TUIDANG
freeing hearts & minds in China

New Report Details Global Impact of Grassroots Movement to Quit Chinese Communist Party

ANNIE WU  |  EPOCH TIMES

It all began with a book.

Since then, hundreds of millions have been inspired, fueling the largest grassroots movement in China since the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests in 1989.

Back in November 2004, the Chinese-language Epoch Times published an unprecedented editorial series, “Nine Commentaries on the Chinese Communist Party,” that explained the history and inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since its founding.

Elucidating the Party’s dark crimes, the series compelled many Chinese with the desire to dissociate themselves from the CCP and its affiliate organizations, the Youth League and the Young Pioneers.

Tuidang Documentary: The Movement to Quit the Chinese Communist Party 21min HQ

Beijing Seeks to Control Media Voices Outside China

JENNIFER ZENG  |  EPOCH TIMES

WASHINGTON—As part of its global challenge to democratic freedom, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is making a systematic effort to spread propaganda and to suppress undesirable voices both inside and outside of China, a panel of journalists and experts said at a symposium staged by Freedom House.

Discussion of the CCP’s influence on media outside of China was a highlight of the event “China’s Global Challenge to Democratic Freedom,” at the Hudson Institute in Washington on Oct. 24.

Sarah Cook, a senior research analyst at Freedom House, said the CCP has three aims to achieve with their overseas influence operations on media.

One is to promote a positive view on China and a benign perspective of the CCP’s authoritarian rule within China. The second aim is to encourage foreign investment in China and openness to Chinese investment in other countries. The third is to marginalize, demonize, or entirely suppress anti-CCP voices.

As for the narratives directed at Chinese living outside China, there are also the added goals of promoting nationalist sentiment and reunification with Taiwan.

Cook said that the CCP has four types of tactics used to advance these goals, including direct actions by Chinese diplomats, local officials, security forces, and regulators; economic “carrots” and “sticks” to induce self-censorship; indirect pressure applied via proxies such as advertisers, satellite firms, and foreign governments; and incidents such as cyber attacks and physical assaults.

Foreign-Funded Companies in China Forced to Form Party Branches

Vision Times

Ever since  September last year when executives from more than a dozen top European companies met in Beijing, China, concerns have been rising about the role of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the local operations of foreign firms.

Until more recently, the Chinese state law obligating foreign firms in China to establish a Party organization in their enterprise was regarded by many as being more symbolic and less something to be worried about.

The Chinese government, however, seems to be increasing its “pressure” on many foreign companies to establish a Party cell within their firms. Many companies are concerned about the CCP’s demands to “include language mandating Party personnel into the business management organization” of the firms. In many cases, the demand for creating Party branches in foreign companies goes against the internal policies of the companies themselves. Demands are even going so far that companies are being asked to change joint venture agreement terms to make it possible.

Chinese artist Badiucao sends ‘Make Wall Great Again’ hats to Google, in protest of company’s return to China

Holmes Chan  |  Hong Kong Free Press

Chinese political cartoonist Badiucao has sent red caps with the words “Make Wall Great Again” to Google to protest its tentative plans to introduce a censored search engine in China.

Badiucao – a pseudonym adopted by the Chinese-born artist and activist, who now lives abroad – told HKFP that he sent about a dozen red caps to random Google employees. He also left another dozen on sculptures around Google’s US headquarters and sent a pack of 50 caps to Google’s visitor shop.

Badiucao, who is linking with HKFP for his first international solo exhibition in Hong Kong next month, said the caps were a response to the search giant’s potential re-entry into China: “I want [Google] to know it is a mistake to collaborate with China’s censorship. It is as shameful as Trump’s wall, only this time it is an invisible wall online – the great firewall.”

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said on Monday that “it was important to explore” the possibility of running a search engine in China, the first time that Google executives confirmed the project’s existence. Pichai said the project – codenamed Project Dragonfly – was able to serve over 99 percent of search queries despite having to comply with Chinese censorship laws.