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Propaganda and Lies: Is Zhang Jingyi from Taiwan or from China?

Recently reporters from two Chinese Communist Party (CCP) controlled media attended a White House briefing and tried to hide their employer’s identity.

The first reporter was from Pheonix Television. (See Chinascope post: Propaganda and Lies: Background of Phoenix TV Whose Reporter Spoke for the CCP at the White House Press Release).

The second reporter is Zhang Jingyi. On April 8, 2020, Zhang Jingyi asked President Trump a question at the briefing. President Trump inquired where he was from. Zhang said “Taiwan.”

However, Zhang was not disclosing the full truth. He was from Taiwan, but he worked for Phoenix Television in 2010 and joined Dragon Television under the Shanghai Media Group which is one of the largest state-owned media and cultural conglomerates in China. In the context of President Trump’s question, he should have replied with the name of the company he is working for, which is the Shanghai Media Group.

The Taiwan Mainland Affairs Council spokesperson expressed that they will investigate Zhang’s case since his working for a state-owned media in China has violated the “Regulation on the Relationship between People from the Taiwan Region and the People from the Mainland,” which prohibits Taiwan citizens to taking positions in mainland China’s communist party, military, and political organizations.

Charlie Kirk (Founder and CEO of Turning Point USA) tweeted on April 17:

“How do agents of the CCP keep getting access to the White House Briefing Room? This “journalist” LIED to the president, said he was from Taiwan, but he is actually with Shanghai Media Group, a CCP propaganda arm RT if he should be arrested and deported!”

Trump responded to his tweet:

“Cut him off now!”

Related postings on Chinascope:

1. Excerpt in Chinese:

现供职于上海东方卫视的张经义在当天的记者会上获得提问机会,特朗普询问他称,“你来自哪里?”张经义简单回答,“我来自台湾。”特朗普回应说,“好”。

就这一事件,查理·柯克在周六的推文中写道,“中国共产党的代理人们是如何不断地获权进入白宫新闻简报室?这个‘记者’向总统说谎,称自己来自台湾,但他实际上是上海东方传媒集团的人,这集团是中共的宣传工具”。查理·柯克写道,“如果你赞同应将他抓起来并驱逐出境,同意的转起!”特朗普则在随后转发了这条推文,并附文写道,“马上把他砍掉(赶走)!”

台陆委会发言人邱垂正日前对此回应称,张经义具有台湾地区人民的身份,而上海东方卫视是大陆党务及政务系统直属的事业单位,张经义涉及违反《台湾地区与大陆地区人民关系条例》规定,即台湾民众不得担任大陆党政军或团体相关职务,或为其成员。邱垂正称,将会同相关机关尽快进行查处。

Source: Radio France International, April 18, 2020
http://www.rfi.fr/cn/政治/20200418-张经义事件继续发酵-特朗普转发推文赞成将其-马上赶走

2. Source: Twitter, President Trump on April 17, 2002