agency|access-date=2020-06-15|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|language=en|archive-date=23 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210323045446/https://rsf.org/en/reports/xinhua-worlds-biggest-propaganda-agency|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
The CPD weekly sends censorship guidelines to prominent editors and media providers and Chinese state media generally employ their own monitors for censorship.<ref name="Xu&Albert" /> While in the past the Central Propaganda Department and its local branches sent faxes to all media throughout the country with instructions indicating subjects that the media should stress or avoid entirely, directives are now imparted to ranking media managers or editors during phone conversations—a move designed to reduce the paper trail.<ref name="Esarey1"/> Media in China faces few restrictions on content that is not deemed to be politically damaging.<ref name="Esarey1"/> | |||
Wu Xuecan, a former editor of the ''People's Daily'' overseas edition,<ref name="Xuecan">{{cite web|last=Xuecan|first=Wu|title=Turning Everyone into a Censor: The Chinese Communist Party's All- Directional Control over the Media|url=https://corpora.tika.apache.org/base/docs/govdocs1/153/153945.pdf}}</ref> reports that through control of the "ideological domain, material means and living necessities," editors and reporters are conditioned to keep news and reports aligned with the interests of the CCP.<ref name="Xuecan"/> Wu further reports that, political study sessions ensures that editors first practice self-censorship.<ref name="Xuecan"/> He Qinglian writes that long years of media control have bred in Chinese journalists a habit of "self-discipline," and that most Chinese journalists resign themselves to playing the role of "Party mouthpieces."<ref name="Qinglian">{{cite book|url=https://yangl3.sg-host.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Fog-of-Censorship.pdf |last=Qinglian |first=He |year=2004 |title=The Fog of Censorship: Media Control in China |oclc=263802627}}</ref> Control is also directed at sources of information, as ordinary people are restricted from providing news to Chinese media, and more so to foreign media.<ref name="Qinglian"/> | |||
===Thought reform=== | |||
{{Main|Thought reform in China}} | |||
Propaganda and thought work in the Maoist era had a number of distinctive features, according to Brady, such as "ideological remolding" or "thought reform", ideological purges, ritual humiliation of ideological opponents, an emphasis on political study to raise levels of awareness of the current line, and targeting high-profile individuals as symbols of negative tendencies which must be eradicated.<ref name="brady08"/> | |||
The experiences of propaganda and thought work in the Cultural Revolution provided the CCP with a "profound lesson," according to Brady. Virtually all post-Mao era CCP leaders had been under attack during that time, and drew two seemingly contradictory lessons: the rejection of mass movements and thought reform as means of transforming China, and the recognition of the "vital role of propaganda and thought work in China's political control." The administration of propaganda and thought work was plagued by these issues through the 1980s, and up to the events of 4 June 1989.<ref name="brady08"/> | |||
Biderman and Meyers wrote in 1968 that while some kind of thought reform is characteristic of all totalitarian regimes, the CCP "set about it more purposefully, more massively, and more intensively than have other ruling groups," including through employing known techniques in new ways. They note the presence of such techniques in Maoist political campaigns, such as daily meetings for criticism and self-criticism; surveillance and sanctions were connected with education to find and correct deficiencies in personal conducts. In the military, political leaders attacked all personal connections between soldiers that were not based on political conviction, thus exploiting social pressures and personal anxieties to build a sense of conformity.<ref name=bidermanmeyers>Meyers, Samuel M. and Albert D Biderman. ''Mass behaviour in battle and captivity: The communist soldier in the Korean war.'' (1968), Chicago University Press. p.99</ref> | |||
In terms of intensity and scope, spiritual control has been reinforced under the CCP's rule, and has become a basic feature of citizens' daily life, according to Victor Shaw.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last=Shaw|first=Victor N|title=Social Control in China: A Study of Chinese Work Units|date=1996|publisher=Praeger|isbn=978-0-275-95599-1|location=Westport, Conn.|language=en|oclc=34078426}}</ref> To an extent, the "freedom of silence" cherished by some older Chinese scholars was not even possible for an illiterate peasant in a remote area under the CCP mass propaganda.<ref name=":6" /> | |||
According to Shaw, the CCP utilizes propaganda to spread its policies, build social consensus, and mobilize the population for social programs. Ideological tensions result in mass movements, and the resulting spiritual control legitimizes the political establishment.<ref name=":6" /> "Political studies, legal education, heroic models, and thought reform provide the CCP with effective weapons to propagandize rules and legal codes, normalize individual behaviour, and rehabilitate deviants in labor camps."<ref name=":6" /> | |||
Kurlantzick and Link stated that the CCP uses the technique of "thoughtwork" (sixiang gongzuo) to maintain popular obedience, dating back to the Mao Zedong era.<ref name=":4" /> They noted that while Mao-era campaigns are aimed at transforming the Chinese society and people's natures, the modern approach to thoughtwork are more subtle and only focuses on issues important to the CCP's rule. According to Kurlantzick and Link, it consists largely of cultivating pro-government views in the media and other influential people in Chinese society, and as such complaints against the government becomes distracted with pro-government propaganda. The government also attempts to distance itself from local issues by blaming them on corrupt local officials, says Kurlantzick and Link. | |||
===Public relations=== | |||
{{Further|Chinese information operations and information warfare}} | |||
According to Anne-Marie Brady, the Foreign Ministry first set up a system of designated officials to give information in times of crisis in 1983, and greatly expanded the system to lower levels in the mid-1990s. China's spin had been directed only at foreigners, but in the 1990s leaders realized that managing public crises was useful for domestic politics; this included setting up provincial level "News Coordinator Groups," and inviting foreign PR firms to give seminars.<ref name="brady08"/> | |||
Brady writes that Chinese foreign propaganda officials took cues from the ]'s spin doctoring during the ], and the ]'s use of the U.S. media after the ]. According to her, the Blair model allows for a certain amount of negative coverage to be shown during a crisis, which is believed to help release some of the "social tension" surrounding it. She believes information managers in China used this approach during coal mining disasters of 2005.<ref name="brady08"/> According to Brady, trained official spokespeople are now available on call in every central government ministry, as well as in local governments, to deal with emerging crises; these spin doctors are coordinated and trained by the Office of Foreign Propaganda, externally named the SCIO.<ref name="brady08" /> | |||
Instead of attempting a media blackout as with the ], the CCP has adopted a series of more advanced techniques to influence the information leaving China. The day after violence in Ürümqi, the SCIO set up a Xinjiang Information Office in Ürümqi to assist foreign reporters. It invited foreign media to Xinjiang to tour the riot zones, visit hospitals, and look at the aftermath themselves. Journalists were also given CDs with photos and TV clips. "They try to control the foreign journalists as much as possible by using this more sophisticated PR work rather than ban them," according to academic ], quoted by '']''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hennock |first=Mary |date=2009-07-06 |title=Uighur Riots Teach China to Spin |url=https://www.newsweek.com/uighur-riots-teach-china-spin-81849 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116161610/https://www.newsweek.com/uighur-riots-teach-china-spin-81849 |archive-date=16 January 2021 |access-date=2020-10-01 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> | |||
==Propaganda on the internet== | |||
{{internet}} | |||
{{main|Internet in China}} | |||
{{See also|Internet censorship in China}} | |||
Traditionally, the CCP propaganda apparatus had been based around suppressing news and information, but this often meant the Party found itself in a reactive posture, according to Chinese media expert David Bandurski.<ref name="bandurski08">{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2008-07-07 |title=FEER: "China's Guerrilla War for the Web" |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2008/07/07/feer-chinas-guerrilla-war-for-the-web/ |access-date=2023-12-27 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=28 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728022504/https://chinamediaproject.org/2008/07/07/feer-chinas-guerrilla-war-for-the-web/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In later years the internet played a key role in the spread of propaganda to Chinese diaspora. PRC-based Internet sites remain a leading source of Chinese-language and China-related news for overseas Chinese. The internet is an extremely effective tool for guiding and organizing overseas Chinese public opinion, according to Anne-Marie Brady.<ref name="bradycongress" /> | |||
Brady cites an example of the role of the internet in organizing popular protests by overseas Chinese, its usage by the state against a perceived bias of the Western media in its coverage of 2008 Tibetan unrest and, a month later, in organizing a series of worldwide demonstrations in support of China during the ].<ref name="bradycongress" /> Brady noted that these protests were genuine and popular, demonstrating the effectiveness of China's efforts to rebuild positive public opinion within the Chinese overseas diaspora, but the demonstrations nevertheless received official support both symbolically and in practice.<ref name="bradycongress">Brady, Anne-Marie {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202053733/http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/written_testimonies/09_04_30_wrts/09_04_30_brady_statement.php |date=2 December 2009 }}, U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission, 30 April 2009</ref> While there was no compulsion for overseas Chinese to attend the rallies, those who did were given free T-shirts, souvenirs, transport, and accommodation, donated by local embassy officials and China-based donors.<ref name="bradycongress" /> | |||
===50 Cent Party=== | |||
{{Main|50 Cent Party}} | |||
{{See also|Internet Water Army}} | |||
The Chinese government regularly uses fake social media accounts and posts to attempt to ] and steer discussions away from sensitive topics.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Gallagher |first=Sean |date=13 June 2016 |title=Red astroturf: Chinese government makes millions of fake social media posts |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/06/red-astroturf-chinese-government-makes-millions-of-fake-social-media-posts/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613152302/https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/06/red-astroturf-chinese-government-makes-millions-of-fake-social-media-posts/ |archive-date=13 June 2016 |access-date=2016-06-14 |website=]}}</ref> This is done by specially trained internet users who comment on blogs, public forums, or ]s, to shift the debate in favor of the CCP and influence public opinion.<ref name=bandurski08/> They are sometime called the "50-cent party" – named so because they are allegedly paid 50 Chinese cents for each comment supporting the CCP they make,<ref name="internetspin">{{cite news |last=Bristow |first=Michael |date=16 December 2008 |title=China's internet 'spin doctors' |work=] |publisher= |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7783640.stm |url-status=live |access-date=11 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180807174949/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7783640.stm |archive-date=7 August 2018}}</ref> though some speculate that they are probably not paid anything for the posts, instead being required to do so as a part of their official party duties.<ref name=":0" /> | |||
An internal government document released by the BBC outlines the requirements for those employed as online posters, which include having "relatively good political and professional qualities, and have a pioneering and enterprising spirit", being able to react quickly, etc.<ref name="internetspin"/> | |||
It is believed that such government-sponsored Internet commentators have now become widespread and their numbers could be in the tens of thousands;<ref name="internetspin"/> David Bandurski suggests the number may be up to 280,000<ref name=bandurski08 /> while '']'' puts the estimate as 300,000.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fareed |first=Malik |date=22 September 2008 |title=China joins a turf war |work=] |location=London |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/sep/22/chinathemedia.marketingandpr |url-status=live |access-date=24 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128023951/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/sep/22/chinathemedia.marketingandpr |archive-date=28 January 2017}}</ref> According to ''The Guardian'', the growth in popularity of such astroturfing owes to the ease with which web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, Misplaced Pages and YouTube can be employed to sway public opinion. The ] reports that special centers have been set up to train China's 'army of internet spin doctors'.<ref name="internetspin"/> Data analysis of social media activity and leaked government emails by a team led by ] at ]'s Institute for Quantitative Science showed that, in the mid-2010s, the Chinese government generated over 440 million posts every year through such accounts.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=King |first1=Gary |last2=Pan |first2=Jennifer |last3=Roberts |first3=Margaret E. |date=August 2017 |title=How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, Not Engaged Argument |journal=] |language=en |volume=111 |issue=3 |pages=484–501 |doi=10.1017/S0003055417000144 |issn=0003-0554 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> | |||
=== Misplaced Pages === | |||
{{Further|2021 Wikimedia Foundation actions on the Chinese Misplaced Pages}} | |||
On 13 September 2021, the ] banned seven Misplaced Pages users and removed administrator privileges from twelve users that were part of Wikimedians of Mainland China (WMC).<ref name="Harrison">{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Stephen |date=2021-10-26 |title=Why Misplaced Pages Banned Several Chinese Admins |url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/wikipedia-mainland-china-admins-banned.html |access-date=2022-08-11 |website=] |language=en |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027002825/https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/wikipedia-mainland-china-admins-banned.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Maggie Dennis, the foundation's vice present of community resilience and sustainability, said that there had been an yearlong investigation into infiltration concerns. Dennis observed that the infiltrators had tried to promote "the aims of China, as interpreted through whatever filters they may bring to bear".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-09-16 |title=Misplaced Pages blames pro-China infiltration for bans |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58559412 |access-date=2022-08-11 |archive-date=18 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918133637/https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-58559412 |url-status=live }}</ref> Dennis said, “we needed to act based on credible information that some members (not all) of that group have harassed, intimidated, and threatened other members of our community, including in some cases physically harming others, in order to secure their own power and subvert the collaborative nature of our projects”.<ref name="Harrison"/> | |||
==Domestic propaganda== | |||
Within the doctrine of ] resorting to ] has been analyzed as a growing trend in China's strategy for domestic propaganda, in particular in covering news from ].<ref name="e-ir.info">Aberkane, I. J. "Yin of Yang? China and the Muslim World" E-International Relations, 29 April 2011 | http://www.e-ir.info/?p=8455 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111126210307/http://www.e-ir.info/?p=8455 |date=26 November 2011 }}</ref> After ]'s having termed Central Asia the "Global Balkans"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Brzezinski|first=Zbigniew|title=The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership|date=2004|publisher=Basic Books|isbn=0-465-00800-3|location=New York|oclc=53170328}}</ref> ] has argued the resorting to unilateral, state-endorsed Peace Journalism could be a way for China to "de-]" Xinjiang. This he has called "coercive Peace Journalism". | |||
{{blockquote| Peace journalism does not sell well because it typically proscribes the coverage of a conflict by news eliciting strong emotional reactions. Man becomes easily addicted to strong emotions and this has played a central role in peace journalism's failure at being adopted by mainstream media. On the other hand, mainstream media badly need (and compete with each other) to provide the strongest emotional value to their audience and this has become a vital part of their ]. | |||
Yet in China the media industry is not driven by returns on financial investments but by returns on political interests. Thus paradoxically promoting Peace Journalism is much easier for the PRC than say for countries of the European Union as in promoting a political agenda the former can afford to broadcast news with low emotional weight, especially in a non-competitive environment for its media industry.<ref name="e-ir.info"/>}} | |||
The Chinese government has used its public evaluations of historical, public figures as a means of communicating to the Chinese public the traits and political goals that it considers desirable and undesirable. The Chinese government has historically tended towards evaluating public figures either as villains or heroes, leaving little room for interpretation and making it clear whether the traits and goals of individual figures should be emulated or despised. The public image of some figures, including ], have undergone radical reverses throughout the history of the PRC, as required by CCP propagandists: Peng was portrayed as a subhuman villain during the Cultural Revolution; but, since 1978, has been evaluated as a nearly perfect Marxist, general, and public official.<ref name="Domes1478">{{Cite book |last=Domes |first=Jürgen |title=P'eng Te-huai: The Man and the Image |date=1985 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-8047-1303-0 |pages=147–148 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
By examining the qualities associated with public figures whose images have been manipulated to make those figures either exaggeratedly positive or exaggeratedly negative symbols, scholars have developed a number of assumptions about the traits and political goals generally desired by various PRC governments. Figures whose images have been manipulated to make them positive symbols will be portrayed as: coming from proletarian or semi-proletarian backgrounds; being courageous, fair, straightforward, and honest in their treatment of subordinates and superiors; leading a simple and frugal life; demonstrating great concern for the "masses"; achieving outstanding professional success; and, being impeccably loyal to the CCP and to the communist cause. Figures whose images have been manipulated to make them negative symbols will be portrayed as: coming from backgrounds which have exposed them to "bourgeoise" thoughts and attitudes; adhering to all or most historical attempts to oppose political figures in the PRC who later became powerful, which are also vilified; being professionally inept, only succeeding temporarily or appearing to succeed through trickery or deception; participating in "conspiracies" against the correct leadership of the CCP; cooperating with "foreign countries" (historically either the Soviet Union or the United States, depending on which is more threatening at the time); and, having numerous negative traits, such as opportunism or corruption. Usually, public figures will provide considerable examples of either positive or negative qualities, but will be made to fit either a positive or negative stereotype through exaggerating qualities which support the interpretation desired by the CCP, and by omitting from the historical narrative qualities which contradict the CCP's intended interpretation.<ref name="Domes1478" /> | |||
As part of the "Propaganda Teaching Team" (''xuan jiang tuan''), tens of thousands of CCP cadre routinely travel from China's urban areas to rural China to engage in '']'' activities at the grassroots level.<ref name=":83">{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Chunfeng |title=Red Tourism in China: Commodification of Propaganda |publisher=] |year=2023 |isbn=9781032139609 |doi=10.4324/9781003231783|s2cid=253659539 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=30}} | |||
==External propaganda== | |||
{{Update section|date=April 2024|reason=This section does not address changes after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012}} | |||
{{Further|Chinese information operations and information warfare|Chinese censorship abroad|Wolf warrior diplomacy}} | |||
The Chinese state refers to all media work abroad as ''wai xuan,'' or "external propaganda."<ref name=":5" /> Through its external propaganda operations, frequently directed by the CCP's ], China seeks to shape international perception of the Chinese government and its policies to "allay concerns about China's economic rise, military build-up and increasing political and diplomatic influence."<ref>{{cite web |last=Newmyer |first=Jacqueline |date=30 April 2009 |title=China's Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Impacts on U.S. National Security |url=http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/transcripts/09_04_30_trans/09_04_30_trans.pdf |url-status=dead |journal= |publisher=] |page=83 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030000714/http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/transcripts/09_04_30_trans/09_04_30_trans.pdf |archive-date=30 October 2012 |access-date=15 November 2012}}</ref> Specifically by: | |||
# '''Reducing fears that China is a threat to neighboring countries.''' China seeks to change its image within the region from that of a growing threat and aggressor to that of a benefactor and potential partner.<ref name="Kurlantzick">{{cite book |last=Kurlantzick |first=Joshua |url=https://archive.org/details/charmoffensiveho00kurl |title=Charm Offensive |publisher=] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-300-13628-9 |location=New Haven |author-link=Joshua Kurlantzick |url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|5}} Beijing is working to "diminish fears of China's future military power, or concerns that China's massive economic growth would divert trade and foreign investment from other nations."<ref name="Kurlantzick"/>{{rp|40}} | |||
#'''Securing access to resources and energy.''' As China's economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, the need for resources and energy has become more pressing. To protect its access to these resources, China is working to gain the trust of foreign states that possess oil, gas, and other materials.<ref name="Kurlantzick"/>{{rp|41}} | |||
#'''Building alliances and weaken Taiwan's relationship with the international community.''' In 1994, China announced that it would "use all economic and diplomatic resources to reward countries that are willing to isolate Taiwan."<ref name=":11" />{{Rp|page=114}} Through propaganda as well as economic incentives, China seeks to convince any nation that still recognizes Taiwan to switch their loyalty to Beijing and formally declare that Taiwan is part of China.<ref name="Kurlantzick" />{{rp|42}} | |||
#'''Promoting a multipolar world and constrain U.S. global power.'''<ref name=":11">{{cite journal |last=Mitchell |first=Derek J |year=2007 |title=China and the Developing World |url=http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/090212_06china_developing.pdf |url-status=live |journal=The China Balance Sheet in 2007 and Beyond |page= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110207005233/http://csis.org/files/media/csis/pubs/090212_06china_developing.pdf |archive-date=7 February 2011 |access-date=15 November 2012}}</ref>{{Rp|page=111}} China seeks to slowly diminish the United States' influence in Asia, and create its own ] in Southeast Asia.<ref name="Kurlantzick" />{{rp|43}} | |||
In a 2008 report, the U.S. State Department's International Security Advisory Board declared that China was in the midst of a "comprehensive strategic deception campaign," which was said to include "Psychological Warfare (propaganda, deception, and coercion), Media Warfare (manipulation of public opinion domestically and internationally), and Legal Warfare (use of 'legal regimes' to handicap the opponent in fields favorable to him)."<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Anderson|first1=Eric C|url=https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo122061|title=China's Use of Perception Management and Strategic Deception|last2=Engstrom|first2=Jeffrey G|date=2009|publisher=]|language=en|oclc=765544963|access-date=15 June 2020|archive-date=28 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240728022505/https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GOVPUB-Y3-PURL-gpo122061|url-status=live}}</ref> On its official Chinese Web site, CCTV describes itself as "the mouthpiece of the Party and the government," and lists its main operations under the heading "propaganda situation," referring to new foreign-language channels as "reaching a new stage in external propaganda."<ref name=":5" /> | |||
===CCP propaganda themes=== | |||
{{See also|Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party|Socialism with Chinese characteristics}} | |||
Former CCP leader Deng Xiaoping advised Chinese leadership to "hide your capabilities, and bide your time."<ref>{{cite web|last=Brookes|first=Peter|title=Hearing on "China's Foreign Policy: Challenges and Actors"|publisher=U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission|date=13 April 2011|url=http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2011hearings/written_testimonies/11_04_13_wrt/11_04_13_brookes_testimony.pdf|journal=|access-date=15 November 2012|archive-date=29 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121029235806/http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2011hearings/written_testimonies/11_04_13_wrt/11_04_13_brookes_testimony.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Most modern Chinese foreign propaganda seeks to pursue China's strategic goals while adhering to this advice. The following themes were stated by ] to be characteristic of China's foreign propaganda prior to Xi Jinping: | |||
*''China seeks a peaceful rise.'' In other words, "China is not a threat." As it industrializes, China does not seek to rival other nations for resources. It also seeks to industrialize without high amounts of pollution, energy consumption, and investment.<ref name="Bijian">{{cite journal |last=Bijian |first=Zheng |author-link=Zheng Bijian |date=September–October 2005 |title=China's "Peaceful Rise" to Great-Power Status |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61015/zheng-bijian/chinas-peaceful-rise-to-great-power-status |url-status=live |journal=] |volume=84 |issue=5 |pages=18–24 |doi=10.2307/20031702 |jstor=20031702 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222133935/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61015/zheng-bijian/chinas-peaceful-rise-to-great-power-status |archive-date=22 December 2012 |access-date=15 November 2012}}</ref> | |||
*''China does not seek hegemony.'' "Instead, China will transcend ideological differences to strive for peace, development, and cooperation with all countries of the world."<ref name="Bijian"/> China "advocates a new international political and economic order, one that can be achieved through incremental reforms and the democratization of international relations."<ref name="Bijian"/> | |||
*''The CCP is evolving and is no longer an authoritarian regime.'' China's government has evolved from the days of Mao Zedong. It is no longer a strict, authoritarian style ]/] system, but is democratizing. The CCP seeks to "transcend outdated modes of social control and to construct a ]."<ref name="Bijian"/> | |||
*''China does not view the United States as a strategic adversary.'' Instead, "Beijing wants Washington to play a positive role in the region's security as well as economic affairs."<ref name="Bijian"/> | |||
External propaganda efforts have since shifted to denigrating ] and stoking ].<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Hsu |first1=Tiffany |last2=Myers |first2=Steven Lee |date=1 April 2024 |title=China's Advancing Efforts to Influence the U.S. Election Raise Alarms |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/business/media/china-online-disinformation-us-election.html |access-date=1 April 2024 |work=] |quote=China’s efforts to advance its ideology in the West struggled to gain traction, first as it pushed its official propaganda about the superiority of its culture and economy and later as it began denigrating democracy and stoking anti-American sentiment. |archive-date=3 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240403091121/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/business/media/china-online-disinformation-us-election.html |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Instruments=== | |||
The PRC uses many tactics and techniques to disseminate its propaganda themes abroad. China uses its news and media outlets, which are directly influenced by various state organizations (and ultimately the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP),<ref>{{cite web|last=Polumbaum|first=Judy|title=China's Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Imacts on U.S. National Security|publisher=Hearing Before the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission|date=30 April 2009|page=20|url=http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/transcripts/09_04_30_trans/09_04_30_trans.pdf|journal=|access-date=15 November 2012|archive-date=30 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030000714/http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/transcripts/09_04_30_trans/09_04_30_trans.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> to relay news stories consistent with these themes to foreign audiences. In 2009, reports emerged that China intends to invest US$6.6 billion to expand its foreign language news service. This includes plans for a 24-hour English-language news network to discuss world affairs from Beijing's point of view.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brookes|first=Peter|title=China's Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Imacts on U.S. National Security|publisher=Hearing Before the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission|date=30 April 2009|page=2|url=http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/transcripts/09_04_30_trans/09_04_30_trans.pdf|journal=|access-date=15 November 2012|archive-date=30 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030000714/http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/transcripts/09_04_30_trans/09_04_30_trans.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> A 2015 investigative report by ] found a network of at least 33 radio stations in 14 countries that obscures China Radio International (CRI) as its majority shareholder. A significant portion of the programming on these stations is either produced or provided by CRI, or by media firms CRI controls in the United States, Australia, and Europe.<ref name="reuters2015">{{cite news |last1=Shiffman |first1=John |last2=Gui Qing |first2=Koh |title=Beijing's covert radio network airs China-friendly news across Washington, and the world |url=https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-radio/ |access-date=10 February 2024 |work=] |archive-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102183225/http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/china-radio/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
Propaganda produced by the ] of the ruling ] (CPC) has been disseminated through state-controlled print and electronic media, and the CPC has made prolific use of the ] as a means of distributing propaganda to both Chinese citizens and foreigners in the modern age. | |||
==== International communication centers ==== | |||
] campaign. It reads, "The criticism of Lin and Kong (Confucius) is a matter of prime importance to the country and armed forces".]] | |||
{{Excerpt|International communication center|only=paragraph|paragraphs=1}} | |||
==== Generative artificial intelligence ==== | |||
]s believe that propaganda in the PRC is being utilized by the CPC to nurture the development of ] and of loyalty to the PRC, the CPC, and the ] government in general. Many also believe that the PRC government, having embarked on a program of capitalist-style economic reform and modernization in the late 1970s, is keen to use propaganda to portray the CPC as a nationalistic and patriotic party, rather than simply as a party that builds ] or implements ] in China, since these have largely been abandoned in practice and thus can no longer serve as effective bases for loyalty to the regime. Common themes in the new nationalistic propaganda of the PRC include the lionizing of the CPC's ] and its individual soldiers for their exploits and sacrifices during the 1937-1945 ] and the allegedly seamless unity of the ]. | |||
], an online disinformation and propaganda campaign of the ], has used news anchors created with ] to deliver fake news clips.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Milmo |first1=Dan |last2=Hawkins |first2=Amy |date=2024-05-18 |title=How China is using AI news anchors to deliver its propaganda |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/18/how-china-is-using-ai-news-anchors-to-deliver-its-propaganda |access-date=2024-05-19 |work=] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=25 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525185211/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/18/how-china-is-using-ai-news-anchors-to-deliver-its-propaganda |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Soft power initiative=== | |||
In previous decades, PRC propaganda was crucial to the formation and promotion of the ] centered around Chairman ]. It also served as a useful tool for mobilizing popular participation in national campaigns such as the 1958 ] and the 1966-76 ]. Following the death of Mao in 1976, propaganda was used to blacken the character of the notorious ], which was seen as responsible for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. Past propaganda also encouraged the Chinese people to emulate selfless model workers and soldiers such as the famous Comrade ], suicidal ] hero Dong Cunrui, self-sacrificing ] hero Yang Gensi, and Dr. ], a Canadian doctor who assisted the Communist ] during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It also praised ] revolutionaries and close foreign allies such as ] and ] while vilifying both the United States "]" and the Soviet "revisionists" (the latter of whom was seen as having betrayed Marxism-Leninism). One of the most famous propagandist who went sidetracked was ]. Her loyalty to the party as well as opposition to the ultra-left, singled her out to severe punishment. But her story provide a good example of how propaganda are delivered. | |||
{{Further|Soft power of China}} | |||
Since 2005, CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao has promoted a "] initiative"<ref name="CFR" /> aimed at increasing China's influence overseas through cultural and language programs. These trends have been identified by the American ], which describes that "Beijing is trying to convince the world of its peaceful intentions, secure the resources it needs to continue its soaring economic growth, and isolate Taiwan."<ref name="CFR">{{cite news|title= China's Soft Power Initiative|last= Pan|first= Esther|url= http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-soft-power-initiative/p10715#p2|access-date= 21 July 2011|archive-date= 8 May 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110508145928/http://www.cfr.org/china/chinas-soft-power-initiative/p10715#p2|url-status= dead}}</ref> The article points out that adverse effects of soft power, that "China has the potential to become the 600-pound gorilla in the room," and that "Chinese influence may begin to breed resentment."<ref name="CFR" /> | |||
The ] members Li Changchun and ] have repeatedly stressed that Chinese propaganda should be equally spread both domestically and internationally, and Li Changchun stated that the ]s are "an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world", which is "part of China's foreign propaganda strategy".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Wachter|first=Will|date=24 May 2007|title=The language of Chinese soft power in the US|work=]|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IE24Ad02.html|url-status=dead|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525105656/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/IE24Ad02.html|archive-date=25 May 2007}}</ref> | |||
During the era of economic reform and modernization that was initiated by paramount leader ], propaganda promoting "socialism with Chinese characteristics" was distributed. The later reign of President ] saw the creation of propaganda demonizing ] as a ] and promoting his "]" theory. One of the most controversial event was the ] of 2001. | |||
'']'' noted that Confucius Institutes are used to project China's soft power and win the support of an external audience, and Confucius was specifically chosen to cast an image of peace and harmony. Such centers are partially sponsored by the Chinese government, with a hands-off approach to management, its directors being directly appointed by their attached universities.<ref>{{Cite news|date=24 October 2009|title=A message from Confucius: New ways of projecting soft power|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/special-report/2009/10/24/a-message-from-confucius|access-date=2020-06-14|issn=0013-0613|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614235400/https://www.economist.com/special-report/2009/10/24/a-message-from-confucius|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In later years the Internet has played a key role for the CCP to spread propaganda to the Chinese diaspora. PRC-based Internet sites are a leading source of Chinese language and China-related news for overseas Chinese. The Internet is an extremely effective tool for guiding and organizing overseas Chinese public opinion, according to Anne-Marie Brady. She cites an example of the role of the Internet in organizing popular protests by overseas Chinese in 2008 against the perceived bias of the Western media in its coverage of unrest in Tibetan areas in March 2008 and, a month later, in organizing a series of worldwide demonstrations in support of China during the Olympic torch relay. | |||
In 2009, Chinese state media launched the English-language version of the ''Global Times'', a nationalistic tabloid under the auspices of the ''People's Daily''. It was described as a part of a larger push by the Chinese government to have a greater say in international media, as well as supplanting what it considers to be biased Western media sources.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tejada|first=Carlos|date=2009-04-20|title=A New English-Language Paper Extends China's Media Reach|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/04/20/a-new-english-language-paper-extends-chinas-media-reach/|access-date=2020-06-14|website=The Wall Street Journal|language=en-US|archive-date=20 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171120184836/https://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2009/04/20/a-new-english-language-paper-extends-chinas-media-reach/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
"These protests and the later demonstrations were genuine and popular, which shows the effectiveness of China’s efforts to rebuild positive public opinion within the Chinese diaspora, but it should be noted that they received official support, both symbolic and practical."<ref name=bradycongress>Anne-Marie Brady, http://www.uscc.gov/hearings/2009hearings/written_testimonies/09_04_30_wrts/09_04_30_brady_statement.php China’s Propaganda and Perception Management Efforts, Its Intelligence Activities that Target the United States, and the Resulting Impacts on U.S. National Security], U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission, April 30, 2009</ref>There was no compulsion for overseas Chinese not to attend the rallies, but those who did were given free t-shirts, souvenirs, transport, and in some cases accommodation, all courtesy of local embassy officials and China-based donors. These demonstrations successfully drowned out the protests of human rights groups. | |||
In early 2011, the Chinese government launched a million dollar advertising campaign, which was aimed to improve the "incomplete understandings" the American public has about China. A 60-second ad was shown at New York's ], which featured Chinese personalities such as scientist ], singer ] and news anchor ], ending with the message of "Chinese Friendship". ''Newsweek'' noted the ad's great production values, but criticized it as confusing and explaining little about the featured Chinese identities.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Stone Fish|first=Isaac|date=19 January 2011|title=Official Chinese Media Campaign Falls Short|work=Newsweek|url=https://www.newsweek.com/official-chinese-media-campaign-falls-short-66725|access-date=14 June 2020|archive-date=14 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200614231050/https://www.newsweek.com/official-chinese-media-campaign-falls-short-66725|url-status=live}}</ref> China scholar David Shambaugh, a professor at ], says that "the scale of Beijing’s push is unprecedented" and estimates that "China spends $10bn a year on external propaganda".<ref name="smyth">{{cite news |last1=Smyth |first1=Jamie |title=China's $10bn propaganda push spreads Down Under |url=https://www.ft.com/content/324d82c4-2d60-11e6-a18d-a96ab29e3c95 |access-date=12 December 2023 |agency=] |archive-date=12 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231212135118/https://www.ft.com/content/324d82c4-2d60-11e6-a18d-a96ab29e3c95 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
==Chinese connotations of the term== | |||
{{Section OR|date=March 2008}} | |||
Since 2018, provincial and municipal-level ]s (ICCs) have been established to "innovate" foreign-directed propaganda.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Colville |first=Alex |date=2024-12-04 |title=Telling Zhejiang's Story |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/12/04/telling-zhejiangs-story/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US}}</ref> Each ICC has tended to take on a specific geographic area of focus for its propaganda initiatives.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2023-10-05 |title=Reading China's Media Counter-Attack |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2023/10/05/reading-chinas-propaganda-counter-attack/ |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=9 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009213527/https://chinamediaproject.org/2023/10/05/reading-chinas-propaganda-counter-attack/ |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
While in the Western world the word '']'' bears negative connotations, the Chinese word "xuanchuan" (]: 宣传), which is liberally translated as ''propaganda'', actually means ''to broadcast'' or ''to spread (information)'', with no negative connotations that would imply bias or untruthfulness. This explains why many ] speakers would consider the use of such a term as an outright acknowledgment of the biased nature of Chinese propaganda, although the term can in fact be used in politically neutral contexts. This is congruent with the ] in Western Europe, which also does not connotate deception. For example, Chinese "propaganda" has also served to raise public awareness about the law, the need for common courtesy, the importance of embracing science and technology, the need to take preventive measures against ] and ]. | |||
== Propaganda in the arts == | |||
For example: | |||
]|330px|thumb|right]] | |||
<blockquote>宣传安全知识</blockquote> | |||
As in the Soviet Union, the CCP under Mao Zedong took ] as its basis for art, making clear its goal was the 'education' of the people in ]. This included, as during the Cultural Revolution, transforming literature and art to serve these ends. Pre-revolutionary songs<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Lu |first=Shu |title=When Huai Flowers Bloom: Stories of the Cultural Revolution |date=2007 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-7914-7941-4 |doi=10.1353/book5242|s2cid=133953005 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=72}} and operas<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=12}} were banned as a poisonous legacy of the past. Middle and high schools were targeted by one campaign because the students circulated romance and love stories among themselves.<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=16}} | |||
(]: xuānchuán ānquán zhīshi) would, in accordance with the literal dictionary definition of "宣传", be translated as ''propagating public safety awareness''. There are absolutely no political connotations surrounding the use of this word, as might be present in | |||
<blockquote>宣传毛泽东思想</blockquote> | |||
(]: xuānchuán Máo Zédōng sīxiǎng) or ''propagating ]''. | |||
This can be likened to the use of '']'' specifically as political propaganda, and the Spanish word ''propaganda'', which simply means advertising. | |||
Maoist propaganda art has been remade and modernized for almost two decades, and old Cultural Revolution era propaganda productions have appeared in new formats such as DVDs and karaoke versions. They appear in rock and pop versions of revolutionary songs in praise of Mao, as well as T-shirts, watches, porcelain, and other memorabilia.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Mittler |first=Barbara |date=2008 |title=Popular Propaganda? Art and Culture in Revolutionary China |journal=Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society |volume=152 |issue=4 |pages=466–489 |issn=0003-049X |jstor=40541604}}</ref> The works of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution have been selling extremely well in recent years, largely for nostalgia, social, patriotic or entertainment purposes.<ref name=":3" /><ref name="Gunde">Gunde, Richard. (2002) Culture and Customs of China. Greenwood Press. {{ISBN|0-313-30876-4}}</ref> | |||
== Ideological background == | |||
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: ]. The message reads, "The Chinese ] is the great school of ]."]] --> | |||
<!-- Deleted image removed: ] Nanjing Presidential Palace; incorporates elements of ] and ]]] --> | |||
In the realm of the arts, the theory of ] that was adopted by the ] and the PRC of ] explicitly states as its goal the education of the people in the objectives and the meaning of the ideology of ]. One of the official goals of the 1966-76 ] in the PRC was "to transform literature and art." | |||
Propaganda songs and music, such as ] and ], have a long and storied history in the PRC, featuring prominently in the popular culture of the 1950s to the 1970s. Many of these songs were collected and performed as modern rock adaptations for several albums that were released during the 1990s, including '']'' and ''Red Sun: Mao Zedong Praise Songs New Revolutionary Medley''. The latter sold 6–10 million copies in China.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050728142055/http://www.sino.uni-heidelberg.de/conf/propaganda/musik.html |date=28 July 2005 }}, Audio-Visual Accompaniment to the Exhibit: "Picturing Power: Art and Propaganda in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) A Multi-Media Exhibition Held at Universitätsmuseum Heidelberg, 31.1.-28.2.2001</ref> Most of the older songs praise Mao, the CCP, the 1949 revolution, the Chinese Red Army and the ], the unity of the ethnic groups of China, and the various ethnic groups' devotion to Mao and the CCP. | |||
The CPC ] (]: Zhonggong Zhongyang Xuanchuan Bu, ]: 中共中央宣传部), together with the state censorship organizations, which include the General Administration of Press and Publication (]: Xinwen Chuban Zongshu, ]: 新闻出版总署), the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (]: Guangbo Dianying Dianshi Zongju, ]: 广播电影电视总局), and the State Council Information Office (]: Guowuyuan Xinxi Bangongshi, ]: 国务院信息办公室), oversee all printing for consistency with official political doctrines under detailed regulations, such as the "Regulations Regarding Strengthening the Administration of Publications Describing Major Party and National Leaders" (1990), which states in part: | |||
<blockquote> | |||
The publication and distribution of these types of books and essays must be solemn and discreet. The description of historical facts must be accurate, and the point of view must conform with the spirit of the Party's "Decision Regarding Certain Historical Problems," "Decision Regarding Certain Historical Problems Since the Establishment of the Party" and related Party documents. All responsible agencies and publishing units must strictly guard against violations, and anything that does not conform to the above mentioned requirements may not be published and distributed. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
In recent times, films and documentaries such as ], ], The Founding of a ], ] and ] has become the new staple of Chinese propaganda, known as "main melody" films.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Pulver|first=Andrew|date=2013-11-01|title=Chinese propaganda film accuses US of trying to overthrow ruling communists|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/01/china-propaganda-film-us-infiltration|access-date=2020-06-15|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304131317/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/01/china-propaganda-film-us-infiltration|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
==Taiwan terminology== | |||
Both the ] and the ] government, now located on ], formally claim to be the sole legitimate government of all China, but neither, in formal contexts, accept the other as a legitimate government or that either ] or ] is a sovereign country separate from the other. As such, both have adopted a set of political terminology to refer to the other side, its government, and civil and military offices and officials. | |||
===Famous propaganda works=== | |||
Within the PRC, this policy is strongly adhered to by the government and government-controlled media. For example, as a result of the fact that both the ROC and the PRC adhered to the ], the PRC is commonly referred to in both Taiwan and the PRC as ''dalu'' ({{zh|t=大陸|s=大陆|p=dàlù}}) meaning "mainland", or the continent; sometimes, as in ], it is also referred to as ''neidi'' ({{zh|t=內地|s=內地|p=nèidì}}) meaning "interior territory". In both cases, the terms are used to avoid describing the PRC as "China" and the ROC as "Taiwan", as is commonly done in ]. When Taiwan joins international organizations, China forces Taiwan to participate under names other than "Republic of China" or "Taiwan", such as ] or " ]", in order to avoid describing Taiwan as a country. | |||
====Novel==== | |||
:''See also: ]'' | |||
'']'', a famous 1961 Chinese novel featuring underground CCP agents fighting an espionage battle against the Kuomintang. | |||
====Sculpture==== | |||
== PRC propaganda films == | |||
'']'', a 1965 sculpture depicting former landlord ] as an evil landlord collecting rent from poor, although this depiction has been disputed by modern accounts. | |||
*'']'', a pre-]-era play, later extolled during the Cultural Revolution, about the women of ] who rose up in resistance on behalf of the CPC | |||
*'']'' | |||
*''] | |||
====Films and plays==== | |||
== Famous propaganda songs == | |||
]'']] | |||
] and music have a long and storied history in the PRC and also in Nepal and Pakistan, and they figured prominently in the popular culture of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Many of these songs were collected and performed as modern rock adaptations for several albums that were released during the 1990s, including "]" and "Red Sun: Mao Zedong Praise Songs New Revolutionary Medley". The latter sold 6-10 million copies in China (see the external link on "Rethinking Cultural Revolution Culture"). Most of the older songs praise Mao, the CPC, the 1949 revolution, the Chinese Red Army and the ], the unity of the ethnic groups of China, and the various ethnic groups' devotion to Mao and the CPC. | |||
*'']'', a 1956 Chinese war film also known as Shangganling Battle ({{lang-zh|links=no|c=上甘岭战役}}), depicting the ] during the Korean War. | |||
* '']'', a 1965 song and dance film performed in the ] depicting the history of China from the ] to the ]. | |||
*'']'', a 2021 film set during the Korean War about Chinese troops defeating American troops. It is the second highest-grossing film of 2021 worldwide, behind ] and ahead of '']'' and '']''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2021 Worldwide Box Office |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/world/2021/ |access-date=November 1, 2022 |website=] |publisher=]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58868854|title = The Chinese film beating Bond and Marvel at the box office - BBC News|work = BBC News|date = 16 October 2021|access-date = 18 October 2021|archive-date = 18 October 2021|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211018032634/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-58868854|url-status = live}}</ref> | |||
* The '']'' (八个样板戏), revolutionary themed operas and ballets, were the only ones allowed to be performed during the Cultural Revolution.<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=12}} | |||
**'']'' (智取威虎山), a play about CCP soldiers infiltrating a bandit camp during the Chinese Civil War. | |||
**'']'' (红灯记), a play based on the activities of the CCP resistance against Japan in ] during the ]. | |||
**'']'' (红色娘子军), a pre-Cultural Revolution-era play, later extolled during the Cultural Revolution, about the women of ] who rose up in resistance on behalf of the CCP | |||
**'']'' (白毛女), a play exploring the miseries of China peasants in 1930's China. | |||
====Songs==== | |||
The titles of some of the more well-known propaganda songs are as follows: | |||
{{Main|Category:Chinese patriotic songs}} | |||
The titles of some of the more well-known propaganda songs are as follows:{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} | |||
*"]" (a 1943 ]) | |||
*"]" (the ''de facto'' ] of the PRC during the ]) | |||
*"]" (]: Shehuizhuyi Hao, Chinese:社会主义好), a modern ] adaptation of which was performed by ] and featured on the 1990s album '']'' (]: Hongse Yaogun, ]: 红色摇滚). | |||
*"Song of the People's Liberation Army" (]: Zhongguo Renmin Jiefangjun Junge) | |||
*"Battle Hymn of the ]" (]: Zhongguo Renmin Zhiyuanjun Zhange"; Chinese: 中国人民志愿军战歌; a well-known song from the ] period) | |||
*"Red Sun Shining Over the Border" (]: Hong Taiyang Zhao Bianjiang; a song from the ] in ] Province) | |||
*"A Wa People Sing New Songs" (]: A Wa Chang Xin Ge; a song attributed to the ] ethnic minority of ] Province) | |||
*"Laundry Song" (]: Xiyi Ge; a song celebrating the liberation of ]) | |||
*"Liuyang River" (]: Liuyang He; Chinese: 浏阳河; a song about a river near Mao Zedong's hometown of ] in ] Province) | |||
*"Saliha Most Listens to Chairman Mao's Words" (]: Saliha Zui Ting Mao Zhuxi De Hua; a song attributed to the ] minority of the ]) | |||
*"The Never-Setting Sun Rises Over the Grassland" (]: Caoyuan Shang Sheng Qi Bu Luo De Taiyang; from ]) | |||
*"] is Good" (]: Xinjiang Hao; attributed to the ethnic ] of ]) | |||
*"]" (]: Wo Ai Beijing Tiananmen, ]: 我爱北京天安门; claimed to have been translated into over 50 languages, this song is frequently taught to schoolchildren in the PRC) | |||
*"Zhuang Brocade Dedicated to Chairman Mao" (]: Zhuang Jin Xiangei Mao Zhuxi; a song attributed to the ] ethnic minority of the ]) | |||
*"Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Blooms With the Arrival of Happiness" (attributed to the ], or Chinese ], ethnic minority group) | |||
*"Generations Remember Chairman Mao's Kindness" (a song celebrating the "liberation" of the ethnic ] people) | |||
*"Salaam Chairman Mao" (]: Salamu Mao Zhuxi; a ] song praising Mao, a modern version of which was performed by ] rock singer ]) | |||
*"Song of ]" (]: Gechang Erlangshan; a 1950s song celebrating the development of ], which made Mount Erlangshan in western ] Province famous) | |||
*"Story of the Spring" (]: Chuntian De Gushi, ]: 春天的故事; a song performed by ], initially at the 1997 ], days before his death, dedicated to late ] leader ]) | |||
*"The ] is Just Great" (]: Wuchan Jieji Wenhua Da Geming Jiushi Hao, ]: 无产阶级文化大革命就是好; a song praising the ]) | |||
*"On the Golden Mountains of ]" (]: Beijing De Jinshan Shang, ]: 北京的金山上; a song attributed to the ]an people praising Mao as the shining sun) | |||
*"]" (]:Gēchàng Zǔguó; Chinese: 歌唱祖国) This general patriotic song continues to be sung at national and regional celebrations and galas. | |||
*"]" (《南泥湾》/《南泥灣》), a 1943 ] | |||
Most of the songs listed above are no longer used as propaganda by the CPC, but are exhibited in mainland China as a means of reviving popular nostalgia for the "old times" and sentiments of ]/]. | |||
*"]" (《东方红》/《東方紅》), the ''de facto'' ] of the PRC during the Cultural Revolution | |||
*"]" (《社会主义好》), a modern rock adaptation of which was performed by ] and featured on the 1990s album '']''. | |||
*"Battle Hymn of the Chinese People's Volunteers" (《中国人民志愿军战歌》/《中國人民志願軍戰歌》) – a well-known song from the ] period | |||
*"Red Sun Shining Over the Border" (《红太阳照边疆》/《紅太陽照邊疆》){{spaced ndash}}a song from the ] in ] | |||
*"A Wa People Sing New Songs" (阿佤唱新歌曲){{spaced ndash}}a song attributed to the ] ethnic minority of ] | |||
*"Laundry Song" (《洗衣歌》){{spaced ndash}}a song celebrating the ] of ] | |||
*"Liuyang River" (《浏阳河》){{spaced ndash}}a song about a river near Mao Zedong's hometown of ] in Hunan | |||
*"Saliha Most Follows the Words of Chairman Mao" (《萨利哈听毛主席的话》/《薩利哈最聽毛主席的話》){{spaced ndash}}a song attributed to the ] minority of the Xinjiang | |||
*"The Never-Setting Sun Rises Over the Grassland" (《草原上升起不落的太阳》/草原上升起不落的太陽{{spaced ndash}} ) from ] | |||
*"Xinjiang is Good" (新疆好){{spaced ndash}}attributed to the ethnic ] of Xinjiang | |||
*"]" (《我爱北京天安门》/《我愛北京天安門》){{spaced ndash}}claimed to have been translated into over 50 languages, this song is frequently taught to schoolchildren in the PRC | |||
*"Zhuang Brocade Dedicated to Chairman Mao" (莊錦獻給毛主席){{spaced ndash}}a song attributed to the ] ethnic minority of the ] | |||
*"Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Blooms With the Arrival of Happiness"(《桂花开放幸福来》) (attributed to the ], or Chinese ], ethnic minority group) | |||
*"Generations Remember Chairman Mao's Kindness"(《世世代代铭记毛主席的恩情》) (a song celebrating the "liberation of the ethnic ]") | |||
*"Salaam Chairman Mao" (《萨拉姆毛主席》/《薩拉姆毛主席》){{spaced ndash}}a ] song praising Mao, composed by ]. A modern version was performed by Chinese rock singer ]. | |||
*"Song of ]" (《歌唱二郎山》){{spaced ndash}}a 1950s song celebrating the development of Tibet, which made Mount Erlangshan in western ] famous | |||
*"Story of the Spring" (春天的故事){{spaced ndash}}a song performed by ], initially at the 1997 ], days before his death, dedicated to late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping | |||
*"The Cultural Revolution is Just Great" (《无产阶级文化大革命就是好》/《無產階級文化大革命就是好》){{spaced ndash}}a song praising the Cultural Revolution | |||
*"On the Golden Mountains of Beijing" (北京的金山上){{spaced ndash}}a song attributed to the ]an people praising Mao as the shining sun | |||
*"Ode to the Socialist Motherland" (《歌唱社会主义祖国》/《歌唱社會主義祖國》){{spaced ndash}}the Cultural Revolution-era modification of the well-known patriotic song "]" (《歌唱祖国》/《歌唱祖國》). | |||
*"Where are you going, Uncle Kurban?" (库尔班大叔您上哪儿){{spaced ndash}}a song attributed to a Uyghur elder named ] (also known as Uncle Kurban) praising People's Liberation Army. | |||
Most of the songs listed above are no longer used as propaganda by the CCP, but are exhibited in China as a means of reviving popular nostalgia for the "old times".{{citation needed|date=October 2016}} | |||
==See also== | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*], Shanghai, China | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==References== | == References == | ||
=== Citations === | |||
{{reflist}} | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
*Min, Anchee, Duo, Duo, Landsberger, Stefan R., ''Chinese Propaganda Posters'', 245 x 370 mm, 320 pp., ISBN 3-8228-2619-7 (softcover) | |||
*] ''Chinese Propaganda Posters: From the Collection of Michael Wolf'', 2003, ISBN 3-8228-2619-7 | |||
* Harriet Evans, Stephanie Donald (eds.), ''Picturing Power in the People's Republic of China'', ISBN 0-8476-9511-5 | |||
* Stefan Landsberger, ''Chinese Propaganda Posters: From Revolution to Reform'', ISBN 90-5496-009-4 | |||
*Hunter, Edward. ''Brain-washing in Red China: the calculated destruction of men's minds''. New York, N.Y., USA.: Vanguard Press, 1951, 1953, | |||
*Lincoln Cushing and Ann Tompkins, ''Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution'', San Francisco, CA : Chronicle Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8118-5946-2 | |||
== |
=== Sources === | ||
{{Commons category|Propaganda of China}} | |||
* | |||
{{Library resources box}} | |||
* | |||
{{refbegin}} | |||
* | |||
* Min, Anchee, Duo, Duo, Landsberger, Stefan R., ''Chinese Propaganda Posters'', ] (Bibliotheca Universalis series), 608 pages. {{ISBN|9783836557474}}. | |||
* | |||
* ] ''Chinese Propaganda Posters: From the Collection of Michael Wolf'', 2003, {{ISBN|3-8228-2619-7}}. | |||
* | |||
* Harriet Evans, Stephanie Donald (eds.), ''Picturing Power in the People's Republic of China'', {{ISBN|0-8476-9511-5}}. | |||
* | |||
* Stefan Landsberger, ''Chinese Propaganda Posters: From Revolution to Reform'', {{ISBN|90-5496-009-4}}. | |||
* | |||
* Hunter, Edward. ''Brain-washing in Red China: the calculated destruction of men's minds''. New York, NY: Vanguard Press, 1951, 1953. | |||
* | |||
* Lincoln Cushing and Ann Tompkins, ''Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution'', San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-8118-5946-2}}. | |||
* | |||
* ]. '']''. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/Vintage 1973. | |||
{{refend}} | |||
{{Asia topic|Propaganda in}} | |||
{{Chinese Nationalist Party}} | |||
{{Communist Party of China}} | |||
{{Cross-Strait relations}} | |||
{{Portal bar|China|Taiwan|Communism|Politics}} | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] | |||
] |
Latest revision as of 01:20, 26 December 2024
For propaganda in the Republic of China era (1912-1949) and subsequently on Taiwan, see Propaganda in the Republic of China.
Propaganda in China | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A large sign featuring a propaganda slogan in 1972: "Long Live the Great, Glorious, and Correct Communist Party of China!" | |||||||
Simplified Chinese | 中华人民共和国宣传活动 | ||||||
Traditional Chinese | 中華人民共和國宣傳活動 | ||||||
| |||||||
Propaganda in China is used by the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and historically by the Kuomintang (KMT), to sway domestic and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship of proscribed views and an active promotion of views that favor the government. Propaganda is considered central to the operation of the CCP and the Chinese government, with propaganda operations in the country being directed by the CCP's Central Propaganda Department.
Aspects of propaganda can be traced back to the earliest periods of Chinese history, but propaganda has been most effective in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries owing to mass media and an authoritarian government. The earliest Chinese propaganda tool also was an important tool in legitimizing the Kuomintang controlled Republic of China government that retreated from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949.
Propaganda during the Mao era was known for its constant use of mass campaigns to legitimize the party and the policies of leaders. It was the first time the CCP successfully made use of modern mass propaganda techniques, adapting them to the needs of a country which had a largely rural and illiterate population. Today, propaganda in China is usually depicted through cultivation of the economy and Chinese nationalism.
Terminology
Xuanchuan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 宣傳 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 宣传 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | spread transmit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hangul | 선전 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kanji | 宣伝 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hiragana | せんでん | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
While the English word usually has a pejorative connotation, the Chinese word xuānchuán (宣传 "propaganda; publicity", composed of xuan 宣 "declare; proclaim; announce" and chuan 傳 or 传 "pass; hand down; impart; teach; spread; infect; be contagious") The term can have either a neutral connotation in official government contexts or a pejorative one in informal contexts. The term is not used for censorship, as it might connote in other parts of the world.
Xuānchuán first appeared in the 3rd-century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms where its usage referred to the dissemination of military skills. In pre-modern times, the term was used to refer to dissemination of ideas and information by ruling elites. The meaning of "to explain something to someone, or to conduct education" might first appeared in Ge Hong's (c. 320) Baopuzi criticism of effete scholars who Emperor Zhang of Han (r. 75–88) extravagantly rewarded.
These various gentlemen were heaped with honors, but not because they could breach walls or fight in the fields, break through an enemy's lines and extend frontiers, fall ill and resign office, pray for a plan of confederation and give the credit to others, or possess a zeal transcending all bounds. Merely because they expounded an interpretation of one solitary classic, such were the honors lavished upon them. And they were only lecturing upon words bequeathed by the dead. Despite their own high positions, emperors and kings deigned to serve these teachers.
It was chosen to translate the Marxist-Leninist concept of Russian propagánda пропаганда in the early 20th-century China. Within the broader context of Marxism-Leninism, "propaganda" has neither dismissive nor negative connotations.
Some xuanchuan collocations usually refer to "propaganda" (e.g., xuānchuánzhàn 宣传战 "propaganda war"), others to "publicity" (xuānchuán méijiè 宣传媒介 "mass media; means of publicity"), and still others are ambiguous (xuānchuányuán 宣传员 "propagandist; publicist"). The term xuanchuan also conveys the meaning of education, whereas the English word propaganda does not.
During the 20th century, use of the term propaganda in China approximated its meaning in early modern Europe, "to propagate what one believes to be true." Operating according to this terminology, the CCP is open about the importance of its propaganda work, which it views as having a positive impact on informing the Chinese people and promoting social harmony. David Shambaugh, a scholar of Chinese politics and foreign policy, describes "proactive propaganda" in which the Chinese Communist Party Propaganda Department writes and disseminates information that it believes "should be used in educating and shaping society". In this particular context, xuanchuan "does not carry negative connotations for the CCP, nor, for that matter, for most Chinese citizens." The sinologist and anthropologist Andrew B. Kipnis says unlike English propaganda, Chinese xuanchuan is officially represented as language that is good for the nation as a whole. However, the CCP is also sensitive to the negative connotations of the English word propaganda, and the commonly used Chinese term xuanchuan acquired pejorative connotations. In 1992, Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin asked one of the CCP's most senior translators to come up with a better English alternative to propaganda as the translation of xuanchuan for propaganda targeting foreign audiences. Replacement English translations include publicity, information, and political communication domestically, or media diplomacy and cultural exchange internationally.
History
Republican era
This paragraph is an excerpt from Propaganda in the Republic of China. Propaganda in the Republic of China (in mainland China before 1949 and in Taiwan since then) has been an important tool since its inception with the 1911 Revolution for legitimizing the Nationalist government that retreated from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949. Anti-communism and opposition to the Chinese Communist Party have historically been central to propaganda in the Republic of China.Mao era
The origins of the CCP propaganda system can be traced to Yan'an Rectification Movement and the rectification movements carried out there. Following which it became a key mechanism in the Party's campaigns. Mao explicitly laid out the political role of culture in his 1942 "Talks at the Yan'an Forum on Art and Literature". The propaganda system, considered a central part of CCP's "control system", drew much from Soviet, Nazi, imperial China, Nationalist China, and other totalitarian states' propaganda methods. It represented a quintessential Leninist "transmission belt" for indoctrination and mass mobilization. David Shambaugh observes that propaganda and indoctrination are considered to have been a hallmark of the Maoist China; the CCP employed a variety of "thought control" techniques, including incarceration for "thought reform," construction of role models to be emulated, mass mobilization campaigns, the creation of ideological monitors and propaganda teams for indoctrination purposes, enactment of articles to be memorized, control of the educational system and media, a nationwide system of loudspeakers, among other methods. While ostensibly aspiring to a "Communist utopia," often had a negative focus on constantly searching for enemies among the people. The means of persuasion was often extremely violent, "a literal acting out of class struggle."
According to academic Anne-Marie Brady, CCP propaganda and thought work (sīxiǎng gōngzuò 思想工作) traditionally had a much broader notion of the public sphere than is usually defined by media specialists. Chinese propagandists used every possible means of communication available in China after 1949, including electronic media such as film and television, educational curriculum and research, print media such as newspapers and posters, cultural arts such as plays and music, oral media such as memorizing Mao quotes, as well as thought reform and political study classes. China Central Television (CCTV) has traditionally served as a major national conduit for televised propaganda, while the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, has served as a medium for print propaganda. During the Mao era, a distinctive feature of propaganda and thought work was "rule by editorial," according to Brady. Political campaigns would be launched through editorials and leading articles in People's Daily, which would be followed by other papers. Work units and other organizational political study groups utilized these articles as a source for political study, and reading newspapers in China was "a political obligation". Mao used Lenin's model for the media, which had it function as a tool of mass propaganda, agitation, and organization.
In rural China, traveling drama troupes did propaganda work and were particularly important during land reform and other mass campaigns. In 1951, a directive to develop a nationwide propaganda network designated individuals in each school, factory, and work unit as propaganda workers. CCP propaganda sought to promote model workers and soldiers whose productive examples were promoted to the public via radio, and other media. In 1955, the Ministry of Culture sought to develop rural cultural networks to distribute media like other performances, lantern slides, books, cinema, radio, books, and to establish newspaper reading groups. Salaried workers at rural cultural centers toured the countryside distributing propaganda materials, teaching revolutionary songs, and the like.
In arts like painting, the early PRC had promoted Soviet art styles over traditional Chinese forms. By the mid-1950s, relations between China and the Soviet Union were deteriorating, and Mao became increasingly interested in promoting China's own national path. As part of this effort, propaganda campaigns encouraged re-adoption of traditional Chinese art styles.
In the 1960s, Chinese propaganda sought to portray contrasting images of the United States government and the United States public. Propaganda sought to criticize the government for its war in Vietnam while praising the public for anti-war protests. As part of propaganda efforts during the 1965 Resist America, Aid Vietnam Campaign, the CCP organized street demonstrations and marches and promoted campaign messages using cultural media like film and photography exhibitions, chorus contests, and street performance.
During the Cultural Revolution, CCP propaganda was crucial to intensification of Mao Zedong's cult of personality, as well as mobilizing popular participation in national campaigns. Past propaganda also encouraged the Chinese people to emulate government approved model workers and soldiers, such as Lei Feng, Chinese Civil War hero Dong Cunrui, Korean War hero Yang Gensi, and Dr. Norman Bethune, a Canadian doctor who assisted the CCP Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. It also praised Third World revolutionaries and close foreign allies such as Albania and North Korea while vilifying both the American "imperialists" and the Soviet "revisionists" (the latter of whom was seen as having betrayed Marxism–Leninism following the Sino-Soviet split).
Modern era
Following the death of Chairman Mao in 1976, propaganda was used to blacken the character of the Gang of Four, which was blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. During the era of economic reform and modernization that was initiated by Deng Xiaoping, propaganda promoting socialism with Chinese characteristics was distributed. The first post-Mao campaign was in 1983 which saw the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign.
In 1977, Deng initiated a propaganda campaign to promote science as the cornerstone of China's modernization, in advance of the 1978 National Science Conference. The campaign helped advanced Deng's efforts to improve the quality of science in China, particularly basic research, following the Cultural Revolution. Chinese Academy of Sciences vice president Fang Yi led the campaign in having schools, factories, and communes organize youth-focused events to celebrate science and technology.
The 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre were an indication to many elders in the CCP that liberalization in the propaganda sector had gone too far, and that the Party must re-establish its control over ideology and the propaganda system.
Brady writes that propaganda and thought work have become the "life blood" of the Party-State since the post-1989 period, and one of the key means for guaranteeing the CCP's continued legitimacy and hold on power.
In the 1990s, propaganda theorists described the challenges to China's propaganda and thought work as "blind spots"; mass communication was advocated as the antidote. From the early 1990s, selective concepts from mass communications theory, public relations, advertising, social psychology, patriotic education and other areas of modern mass persuasion were introduced into China's propaganda system for the purpose of creating a modern propaganda model.
Particularly since the 1990s, China has engaged in propaganda seeking to eliminate the traditional son preference.
Recent developments
The 2008 Summer Olympics were portrayed by the Chinese government as a symbol of China's pride and place in the world, and seem to have bolstered some domestic support for the Chinese government, and support for the policies of the CCP, giving rise to concerns that the state will possibly have more leverage to disperse dissent. In the lead-up to the Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for their reporting during the Games: most political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed; topics such as pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements were not to be reported on, as were food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water." As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal broke in September 2008, there was widespread speculation that China's desire for a perfect Games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula.
In early 2009, the CCP embarked on a multibillion-dollar global media expansion, including the 24-hour English-language news channel China Global Television Network (CGTN) in the style of Western news agencies. According to Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, it was part of CCP general secretary Hu Jintao's plan to "go global" and make "the voice of China better heard in international affairs", by strengthening their foreign-language services, and being less political in their broadcasting. Bequelin notes that their function is to channel a specific view of China to an international audience, and their fundamental premise remains the same; that all information broadcast must reflect the government's views. The Chinese government encouraged the adaption of Western style media marketing in their news agencies due to internal competition with national commercial media.
In 2011, then Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai and the city's Propaganda Department initiated a 'Red Songs campaign' that demanded every district, government departments and commercial corporations, universities and schools, state radio and TV stations to begin singing "red songs", praising the achievements of the CCP and PRC. Bo said the aim was "to reinvigorate the city with the Marxist ideals of his father's comrade-in-arms Mao Zedong"; although academic Ding Xueliang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology suspected the campaign's aim was to further his political standing within the country's leadership.
Since Xi Jinping became in 2012 the CCP general secretary, censorship and propaganda have been significantly stepped up. During a visit to Chinese state media, Xi stated that "party-owned media must hold the family name of the party" and that the state media "must embody the party's will, safeguard the party's authority". In 2018, as part of an overhaul of CCP and government bodies, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) was renamed into the National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) with its film, news media and publications being transferred to the Central Propaganda Department. Additionally, the control of China Central Television (CCTV, including its international edition, China Global Television), China National Radio (CNR) and China Radio International (CRI) were transferred to the newly established China Media Group (CMG) under the control of the Central Propaganda Department.
Starting in June 2021 and continuing through at least 2024, China's judicial system has engaged in a propaganda campaign to promote court cases decided in favor of platform economy workers against the companies for which they did work. The judicial system's newspapers and magazines have promoted coverage of typical cases and relevant studies. Academic Angela Huyue Zhang writes that because court rulings in China do not create precedent, the campaign is a mechanism for guiding courts to tighten regulation in this area, particularly where platform workers lack contracts or have been characterized as independent contractors but are in fact subject to tight monitoring by the platform companies that dispatch them.
Xinjiang
Further information: Persecution of Uyghurs in China and Xinjiang internment campsDuring the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, CCP officials moved swiftly in a public relations campaign. According to Newsweek, CCP officials felt that the recent riots risked tarnishing China's global image, and underwent a public relations program involving quickly getting out the government's official version of the events, as well as transporting foreign journalists to riot affected areas. The growth in new technologies, such as email and SMS, forced the CCP's hand into taking up spin.
Since 2017, the Chinese government has engaged in a propaganda campaign to defend its actions in Xinjiang. China initially denied the existence of the Xinjiang internment camps and attempted to cover-up their existence. In 2018, after being forced to admit by widespread reporting that the Xinjiang internment camps exist, the Chinese government initiated a propaganda campaign to portray the camps as humane and to deny human rights abuses occur in Xinjiang. In 2020 and 2021 they expanded the propaganda campaign due to international backlash against government policies in Xinjiang and worries that the Chinese government no longer had control of the narrative.
The Chinese government has used social media as a part of its extensive propaganda campaign. Douyin, the mainland Chinese sister app to ByteDance-owned social media app TikTok, presents users with significant amounts of Chinese state propaganda pertaining to the human rights abuses in Xinjiang.
Chinese government propaganda attacks have targeted international journalists covering human rights abuses in Xinjiang. After providing coverage critical of Chinese government abuses in Xinjiang, BBC News reporter John Sudworth was subjected to a campaign of propaganda and harassment by Chinese state-affiliated and CCP-affiliated media. The public attacks resulted in Sudworth and his wife Yvonne Murray, who reports for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, fleeing China for Taiwan for fear of their safety.
Between July 2019 and early August 2019, the CCP-owned tabloid Global Times paid Twitter to promote tweets that deny that the Chinese government is committing human rights abuses in Xinjiang; Twitter later banned advertising from state-controlled media outlets on 19 August after removing large numbers of pro-Beijing bots from the social network. China has spent heavily to purchase Facebook advertisements in order to spread propaganda designed to incite doubt on the existence and scope of human rights violations occurring within Xinjiang.
In April 2021, the Chinese government released propaganda videos titled, "Xinjiang is a Wonderful Land", and produced a musical titled "The Wings of Songs" in order to portray Xinjiang as harmonious and peaceful. The Wings of Songs portrays an idyllic rural landscape with a cohesive ethnic population notably devoid of repression, surveillance, and Islam. It is near impossible to get accurate information about the situation in Xinjiang domestically in China, concerns within the domestic audience are also downplayed because many aspects of the abuse such as forced labor are seen as commonplace by many Chinese citizens. In 2021, Chinese officials ordered videos of Uyghur men and women saying that they deny the U.S. charges that China that is committing human rights violations.
Critics have said that government propaganda plays into existing colonial and racist tropes about the Uyghurs by depicting them as dangerous or backwards. Domestic propaganda has increased since the international community began considering designating the abuses against the Uyghurs as a genocide. Domestic pushback against the genocide label is also emotional and follows a similar pattern of denial to the genocide committed against the Native Americans.
COVID-19 pandemic
Further information: COVID-19 misinformation by ChinaIn 2020, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping and the rest of the CCP began propagating the idea of "winning a battle against America" in containing the coronavirus pandemic. The numbers are notably misrepresented by Chinese authorities, but the CCP has continued to take to the media, pointing out "the failures of America", even though the numbers are manipulated. The now former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo accused the CCP of spreading disinformation on 17 March. Chinese officials in Japan have referred to the disease as the "Japanese coronavirus", even though there is no such evidence it originated there. The CCP has also used transmitting "positive energy" to promote itself. After Mike Pompeo's accusation that the virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, which Anthony Fauci denied on 5 May, Chinese officials launched a smear campaign on the same day against him with multiple propaganda outlets calling him a liar. During the George Floyd protests, the CCP criticized the US for failing to address racial equality. On 30 May 2020, Morgan Ortagus urged on Twitter for "freedom loving people" to hold the CCP to impose plans on Hong Kong for national security legislation. Her counterpart, Hua Chunying, responded back with "I can't breathe", obviously a reference to Floyd's last words. Some people responded with "I can't tweet" and some have accused the government of using the same police brutality tactics that killed Floyd, with Chinese censors simply deleting the complaints. In Wuhan, where the outbreak first emerged, television shows and documentaries portrayed the response positively, as a heroic success taken care of by "warriors in white coats". Alexander Kekulé's theory of coronavirus-disease 2019 coming from Italy instead of Wuhan which was taken out of context has sparked Chinese propaganda newspapers following the narrative, with even one headline saying, "China is Innocent!" Kekulé himself says it is pure propaganda. State-owned outlets such as Xinhua and the People's Daily have blamed elderly deaths in Norway and Germany on COVID-19 vaccines, even though there is no scientific evidence, and have accused English media of downplaying it.
In 2020, propaganda from China has been controlled by state media and CCP-run outlets such as the nationalistic tabloid Global Times, which portray the handling of COVID-19 as a success. On 11 June 2020, Twitter announced that they deleted over 170,000 accounts tied to a Chinese-state linked operation because they were spreading false information about the COVID-19 pandemic. On 22 June 2020, the United States Department of State designated several Chinese state media outlets as foreign missions. In December 2020, an investigation by The New York Times and ProPublica revealed leaked internal documents showing the state's instructions to local media regarding the death of Li Wenliang. The documents address news organizations and social media platforms, ordering them to stop using push notifications, make no comment on the situation and control any discussion of the event happening in online spaces. The documents also address "local propaganda workers", demanding they steer online discussions away from anything that "seriously damages party and government credibility and attacks the political system". Pro-Chinese government spam networks also attempted to discredit U.S. vaccines.
On the 29th of April 2020, an animated video was posted on Twitter and YouTube, called Once Upon a Virus, used Lego figures to represent China through hospital workers and Lady Liberty representing America, was posted by Xinhua News Agency. The Lego Group, for their part, said they had nothing to do with the video in question. In the video, the hospital worker repeatedly warns the US about the outbreak, but they dismiss them, talking about lockdowns being a violation of human rights, or paywalls. By that point, Lady Liberty is hooked up to an IV and looks severely ill, and at the end, the US says "We are always correct, even when we contradict ourselves", and China responds with "That's what I love best about you Americans, your consistency". The Chinese government delayed warning the public about the outbreak, even as doctors tried to warn people via social media. The Associated Press reports "China's rigid controls on information, bureaucratic hurdles and a reluctance to send bad news up the chain of command muffled early warnings".
100th Anniversary of CCP
In 2021 the state orchestrated a propaganda and information control campaign to bolster the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party. Chinese state owned media claimed without evidence that the CIA was recruiting Chinese-speaking spies, an assertion which went viral in the Chinese internet. In 2021, the Ministry of Education of China announced that CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's socio-political policies and ideas would be included in the curriculum from primary school up to university level. The 4-volume Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era textbooks for primary, secondary and tertiary school students were subsequently introduced in the new school year in 2021, educators were instructed to "plant the seeds of loving the party, the country and socialism in young hearts". This has led to comparisons of the cults of personality cultivated by Xi Jinping and Mao Zedong.
Russian invasion of Ukraine
Further information: China and the Russian invasion of UkraineDuring the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Chinese diplomats, government agencies, and state-controlled media in China have adopted a sympathetic view of Russia, while emphasizing that the war was caused by the United States and NATO.
On the eve of the attack, Shimian, a digital outlet owned by newspaper Beijing News, accidentally posted an internal memo of the Chinese Cybersecurity Agency to media outlets. The outlets were told to "publish neither information favorable to the United States nor critiques of Russia", the media were also tasked to censor user comments and trend hashtags released by the three state-owned media, Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television (CCTV) and the People's Daily.
Xinhua, CCTV and Global Times often posted unverified news from Russian state-controlled network RT, that were later proven to be erroneous; examples of which were when Global Times posted a video saying that a large number of Ukrainian soldiers had surrendered, or when CCTV reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had fled Kyiv during the initial stages of the war. In the midst of the invasion, China Global Television Network (CGTN) interviewed Denis Pushilin, a Ukrainian separatist leader, who claimed that the "vast majority of citizens want to be as close to Russia as possible". CCTV also censored the live speech of Andrew Parsons, president of the International Paralympic Committee, during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Paralympics held in Beijing, as he condemned the war and called for diplomacy.
Besides official state media channels, private Chinese tech giants such as Tencent, Sina Weibo and ByteDance also amplified conspiracy theories created by Russian state media, such as the false claims of nefarious US biological weapons laboratories in Ukraine and propagating the notion that Ukrainian government consists of neo-Nazis and that the Ukrainian army were sabotaging their own nuclear plant. Chinese streaming platform iQiyi also cancelled the broadcast of the English Premiere League to avoid showing the football teams' support for Ukraine.
There were also numerous reports of censorship of anti-war comments by Chinese academics, celebrities and micro-influencers on social media.
Mechanics
Propaganda and censorship in China are centrally directed by CCP's Central Propaganda Department (CPD). David Shambaugh, American professor and sinologist, wrote in 2007 that the CCP's propaganda system extends itself as a sprawling bureaucratic establishment, into virtually every medium concerned with the dissemination of information. Shambaugh noted that according to the CCP publication Zhongguo Gongchandang jianshe dazidian. numerous public places, such as media and news organizations, educational institutions, literature and art centers, and cultural exhibitions come under CCP's propaganda oversight. Shambaugh believed that this expansive definition implies that every conceivable medium which transmits and conveys information to the people of China falls under bureaucratic purview of the CPD. Shambaugh stated that the writ of the CPD has remained unchanged since the Maoist era, although the mechanics of oversight and active censorship have undergone considerable evolution.
According to official government reports in 2003, channels of propaganda dissemination of the CPD included 2,262 television stations (of which 2,248 were "local"), 2,119 newspapers, 9,074 periodicals and 1,123 publishing houses, in addition to internal circulation papers and local gazetteers, approximately 68 million internet accounts with more than 100 million users, and more than 300 million mobile phone users who fall under the system's purview.
According to Brady, propaganda work by the CCP has been historically divided into two categories: directed towards Chinese people (internal or duinei) and directed towards foreigners and the outside world (external or duiwai) as well as four types: political, economic, cultural and social. The Central Propaganda Department oversees internal propaganda, and, the closely linked bureaucracy, The Office of Foreign Propaganda matters relating to external propaganda.
Shambaugh stated that the propaganda system, including the Central Propaganda Department, are highly secret and does not appear in officially published diagrams of the Chinese Bureaucratic System, whether in Chinese or in other languages. The Office of External Propaganda (OEP) itself is more commonly known as 'State Council Information Office' (SCIO), under the one institution with two names system, according to Brady.
The Central Propaganda Department has direct control over the National Radio and Television Administration. It additionally manages the China Media Group, which controls several of China's largest news agencies. In 2014, the OEP was absorbed into the larger Central Propaganda Department, turning the SCIO into an external nameplate of the department.
Control of media
Media operations and content are tightly controlled, and the CCP, primarily through its Central Propaganda Department, determines what appears in news reports. Controlling media content allows the CCP to disseminate propaganda supportive of government policies, censor controversial news stories, and have reports published criticizing political adversaries of the CCP. In 2005, Reporters Without Borders published a report about China's official news agency, the Xinhua News Agency, calling it "the world's biggest propaganda agency", and said that it was "at the heart of censorship and disinformation put in place" by the government.
The CPD weekly sends censorship guidelines to prominent editors and media providers and Chinese state media generally employ their own monitors for censorship. While in the past the Central Propaganda Department and its local branches sent faxes to all media throughout the country with instructions indicating subjects that the media should stress or avoid entirely, directives are now imparted to ranking media managers or editors during phone conversations—a move designed to reduce the paper trail. Media in China faces few restrictions on content that is not deemed to be politically damaging.
Wu Xuecan, a former editor of the People's Daily overseas edition, reports that through control of the "ideological domain, material means and living necessities," editors and reporters are conditioned to keep news and reports aligned with the interests of the CCP. Wu further reports that, political study sessions ensures that editors first practice self-censorship. He Qinglian writes that long years of media control have bred in Chinese journalists a habit of "self-discipline," and that most Chinese journalists resign themselves to playing the role of "Party mouthpieces." Control is also directed at sources of information, as ordinary people are restricted from providing news to Chinese media, and more so to foreign media.
Thought reform
Main article: Thought reform in ChinaPropaganda and thought work in the Maoist era had a number of distinctive features, according to Brady, such as "ideological remolding" or "thought reform", ideological purges, ritual humiliation of ideological opponents, an emphasis on political study to raise levels of awareness of the current line, and targeting high-profile individuals as symbols of negative tendencies which must be eradicated.
The experiences of propaganda and thought work in the Cultural Revolution provided the CCP with a "profound lesson," according to Brady. Virtually all post-Mao era CCP leaders had been under attack during that time, and drew two seemingly contradictory lessons: the rejection of mass movements and thought reform as means of transforming China, and the recognition of the "vital role of propaganda and thought work in China's political control." The administration of propaganda and thought work was plagued by these issues through the 1980s, and up to the events of 4 June 1989.
Biderman and Meyers wrote in 1968 that while some kind of thought reform is characteristic of all totalitarian regimes, the CCP "set about it more purposefully, more massively, and more intensively than have other ruling groups," including through employing known techniques in new ways. They note the presence of such techniques in Maoist political campaigns, such as daily meetings for criticism and self-criticism; surveillance and sanctions were connected with education to find and correct deficiencies in personal conducts. In the military, political leaders attacked all personal connections between soldiers that were not based on political conviction, thus exploiting social pressures and personal anxieties to build a sense of conformity.
In terms of intensity and scope, spiritual control has been reinforced under the CCP's rule, and has become a basic feature of citizens' daily life, according to Victor Shaw. To an extent, the "freedom of silence" cherished by some older Chinese scholars was not even possible for an illiterate peasant in a remote area under the CCP mass propaganda.
According to Shaw, the CCP utilizes propaganda to spread its policies, build social consensus, and mobilize the population for social programs. Ideological tensions result in mass movements, and the resulting spiritual control legitimizes the political establishment. "Political studies, legal education, heroic models, and thought reform provide the CCP with effective weapons to propagandize rules and legal codes, normalize individual behaviour, and rehabilitate deviants in labor camps."
Kurlantzick and Link stated that the CCP uses the technique of "thoughtwork" (sixiang gongzuo) to maintain popular obedience, dating back to the Mao Zedong era. They noted that while Mao-era campaigns are aimed at transforming the Chinese society and people's natures, the modern approach to thoughtwork are more subtle and only focuses on issues important to the CCP's rule. According to Kurlantzick and Link, it consists largely of cultivating pro-government views in the media and other influential people in Chinese society, and as such complaints against the government becomes distracted with pro-government propaganda. The government also attempts to distance itself from local issues by blaming them on corrupt local officials, says Kurlantzick and Link.
Public relations
Further information: Chinese information operations and information warfareAccording to Anne-Marie Brady, the Foreign Ministry first set up a system of designated officials to give information in times of crisis in 1983, and greatly expanded the system to lower levels in the mid-1990s. China's spin had been directed only at foreigners, but in the 1990s leaders realized that managing public crises was useful for domestic politics; this included setting up provincial level "News Coordinator Groups," and inviting foreign PR firms to give seminars.
Brady writes that Chinese foreign propaganda officials took cues from the Blair government's spin doctoring during the mad cow disease crisis of 2000–2001, and the Bush government's use of the U.S. media after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. According to her, the Blair model allows for a certain amount of negative coverage to be shown during a crisis, which is believed to help release some of the "social tension" surrounding it. She believes information managers in China used this approach during coal mining disasters of 2005. According to Brady, trained official spokespeople are now available on call in every central government ministry, as well as in local governments, to deal with emerging crises; these spin doctors are coordinated and trained by the Office of Foreign Propaganda, externally named the SCIO.
Instead of attempting a media blackout as with the 2008 Tibetan unrest, the CCP has adopted a series of more advanced techniques to influence the information leaving China. The day after violence in Ürümqi, the SCIO set up a Xinjiang Information Office in Ürümqi to assist foreign reporters. It invited foreign media to Xinjiang to tour the riot zones, visit hospitals, and look at the aftermath themselves. Journalists were also given CDs with photos and TV clips. "They try to control the foreign journalists as much as possible by using this more sophisticated PR work rather than ban them," according to academic Xiao Qiang, quoted by Newsweek.
Propaganda on the internet
Internet |
---|
An Opte Project visualization of routing paths through a portion of the Internet |
General |
Governance |
Information infrastructure |
Services |
History |
Guides |
Internet portal |
Traditionally, the CCP propaganda apparatus had been based around suppressing news and information, but this often meant the Party found itself in a reactive posture, according to Chinese media expert David Bandurski. In later years the internet played a key role in the spread of propaganda to Chinese diaspora. PRC-based Internet sites remain a leading source of Chinese-language and China-related news for overseas Chinese. The internet is an extremely effective tool for guiding and organizing overseas Chinese public opinion, according to Anne-Marie Brady.
Brady cites an example of the role of the internet in organizing popular protests by overseas Chinese, its usage by the state against a perceived bias of the Western media in its coverage of 2008 Tibetan unrest and, a month later, in organizing a series of worldwide demonstrations in support of China during the Olympic torch relay. Brady noted that these protests were genuine and popular, demonstrating the effectiveness of China's efforts to rebuild positive public opinion within the Chinese overseas diaspora, but the demonstrations nevertheless received official support both symbolically and in practice. While there was no compulsion for overseas Chinese to attend the rallies, those who did were given free T-shirts, souvenirs, transport, and accommodation, donated by local embassy officials and China-based donors.
50 Cent Party
Main article: 50 Cent Party See also: Internet Water ArmyThe Chinese government regularly uses fake social media accounts and posts to attempt to shape online dialogue and steer discussions away from sensitive topics. This is done by specially trained internet users who comment on blogs, public forums, or wikis, to shift the debate in favor of the CCP and influence public opinion. They are sometime called the "50-cent party" – named so because they are allegedly paid 50 Chinese cents for each comment supporting the CCP they make, though some speculate that they are probably not paid anything for the posts, instead being required to do so as a part of their official party duties.
An internal government document released by the BBC outlines the requirements for those employed as online posters, which include having "relatively good political and professional qualities, and have a pioneering and enterprising spirit", being able to react quickly, etc.
It is believed that such government-sponsored Internet commentators have now become widespread and their numbers could be in the tens of thousands; David Bandurski suggests the number may be up to 280,000 while The Guardian puts the estimate as 300,000. According to The Guardian, the growth in popularity of such astroturfing owes to the ease with which web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, Misplaced Pages and YouTube can be employed to sway public opinion. The BBC News reports that special centers have been set up to train China's 'army of internet spin doctors'. Data analysis of social media activity and leaked government emails by a team led by Gary King at Harvard's Institute for Quantitative Science showed that, in the mid-2010s, the Chinese government generated over 440 million posts every year through such accounts.
Misplaced Pages
Further information: 2021 Wikimedia Foundation actions on the Chinese Misplaced PagesOn 13 September 2021, the Wikimedia Foundation banned seven Misplaced Pages users and removed administrator privileges from twelve users that were part of Wikimedians of Mainland China (WMC). Maggie Dennis, the foundation's vice present of community resilience and sustainability, said that there had been an yearlong investigation into infiltration concerns. Dennis observed that the infiltrators had tried to promote "the aims of China, as interpreted through whatever filters they may bring to bear". Dennis said, “we needed to act based on credible information that some members (not all) of that group have harassed, intimidated, and threatened other members of our community, including in some cases physically harming others, in order to secure their own power and subvert the collaborative nature of our projects”.
Domestic propaganda
Within the doctrine of China's peaceful rise resorting to Peace Journalism has been analyzed as a growing trend in China's strategy for domestic propaganda, in particular in covering news from Xinjiang. After Zbigniew Brzezinski's having termed Central Asia the "Global Balkans" Idriss Aberkane has argued the resorting to unilateral, state-endorsed Peace Journalism could be a way for China to "de-balkanize" Xinjiang. This he has called "coercive Peace Journalism".
Peace journalism does not sell well because it typically proscribes the coverage of a conflict by news eliciting strong emotional reactions. Man becomes easily addicted to strong emotions and this has played a central role in peace journalism's failure at being adopted by mainstream media. On the other hand, mainstream media badly need (and compete with each other) to provide the strongest emotional value to their audience and this has become a vital part of their business model. Yet in China the media industry is not driven by returns on financial investments but by returns on political interests. Thus paradoxically promoting Peace Journalism is much easier for the PRC than say for countries of the European Union as in promoting a political agenda the former can afford to broadcast news with low emotional weight, especially in a non-competitive environment for its media industry.
The Chinese government has used its public evaluations of historical, public figures as a means of communicating to the Chinese public the traits and political goals that it considers desirable and undesirable. The Chinese government has historically tended towards evaluating public figures either as villains or heroes, leaving little room for interpretation and making it clear whether the traits and goals of individual figures should be emulated or despised. The public image of some figures, including Peng Dehuai, have undergone radical reverses throughout the history of the PRC, as required by CCP propagandists: Peng was portrayed as a subhuman villain during the Cultural Revolution; but, since 1978, has been evaluated as a nearly perfect Marxist, general, and public official.
By examining the qualities associated with public figures whose images have been manipulated to make those figures either exaggeratedly positive or exaggeratedly negative symbols, scholars have developed a number of assumptions about the traits and political goals generally desired by various PRC governments. Figures whose images have been manipulated to make them positive symbols will be portrayed as: coming from proletarian or semi-proletarian backgrounds; being courageous, fair, straightforward, and honest in their treatment of subordinates and superiors; leading a simple and frugal life; demonstrating great concern for the "masses"; achieving outstanding professional success; and, being impeccably loyal to the CCP and to the communist cause. Figures whose images have been manipulated to make them negative symbols will be portrayed as: coming from backgrounds which have exposed them to "bourgeoise" thoughts and attitudes; adhering to all or most historical attempts to oppose political figures in the PRC who later became powerful, which are also vilified; being professionally inept, only succeeding temporarily or appearing to succeed through trickery or deception; participating in "conspiracies" against the correct leadership of the CCP; cooperating with "foreign countries" (historically either the Soviet Union or the United States, depending on which is more threatening at the time); and, having numerous negative traits, such as opportunism or corruption. Usually, public figures will provide considerable examples of either positive or negative qualities, but will be made to fit either a positive or negative stereotype through exaggerating qualities which support the interpretation desired by the CCP, and by omitting from the historical narrative qualities which contradict the CCP's intended interpretation.
As part of the "Propaganda Teaching Team" (xuan jiang tuan), tens of thousands of CCP cadre routinely travel from China's urban areas to rural China to engage in xuanchuan activities at the grassroots level.
External propaganda
This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: This section does not address changes after Xi Jinping came to power in 2012. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (April 2024) |
The Chinese state refers to all media work abroad as wai xuan, or "external propaganda." Through its external propaganda operations, frequently directed by the CCP's United Front Work Department, China seeks to shape international perception of the Chinese government and its policies to "allay concerns about China's economic rise, military build-up and increasing political and diplomatic influence." Specifically by:
- Reducing fears that China is a threat to neighboring countries. China seeks to change its image within the region from that of a growing threat and aggressor to that of a benefactor and potential partner. Beijing is working to "diminish fears of China's future military power, or concerns that China's massive economic growth would divert trade and foreign investment from other nations."
- Securing access to resources and energy. As China's economy continues to grow at a rapid pace, the need for resources and energy has become more pressing. To protect its access to these resources, China is working to gain the trust of foreign states that possess oil, gas, and other materials.
- Building alliances and weaken Taiwan's relationship with the international community. In 1994, China announced that it would "use all economic and diplomatic resources to reward countries that are willing to isolate Taiwan." Through propaganda as well as economic incentives, China seeks to convince any nation that still recognizes Taiwan to switch their loyalty to Beijing and formally declare that Taiwan is part of China.
- Promoting a multipolar world and constrain U.S. global power. China seeks to slowly diminish the United States' influence in Asia, and create its own sphere of influence in Southeast Asia.
In a 2008 report, the U.S. State Department's International Security Advisory Board declared that China was in the midst of a "comprehensive strategic deception campaign," which was said to include "Psychological Warfare (propaganda, deception, and coercion), Media Warfare (manipulation of public opinion domestically and internationally), and Legal Warfare (use of 'legal regimes' to handicap the opponent in fields favorable to him)." On its official Chinese Web site, CCTV describes itself as "the mouthpiece of the Party and the government," and lists its main operations under the heading "propaganda situation," referring to new foreign-language channels as "reaching a new stage in external propaganda."
CCP propaganda themes
See also: Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party and Socialism with Chinese characteristicsFormer CCP leader Deng Xiaoping advised Chinese leadership to "hide your capabilities, and bide your time." Most modern Chinese foreign propaganda seeks to pursue China's strategic goals while adhering to this advice. The following themes were stated by Zheng Bijian to be characteristic of China's foreign propaganda prior to Xi Jinping:
- China seeks a peaceful rise. In other words, "China is not a threat." As it industrializes, China does not seek to rival other nations for resources. It also seeks to industrialize without high amounts of pollution, energy consumption, and investment.
- China does not seek hegemony. "Instead, China will transcend ideological differences to strive for peace, development, and cooperation with all countries of the world." China "advocates a new international political and economic order, one that can be achieved through incremental reforms and the democratization of international relations."
- The CCP is evolving and is no longer an authoritarian regime. China's government has evolved from the days of Mao Zedong. It is no longer a strict, authoritarian style Communist/Maoist system, but is democratizing. The CCP seeks to "transcend outdated modes of social control and to construct a harmonious socialist society."
- China does not view the United States as a strategic adversary. Instead, "Beijing wants Washington to play a positive role in the region's security as well as economic affairs."
External propaganda efforts have since shifted to denigrating liberal democracy and stoking anti-American sentiment.
Instruments
The PRC uses many tactics and techniques to disseminate its propaganda themes abroad. China uses its news and media outlets, which are directly influenced by various state organizations (and ultimately the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP), to relay news stories consistent with these themes to foreign audiences. In 2009, reports emerged that China intends to invest US$6.6 billion to expand its foreign language news service. This includes plans for a 24-hour English-language news network to discuss world affairs from Beijing's point of view. A 2015 investigative report by Reuters found a network of at least 33 radio stations in 14 countries that obscures China Radio International (CRI) as its majority shareholder. A significant portion of the programming on these stations is either produced or provided by CRI, or by media firms CRI controls in the United States, Australia, and Europe.
International communication centers
This paragraph is an excerpt from International communication center. International communication centers (ICC, Chinese: 国际传播中心) are state media institutions established by provinces and municipalities of the People's Republic of China. They operate under the supervision of the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party, with state media outlets such as China Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and China News Service providing infrastructure and serving as a partner to many. The first ICCs were established in 2018 in response to General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party Xi Jinping's call to "innovate" foreign-directed propaganda. According to Qiushi, the theoretical journal of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), ICCs are "developed based on local propaganda needs" and aim to be a "new force" in the country's global propaganda ecosystem.Generative artificial intelligence
Spamouflage, an online disinformation and propaganda campaign of the Ministry of Public Security, has used news anchors created with generative artificial intelligence to deliver fake news clips.
Soft power initiative
Further information: Soft power of ChinaSince 2005, CCP General Secretary Hu Jintao has promoted a "soft power initiative" aimed at increasing China's influence overseas through cultural and language programs. These trends have been identified by the American Council of Foreign Relations, which describes that "Beijing is trying to convince the world of its peaceful intentions, secure the resources it needs to continue its soaring economic growth, and isolate Taiwan." The article points out that adverse effects of soft power, that "China has the potential to become the 600-pound gorilla in the room," and that "Chinese influence may begin to breed resentment."
The CCP Politburo Standing Committee members Li Changchun and Liu Yunshan have repeatedly stressed that Chinese propaganda should be equally spread both domestically and internationally, and Li Changchun stated that the Confucius Institutes are "an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world", which is "part of China's foreign propaganda strategy".
The Economist noted that Confucius Institutes are used to project China's soft power and win the support of an external audience, and Confucius was specifically chosen to cast an image of peace and harmony. Such centers are partially sponsored by the Chinese government, with a hands-off approach to management, its directors being directly appointed by their attached universities.
In 2009, Chinese state media launched the English-language version of the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid under the auspices of the People's Daily. It was described as a part of a larger push by the Chinese government to have a greater say in international media, as well as supplanting what it considers to be biased Western media sources.
In early 2011, the Chinese government launched a million dollar advertising campaign, which was aimed to improve the "incomplete understandings" the American public has about China. A 60-second ad was shown at New York's Times Square, which featured Chinese personalities such as scientist Sun Jiadong, singer Liu Huan and news anchor Jing Yidan, ending with the message of "Chinese Friendship". Newsweek noted the ad's great production values, but criticized it as confusing and explaining little about the featured Chinese identities. China scholar David Shambaugh, a professor at George Washington University, says that "the scale of Beijing’s push is unprecedented" and estimates that "China spends $10bn a year on external propaganda".
Since 2018, provincial and municipal-level international communication centers (ICCs) have been established to "innovate" foreign-directed propaganda. Each ICC has tended to take on a specific geographic area of focus for its propaganda initiatives.
Propaganda in the arts
As in the Soviet Union, the CCP under Mao Zedong took socialist realism as its basis for art, making clear its goal was the 'education' of the people in CCP ideology. This included, as during the Cultural Revolution, transforming literature and art to serve these ends. Pre-revolutionary songs and operas were banned as a poisonous legacy of the past. Middle and high schools were targeted by one campaign because the students circulated romance and love stories among themselves.
Maoist propaganda art has been remade and modernized for almost two decades, and old Cultural Revolution era propaganda productions have appeared in new formats such as DVDs and karaoke versions. They appear in rock and pop versions of revolutionary songs in praise of Mao, as well as T-shirts, watches, porcelain, and other memorabilia. The works of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution have been selling extremely well in recent years, largely for nostalgia, social, patriotic or entertainment purposes.
Propaganda songs and music, such as guoyue and revolutionary opera, have a long and storied history in the PRC, featuring prominently in the popular culture of the 1950s to the 1970s. Many of these songs were collected and performed as modern rock adaptations for several albums that were released during the 1990s, including Red Rock and Red Sun: Mao Zedong Praise Songs New Revolutionary Medley. The latter sold 6–10 million copies in China. Most of the older songs praise Mao, the CCP, the 1949 revolution, the Chinese Red Army and the People's Liberation Army, the unity of the ethnic groups of China, and the various ethnic groups' devotion to Mao and the CCP.
In recent times, films and documentaries such as Silent Contest, Amazing China, The Founding of a Party, Republic and Army has become the new staple of Chinese propaganda, known as "main melody" films.
Famous propaganda works
Novel
Red Crag, a famous 1961 Chinese novel featuring underground CCP agents fighting an espionage battle against the Kuomintang.
Sculpture
Rent Collection Courtyard, a 1965 sculpture depicting former landlord Liu Wencai as an evil landlord collecting rent from poor, although this depiction has been disputed by modern accounts.
Films and plays
- Battle on Shangganling Mountain, a 1956 Chinese war film also known as Shangganling Battle (Chinese: 上甘岭战役), depicting the Battle of Triangle Hill during the Korean War.
- The East Is Red, a 1965 song and dance film performed in the People's Great Hall depicting the history of China from the Boxer Rebellion to the Chinese Communist Revolution.
- The Battle at Lake Changjin, a 2021 film set during the Korean War about Chinese troops defeating American troops. It is the second highest-grossing film of 2021 worldwide, behind Spider-Man: No Way Home and ahead of No Time to Die and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
- The Eight model plays (八个样板戏), revolutionary themed operas and ballets, were the only ones allowed to be performed during the Cultural Revolution.
- Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy (智取威虎山), a play about CCP soldiers infiltrating a bandit camp during the Chinese Civil War.
- The Legend of the Red Lantern (红灯记), a play based on the activities of the CCP resistance against Japan in Hulin during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
- Red Detachment of Women (红色娘子军), a pre-Cultural Revolution-era play, later extolled during the Cultural Revolution, about the women of Hainan Island who rose up in resistance on behalf of the CCP
- The White Haired Girl (白毛女), a play exploring the miseries of China peasants in 1930's China.
Songs
Main page: Category:Chinese patriotic songsThe titles of some of the more well-known propaganda songs are as follows:
- "Nanniwan" (《南泥湾》/《南泥灣》), a 1943 revolutionary song
- "The East is Red" (《东方红》/《東方紅》), the de facto national anthem of the PRC during the Cultural Revolution
- "Socialism is Good" (《社会主义好》), a modern rock adaptation of which was performed by Zhang Qu and featured on the 1990s album Red Rock.
- "Battle Hymn of the Chinese People's Volunteers" (《中国人民志愿军战歌》/《中國人民志願軍戰歌》) – a well-known song from the Korean War period
- "Red Sun Shining Over the Border" (《红太阳照边疆》/《紅太陽照邊疆》) – a song from the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province
- "A Wa People Sing New Songs" (阿佤唱新歌曲) – a song attributed to the Wa ethnic minority of Yunnan
- "Laundry Song" (《洗衣歌》) – a song celebrating the liberation of Tibet
- "Liuyang River" (《浏阳河》) – a song about a river near Mao Zedong's hometown of Shaoshan in Hunan
- "Saliha Most Follows the Words of Chairman Mao" (《萨利哈听毛主席的话》/《薩利哈最聽毛主席的話》) – a song attributed to the Kazakh minority of the Xinjiang
- "The Never-Setting Sun Rises Over the Grassland" (《草原上升起不落的太阳》/草原上升起不落的太陽 – ) from Inner Mongolia
- "Xinjiang is Good" (新疆好) – attributed to the ethnic Uyghurs of Xinjiang
- "I Love Beijing Tiananmen" (《我爱北京天安门》/《我愛北京天安門》) – claimed to have been translated into over 50 languages, this song is frequently taught to schoolchildren in the PRC
- "Zhuang Brocade Dedicated to Chairman Mao" (莊錦獻給毛主席) – a song attributed to the Zhuang ethnic minority of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
- "Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Blooms With the Arrival of Happiness"(《桂花开放幸福来》) (attributed to the Miao, or Chinese Hmong, ethnic minority group)
- "Generations Remember Chairman Mao's Kindness"(《世世代代铭记毛主席的恩情》) (a song celebrating the "liberation of the ethnic Xibe people")
- "Salaam Chairman Mao" (《萨拉姆毛主席》/《薩拉姆毛主席》) – a Xinjiang song praising Mao, composed by Wang Luobin. A modern version was performed by Chinese rock singer Dao Lang.
- "Song of Mount Erlangshan" (《歌唱二郎山》) – a 1950s song celebrating the development of Tibet, which made Mount Erlangshan in western Sichuan famous
- "Story of the Spring" (春天的故事) – a song performed by Dong Wenhua, initially at the 1997 CCTV New Year's Gala, days before his death, dedicated to late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping
- "The Cultural Revolution is Just Great" (《无产阶级文化大革命就是好》/《無產階級文化大革命就是好》) – a song praising the Cultural Revolution
- "On the Golden Mountains of Beijing" (北京的金山上) – a song attributed to the Tibetan people praising Mao as the shining sun
- "Ode to the Socialist Motherland" (《歌唱社会主义祖国》/《歌唱社會主義祖國》) – the Cultural Revolution-era modification of the well-known patriotic song "Ode to the Motherland" (《歌唱祖国》/《歌唱祖國》).
- "Where are you going, Uncle Kurban?" (库尔班大叔您上哪儿) – a song attributed to a Uyghur elder named Kurban Tulum (also known as Uncle Kurban) praising People's Liberation Army.
Most of the songs listed above are no longer used as propaganda by the CCP, but are exhibited in China as a means of reviving popular nostalgia for the "old times".
References
Citations
- ^ Brady, Anne-Marie (2006). "Guiding Hand: The Role of the CCP Central Propaganda Department in the Current Era". Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture. 1 (3): 58–77. doi:10.16997/wpcc.15.
- ^ Shambaugh, David (January 2007). "China's Propaganda System: Institutions, Processes and Efficacy". China Journal. 57 (57): 25–58. doi:10.1086/tcj.57.20066240. JSTOR 20066240. S2CID 140932475.
- ^ Mitter, Rana (2003). Nicholas J. Cull; David Colbert; David Welch (eds.). Entry on "China" in Propaganda and Mass Persuasion: A Historical Encyclopedia, 1500 to the Present. ABC-ClIO. pp. 73–77. ISBN 9781576078204. OCLC 51779499.
- ^ Link, Perry; Kurlantzick, Joshua (25 May 2009). "China's Modern Authoritarianism". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- DeFrancis, John, ed. (2003). ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary. University of Hawaii Press. pp. 1087, 124.
- Edney, Kingsley (2014). The Globalization of Chinese Propaganda. New York: Palgrave Macmillan US. pp. 22–24, 195. doi:10.1057/9781137382153. ISBN 978-1-349-47990-0.
- ^ Li, Jie (2023). Cinematic Guerillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231206273.
- Qian, Ying (2024). Revolutionary Becomings: Documentary Media in Twentieth-Century China. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231204477.
- Ge, Hong (1966). Alchemy, Medicine, Religion in the China of A.D. 320. Translated by Ware, James. Cambridge, Mass., & London. p. 231. ISBN 9780262230223.
- Wang, Frances Yaping (2024). The Art of State Persuasion: China's Strategic Use of Media in Interstate Disputes. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197757512.
- Translations from John DeFrancis, ed. (2003), ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary, University of Hawaii Press, p. 1087.
- ^ Lin, Chunfeng (2023). Red Tourism in China: Commodification of Propaganda. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003231783. ISBN 9781032139609. S2CID 253659539.
- Šebok, Filip (2023). "Social Control and Propaganda". In Kironska, Kristina; Turscanyi, Richard Q. (eds.). Contemporary China: a New Superpower?. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-03-239508-1.
- Shambaugh, David (January 2007). "Propaganda System: Institutions, Processes and Efficacy China's" (PDF). The China Journal. 57: 25–58. doi:10.1086/tcj.57.20066240. S2CID 222814073. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
- Kipnis, Andrew B. (January 1995). "Within and Against Peasantness: Backwardness and Filiality in Rural China". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 37 (1): 110–135. doi:10.1017/S0010417500019563. ISSN 0010-4175. S2CID 144272199.
- Mackinnon, Stephen R. (January 1997). "Toward a History of the Chinese Press in the Republican Period". Modern China. 23 (1): 3–32. doi:10.1177/009770049702300101. ISSN 0097-7004. JSTOR 189462. S2CID 148316475.
- Schoenhals, Michael (2008). "Abandoned or Merely Lost in Translation?". Inner Asia. 10 (1): 113–130. doi:10.1163/000000008793066777. ISSN 1464-8172. JSTOR 23615059.
- Brady, Anne-Marie (2008). Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 73. ISBN 978-0-7425-4057-6. OCLC 968245349. Archived from the original on 8 March 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- Edney, Kingsley (2014). The Globalization of Chinese Propaganda: International Power and Domestic Political Cohesion. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 24. doi:10.1057/9781137382153. ISBN 978-1-349-47990-0.
- Teiwes, Frederick C. (1993). "1,2". Politics and Purges in China: Rectification and the Decline of Party Norms, 1950-65 (2nd ed.). Armonk: M. E. Sharpe. ISBN 978-1563242274. OCLC 925200696.
- Solomon, Richard H. (1971). Mao's Revolution and the Chinese Political Culture. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-02250-8. OCLC 916968066.
- Schurmann, Franz (1968). Ideology and Organization in Communist China (2d ed., enlarged ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-01151-1. OCLC 174950.
- ^ Brady, Anne-Marie (2008). Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 1. ISBN 978-0742540576. OCLC 968245349.
- Simpson, Tim (2023). Betting on Macau: Casino Capitalism and China's Consumer Revolution. Globalization and Community series. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 978-1-5179-0031-1.
- ^ Laikwan, Pang (2024). One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. doi:10.1515/9781503638822. ISBN 9781503638815.
- ^ Minami, Kazushi (2024). People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501774157.
- Landsberger, Stefan R. (2010), Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages., archived from the original on 27 September 2020, retrieved 3 April 2010
- Santos, Gonçalo (2021). Chinese Village Life Today: Building Families in an Age of Transition. Seattle: University of Washington Press. ISBN 978-0-295-74738-5.
- April Rabkin (1 August 2008). "→Beijing Olympic Games all about China, Chinese Leaders keen to impress, inspire their own people". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- Gardner, Dinah (25 August 2008). "China's Olympic legacy". Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
- Hutcheon, Stephen (15 September 2008). "Was China's milk scandal hushed up?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 July 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Spencer, Richard (15 September 2008). "China accused over contaminated baby milk". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Barboza, David (23 September 2008). "China Says Complaints About Milk Began in 2007". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 29 January 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Bequelin, Nicholas (30 January 2009). "China's New Propaganda Machine". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived from the original on 16 November 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- "Chinese city of 30m ordered to sing 'red songs'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 20 April 2011. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- http://politics.gmw.cn/2011-04/20/content_1864216.htm Archived 23 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine 重庆要求组织干部群众集中传唱《走向复兴》等36首红歌 |http://www.gmw.cn 2011-04-20 Archived 17 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine 20:32:38
- "'Red Songs' fuels Chinese politician's ambitions". Fox News. Associated Press. 27 March 2015. Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Branigan, Tania (22 April 2011). "Red songs ring out in Chinese city's new cultural revolution". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Denyer, Simon (25 October 2017). "China's Xi Jinping unveils his top party leaders, with no successor in sight". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 13 August 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
Censorship has been significantly stepped up in China since Xi took power.
- Economy, Elizabeth (29 June 2018). "The great firewall of China: Xi Jinping's internet shutdown". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
Before Xi Jinping, the internet was becoming a more vibrant political space for Chinese citizens. But today the country has the largest and most sophisticated online censorship operation in the world.
- Zhuang, Pinghui (19 February 2016). "China's top party mouthpieces pledge 'absolute loyalty' as president makes rare visits to newsrooms". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2022.
- ^ Buckley, Chris (21 March 2018). "China Gives Communist Party More Control Over Policy and Media". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- "三台合一, 发出更强"中国之声"" [Merge of Three Stations into One, Sending Out a Stronger "Voice of China"]. People's Daily. 22 March 2018. Archived from the original on 10 September 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
- ^ Zhang, Angela Huyue (2024). High Wire: How China Regulates Big Tech and Governs Its Economy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780197682258.
- ^ Qin, Amy (5 April 2021). "China Tries to Counter Xinjiang Backlash With ... a Musical?". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Xiao, Eva (2 April 2021). "Facebook Staff Fret Over China's Ads Portraying Happy Muslims in Xinjiang". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
Beijing is beating back international criticism of its treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang with a propaganda push on Facebook, Twitter and the big screen.
- ^ Brouwer, Joseph (6 April 2021). "Propaganda Films Attempt to Cloak Xinjiang in Disinformation". China Digital Times. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Kim, Jo (16 December 2019). "Why China's Xinjiang Propaganda Fails". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Griffiths, James (17 April 2021). "From cover-up to propaganda blitz: China's attempts to control the narrative on Xinjiang". CNN. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
- Dorman, Mark; Stephen, Hutcheon; Dylan, Welch; Taylor, Kyle (31 October 2018). "China's frontier of fear". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Shepherd, Christian (2 April 2021). "China intensifies Xinjiang propaganda push as global backlash grows". The Financial Times. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ "Xinjiang's TikTok wipes away evidence of Uyghur persecution". Rappler. Coda Story. Archived from the original on 8 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Cockerell, Isobel (19 September 2020). "Welcome to TikTok's sanitized version of Xinjiang". Rappler. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Niewenhuis, Lucas (2 April 2021). "How will Facebook deal with Beijing's propaganda on Xinjiang?". SupChina. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Fifeld, Anna (27 November 2019). "TikTok's owner is helping China's campaign of repression in Xinjiang, report finds". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 28 November 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Borak, Marsha. "ByteDance says TikTok and Douyin are different, but they face similar criticisms". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- ^ Qin, Amy (1 April 2021). "BBC Correspondent Leaves China, Citing Growing Risks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 15 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Tarabay, Jamie (4 March 2021). "China's BBC Attacks Show Growing Sophistication, Group Says". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 19 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Yan, Sophia (4 March 2021). "China using Big Tech firms to attack BBC in state propaganda campaign, says report". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
- ^ Sudworth, John (2 April 2021). "'The grim reality of reporting in China that pushed me out'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Sudworth, John (31 March 2021). "BBC journalist John Sudworth flees China after state harassment campaign". The Times of London. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- "RTÉ reporter in Beijing flees China with husband after threats". The Irish Times. 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Gallagher, Ryan (19 August 2019). "Twitter Helped Chinese Government Promote Disinformation on Repression of Uyghurs". The Intercept. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Borak, Masha (5 December 2019). "New swarm of pro-China Twitter bots spreads disinformation about Xinjiang". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Mac, Ryan. "These New Facebook Ads From Chinese State Media Want You To Believe Xinjiang's Muslim Internment Camps Are Just Great". Buzzfeed News. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- Xiao, Bang (7 April 2021). "Uyghur community leaders in Australia appalled and outraged the government allowed a Chinese Communist Party propaganda parade". ABC News (Australia). Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
- "China launches musical in bid to counter Uyghur abuse allegations". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 3 April 2021. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- Jordan, Zoe. "Xinjiang Cotton and the Shift in China's Censorship Approach". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ Tiezzi, Shannon. "What Do Chinese People Think Is Happening in Xinjiang?". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 31 May 2021.
- Kang, Dake (20 May 2021). "Chinese authorities order video denials by Uyghurs of abuses". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- Maçães, Bruno (3 April 2020). "China Wants to Use the Coronavirus to Take Over the World". National Review. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- Rogin, Josh (18 March 2020). "China's coronavirus propaganda campaign is putting lives at risk". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 19 March 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- Kim, Jo (5 May 2020). "The Chinese People Step up to Enforce China's Nationalist Propaganda". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 6 May 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- "As Trump Blames China, Beijing Directs Fury at His Top Diplomat". Bloomberg News. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- Ruwitch, John (3 June 2020). "In George Floyd Protests, China Sees A Powerful Propaganda Opportunity". NPR. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- Wang, Vivian (6 November 2020). "As China's Propaganda Push Continues, Wuhan Emerges as a Star". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- Hernandez, Javier (6 December 2020). "China Peddles Falsehoods to Obscure Origin of Covid Pandemic". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
- Hui, Mary (21 January 2021). "China's vaccine diplomacy has an aggressive anti-vax element". Quartz. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- Roberts, Jeff (30 March 2020). "China's coronavirus propaganda has shifted dramatically, report finds". Fortune. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- Miller, Maggie (11 June 2020). "Twitter deletes over 170,000 accounts tied to Chinese propaganda efforts". The Hill. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
- Fox, Ben (22 June 2020). "U.S. moves to restrict Chinese media outlets as 'propaganda'". PBS Newshour. Archived from the original on 22 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
- Zhong, Raymond; Mozur, Paul; Krolik, Aaron; Kao, Jeff (19 December 2020). "Leaked Documents Show How China's Army of Paid Internet Trolls Helped Censor the Coronavirus". ProPublica. Archived from the original on 19 December 2020. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- Glaun, Dan (4 February 2021). "Chinese Spam Network Aims to Discredit U.S. COVID Vaccine". Frontline. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
- Timsit, Annabelle (2 May 2020). "A Chinese propaganda video mocks America's response to the coronavirus crisis". Quartz. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- Cook, Sarah. "Reading Between the Lines of the CCP's Centennial Propaganda Blitz". The Diplomat. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
- "Analysis: China's propaganda machine is intensifying its 'people's war' to catch American spies". CNN. 18 October 2021. Archived from the original on 16 January 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2022.
- ^ "China's kids get schooled in 'Xi Jinping thought'". France 24. 1 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "China's students are getting new school textbooks — and they reveal a lot about where China is headed". ABC News. 24 November 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "China schools: 'Xi Jinping Thought' introduced into curriculum". BBC News. 25 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "Xi Jinping Thought, for children". The Economist. 2 September 2021. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "China blames NATO for pushing Russia-Ukraine tension to 'breaking point'". Reuters. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Zhou, Maria Repnikova, Wendy (11 March 2022). "What China's Social Media Is Saying About Ukraine". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Kroll, Andy (2 March 2022). "China's Propaganda Machine Gears Up for Putin -- and Blames America for the Invasion". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Liu, Tracy Wen. "China's Propaganda Over Ukraine Is Shifting and Uncertain". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 6 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- White, Edward; Lin, Andy; Mitchell, Tom (26 February 2022). "Don't mention the invasion: China spins Russia's war in Ukraine". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 7 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Feng, John (23 February 2022). "China censors appear to ban anti-Russia media content on Ukraine invasion". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Yuan, Li (4 March 2022). "How China Embraces Russian Propaganda and Its Version of the War". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ "China's media echoes Russia on Ukraine war". CNA. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Young, Oliver (12 March 2022). "Chinese State Media Reinforces Russian Disinformation About War in Ukraine". China Digital Times. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Robinson, Jonathan Cheng and Joshua (4 March 2022). "China Censors Paralympics Opening Ceremony, Premier League Over Ukraine". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 5 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- White, Edward (11 March 2022). "China's tech platforms become propaganda tools in Putin's war". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Langley, William; White, Edward (14 March 2022). "China backs Russian allegations about US biological weapons". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "China Pushes Conspiracy Theory About U.S. Labs in Ukraine". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Haime, Jordyn. "China adopts Russia's 'denazification' myth to rationalize invasion of Ukraine". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 10 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
Official Chinese news sites have published baseless claims in recent articles claiming that the United States trained Ukrainian neo-Nazis to destabilize Hong Kong during protests there in 2019.
- ^ "In China, a battle for public opinion over Ukraine pits facts against propaganda". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- "Ukraine: How China is censoring online discussion of the war". BBC News. 12 March 2022. Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Frater, Patrick (9 March 2022). "Chinese Streamer iQiyi Seeks Funding as it Blocks Ukraine Coverage, Courts Controversy Over Korean Drama". Variety. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- Liy, Macarena Vidal (14 March 2022). "Russia's propaganda campaign around the war in Ukraine reaches China". EL PAÍS English Edition (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Xu, Beina; Albert, Eleanor (17 February 2017). "Media Censorship in China". Council on Foreign Relations. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
- Zhongguo Gongchandang jianshe dazidian 1921–1991 (An Encyclopedia on the Building of the CCP). Chengdu: Sichuan Renmin Chubanshe, 1992. p. 676.
- National Bureau of Statistics of China, China Statistical Yearbook 2004. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2004. pp. 844–46, 853.
- Xiao, Qiang (2005). China's State Control Mechanisms and Methods (PDF). Washington: U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. OCLC 60931696. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Buckley, Chris (21 March 2018). "China Gives Communist Party More Control Over Policy and Media". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- Lulu, Jichang; Jirouš, Filip; Lee, Rachel (25 January 2021). "Xi's centralisation of external propaganda: SCIO and the Central Propaganda Department" (PDF). Sinopsis. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2021. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
- ^ Esarey, Ashley (31 July 2007). "Access to Information in the People's Republic of China" presented before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission".
- "Xinhua: the world's biggest propaganda agency". Reporters Without Borders. 30 September 2005. Archived from the original on 23 March 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- ^ Xuecan, Wu. "Turning Everyone into a Censor: The Chinese Communist Party's All- Directional Control over the Media" (PDF).
- ^ Qinglian, He (2004). The Fog of Censorship: Media Control in China (PDF). OCLC 263802627.
- Meyers, Samuel M. and Albert D Biderman. Mass behaviour in battle and captivity: The communist soldier in the Korean war. (1968), Chicago University Press. p.99
- ^ Shaw, Victor N (1996). Social Control in China: A Study of Chinese Work Units. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. ISBN 978-0-275-95599-1. OCLC 34078426.
- Hennock, Mary (6 July 2009). "Uighur Riots Teach China to Spin". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
- ^ Bandurski, David (7 July 2008). "FEER: "China's Guerrilla War for the Web"". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
- ^ Brady, Anne-Marie China's Propaganda and Perception Management Efforts, Its Intelligence Activities that Target the United States, and the Resulting Impacts on U.S. National Security Archived 2 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine, U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission, 30 April 2009
- ^ Gallagher, Sean (13 June 2016). "Red astroturf: Chinese government makes millions of fake social media posts". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 13 June 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
- ^ Bristow, Michael (16 December 2008). "China's internet 'spin doctors'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2010.
- Fareed, Malik (22 September 2008). "China joins a turf war". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
- King, Gary; Pan, Jennifer; Roberts, Margaret E. (August 2017). "How the Chinese Government Fabricates Social Media Posts for Strategic Distraction, Not Engaged Argument". American Political Science Review. 111 (3): 484–501. doi:10.1017/S0003055417000144. ISSN 0003-0554.
- ^ Harrison, Stephen (26 October 2021). "Why Misplaced Pages Banned Several Chinese Admins". Slate. Archived from the original on 27 October 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- "Misplaced Pages blames pro-China infiltration for bans". BBC News. 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
- ^ Aberkane, I. J. "Yin of Yang? China and the Muslim World" E-International Relations, 29 April 2011 | http://www.e-ir.info/?p=8455 Archived 26 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- Brzezinski, Zbigniew (2004). The Choice: Global Domination or Global Leadership. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-00800-3. OCLC 53170328.
- ^ Domes, Jürgen (1985). P'eng Te-huai: The Man and the Image. Stanford University Press. pp. 147–148. ISBN 978-0-8047-1303-0.
- Newmyer, Jacqueline (30 April 2009). "China's Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Impacts on U.S. National Security" (PDF). United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. p. 83. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Kurlantzick, Joshua (2007). Charm Offensive. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-13628-9.
- ^ Mitchell, Derek J (2007). "China and the Developing World" (PDF). The China Balance Sheet in 2007 and Beyond. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 February 2011. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- Anderson, Eric C; Engstrom, Jeffrey G (2009). China's Use of Perception Management and Strategic Deception. United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission. OCLC 765544963. Archived from the original on 28 July 2024. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- Brookes, Peter (13 April 2011). "Hearing on "China's Foreign Policy: Challenges and Actors"" (PDF). U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- ^ Bijian, Zheng (September–October 2005). "China's "Peaceful Rise" to Great-Power Status". Foreign Affairs. 84 (5): 18–24. doi:10.2307/20031702. JSTOR 20031702. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- Hsu, Tiffany; Myers, Steven Lee (1 April 2024). "China's Advancing Efforts to Influence the U.S. Election Raise Alarms". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
China's efforts to advance its ideology in the West struggled to gain traction, first as it pushed its official propaganda about the superiority of its culture and economy and later as it began denigrating democracy and stoking anti-American sentiment.
- Polumbaum, Judy (30 April 2009). "China's Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Imacts on U.S. National Security" (PDF). Hearing Before the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- Brookes, Peter (30 April 2009). "China's Propaganda and Influence Operations, Its Intelligence Activities That Target the United States, and the Resulting Imacts on U.S. National Security" (PDF). Hearing Before the U.S-China Economic and Security Review Commission. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 15 November 2012.
- Shiffman, John; Gui Qing, Koh. "Beijing's covert radio network airs China-friendly news across Washington, and the world". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- Thorne, Devin (10 December 2024). "China's Propaganda Expansion: Inside the Rise of International Communication Centers (ICCs)" (PDF). Recorded Future. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- Bandurski, David (4 July 2024). "China Starts Influence Ranking for Cities". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 6 July 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
China Daily is a critical and well-funded layer of the country's international communication array. It seems to be serving as a media partner for many newly-created ICCs, particularly at the city level, where there may be less media savvy, and fewer resources, to handle external communication.
- Colville, Alex (4 December 2024). "Telling Zhejiang's Story". China Media Project. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- Fang, Shu (2024), Chang, Lu; de Araujo, Gabriel Antunes; Shi, Lei; Zhang, Qian (eds.), "Localization and Globalization, the Complexities and Strategies of Establishing Local International Communication Centers in China", Proceedings of the 2024 8th International Seminar on Education, Management and Social Sciences (ISEMSS 2024), Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, vol. 867, Paris: Atlantis Press, pp. 573–579, doi:10.2991/978-2-38476-297-2_72, ISBN 978-2-38476-296-5
- Yang, Lin (21 June 2024). "Cities, provinces across China join global propaganda push". Voice of America. Retrieved 6 December 2024.
- Milmo, Dan; Hawkins, Amy (18 May 2024). "How China is using AI news anchors to deliver its propaganda". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
- ^ Pan, Esther. "China's Soft Power Initiative". Archived from the original on 8 May 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
- Wachter, Will (24 May 2007). "The language of Chinese soft power in the US". Asia Times. Archived from the original on 25 May 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- "A message from Confucius: New ways of projecting soft power". The Economist. 24 October 2009. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- Tejada, Carlos (20 April 2009). "A New English-Language Paper Extends China's Media Reach". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- Stone Fish, Isaac (19 January 2011). "Official Chinese Media Campaign Falls Short". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- Smyth, Jamie. "China's $10bn propaganda push spreads Down Under". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
- Colville, Alex (4 December 2024). "Telling Zhejiang's Story". China Media Project. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- Bandurski, David (5 October 2023). "Reading China's Media Counter-Attack". China Media Project. Archived from the original on 9 October 2023. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
- ^ Lu, Shu (2007). When Huai Flowers Bloom: Stories of the Cultural Revolution. State University of New York Press. doi:10.1353/book5242. ISBN 978-0-7914-7941-4. S2CID 133953005.
- ^ Mittler, Barbara (2008). "Popular Propaganda? Art and Culture in Revolutionary China". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 152 (4): 466–489. ISSN 0003-049X. JSTOR 40541604.
- Gunde, Richard. (2002) Culture and Customs of China. Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-30876-4
- Rethinking Cultural Revolution Culture Archived 28 July 2005 at the Wayback Machine, Audio-Visual Accompaniment to the Exhibit: "Picturing Power: Art and Propaganda in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) A Multi-Media Exhibition Held at Universitätsmuseum Heidelberg, 31.1.-28.2.2001
- Pulver, Andrew (1 November 2013). "Chinese propaganda film accuses US of trying to overthrow ruling communists". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
- "2021 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
- "The Chinese film beating Bond and Marvel at the box office - BBC News". BBC News. 16 October 2021. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
Sources
Library resources aboutPropaganda in China
- Min, Anchee, Duo, Duo, Landsberger, Stefan R., Chinese Propaganda Posters, Taschen (Bibliotheca Universalis series), 608 pages. ISBN 9783836557474.
- Wolf, Michael Chinese Propaganda Posters: From the Collection of Michael Wolf, 2003, ISBN 3-8228-2619-7.
- Harriet Evans, Stephanie Donald (eds.), Picturing Power in the People's Republic of China, ISBN 0-8476-9511-5.
- Stefan Landsberger, Chinese Propaganda Posters: From Revolution to Reform, ISBN 90-5496-009-4.
- Hunter, Edward. Brain-washing in Red China: the calculated destruction of men's minds. New York, NY: Vanguard Press, 1951, 1953.
- Lincoln Cushing and Ann Tompkins, Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8118-5946-2.
- Ellul, Jacques. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/Vintage 1973.
Kuomintang | ||
---|---|---|
History | ||
Founders |
| |
Ideology | ||
Leaders | ||
Party congress | ||
Leadership elections | ||
Significant venues | ||
See also | ||
Notes: Acting leaders italicised ; By-elections denoted with (b) |
Cross-strait relations | |
---|---|
Diplomatic posts | |
Diplomacy |
|
Conflicts | |
Incidents |
|
Legislation | |
Organizations |
|
Concepts |
|
Related |
|