CGTN America

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CGTN America

CGTN America is a channel of

Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.[1] CGTN America is headquartered at 1099 New York Avenue NW, Suite 200 in Washington, D.C., and manages bureaus in New York City, Washington, D.C., as well as spanning coverage in North and South America. CGTN America began broadcasting in the United States on February 6, 2012,[2] replacing the former English language CCTV-NEWS in the region.[3]

CGTN America employs American, Chinese, and other international journalists and produces U.S.-based programs with a focus on Asia for CGTN.[4] It maintains a separate schedule of programs each day from noon to 7 p.m. MST (7 p.m. to 2 a.m. GMT), and like its African counterpart, it simulcasts CGTN International at all other times. CGTN America's director general is Ma Jing, with veteran Asia journalist Jim Laurie as executive consultant.[5]

Observers have noted that the "aim [of CGTN] is to influence public opinion overseas in order to nudge foreign governments into making policies favourable towards China's Communist party" through subtle means.[6] Researchers Thomas Fearon and Usha M. Rodrigues argued that CGTN has a "dichotomous role as a credible media competing for audience attention on the world stage, and a vital government propaganda organ domestically."[7] According to James Palmer at Foreign Policy, the contrasting aims of RT (formerly Russia Today) and CGTN, "mirrors wider strategies: Moscow wants chaos it can exploit, while Beijing wants a stable world order—on its terms".[8]

In 2018, the

foreign missions, requiring them to submit lists of all employees and to seek approval to buy any property.[11][12][13]

Foreign state agent registration

CGTN America initially claimed that it had "editorial independence from any state direction or control". This claim was debunked by The New York Times reporter Paul Mozur in interviews with "current and former CGTN employees [who] say CCTV editors in Beijing often dictated plans for covering China. American employees sometimes pushed back, they said, and Ms. Ma allowed some flexibility when Beijing's orders didn't specifically forbid or dictate content. But three people interviewed said they had little choice but to air propaganda clips when Beijing said so".[2] CGTN employees were disciplined when a news report mentioned Falun Gong, the religious group labeled as a cult and banned by the PRC. The Flag of the Republic of China, which the PRC does not recognize, is banned from broadcasts. In November 2018, amid growing international criticism of China's imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in internment camps, CGTN America aired a pro-Beijing documentary portraying the camps as successful vocational training and anti-terrorism centers and Uyghurs as grateful.[14] In addition, CGTN America has broadcast "exclusive" coerced confessions of people accused of a wide variety of crimes in China, most notably the example of a Briton, Peter Humphrey.[2] In addition, some CGTN journalists "recall being asked to cross a sometimes blurred line between news reporting and intelligence gathering as they were asked to report on high-level government meetings".[15]

The United States Department of State characterized "CGTN America's relationship with a foreign government and a foreign political party as one of interest to Washington". The United States Department of Justice was concerned about an "expanding influence campaign being waged by Beijing through the global arms of state media outlets" like CGTN and Xinhua News Agency.[16][17] In putting pressure upon Xinhua and CGTN, a senior US official noted that US grievances towards the lack of reciprocity from Beijing on trade and media access as many American and international news outlets are blocked in China.[18]

The Justice Department directed CGTN America and Xinhua News Agency to register as foreign agents under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). CGTN America registered under FARA on 1 February 2019, but said that it disagreed with the Justice Department's decision, but nevertheless registered as a foreign agent.[10] While this permits CGTN America to continue operating in the United States, it is required to disclose information about its annual budget and ownership structure, and also to include disclaimers on broadcasts, published materials and social media identifying itself as a registered foreign agent.

On March 8, 2019, after CGTN America registered under FARA, its director general Ma Jing and a dozen other staffers were recalled to Beijing. In the FARA filing Ma had said that CGTN America enjoyed editorial independence from any state control and that it operated like other news media organizations. It has been speculated that the recall is a result of her claim of editorial independence, which deviates from the Chinese Communist Party's position.[19]

In 2020, the United States Department of State designated CGTN and its parent company, CCTV, as well as Xinhua News Agency,

foreign missions, requiring them to submit lists of all employees and to seek approval to buy any property.[11]

Airing of forced confessions

Further information: China Global Television Network § Controversies, and CGTN (TV channel) § Criticism

In November 2018, amid growing international criticism of China's imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in internment camps, CGTN America aired a piece portraying the camps as successful vocational training and antiterrorism centers and Uyghurs as grateful. In addition, CGTN America has broadcast "exclusive" forced confessions of people accused of a wide variety of crimes in China, most notably the example of a Briton, Peter Humphrey.[2]

Awards

In 2016, CGTN America won an

Jen Bricker, a gymnast who was born without legs. In 2019, it won 27 White House News Photographers Association awards for its photographic coverage.[20]

References

  1. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived
    from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  2. ^
    ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on April 28, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  3. ^ Wang, Xi (February 6, 2012). "About CCTV America". CNTV. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
  4. ^ "CCTV America Initiates New Programming From Washington, D.C." (Press release). CCTV. February 6, 2012. Retrieved February 8, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  5. Associated Press News
    . February 8, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
  6. ^
    ISSN 0261-3077. Archived
    from the original on March 10, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ISSN 2324-2035. Archived
    from the original on February 2, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2021.
  8. ^ Palmer, James (October 1, 2018). "China's Global Propaganda Is Aimed at Bosses, Not Foreigners". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on January 8, 2020. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  9. ISSN 0099-9660. Archived
    from the original on April 18, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  10. ^
    ISSN 0099-9660. Archived
    from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c Tandon, Shaun (April 8, 2020). "US tightens rules on Chinese state media". Hong Kong Free Press. Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved April 9, 2020.
  12. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on March 24, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  13. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  14. ^ Boren, Cindy (December 16, 2019). "Arsenal star Mesut Özil draws China's wrath after criticizing treatment of Muslim Uighurs". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 29, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  15. ^ Beach, Sophie (December 7, 2018). "Beijing's Evolving Global Media Influence". China Digital Times. Archived from the original on March 11, 2019. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Zhou, Laura (February 6, 2019). "Chinese state broadcaster registers with US as foreign agent". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  17. ^ Di Stefano, Mark; Adams, Rosalind (February 5, 2019). "A Leaked Memo Says Chinese State TV Registered As A Foreign Agent "In The Spirit of Cooperation"". BuzzFeed News. Archived from the original on November 9, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  18. ^ "What are Xinhua and CGTN, America's new 'foreign agents'?". Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  19. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
    from the original on March 5, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
  20. ISBN 978-0-19-751576-1
    .
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