Chinese Communist Party seeks to shape environment in which information is produced, circulated and interpreted: Report

Colombo, Sep 28 (IANS) China has developed one of the world’s most extensive information control systems over the past two decades, with the use of the Great Firewall, imposing restrictions on foreign media, removing online content and arresting journalists and activists. However, information control in China has acquired a broader institutional and political purpose under Chinese President Xi Jinping, a report has highlighted.

“The objective is no longer confined to preventing politically sensitive material from reaching the public. Increasingly, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) seeks to shape the wider environment in which information is produced, circulated and interpreted,” an opinion piece in Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Wire News detailed.

It mentioned that the shift can be seen in the growing emphasis on what Chinese authorities term as the management of public opinion and the promotion of “positive energy” on social media platforms. Chinese government agencies, state media and digital platforms function within an increasingly coordinated system in which narratives which are politically desirable are disseminated while alternative accounts are restricted and made difficult to verify.

In July, comedian Guo Degang changed the lyrics of a revolutionary song during a performance in Wuhan. After his action, Chinese authorities fined the companies involved, contending that the changed lyrics distorted a song carrying the memory and sentiments of China’s wartime resistance. Since then, Guo Degang’s troupe has remained silent, according to the report in Ceylon Wire News.

Days later, a massive flood that struck Nepal’s Rasuwa originated in the Tibetan region of China on August 26. While Nepal released information regarding casualties and missing people and allowed journalists to report from impacted areas while Chinese authorities restricted reporting, deleted posts on social media platforms and punished people accused of spreading “rumours” about flooding.

“At first glance, the two episodes have little in common. One concerns a comedian altering a patriotic song, while the other concerns information emerging during a humanitarian disaster. Yet both demonstrate how the boundaries of permissible public discourse are being constructed across very different areas of social life,” the opinion piece stated.

Earlier this month, a leading international press freedom organisation strongly condemned the sweeping restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities on media professionals from accessing vital information regarding the Tibetan region following the devastating flash floods.

Expressing grave concern, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said that no independent Tibetan media outlet or international news organisation has been granted access to the disaster-stricken area.

The organisation said this “reflects a long-standing practice of the Chinese regime, which exercises some of the strictest control in the world over media professionals.”

In the aftermath of the disaster, it said, the Chinese authorities have only authorised state media to cover the floods in Tibetan areas, with reports highlighting Beijing’s achievements and successes in relief efforts rather than providing a comprehensive account of the scale and impact of the devastation.

Citing the Chinese state-run newspaper Xinjing Bao (The Beijing News), the authorities have also punished at least 10 internet users for “spreading rumours” related to the disaster.

Criticising the restrictions on media coverage, Aleksandra Bielakowska, Head of Advocacy at the RSF Asia-Pacific, said that in recent years, under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership, Tibet has become a “de facto information black hole”.

“No independent Tibetan media, nor any international media, are permitted to freely cover news from this autonomous region. The only outlets allowed to operate are those controlled by the state and its propaganda organs, which report on events in according to the guidelines approved by the Chinese Communist Party’s Propaganda Department. Under these circumstances, it is virtually impossible to gauge the true scale of the tragedy, as the regime seeks to whitewash its international image and stifle any information that might cast it in an unfavourable light,” Bielakowska stated.

–IANS

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