Propaganda in the People's Republic of China
Encyclopedia
Propaganda in the People's Republic of China as interpreted in Western media refers to the Communist Party of China
's use of propaganda
to sway public and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship
of proscribed views and an active cultivation of views that favor the government. Propaganda is considered central to the operation of the Chinese government.
Aspects of propaganda can be traced back to the earliest period of Chinese history, but propaganda has been most effective in the twentieth century owing to mass media and an authoritarian government. Mao-era China is known for its constant use of mass campaigns to legitimize the state and the policies of leaders. It was the first Chinese government to successfully make use of modern mass propaganda techniques, adapting them to the needs of a country which had a largely rural and illiterate
population.
Propaganda as interpreted in China refers to information promoted to the public. See Terminology.
.
David Shambaugh observes that propaganda and indoctrination are considered to been a hallmark of the Maoist China; the CCP employed a variety of "thought control" techniques, including incarceration for "thought reform," construction of role models to be emulated, mass mobilization campaigns, the creation of ideological monitors and propaganda teams for indoctrination purposes, enactment of articles to be memorized, control of the educational system and media, a nationwide system of loudspeakers, among other methods. While ostensibly aspiring to a "Communist utopia," often had a negative focus on constantly searching for enemies among the people. The means of persuasion was often extremely violent, "a literal acting out of class struggle."
According to Anne-Marie Brady, an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury’s School of Political Science and Communication, CCP propaganda and thought work traditionally had a much broader notion of the public sphere than is usually defined by media specialists. Chinese propagandists used every possible means of communication available in China after 1949, including electronic media such as film and television, educational curriculum and research, print media such as newspapers and posters, cultural arts such as plays and music, oral media such as memorizing Mao quotes, as well as thought reform and political study classes.
China Central Television
has traditionally served as a major national conduit for televised propaganda, while the People's Daily
newspaper has served as a medium for print propaganda. During the Mao years, a distinctive feature of propaganda and thought work was "rule by editorial," according to Brady. Political campaigns would be launched through editorials and leading articles in People's Daily, which would be followed by other papers. Work units and other organizational political study groups utilized these articles as a source for political study, and reading newspapers in China was "a political obligation". Mao used Lenin's model for the media, which had it function as a tool of mass propaganda, agitation, and organization.
During the Cultural Revolution
, PRC propaganda was crucial to the formation and promotion of the cult of personality
centered around Chairman Mao Zedong
, as well as mobilizing popular participation in national campaigns. Past propaganda also encouraged the Chinese people to emulate government approved model workers and soldiers, such as Lei Feng
, Chinese Civil War
hero Dong Cunrui
, Korean War
hero Yang Gensi
, and Dr. Norman Bethune
, a Canadian doctor who assisted the Communist Eighth Route Army
during the Second Sino-Japanese War
. It also praised Third World
revolutionaries and close foreign allies such as Albania
and North Korea
while vilifying both the American "imperialists" and the Soviet "revisionists" (the latter of whom was seen as having betrayed Marxism-Leninism following the Sino-Soviet split
).
According to Barbara Mittler, Maoist era propaganda left memories of violence and slander upon many Chinese, and their psychological strains drove many to madness and death. Today, Maoist era propaganda are no longer used by the CCP, and are largely commercialized for the purposes of nostalgia.
, which was blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. During the era of economic reform and modernization that was initiated by Deng Xiaoping
, propaganda promoting "socialism with Chinese characteristics" was distributed.
The events of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
were an indication to many elders in the CCP that liberalization in the propaganda sector had gone too far, and that the Party must re-establish its control over ideology and the propaganda system.
Brady writes that propaganda and thought work have become the "life blood" of the Party-State since the post-1989 period, and one of the key means for guaranteeing the CCP's continued legitimacy and hold on power.
In the 1990s, propaganda theorists described the challenges to China's propaganda and thought work as "blind spots"; mass communication was advocated as the antidote. From the early 1990s, selective concepts from mass communications theory, public relations, advertising, social psychology, and other areas of modern mass persuasion were introduced into China's propaganda system for the purpose of creating a modern propaganda model.
Kurlantzick and Link noted that through cultivating economic growth and Chinese nationalism, the CCP has modernized authoritarianism to maintain their political control. They asserted that elite business leaders, who has benefited from China's economic growth, has accepted the CCP's authoritarian control as a result, largely preventing the new rich and emerging middle class from challenging their rule. Fenby argues that the latter, rather than accepting the system per se, have learnt to use it to their advantage. Kurlantzick and Link also noted that dissent still largely exist in the Chinese populace in regards to government policies on the economy, environment and society, particularly in rural areas, as they are becoming more aware of the constitutional rights. A recent poll in 2007 shown that 70% of Chinese consider the new rich to be corrupt and unworthy of respect.
, it was part of Hu Jintao
's plan to "go global" and make "the voice of China better heard in international affairs", by strengthening their foreign language services, and being less political in their broadcasting. Bequelin notes that their function is to channel a specific view of China to an international audience, and their fundamental premise remains the same; that all information broadcasted must reflect the government's views. The Chinese government encouraged the adaption of Western style media marketing in their news agencies due to internal competition with national commercial media.
The 2008 Summer Olympics
were portrayed by the Chinese government as a symbol of China's pride and place in the world, and seem to have bolstered some domestic support for the Chinese government, and support for the policies of the Communist Party of China
, giving rise to concerns that the state will possibly have more leverage to disperse dissent
.
In the lead-up to the Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for their reporting during the Games: most political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed; topics such as pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements were not to be reported on, as were food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water." As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal
broke in September 2008, there was widespread speculation that China's desire for a perfect Games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula
.
In 2011, Chongqing
party chief Bo Xilai
and the city's Propaganda Department initiated a 'Red Songs campaign' that demanded every district, government departments and commercial corporations, universities and schools, state radio and TV stations to begin singing "red songs", praising the achievements of the Communist Party of China
and PRC. Bo said the aim was "to reinvigorate the city with the Marxist ideals of his father's comrade-in-arms Mao Zedong
"; although academic Ding Xueliang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
suspected the campaign's aim was to further his political standing within the country's leadership.
The Chinese term for propaganda, xuanchuan (宣传) first appeared in the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the 3rd century. The term translates literally as "to broadcast" or "to propagate (information)." Although it is liberally rendered in english as "propaganda
," the term does not imply negative connotations per se. Xuanchuan also means to advertise and is a common term used by commercial businesses with no relationship to the government or politics.
published a report about the state-run news agency Xinhua, calling it "the world's biggest propaganda agency".
While in the past the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department and its local branches sent faxes to all media throughout the country with instructions indicating subjects that the media should stress or avoid entirely, directives are now imparted to ranking media managers or editors during phone conversations—a move designed to reduce the paper trail. Media in China faces few restrictions on content that is not deemed to be politically damaging.
Wu Xuecan, a former editor of the People's Daily
Overseas Edition, reports that through control of the "ideological domain, material means and living necessities," editors and reporters are conditioned to keep news and reports aligned with the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. Wu further reports that, political study sessions ensures that editors first practice self-censorship. He Qinglian writes that long years of media control have bred in Chinese journalists a habit of "self-discipline," and that most Chinese journalists resign themselves to playing the role of "Party mouthpieces." Control is also directed at sources of information, as ordinary people are restricted from providing news to Chinese media, and more so to foreign media.
The experiences of propaganda and thought work in the Cultural Revolution provided the CCP with a "profound lesson," according to Brady. Virtually all post-Mao era Party leaders had been under attack during that time, and drew two seemingly contradictory lessons: the rejection of mass movements and thought reform as means of transforming China, and the recognition of the "vital role of propaganda and thought work in China's political control." The administration of propaganda and thought work was plagued by these issues through the 1980s, and up to the events of June 4, 1989.
Biderman and Meyers wrote in 1968 that while some kind of thought reform is characteristic of all totalitarian regimes, the CCP "set about it more purposefully, more massively, and more intensively than have other ruling groups," including through employing known techniques in new ways. They note the presence of such techniques in Maoist political campaigns, such as daily meetings for criticism and self-criticism; surveillance and sanctions were connected with education to find and correct deficiencies in personal conducts. In the military, political leaders attacked all personal connections between soldiers that were not based on political conviction, thus exploiting social pressures and personal anxieties to build a sense of conformity.
In terms of intensity and scope, spiritual control has been reinforced under the CCP's rule, and has become a basic feature of citizens' daily life, according to Victor Shaw. To an extent, the "freedom of silence" cherished by some older Chinese scholars was not even possible for an illiterate peasant in a remote area under the CCP mass propaganda.
According to Shaw, the CCP utilizes propaganda to spread its policies, build social consensus, and mobilize the population for social programs. Ideological tensions result in mass movements, and the resulting spiritual control legitimizes the political establishment. "Political studies, legal education, heroic models, and thought reform provide the CCP with effective weapons to propagandize rules and legal codes, normalize individual behaviour, and rehabilitate deviants in labor camps."
Kurlantzick and Link stated that the CCP uses the technique of "thoughtwork" (sixiang gongzuo) to maintain popular obedience, dating back to the Mao Zedong era. They noted that while Mao-era campaigns are aimed at transforming the Chinese society and people's natures, the modern approach to thoughtwork are more subtle and only focuses on issues important to the CCP's rule. According to Kurlantzick and Link, it consists largely of cultivating pro-government views in the media and other influential people in Chinese society, and as such complaints against the government becomes distracted with pro-government propaganda. The government also attempts to distance itself from local issues by blaming them on corrupt local officials, says Kurlantzick and Link.
Brady writes that Chinese foreign propaganda officials took cues from the Blair government
's spin doctoring during the mad cow disease crisis of 2000-2001
, and the Bush government
's use of the U.S. media after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. According to her, the Blair model allows for a certain amount of negative coverage to be shown during a crisis, which is believed to help release some of the "social tension" surrounding it. She believes information managers in China used this approach during coal mining disasters of 2005.
According to Brady, trained official spokespeople are now available on call in every central government ministry, as well as in local governments, to deal with emerging crises; these spin doctors are coordinated and trained by the Office of Foreign Propaganda/State Council Information Office.
During the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, Communist Party officials moved swiftly in a public relations campaign. According to Newsweek, Party officials felt that the recent riots risked tarnishing China's global image, and underwent a public relations program involving quickly getting out the government's official version of the events, as well as transporting foreign journalists to riot affected areas. The growth in new technologies, such as email and SMS, forced the CCP's hand into taking up spin.
Instead of attempting a media blackout as with the 2008 Tibetan unrest
, the Party has adopted a series of more advanced techniques to influence the information leaving China. The day after violence in Urumqi, the State Council Information Office set up a Xinjiang Information Office in Urumqi to assist foreign reporters. It invited foreign media to Xinjiang to tour the riot zones, visit hospitals, and look at the aftermath themselves. Journalists were also given CDs with photos and TV clips. "They try to control the foreign journalists as much as possible by using this more sophisticated PR work rather than ban[ning] them," according to Professor Xiao Qiang, quoted by Newsweek.
and a fellow of the Brookings Institution
, the CCP's propaganda system extends itself as a sprawling bureaucratic establishment, into virtually every medium concerned with the dissemination of information. Shambaugh notes that according to the CCP publication Zhongguo Gongchandang jianshe dazidian. numerous public places, such as media and news organizations, educational institutions, literature and art centers, and cultural exhibitions come under CCP's propaganda oversight. Shambaugh believes that this expansive definition implies that every conceivable medium which transmits and conveys information to the people of China falls under bureaucratic purview of the CCP Propaganda Department (CCPPD). Shambaugh states that the writ of the CCPPD has remained unchanged since the Maoist era, although the mechanics of oversight and active censorship have undergone considerable evolution.
According to official government reports in 2003, channels of propaganda dissemination of the CCPPD included 2,262 television stations (of which 2,248 were "local"), 2,119 newspapers, 9,074 periodicals and 1,123 publishing houses, in addition to internal circulation papers and local gazetteers, approximately 68 million internet accounts with more than 100 million users, and more than 300 million mobile phone users who fall under the system's purview.
According to Brady, propaganda work by the CCP has been historically divided into two categories: directed towards Chinese people (internal or duinei) and directed towards foreigners and the outside world (external or duiwai) as well as four types: political, economic, cultural and social. The Central Propaganda Department oversees internal propaganda, and, the closely linked bureaucracy, The Office of Foreign Propaganda matters relating to external propaganda.
Shambaugh states that the propaganda system, including the Central Propaganda Department, are highly secret and does not appear in officially published diagrams of the Chinese Bureaucratic System, whether in Chinese or in other languages. The Office of Foreign Propaganda itself is more commonly known as 'Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China', under the dual nameplate system, according to Brady. The chief of Chinese propaganda, Li Changchun
, was named as nineteenth most powerful person in the world by Forbes
magazine in 2009.http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/20/power-09_Li-Changchun_YOVG.html
Brady cites an example of the role of the Internet in organizing popular protests by overseas Chinese, its usage by the state against a perceived bias of the Western media in its coverage of unrest in Tibetan areas in March 2008
and, a month later, in organizing a series of worldwide demonstrations in support of China during the Olympic torch relay
.
Brady noted that these protests were genuine and popular, demonstrating the effectiveness of China’s efforts to rebuild positive public opinion within the Chinese overseas diaspora, but the demonstrations nevetheless received official support both symbolically and in practice While there was no compulsion for overseas Chinese to attend the rallies, those who did were given free t-shirts, souvenirs, transport, and accommodation, donated by local embassy officials and China-based donors.
s, to shift the debate in favor of the Communist Party and influence public opinion. They are sometime called the "50-cent party" - named so because they are allegedly paid 50 Chinese cents for each comment supporting the CCP they make.
An internal government document released by the BBC outlines the requirements for those employed as spin-doctors, which include having "relatively good political and professional qualities, and have a pioneering and enterprising spirit", being able to react quickly, etc.
It is believed that such government-sponsored Internet commentators have now become widespread and their numbers could be in the tens of thousands; Bandurski suggests the number may be up to 280,000 while The Guardian puts the estimate as 300,000. According to The Guardian
, the growth in popularity of such astroturfing
owes to the ease with which web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter
, Wikipedia
and YouTube
can be employed to sway public opinion. The BBC reports that special centres have been set up to train China's 'army of internet spin doctors'.
resorting to Peace Journalism
has been analyzed as a growing trend in China's strategy for domestic propaganda, in particular in covering news from Xinjiang
. After Zbigniew Brzezinski
's having termed Central Asia
the "Global Balkans" Idriss Aberkane has argued the resorting to unilateral, state-endorsed Peace Journalism could be a way for China to "de- balkanize
" Xinjiang. This he has called "coercive Peace Journalism".
On its official Chinese Web site, CCTV describes itself as "the mouthpiece of the Party and the government," and lists its main operations under the heading "propaganda situation," referring to new foreign language channels as "reaching a new stage in external propaganda."
has promoted a "soft power
initiative" aimed at increasing China's influence overseas through cultural and language programs. These trends have been identified by the American Council of Foreign Relations, which describes that "Beijing is trying to convince the world of its peaceful intentions, secure the resources it needs to continue its soaring economic growth, and isolate Taiwan." The article points out that adverse effects of soft power, that "China has the potential to become the 600-pound gorilla in the room," and that "Chinese influence may begin to breed resentment."
The politburo
members Li Changchun
and Liu Yunshan
have repeatedly stressed that Chinese propaganda should be equally spread both domestically and internationally, and Li Changchun stated that the Confucius Institute
s are "an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world", which is "part of China's foreign propaganda strategy".
The Economist
noted that Confucius Institutes are used to project China's soft power and win the support of an external audience, and Confucius was specifically chosen to cast an image of peace and harmony. Such centers are partially sponsored by the Chinese government, with a hands-off approach to management, its directors being directly appointed by their attached universities.
In 2009, Chinese state media launched the English language version of the Global Times
, a nationally distributed news publications. It was described as a part of a larger push by the Chinese government to have a greater say in international media, as well as supplanting what it considers to be biased Western media sources.
In 2009, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao
initiated the Grand External Propaganda Strategy, , a government propaganda project budgeted at RMB 45 billion Yuan. The aim of the project is to "Seize the initiative, gain the right to speak, maintain an active role, and grasp the power to raise the appeal of our positions in public opinion and in international broadcasting."
as its basis for art, making clear its goal was the 'education' of the people in communist ideology. This included, as during the Cultural Revolution, transforming literature and art to serve these ends. Pre-revolutionary songs and operas were banned as a poisonous legacy of the past. Middle and high schools were targeted by one campaign because the students circulated romance and love stories among themselves.
Maoist propaganda art has been remade and modernized for almost two decades, and old Cultural Revolution era propaganda productions have appeared in new formats such as DVDs and karaoke versions. They appear in rock and pop versions of revolutionary songs in praise of Mao, as well as T-shirts, watches, porcelain, and other memorabilia. The works of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution have been selling extremely well in recent years, largely for nostalgia, social, patriotic or entertainment purposes
Propaganda songs and music, such as guoyue
and revolutionary opera
, have a long and storied history in the PRC, featuring prominently in the popular culture of the 1950s to the 1970s. Many of these songs were collected and performed as modern rock adaptations for several albums that were released during the 1990s, including "Red Rock
" and "Red Sun: Mao Zedong Praise Songs New Revolutionary Medley". The latter sold 6-10 million copies in China. Most of the older songs praise Mao, the CCP, the 1949 revolution, the Chinese Red Army and the People's Liberation Army
, the unity of the ethnic groups of China, and the various ethnic groups' devotion to Mao and the CCP.
" (红岩), a famous 1961 Chinese novel featuring underground communist agents fighting an espionage battle against the Kuomintang
.
(收租院), a 1965 sculpture depicting former landlord Liu Wencai
as an evil landlord collecting rent from poor, although this depiction has been disputed by modern accounts.
Most of the songs listed above are no longer used as propaganda by the CCP, but are exhibited in mainland China as a means of reviving popular nostalgia for the "old times".
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
's use of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
to sway public and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
of proscribed views and an active cultivation of views that favor the government. Propaganda is considered central to the operation of the Chinese government.
Aspects of propaganda can be traced back to the earliest period of Chinese history, but propaganda has been most effective in the twentieth century owing to mass media and an authoritarian government. Mao-era China is known for its constant use of mass campaigns to legitimize the state and the policies of leaders. It was the first Chinese government to successfully make use of modern mass propaganda techniques, adapting them to the needs of a country which had a largely rural and illiterate
Literacy
Literacy has traditionally been described as the ability to read for knowledge, write coherently and think critically about printed material.Literacy represents the lifelong, intellectual process of gaining meaning from print...
population.
Propaganda as interpreted in China refers to information promoted to the public. See Terminology.
Mao era
The origins of the CCP propaganda system can be traced to the Yan’an and the rectification movements carried out there following which it became a key mechanism in the Party's campaigns. The propaganda system, considered a central part of CCP’s "control system", drew much from Soviet, Nazi and other totalitarian states’ propaganda methods. It represented a quintessential Leninist "transmission belt" for indoctrination and mass mobilizationAgitprop
Agitprop is derived from agitation and propaganda, and describes stage plays, pamphlets, motion pictures and other art forms with an explicitly political message....
.
David Shambaugh observes that propaganda and indoctrination are considered to been a hallmark of the Maoist China; the CCP employed a variety of "thought control" techniques, including incarceration for "thought reform," construction of role models to be emulated, mass mobilization campaigns, the creation of ideological monitors and propaganda teams for indoctrination purposes, enactment of articles to be memorized, control of the educational system and media, a nationwide system of loudspeakers, among other methods. While ostensibly aspiring to a "Communist utopia," often had a negative focus on constantly searching for enemies among the people. The means of persuasion was often extremely violent, "a literal acting out of class struggle."
According to Anne-Marie Brady, an Associate Professor at the University of Canterbury’s School of Political Science and Communication, CCP propaganda and thought work traditionally had a much broader notion of the public sphere than is usually defined by media specialists. Chinese propagandists used every possible means of communication available in China after 1949, including electronic media such as film and television, educational curriculum and research, print media such as newspapers and posters, cultural arts such as plays and music, oral media such as memorizing Mao quotes, as well as thought reform and political study classes.
China Central Television
China Central Television
China Central Television or Chinese Central Television, commonly abbreviated as CCTV, is the major state television broadcaster in mainland China. CCTV has a network of 19 channels broadcasting different programmes and is accessible to more than one billion viewers...
has traditionally served as a major national conduit for televised propaganda, while the People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
newspaper has served as a medium for print propaganda. During the Mao years, a distinctive feature of propaganda and thought work was "rule by editorial," according to Brady. Political campaigns would be launched through editorials and leading articles in People's Daily, which would be followed by other papers. Work units and other organizational political study groups utilized these articles as a source for political study, and reading newspapers in China was "a political obligation". Mao used Lenin's model for the media, which had it function as a tool of mass propaganda, agitation, and organization.
During the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, PRC propaganda was crucial to the formation and promotion of the cult of personality
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
centered around Chairman Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
, as well as mobilizing popular participation in national campaigns. Past propaganda also encouraged the Chinese people to emulate government approved model workers and soldiers, such as Lei Feng
Lei Feng
Lei Feng was a soldier of the People's Liberation Army in the People's Republic of China. After his death, Lei was characterised as a selfless and modest person who was devoted to the Communist Party, Chairman Mao Zedong, and the people of China...
, Chinese Civil War
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
hero Dong Cunrui
Dong Cunrui
Dong Cunrui was a Chinese Communist soldier in the People's Liberation Army during the Chinese Civil War who blew himself up in order to destroy a Kuomintang bunker guarding to approach to an important bridge in Longhua County. Under heavy fire, he reached the bunker, but there was no place to...
, Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
hero Yang Gensi
Yang Gensi
Yang Gensi was a military hero of People's Republic of China, remembered for his efforts and death in the Korean War. A frequent topic of Communist Chinese propaganda, the people of the republic were taught to emulate his acts in their daily lives.Gensi was born in a poor peasant family in...
, and Dr. Norman Bethune
Norman Bethune
Henry Norman Bethune was a Canadian physician and medical innovator. Bethune is best known for his service in war time medical units during the Spanish Civil War and with the Communist Eighth Route Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War...
, a Canadian doctor who assisted the Communist Eighth Route Army
Eighth Route Army
The Eighth Route Army was the larger of the two major Chinese communist forces that formed a unit of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China which fought the Japanese from 1937 to 1945. In contrast to most of the National Revolutionary Army, it was controlled by the Communist...
during the Second Sino-Japanese War
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. It also praised Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
revolutionaries and close foreign allies such as Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
while vilifying both the American "imperialists" and the Soviet "revisionists" (the latter of whom was seen as having betrayed Marxism-Leninism following the Sino-Soviet split
Sino-Soviet split
In political science, the term Sino–Soviet split denotes the worsening of political and ideologic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War...
).
According to Barbara Mittler, Maoist era propaganda left memories of violence and slander upon many Chinese, and their psychological strains drove many to madness and death. Today, Maoist era propaganda are no longer used by the CCP, and are largely commercialized for the purposes of nostalgia.
Modern era
Following the death of Mao in 1976, propaganda was used to blacken the character of the Gang of FourGang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
, which was blamed for the excesses of the Cultural Revolution. During the era of economic reform and modernization that was initiated by Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
, propaganda promoting "socialism with Chinese characteristics" was distributed.
The events of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese , were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing in the People's Republic of China beginning on 15 April 1989...
were an indication to many elders in the CCP that liberalization in the propaganda sector had gone too far, and that the Party must re-establish its control over ideology and the propaganda system.
Brady writes that propaganda and thought work have become the "life blood" of the Party-State since the post-1989 period, and one of the key means for guaranteeing the CCP's continued legitimacy and hold on power.
In the 1990s, propaganda theorists described the challenges to China's propaganda and thought work as "blind spots"; mass communication was advocated as the antidote. From the early 1990s, selective concepts from mass communications theory, public relations, advertising, social psychology, and other areas of modern mass persuasion were introduced into China's propaganda system for the purpose of creating a modern propaganda model.
Kurlantzick and Link noted that through cultivating economic growth and Chinese nationalism, the CCP has modernized authoritarianism to maintain their political control. They asserted that elite business leaders, who has benefited from China's economic growth, has accepted the CCP's authoritarian control as a result, largely preventing the new rich and emerging middle class from challenging their rule. Fenby argues that the latter, rather than accepting the system per se, have learnt to use it to their advantage. Kurlantzick and Link also noted that dissent still largely exist in the Chinese populace in regards to government policies on the economy, environment and society, particularly in rural areas, as they are becoming more aware of the constitutional rights. A recent poll in 2007 shown that 70% of Chinese consider the new rich to be corrupt and unworthy of respect.
Recent developments
In early 2009 the Communist Party embarked on a multi-billion dollar global media expansion, including a 24-hour English language news channel in the style of Western news agencies. According to Nicholas Bequelin, a senior researcher at Human Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, it was part of Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
's plan to "go global" and make "the voice of China better heard in international affairs", by strengthening their foreign language services, and being less political in their broadcasting. Bequelin notes that their function is to channel a specific view of China to an international audience, and their fundamental premise remains the same; that all information broadcasted must reflect the government's views. The Chinese government encouraged the adaption of Western style media marketing in their news agencies due to internal competition with national commercial media.
The 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
were portrayed by the Chinese government as a symbol of China's pride and place in the world, and seem to have bolstered some domestic support for the Chinese government, and support for the policies of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
, giving rise to concerns that the state will possibly have more leverage to disperse dissent
Dissent
Dissent is a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or an entity...
.
In the lead-up to the Olympics, the government allegedly issued guidelines to the local media for their reporting during the Games: most political issues not directly related to the games were to be downplayed; topics such as pro-Tibetan independence and East Turkestan movements were not to be reported on, as were food safety issues such as "cancer-causing mineral water." As the 2008 Chinese milk scandal
2008 Chinese milk scandal
The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a food safety incident in the People's Republic of China, involving milk and infant formula, and other food materials and components, adulterated with melamine....
broke in September 2008, there was widespread speculation that China's desire for a perfect Games may have been a factor contributing towards the delayed recall of contaminated infant formula
Infant formula
Infant formula is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid . The U.S...
.
In 2011, Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
party chief Bo Xilai
Bo Xilai
Bo Xilai is the Communist Party of China Chongqing Committee Secretary, first-in-charge of the Western interior municipality and a member of the Politburo of the Communist Party of China...
and the city's Propaganda Department initiated a 'Red Songs campaign' that demanded every district, government departments and commercial corporations, universities and schools, state radio and TV stations to begin singing "red songs", praising the achievements of the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
and PRC. Bo said the aim was "to reinvigorate the city with the Marxist ideals of his father's comrade-in-arms Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
"; although academic Ding Xueliang of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a public university located in Hong Kong. Established in 1991 under Hong Kong Law Chapter 1141 , it is one of the nine universities in Hong Kong.Professor Tony F. Chan is the president of HKUST...
suspected the campaign's aim was to further his political standing within the country's leadership.
Terminology
"Propaganda" as defined in Western societies is a "form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself." Moreover, the term frequently carries the pejorative connotations of promulgating bias or misinformation. In China, however, the term is used more broadly to refer to the organized dissemination of information, including more mundane messages intended to promote the public good.The Chinese term for propaganda, xuanchuan (宣传) first appeared in the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, written in the 3rd century. The term translates literally as "to broadcast" or "to propagate (information)." Although it is liberally rendered in english as "propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
," the term does not imply negative connotations per se. Xuanchuan also means to advertise and is a common term used by commercial businesses with no relationship to the government or politics.
Control of media
Media operations and content are tightly controlled, and the Party largely determines what appears in news reports. Controlling media content allows the Communist Party to disseminate propaganda supportive of government policies, censor controversial news stories, and have reports published criticizing political adversaries, including advocates of religious freedom and democracy, supporters of Taiwanese and Tibetan independence, and representatives of the United States government. In 2005, Reporters Without BordersReporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders is a France-based international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press. It was founded in 1985, by Robert Ménard, Rony Brauman and the journalist Jean-Claude Guillebaud. Jean-François Julliard has served as Secretary General since 2008...
published a report about the state-run news agency Xinhua, calling it "the world's biggest propaganda agency".
While in the past the CCP’s Central Propaganda Department and its local branches sent faxes to all media throughout the country with instructions indicating subjects that the media should stress or avoid entirely, directives are now imparted to ranking media managers or editors during phone conversations—a move designed to reduce the paper trail. Media in China faces few restrictions on content that is not deemed to be politically damaging.
Wu Xuecan, a former editor of the People's Daily
People's Daily
The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...
Overseas Edition, reports that through control of the "ideological domain, material means and living necessities," editors and reporters are conditioned to keep news and reports aligned with the interests of the Chinese Communist Party. Wu further reports that, political study sessions ensures that editors first practice self-censorship. He Qinglian writes that long years of media control have bred in Chinese journalists a habit of "self-discipline," and that most Chinese journalists resign themselves to playing the role of "Party mouthpieces." Control is also directed at sources of information, as ordinary people are restricted from providing news to Chinese media, and more so to foreign media.
Thought reform
Propaganda and thought work in the Maoist era had a number of distinctive features, according to Brady, such as "ideological remolding" or "thought reform" (思想改造), ideological purges, ritual humiliation of ideological opponents, an emphasis on political study to raise levels of awareness of the current line, and targeting high-profile individuals as symbols of negative tendencies which must be eradicated.The experiences of propaganda and thought work in the Cultural Revolution provided the CCP with a "profound lesson," according to Brady. Virtually all post-Mao era Party leaders had been under attack during that time, and drew two seemingly contradictory lessons: the rejection of mass movements and thought reform as means of transforming China, and the recognition of the "vital role of propaganda and thought work in China's political control." The administration of propaganda and thought work was plagued by these issues through the 1980s, and up to the events of June 4, 1989.
Biderman and Meyers wrote in 1968 that while some kind of thought reform is characteristic of all totalitarian regimes, the CCP "set about it more purposefully, more massively, and more intensively than have other ruling groups," including through employing known techniques in new ways. They note the presence of such techniques in Maoist political campaigns, such as daily meetings for criticism and self-criticism; surveillance and sanctions were connected with education to find and correct deficiencies in personal conducts. In the military, political leaders attacked all personal connections between soldiers that were not based on political conviction, thus exploiting social pressures and personal anxieties to build a sense of conformity.
In terms of intensity and scope, spiritual control has been reinforced under the CCP's rule, and has become a basic feature of citizens' daily life, according to Victor Shaw. To an extent, the "freedom of silence" cherished by some older Chinese scholars was not even possible for an illiterate peasant in a remote area under the CCP mass propaganda.
According to Shaw, the CCP utilizes propaganda to spread its policies, build social consensus, and mobilize the population for social programs. Ideological tensions result in mass movements, and the resulting spiritual control legitimizes the political establishment. "Political studies, legal education, heroic models, and thought reform provide the CCP with effective weapons to propagandize rules and legal codes, normalize individual behaviour, and rehabilitate deviants in labor camps."
Kurlantzick and Link stated that the CCP uses the technique of "thoughtwork" (sixiang gongzuo) to maintain popular obedience, dating back to the Mao Zedong era. They noted that while Mao-era campaigns are aimed at transforming the Chinese society and people's natures, the modern approach to thoughtwork are more subtle and only focuses on issues important to the CCP's rule. According to Kurlantzick and Link, it consists largely of cultivating pro-government views in the media and other influential people in Chinese society, and as such complaints against the government becomes distracted with pro-government propaganda. The government also attempts to distance itself from local issues by blaming them on corrupt local officials, says Kurlantzick and Link.
Spin doctors
According to Anne-Marie Brady, the Foreign Ministry first set up a system of designated officials to give information in times of crisis in 1983, and greatly expanded the system to lower levels in the mid 1990s. Previously, China's spin had been directed only at foreigners, but in the 1990s leaders realised that managing public crises was useful for domestic politics; this included setting up provincial level "News Coordinator Groups," and inviting foreign PR firms to give seminars.Brady writes that Chinese foreign propaganda officials took cues from the Blair government
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
's spin doctoring during the mad cow disease crisis of 2000-2001
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
, and the Bush government
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
's use of the U.S. media after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. According to her, the Blair model allows for a certain amount of negative coverage to be shown during a crisis, which is believed to help release some of the "social tension" surrounding it. She believes information managers in China used this approach during coal mining disasters of 2005.
According to Brady, trained official spokespeople are now available on call in every central government ministry, as well as in local governments, to deal with emerging crises; these spin doctors are coordinated and trained by the Office of Foreign Propaganda/State Council Information Office.
During the July 2009 Ürümqi riots, Communist Party officials moved swiftly in a public relations campaign. According to Newsweek, Party officials felt that the recent riots risked tarnishing China's global image, and underwent a public relations program involving quickly getting out the government's official version of the events, as well as transporting foreign journalists to riot affected areas. The growth in new technologies, such as email and SMS, forced the CCP's hand into taking up spin.
Instead of attempting a media blackout as with the 2008 Tibetan unrest
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
, the Party has adopted a series of more advanced techniques to influence the information leaving China. The day after violence in Urumqi, the State Council Information Office set up a Xinjiang Information Office in Urumqi to assist foreign reporters. It invited foreign media to Xinjiang to tour the riot zones, visit hospitals, and look at the aftermath themselves. Journalists were also given CDs with photos and TV clips. "They try to control the foreign journalists as much as possible by using this more sophisticated PR work rather than ban[ning] them," according to Professor Xiao Qiang, quoted by Newsweek.
Structure and mechanics
According to David Shambaugh, professor of political science and international affairs at the Elliott School of International AffairsElliott School of International Affairs
The Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University is a professional school in international relations. It is located in the heart of Washington, D.C...
and a fellow of the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., in the United States. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and...
, the CCP's propaganda system extends itself as a sprawling bureaucratic establishment, into virtually every medium concerned with the dissemination of information. Shambaugh notes that according to the CCP publication Zhongguo Gongchandang jianshe dazidian. numerous public places, such as media and news organizations, educational institutions, literature and art centers, and cultural exhibitions come under CCP's propaganda oversight. Shambaugh believes that this expansive definition implies that every conceivable medium which transmits and conveys information to the people of China falls under bureaucratic purview of the CCP Propaganda Department (CCPPD). Shambaugh states that the writ of the CCPPD has remained unchanged since the Maoist era, although the mechanics of oversight and active censorship have undergone considerable evolution.
According to official government reports in 2003, channels of propaganda dissemination of the CCPPD included 2,262 television stations (of which 2,248 were "local"), 2,119 newspapers, 9,074 periodicals and 1,123 publishing houses, in addition to internal circulation papers and local gazetteers, approximately 68 million internet accounts with more than 100 million users, and more than 300 million mobile phone users who fall under the system's purview.
According to Brady, propaganda work by the CCP has been historically divided into two categories: directed towards Chinese people (internal or duinei) and directed towards foreigners and the outside world (external or duiwai) as well as four types: political, economic, cultural and social. The Central Propaganda Department oversees internal propaganda, and, the closely linked bureaucracy, The Office of Foreign Propaganda matters relating to external propaganda.
Shambaugh states that the propaganda system, including the Central Propaganda Department, are highly secret and does not appear in officially published diagrams of the Chinese Bureaucratic System, whether in Chinese or in other languages. The Office of Foreign Propaganda itself is more commonly known as 'Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China', under the dual nameplate system, according to Brady. The chief of Chinese propaganda, Li Changchun
Li Changchun
Li Changchun is the Propaganda chief of the Communist Party of China. He is the 5th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, China's de facto top power organ, and has been a member since 2002...
, was named as nineteenth most powerful person in the world by Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
magazine in 2009.http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/20/power-09_Li-Changchun_YOVG.html
Propaganda on the Internet
Traditionally, the CCP propaganda apparatus had been based around suppressing news and information, but this often meant the Party found itself in a reactive posture, according to Chinese media expert David Bandurski. In later years the Internet played a key role in the spread of propaganda to Chinese diaspora. PRC-based Internet sites remain a leading source of Chinese language and China-related news for overseas Chinese. The Internet is an extremely effective tool for guiding and organizing overseas Chinese public opinion, according to Anne-Marie Brady.Brady cites an example of the role of the Internet in organizing popular protests by overseas Chinese, its usage by the state against a perceived bias of the Western media in its coverage of unrest in Tibetan areas in March 2008
2008 Tibetan unrest
The 2008 Tibetan unrest, also known from its Chinese name as the 3•14 Riots, was a series of riots, protests, and demonstrations that started in Tibetan regional capital of Lhasa and spread to other Tibetan areas and a number of monasteries including outside the Tibet Autonomous Region...
and, a month later, in organizing a series of worldwide demonstrations in support of China during the Olympic torch relay
2008 Summer Olympics torch relay
The 2008 Summer Olympics torch relay was run from March 24 until August 8, 2008, prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, with the theme of "one world, one dream". Plans for the relay were announced on April 26, 2007, in Beijing, China...
.
Brady noted that these protests were genuine and popular, demonstrating the effectiveness of China’s efforts to rebuild positive public opinion within the Chinese overseas diaspora, but the demonstrations nevetheless received official support both symbolically and in practice While there was no compulsion for overseas Chinese to attend the rallies, those who did were given free t-shirts, souvenirs, transport, and accommodation, donated by local embassy officials and China-based donors.
Online spin doctors
China is known for using internet "spin doctors", specially trained internet users who comment on blogs, public forums or wikiWiki
A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used collaboratively by multiple users. Examples include...
s, to shift the debate in favor of the Communist Party and influence public opinion. They are sometime called the "50-cent party" - named so because they are allegedly paid 50 Chinese cents for each comment supporting the CCP they make.
An internal government document released by the BBC outlines the requirements for those employed as spin-doctors, which include having "relatively good political and professional qualities, and have a pioneering and enterprising spirit", being able to react quickly, etc.
It is believed that such government-sponsored Internet commentators have now become widespread and their numbers could be in the tens of thousands; Bandurski suggests the number may be up to 280,000 while The Guardian puts the estimate as 300,000. According to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, the growth in popularity of such astroturfing
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
owes to the ease with which web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
and YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
can be employed to sway public opinion. The BBC reports that special centres have been set up to train China's 'army of internet spin doctors'.
Domestic propaganda
Within the doctrine of China's peaceful riseChina's peaceful rise
China's peaceful rise was a phrase that was used by officials and scholars in the People's Republic of China to describe the country's foreign policy approach in the early 21st century...
resorting to Peace Journalism
Peace Journalism
Peace journalism has been developed from research that indicates that often news about conflict has a value bias toward violence. It also includes practical methods for correcting this bias by producing journalism in both the mainstream and alternative media and working with journalists, media...
has been analyzed as a growing trend in China's strategy for domestic propaganda, in particular in covering news from Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. After Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Zbigniew Kazimierz Brzezinski is a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist, and statesman who served as United States National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981....
's having termed Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
the "Global Balkans" Idriss Aberkane has argued the resorting to unilateral, state-endorsed Peace Journalism could be a way for China to "de- balkanize
Balkanization
Balkanization, or Balkanisation, is a geopolitical term, originally used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative.The term refers to the...
" Xinjiang. This he has called "coercive Peace Journalism".
External propaganda
The Chinese state refers to all media work abroad as wai xuan, or "external propaganda." In a 2008 report, the U.S. State Department’s International Security Advisory Board declared that China was in the midst of a "comprehensive strategic deception campaign," which was said to include "Psychological Warfare (propaganda, deception, and coercion), Media Warfare (manipulation of public opinion domestically and internationally), and Legal Warfare (use of ‘legal regimes’ to handicap the opponent in fields favorable to him)."On its official Chinese Web site, CCTV describes itself as "the mouthpiece of the Party and the government," and lists its main operations under the heading "propaganda situation," referring to new foreign language channels as "reaching a new stage in external propaganda."
Soft Power Initiative
Since 2005, Chinese Premier Hu JintaoHu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
has promoted a "soft power
Soft power
Soft power is the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction. It can be contrasted with 'hard power', that is the use of coercion and payment...
initiative" aimed at increasing China's influence overseas through cultural and language programs. These trends have been identified by the American Council of Foreign Relations, which describes that "Beijing is trying to convince the world of its peaceful intentions, secure the resources it needs to continue its soaring economic growth, and isolate Taiwan." The article points out that adverse effects of soft power, that "China has the potential to become the 600-pound gorilla in the room," and that "Chinese influence may begin to breed resentment."
The politburo
Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China
The Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China is a committee consisting of the top leadership of the Communist Party of China, whose membership varies between 5 and 9 people. The inner workings of the PSC are not well known, although it is believed that decisions of the PSC are...
members Li Changchun
Li Changchun
Li Changchun is the Propaganda chief of the Communist Party of China. He is the 5th ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, China's de facto top power organ, and has been a member since 2002...
and Liu Yunshan
Liu Yunshan
-Biography:Liu worked in Inner Mongolia for 20 years, beginning with his appointment there in 1968.Mr. Liu is the Director of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. But because of party seniority, he serves behind Li Changchun...
have repeatedly stressed that Chinese propaganda should be equally spread both domestically and internationally, and Li Changchun stated that the Confucius Institute
Confucius Institute
Confucius Institutes are non-profit public institutions that aim to promote Chinese language and culture, support local Chinese teaching internationally, as well as facilitating cultural exchanges. They are sometimes compared to language and culture promotion organizations such as France's...
s are "an important channel to glorify Chinese culture, to help Chinese culture spread to the world", which is "part of China's foreign propaganda strategy".
The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
noted that Confucius Institutes are used to project China's soft power and win the support of an external audience, and Confucius was specifically chosen to cast an image of peace and harmony. Such centers are partially sponsored by the Chinese government, with a hands-off approach to management, its directors being directly appointed by their attached universities.
In 2009, Chinese state media launched the English language version of the Global Times
Global Times
The Global Times is a daily Chinese tabloid under the auspices of the official Chinese Communist Party newspaper, the People's Daily, focusing on international issues...
, a nationally distributed news publications. It was described as a part of a larger push by the Chinese government to have a greater say in international media, as well as supplanting what it considers to be biased Western media sources.
In 2009, Chinese Premier Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
initiated the Grand External Propaganda Strategy, , a government propaganda project budgeted at RMB 45 billion Yuan. The aim of the project is to "Seize the initiative, gain the right to speak, maintain an active role, and grasp the power to raise the appeal of our positions in public opinion and in international broadcasting."
Propaganda in the arts
As in the Soviet Union, the CCP under Mao Zedong took socialist realismSocialist realism
Socialist realism is a style of realistic art which was developed in the Soviet Union and became a dominant style in other communist countries. Socialist realism is a teleologically-oriented style having its purpose the furtherance of the goals of socialism and communism...
as its basis for art, making clear its goal was the 'education' of the people in communist ideology. This included, as during the Cultural Revolution, transforming literature and art to serve these ends. Pre-revolutionary songs and operas were banned as a poisonous legacy of the past. Middle and high schools were targeted by one campaign because the students circulated romance and love stories among themselves.
Maoist propaganda art has been remade and modernized for almost two decades, and old Cultural Revolution era propaganda productions have appeared in new formats such as DVDs and karaoke versions. They appear in rock and pop versions of revolutionary songs in praise of Mao, as well as T-shirts, watches, porcelain, and other memorabilia. The works of propaganda from the Cultural Revolution have been selling extremely well in recent years, largely for nostalgia, social, patriotic or entertainment purposes
Propaganda songs and music, such as guoyue
Guoyue
Guoyue is a modernized form of Chinese traditional music written or adapted for some form of grand presentation, usually through a large orchestra of Chinese instruments. It was created in mainland China beginning in the early 20th century and is frequently broadcast on radio and television in the...
and revolutionary opera
Revolutionary opera
Revolutionary opera refers to the model operas planned and engineered during the Cultural Revolution by Jiang Qing, the wife of Chairman Mao Zedong...
, have a long and storied history in the PRC, featuring prominently in the popular culture of the 1950s to the 1970s. Many of these songs were collected and performed as modern rock adaptations for several albums that were released during the 1990s, including "Red Rock
Red Rock
-Places:Australia*Red Rock Reserve, a maar crater complex near Colac in Victoria, Australia*Red Rock, New South Wales, a small town near Grafton, New South Wales, AustraliaCanada*Red Rock, Ontario, a township in Ontario, Canada...
" and "Red Sun: Mao Zedong Praise Songs New Revolutionary Medley". The latter sold 6-10 million copies in China. Most of the older songs praise Mao, the CCP, the 1949 revolution, the Chinese Red Army and the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, the unity of the ethnic groups of China, and the various ethnic groups' devotion to Mao and the CCP.
Novel
"Red CragRed Crag
Red Crag was a 1961 novel by Chinese authors Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan, who were former inmates in a Kuomintang prison in Sichuan...
" (红岩), a famous 1961 Chinese novel featuring underground communist agents fighting an espionage battle against the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
.
Sculpture
Rent Collection CourtyardRent Collection Courtyard
The Rent Collection Courtyard is a 1965 sculpture in located in the courtyard of the former home of rural landlord Liu Wencai in Dayi County, Sichuan by Ye Yushan and a team of sculptors from the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts...
(收租院), a 1965 sculpture depicting former landlord Liu Wencai
Liu Wencai
Liu Wencai was a Chinese landlord from Sichuan province, and brother of the warlord Liu Wenhui. During the Cultural Revolution, he was depicted as the archetype of the exploiter of peasant farmers.-Biography:...
as an evil landlord collecting rent from poor, although this depiction has been disputed by modern accounts.
Films and Plays
- Battle on Shangganling MountainBattle on Shangganling MountainBattle on Shangganling Mountain is a 1956 Chinese war film. It is also known as Shangganling Battle.The film depicts the Battle of Triangle Hill during the Korean War which American soldiers recall the battle as especially hard fought...
, a 1956 Chinese war film also known as Shangganling Battle (Chinese:上甘岭战役), depicting the Battle of Triangle HillBattle of Triangle HillThe Battle of Triangle Hill, also known as Operation Showdown or the Shangganling Campaign ,Chinese sources often mistranslate Shangganling Campaign as the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge. was a protracted military engagement during the Korean War...
during the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. - The Eight model plays (八个样板戏), revolutionary themed operas and ballets, were the only ones allowed to be performed during the Cultural RevolutionCultural RevolutionThe Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
.- Taking Tiger Mountain by StrategyTaking Tiger Mountain by StrategyTaking Tiger Mountain by Strategy is a Beijing opera, and one of the eight model plays allowed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution...
(智取威虎山), a play about communist soldiers infiltrating a bandit camp during the Chinese Civil WarChinese Civil WarThe Chinese Civil War was a civil war fought between the Kuomintang , the governing party of the Republic of China, and the Communist Party of China , for the control of China which eventually led to China's division into two Chinas, Republic of China and People's Republic of...
. - The Legend of the Red LanternThe Legend of the Red LanternThe Legend of the Red Lantern is one of the Eight model plays, the only operas and ballets permitted during the Cultural Revolution in China. The official version was that of a Beijing Opera...
(红灯记), a play based on the activities of the communist resistance against JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in HulinHulinHulin is a city on the Muling River in southeastern Heilongjiang province, Northeast China. With a population of around 200,000, it is under the administration of Jixi. Nearby are Khanka Lake, to the southwest, the Usuri River, which forms the Russian border to the east...
during the Second Sino-Japanese WarSecond Sino-Japanese WarThe Second Sino-Japanese War was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. From 1937 to 1941, China fought Japan with some economic help from Germany , the Soviet Union and the United States...
. - Red Detachment of Women (红色娘子军), a pre-Cultural Revolution-era play, later extolled during the Cultural Revolution, about the women of Hainan Island who rose up in resistance on behalf of the CCP
- The White Haired GirlThe White Haired GirlThe White-Haired Girl is a Chinese opera, ballet, by Yan Jinxuan to a Chinese libretto. The first opera performance was in 1945, with Wang Kun playing the lead role. The film was made in 1950. The first Beijing opera performance was in 1958. The first ballet performance was by Shanghai Dance...
(白毛女), a play exploring the miseries of China peasants in 1930's China.
- Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy
Songs
The titles of some of the more well-known propaganda songs are as follows:- "NanniwanNanniwanNanniwan is a revolutionary song written in 1943 with lyrics by communist playwright and poet He Jingzhi and music by Ma Ke. It was made popular by the Communist Party of China and continues to be one of the most recognisable songs in the People's Republic of China.Nanniwan is a gorge about 90km...
" (《南泥湾》/《南泥灣》), a 1943 revolutionary songGuoyueGuoyue is a modernized form of Chinese traditional music written or adapted for some form of grand presentation, usually through a large orchestra of Chinese instruments. It was created in mainland China beginning in the early 20th century and is frequently broadcast on radio and television in the... - "The East is Red" (《东方红》/《東方紅》), the de facto national anthemNational anthemA national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of the PRC during the Cultural Revolution - "Socialism is Good" (《社会主义好》), a modern rock adaptation of which was performed by Zhang Qu and featured on the 1990s album Red RockRed Rock-Places:Australia*Red Rock Reserve, a maar crater complex near Colac in Victoria, Australia*Red Rock, New South Wales, a small town near Grafton, New South Wales, AustraliaCanada*Red Rock, Ontario, a township in Ontario, Canada...
. - "Battle Hymn of the Chinese People's Volunteers" (《中国人民志愿军战歌》/《中國人民志願軍戰歌》) a well-known song from the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
period - "Red Sun Shining Over the Border" (《红太阳照边疆》/《紅太陽照邊疆》)a song from the Yanbian Korean Autonomous PrefectureYanbian Korean Autonomous PrefectureYanbian is a Korean Autonomous Prefecture in Jilin Province, in Northeastern China, above the border with North Korea. Yanbian is bordered to the north by Heilongjiang, on the west by Baishan City and Jilin City, on the south by North Hamgyong Province of North Korea, and on the east by Primorsky...
in Jilin ProvinceJilinJilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west... - "A Wa People Sing New Songs" (阿佤唱新歌曲)a song attributed to the Wa ethnic minority of YunnanYunnanYunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
- "Laundry Song" (《洗衣歌》)a song celebrating the liberation of TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
- "Liuyang River" (《浏阳河》)a song about a river near Mao Zedong's hometown of ShaoshanShaoshanShaoshan is a county-level city in Xiangtan, Hunan Province, noted as the birthplace of Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China. Shaoshan was an important base during the Chinese Communist Revolution....
in HunanHunan' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting... - "Saliha Most Follows the Words of Chairman Mao" (《萨利哈听毛主席的话》/《薩利哈最聽毛主席的話》)a song attributed to the KazakhKazakhsThe Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
minority of the Xinjiang - "The Never-Setting Sun Rises Over the Grassland" (《草原上升起不落的太阳》/草原上升起不落的太陽from Inner MongoliaInner MongoliaInner Mongolia is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China, located in the northern region of the country. Inner Mongolia shares an international border with the countries of Mongolia and the Russian Federation...
- "Xinjiang is Good" (新疆好)attributed to the ethnic UyghursUyghur peopleThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
of Xinjiang - "I Love Beijing TiananmenI Love Beijing TiananmenI Love Beijing Tiananmen , formerly transliterated as I love Peking Tiananmen, is a children's song written during the Cultural Revolution era of People's Republic of China.-History:This song was part of the daily routine for many primary schools...
" (《我爱北京天安门》/《我愛北京天安門》)claimed to have been translated into over 50 languages, this song is frequently taught to schoolchildren in the PRC - "Zhuang Brocade Dedicated to Chairman Mao" (莊錦獻給毛主席)a song attributed to the Zhuang ethnic minority of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
- "Sweet-Scented Osmanthus Blooms With the Arrival of Happiness" (attributed to the MiaoHmong peopleThe Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
, or Chinese HmongHmong peopleThe Hmong , are an Asian ethnic group from the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. Hmong are also one of the sub-groups of the Miao ethnicity in southern China...
, ethnic minority group) - "Generations Remember Chairman Mao's Kindness" (a song celebrating the "liberation" of the ethnic XibeXibeThe Xibe or Sibo are a Tungusic ethnic group living mostly in northeast China and Xinjiang. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by the People's Republic of China.- History :...
people) - "Salaam Chairman Mao" (《萨拉姆毛主席》/《薩拉姆毛主席》)a XinjiangXinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
song praising Mao, composed by Wang LuobinWang LuobinWang Luobin was a renowned Han Chinese songwriter. He specialized in composing Mandarin-language songs based on the music of various ethnic minorities in western China.Wang was born in Beijing on 28 December 1913...
. A modern version was performed by Chinese rock singer Dao LangDao LangDao Lang is the pseudonym of Luo Lin, 2002 Niande Diyi Chang Xue in pinyin, released in 2003, made him an instant star in China. He sang with Alan Tam on the debut "Can't Say Goodbye"...
. - "Song of Mount Erlangshan" (《歌唱二郎山》)a 1950s song celebrating the development of Tibet, which made Mount Erlangshan in western SichuanSichuan' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
famous - "Story of the Spring" (春天的故事)a song performed by Dong WenhuaDong WenhuaDong Wenhua is a famous Chinese singer from the People's Liberation Army. "Moon of the Fifteenth", "Story of Spring", as well as many other songs of hers were popular to the youth generation of the 80's and the early 90's. China's Ministry of Culture has dedicated an award in her name...
, initially at the 1997 CCTV New Year's GalaCCTV New Year's GalaThe CCTV New Year's Gala is a Chinese New Year special produced by China Central Television. Broadcast on the eve of Chinese New Year on its flagship CCTV-1, satellite channels CCTV-4, CCTV-9, CCTV-E, CCTV-F, and CCTV-HD, the broadcast has a yearly viewership of over 700 million viewers, making it...
, days before his death, dedicated to late Chinese leader Deng XiaopingDeng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy... - "The Cultural Revolution is Just Great" (《无产阶级文化大革命就是好》/《無產階級文化大革命就是好》)a song praising the Cultural Revolution
- "On the Golden Mountains of Beijing" (北京的金山上)a song attributed to the TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
an people praising Mao as the shining sun - "Ode to the Socialist Motherland" (《歌唱社会主义祖国》/《歌唱社會主義祖國》) the Cultural Revolution-era modification of the well-known patriotic song "Ode to the Motherland" (《歌唱祖国》/《歌唱祖國》)。
- "Where are you going, Uncle Kurban?" (库尔班大叔您上哪儿)a song attributed to an uyghur oldman named Kurban Tulum (also known as Uncle Kurban) praising People's Liberation ArmyPeople's Liberation ArmyThe People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
.
Most of the songs listed above are no longer used as propaganda by the CCP, but are exhibited in mainland China as a means of reviving popular nostalgia for the "old times".
See also
- List of campaigns of the Communist Party of China
- Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China
- Thought reform in the People's Republic of ChinaThought reform in the People's Republic of ChinaThought reform in the People's Republic of China was a campaign of the Communist Party of China is to reform the thinking of Chinese citizens into accepting Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought from 1951–1952...
- Censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of ChinaCensorship in the People's Republic of China is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China . The special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau have their own legal systems and are largely self-governing, so these censorship policies do not apply...
- Media in the People's Republic of China
- Propaganda in the Republic of ChinaPropaganda in the Republic of ChinaPropaganda has been an important tool of the Republic of China government since its inception in 1912. It also was an important tool in legitimizing the Kuomintang controlled Republic of China government that retreated from Mainland China to Taiwan in 1949....
- Propaganda Poster Art CentrePropaganda Poster Art CentreThe Propaganda Poster Art Centre is a museum located in Shanghai which exhibits posters from the Maoist period of communist China, especially from the Cultural Revolution period.. The museum is located in the basement of an apartment building in Huashan Lu, formerly Avenue Haig, in the former...
, Shanghai, China - Propaganda modelPropaganda modelThe propaganda model is a conceptual model in political economy advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky that states how propaganda, including systemic biases, function in mass media...
- Spin doctoringSpin (public relations)In public relations, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through providing an interpretation of an event or campaign to persuade public opinion in favor or against a certain organization or public figure...
- 50 Cent Party50 Cent PartyThe 50 Cent Party is a pejorative unofficial term for Internet commentators hired by the government of the People's Republic of China or the Communist Party to post comments favorable towards party policies in an attempt to shape and sway public opinion on various Internet message boards...
- Internet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of ChinaInternet censorship in the People's Republic of China is conducted under a wide variety of laws and administrative regulations. There are no specific laws or regulations which the censorship follows...
Related Material
- Min, Anchee, Duo, Duo, Landsberger, Stefan R., Chinese Propaganda Posters, 245 x 370 mm, 320 pp., ISBN 3-8228-2619-7 (softcover)
- Wolf, MichaelMichael Wolf (photographer)Michael Wolf is a German artist and photographer who lives and works in Hong Kong and Paris.-Biography:Wolf was born in Germany and was raised in the United States, Europe, and Canada. He attended the North Toronto Collegiate Institute and the University of California, Berkeley...
Chinese Propaganda Posters: From the Collection of Michael Wolf, 2003, ISBN 3-8228-2619-7 - Harriet Evans, Stephanie Donald (eds.), Picturing Power in the People's Republic of China, ISBN 0-8476-9511-5
- Stefan Landsberger, Chinese Propaganda Posters: From Revolution to Reform, ISBN 90-5496-009-4
- Hunter, Edward. Brain-washing in Red China: the calculated destruction of men's minds. New York, N.Y., USA.: Vanguard Press, 1951, 1953,
- Lincoln Cushing and Ann Tompkins, Chinese Posters: Art from the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, San Francisco, CA : Chronicle Books, 2007, ISBN 978-0-8118-5946-2
- Ellul, JacquesJacques EllulJacques Ellul was a French philosopher, law professor, sociologist, lay theologian, and Christian anarchist. He wrote several books about the "technological society" and the interaction between Christianity and politics....
. Propaganda: The Formation of Men's AttitudesPropaganda: The Formation of Men's AttitudesPropaganda: The Formation of Men's Attitudes is a landmark work on the subject of propaganda by French philosopher,theologian, and sociologist Jacques Ellul. This book appears to be the first attempt to study propaganda from a sociological approach as well as a psychological one...
. Trans. Konrad Kellen & Jean Lerner. New York: Knopf, 1965. New York: Random House/ Vintage 1973
External links
Website of the Propaganda Department- Maopost.com: Vintage Chinese Propaganda Posters
- Stefan Landsberger's Chinese Propaganda Poster Pages
- Rethinking Cultural Revolution Culture
- Jon Sigurdson’s Collection of Posters 1963-1983
- University of Westminster Collection
- Ann Tompkins (Tang Fandi) and Lincoln Cushing Chinese Poster Collection
- Artemoto Collection of Chinese Propaganda Posters
- Chinese Propaganda posters