China has no free and independent media. Media companies are controlled by the government.
Washington:
The United States has designated four other large state-run Chinese press houses as “foreign missions”, calling them “propaganda” “controlled” by the ruling Chinese Communist Party, a move that could heighten tensions between the two countries.
The four Chinese media designated as overseas missions on Monday are China Central Television, China News Service, the People’s Daily and the Global Times, bringing the total to nine.
This could add to growing tensions between the United States and China as President Donald Trump repeatedly blamed Beijing for the coronavirus pandemic which had a serious impact around the world and accused Beijing of removing the details of the contagion.
The United States is the country most affected by the virus. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there are more than 2.3 million cases of coronavirus in America with more than 120,000 deaths.
However, China has denied any allegations made by the United States about the outbreak of the pandemic.
“These entities are not independent news organizations. They are effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party, the CCP, also known as propaganda points,” said US State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus .
This follows the February 18 designation of the Xinhua News Agency, the China Global Television Network, China Radio International, China Daily Distribution Corporation and Hai Tian Development USA.
“These nine entities all meet the definition of a foreign mission under the Foreign Missions Law, that is, they are” largely owned or effectively controlled “by a foreign government.
In this case, they are effectively controlled by the government of the People’s Republic of China, “said Ms. Ortagus.
The decision to designate these entities is not based on any content produced by these entities and does not impose any restrictions on what the designated entities may publish in the United States. He simply recognizes them for what they are, she said.
“Entities designated as foreign missions must meet certain administrative requirements that also apply to foreign embassies and consulates in the United States,” said Ms. Ortagus.
Assistant Secretary for East Asia and the Pacific, David R. Stilwell, said that by designating these outlets as missions abroad, the United States officially recognizes effective control of the State Party of China on so-called media entities, including those operating here in the United States. .
“While the Chinese Communist Party has always tightly controlled Chinese state news agencies, its control has actually tightened in recent years. In the past decade, especially under the tenure of Secretary General Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party has reorganized their state news agencies and claimed even more direct control over them, “he said.
“I was able to witness this first-hand experience when I was in Beijing, working with a friend who was an adviser to the China Daily outlet there, and he explained to me exactly how the party apparatus works inside a paper like this to make sure that the word they say the publication was in fact what the Communist Party wanted it to be. It’s not journalism; journalism reports the facts, not what the party tells you to report, “said Stilwell.
China’s central television, CCTV, he said, is a public television channel that reports to both the central committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, the Chinese cabinet.
The China News Service (CNS) is the second largest public news agency in China after Xinhua, he said.
It is managed by the United Front Work Department and they report directly to the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party. The People’s Daily, needless to say, is the official newspaper of the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party, then Global Times is 100% owned and controlled by the People’s Daily, he added.
“The Communist Party not only has operational control over these propaganda entities, but it has complete editorial control over their content. This designation of foreign mission is an obvious step in increasing the transparency of these government propaganda activities. the PRC in the United States and others. “
“This determination is not intended to reduce or limit the journalistic activity of the foreign media. Again, these four entities are not media but propaganda organs,” said Mr. Stillwell.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
