Reporting on China: purportedly harmless collaborations and subtle narratives
Channel: Reporter ohne Grenzen
Date: 2023-06-02

Reporters Without Borders and the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation* invite you to a panel discussion:

When: Friday, 2nd June from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: At Reporters Without Border's offices and online 
The event will be held in English. Please register by email to attend. You will receive further details including the access link after registration.

The Chinese Communist Party has long gone beyond controlling information and news within its own borders. The regime also seeks to influence foreign reporting to its own advantage. As part of a long-term strategy, Beijing is expanding its own foreign media network, investing in media in other countries and inviting international journalists to attend training courses in China.

There are also examples of this in Germany: public broadcaster NDR and the Chinese state broadcaster CGTN have produced joint programmes, newspapers like FAZ and Handelsblatt have published pro-China supplements and advertisements, the German news agency dpa provided the Chinese Xinhua News Agency with a platform for information about China's "New Silk Road" project, and public broadcaster SWR used material from the Chinese propaganda authorities for a documentary about the initial phases of the pandemic in Wuhan.

One danger with many forms of cooperation, as well as coverage of China in general, is that media adopt certain concepts or narratives uncritically and without closer scrutiny. International media must not allow themselves to be taken in by the propaganda of a regime that controls, monitors, censors and imprisons journalists for years on end, in some cases under life-threatening conditions. In the latest Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index,China dropped four places and is now ranked 179th out of 180 countries. Endowed with more power than any other leader since Mao Zedong, state and party leader Xi Jinping secured a historic third term in office and is continuing his campaign against independent journalism which began ten years ago.

Reporters Without Borders has published a guide with recommendations for German journalists and media companies concerning collaboration with Chinese (state) media. It aims to raise awareness of Beijing's international media strategy in Germany and provide guidance for editorial teams when opportunities for cooperation arise.
 
To what extent and under what conditions is cooperation possible? How should journalists proceed if they are subject to overly severe restrictions on independent research in exchange for access to information from Chinese authorities? What opportunities does cooperation with (exile) media outside China offer? Which arguments and interpretative frameworks are characteristic of Chinese propaganda? What alternative narratives and argumentations exist?

The following panelists will discuss these and other questions: 

Lea Sahay, China correspondent for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. She reports from Beijing on Chinese politics and society.

Mareike Ohlberg,Sinologist and Senior Fellow in the German Marshall Fund's Asia Programme. She also worked at the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) in Berlin.

Samuel Chu, activist and founder of The Campaign for Hong Kong organisation, member of the advisory board of the Axel Springer Freedom Foundation

Moderation: Sophie von Waitz, Reporter Without Borders Germany




* The Axel Springer Freedom Foundation, together with artist Jens Galschiøt, is bringing a replica of the "Pillar of Shame" to Berlin. The "Pillar of Shame" is a memorial to the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre and stood in Hong Kong for 24 years until it was removed in December 2021 and recently confiscated by the police. A facsimile of the nine-meter-high artwork will be on display in front of the Axel Springer publishing building (Axel-Springer-Str. 65, 10969 Berlin) from May 22 to June 22. The art installation is freely accessible to visitors.




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