Chinese journalists are soon to be required to pass a test grading their understanding of Xi Jinping Thought, the socialist teachings espoused by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
A notice from China’s media regulator — the Chinese State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television — has been sent to more than a dozen state-owned news organizations in Beijing over the last month. It instructs employees to prepare to take an exam on the “study Xi” propaganda app, launched earlier this year, to have their press credential renewed.
Most believe the regulation is soon to apply to Chinese reporters across the country.
Journalists from three media organizations, two of which were outside Beijing, said that their publications had also received informal notices to register on the app.
“From the top down to the bottom, I don’t think anyone will be able to escape it,” said one reporter from a broadcaster in Shandong Province, who said he was not authorized to speak on the topic.
The on-site, closed-book exam, to be administered by news organizations in early October, would be divided into five parts, including two on Xi’s teachings on socialism for the new era and Xi’s “important thoughts on propaganda,” according to Media Reform, a self-published news account on WeChat.
News of the test, first reported by the South China Morning Post, comes as Chinese media face increasing restrictions. China is considered one of the least free countries to operate as a journalist, ranked 177 out of 180 this year by Reporters Without Borders, above Eritrea and North Korea.
While Chinese journalists facing jail time and self-censorship is common, journalists from independent publications often push the envelope, investigating cases of local or corporate corruption. To get a press credential, journalists have previously been tested on their understanding of “Marxist journalistic ideals.”
“To be honest, it doesn’t mean that much,” the journalist from Shandong said. “Still, it’s a move to restrict public debate.”
Authorities have stepped up their regulation of Chinese media and the Internet, which already limits access to foreign Web sites, including news sites. In July, a draft regulation under China’s social credit system proposed punishing citizens for publishing information that “violates social morality” or causes “adverse social impacts.”
Xi has demanded loyalty from Chinese journalists before. In 2016, he told staff at three state-run news outlets in Beijing that they were “the propaganda fronts and must have the party as their family name.”
According to Media Reform, the exam for journalists is not expected to be difficult.
Sample questions would soon be uploaded to the app, according to the news Web site Sohu.com.
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