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Taiwan, China fight war of words

`There needs to be more expert debate on this issue and Taiwan needs to make the best possible use of available resources. Only in this way can we formulate a policy that will allow us to compete with China.'

When the Government Information Office announced its intention to launch an international, English-language TV channel next year, it created a minor controversy.

Some said that this was inappropriate, as the government, political parties and the military should not own media outlets. But the truth is that China and Taiwan are involved in a propaganda war in the international media, and it is important for Taiwan to fight for the right to be heard.

China's rapid economic growth and population of more than 1.3 billion serve to attract attraction from the international media. With so much at stake, some foreign media do their best to ingratiate themselves with China. A good example of this is Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, which last month was criticized by the New York Times for its flattering reporting on China.

But is the NYT any better? A study by the US National Defense University titled How the PRC uses International Media in the `War for the Public Opinion': The Example of the New York Times found that the NYT often quotes Chinese sources in its reporting on Taiwan. The report also found that the paper does this more every year. In 2004, 33.4 percent of the articles on Taiwan quoted Chinese sources. In 2005 this had increased to 43.4 percent, while the ratio of articles quoting Taiwanese sources is less than 20 percent internationally. As a result, it's impossible for the media to give a balanced view of the cross-strait situation.

Recently, News Corp announced plans to buy Dow Jones & Co for US$5 billion. Dow Jones owns the Wall Street Journal. The WSJ is not only the US' biggest newspaper, it also has a lot of influence on the global elite. When Murdoch acquires the WSJ, this newspaper, too, might become more flattering of China.

China is well aware of the need to offer foreign media positive news about itself. In the 1950s, Mao Zedong (毛澤東) told the Xinhua news agency to "take care of the world." Today Xinhua dispatches news to the whole world, 24 hours a day, in Chinese, English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Portuguese. The agency publishes an average of 500,000 words per day.

Xinhua's newspaper coverage is complemented by CCTV International, also known as CCTV-9, China's English-language TV channel, and China Radio International (CRI). CRI broadcasts up to 192 hours of radio programs aimed at foreign listeners in 43 different languages every day. Such convenient news coverage is very effective in influencing foreign journalists.

China takes the initiative in offering news material and even personnel to international media. Recent visits of Chinese leaders to foreign countries have regularly been followed by quotes from the leaders of those countries saying unfavorable things about Taiwan, and often these quotes are reported in international media.

It should also be noted that an increasing number of Chinese academics are interviewed by international media, and that unofficially, great efforts are made to encourage this.

A recent example of the bias in the international media was a report produced by Associated Press correspondent Lee Ming (李閩), who quoted Chinese officials calling Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) "insane" and the "scum of the nation." Ming, who lives in the US, is ethnic Chinese, but he is not the only journalist whose reporting is biased.

China's success in making itself heard in the international media must not be underestimated. In a situation where our adversary is winning the propaganda war, Taiwan needs to consider what it can do to redress the balance. Simply establishing an international TV channel will not be enough.

There needs to be more expert debate on this issue and Taiwan needs to make the best possible use of available resources. Only in this way can we formulate a policy that will allow us to compete with China.

Weber Lai is an associate professor in the Department of Mass Communications at Chinese Culture University.

Translated by Anna Stiggelbout
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