HEADLINES & HASHTAGS

We follow the stories, conversations and broader developments shaping the Chinese media environment as they emerge, offering an inside look at a dynamic but challenging space.

HEADLINES AND HASHTAGS

Latest | Headlines & Hashtags

Catching Predators in the County Government

Nov 14, 2024 | Dalia Parete

Coverage in China this month of the rape of a 13-year-old girl, a case involving local officials, has drawn the focus to shortcomings in sexual assault protections as well as government corruption.

Hangzhou’s Tower of Influence

Nov 13, 2024 | Ryan Ho Kilpatrick

In a fascinating feature story this week, Shanghai’s The Paper took a look at an apartment building in Zhejiang province’s capital city that has a reputation for hosting more than its fair share of online influencers.

Commending a Compliant Press

Nov 12, 2024 | David Bandurski

Unlike international holidays to celebrate freedom of speech and affirm the crucial role of journalists in open societies, China’s annual Journalist’s Day rewards — and commands — obedience.

From the Archive

Hu Xijin Quietly Returns

Nov 8, 2024 | Alex Colville

One of China’s most patriotic and combative online commentators went silent back in July, when he apparently stepped over the line in commenting on a decision from the leadership. He is back, though not yet with much to say.

Harris in the Fissures of Online Hate

Nov 5, 2024 | Initium Media

For many Chinese Americans, vice-presidential candidate Kamala Harris is an inspirational figure, the perfect daughter of an immigrant family. But in the spaces frequented by Mandarin-speaking audiences on X, WeChat and Douyin, she has faced a torrent of racism and hate.

For State Media, Copycats are No Joke

Oct 21, 2024 | Alex Colville

The recent case of a counterfeit article erroneously sourced to the official mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party has the authorities crying foul. But the real culprit is their claim to a monopoly on the truth.

Divorcing China from Wedding Humiliation

Oct 18, 2024 | Dalia Parete

After a recent, egregious incident of “wedding hazing” went viral in China, the controversial tradition has been pushed back into the media spotlight. Outlets nationwide are joining the charge to end this “evil custom.”

Making Deepfakes With Chinese AI

Oct 16, 2024 | Alex Colville

Chinese AI tools are getting more sophisticated, and concerns are rising they will be used to interfere with democracies. So how easy is it to create deepfakes on the Chinese internet?

Married to the Motherland

Oct 4, 2024 | Dalia Parete

The idea of 5,000 couples tying the knot at once in a state-planned ceremony may not sound romantic — but China’s leadership is in love with the idea of encouraging traditional marriage.

Goodness Me

Sep 19, 2024 | David Bandurski

Good Me, one of China’s largest tea store chains, had a hard lesson in public relations this week after internet users decided its punchline video about workplace discipline was not funny, not at all.

Married Out

Sep 12, 2024 | Dalia Parete

The New York Times recently became the latest international news outlet to cover the issue of the rights of female villagers in China. The issue has quietly brewed in China’s domestic media for years — without serious action.

Farewell, Microblog

Sep 5, 2024 | Alex Colville

In Xi’s “New Era” signs now point to the untimely end of the Weibo Era. Is it possible any longer to build a platform strategy around recognized public intellectuals?

China’s AI Hallucination Challenge

Aug 27, 2024 | Alex Colville

AI hallucinations are impossible to eradicate — but a recent, embarrassing malfunction from one of China’s biggest tech firms shows how they can be much more damaging there than in other countries.

A Midwesterner in Foshan

Aug 15, 2024 | Initium Media

US vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, a former Cantonese learner who was popular with his Chinese students, is affectionate toward China — but he is no “dove” on human rights, Hong Kong, and Tibet issues.

China’s AI Hype Gets a Reality Check

Aug 7, 2024 | Alex Colville

Chinese AI is moving at a fast pace, but it’s important not to give in to hype about exactly what the technology can do — a point state media are now making themselves.

When Meloni Met Xi

Aug 2, 2024 | Dalia Parete

Chinese media coverage of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s recent visit to China has been characterized by a blend of criticism and optimism, strategic framing, and an emphasis on historical ties.

When Worlds Collide

Jul 12, 2024 | Alex Colville

State media have released a short, AI-generated series on Douyin. It’s the meeting point of several tools the Party has been using to modernize media and propaganda.

A Rare Exposé

Jul 10, 2024 | David Bandurski

In an investigative report splashed across the front page last week, a Beijing newspaper exposed lax food safety practices. It was just like old times.

China Starts Influence Ranking for Cities

Jul 4, 2024 | David Bandurski

The country’s external propaganda efforts have increasingly leaned on localities, mobilizing and pooling resources. Now the government will measure how they are performing.

The Politics of Pure Business

Jul 3, 2024 | David Bandurski

As Western media groups talk of “purely commercial” cooperation, China’s official Xinhua News Agency regards its partnerships as part of China’s broader effort to shape global discourse and promote its government image. It’s time for professional media groups to wake up.

China Grapples with Nationalism, and Fuels It

Jul 2, 2024 | Alex Colville

A flurry of statements from Chinese social media platforms in the wake of a tragic attack on a Japanese woman and her child in Suzhou pledge to clear up rabid nationalism online. Meanwhile, Chinese state media continue to pour fuel on the fire of anti-Japanese sentiment.

MAGA Communism and the China Grift

Jul 2, 2024 | Jordyn Haime

Riding American frustrations with foreign wars, can “MAGA Communism” advocate Jackson Hinkle help China gain sympathy in the US?

A Media Labyrinth in the Middle East

Jun 25, 2024 | Bertie Lyhne-Gold

An oddly compliant question from the foreign press corps on the sidelines of this year’s National People’s Congress kicked up a simple question: Who is China-Arab TV? We followed the question down the rabbit hole.

Top Propaganda Official Faces Investigation

Jun 23, 2024 | David Bandurski

The sudden announcement Friday of a corruption probe against Zhang Jianchun marks just the second case in the Xi Jinping era of a senior propaganda official falling from grace.

Goldfish Memories

May 27, 2024 | David Bandurski

In a post to China’s popular WeChat platform last week, one writer bemoaned the shocking loss of nearly a full decade of information from the early days of the country’s domestic internet. Within hours the writer’s reflections had vanished too.

Riding into the Uncanny Valley

May 21, 2024 | Alex Colville

Military mouthpieces have joined Chinese state media in experimenting with AI anchors. But how effective will these digital propagandists be in the fight for hearts and minds?

Shades of Yellow

Apr 24, 2024 | David Bandurski

In its latest two-month campaign against public accounts on domestic social media platforms, China’s cyberspace control body is targeting falsehood and sensationalism. The ugly truth is that the country’s state-run media, which are not to be touched by the purge, are some of the worst culprits.

Fingertip Formalism

Apr 18, 2024 | David Bandurski

In recent years, China’s leadership has pushed innovation at the intersection of tech and governance. But mobile-based solutions have created a new problem — how to get officials off their phones.

The Flip Side of Influence

Apr 17, 2024 | Alex Colville

For foreign influencers, China’s massive and potentially lucrative market is a huge draw. But national sensitivities are also a very real pitfall — as one influencer has learned this month.

Who is Seeing the Real America?

Apr 15, 2024 | Initium Media

“Zero-dollar shopping” videos depicting America as a lawless hellscape where woke politics mean criminals now go unpunished have been going viral for years within China and on Chinese-language social media abroad. What lies behind this strange trend?

Pleas and Appeals

Mar 22, 2024 | Alex Colville

After it went viral in China this month, video footage of a woman wailing before the altar of Bao Qingtian, an 11th-century official who has become a popular symbol of justice, drove a debate online about the difficulties of seeking recourse for official wrongs.

When the ByteDance CEO Groveled

Mar 20, 2024 | David Bandurski

With a US Senate debate on TikTok and its national security implications on the horizon, some media have asked what signs there are that the app’s parent company, ByteDance, is under the thumb of China’s leadership. An abject politically-laden apology six years ago by the company’s CEO cuts right through the questions.

The Ugly Politics of Media Obstruction

Mar 14, 2024 | David Bandurski

The harassment of state media reporters during a live report from the scene of a deadly explosion yesterday has angered some as an unacceptable act of interference. A closer look reveals a more disquieting truth — that such acts of obstruction are not an exception but the very nature of media policy in China.

Mo Yan Against the Martyrs

Mar 11, 2024 | Alex Colville

A spat about the red credentials of one of China’s most celebrated writers has been blown out of proportion on the Chinese internet, thanks to harsher nationalist laws and an increasingly rabid cancel culture.

When Science Fiction Meets Political Fact

Feb 22, 2024 | Alex Colville

A win for China in the Best Novella category at the 2023 Hugo Awards for science fiction has been lauded by state media amid global controversy over authors being shut out of the Chengdu-hosted event. But many Chinese readers have panned the winning work — and some suspect that its victory is politically too convenient.

What Does the Party Stand to Gain from AI?

Jan 30, 2024 | Alex Colville

With the help of AI, CCP propaganda is becoming more targeted, accessible, and quickly made than ever before. We found one state-backed AI website and took it for a test drive.

Furious Misreadings

Jan 25, 2024 | Alex Colville

How China’s latest pique over the ills of “Western media,” stemming from a cover illustration in The Economist magazine, entirely misses the point.

One Election, Two Reactions

Jan 23, 2024 | Dalia Parete

While China insists Taiwan is an internal affair, domestic media reactions to Taiwan’s elections have been muted. The bulk of state media coverage has instead been directed outwards at foreign readers. How do we account for this dichotomy?

Quake Comments Bring Suspension for TV Host

Jan 11, 2024 | Alex Colville

Remarks last week by Xiao Chenghao were just the latest in a pattern of schadenfreude that rears its ugly head in China whenever natural disaster strikes Japan. The disciplining of the Hainan Satellite TV host shows the tension between the official drive for a positive global image and the anti-Japanese sentiment often stoked for the leadership’…

China’s Press Under Xi Jinping Thought

Nov 22, 2023 | David Bandurski

State media coverage of a ceremony yesterday to honor the recipients of China’s most prestigious journalism awards makes clear that the most prized asset in China’s press is control.

Flowers in Hefei

Nov 10, 2023 | Xue Laidi

In cities and villages across China, young and old gathered in places like Hefei’s Patriot Lane last week to mourn the passing of China’s former premier, Li Keqiang. Who they were mourning mattered less than the idea that he had been a good man.

Sidelined in Death, as in Politics

Nov 1, 2023 | David Bandurski

Since former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang passed away last week, his legacy has been quietly boxed up and filed away. The current leadership under Xi Jinping hopes that the nation can move quickly past his pragmatism and the questions it raises about the present.

China’s Fake Press Problem

Oct 26, 2023 | David Bandurski

Controls on news and information in China, seen as key to protecting the CCP regime, are perhaps the strictest in the world. So how — and why — are entirely spurious media outfits operating right under the nose of the authorities?

Gilding the Panda

Sep 20, 2023 | David Bandurski

Attending the Cannes Film Festival and taking home the coveted Palme d’Or is every filmmaker’s dream. Will they someday yearn for the Panda d’Or? Not if the prize is about the politics of civilization.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

Eight Long Hours of Silence

Apr 21, 2023 | Initium Media

The complete lack of early news coverage or social media attention to a major fire at Beijing’s Changfeng Hospital this week raised serious questions about the Chinese government’s growing capacity to control information.

On National Humiliation, Don’t Mention the Russians

Mar 24, 2023 | Ryan Ho Kilpatrick | history, National humiliation, Russia

In an era of revanchist territorial claims and chest-thumping nationalist rhetoric, one topic remains revealingly taboo: taking back what Russia took from China.

Framing China’s Health Experts

Mar 9, 2023 | CMP Staff

When experts provide neutral and apolitical input, policies on public health can benefit enormously. When propaganda and censorship stand in the way, this does more than damage general well-being — it destroys the credibility of experts in the public eye.

A Model Opera at Lujiang Middle School

Mar 3, 2023 | David Bandurski

Viral footage of a confrontation between a professor and a student reveals how individuals’ voices are erased and replaced with that of the Party, and how the collective voice of a billion people can still ring so hollow on the global stage.

Looking the People’s Daily in the Eye

Dec 1, 2022 | David Bandurski

The official announcements of the death of former top leader Jiang Zemin may seem like heaps of nonsense and overwrought praise. But take a closer look at newspaper layouts today and they tell us clearly where the Chinese Communist Party would like us to focus.

Colorless Tributes for Jiang Zemin

Nov 30, 2022 | CMP Staff

Online media directly run by the Chinese Communist Party media responded to the news of the death of former President Jiang Zemin by going all black. More commercially oriented media made different choices.

A New Slogan Rises from the Past

Nov 8, 2022 | CMP Staff

In defining the period ahead for China and the CCP as a road of many twists and turns, requiring historic resolve, Xi Jinping has borrowed from the language Mao Zedong used ahead of the Party’s victory in the Civil War in 1949.

The Long and Short of the CCP Congress

Oct 16, 2022 | CMP Staff

Lengthy though it may have seemed as Xi Jinping delivered his political report live to the 20th National Congress of the CCP today, this was not the full report. The draft crafted for delivery at the podium was cut by close to an hour.

Chance and Defiance on the Front Page

Oct 16, 2022 | David Bandurski

One of the key themes in Xi Jinping’s “New Era” over the past 10 years has been much tighter control of the press. Shortly after Xi’s most crucial media policy speech in February 2016, CMP wrote about the absurd levels such control can take, with reference to the CCP’s pre-reform history.

Writing the Future into History

Oct 14, 2022 | David Bandurski

In China, official versions of history in the present are meant to signal future plans and ambitions. Here’s a look at today’s chronicle of the last five years under the CCP.

“Xiplomacy” Gets Rare Stage Time

Oct 3, 2022 | CMP Staff

Xi Jinping’s legacy foreign policy phrase got a slight boost last week with prominent coverage in the CCP’s flagship newspaper. But make no mistake — it has been a rough year.

“We Must Wake Up!”

Sep 20, 2022 | David Bandurski

The fatal crash of a quarantine transport bus in Guizhou province over the weekend has galvanized anger over China’s Covid policies. One private post from a well-known journalist yesterday was shared widely on social media before being deleted. It spoke of 1.3 billion Chinese held “in bondage” over irrational fears of contagion.

When Laws Fail for Policies

Sep 19, 2022 | CMP Staff

Following a deadly bus crash in Guizhou province, authorities have promised a swift investigation into the causes and those responsible. But some of the key factors behind the accident are plain and predictable given China’s unyielding pursuit of “zero Covid.”

Good Will and Hostility

Sep 12, 2022 | CMP Staff

A video from the US Embassy in Beijing wishing Chinese a prosperous Mid-Autumn Festival sparked a wave of comments and counter comments over the weekend — and prompted the deletion of an article about the incident.

China’s Front on Human Rights

Sep 1, 2022 | David Bandurski

Chinese media have reacted with blistering silence today to the release of a UN report on human rights in Xinjiang. But while we wait for the torrent of denials to come, it’s a good time to look more closely at the organizations through which China engages internationally on these issues.

Pelosi in the People’s Daily

Aug 25, 2022 | CMP Staff

US House Speaker Pelosi has appeared in more than 70 articles in the CCP’s flagship newspaper so far in August — stratospheric by historical standards. The latest outpouring of rage from China appears across two pages today.

Looking Back on China’s “Golden Era”

Aug 5, 2022 | CMP Staff

Continuing our series on investigative reporter and former CMP fellow Yang Haipeng, who passed away on June 30, we look at tributes from former Nanfang Daily Group deputy editor-in-chief Jiang Yiping, and columnist Xiao Shu, which offer glimpses of a brighter and more hopeful era for China’s journalists.

The Didi National Security Mystery

Jul 22, 2022 | David Bandurski

Left conspicuously unanswered in accounts of the company’s misdeeds by the Cyberspace Administration of China is the exact nature of its alleged national security violations.

Major Glitch at Virtual Tech Event

Jul 22, 2022 | CMP Staff

A virtual event hosted yesterday by Baidu and CCTV News was meant to showcase “avant-garde” AI applications. But the tech giant’s live video feed for the event was hijacked by old-fashioned regulatory hurdles.

A Tribute to the Journalist’s Spirit

Jul 5, 2022 | CMP Staff

A former investigative reporter reflects on the immense influence of journalist Yang Haipeng, who passed away recently in Shanghai — and on the huge toll worsening repression has taken on those hungering for justice.

Remembering Journalist Yang Haipeng

Jun 30, 2022 | David Bandurski

One of China’s top reporters from the heyday of print journalism a decade ago, the veteran investigator and editor passed away suddenly in Shanghai on June 30.

A Steep Drop for China’s Journalists

Jun 14, 2022 | David Bandurski

State media coverage of a report released last month by the All-China Journalism Association emphasized the development of media convergence. But the report tells another important story — about a rapid fall in the number of licensed journalists in China.

Shades of Hostility

Jun 8, 2022 | David Bandurski

Last month, a set of questionable illustrations included in primary school mathematics textbooks in China sparked a fierce debate online over curriculum standards — and wild conspiracies about foreign infiltration. How could this happen in a country where internal standards of political discipline within media and publishing are among the stric…

Paper Trails in the Digital Age

May 31, 2022 | David Bandurski

If the closure in the past five years of once prosperous publications like the Beijing Times and Shanghai’s Oriental Morning Post signaled the steady decline of commercial print newspapers and magazines in China, the recent shuttering of China Computerworld can be seen as the full stop on a bygone era.

Political Plot Twists

May 25, 2022 | Stella Chen

Late last year, Chinese authorities cracked down on a popular role-playing genre called “script murder,” arguing that violent and supernatural themes were harmful to youth. But the genre may be finding new life — as pro-Party propaganda.

Obey the Party, Cut the Nonsense

May 23, 2022 | David Bandurski

In recent remarks, Inner Mongolia’s top CCP leader emphasized the news media’s role as mouthpiece, and the need for obedience. But he also urged shorter reports, less jargon and more relevance.

Passing of Shanghai Culture Writer Raises Questions

May 12, 2022 | Stella Chen

Days before her death on May 4, Shanghai journalist Tong Weijing was kept busy writing from lockdown for one of the city’s leading state-run dailies. Some have wondered why state media have responded with silence to the tragic news of her passing.

Honoring China’s Heroes

May 10, 2022 | David Bandurski

Last week veteran journalist Luo Changping was given a seven-month jail sentence for defaming the country’s martyrs and heroes. The harsh penalty for the former senior editor of Caijing magazine, who in the past has been hailed in China for his heroic journalism, reveals how profoundly the values in Chinese society have shifted under Xi Jinping.

Mystery Kills

May 5, 2022 | Stella Chen

Alibaba stock was driven down sharply last week by furious online speculation stemming from a mysterious state media report. It’s time, some said afterward, to reform to the national system of Party-state driven news releases, which encourages a culture of error and secrecy.

Clickbait Nationalism Misses the Mark

Apr 11, 2022 | Stella Chen

The serious failings of Covid-19 responses in major cities like Changchun and Shanghai have deepened frustration online with influencers who continue, in the face of real suffering, to pander to China-can-do-no-wrong nationalism.

Putting the Soft Back in Soft Power

Mar 31, 2022 | Stella Chen

In a recent paper for a Chinese journal on international communication, two scholars suggest the surefire way to tell China’s story well is to give young Chinese internet users more freedom to be creative online and influential internationally. But is the Chinese leadership capable of loosening up when it comes to the country’s messaging overseas?

“This Does Not Need to Be Featured”

Mar 25, 2022 | Stella Chen

Coverage of the tragic crash this week of China Eastern Airlines flight MU5735 has relied chiefly on information from state media focussing on the government response. Rare efforts at more human and relatable coverage have been the subject of controversy over when it is appropriate to show the human side of tragedy.

Human Stories of War

Mar 22, 2022 | David Bandurski

While coverage of the Ukraine war in China’s official state media has emphasized a number of limited Party-state frames, other Chinese media have worked to tell more human and nuanced stories about the unfolding humanitarian crisis.

Doubling Down on US Bioweapons

Mar 18, 2022 | David Bandurski

While the US has continued its focus this week on exerting pressure on Putin and isolating him internationally, China has insistently sought to shift the focus to the question of US biological weapons labs in Ukraine – an allegation that has basis only in claims made by the Russian Defense Ministry on March 6. The result is a disconcerting rift …

China Rails Against US “Disinformation”

Mar 15, 2022 | David Bandurski

In today’s People’s Daily newspaper there is not a whiff of news about yesterday’s exchange in Rome between top US and Chinese diplomats. Meanwhile, a high-level foreign affairs column heaping blame on the United States and accusing it of “disinformation” suggests that, publicly at least, Chinese and American views of the Ukraine war remain worl…

An Anthem for the New Era

Mar 14, 2022 | David Bandurski

A meeting in Rome today between US national security adviser Jake Sullivan and China’s top foreign affairs official, Yang Jiechi, could be crucial to securing peace in Europe and beyond. But the top story dominating the Chinese Communist Party’s flagship newspaper today is the glorious closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games…

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