China’s Propaganda – Part 4 (“How to Do Propaganda Work for a Foreign Audience”)

As we continue our exploration of China’s propaganda machine, let’s remember that the Chinese government’s propaganda has two target audiences, with two methods: domestic and foreign.

Domestically, the methods include repression, censorship, and cracking down on individuals and media who could challenge the government’s official line. We’ve been covering this angle for the past few posts.

With foreigners, the Chinese government’s methods are less brutal, more subtle. But because they’re more subtle, it’s not always apparent on the surface how foreigners are “managed.” The China Digital Times describes China’s intensive, coordinated efforts:

In recent years, “external propaganda” (对外宣传) has become an increasingly important function in the Chinese Communist Party and government. [...] The following transcript [...] is an internal speech by a Party leader of Suixi County government at the county’s external propaganda conference. [...]:

… The current situation for external propaganda: A grand development needs a grand opening, and a grand opening needs grand external propaganda. At present our country is in the grand development and opening up period, especially for the 2008 Olympic year. [...]

…The Information Center of the county government must strengthen the Internet news management, and do a good job in selecting, filtering and transmitting information from different work units. It must quickly block, divert and respond to bad public opinion and information online, under the principles of unity, stability and positive inspiration. In the meantime, it must strengthen the positive online propaganda, using mainstream, positive opinion to influence and guide netizens.

…Strictly follow the discipline of external propoganda [sic]. External propaganda requires strong political sensitivity, policy understanding, strategic thinking and disciplinary work. [...] Discipline is the lifeline of external propaganda and the assurance that the political mission and social responsibility of external propaganda will be achieved. Every county, township and each department must make sure to control and reduce negative news. You must be the propoganda [sic] person, and the fire extinguisher. You must take care of your responsible territory, and quickly handle any problems. External propaganda work must have rules, have procedures, and have discipline. Events which violate the discipline must not be allowed. One must have correct guidance on public opinion, and insist that unity and inspiration, and promotion of the positive spirit, form the mainstream opinion and guide the social tendency.

China’s Propaganda – Part 3 (Senator Dodd v. Google.cn)

Last time we wrote about how China’s propaganda machine seeks to kill competing viewpoints. The internet is a key battleground; the government devotes a huge amount of money and manpower to cleansing “objectionable” content, like information on Tibetan and Taiwanese independence, democracy, Falun Gong, etc.

The Chinese government can’t censor everything itself, however, so it co-opts internet companies to do its dirty work. For example, Google’s cave-in to the Chinese government’s censors is world-famous. Google.cn, the “cleansed” version of the search engine, is specifically made to filter out content to which the ever-sensitive Chinese government objects.

US Senator Chris Dodd, a Democratic presidential candidate, recently had this to say about Google’s shameful actions in China (full speech here):

Google’s unofficial motto is “Don’t Be Evil.”

But in the face of fear and uncertainty, it’s not enough to not be “evil.”

You need to do good.

In many ways, Google already is – but to face our challenges and to reject fear, you need to do better.

That is why I challenge you today to pledge that you will stand up for best practices – as a company, but also as individuals.

Practices that increase transparency and support technologies that expand free expression, reject business with repressive states, and protect users in those countries.

That is how the Internet can be part of something greater than ourselves and spread democratic principles around the world.

And you can start with this:

By telling the Chinese government that Google.cn will no longer censor information with Google’s consent.

And should the Chinese government not find that acceptable, Google.cn will be shut down.

I know you have already moved all of your search records out of China to prevent them from being turned over to the Chinese government.

But what better way to affirm Google’s commitment to democracy and the free flow of information as a human right than to send this message to the country with the largest population in the world?

Other candidates should stand with Senator Dodd in upholding the value of free speech and free information. As and when they do, this blog will aim to cover their statements and actions as well.

Beijing: We Are Ready.

It’s been a while since I’ve written anything but that doesn’t mean nothing’s been happening, in fact, it’s because so much HAS been happening. We just released this video in honour of International Human Rights Day and published the new site www.BeijingWeAreReady.com. This is our response to the Chinese government’s painful theme song for the Olympics Countdown “Beijing We Are Ready” which they released at the August 8th celebration in Tiananmen Square. Click here to watch the video on YouTube.

There are protests happening all around the world today. It sounds like things got quite tense at the Chinese embassy in Canberra, Australia. This morning in Switzerland, the IOC officially rejected Team Tibet’s application to compete in the Olympics. Al Jazeera covered the story of Team Tibet last month with this great piece:

China’s Propaganda – Part 2

(Part 1 of “China’s Propaganda” is here.)

One of the keys to the Chinese government’s propaganda machine is its efforts to stamp out competing voices. The official line (that students killed in Tiananmen Square were bad “counterrevolutionaries,” that Tibetans are grateful for being “liberated” by China) does not stand up in the light of day. So the solution is to kill other viewpoints (sometimes literally).

Today, therefore, we enter the terrifying, Kafka-esque world that faces dissidents in China and Tibet. It is the world that subjects of Beijing’s rule know, but which remains largely hidden from foreigners.

On October 13, Ma Shaofang, one of the Tiananmen student organizers and now a businessman in Shenzhen, was invited to “tea” by local authorities to warn him about his plans to attend a writers conference in Beijing during the 17th Party Congress. Ma published the conversation he had with the agents of Ministry of State Security online. The China Digital Times translates part of Ma’s account of that conversation — which gives you a taste of what it is like to go up against the Chinese government’s agents:

—

State Security Agents (State): You must be busy lately? Is the business doing well?

Ma: Enough of this. I heard from the “relevant departments” that people like us are not allowed to make big bucks. We’re just doing enough to make a living.

State: We haven’t bothered your business, have we?

Ma: Really? Unless I remember it wrong, you guys once talked to my partner and said [of me], “If we see him dealing with the company, your business will end.”

State: That’s because you did something we didn’t want you to do. Over the last few years, you didn’t make any trouble for us, so we haven’t made any trouble for you.

Ma: Is that so? You asked me to come over today. Isn’t this trouble?

State: How can you say this is trouble? We’re friends, isn’t it OK to have a cup of tea together?

Ma: It’s a pity we’re not sitting here as friends. Enough beating around the bush, let’s talk about why I am wanted here today.

(more…)

China’s Propaganda – Part 1

Over the next week, watch this blog for posts exploring China’s propaganda tools and methods, including of course China’s biggest propaganda event since Mao’s mass movements: the Beijing Olympics.

Today, we turn our attention to the Chinese government’s ironic attempt to defend its terrible record on press freedoms. Reuters reports:

China responded to criticism of its record on media freedom on Tuesday by reiterating that foreign journalists would be welcome to cover next year’s Beijing Olympics “in a fair and objective way”. [...]

Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a regular news conference that the Paris-based [Reporters Without Borders] had “consistently attacked China“.

“We have emphasised that with the upcoming Olympics, the Chinese government and people sincerely welcome reporters from around the world to come to China and cover the Games in a fair and objective way,” Qin added.

To the Chinese government, the calculus is simple. If someone criticizes the government’s policies, that person is “attacking” China as a whole (the communist party’s standard rhetorical tactic is associating itself with the entire Chinese nation). If, on the other hand, someone praises the government, that person is “fair and objective.”

So as the Chinese government continues its press crackdown, how is the IOC responding?

The IOC, it seems, is living in a Pollyanna-ish world where the Chinese government will live up to its promises of press freedom, if only we all wish hard enough. Not likely, given how important it is to the Chinese government to control the media. Continues Reuters:

The International Olympic Committee said they were confident China would deliver on its commitment to allow freedom to report in line with that enjoyed at previous Games.

“A great deal of effort is being made by (Beijing Organisers) BOCOG and the Chinese authorities to uphold these assurances,” IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said in response to the letter.

“There is work still to do, but the IOC believes in the good will of the Chinese to deliver the necessary environment for the 20,000 accredited media who will come for the Games.”

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Incidentally, the Reuters article mentions Tibet as another issue that will be prominent in the Beijing Olympics:

The letter was just the latest of a series of letters and releases calling on the IOC to put pressure on China on issues ranging from media freedom to Tibet and Darfur.