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China's Yellow Journalism

Chinese journalism is in trouble. Just over a year ago, a newspaper in Sichuan Province coaxed a young woman into donating her liver so it would have a heart-wrenching news exclusive about self-sacrifice. Circulation boomed . . . [Click here to access the full article at FEER.com].

Chinese journalism is in trouble. Just over a year ago, a newspaper in Sichuan Province coaxed a young woman into donating her liver so it would have a heart-wrenching news exclusive about self-sacrifice. Circulation boomed . . . [Click here to access the full article at FEER.com].

David Bandurski

CMP Director

Latest Articles

A Law to Protect China’s Feelings

Sep 14, 2023 | Ryan Ho Kilpatrick

The draft of a new legal amendment criminalizing speech or dress that “hurts the feelings of the Chinese nation” has attracted a wave of criticism online. Against the backdrop of rising nationalist sentiment in China, has Beijing overstepped the mark?

The Chinese People Have Stand-Up

Aug 30, 2023 | Vickie Wang

China’s crackdown on stand-up comedy in May this year was swift and decisive — as was the medium’s rise during the pandemic years. Taiwanese comedian Vickie Wang offers her inside perspective on why the format has struck such a chord with young Chinese audiences.

What Does Xi Jinping Mean By “Forever”?

Aug 30, 2023 | David Bandurski

During a dialogue with African nations last week, Xi Jinping declared that China will “forever be a member of the developing world.” Critics of China’s preferential treatment in the developed world will want to know exactly what he means.

The Battle of Brick Lane

Aug 18, 2023 | CMP Special Contributor

The “core socialist values” suddenly appearing on a wall in London might have sounded familiar to locals. But the line drawn by China’s leadership is clear: “universal values” are Western and “core socialist values” are Chinese — and never the twain shall meet.

Code Pink, Code Red

Aug 16, 2023 | David Bandurski

The China-related agenda of the “Women for Peace” organization might be taken more seriously as a call for respectful dialogue and cooperation if its narratives were not so closely aligned with those of the Chinese party-state.

Red Patriots in Hong Kong

Aug 8, 2023 | CMP Staff

A school that raised eyebrows during the territory’s colonial past for nurturing “red aristocrats” is today being upheld as a model school for patriotic education. A letter to students from Chinese leader Xi Jinping is the latest attempt to drum up enthusiasm for an issue that has long been controversial in the city.

China’s Foreign Minister is Sacked, and Erased

Jul 26, 2023 | David Bandurski

The fate of Qin Gang has been the subject of endless speculation in recent weeks, as he has disappeared from public view. The apparent erasure this week of all official news releases including his name within the ministry’s own website is another bizarre twist.

Jewish Conspiracy Theories Find an Audience in China

Jul 18, 2023 | Jordyn Haime

Anti-Jewish content and conspiracies take up significant real estate among the top results on Chinese media platforms including Douyin, WeChat and Bilibili. Though borrowed from the West, they have taken on a localized identity.

The Telegram

Jul 13, 2023 | Qian Gang

In this wonderful reflection from our 2014 archives, former CMP director and veteran journalist Qian Gang shares his experiences as pro-democracy demonstrations gripped China in the spring of 1989 — and the consequences of his own support for a newspaper editor at the center of events.

Telling the Mekong Story

Jul 11, 2023 | David Bandurski

As China pursues water diplomacy with countries along the Lower Mekong, seeking to strike a benevolent tone and downplay environmental and livelihood impacts that have devastated local communities, it has another big tool in its toolbox — media diplomacy.

Fake News on the Front Line

Jun 20, 2023 | David Bandurski

The story of “Paul Kotzatie,” the bogus Russian soldier from Henan, is not just a case of outlandish CGI fakery. It is a reminder that in China the right to speak, and the right to be heard, is ultimately in the hands of those in power.

The World in Xi Jinping’s Court

Jun 15, 2023 | David Bandurski

The visual treatment of reports in the official media on the appointment of Chinese ambassadors, and the acceptance of foreign ones, bears an important message about the imperial ambitions of China’s top leader.

His Authorship, Xi Jinping

Jun 13, 2023 | David Bandurski

These are dark days for writers and publishers in China. And in a telling sign of the times, one writer reigns supreme at the printing press, and in the headlines. Guess who?

China’s Rush to Ratify

May 26, 2023 | David Bandurski

In forums and conferences at every level, Chinese representatives seem eager to foist grand declarations on their guests. Why is China in such a hurry to get past the conversation and sign the dotted line?

Framing China in Southeast Asia

May 24, 2023 | CMP Staff

A training session for Southeast Asian journalists hosted by the foreign affairs office in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang is a reminder that China’s state agendas are being actively pushed not just from the top, but from the local and regional levels as well.

Confessions of a Han Chinese Woman

May 19, 2023 | Initium Media

“During the wave of protests against lockdowns in China, I took part in a candlelight vigil overseas for the victims of the fire in Urumqi… I had the profound feeling that night that as a Han Chinese, I was a Chinese White.”

Slogan Not Funny (Not a Bit), State Media Say

May 17, 2023 | David Bandurski

A quip on stage from comedian Li Haoshi over the weekend deeply offended China’s military. But red lines can be hard to spot in a world where overwrought propaganda often spills over into self-satire.

China Appoints New NRTA Chief

May 16, 2023 | CMP Staff

Now the youngest female senior official at the full ministerial level, Cao Shumin is known for her chops as a telecommunications researcher — but also as a loyal and ideologically committed Party member.

China’s ‘Xivilizing’ Mission

May 4, 2023 | Ryan Ho Kilpatrick

Beijing says it has created “a new form of human civilization” for other countries to emulate, built around Xi Jinping’s theories. But what exactly is China talking about when it talks about civilization, and what will it mean for the world to be Xivilized?

A Propaganda Ghost Sighting in Cambodia

May 3, 2023 | CMP Staff

Over the past few days, a strange apparition has haunted the sidebar of an English-language news site in Cambodia — an eery and unexplained echo of a long-abandoned policy that China’s leaders once staunchly defended.

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