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The Epoch Times
Type	International newspaper
Format	Broadsheet
Owner(s)	Privately owned
Founded	2000
Headquarters	New York, United States
Circulation	1.4 million
Website	The Epoch Times

The Epoch Times (Simplified Chinese: 大纪元; Traditional Chinese: 大紀元; Pinyin: Dàjìyuán) is a Falun Gong-linked, politically anti-Communist multilingual, general-interest newspaper distributed free-of-charge in roughly 30 countries worldwide and maintains editions in ten languages in print, and 17 languages on the web. The newspaper claims to have a special strength in its coverage of China and human rights issues, and frequently contains articles with strongly opinionated views on the Communist Party of China, mainland Chinese society, and groups against the CPC, especially Falun Gong. While the paper claims an independent stance, it has been criticized as being biased.

History

According to the newpaper, The Epoch Times was founded in New York in May 2000, following the arrest of a small circle of journalists in China in 2000. However as revealed by Li Hongzhi, the founder of Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa), the Epoch Times "was established by Dafa disciples for validating the Fa." The term Dafa disciple refers to practitioners of Falun Dafa. According to Li, the Epoch Times is one of “three major media groups”—the Sound of Hope and New Tang Dynasty TV are the other two—which most concern the Chinese Communist Party. Because the Epoch Times has become “the platform and facilitator for the Nine Commentaries,” a practitioner asked Li in 2005 about how it should be run. Li responded:

Just as I said earlier, if you want to do better, you need to cooperate and coordinate well, carry out each task responsibly and attentively, and through your collective effort make that media outlet stand out. If all of you do well, the media outlet is bound to do well, and it will have a greater effect in saving sentient beings. However many people it saves, you have a share in that because it is your collective mouth, the mouthpiece of everyone involved in running the newspaper.

As reported by the paper itself, Chinese journalists relayed stories overseas of alleged human rights abuses, infringements on civil liberties, and corruption in the Communist Party of China (CPC), among others.

Blocked from entering China, the Chinese version of Epoch Times is mainly being distributed in overseas Chinese communities for free. It claims to have a weekly distribution of over one million copies in 30 countries worldwide. The paper has associated media services, including the television station New Tang Dynasty TV, the radio station, Sound of Hope, which together with the Epoch Times form the Epoch media group. Minghui (Clear Wisdom) and Reminbao (People's Paper) are two other news sources used by few if any other media, and that help contribute stories from a Falun Gong perspective.

In August 2004, an English language edition of the Epoch Times was launched in Manhattan. English editions are distributed in Australia, Canada (Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Ottawa), Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Houston, Atlanta). German and French editions were launched in late 2004, and more recently Russian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Ukrainian, Dutch and Hebrew editions have started up in print.

In May 2005, Die Neue Epoche (German edition of the Epoch Times) received a special media prize from the International Society for Human Rights (IGFM) for "extensive and regular reporting about violations of human rights in China." In August 2005, the English version of the paper was awarded the top award by the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) for the category "Asian American Issues - Online." In September 2005, the English version of the paper was recognized during the National Ethnomedia Week 2005 in Canada as a "strong defender of human rights and free democratic values." .

As of April 2006, The Epoch Times has 10 languages in print, and 17 languages on the web.

Focus

The Epoch Times originally targeted Chinese readers living abroad and reported on various alleged persecutions and abuses by, as well as the inner workings of, the CPC. Its reports on China are highly critical of the government. It often refers to China as "Communist China" in its reports, including non-political articles, as it does not recognise the CPC as the legitimate government of China. It has since grown to report on civil rights issues worldwide in a politically conservative view, and now appeals to a somewhat wider audience. It sometimes also publishes articles accusing overseas Chinese personalities and media of alleged pro-CPC or anti-Falun Gong bias. The English edition represents itself as a general-interest newspaper that, although it maintains a large amount of China-related content, offers 12 other sections, including travel, science, sports, and regional and international news.

The paper is unique in giving a large amount of attention to Falun Gong's campaigns, particularly their attempt to sue former Chinese President Jiang Zemin under civil legislation for genocide. However the case failed to attract major media attention outside of the newspaper, and later the paper's stance shifted from being anti-Jiang Zemin to anti-CPC. A large number of practitioners were also instrumental in the paper's founding and continue to be in its current operations. Because of this, the paper has over the years been accused by the Chinese government as well as concerned people outside of China of being a propaganda mouthpiece of Falun Gong. The newspaper and Falun Gong practitioners dispute this, saying that such covert operations are unnecessary considering Falun Gong already has publications to represent itself openly, and that some practitioners promote the paper because of its coverage of their cause. However according to tax records, the chairman of the paper's board, Kangang Xu, is a top Falun Gong spokesperson. The paper's Chinese editions tend to carry a large number of articles promoting heavily edited traditional Chinese mythology and Biblical stories, not just Falun Gong doctrines, in a way that reinforces the paper's stance against the CPC.

According to the paper, its goal in reporting is to accurately inform its readers about events in China, particularly those stories that remain censored. For example, it was one of the first newspapers to carry in-depth coverage of SARS, well before the Chinese government publicly admitted that there was an epidemic that went on to cause some 350 deaths. The paper also counters what it considers to be pro-CPC propaganda through its own opinion pieces. Its various editions worldwide all tend to show a marked pro-United States undertone, and in particular it is supportive of the Bush administration's conservative policies, the global War on Terrorism and the Iraq War.

Criticism

In the overseas Chinese community, where The Epoch Times is distributed, reactions are mixed. Some commend it for providing alternative views on China and its Communist government. Others criticize the paper, accusing it of having lax journalistic standards, an exaggerated tone, making false stories, of pro-Falun Gong bias, and unclear financial background.

One of the biggest criticisms of The Epoch Times is that its tone towards the Chinese government is always one-sided and negative, and commentaries that select and interpret facts in an anti-Communist view, and that it often quotes unreliable information and unsubstantiated sources to criticise the Chinese government. It is dismissive of positive developments in mainland China such as economic growth. It has been characterized as improperly blending news and commentary and using tabloid practices such as exaggerated or aggressive headlines; some consider it to be an opinion journal rather than a serious publication following established journalistic standards.

The Epoch Times is very vocal in supporting dissidents, Falun Gong practitioners, pro-independence Taiwanese, American conservatives, and all other traditional opponents of the CPC; their opinions can often be seen in the opinion page. The paper rarely publishes letters and opinions that would be considered pro-Communist or anti-Falun Gong, which the paper deems unnecessary. Posts in its Chinese language online forum are also subject to 'content review' before being posted.

The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party

In November 2004, the Chinese version of The Epoch Times published and heavily promoted a series of editorials and a booklet entitled "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" (simplified Chinese: 九评共产党; traditional Chinese: 九評共產黨; pinyin: Jǐupíng Gòngchǎn dǎng). The editorials purport to give an alternate exposé of the CPC through its history, from its ascent to power under Mao Zedong to its present-day form, as well as a condemnation of communism in all of its forms. It is written in the propagandistic style of 'Nine Commentaries on the Soviet Communist Party', a 1963 Chinese publication, attacking Nikita Khrushchev. Portions of the history given by the Commentaries are allegedly difficult to support using traditionally respected history texts of 20th century China, which supporters of the "Commentaries" attribute to the CPC's need for control and tendency to try to cover up its more damaging actions. According to them, this results in a wealth of information that is often hard to come by and difficult to report on. The Nine Commentaries won the “Asian American Issues - Online” category at the 2005 Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) convention held in August 2005. The "Commentaries" were subsequently rendered into other languages.

Some readers of the English version often find the "Commentaries" to be rather one-sided and contain language that is overblown and unbelievable, making them difficult to take seriously. Much of this may be the result of a more literal translation from the original Chinese text. The editorial often uses unusual phrases to describe the CPC, calling it 'an Anti-Universe Force', 'an evil spirit from the West', and stating that the Communist Party of China is the 'red dragon' mentioned in the book of Revelations of the Bible. Such phrases are similar to the ones used by the CPC to outlaw Falun Gong, such as denouncing each other as 'evil cults'. Supporters of the paper claim that the the tone is geared towards the communication style to which mainland Chinese readers, mostly who grew up during the Cultural Revolution, would be accustomed. It is also said that such readers have usually been exposed to years of government propaganda, rarely gaining access to alternative information about their government, although it is not circulated in mainland China itself. While praised by some Chinese dissidents as having an adverse effect on the political control of the CPC, its contents are controversial and disputed by critics who call it historical revisionism and Falun Gong propaganda. Because such text is banned in China, the paper often sends unsolicited copies and email to spread their message inside mainland China.

Some readers has criticised The Nine Commentaries, as it is unclear where the authors obtained some of this information, due to its lack of footnotes or references of sources. The prevailing tone of the editorials is staunchly anti-communist with no consideration given to other viewpoints, and is considered by some to be anti-communist propaganda. Supporters have attributed the attitude to the assumption that the intended Chinese audience who already knows the other side of the story need not be reminded of it.

In December 2005, the author of the "Nine Commentaries" was identified as Zheng Peichun, a Chinese dissident, who was arrested on the charge of crimes against the state and was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment. The paper has published a follow-up to the Nine Commentaries, The Real Story of Jiang Zemin.

Li Hongzhi, the teacher of Falun Gong, has also told his disciples that they need to "spread widely" the Nine Commentaries so as to help in “disintegrating the vicious Party’s evil specter” as part of their “validating the Fa.”

CPC Renunciations and Controversy

The Epoch Times claims that the publication of the "Commentaries" and its subsequent call to CPC members to "erase the beastly brand" has caused more than 15.5 million CPC members to resign as of November 19, 2006. The Epoch Times obtains this number by tallying renunciation statements submitted to them via internet, fax, email, or telephone. This methodology is not scientific and widely disputed, and may not reflect the actual number of CPC resignations within China since anyone regardless of Chinese citizenship or CPC membership could submit their name and be counted as a person who has claimed to have renounced their CPC membership. Submissions include anonymous and unverifiable online signatures, duplicate signatures, and public declarations for people inside mainland China unable to access the online website due to censorship. The count also includes any renunciations of past or current association with any CPC-affiliated organization. At their Chinese language renunciation website , it was stated that "the evils of the Communist Cult will be punished by God at Judgment Day", "The CPC will be destroyed in 2005", and called on members of the CPC to burn Communist memorabilia. These renunciations are not recognized as valid and official by the CPC, as they are not conducted through the proper channels via the party.

At their English language version of the renunciation website, the cumulative count of people who have allegedly quit the CCP appears as a sidebar to the internet form which captures English language denunciations of the CCP. An official Epoch Times statement appearing at the bottom of the page appears to conflate denunciations done by non CCP members on this page with the renunciations done by CCP members on the Chinese language page: "All the Epoch Times Offices worldwide will provide assistance to anybody who wants to denounce/renounce the Communist Party (or League). Chinese Version of This Page:

During the summer of 2005, two diplomats, Chen Yonglin and Hao Fengjun, defected from the Australian Embassy. The cases received international attention, and Chen Yonglin received some attention from the New York Times. The Epoch Times reported that their actions had been influenced by the Nine Commentaries. More recently, in a story beginning October 26th, 2006, Jia Jia, Secretary General of the Science and Technology Association of Shanxi Province, has made Epoch Times headlines due to his renunciation of the Chinese Communist Party. (http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-10-28/47497.html, http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-10-27/47482.html, http://en.epochtimes.com/news/6-10-27/47465.html)

According to Epoch Times interviews, his actions were directly influenced by the Nine Commentaries, and Mr. Jia reports considerable discussion of the Commentaries and government dissatisfaction within China. Deutsche Presse-Agentur and Voice of America are among other media that picked up the story, interviewing Mr. Jia themselves.

The Epoch Times has also reported severe unrest in China as a direct result of the publication of the "Commentaries", but no major news outlet has verified the paper's claims concerning the effects of the "Commentaries". The Epoch Times has been accused by some of wanting to overthrow the Chinese government without any guiding political philosophy. Critics nonetheless say the commentaries have had no discernible effect on Chinese politics, and that no CPC official in either the central or regional governments is known to have resigned on account of the "Commentaries".

References

KVIA.com (April 2006) "Hu Protester Fact Sheet", retrieved July 1, 2006
SFChronicle(December 18, 2005) "Dissident Media Linked to Falun Gong, retrieved December 9, 2006
The Epoch Times "Other Languages", retrieved November 28, 2006
The Epoch Times, "About Us", retrieved July 1, 2006
Susan V. Lawrence, Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers - Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Apr 14, 2004. pg. B.2I

External links

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