On February 3, 2020. Xi Jinping hosted a meeting with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Politburo Standing Committee. At the meeting he stressed that they should “do a good job in propaganda education and public opinion guidance.” Such guidance should include “promoting in-depth publicity about the major decisions of the CCP Central Committee, substantially reporting the effectiveness of the joint (epidemic) prevention and control measures in different regions and different departments, vividly telling touching stories, telling the story well about China’s fight against the epidemic, and demonstrating the Chinese people’s spirit and the great power of unity and togetherness in fighting the epidemic.”
Zhang Xiaoguo, Director of the Information Bureau of the CCP Central Propaganda Department, said that the department sent 300 news reporters to Hubei Province, including the epicenter Wuhan.
The WeChat account “Reporters Station” said that the majority of these 300 reporters were from CCP central media. “Besides providing prompt, full-scale reports on the epidemic prevention and control, (they will) present positive stories on humanity to the public to strengthen the guidance of public opinion.”
Excerpts in Chinese:
據悉，中共中央總書記、國家主席習近平周一（3日）主持召開了中央政治局常務委員會會議，研究加強肺炎疫情防控工作。其中會議強調，「要做好宣傳教育和輿論引導工作」，包括要「深入宣傳黨中央重大決策部署，充分報道各地區各部門聯防聯控的措施成效，生動講述防疫抗疫一線的感人事跡，講好中國抗擊疫情故事，展現中國人民團結一心、同舟共濟的精神風貌，凝聚眾志成城抗疫情的強大力量」。
中宣部新聞局局長、國家應急新聞辦主任張小國受訪時表示，中央宣傳部已調集300名記者，派往重災區湖北省及武漢市採訪報道。（央視截圖）
與之對應的是，在接受《新聞聯播》採訪中，張小國表示，「習近平總書記的重要講話，對做好宣傳教育和輿論引導工作提出了明確要求。中宣部連夜傳達學習貫徹落實，我們把疫情防控宣傳作為當前工作的重中之重。」
而微信公眾號「記者站」透露，這300多名記者多為央媒記者。業內人士估計，派出300多名記者深入湖北疫情防控一線後，「除了及時、全面的疫情防控報道之外，體現人文關懷的多種防控感動人心的正能量故事將帶到公眾面前以加強輿論引導。」
Source: HK01, February 5, 2020
https://www.hk01.com/議事廳/430297/武漢肺炎-加強輿論引導-中宣部調集逾300名記者赴疫區採訪