Sickening to see @TVNZ relay government propaganda framing on #Covid19 death toll & infection rate in story after story, meanwhile international media has detailed information on the CCP govt's massive Covid19 cover-up. #disinformation https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/world/china-observes-three-minutes-silence-remember-victims-covid-19

The @TVNZ story above is by @AP who formed a partnership in 2018 with CCP government news service @Xinhua. When the partnership was set up, many commentators worried that it would result in framing leaching into AP coverage on China issues--& beyond. https://www.washingtonpost.com/ 

Western companies/govts have salivated over the China market. But to access it, they had to
adjust their products to fit the Chinese Communist Party’s censorship guidelines. The outcome is the public conversation on China, outside of China, has become more & more constrained.

Mainstream media such as Reuters & AP have content agreements with Xinhua & are subsidized by Chinese corporations such as HSBC & Huawei. Foreign journalists are courted by free tours to China. If they repeat CCP talking points, they're on a “white list”, if not: blacklisted.

Propaganda is not a negative word in . The CCP calls propaganda 宣传 the “lifeblood of the Party”. The CCP project to dominate the global conversation on China matters began soon after June 4, initially, even CCP propaganda advisers were skeptical about efficacy of its efforts.

Since the Xi era, CCP foreign propaganda is conducted as a business activity. Chinese companies are encouraged to make strategic mergers & acquisitions of Western media & culture enterprises in order to take control of global China narratives.

The CCP’s “buying a boat” policy made major inroads into Hollywood production, casting, & film distribution,
as well as the news media & popular culture. For eg. since 2012, most of the movie cinemas in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia, & New Zealand are owned by Dalian Wanda.

The CCP govt opened up the China market to foreign academic publishing & increased the numbers of Hollywood films able to be legally be shown in China from 10 a year in the 1990s, to 20 a year in 2012. By 2017, 44 per year could be shown.
The price was accepting CCP censorship

In academic publishing, this resulted in publishers culling their journal/book offerings to remove content critical of in materials for the China market. This had a chilling effect on academic publishing on China in some scholarly journals.

For cost reasons, most photographic books are now printed in but any books that break Chinese censorship guidelines cannot be printed there. This is the case even if those books are not destined for the China market.

Another development in the Xi era was the project to establish 100 think tanks in by 2020, & partner them with global think tanks. Think tanks have an important role to play in shaping government policies & influencing public opinion, so are good for promoting China's lines.

Under Xi, CCP foreign propaganda messaging has reached a level of stridency not seen since the Cultural Revolution, when arrested foreign journalists & teachers on false spying charges & Chinese diplomats fought with police at the London PRC embassy.

Our open, democratic societies need to develop a resilience strategy to deal with the CCP government's inroads into our
public sphere. The uncertain financial model of our media & culture sectors & chronic under-funding of our
universities makes us vulnerable.

The CCP wants “face,” but our societies increasingly have to bear the costs of this. Thomas Jefferson once said, “The price of democracy is eternal vigilance.” Oscar Wilde also famously quipped, “People today know the price of everything, but the value of nothing.”

So what value do we put on the freedom of ideas &
information? And what price are we willing to pay to maintain these freedoms, the bedrock of our societies?

https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/files/pdf/MLICommentary_March2020_Brady_FWeb.pdf