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Phoenix News Media Scrutinized during Internal Shakeup

Phoenix Satellite TV is one of the most influential Chinese-language media based in Hong Kong and the mainland. On September 26, a notice that Phoenix News Media posted on its website revealed that the network must undergo an internal shakeup. The official internet security management department made the request because the media was accused of “spreading illegal information, distorting the original meaning of the news headlines, and illegally reprinting news information.” The notice stated the network’s information channel, technology channel, and financial channels will be suspended temporarily from September 26 to October 10 and there will be no updates during that period. A Radio Free Asia article stated that this is a harsh punishment for a news station and is a reflection of Beijing’s tightened control over the news media. This is also the third time this year that the Phoenix News has been ordered to have an internal shakeup. In February, six online news websites, including Phoenix News Media were criticized for providing “unauthorized Internet audiovisual program service.” In April, the Phoenix News App was disabled and couldn’t be downloaded for two weeks. Meanwhile Phoenix is not the only news station being scrutinized this time. In September, the financial section of 163.com was also ordered to shut down for two weeks from September 11-25.

RFA quoted a comment that said, “After so many years, ifeng.com has long been like the official (communist) media. It has pushed patriotic news all day long. No matter whether it is Phoenix Satellite TV or ifeng.com, they have already changed. There is nothing to look at.” Another comment stated that “(all media) should listen to the party’s words in the future. The next target will be the portal website and Weibo.”

Sources:
1. Ifeng.com, September 26, 2018
https://inews.ifeng.com/index03.shtml
2. Radio Free Asia, October 5, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/zhuanlan/7f517edc535a5f08/1-10052018150032.html

Briefings | | |   Government/Politics

Using Precision Communication to Enhance the Effectiveness of International Communication

On October 8, People’s Daily Online carried an article about China’s propaganda practice in the world. The title was “Precision Communication is the inevitable choice for International Communication.” The authors are from the Hunan University School of the Communication and Arts of Film and Television.

“In recent years, China has been taking many measures in the international field of communication and has achieved remarkable results. However, the pattern of the international public opinion landscape, that the West is strong and we are weak, has not fundamentally changed. There is still a long way to go to do well in international communication. Implementing precise communication and adopting different strategies and methods for different audiences in different countries is an inevitable choice to enhance the effect of international communication.”

“Precision communication is conducive to enhancing the effectiveness of international communication. . . . There are so many countries, nations and cultures in the world and there are great differences between countries, nations, and cultures. Even within the same country, there are big differences between different audiences. This requires us to adopt different communication methods for different audiences in different countries in international communication and to implement precision communication. By “using one key for one lock,” we can continuously improve the effect of international communication.”

“Precision communication should become an important topic in the study of international communication theory. . . . We should take the following as important research topics: the audience for international communication, the landscape of international communication and strategies, the comparative study of international communication, the influence of Chinese and foreign media, and the improvements on the effect of China’s international communication. This will provide theoretical support for telling good stories about China.

“Precision communication should rely on cyber technology to promote innovation in communication methods. At present, the development of information technology, especially big data technology, provides favorable conditions for the implementation of accurate communication. Relying on big data technology, we can analyze the characteristics, hobbies, and information needs of different audiences in different countries and analyze the misunderstandings that different countries’ audiences have about China. Based on this, we can provide targeted content for different audiences in different countries. From a technical point of view, precision communication requires the use of profiling based on information processing such as knowledge graphing, user classification, and association rules. Relying on big data technology and artificial intelligence technology, we can accurately provide personalized content to different audiences in different countries.”

Source: People’s Daily Online, October 8, 2018
http://theory.people.com.cn/n1/2018/1008/c40531-30326985.html

Briefings | | |   Information/Technology

World Journal: University of Michigan Shut Down Its Chinese Data Center

The Well-known U.S. Chinese language newspaper, World Journal, recently reported that the University of Michigan suddenly closed its Chinese Data Center (CDC), citing cost issues. The CDC former chief said the Center has been financially sound and that neither the U.S. government nor the Chinese government funded the operation. The University spokesperson explained that the closure was the result of an internal management decision, with no political background, that the Center needs a major technical upgrade. However, the University found that this Center may not be the best place for new capital investments. The mission of the CDC was to allow the world to understand China better. However, the data that the Center offered were all sourced from China. Some staff of the CDC just opened a new online data service, hoping to continue the service the CDC used to provide. However, some customers, such as Christoph Steinhardt from University of Vienna, refused to trust the new online service because it lacked the support of a well-recognized academic organization like the University of Michigan.

Source: World Journal, October 6, 2018
https://bit.ly/2QxWH1A

Briefings | | |   US-China Relations

U.S. Oil Exports to China Dropped to Zero in August

Well-known Chinese news site Sina recently reported that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, the level of U.S. oil exports to China dropped to zero in August. Also in August, U.S. oil exports dropped significantly overall. China used to be the largest U.S. oil buyer. Starting this year, China’s position dropped to number two, after Canada. In August, Canada remained the top buyer, South Korea and Taiwan ranked numbers two and three respectively. According to Reuters, global oil ship tracking systems showed no oil ships heading from the U.S. to China. The oil refiners in China are holding on to their orders in the hope of seeing more clarity on the US-China trade war. The U.S. Census Bureau usually provides oil export data a few weeks earlier than the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). EIA typically releases its official data based on the Census Bureau numbers at the end of the month.

Source: Sina, October 6, 2018
http://finance.sina.com.cn/stock/usstock/c/2018-10-06/doc-ihkvrhps6703409.shtml

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources US-China Relations

BBC Chinese: HK Refused to Renew the Financial Times Asian Editor’s Visa

BBC Chinese recently reported that the Hong Kong government officially refused to renew the work visa rpplication for Victor Mallet, who is currently the Asia News Editor for Financial Times (FT) and was the former FT Bureau Chief for South Asia. He is also the deputy Chairman of the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC). Mallet chaired a talk that a Hong Kong independence activist gave in August, despite the objections that came from Beijing. The Hong Kong government refused to comment on the incident. The FCC immediately issued a statement describing the government’s decision as very unusual and demanded an explanation. The British Foreign Ministry also asked for a reason for the rejection of the visa and asked the Hong Kong government to respect freedom of the press – which is part of the core values of Hong Kong society. The latest event triggered widespread discussions and concerns about Hong Kong getting closer and closer to being “like the mainland.”

Source: BBC Chinese, October 5, 2018
https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-45759836

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend Government/Politics

German Companies Exit from China

According to the German Focus weekly magazine, many German companies have exited China for a number of different reasons. One important reason is that the robot revolution has reduced the German companies’ desire for China.

China has been an ideal country for large-scale companies for many years. It has huge markets and cheap labor. However, the limitations from Chinese political institutions and the ongoing Sino-US trade war have gradually made China less attractive. The heavy debt burden of Chinese private companies has posed potential risks to the Chinese economy. In particular, a new trend has begun to change people’s minds: robots are cheaper than Chinese workers and they can stay in Germany. As a result, the number of German companies that are shifting production abroad has decreased significantly and more and more German companies have begun to withdraw from Asia or Eastern Europe. Among them, well-known German enterprises include Marklin, Adidas, Bosch, and Gigaset Communications. Enterprises that have long been actively promoting digitalization are clearly at the forefront.

The ratio of robots to employed people in Germany is 31:1000, with the density of robots ranking third in the world. Economists have found that the more robots used in industrial countries, the fewer factories move abroad, and the more likely it is to move production back to the home country. Take the United States as a comparison: the United States has a robot density of only 19:1000, ranking seventh in the world. Many fewer U.S. companies than German ones are coming back home.

Source: Radio France International, October 7, 2018
http://rfi.my/3C3G.T

Briefings | | |   Economy/Resources

European Astronauts Are Learning Chinese

The BBC had published a report that European astronauts received training in China, together with Chinese astronauts.

The training was conducted at the Yellow Sea Training Center, a place close to Yantai City in China’s eastern Shandong Province. For two weeks, German astronaut Matthias Maurer and another astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, both from the European Space Agency, lived and worked with their Chinese counterparts. “We received the training together, lived in the same building with the Chinese and ate the same food. Every day, the schedule was very full,” Maurer told the BBC reporter. “You feel that you are a member of this big family. It’s not like in Houston, where you had to rent a house yourself, and only spent two or three hours of training with your peers.”

Every space agency uses special training to strengthen team spirit, but the Chinese treat the issue in more fundamental way. Maurer said, “Chinese astronauts even go on vacation together. They know each other very well, just like brothers and sisters.” “When we were there, they regarded us as members of a big Chinese space family and we were like one.” Maurer started working at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany in 2012. He had a relationship with the representatives of the once-secret China manned space program. After one year, he visited the training center in Beijing. In 2016, Chinese astronauts took part in an experiment at the European Space Agency, where astronauts conducted a two-week long underground training in the caves of Sardinia. Maurer, Cristoforetti, and a French astronaut, Thomas Pesquet, are now learning Chinese. The European Space Agency still maintains relations with the United States and Russia, but at the same time it has developed a partnership with another future space power. The BBC reported that Maurer hopes to fly to the space station by 2020. Then in about 2023 he will have the opportunity to be a member of the first group of foreign astronauts to fly to the China Space Station together with Chinese astronauts.

Source: Sputnik News, July 3, 2018
http://sputniknews.cn/foreignmedia/201807031025796249/

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend

Chinese Embassy Demands Apology from Conference Organizer following Arrest of CCTV Reporter

Beijing News reported that the Chinese Embassy in the U.K confirmed that Kong Linlin, a CCTV news reporter, who the police arrested for “suspicion of common assault” during a meeting held by the office of the London-Based NGO Hong Kong Watch and Britain’s Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, on September 30, has been released. According to a Beijing News article, the spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in the U.K. made the following statement, “The Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission used the party’s annual meeting to hold an event in which it sided with anti-China separatist forces. China has serious concerns and is experiencing strong dissatisfaction. Our Chinese reporter was obstructed when she asked questions at the side meeting. The Embassy requested that the Conservative Party Human Rights Commission stop interfering in China’s internal affairs and stop interfering with Hong Kong affairs. The Embassy in the U.K. also asked the conference organizers to apologize to the Chinese reporter.”

The article quoted another statement that the CCTV spokesperson made: “Any attempt to advocate the splitting of China is a counter-historical trend and a waste of effort. The spokesperson demanded that the U.K. take effective measures to protect the rights and interests of journalists and to ensure that such absurd incidents do not occur.”

According to a Radio Free Asia article and the embedded video, during the conference, when Benedict Rogers, Deputy Chairman of the Human Rights Commission and Founder of Hong Kong Watch, was wrapping up his speech, Kong Linlin suddenly stood up and started yelling and calling Rogers a liar who wants to separate China. She also called the rest of the people spies. The organizers asked Kong to leave the conference. During the confrontation with the conference organizers, Kong slapped one student volunteer twice and insisted that she has the right to protest. The police later took Kong away.

Sources:
1. Beijing News, October 2, 2018
http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2018/10/02/509028.html
2. Radio Free Asia, October 2, 2018
https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/gangtai/gf1-10012018095713.html

Briefings | | |   Geo-Strategic Trend