Photo: rsf.org
A new report entitled China’s pursuit of a new world media order from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), an esteemed organisation that promotes freedom of information and freedom of the press, has documented efforts by the Chinese government to curb criticism of its policies by international media organisations.
The report asserts that after a five year campaign to shackle any renegade media forces operating within China that do not “closely align themselves with the Party leadership in thought, politics, and action”, President Xi Jinping is now seeking to extend his totalitarian vision beyond China’s borders.
Xi’s vision relegates journalists from a position of watchdogs of the state, a position which the press has traditionally held in western democracies, to mere auxiliaries of state propaganda whose mission is to parrot the statements of government officials.
The propaganda extends to invitations to members of the international press pack to attend lavish, all-expenses-paid functions across China hosted by the state. Events like the World Internet Conference, which Apple CEO Tim Cook attended in Wuzhen in 2017, mirror similar conferences held throughout the world, but are designed to promote China’s authoritarian vision for press regulations in the digital age.
The report extends to cover false information campaigns being carried out by Beijing, specifically focusing on an instance where Taiwanese citizens were caught up in Typhoon Jebi, which hit central Japan in September 2018. Initial reports stated that Taiwanese citizens had been evacuated by Chinese embassy officials after being left stranded by Taiwanese representatives. This later proved to be false, as the Taiwanese citizens had been evacuated by Japanese officials, but the false story, planted by a “content farm” on mainland China, was enough to provoke protests against the Taiwanese president Tsai-Ing Wen, and the suicide of the Taiwanese representative in Osaka, SuChii-cherng.
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