Guancha
{{Short description|Nationalist news site in China}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Guancha.cn
| native_name = 观察者网
| native_name_lang = zh
| logo =
| screenshot =
| caption =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| type = News website
| language = Chinese
| country_of_origin = China
| owner = *Shanghai Guanchazhe Information Technology Co., Ltd.
- Shanghai Chunqiu Development Strategy Research Institute
| author =
| founder = Eric X. Li
| editor = Jin Zhongwei
| key_people = Zhang Weiwei, Zhang Wenmu
| revenue =
| url = {{Official URL}}
| commercial = Yes
| registration = Optional
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2012|df=yes}}
| current_status = Active
| content_license =
| headquarters = Shanghai
}}Guancha.cn ({{zh|s=观察者网|l=Observer Net}}) is a Chinese news site based in Shanghai,{{Cite web |date=2021-10-11 |title=China wants an even more dominant state monopoly on the media |url=https://qz.com/2072074/china-seeks-full-news-monopoly-by-banning-private-capital-in-media/ |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=Quartz |language=en |archive-date=2021-10-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211011103827/https://qz.com/2072074/china-seeks-full-news-monopoly-by-banning-private-capital-in-media/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Langley |first1=William |last2=McMorrow |first2=Ryan |date=2021-12-23 |title=Intel apologises for banning use of components from Xinjiang |work=Financial Times |url=https://www.ft.com/content/59a28f36-2a0e-4b0c-86af-4d82daa525a9 |access-date=2021-12-23 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20211223212333/https://www.ft.com/content/59a28f36-2a0e-4b0c-86af-4d82daa525a9 |archive-date=2021-12-23}} founded by Eric X. Li, a Stanford-educated venture capitalist and a political scientist at the Fudan University.{{Cite web |title=Eric Li – World Policy Conference |url=https://www.worldpolicyconference.com/thierry-bollore-2/ |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=World Policy Conference |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323190251/https://www.worldpolicyconference.com/thierry-bollore-2/ |url-status=live }} Guancha.cn has been categorized in an Amsterdam University Press study as a privately owned internet platform outside of state-controlled media{{Cite journal |last1=Lu |first1=Yingdan |last2=Pan |first2=Jennifer |date=2022-02-01 |title=The Pervasive Presence of Chinese Government Content on Douyin Trending Videos |journal=Computational Communication Research |language=en |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |publication-place=Stanford University |volume=4 |issue=1 |doi=10.5117/CCR2022.2.002.LU |issn=2665-9085|doi-access=free }} and is noted for its pro-government and West-skeptical views, having been described as a nationalist website,{{Cite news |date=October 2, 2021 |title=When China wants to be feared |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/china/2021/10/02/when-china-wants-to-be-feared |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-10-11 |issn=0013-0613 |quote=Guancha, a nationalist website, created a hashtag mocking the White House statement, inspiring social-media posts that have been read over 300m times. |archive-date=2022-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719131249/https://www.economist.com/china/2021/10/02/when-china-wants-to-be-feared |url-status=live }} with Agence France-Presse and The Conversation calling it ultranationalist.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-07-10 |title=Communist Party emerges from shadows during Hong Kong crackdown |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210710-communist-party-emerges-from-shadows-during-hong-kong-crackdown |access-date=2022-11-01 |website=France 24 |language=en |quote=In an interview published Wednesday by ultra-nationalist mainland media outlet Guancha.cn... |agency=AFP News |archive-date=2023-03-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230329181947/https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20210710-communist-party-emerges-from-shadows-during-hong-kong-crackdown |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Republicans believe Tim Walz has been 'groomed' by China. But how does China view him? |url=https://theconversation.com/republicans-believe-tim-walz-has-been-groomed-by-china-but-how-does-china-view-him-236867 |date=August 22, 2024 |access-date=September 18, 2024 |website=The Conversation |language=en |quote=An ultra-nationalist outlet, Guancha.cn, contacted his former Chinese colleague from Foshan, who described Walz as “very nice” and “well-liked”. |archive-date=September 18, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240918075802/https://theconversation.com/republicans-believe-tim-walz-has-been-groomed-by-china-but-how-does-china-view-him-236867 |url-status=live }}
About
Guancha.cn mainly publishes online news content in Chinese. Its homepage format consists of a headline news, followed by a "left column" consisting of op-eds, a "central column" consisting of news, and a "right column", consisting of user generated content. Its content is mainly focused on international news and affairs, with an additional focus on economic issues. The website's reader demographics is "predominantly young people".{{Cite web |title=这次，观察者网的年轻人被狠狠观察了一回_澎湃号·媒体_澎湃新闻 |url=https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_9271691 |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=The Paper |language=zh |archive-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925170428/https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_9271691 |url-status=live }}
Guancha also publishes content in other formats, such as video. Guancha's official account has 7.46 million fans on the video sharing website Bilibili, frequented mainly by young people, as of September 2023.{{Cite web |title=观察者网的个人空间-观察者网个人主页-哔哩哔哩视频 |url=https://space.bilibili.com/10330740 |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=space.bilibili.com |archive-date=2021-04-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413105933/https://space.bilibili.com/10330740/ |url-status=live }} It also has a number of other affiliated video accounts, some associated with individual content producers.
The website's motto is stated as "Chinese heart, global perspective; understand the world from here; independent and responsible".{{Cite web |title=-观察者网-全球视野 中国关怀 |url=https://www.guancha.cn/about/about.shtml |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=www.guancha.cn |archive-date=2023-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925170336/https://www.guancha.cn/about/about.shtml |url-status=live }}
The website describes itself as a "online news and comments aggregator".
History
Guancha.cn was founded in 2012. Before its founding, an online platform known as "Social observer" had been founded by Shanghai Chunqiu Development Strategy Research Institute in 2010; this was described by Doublethink Labs as "Guancha's genesis".{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2021-05-01 |title=Tracing control and influence at Guancha news |url=https://medium.com/doublethinklab/tracing-control-and-influence-at-guancha-news-54219a0f8203 |access-date=2023-09-25 |website=Doublethink Lab |language=en |archive-date=2022-02-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209132653/https://medium.com/doublethinklab/tracing-control-and-influence-at-guancha-news-54219a0f8203 |url-status=live }}
A key event during Guancha's formative period was its coverage of Zhang Weiwei's 2011 debate with Francis Fukuyama, where Zhang Weiwei promoted the "Chinese model" and questioned Western democracy. Zhang Weiwei is also a co-founder of Guancha.
Guancha was originally launched as Social Observer's online arm, but the two became officially disaffiliated in 2014.{{cn|date=April 2024}}
In 2013, a number of techno-nationalists calling themselves the "Industrial Party" joined the site and have influenced it.{{cite journal|last1=Lu|first1=Nanfeng|last2=Wu|first2=Jing|title=历史转折中的宏大叙事:"工业党"网络思潮的政治分析|trans-title=Grand Narrative at History's Turning Point: A Political Analysis of the Internet Ideology of China's "Industrial Party"|journal=东方学刊|trans-journal=Dongfang Journal|issue=1|pages=49–60|url=https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=DFXK201801008&DbName=CJFQ2018|access-date=13 May 2022|date=2018|issn=2096-5966|language=zh-hans|archive-date=7 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807102638/https://kns.cnki.net/kcms/detail/detail.aspx?FileName=DFXK201801008&DbName=CJFQ2018|url-status=live}}
In 2020, the website has spoken out against Donald Trump's suspension from Twitter.{{Cite news |last=Yuan |first=Li |date=2021-01-15 |title=As Trump Clashes With Big Tech, China's Censored Internet Takes His Side |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/business/trump-china-censorship.html |access-date=2021-12-23 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=2021-12-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211223044523/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/business/trump-china-censorship.html |url-status=live }} Donald Trump was described as a "key driver of clicks for Guancha".
In 2021, the website criticized Intel's ban of using components from Xinjiang.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-22 |title=Intel faces backlash in China over stance on Xinjiang |url=https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/intel-china-backlash-xinjiang |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221127125229/https://www.protocol.com/bulletins/intel-china-backlash-xinjiang |archive-date=2022-11-27 |access-date=2023-03-23 |website=Protocol.com |language=en}}