In the last couple of years, the Chinese communist regime increased its efforts to exert influence on overseas Chinese media. One example is to invite those influential overseas journalists to mainland China to attend media forums. The First Global Chinese Media Forum and the Second Global Chinese Media Forum were held in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, in September 2001 and Changsha City in Hunan Province in September 2003, respectively. Each time, local government authorities were the main sponsors.
The Third Global Chinese Media Forum was held at Wuhan City, Hubei Province, from September 11-13, 2005. The China News Agency and Wuhan City authorities jointly sponsored the forum. The forum invited more than 200 high-level journalists of overseas Chinese media from 46 different countries, all of them being presidents, CEO, directors, or chief editors in their organizations. The media included newspapers, magazines, radio stations, TV stations, as well as Internet media. According to the Chief Editor of China News Agency, Guo Zhaojin, the forum was meant to provide a platform for promoting the exchange and cooperation of overseas Chinese media with mainland China media.
Below are excerpts from a few articles published on Xinhuanet reporting about the Third Global Chinese Media Forum.
Overseas Chinese Media Have a Special Mission, State Council Official Claims
In an article published on September 14, 2005, Liu Zepeng, Deputy Director of Overseas Chinese Office of the State Council and President of China News Agency, says that overseas Chinese media have the responsibility to dissipate the "China Threat Theory" at the Third Global Chinese Media Forum held in Wuhan. Below are a few paragraphs from the article.
"For the last nine consecutive years, China has suffered the largest number of Antidumping Duty Investigations in the world, which covers almost every category of export products. The technical trade measurement has now become the number one non-tariff barrier instead of antidumping. Each year over 25 percent of exports are affected by the technical trade measurements.
"On this subject, Liu Zepeng, Deputy Director of Overseas Chinese Office of the State Council and President of China News Agency, expressed at the Third Global Chinese Media Forum that, facing the current ‘China fever,’ overseas Chinese media should have the responsibility to dissolving ‘the China threat theory’ in order to reduce the conflicts (of other countries) with China, to expand space for China’s development and to enhance the ‘soft power’ of China on the world stage.
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"’China needs a long-term stable international environment to develop and China needs to establish mutual trust in cooperation with neighboring countries,’ said Guo Zhaojin, the Chief Editor of the China News Agency, ‘the international Chinese media should become an important platform to pass the messages of peaceful Chinese development to other countries in the world.’"
http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2005-09/14/content_3488263.htm
Chinese Media—An Important Platform to Showcase a "True China" to the World, Xinhua Reports in Its News Wire
Below are two pieces of news reported by the Xinhua News Agency about the Third Global Chinese Media Forum. It exemplifies how the Chinese communist regime pays special attention to the overseas Chinese media market and strategies that it employs to fulfill its goal.
"Xinhuanet Hubei Channel, September 14, 2005—Over 200 of Chinese media’s leaders from 46 countries and regions attended the Third Global Chinese Media Forum that just ended.
"The representatives present at the Forum all agreed that the Chinese media is now in a period of development and many opportunities. The direction for the development of Chinese media in the new century is to run the newspaper with freedom of ownership, and to influence mainstream society with positive and healthy ideologies.
"China’s development has brought unprecedented space for growth and development for overseas Chinese media. In the past two years, the number of Chinese media in the world has doubled. Nowadays, there are more than 470 active Chinese media in over 100 countries and regions.
"’With China’s continued development and growth, the influence of Chinese media will be more far reaching,’ said Jiang Tianlong, Chairman of the American Asian Culture and Communications Group. While the Chinese media in the world are providing better services to Chinese people and communities, they, through their efforts, should let the world hear a stronger and more powerful voice from China."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2005-09/14/content_3487993.htm
In a separate news item titled "Domestic and Overseas Chinese Media Makes Waves of Cooperation and Interaction," it reported that overseas Chinese media were widely seeking cooperative partnership with mainland Chinese media firms.
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"Xinhuanet Hubei Channel, September 14, 2005—The Chairman of Taiwan’s Eastern Multimedia Group and Wuhan Broadcasting Television Group formally signed an agreement in Wuhan to establish a strategic partnership. At the Third Global Chinese Media Forum that has just ended, domestic and overseas Chinese media have started to make new strides in cooperation and interaction.
"At this Forum, over 200 global Chinese media leaders from 46 countries and regions were seeking strategic partners. During a short period of two days, the Yangtze River Daily News Group alone signed cooperation and partnership agreements with America’s China Press (Eastern U.S. edition), Canada’s Global Chinese Press, Australia’s Melbourne Daily, Thailand’s World Journal, Japan’s Chinese Leader, France’s European Times and New Zealand’s Xin Bao. Wuhan Broadcasting Television and Yangtze River Interactive Media Net have become the center of attention of broadcast and television media from Singapore, New Zealand, and Canada.
"Wang Linglin, Chairman of Taiwan’s Eastern Multimedia Group who formally signed an agreement with Wuhan Broadcasting Television Group to establish a strategic partnership, said that on the premises of mutual respect of intellectual property rights, both sides will provide news information and programs to each other and exchanges of news page (or time slots), and establish exchange mechanism for senior management, news reporters, editors and broadcasting staff. Earlier, Eastern Multimedia Group had established interactive relations with over 10 of mainland China’s media.
"As reported, Chinese media with the Chinese language as the carrier has not yet become a mainstream media in Western countries. However the burgeoning ‘China fever’ has made China a worldwide topic. Work on enhancing the dynamics of current event reporting on China has become a means of survival and expansion for overseas Chinese media.
"’To broadcast a correct ‘concept of China’ and to create an environment favorable for worldwide Chinese to survive and grow has become a consensus among Chinese media throughout the world. Domestic and overseas Chinese media will eventually be united and become a one body effort,’ said Ren Chuangong, host of Mandarin Chinese programs of 2CR Australian Chinese Radio Station in Australia.
"Zhang Yan, head of Canada’s Global Chinese Press who was nominated for a local mainstream news award for two consecutive years and has long dedicated herself to the cooperation with the mainland’s media, said that thanks to China’s rise, overseas Chinese media has gained an unprecedented historical opportunity of growth while entering the 21st century. This opportunity has expedited the birth of powerful overseas Chinese media and has motivated overseas Chinese media to interact and cooperate with inland media in China."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2005-09/14/content_3487993.htm
Translated by SCHINASCOPE