The CCP Is Constructing a New World Media Order (Part 1 of 3)

In this photo illustration, a mobile phone can be seen displaying the logos for Chinese apps WeChat and TikTok in front of a monitor showing the flags of the United States and China on an internet page. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

China’s TikTok video hosting service has become ubiquitous among American youth today. Due to concerns over its data security and potential for spreading the viewpoints of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), it has been subject to investigation by the U.S. government. However, experts point out that the primary force propagating Beijing’s perspectives lies in several pro-CCP media outlets, WeChat, and television networks that cover the entire Chinese community in the United States.

In 2020, the U.S. government imposed “foreign mission” status on fifteen of China’s state-run media outlets in the United States.

Under the U.S. Foreign Missions Act, all of China’s state-run media outlets in the United States should be designated as “foreign missions” and employees who work there should be registered as “foreign agents,” just as employees of foreign embassies are.

The designations were made in three batches and included Xinhua News Agency, China Central Television (CCTV), China Global Television Network (CGTN), China News Service, People’s Daily, Global Times, and Economic Daily.

Subsequently, in 2021, when Hong Kong’s Sing Tao Daily newspaper was purchased by a Chinese citizen, it was forced to register as a “foreign agent” with the U.S. Depatment of Justice. But Chinese TV (SinoVision) and Qiao Bao (The China Press), which were established in New York, staffed, and funded by China News Service, have never been labeled as such.

Another media loophole the CCP takes advantage of when spreading its propaganda is how the U.S. government is not regulating Over the Top (OTT) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) internet streaming services. For example, Chinese Americans in New York can pay $180 for a small internet streaming receiver that allows them access to over one hundred Chinese channels from more than a dozen of China Central and local TV stations through WiFi.

With the development of the internet, some CCP state-owned local media outlets have also established branches in the United States. Consequently, these overseas propaganda outlets host a wide selection of channels with Chinese programming.

Although these media outlets usually go unnoticed by the U.S. government, they have proven to be successful in influencing and manipulating Chinese-American audiences with the CCP’s censorship and messaging.

For example, in the recent case (pdf) brought by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) against the CCP for its overseas police station in New York City operated by the Chang Le American Association. The indictment mentions the Fuzhou Public Security Bureau demanded that one of the defendants, Chen Jinping, remove an article from the U.S. branch of Southeast Net (fjsen.com) that announced the opening of a second CCP police station in New York city.

The fjsen.com website is managed by the Propaganda Department of the CCP Fujian Provincial Committee and sponsored by the Fujian Daily Newspaper Group.

An article published by this media outlet in December of 2017 reported a New York City event celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Southeast Net’s American channel. In attendance were several politicians’ aides, including the current Mayor’s representative Winnie Greco. Invited as one of the honored guests was the second defendant in the DOJ case, Lu Jianwang.

During the celebration, the head of Southeast Net’s U.S. branch, Wang Yanling, delivered a speech. She expressed her hopes for deepening exchanges and cooperation in promoting Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s thoughts on Chinese socialism in a new era among overseas Chinese and mainstream American society. The event also included a “Symposium of Overseas Propagandists for Studying and Implementing the Spirit of the 19th National Congress of the CCP.”

At a time when tensions are high between the Untited States and China, the activities of these propaganda institutions have the potential of inciting concerns within overseas Chinese communities. They do this by emphasizing perceived injustices against China, provoking anti-American sentiment, and eventually attempting to influence U.S. policies.

For example, the day after the FBI arrested two leaders of the CCP’s overseas police stations on April 17, Qiao Bao reported that “Serving compatriots cannot possibly endanger U.S. national security.” The article quoted Zhu Liye, the Executive Director of Southeast Net USA who spoke about the two DOJ defendants. He said, “They should not have done anything harmful to U.S. national security.” The article did not mention Zhu Liye’s relationship with Southeast Net, only describing him as a community member.

On April 19, Sing Tao Daily featured a front-page headline promoting the CCP’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ response to the U.S. accusations of CCP overseas police stations. The title read: “Denying the Existence of Overseas Police Stations, China Accuses the US of Baseless Claims.”