[FoME] Publikation: Chinas Medienstrategien in Afrika, Lateinamerika, Südostasien

[Christoph Dietz]

Winds from the East: how the People’s Republic of China seeks to
influence the media in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
By Douglas Farah and Andy Mosher
Washington DC: Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA), 2010,
32 S.
 
Download:
http://cima.ned.org/sites/default/files/CIMA-China-Report_0.pdf

Conclusion (S. 26):
The People’s Republic of China is seeking to influence the media in
Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia through a variety of means:
direct aid to state-run media in the form of radio transmitters and
financing for national satellites; the provision of content and
technology to allies and potential allies; the sharing of news; and
training programs and expense-paid trips for journalists to China. This
effort has accompanied a massive expansion of the PRC’s own media
internationally, primarily through the Xinhua news agency, satellite and
Internet TV channels, and state run television services. It comes at a
time when resources for media assistance in some regions of the world
– notably Latin America – are becoming scarcer. Chinese news
media, far less independent than Western media, form the basis for
China’s media assistance, which emphasizes cooperation with
governments – many of them undemocratic – and rejects the Western
media’s role as watchdogs holding governments accountable. China’s
moves pose troubling questions for those in the Western media assistance
sector. As the Chinese government propagates a less-than-free model of
journalism and assists undemocratic regimes by supporting media that
buttress them, advocates of free media and democratic government should
take note. Media developers and donors might consider countering these
developments with more robust support for independent media in the
countries where China is assisting news media. This might include more
programs in investigative journalism, ethics, and internationally
recognized journalism standards, as well as support for digital media
infrastructure, such as broadband Internet access in developing
countries to provide citizens with increased access to information.