US President Donald Trump is tightening the screws of Chinese Media and its propaganda outlets. The Trump administration on Tuesday announced that it will now designate four more Chinese media organizations as foreign diplomatic missions, arguing that the Chinese state media are operatives of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
China Central Television, China News Service, People’s Daily and the Global Times would have to report details of their US staffing and what their US real estate holdings are to the State Department.
“These entities are not independent news organizations; they are effectively controlled by the Chinese Communist Party … also known as propaganda outlets,” David Stilwell, the State Department’s assistant secretary for East Asia and Pacific affairs stated.
The US had made it clear that the officials of the Chinese State media working in the United States would no longer be treated as journalists, rather they would be treated as foreign government functionaries.
This, by necessary implication, meant that Chinese State media officials would be subjected to the same rules as diplomats of other countries stationed in the United States.
Trump’s administration for the second time has taken this step in the space of three months. The US State Department had told Beijing in February that five of its official media agencies- Xinhua, CGTN, China Radio, China Daily, and Han Tian Development USA, which distributes The People’s Daily in the US would be subjected to the same rules as Chinese diplomats.
In March, as a retaliatory measure, China had expelled journalists from three leading dailies- the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.
At least 13 reporters were affected by Beijing’s vengeance driven-move and they were barred from working even in the semi-autonomous regions of Macau and Hong Kong where journalists enjoy relatively greater freedom compared to other parts of the Communist country that doesn’t really respect the concept of free speech.
Consequently in May, the State Department had asked all US-based employees of the Chinese State media outlet- China Global Television Network (CGTN) to fill out detailed questionnaires with personal information.
The detailed questionnaire, a five-page form titled, “State Department OFM (Office of Foreign Missions) Questionnaire”, asks for employees’ personal information including information about their spouses, children, and anyone else living with them.
It also seeks details of where the employee has worked in the past five years and all CGTN employees, including US citizens, are required to fill and submit this questionnaire
All these mouthpieces of the Communist Regime come under its propaganda wing, colloquially called as United Front.
Bilateral relations taking a nose-dive
Relations between Washington and Beijing have been at new lows. The Trade war has already made China queasy which has been put to incredible pressure by the American tariffs levied by Trump since he came to power.
Coronavirus and China’s hand behind turning the disease into a global pandemic has only brought more animosity from the US-side.
Trump and the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have time and again reminded Beijing to honor the first phase of the trade deal as failing to do so will have major consequences.
Beijing introducing the controversial security bill in Hong Kong has also not gone down well with President Donald Trump. The US President has threatened to revoke the special status of Hong Kong under which the former British colony is treated independently of China.
Hong Kong has long enjoyed exemptions from the stiff US tariffs under the 1992 US-Hong Kong Policy Act. If Trump goes ahead with the sanctions, Hong Kong’s exports will be exposed to Trump’s heavy tariffs on Chinese goods worth $350 billion alone. This can destroy Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub. This move is intended to cripple China as it tries to usurp the security affairs of Hong Kong with the controversial national security bill.
Donald Trump is thus treating the Chinese State media as a part of the Chinese embassy. The United States wants no links with China- it has already shattered the Chinese tech ambitions and now it is devastating the Chinese State-run media.