China’s propaganda offensives

The China we are referring in this article is not the Chinese people or nation but the Chinese government and/or the Chinese Communist Party that runs the government. The Chinese people are also victims of China’s propaganda as is the rest of the world, particularly these past 20 years. In the last 10 years when China’s reached the level of a highly-developed economy in terms of per capita income, and their government have amassed large revenues, fiscal surpluses, and foreign currency reserves, the Chinese government embarked on hegemony against the warning and advice of Deng Xiaopeng. Together with flexing their military muscles and economic clout, Beijing embarked on a massive, targeted, and encompassing propaganda campaign in China and the world.

These propaganda offensives will be gaining more relevance and traction in the coming years due to the ongoing geo-political conflicts and maneuvers by the major powers like Russia, the US, the EU, China, and second-liners like India, Australia, and Japan. The Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese threats on Taiwan, the provocations of North Korea, and the troubles in Iran and Myanmar are fertile backdrops for propaganda for the hearts and minds of the people. More so, with the expansionist claims of China in the South China Sea that are encroaching on the territories of Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and unnerving Australia and other Pacific countries.

Beijing is in an all-out diplomatic offensive in these countries with media propaganda support, but without conceding an inch of territory or even admitting violations. The Philippines has filed over 200 formal diplomatic protests of Chinese occupying and building on its territorial waters, which have all been disregarded. They have also issued naval and aerial warnings on all planes and vessels in the South China Sea. This year Beijing will invite all Asian heads of state to China starting with BBM this January.

For the past five years as a journalist and an ordinary citizen, I have received many posts in Messenger, Viber, YouTube, and email. Some of these are from the usual news sources and friends in influential positions. Some of these are from American and European academics or other persons of authority expressing favorable opinions of China’s advances in their economy and technology. I’m sure many have also noticed how Beijing has been projecting having built the longest bridge, the largest malls, the fastest trains, and other scientific advances. And that they have joined the space race and have now aircraft carriers and nuclear capabilities.

I believe there are whole factories flooding the social media with all these positive stories about China and the Chinese government. There is even the subtle side of the social media propaganda campaign, where adverse news/stories of countries against China are posted and relayed. Beijing has done a great job of using social media to their propaganda advantage while restricting the access of the ordinary Chinese from the same social media platforms. There is no Facebook, Twitter, Viber, YouTube, or LinkedIn in China, and all news is strictly monitored and censored including sports and movies.

In one “Transformer” movie shot in Hong Kong, Beijing insisted to rewrite the script so that the Chinese military came to the rescue ahead of the American military, or the movie will not pass the censors and cannot be shown in China. After Richard Gere appeared in a movie about Tibet, he could not get as many major roles as his movies were flagged by Chinese censors. Remember also when Beijing stopped airing NBA games in China after comments by some players and coaches about the treatment of Uighurs by Chinese authorities. Then there was time when Beijing threatened to block all sales of all Sony products in China for producing a movie which put China in a bad light.

All governments use propaganda to promote their interests and more so the major powers. Since they exaggerate/embellish the positives and hide the negatives, this is why fake news is a big problem. Generally, politicians and the governments they control cannot be trusted, so it is up to the people/citizenry to be aware and know what is the truth and what is propaganda. Dictators and other autocratic governments are more aggressive in controlling the narratives, that they are more repressive and punitive on their citizens. We should be more wary of these kind of politicians and governments as their propaganda is a weapon that can be used to stay in power and control the people.