PRAGUE, Czech Republic—Czech credit company Home Credit, which is owned by local billionaire Petr Kellner, funded a public relations campaign to improve the image of the Chinese regime in the country, according to documents leaked to Czech daily Aktuálne.cz.
The report, published on Dec. 10, 2019, was based on invoices from PR agency C&B Reputation Management, which was hired by Home Credit.
The PR agency was tasked with influencing media, public debate, and politicians.
In addition to promoting positive messages about China, the PR campaign also attacked critics of the Chinese regime.
Aktualne.cz also found out that the PR agency’s campaign, paid by billionaire Petr Kellner’s Home Credit, also focused on politicians. In September 2019, a conference was organized by a member of the ODS Party, where Prague lawmakers criticized the city’s mayor for canceling a sister city agreement with Beijing.
