People's Daily Explained

People's Daily
Type:Daily newspaper
Owners:Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
Publisher:Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
President:Tuo Zhen
Chiefeditor:Yu Shaoliang
Language:Chinese and others
Headquarters:No. 2 Jintai Xilu, Chaoyang District, Beijing
Oclc:1011095986
Publishing Country:China
Political:Chinese Communist Party
People's Daily
Order:st
S:人民日报
T:人民日報
P:Rénmín Rìbào
W:Jen-min Jih-pao
Gr:Renmin Ryhbaw
Mong:ᠳᠤᠮᠳᠠᠳᠤ ᠤᠯᠤᠰ ᠤᠨ
(ᠬᠢᠲᠠᠳ ᠤᠨ)
ᠠᠷᠠᠳ ᠡᠳᠦᠷ ᠲᠤᠲᠤᠮ ᠤᠨ
Mon:Дундад улсын (Хятадын) ардын өдөр тутмын

The People's Daily is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple languages.

History

The paper was established on 15 June 1948 and was published in Pingshan County, Hebei, until its offices were moved to Beijing in March 1949. Ever since its founding, the People's Daily has been under direct control of the CCP's top leadership. Deng Tuo and Wu Lengxi served as editor-in-chief from 1948 to 1958 and 1958–1966, respectively, but the paper was in fact controlled by Mao Zedong's personal secretary Hu Qiaomu.[1] The newspaper is the official "mouthpiece" (喉舌) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.[2]

A large number of articles devoted to a political figure, idea, or geographic focus is often taken as a sign that the mentioned official or subject is rising.[3] [4] Editorials in the People's Daily are regarded both by foreign observers and Chinese readers as authoritative statements of official government policy. Distinction is made between editorials, commentaries, and opinions. Although all must be government approved, they differ sharply on the amount of official authoritativeness they contain by design – from the top. For example, although an opinion piece is unlikely to contain views opposed to those of the government, it may express a viewpoint, or it may contain a debate that is under consideration and reflect only the opinions of the writer: an editorial trial balloon to assess internal public opinion.[5] By contrast, an official editorial, which is rather infrequent, means that the government has reached a final decision on an issue.

During the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the People's Daily editorial of 26 April, which condemned "unlawful parades and demonstrations," marked a significant moment in the newspaper's history.[6] The editorial increased tension between the government and protesters, and top CCP leaders argued about whether to revise it. An article that compiles the most important editorials was released by the People's Daily during the student movement.

An analysis of the wording of all the issues of the People's Daily from 1995 to 2000 was used in the writing of The First Series of Standardized Forms of Words with Non-standardized Variant Forms.[7]

The People's Daily is responsible for the publication of the nationalist tabloid Global Times.[8]

The People's Daily maintains a unit called People's Data that conducts overseas social media data collection and analysis for police, judicial authorities, CCP organizations.[9] [10] People's Data also has data sharing agreements in place with various companies such as DiDi and Temu's parent company Pinduoduo. In 2022, the People's Daily launched a commercial software service called Renmin Shenjiao (People's Proofreader) that provides outsourced content censorship.[11] The People's Daily also provides artificial intelligence companies in China with training data that CCP leaders consider permissible.[12]

Overseas editions

The People's Daily also maintains a multilingual internet presence; and established the People's Daily Online (人民网) in 1997.[13] The website of People's Daily includes content in Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and English. In comparison to the original Chinese version, the foreign-language version offers less in-depth discussion of domestic policies and affairs and more editorials about China's foreign policies and motives.[14]

The People's Daily in recent years has been expanding on overseas social media platforms. It has millions of followers on its Facebook page and its accounts on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. An unusually high proportion of its followers are virtually inactive and are likely to be fake users, according to a study by the Committee to Protect Journalists.[15] The People's Daily also maintains agreements with foreign newspaper to republish its content.[16]

Writing practices

The People's Daily employs "writing task groups" (Chinese: s=写作小组|p=xiězuò xiǎozǔ) of various staff to compose editorial pieces to signal the significance of certain pieces or their relationship to the official views of the CCP.[17] These groups are published under "signatures" (i.e., pen names: 署名 shǔmíng) that may correspond with the topic and weight of a piece, and what specific government or CCP body is backing it, often with homophonous references to their purpose.[18] [19]

Selected notable People's Daily pen names
Pen nameEtymology/symbolismUsageExample articlesRef
Ren Zhongping 任仲平From 人民日报重要评论 Rénmín Rìbào zhòngyào pínglùn
'important People's Daily commentary'		Used to represent the view of the People's Daily as an organization."Hong Kong scores brilliant achievements after return", June 2017
"Keeping original aspiration, CPC creates glorious achievements", September 2019		[20]
Zhong Sheng 钟声Homophone of 中声 Zhōng shēng
'voice of China'		Commentary on major international affairs by editors and staff."U.S. practice to claim compensation for COVID-19 outbreak a shame for human civilization", May 2020
Guo Jiping 国纪平From 有关国际的重要评论 yǒuguān guójì de zhòngyào pínglùn
'important commentary on international [matters]'		According to China Daily, Guo Jiping is "used for People's Daily editorials meant to outline China's stance and viewpoints on major international issues."[21] Guo Jiping articles are rarer and generally longer than Zhong Sheng articles."Losing no time in progressing – grasping the historic opportunity for common development", December 2019[22]
Guo Ping 国平Unclear. Guó means 'country' and píng 'peace, calm'. Píng is also the last character in Xi Jinping's name.Articles that focus on Xi Jinping and his political thought."在改革中更好掌握当代中国命运: 六论习近平总书记治国理政新思想新成就" ('Better Grasp Contemporary China's Destiny during Reform: On the New Thought and New Achievements of Xi Jinping in Governing the Country'), February 2016
Zhong Zuwen 仲祖文From 中共中央组织部文章 Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Zǔzhībù wénzhāng
'articles from the Central Party Organization Department'		Pieces from the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party, covering topics related to the Party principles and ideology."Moral standards for officials' personal life necessary", July 2010[23]
Zheng Qingyuan 郑青原Taken from the saying 正本清源 zhèngběn qīngyuán
'clarify matters and get to the bottom of things'.		Used to comment on political reform, particularly in attacking Western-style liberal democracy.[24] A writer from the Beijing Morning Post (now part of The Beijing News) speculated that it represented the Politburo in an article that was taken down within a day in China."China to promote reform with greater resolve, courage", October 2010
Tang Xiaowen 唐晓文Similar to 党校文 dǎngxiào wén
'Party School writing'		Central Party School editorials written during the Cultural Revolution by a group under the leadership of Kang Sheng."孔子是'全民教育家'吗?" ('Is Confucius really an 'educator for the entire people'?'), September 1973[25]
Special guest commentator 特约评论员Briefly realized as Yue Ping 岳平, from tèyuē pínglùnyuánUsed from March 1978 to December 1985 to republish select articles from the internal Party periodical Theoretical Trends (理论动态) under the direction of Hu Yaobang."实践是检验真理的唯一标准" ('Actual Practice is the Sole Criterion for Judging Truth'), May 1978 (originally published in Guangming Daily)[26]

List of presidents

Reactions

During the AIDS epidemic, the People's Daily downplayed the epidemic domestically while "presenting AIDS as a relatively innocuous social problem for the country."[27]

A 2013 study of the People's Daily coverage of the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak reported that it "regurgitated triumph and optimism" and framed the outbreak as an "opportunity to showcase China's scientific achievements, and the strength of national spirits, as well as the wise leadership of the party and effective measures to protect the lives of ordinary citizens."[28]

In February 2020, the People's Daily published an article stating that the novel coronavirus "did not necessarily originate in China."[29] In March 2020, the online insert of the People's Daily, distributed by The Daily Telegraph, published an article stating that Traditional Chinese medicine "helps fight coronavirus."[30] In May 2020, the People's Daily stated that the novel coronavirus had "multiple origins."[31] In November 2020, the People's Daily published a claim that COVID-19 was "imported" into China.[32] [33] [34] [35] In January 2021, the People's Daily inaccurately attributed deaths in Norway to the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[36]

In 2020, the United States Department of State designated the People's Daily a foreign mission, thereby requiring it to disclose more information about its operations in the U.S.[37] [38] [39] [40]

In 2021, ProPublica and The New York Times reported that the People's Daily was part of a coordinated state propaganda campaign to deny human rights abuses in Xinjiang.[41]

In 2023, the People's Daily sparked a backlash on Chinese social media for exhorting citizens to not complain about their own poverty or boredom.[42]

The Onion parody

In November 2012, American satire news site The Onion published an article where it declared North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as the 'Sexiest Man Alive for 2012'. In response, People's Daily republished the article with 55-page photo spread of Kim and tongue-in-cheek quotes from The Onion. They later took down the article from its site after realizing that it was a parody. The Onion later updated their article about Kim stating; "For more coverage on The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive 2012, Kim Jong-Un, please visit our friends at the People's Daily in China, a proud Communist subsidiary of The Onion, Inc."[43]

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Historian: Hu Qiaomu. 27 August 2015. Chinese Revolution. en-US. 29 May 2020. 7 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230407144916/https://alphahistory.com/chineserevolution/historian-hu-qiaomu/. live.
  2. Web site: Bandurski . David . 2024-05-07 . China's Mouthpieces Go Quiet . 2024-05-07 . China Media Project . en-US.
  3. Wu . Shufang . 3 September 2014 . The Revival of Confucianism and the CCP's Struggle for Cultural Leadership: a content analysis of the People's Daily, 2000–2009 . . en . 23 . 89 . 971–991 . 10.1080/10670564.2014.882624 . 1067-0564 . 145585617.
  4. Weston. Morley J.. Rauchfleisch. Adrian. 23 July 2021. Close to Beijing: Geographic Biases in People's Daily. Media and Communication. 9. 3. 59–73. 10.17645/mac.v9i3.3966. 2183-2439. free.
  5. Wu . Guoguang . March 1994 . Command Communication: The Politics of Editorial Formulation in the People's Daily . . en . 137 . 137 . 194–211 . 10.1017/S0305741000034111 . 0305-7410 . 655694 . 154739228.
  6. Web site: April 26 Editorial . Tsquare.tv . 26 April 1989 . 10 May 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120617074111/http://tsquare.tv/chronology/April26ed.html . 17 June 2012 . live .
  7. Web site: http://ling.whu.edu.cn/law/002/2016-04-20/1300.html. zh:第一批异形词整理表（试行）. zh-hans. 国家语言文字工作委员会. 20 April 2016. 21 November 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20181127110551/http://ling.whu.edu.cn/law/002/2016-04-20/1300.html. 27 November 2018. live.
  8. News: Branigan . Tania . 20 April 2009 . China defies media cuts and closures with new newspaper launch . . 17 July 2021 . 8 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200408181317/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/apr/20/china-newspaper-launch . live .
  9. News: Cadell . Cate . May 1, 2024 . Report: China's propaganda units harvest data from overseas tech firms . May 2, 2024 . The Washington Post.
  10. News: Cadell . Cate . 31 December 2021 . China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20220101001350/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/china-harvests-masses-of-data-on-western-targets-documents-show/2021/12/31/3981ce9c-538e-11ec-8927-c396fa861a71_story.html . 1 January 2022 . 1 January 2022 . . en-US . 0190-8286.
  11. News: Cai . Vanessa . Zhuang . Sylvie . 2023-07-17 . Chinese entities turn to People's Daily censorship AI to avoid political mines . 2023-07-20 . . en . 20 July 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230720023220/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3227876/why-chinese-entities-are-turning-peoples-daily-censorship-ai-avoid-political-mines . live .
  12. News: Lin . Liza . July 15, 2024 . China Puts Power of State Behind AI—and Risks Strangling It . subscription . July 16, 2024 . . 16 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240716031258/https://www.wsj.com/tech/china-puts-power-of-state-behind-aiand-risks-strangling-it-f045e11d . live .
  13. News: 10 January 2012 . A Loyal Customer: People's Daily and Beijing . . dead . subscription . 4 August 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160608055633/http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/01/10/a-loyal-customer-people%E2%80%99s-daily-and-beijing-2/ . 8 June 2016.
  14. http://thinkingchinese.com/index.php?page_id=346 Chinese and English versions of China's leading news portals – Two styles of journalism
  15. News: Shepherd . Christian . 23 November 2015 . Twitter tally at People's Daily does not add up, say researchers . subscription . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/43319c90-919a-11e5-bd82-c1fb87bef7af . 10 December 2022 . 25 February 2022 . Financial Times.
  16. Web site: Young . Ellie . Ludwig . Jessica . Mexico: Beijing's Global Media Influence 2022 Country Report . 2023-08-05 . . en . 5 August 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230805025102/https://freedomhouse.org/country/mexico/beijings-global-media-influence/2022 . live .
  17. Web site: Banurski . David . Who is 'Zheng Qingyuan'? . China Media Project . University of Hong Kong Journalism & Media Studies Centre . 5 November 2010 . 22 May 2020 . 6 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200806043840/http://chinamediaproject.org/2010/11/05/who-is-zheng-qingyuan-2/ . live .
  18. Gitter. David. Fang. Leah. 2018. The Chinese Communist Party's Use of Homophonous Pen Names: An Open-Source Open Secret. Asia Policy. en. 25. 1. 69–112. 10.1353/asp.2018.0009. 158246582. 1559-2960.
  19. News: Bandurski . David . June 23, 2022 . Pen Names for Power Struggles . China Media Project . January 13, 2023 . 13 January 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230113111326/https://chinamediaproject.org/2022/06/23/pen-names-for-power-struggles/ . live .
  20. News: 人民日报记者揭秘'任仲平'背后的故事 [People's Daily Reporters Reveal Story behind 'Ren Zhongping'] ]. 22 May 2020 . People's Daily . 28 December 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180322051140/http://www.people.com.cn/GB/32306/54155/57487/8560342.html . 22 March 2018 . live .
  21. News: Guo . Jiping . Losing no time in progressing – grasping the historic opportunity for common development . 22 May 2020 . China Daily . 31 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191231191059/http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201912/31/WS5e0b1568a310cf3e35581cff.html . 31 December 2019 . live .
  22. News: 吴长生、王恬详细介绍"国纪平"和"钟声" . 22 May 2020 . People's Daily . 6 February 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090210171324/http://world.people.com.cn/GB/57507/8763123.html . 10 February 2009 . live .
  23. News: 12 February 2015 . 2014中国互联网年度人物名单揭晓 "国平"成唯一入选且获奖的群体 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150924182121/http://www.guancha.cn/Media/2015_02_12_309394.shtml . 24 September 2015 . 22 May 2020 . Guancha.
  24. Book: Godement . François . Contemporary China: Between Mao and Market . 2015 . Rowman and Littlefield . 112 . 9781442225398 . 22 May 2020 . 7 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230407144928/https://books.google.com/books?id=NlAWCgAAQBAJ . live .
  25. News: 康生死前為何會揭發江青：老謀深算 善於投機 [Why Would Kang Sheng Expose Jiang Qing before his Death? Scheming, Foresight, and Opportunism |url=http://culture.people.com.cn/BIG5/4919198.html |access-date=22 May 2020 |work=People's Daily |date=16 October 2006 |language=zh ].
  26. News: Wu . Guangxiang . 胡耀邦与"特约评论员"署名 . News of the Communist Party of China . 28 May 2020 . 12 May 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210512090603/https://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/85037/85038/7200151.html . live .
  27. Dong . Dong . Chang . Tsan-Kuo . Chen . Dan . 19 June 2008 . Reporting AIDS and the Invisible Victims in China: Official Knowledge as News in the People's Daily, 1986–2002 . . en . 13 . 4 . 357–374 . 10.1080/10810730802063793 . 1081-0730 . 18569366 . 38167270.
  28. Book: Changfu, Chang. Evolution of Power: China's Struggle, Survival, and Success. 21 November 2013. Lexington Books. 978-0-7391-8498-1. 263–265. en. One System, Two Frames: The Coverage of the WTO Negotiations and the SARS Outbreak by the People's Daily and the China Daily. 864899546. https://books.google.com/books?id=Fm5BAgAAQBAJ&dq=China%20Daily%20%22detached%22&pg=PA261. 19 March 2023. 7 April 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230407144907/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fm5BAgAAQBAJ&dq=China%20Daily%20%22detached%22&pg=PA261. live.
  29. News: Gitter . David . Lu . Sandy . Erdahl . Brock . 30 March 2020 . China's Coronavirus Misinformation Campaign Seeks to Avoid Blame . . 25 November 2020 . 29 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201129164906/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/30/beijing-coronavirus-response-see-what-sticks-propaganda-blame-ccp-xi-jinping/ . live .
  30. News: Sterling Jones . Dean . 1 April 2020 . A British Newspaper Has Given Chinese Coronavirus Propaganda A Direct Line to the UK . . live . 8 January 2021 . 3 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210103211853/https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/deansterlingjones/coronavirus-british-newspaper-chinese-propaganda .
  31. News: 27 May 2020 . China's latest U-turn, says COVID-19 virus had 'multiple origins' . . 25 November 2020 . 23 January 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210123093041/https://www.nationalheraldindia.com/international/chinas-latest-u-turn-says-covid-19-virus-had-multiple-origins . live .
  32. News: Graham-Harrison . Emma . McKie . Robin . 29 November 2020 . A year after Wuhan alarm, China seeks to change Covid origin story . en-GB . . 30 November 2020 . 0029-7712 . 30 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201130000005/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/29/a-year-after-wuhan-alarm-china-seeks-to-change-covid-origin-story . live .
  33. News: 26 November 2020 . Chinese media step up campaign to muddy probe into Covid origins . . live . subscription . 26 November 2020 . https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/edda14d0-145b-42e4-a1d2-4d64ab73bda1 . 10 December 2022.
  34. News: Stanway . David . 26 November 2020 . With frozen food clampdown, China points overseas as source of coronavirus . en . . 26 November 2020 . 10 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220410211052/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china-origin-idUSKBN2861A2 . live .
  35. News: Palmer . James . 25 November 2020 . How Will Biden's Team Handle China? . . 25 November 2020 . 25 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201125215951/https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/11/25/how-biden-team-handle-china-diplomacy-national-security-beijing/ . live .
  36. News: Hui. Mary. 21 January 2021. China's vaccine diplomacy has an aggressive anti-vax element. Quartz. live. 29 January 2021. 23 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210123184106/https://qz.com/1959855/chinas-coronavirus-vaccine-diplomacy-is-anti-vax/.
  37. News: Jakes . Lara . Myers . Steven Lee . 18 February 2020 . U.S. Designates China's Official Media as Operatives of the Communist State . en-US . . live . 18 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200324074500/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/world/asia/china-media-trump.html . 24 March 2020 . 0362-4331.
  38. News: O'Keeffe . Kate . Jonathan . Cheng . 19 February 2020 . State Department Names Five Chinese Media Outlets as Foreign Missions in U.S. . en-US . . live . 18 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200401025922/https://www.wsj.com/articles/state-department-names-five-chinese-media-outlets-as-foreign-diplomatic-missions-in-u-s-11582062002 . 1 April 2020 . 0099-9660.
  39. News: 18 February 2020 . US tightens rules on Chinese state media over 'propaganda' concerns . en-GB . . . live . 18 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200325135013/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/18/us-chinese-media-propaganda-state-department . 25 March 2020 . 0261-3077.
  40. News: Wong . Edward . 22 June 2020 . U.S. Designates Four More Chinese News Organizations as Foreign Missions . en-US . . 23 June 2020 . 0362-4331 . 22 June 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200622221012/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/22/us/politics/us-china-news-organizations.html . live .
  41. News: Kao . Jeff . Zhong . Raymond . Mozur . Paul . Krolik . Aaron . 23 June 2021 . How China Spreads Its Propaganda Version of Life for Uyghurs . . 25 June 2021 . 24 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210624112414/https://www.propublica.org/article/how-china-uses-youtube-and-twitter-to-spread-its-propaganda-version-of-life-for-uyghurs-in-xinjiang . live .
  42. Web site: October 10, 2023 . People's Daily call to quit whining sparks social media backlash . 2023-10-11 . . en . 11 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231011133851/https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/china-fake-positivity-10102023162632.html . live .
  43. News: 28 November 2012 . North Korea joke slips over China's Great Firewall . 5 December 2020 . . 5 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200805085418/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/11/28/north-korea-sexiest/1733699/ . live .

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