137 Country Report: Information Network

Source Type: “Traditional” Periodicals

South China Morning Post: 

The South China Morning Post is a Hong Kong-based, English newspaper owned by the Alibaba Group, a Chinese technology company. It is considered Hong Kong’s newspaper of record with an average daily circulation of 100,000. The South China Morning Post is updated daily with both a paper edition available in Hong Kong and an online edition available globally. Its printed edition adopts a typical broadsheet format and the online edition is similar to most other online newspaper sites with sections such as news, comment, lifestyle, this week in Asia, and coronavirus. It can be accessed at https://www.scmp.com/ and on Twitter @SCMPNews. I chose the South China Morning Post because of its substantial coverage of China and its reasonably neutral perspective; it has been regarded as the most credible paid newspaper in Hong Kong by a survey conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. However, one drawback of the South China Morning Post is that it faces increasing pressure from the Chinese Communist Party which might threaten its journalistic integrity in the future. 

People’s Daily

People’s Daily is a China-based, multilanguage newspaper owned by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It is the largest newspaper in China and is often considered a direct reflection of the Chinese Communist Party’s policies and viewpoints. The newspaper is updated daily with both a paper edition and an online edition. Its printed edition adopts a typical broadsheet format and the online edition is similar to most other online newspaper sites with a broad range of areas including opinion, politics, world, business, society, culture, sci-tech, sports, travel, military, and life. It can be accessed at http://en.people.cn/ and through its application. I choose People’s Daily because it is China’s most influential state-owned media; It is a great way to analyze how the Chinese communist party views a particular issue. However, it is worth noting that one drawback of the People’s Daily is that it is extremely biased. The newspaper is often considered a part of the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda machine and is known for spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Global Times

Global Times is a China-based, daily tabloid newspaper that is owned by People’s Daily. It is different from its parent company because it mostly focuses on analyzing international news whereas People’s Daily mostly focuses on domestic issues. The news agency is often regarded as “China’s Fox News” because it often publishes right-wing news articles aimed to stoke nationalism. Global Times is updated daily with both a paper edition and an online edition. Its printed edition adopts a typical broadsheet format and the online edition includes sections on China’s current events, opinion pieces, “Hu Says(commentary by Hu Xijing, the editor-in-chief of Global Times)”, world news, life, sport, video, photo, infographic, and cartoon. It can be accessed online at https://www.globaltimes.cn/index.html and through its application. I chose Global Times because it is one of the most popular state-owned media. It also provides a much more nationalistic and conservative perspective compared to its parent company, People’s Daily. It is a great way to juxtapose the different perspectives within the Chinese communist party. However, just like People’s Daily, Global Times is also extremely biased. It is also often considered a part of the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda machine and is known for spreading conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Caixin Weekly

Caixin Weekly is a China- based weekly magazine owned by Caixin Media, a private Chinese media group. The magazine offers independent, investigative journalism which mostly covers economic and financial news in China. Caixin Weekly and the Caixin group is often regarded as one of the most prominent and trustworthy news agencies; it is regarded by Reuters as “one of China’s most dogged investigative journalism outlets”. Caixin Weekly is only offered in simplified Chinese and can be viewed both in print and digitally. It is useful because it is one of the most reliable financial magazines in China. It upholds its journalistic integrity while still allowing me to analyze issues from a Chinese perspective. It is worth noting that the Caixin group has been prohibited from re-publishing by China’s Cyberspace Administration of China in late 2021 and it will likely cease to exist in the next year or so. It can be accessed in print and through https://weekly.caixin.com/. 

Source Type: “New Media” Text-based Sources

China Law Blog

The China Law Blog is an English language blog platform based in the United States that focuses on Chinese law and how it impacts Chinese and US business. The platform is operated by Harris Bricken LLP, an international law firm. The platform started in 2006 and updates on almost a daily basis. The blog post is usually around 500 words or more and focuses on various aspects of Chinese law and China’s legal system. It can be accessed at https://harrisbricken.com/chinalawblog/ and through Twitter @chinalawblog.The blog caters to international businesspeople and lawyers, as a result, it adopts a fairly elitist and western-oriented view. However, although such a perspective might be biased, it is nonetheless useful since it reveals how western business leaders and lawyers react to current events happening in China. One drawback is that the platform focus on a fairly narrow issue area (law and business) and thus might only be useful while examining particular issues.

The China Story

The China Story is an English language blog platform affiliated with the Australian National University. The platform aims to support academic research by sharing China-related research/news. The China Story was established in 2012 and updated on a near biweekly basis. Blog posts vary greatly in length and cover a broad range of issues related to China including politics, economy, culture, etc. It can be accessed at https://www.thechinastory.org/. The blog caters mostly to scholars and students in the west. The perspective varies greatly depending on the author of the post. The platform is useful because it allows me to analyze issues in China from an academic perspective. One drawback is that The China Story is not as active and updates less frequently compare to other blog platforms listed in my information network.

Council on Foreign Relations 

Council on Foreign Relations is an independent and nonpartisan think tank based in New York City that focuses on U.S. foreign policy and international relations-related issues. The organization was established in 1921 and is often considered one of the most influential think tanks in the world. Council on Foreign Relations’ China section covers political and economic issues related to China. The organization publishes reports, blog posts, and backgrounders on a daily basis. The reports vary greatly in length but the blog posts are usually around 1000-2000 words. It can be accessed at https://www.cfr.org/asia/china. The Council on Foreign Relations caters mostly to people interested in politics and international relations in the west. The reports and blog posts tend to adopt a more neoliberal, western-oriented perspective. The website is useful because many posts are written by foreign policy experts/politicians thus allowing us to analyze current events in China from the perspective of policymakers.

Source Type: Social Media Sources

Sina Weibo

Sina Weibo is a microblogging website in Simplified Chinese. It is owned by Sina Corporation, a Chinese technology company. Sina Weibo is considered one of China’s largest social media platforms with over 500 million monthly active users. Sina Weibo is often considered as “Chinese Twitter” where users could post and talk about almost any subject. Since the content is generated by the users, the platform holds an array of diverse viewpoints. Sina Weibo could be useful in that it is a great way to examine China’s public opinion on various matters since most posts are directly from users. However, Sina Weibo is under heavy surveillance from the Chinese government; many sensitive keywords and issues are censored or removed. It can be accessed anytime at https://weibo.com and through its application.

Douyin 

Douyin is a short video platform owned by ByteDance, a Chinese technology company. It is identical to TikTok, however, it only operates in Mainland China. Douyin is considered one of China’s most popular mobile applications, especially among younger generations, with almost 700 million monthly active users. Just like TikTok, the content on Douyin is all user-generated thus many different viewpoints and information can be found on the platform. Douyin is useful to analyze what is popular or the public opinion among the younger generations in China. It is worth noting that Douyin faces much heavier surveillance and censorship compared to its international counterpart, TikTok. Many short videos and keywords are censored or removed from Douyin. It can be accessed at https://www.douyin.com/discover and through its application.

WeChat

WeChat is a Catch-all social media application developed by Tencent, a Chinese technology company. It is the world’s largest standalone mobile app with over 1 billion monthly active users. It is by far the most common and popular application in China and is used by people of all age groups. WeChat users have access to articles from state media, private firms, and other users. Although many posts are user-generated thus many hold many different viewpoints, the application is heavily censored and any information that displeases the government will be taken down immediately. Wechat can be useful because it is used by all age and social groups thus tend to have a more diverse set of users compared to Douyin and Sina Weibo. As a result, it will allow me to discover different opinions in China.  WeChat can be accessed through its mobile application.

Source Type: Data sources

China’s National Bureau of Statistics

The National Bureau of Statistics is an agency under China’s State Council. The agency is tasked with collecting, investigating, researching, and publishing data regarding China’s economy, population, and other issue areas. Data are published monthly, quarterly, and annually depending on the topic and nature of the subject. The source can be useful because it is the most authoritative data set in China since it is directly under the Chinese government’s control. However, just like other state affiliated sources, it might not be accurate and can be used by China’s propaganda machine to promote its agenda.It can be accessed at http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/

World Bank (China)

The World Bank is a Washington, D.C- based international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries. It was established during the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Aside from providing loans and grants, the World bank also collects and processes economic data regarding countries around the globe. Data are typically published annually but vary depending on the specific type and topic of data. The data regarding China from the World Bank is often considered one of the most unbiased data sets available. Despite being based in DC, it is more neutral and less prone to political influence compared to similar organizations such as the International Monetary Fund. It can be accessed at https://data.worldbank.org/country/CN.

The Global China Initiative 

The Global China Initiative is organized by the Global Development Policy Center which is affiliated with Boston University. The website includes a series of datasets mostly focusing on China’s overseas economic activity and engagement with international institutions. The website did not explicitly state the frequency of publication but most data sets seem to be updated on an annual basis. Considering the website is affiliated with Boston University, it can mostly be viewed as unbiased. However, it is worth noting that several data sets are derived from existing data published by the Chinese government thus the data might deserve additional scrutiny. It can be accessed at https://www.bu.edu/gdp/research/databases/global-china-databases/.

Source Type: Visual and audio-based sources

CGTN

CGTN is an English-language cable TV news service that is based in Beijing, China. CGTN operates internationally with four broadcast centers and 70 bureaus around the globe. It is owned by the China Media Group and is under the direct control of the Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party. CGTN cover a broad range of topics including politic, business, culture, sci-tech, sports, travel, nature, and opinions. It adopts various formats: it incorporates traditional broadcasts with newscasters, interviews with experts, and new media such as TikTok-like short video clips. Since CGTN is a state-owned news media directed mostly towards western audiences, it could be a useful source because it allows me to juxtapose the difference between inward and outward-oriented Chinese state-owned media. I will be able to compare the differences between narrative and censorship from the Chinese government. Like all state-owned media, one drawback of the CGTN is that it is biased and could promote various narratives that service the Chinese Communist Party. It can be accessed anytime at https://www.cgtn.com/

China Radio International 

China Radio International is a Beijing-based international radio broadcaster owned by the Chinese Communist Party. it serves a similar role to Radio Free Asia(owned by the US government) where it aims to promote global influence and boost reputation. China Radio International has 32 overseas correspondent bureaus and 6 main regional bureaus broadcasting in 65 different languages. Most of its programs are in Mandarin Chinese and English. China Radio International covers topics such as current affairs, politics, economy, culture, science, technology, etc. China Radio International can be a useful source because I will be able to juxtapose it with Radio Free Asia to see the different perspectives when analyzing a current event. As mentioned regarding other state-owned media, China Radio International is prone to bias and could promote different narratives that service the Chinese Communist Party. It can be accessed on the radio at 846 AM, 1008 AM; 91.5 FM.

New Tang Dynasty Television

New Tang Dynasty Television is a multilingual television broadcaster based in New York City. It is founded and affiliated with Falun Gong, a religious group that is prosecuted by the Chinese Communist Party. The station covers a broad range of issues including arts and culture shows, travel, entertainment news, health and lifestyle, and children’s programming. New Tang Dynasty Television has programs in various languages including English, Spanish, Japanese, French, Russian, Persian, Hebrew, etc. New Tang Dynasty Television can be useful since it often conducts extensive reports on human rights violations in China; it often has better informants in China compared to other western news networks. However, it is worth noting that New Tang Dynasty Television is very biased and lacks the journalistic rigor compare to other stations. There are many occasions when they use unsubstantiated or even fabricated information in their news reporting. It can be accessed on the radio at https://www.ntd.com/ and on TV.

Source Type: Additional Sources

Pincong

Pincong is an internet forum in simplified Chinese with its servers based in the United States. The forum is not linked to any individuals or organizations; it operates under a community-based system and receives funding from public donations. Pincong users discuss a broad range of issues but mostly focus on politics. It is known for its anti-Chinese communist party rhetoric and the site is blocked in China. The forum is useful because it provides perspectives and arguments that are often not seen in mainstream Chinese social media. However, one potential drawback of the forum is that it is biased against the Chinese communist party and most sources are not fact-checked.  It can be accessed anytime at https://pincong.rocks/.

Zhihu

Zhihu is a question-and-answer website based in China; it is often regarded as “Chinese Quora”. Zhihu has over 220 million registered users with over 250 million monthly page views. Although it is much smaller in size compared to other social media platforms mentioned in my information network, Zhihu tends to have more in-depth and higher quality user-generated content. Like other social media, since the content is generated by the users, the platform holds an array of diverse viewpoints. Zhihu can be helpful when researching topics that are more niche. Since many users also cite their sources on their posts, it is a great way to look for primary sources. However, like all social media in China, Zhihu is also under heavy surveillance from the Chinese government; many sensitive keywords and issues are censored or removed. It can be accessed anytime at https://www.zhihu.com/ and through its application.

Radio Free Asia

Radio Free Asia is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit news agency funded by the United States government. It was established in 1994 after Congress ratified the International Broadcasting Act. The agency aimed at providing uncensored news reports to countries in Asia with censorship and poor media environments. Radio Free Asia publishes news through its broadcasts radio programs and also on its website. The online website focuses mostly on social, economic, and political issues with sections such as daily news, reports, commentary, video, and political cartoons. It can be accessed at https://www.rfa.org/english. I choose Radio Free Asia because it is a great way to analyze current events happening in China from the perspective of the United States government. However, it is worth noting that despite Radio Free Asia claiming itself as providing editorially independent reporting, it is nonetheless biased. The news agency holds a very pro-American/ western stance and its relationship with the United States government makes it less credible compared to other independent news agencies.