Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China
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The Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China (simplified Chinese: 中共中央宣传部; pinyin: Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Xuānchuánbù) is an internal division of the Communist Party of China, and therefore is not formally considered to be part of the Government of the People's Republic of China. Nevertheless, it is the "most important of all the organizations in the propaganda system."[1] As such, it enforces media censorship and control in China, even though no state law explicitly gives it such authority.
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[edit] Function
The Propaganda Department has a "direct leadership (lingdao - 领导)" role in the media control system, working with other organizations like the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and the General Administration of Press and Publication.[2] Its scope is to control licensing of media outlets,[3] and to give instructions to the media on what is and what is not to be said, especially about certain "delicate" issues, like Taiwan, Tibet, etc., that can affect state security, or the rule of the Communist Party. Its central offices are located near the Zhongnanhai at 5 West Chang'an Avenue, although the department has offices throughout the country at the provincial, municipal, and county level.[3]
The editors-in-chief of China's major media outlets must attend the department's central office weekly to receive instructions on which stories should be emphasized, downplayed, or not reported at all.[3] These instructions are not normally known to the public, but are communicated to media workers at the weekly meeting or via secret bulletins.[3] However, since the rise of social networking tools such as Twitter, Propaganda Department instructions have been leaked to the internet. Examples include "All websites need to use bright red color to promote a celebratory atmosphere [of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic]" and "negative reports... not exceed 30 per cent".[3]
Such directives are considered imperative, and are enforced by disciplines within the Party, as all media in China are required to be loyal to the Party, and are to serve as propaganda organs for the Party in principle. Operational and reporting freedom has significantly increased in the Chinese media in the recent decade. However, open defiance against the Propaganda Department directives is rare, as dissenting media organizations risk severe punishment, including restructuring or closure. In 2000, a system of warnings was introduced for individual journalists, whereby repeat offenses can lead to dismissal from post.[3] Chinese journalists disclosing Propaganda Department directives to foreign media may be charged with "divulging state secrets."
One important way the Propaganda Department ensures that the media system remains well controlled is by ensuring that the boundaries of acceptable reporting are kept "deliberately fuzzy" in an effort to ensure that "news workers self-censor to a critical degree."[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Anne-Marie Brady, Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China. (Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), p13.
- ^ Brady (2008), p 17.
- ^ a b c d e f Schiller, Bill. "Red China at 60: The Party Line", Toronto Star, Sept 27, 2009.
- ^ Jonathan Hassid, "Controlling the Chinese Media: An Uncertain Business." Asian Survey. 48(3), (May/June, 2008), 414-30, p415.
[edit] External links
- Propaganda Department in the News by China Digital Times.
- (Chinese) Website of the Propaganda Department
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