China Daily#Controversy
{{Short description|English-language daily newspaper in China}}
{{For|the newspaper published in Taiwan|China Daily News (Taiwan)}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox newspaper
| name = China Daily
| logo = China Daily logo.jpg
| image = China Daily headquarters (20230213151102).jpg
| image_size = 240px
| caption = Headquarters of China Daily in February 2023
| type = Daily newspaper, state media
| format = Broadsheet
| chiefeditor = Qu Yingpu
| foundation = {{start date and age|df=y|1981|06|01}}
| owners = Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party
| headquarters = China: 15 Huixin Street East, Chaoyang District, Beijing
{{coord|39.980092|116.423802|region:CN-BJ_type:landmark|display=title,inline|name=China Daily}}
Overseas: 1500 Broadway, Suite 2800
New York, NY 10036
U.S.
| editor =
| website = {{Official URL}}
| circulation =
| language = English
}}
{{Politics of China |expanded = Publicity }}
China Daily ({{lang-zh|s=中国日报|p=Zhōngguó Rìbào}}) is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
China Daily has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China.{{Cite book|last=Hartig|first=Falk|editor1-first=Daya Kishan|editor1-last=Thussu|editor2-first=Hugo|editor2-last=De Burgh|editor3-first=Anbin|editor3-last=Shi|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pW5ADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT147|title=China's Media Go Global|date=2017-11-27|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-21461-8|language=en|chapter=China Daily - Beijing's Global Voice?|doi=10.4324/9781315619668|oclc=1158860903|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=21 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121075431/https://books.google.com/books?id=pW5ADwAAQBAJ&pg=PT147&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=3|url-status=live}} The headquarters and principal editorial office is in the Chaoyang District of Beijing.{{cite web|date=1 June 2015|title=2014 Annual Report|url=http://www.gjsy.gov.cn/ndbgzl/2014/201507/t20150701_42480.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806181839/http://www.gjsy.gov.cn/ndbgzl/2014/201507/t20150701_42480.html|archive-date=6 August 2016|access-date=2016-06-07|website=State Institution Registration Authority|language=zh}} The newspaper has branch offices in most major cities of China as well as several major foreign cities including New York City, Washington, D.C., London, and Kathmandu.{{cite news|title=China Daily launches Kathmandu edition in Nepal|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-05/31/c_132422805.htm|access-date=2 June 2013|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=31 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140219174310/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2013-05/31/c_132422805.htm|archive-date=19 February 2014|url-status=dead}} China Daily also produces an insert of sponsored content called China Watch that has been distributed inside other newspapers including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Le Figaro.{{Cite news|last=Fifield|first=Anna|author-link=Anna Fifield|date=16 January 2020|title=China is waging a global propaganda war to silence critics abroad, report warns|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-is-waging-an-aggressive-propaganda-campaign-to-distort-media-landscape-report-warns/2020/01/15/30fd4d58-374a-11ea-a1ff-c48c1d59a4a1_story.html|url-status=live|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027022601/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/china-is-waging-an-aggressive-propaganda-campaign-to-distort-media-landscape-report-warns/2020/01/15/30fd4d58-374a-11ea-a1ff-c48c1d59a4a1_story.html|archive-date=27 October 2020}}{{Cite news|last1=Waterson|first1=Jim|author-link1=Jim Waterson|last2=Jones|first2=Dean Sterling|date=2020-04-14|title=Daily Telegraph stops publishing section paid for by China|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/14/daily-telegraph-stops-publishing-section-paid-for-by-china|url-status=live|access-date=2020-04-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200415012159/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/apr/14/daily-telegraph-stops-publishing-section-paid-for-by-china|archive-date=15 April 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Yu |first=Mo |date=26 June 2020 |title=US Spending Report Sheds Light on China's Global Propaganda Campaign |work=Voice of America |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/east-asia-pacific_voa-news-china_us-spending-report-sheds-light-chinas-global-propaganda-campaign/6191830.html |url-status=live |access-date=26 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200629220032/https://www.voanews.com/east-asia-pacific/voa-news-china/us-spending-report-sheds-light-chinas-global-propaganda-campaign |archive-date=29 June 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Basu |first=Zachary |date=23 September 2018 |title=China takes out anti-trade war ads in Des Moines Register |website=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/trump-trade-war-china-des-moines-register-ads-38d43375-3649-4d90-9e2f-26d386703c43.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180924032925/https://www.axios.com/trump-trade-war-china-des-moines-register-ads-38d43375-3649-4d90-9e2f-26d386703c43.html |archive-date=24 September 2018}}
Within mainland China, the newspaper targets primarily diplomats, foreign expatriates, tourists, and locals wishing to improve their English. The China edition also offers program guides to Radio Beijing and television, daily exchange rates, and local entertainment schedules.{{cite book|last1=Thurston|first1=Anne F.|title=China Bound: A Guide to Academic Life and Work in the PRC|last2=Turner-Gottschang|first2=Karen|last3=Reed|first3=Linda A.|publisher=National Academy Press|year=1994|isbn=978-0-309-04932-0|edition=Revised|place=Washington, D.C.|page=[https://www.nap.edu/read/2111/chapter/3#38 38]|doi=10.17226/2111}} It has been used as a guide to Chinese government policy and positions of the Chinese Communist Party.{{Cite journal |last=Lams |first=Lutgard |date=21 November 2017 |title=Othering in Chinese official media narratives during diplomatic standoffs with the US and Japan |journal=Palgrave Communications |language=en |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=33 |doi=10.1057/s41599-017-0034-z |issn=2055-1045 |doi-access=free}}{{cite book|last=Schnell|first=James A.|title=Qualitative Method Interpretations in Communication Studies|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2001|isbn=978-0-7391-0147-6|page={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}} Scholar Falk Hartig describes the newspaper and its various international editions as an "instrument of China's public diplomacy."{{Cite journal|last=Hartig|first=Falk|date=23 September 2019|title=Rethinking China's global 'propaganda' blitz|journal=Global Media and Communication|language=en|volume=16|issue=1|pages=3–18|doi=10.1177/1742766519871694|issn=1742-7665|s2cid=204356272}}
China Daily
= Editorial control =
Scholars have described China Daily as effectively controlled by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.{{Cite journal|last=Chen|first=Lily|date=September 2013|title=Who speaks and how? Studies of voicing in the China Daily following a decade of change|journal=Chinese Journal of Communication|language=en|volume=6|issue=3|pages=325–349|doi=10.1080/17544750.2013.789421|s2cid=144203378|issn=1754-4750}}{{cite book|title=General History of the People's Republic of China, 1949-1995|date=December 1993|publisher=Contemporary China Publishing House|isbn=7-80092-500-5|editor=有林|location=北京|pages=446|language=zh}} Ideologically, it tends to adopt similar perspectives to the People's Daily.{{cite journal|last1=Li|first1=Juan|date=2009|title=Intertextuality and national identity: discourse of national conflicts in daily newspapers in the United States and China|journal=Discourse & Society|volume=20|issue=1|pages=85–121|doi=10.1177/0957926508097096|issn=0957-9265|jstor=42889245|s2cid=220396320 }} According to its 2014 annual report, China Daily is formally managed by the State Council Information Office (SCIO), which was formed from the Central Propaganda Department in 1991.{{Cite book |last=Brady |first=Anne-Marie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uj-1sxeO99kC |title=Marketing Dictatorship: Propaganda and Thought Work in Contemporary China |date=2008 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-7425-4057-6 |pages=23, 156, 168 |language=en |oclc=968245349 |author-link=Anne-Marie Brady |access-date=21 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071355/https://books.google.com/books?id=uj-1sxeO99kC |archive-date=9 January 2021 |url-status=live}} The SCIO holds regular meetings with journalists and editors from China Daily on what they should publish. In 2014, the SCIO was absorbed into the CCP's Central Propaganda Department.{{Cite web |last1=Lulu |first1=Jichang |last2=Jirouš |first2=Filip |last3=Lee |first3=Rachel |date=2021-01-25 |title=Xi's centralisation of external propaganda: SCIO and the Central Propaganda Department |url=https://sinopsis.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/scio.pdf |url-status=live |access-date=2021-11-20 |website=Sinopsis |language=en-US |archive-date=3 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220203220603/https://sinopsis.cz/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/scio.pdf }} The SCIO has stated that China Daily is "one of our most important tools in carrying out external propaganda".{{Cite news |last=Kilpatrick |first=Ryan Ho |date=2023-03-16 |title=The Ins and Outs of the China Daily USA |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2023/03/16/the-ins-and-outs-of-the-china-daily-usa/ |access-date=2023-03-25 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=25 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325153605/https://chinamediaproject.org/2023/03/16/the-ins-and-outs-of-the-china-daily-usa/ |url-status=live }}
A former copy-editor (or "polisher" as termed at China Daily) for the newspaper described her role being "to tweak propaganda enough that it read as English, without inadvertently triggering war."{{Cite news|last=Needham|first=Kirsty|date=2004-08-23|title=Dear Iris, the truth is this ...|url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/dear-iris-the-truth-is-this-20040823-gdjlna.html|access-date=2020-11-22|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|language=en|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071321/https://www.smh.com.au/world/dear-iris-the-truth-is-this-20040823-gdjlna.html|url-status=live}} Journalist Michael Ottey described his time working for China Daily as "almost like working for a public relations firm" and added "it wasn't really honest journalism. It was more 'Let's make the Chinese government look good.'"{{Cite news|last=Scott|first=Liam|date=October 18, 2021|title=China Media Directives Reveal Granular Detail of State Censorship|work=Voice of America|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/china-media-directives-reveal-granular-detail-of-state-censorship/6275855.html|access-date=October 20, 2021|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020081237/https://www.voanews.com/a/china-media-directives-reveal-granular-detail-of-state-censorship/6275855.html|url-status=live}} Writer Mitch Moxley, who worked at China Daily from 2007 to 2008, wrote in 2013 that many of the articles published in the newspaper's opinion pages "violated everything [he] had ever learned about journalistic ethics, including China Daily's own code: 'Factual, Honest, Fair, Complete.'"{{Cite news |last=Moxley |first=Mitch |date=2013-08-03 |title=Fear and Loathing at the China Daily |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/08/fear-and-loathing-at-the-china-daily/278334/ |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=The Atlantic |language=en |archive-date=21 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221024445/https://www.theatlantic.com/china/archive/2013/08/fear-and-loathing-at-the-china-daily/278334/ |url-status=live }}
History
China Daily was officially established in June 1981 after a one-month trial. It was initially led by Jiang Muyue, with Liu Zhunqi as editor in chief.{{Cite book |last=Cheng |first=Linsun |title=Berkshire Encyclopedia of China |date=2016 |publisher=Berkshire Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-9770159-4-8 |volume=1 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acref/9780190622671.001.0001}} It was the first national daily English-language newspaper in China after the establishment of the People's Republic in 1949. Its initial circulation was 22,000, which grew to 65,000 by the following year.{{cite journal|last1=Lawrence|first1=John|date=1982|title=China Daily News|journal=The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs|issue=8|pages=147–151|doi=10.2307/2158933|issn=0156-7365|jstor=2158933|s2cid=156940388}} The paper was a departure from other Chinese newspapers at the time: it was "a Western-style paper", in content, style, and organizational structure. By July 1982, the newspaper had plans to publish editions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and tentatively Australia. Initially, it struggled to find English-speaking journalists.
China Daily began distribution in North America in 1983. It has been registered as a foreign agent in the United States under the Foreign Agents Registration Act since 1983.
China Daily introduced an online edition in 1996 and a Hong Kong edition in 1997.{{Cite news|title=About China Daily|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cd/introduction.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181223215426/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cd/introduction.html|archive-date=23 December 2018|work=China Daily}} By 2006, it had a reported circulation of 300,000, of which two thirds were in China and one third international. In 2010, it launched China Daily Asia Weekly, a tabloid-sized pan-Asian edition.
In December 2012, China Daily launched an Africa edition, published in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.{{cite news |date=14 December 2012 |title=China Daily newspaper launches Africa edition |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20722952 |url-status=live |access-date=15 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214205149/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-20722952 |archive-date=14 December 2012}}{{cite news |last=Smith |first=David |author-link=David Smith (journalist) |date=14 May 2012 |title=China Daily to publish African edition as Beijing strengthens voice abroad |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/14/china-daily-newspaper-launches-african-edition |url-status=live |access-date=25 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417075755/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/14/china-daily-newspaper-launches-african-edition |archive-date=17 April 2016}} This edition aimed expand the China Daily readership, of both African people and Chinese people who live in Africa, and showcase China's interests in Africa.
In 2015, China Daily published a fake op-ed which the publication claimed was penned by Peter Hessler. They combined part of the transcript of an interview he had done with comments from another person interviewed as well as completely fabricated parts and ran it as an op-ed under Hessler's byline without his knowledge or permission.{{Cite news |last=Davison |first=Nicola |date=January 21, 2015 |title=China state-run newspaper 'fabricated column by New Yorker writer' praising Beijing |language=en-GB |website=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11359439/China-state-run-newspaper-fabricated-column-by-New-Yorker-writer-praising-Beijing.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2021-03-06 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/11359439/China-state-run-newspaper-fabricated-column-by-New-Yorker-writer-praising-Beijing.html |archive-date=12 January 2022}}{{cbignore}} The fabricated op-ed contained made up praise for China and misrepresented Hessler's own words by taking them out of context.{{Cite news|last=Yu|first=Jess|date=January 21, 2015|title=New Yorker Writer Is Surprised by Byline in Chinese Newspaper: His Own|work=The New York Times|url=https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/peter-hessler-china-daily-article/|url-status=live|access-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126224907/https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/01/21/peter-hessler-china-daily-article/|archive-date=January 26, 2018}}{{Cite news|last=Hernandez|first=Javier C.|date=October 14, 2015|title=In China's State News Media, What Is Said May Not Be What's Printed|work=The New York Times|url=https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/roderick-macfarquhar-global-times-china/|url-status=live|access-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126224912/https://sinosphere.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/roderick-macfarquhar-global-times-china/|archive-date=January 26, 2018}} According to the Associated Press, the editorial repeated Chinese Communist Party talking points and China Daily refused to retract it although it subsequently removed the English language version of the op-ed.{{Cite news |last1=Chang |first1=Jack |title=New Yorker writer says he didn't pen op-ed in Chinese paper |url=https://apnews.com/article/47dbf00d8d724bfaa910c36ae1a5e4a8 |access-date=9 March 2021 |website=Associated Press |publisher=Associated Press |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408064314/https://apnews.com/article/47dbf00d8d724bfaa910c36ae1a5e4a8 |url-status=live }}
In 2018, the paper fabricated a quote by the mayor of Davos, Tarzisius Caviezel.{{Cite news|last=Huang|first=Zheping|date=January 26, 2018|title=A Chinese paper used fake news to play up Xi Jinping's influence at Davos|work=Quartz|url=https://qz.com/1189998/fake-news-chinas-state-media-used-fabricated-quotes-to-play-up-xi-jinpings-influence-at-davos/|url-status=live|access-date=March 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126094638/https://qz.com/1189998/fake-news-chinas-state-media-used-fabricated-quotes-to-play-up-xi-jinpings-influence-at-davos/|archive-date=January 26, 2018}}
A January 2020 report by Freedom House, a U.S. non-governmental organization, noted that China Daily had increased its spending from $500,000 in the first half of 2009 to over $5 million in the latter half of 2019 for increased print runs.{{Cite news |last=Tandon |first=Shaun |date=April 8, 2020 |title=US tightens rules on Chinese state media |work=Hong Kong Free Press |agency=Agence France-Presse |url=https://hongkongfp.com/2020/04/08/us-tightens-rules-on-chinese-state-media/ |url-status=live |access-date=April 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408222218/https://hongkongfp.com/2020/04/08/us-tightens-rules-on-chinese-state-media/ |archive-date=April 8, 2020}} China Daily said it had a circulation of 300,000 in the U.S. and 600,000 overseas.{{Cite news |date=2020-05-06 |first=Steven |last=Yoder |title=Driven to 'near extinction': Beijing's high-pressure campaign against the foreign Chinese-language press |url=https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/china-censorship-abroad/ |website=Coda Media |access-date=17 July 2022 |archive-date=10 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200510180119/https://www.codastory.com/disinformation/china-censorship-abroad/ |url-status=live }}
In February 2020, a group of U.S. lawmakers asked the United States Department of Justice to investigate China Daily for alleged violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.{{Cite news|last=Magnier|first=Mark|date=8 February 2020|title=US lawmakers push Justice Department to investigate China Daily, label the newspaper a foreign agent|work=South China Morning Post|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3049627/us-lawmakers-push-justice-department-investigate-china-daily|url-status=live|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811204030/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3049627/us-lawmakers-push-justice-department-investigate-china-daily|archive-date=11 August 2020}} Later the same month, the United States Department of State designated China Daily, along with several other Chinese state media outlets, as foreign missions owned or controlled by the Chinese Communist Party.{{Cite news |last=Allen-Ebrahimian |first=Bethany |date=18 February 2020 |title=Exclusive: Pompeo says new China media restrictions "long overdue" |website=Axios |url=https://www.axios.com/pompeo-china-media-restriction-2507fdab-5672-4a07-b4f7-4de7c996983a.html |url-status=live |access-date=2020-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218235410/https://www.axios.com/pompeo-china-media-restriction-2507fdab-5672-4a07-b4f7-4de7c996983a.html |archive-date=18 February 2020}}{{Cite news |last=Tomlinson |first=Lucas |date=2020-02-18 |title=State Department designates 5 Chinese media outlets 'foreign missions' |language=en-US |website=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/state-department-china-media-foreign-propaganda |url-status=live |access-date=2020-02-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200218235410/https://www.foxnews.com/world/state-department-china-media-foreign-propaganda |archive-date=18 February 2020}}{{Cite news|last1=Jakes|first1=Lara|last2=Myers|first2=Steven Lee|date=2020-02-18|title=U.S. Designates China's Official Media as Operatives of the Communist State|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-media-trump.html|url-status=live|access-date=2020-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324074500/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-media-trump.html|archive-date=24 March 2020}}{{Cite news|last1=O'Keeffe|first1=Kate|last2=Cheng|first2=Jonathan|date=2020-02-19|title=State Department Names Five Chinese Media Outlets as Foreign Missions in U.S.|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-names-five-chinese-media-outlets-as-foreign-diplomatic-missions-in-u-s-11582062002|url-status=live|access-date=2020-04-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401025922/https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-names-five-chinese-media-outlets-as-foreign-diplomatic-missions-in-u-s-11582062002|archive-date=1 April 2020}}
In June 2020, China Daily awarded a tender for a "foreign personnel analysis platform" to the Communication University of China to scan social media and automatically flag "false statements and reports on China."{{Cite news|last=Cadell|first=Cate|date=December 31, 2021|title=China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-harvests-masses-of-data-on-western-targets-documents-show/2021/12/31/3981ce9c-538e-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html|access-date=2022-01-01|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=1 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101001350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-harvests-masses-of-data-on-western-targets-documents-show/2021/12/31/3981ce9c-538e-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html|url-status=live}}
In September 2020, India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement saying that comments made by China Daily were falsely attributed to Ajit Doval.{{Cite web |date=8 September 2020 |title=Press Statement on China Daily / Global Times article attributing false comments to NSA |url=https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/32948/Press_Statement_on_China_Daily__Global_Times_article_attributing_false_comments_to_NSA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071350/https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl%2F32948%2FPress_Statement_on_China_Daily__Global_Times_article_attributing_false_comments_to_NSA |archive-date=9 January 2021 |access-date=2020-11-23 |website=Ministry of External Affairs (India)}} In September 2023, the US Department of State accused the Chinese government of information laundering by using a fictitious opinion columnist named "Yi Fan" writing in China Daily and other outlets to present state narratives as "organic sentiment".{{Cite web |date=September 28, 2023 |title=How the People's Republic of China Seeks to Reshape the Global Information Environment |url=https://www.state.gov/gec-special-report-how-the-peoples-republic-of-china-seeks-to-reshape-the-global-information-environment/ |access-date=2023-09-29 |website=United States Department of State |language=en |quote=PRC officials sometimes attribute relevant content to specific authors under false names, likely to conceal the PRC's role in producing it and falsely purporting to represent legitimate, organic sentiment in a given region. In addition, PRC officials are known in some cases to attribute such manufactured commentaries to "international affairs commentators" and then use other individual, non-official accounts to promote these commentaries. As one example, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) uses a manufactured persona named Yi Fan, often credited as a "Beijing-based international affairs commentator," to deceptively promote pro-Beijing views on a wide variety of topics and regions. |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928232237/https://www.state.gov/gec-special-report-how-the-peoples-republic-of-china-seeks-to-reshape-the-global-information-environment/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Myers |first=Steven Lee |date=2023-09-28 |title=China Uses 'Deceptive' Methods to Sow Disinformation, U.S. Says |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/technology/china-disinformation-us-state-department.html |access-date=2023-09-29 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=29 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230929012111/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/28/technology/china-disinformation-us-state-department.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Willemyns |first=Alex |date=September 28, 2023 |title=US diplomat: 'We're in an undeclared information war' |language=en |website=Radio Free Asia |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/disinformation-propaganda-report-09282023162711.html |access-date=2023-09-29 |archive-date=30 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230930010005/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/disinformation-propaganda-report-09282023162711.html |url-status=live }}
In January 2024, China Daily and the Yunnan International Communication Center (ICC), a project of the propaganda department of the Yunnan provincial CCP committee, jointly launched the South and Southeast Asian Media Network.{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2024-02-29 |title=China's Local Game of Global Propaganda |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/02/29/going-local-with-the-global-propaganda-game/ |access-date=2024-02-29 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=29 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240229150204/https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/02/29/going-local-with-the-global-propaganda-game/ |url-status=live }} China Daily has continued to partner with other provincial ICCs established by provincial CCP propaganda departments.{{Cite web |last=Bandurski |first=David |date=2024-07-04 |title=China Starts Influence Ranking for Cities |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/07/04/china-starts-influence-ranking-for-cities/ |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=China Media Project |language=en-US |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706212203/https://chinamediaproject.org/2024/07/04/china-starts-influence-ranking-for-cities/ |url-status=live }}
In March 2025, U.S. congressional Republicans banned the distribution of China Daily on Capitol Hill.{{Cite web |last=Dinan |first=Stephen |date=March 11, 2025 |title=GOP bans distribution of Chinese newspaper to House offices |url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/11/gop-bans-distribution-chinese-newspaper-house-offices/ |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=The Washington Times |language=en-US}} The same month, UK members of Parliament requested a review of free delivery of China Daily to legislators.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Harry |date=2025-03-13 |title=Deliveries of Chinese Communist Party newspaper to MPs could be stopped |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/china-daily-lindsay-hoyle-mps-chinese-communist-party-iain-duncan-smith-b2714125.html |access-date=2025-03-15 |website=The Independent |language=en}}
Reception
=Overall=
In a 2004 journal article, University of Sheffield professor Lily Chen stated that China Daily was "essentially a publicly funded government mouthpiece".{{cite journal|last1=Chen|first1=Lily|date=2004|title=Evaluation in Media Texts: A Cross-Cultural Linguistic Investigation|journal=Language in Society|volume=33|issue=5|pages=673–702|doi=10.1017/S0047404504045026|issn=0047-4045|jstor=4169385|s2cid=5524732|url=http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/1613/1/chen.l1.pdf|access-date=23 December 2021|archive-date=22 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122005921/https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/1613/1/chen.l1.pdf|url-status=live}} Judy Polumbaum stated in the Berkshire Encyclopedia of China (2009) that China Daily "resists definition as a simple mouthpiece" and has a "distinctive, if quixotic, status". In 2009, China Daily was called "the most influential English language national newspaper in China" according to University of St. Thomas scholar Juan Li. It is known for original reporting. Non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders has accused China Daily of engaging in censorship and propaganda.{{Cite web|date=2020-03-25|title=Coronavirus: The information heroes China silenced|url=https://rsf.org/en/news/coronavirus-information-heroes-china-silenced|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071321/https://rsf.org/en/news/coronavirus-information-heroes-china-silenced|archive-date=9 January 2021|access-date=2020-11-23|publisher=Reporters Without Borders|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=22 March 2019|title=China's Pursuit of a New World Media Order|url=https://rsf.org/sites/default/files/en_rapport_chine_web_final.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071320/https://rsf.org/sites/default/files/en_rapport_chine_web_final.pdf|archive-date=9 January 2021|access-date=23 November 2020|publisher=Reporters Without Borders}}
The New York Times wrote that China Daily
= Disinformation =
{{Further|Censorship in China|COVID-19 misinformation by China|Propaganda in China}}
Media outlets such as The New York Times, NPR, Quartz, and BuzzFeed News have published accounts of China Daily
In May 2020, CNN, Financial Times, and other media outlets reported that China Daily censored references to the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic from an opinion piece authored by European Union ambassadors.{{Cite news |last=Gold |first=Hadas |author-link=Hadas Gold |date=15 May 2020 |title=China is mobilizing its global media machine in the coronavirus war of words |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/15/media/china-coronavirus-global-media/index.html |url-status=live |access-date=13 June 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200604080615/https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/15/media/china-coronavirus-global-media/index.html |archive-date=4 June 2020}}{{Cite news|last1=Walsh|first1=Carly|last2=Cullen|first2=Simon|date=8 May 2020|title=The EU has admitted it let China censor an op-ed by the bloc's ambassadors|work=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/08/china/eu-china-coronavirus-oped-censored-intl/index.html|access-date=21 November 2020|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071355/https://edition.cnn.com/2020/05/08/china/eu-china-coronavirus-oped-censored-intl/index.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=7 May 2020 |title=EU draws criticism over consent to China censorship of coronavirus article |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/d56978b7-4404-4457-906d-f9eda5980610 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071357/https://www.ft.com/content/d56978b7-4404-4457-906d-f9eda5980610 |archive-date=9 January 2021}}{{Cite news|last1=Kumar|first1=Isabelle|last2=Ruiz Trullols|first2=Laura|date=7 May 2020|title=EU regret after state-run newspaper China Daily removes COVID-19 mention from op-ed|work=Euronews|url=https://www.euronews.com/2020/05/07/coronavirus-eu-regret-after-state-run-newspaper-china-daily-removes-covid-19-mention-from|access-date=25 November 2020|archive-date=9 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210109071327/https://www.euronews.com/2020/05/07/coronavirus-eu-regret-after-state-run-newspaper-china-daily-removes-covid-19-mention-from|url-status=live}} In January 2021, China Daily inaccurately attributed deaths in Norway to the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.{{Cite news|last=Hui|first=Mary|date=21 January 2021|title=China's vaccine diplomacy has an aggressive anti-vax element|work=Quartz|url=https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/|access-date=29 January 2021|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123184106/https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/|url-status=live}} In April 2021, the European External Action Service published a report that cited China Daily and other state media outlets for "selective highlighting" of potential vaccine side-effects and "disregarding contextual information or ongoing research" to present Western vaccines as unsafe.{{Cite web|date=2021-04-28|title=EEAS Special Report Update: Short Assessment of Narratives and Disinformation Around the COVID-19 Pandemic (Update December 2020 - April 2021)|url=https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-special-report-update-short-assessment-of-narratives-and-disinformation-around-the-covid-19-pandemic-update-december-2020-april-2021/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-04-28|website=EUvsDisinfo|publisher=European External Action Service|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428223144/https://euvsdisinfo.eu/eeas-special-report-update-short-assessment-of-narratives-and-disinformation-around-the-covid-19-pandemic-update-december-2020-april-2021/ |archive-date=28 April 2021 }}{{Cite news|last=Emmott|first=Robin|date=April 28, 2021|title=Russia, China sow disinformation to undermine trust in Western vaccines, EU report says|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/russia-china-sow-disinformation-undermine-trust-western-vaccines-eu-report-says-2021-04-28/|access-date=April 28, 2021|archive-date=26 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526170559/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/russia-china-sow-disinformation-undermine-trust-western-vaccines-eu-report-says-2021-04-28/|url-status=live}} In October 2021, the German Marshall Fund reported that China Daily was one of several state media outlets propagating a conspiracy theory concerning the origins of COVID-19.{{Cite web|last1=Aghekyan|first1=Elen|last2=Schafer|first2=Bret|date=2021-10-05|title=Deep in the Data Void: China's COVID-19 Disinformation Dominates Search Engine Results|url=https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/data-void-china-covid-disinformation/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-11-16|website=Alliance For Securing Democracy|publisher=German Marshall Fund|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005135227/https://securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/data-void-china-covid-disinformation/ |archive-date=5 October 2021 }}
In January 2022, China Daily alleged that the U.S. planned to pay athletes to "sabotage" the 2022 Winter Olympics.{{Cite news|last=Tian|first=Yew Lun|date=2022-01-29|title=China says U.S. plans to pay athletes to 'sabotage' Beijing Games|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-media-says-us-pays-athletes-disrupt-beijing-games-2022-01-29/|access-date=2022-02-24|archive-date=24 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220224043149/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-media-says-us-pays-athletes-disrupt-beijing-games-2022-01-29/|url-status=live}} In March 2022, China Daily published an article in Chinese{{Cite news |date=March 24, 2022 |title=突发:英媒宣称,研究证实新冠病毒是美国公司制造 |trans-title=BREAKING: British media claims that research confirms that the new coronavirus was made by a US company |url=https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202203/24/WS623bbde4a3101c3ee7acd17c.html |access-date=October 19, 2022 |website=China Daily |language=Simplified Chinese |archive-date=19 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019024126/https://cn.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202203/24/WS623bbde4a3101c3ee7acd17c.html |url-status=live }} which falsely claimed that COVID-19 was created by Moderna, citing a page on The Exposé, a British conspiracist website.{{Cite news|last=Cockerell|first=Isobel|date=2022-03-25|title=British homegrown conspiracies get Beijing's stamp of approval|language=en|website=Coda Media|url=https://www.codastory.com/newsletters/beijing-british-conspiracies|access-date=14 June 2022|archive-date=5 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605000103/https://www.codastory.com/newsletters/beijing-british-conspiracies/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news |date=2022-04-01 |first1=Legu |last1=Zhang |first2=William |last2=Echols |title=Made by Moderna? China Spreads Yet Another Debunked COVID-19 Conspiracy Theory |url=https://www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-moderna-vaccine-covid-conspiracy/31781624.html |website=Polygraph.info |access-date=8 July 2022 |archive-date=8 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708143914/https://www.polygraph.info/a/fact-check-moderna-vaccine-covid-conspiracy/31781624.html |url-status=live }}
= Portrayal of Muslims =
{{Further|Islamophobia in China|Persecution of Uyghurs in China#Denial of abuses}}
A 2019 critical discourse analysis of China Daily
See also
{{Portal|China|Journalism}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
{{Foreign-language newspapers in China}}{{Major central news organizations}}{{National key news website}}
Category:1981 establishments in China
Category:English-language newspapers published in China
Category:Newspapers published in Beijing
Category:Newspapers established in 1981
Category:Chinese propaganda organisations
Category:Chinese Communist Party newspapers
Category:Daily newspapers published in China
Category:Information operations units and formations
Category:Conspiracist publications
Category:Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party