The Global Media Forum
China’s media: “Attack to defend”
Public diplomacy, on foreign radio broadcasting – China’s media are on the rise worldwide, in order to win sympathy for their country. The Problem here is that China’s state-controlled media are considered to be less credible.
“The one who conquers the hearts of people, gaining the whole world.” China’s Altphilosoph Mencius formulated this spell 2000 years ago – today he is apparently still on time. The rising super power, China wants to get rid of her negative Image, characterised by human rights violations, religious conflicts, and government reprisals against critics. For this, the state invested a lot of money in the public diplomacy to improve China’s reputation in the world.
To connect Shi, journalism Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing
“Of course, the state plays the decisive role in the conduct of public diplomacy,” says hitch of Shi, a journalism Professor at the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing. “Public diplomacy can only be through the government-led,” adds Yong Zhang. He was one of the founders of the English-language edition of the national daily newspaper “Global Times”, the nationalist reporting known and many readers in China popular. Currently, he writes for the newspaper “People’s Daily”. Both guests were participants in a panel discussion at the Global Media Forum of Deutsche Welle. The theme: the role of the media in public diplomacy.
Global Presence
It is no coincidence that the Australian publisher Fairfax Media, publisher of the Newspapers The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and Australian Financial Review, at the end of may a Treaty with the English-language newspaper “China Daily” finished. Accordingly, among other things, The Sydney Morning Herald, the advocate of the freedom of the press in Australia, from June, a monthly eight-page English edition of China Daily as a Supplement to print, the supervision of the Department for Propaganda of the Communist party. The China Daily is now in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa as a regional issue to read. Now the gap on the world is a closed map. The Washington Post prints against payment of the same leaflet with the title “China Watch“.
Libby Liu, Director of Radio Free Asia
In the course of expansion of the Chinese media is a result of the PR embarrassment after the Olympic Games in 2008, said Zhang. During the torch relay around the globe transfer protests by exile Tibetans or people had been to see the live rights activists. The pictures have alarmed Beijing: “since at least this experience, China is determined to strengthen its ‘soft power’ in the world. The communication channels should be developed in the world,” Zhang says, because of China’s Image in the Western media is currently negative.
Critical Attitude
“Everyone in the Western media, once viewed negatively,” says Libby Liu, however, that a Director of Radio Free Asia based in Washington. It refers to the critical attitude in journalism, which is practiced in the West. Only the highly commercial private stations in the US, viewers and listeners could keep their attention and market share, to be able to work economically.
Of China, experts in the Competition to be the global thought leadership at a disadvantage. “The Anglo-Saxon media are far ahead of us,” says hitch of Shi, at the University of Pennsylvania in professional communication studies with a PhD. “As long as this rule imbalance, and this perception deficit on China in the West Lord, you must go to China’s media Offensive to defend their country.”
Panel discussion at the Global Media Forum
Lack Of Transparency
Today, China’s media are omnipresent. The state television CCTV, employment in Washington-a Team of 200 journalists and produced in Nairobi daily four hours of regional TV-programs for Africa. Also, the official news Agency Xinhua has launched an entire news site in German language under the Motto “window to China”.
Yong Zhang of the newspaper “People’s Daily”
How much money the Chinese government contributes a total of for its foreign activities of the media in the form of subsidies, could not say, the two experts from China. According to media reports, the annual expenditure of between seven and ten billion dollars.
Libby Liu wants more transparency. You could nowhere read, how much money China’s media where invested. Transparency will enhance the credibility of Chinese media, Liu. Also, you see an imbalance, for example when it comes to the establishment of foreign offices. “China’s media can easily be used to open offices abroad, in Washington DC, New York, Los Angeles. At the same time Beijing is trying to hinder the access of foreign media to China.” The organization reporters without borders lists China on the ranking of freedom of the press, in 2016, on square 176, the fifth-last place.