The massive China Central Television Tower (in picture) — a 5,75,000-sq. m. structure — looms high over Beijing’s Central Business District. Its sharp lines, which some say resemble an oddly shaped pair of oversized pants, and glossy grey exterior, can make heads turn. The futuristic structure, designed by legendary Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas, is an emblem of China’s rapidly expanding state-media empire.
Not far from the tower is a horse-shoe high–rise. This is the headquarters of the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC).
There is no ambiguity about China’s ambition to cement its place in the global media universe. The CPC has for long concluded that a “soft landing” for China’s rise can emerge only if the party-state has in its quiver sufficient number of tools, which it can deploy to project the country’s considerable reserves of soft power.
The push to go big on media has only heightened as President Xi Jinping personally marshals the drive towards a “new era” of unprecedented prosperity and power in the decades to come. All restraints on his power have been seemingly removed. He is President for an indefinite tenure. He is also the general secretary of the CPC.
On the cusp of the “new era”, China has been redesigning its governing institutions at all levels — consolidating scattered pockets of power into strong centres, monitored and mentored by the CPC. The media, in turn, is part of China’s new drive towards centralisation, announced during the National People’s Congress’s recent annual session. Consequently, a decision has been taken to merge three separate organisations — China Central Television (CCTV), China Radio International (CRI), and China National Radio (CNR). The Voice of China (VOC) will be the name of the new titan.
It is not surprising that the name of the new behemoth echoes Voice of America (VOA) — the U.S.-funded outlet that emerged during the Second World War to project Washington’s rising soft power worldwide.
The VOC is expected to employ 14,000 personnel — 10,000 from CCTV, 2,100 from CNR, and 2,000 from CRI. A Xinhua readout says that the outlet will “promote the party’s theories, line, principles, and policies”.
Sharper direction
Besides, the status of China’s publicity department, belonging to the CPC, has been significantly enlarged. According to a Chinese media report, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) is being consolidated into the CPC’s Publicity Department. As China pedals into uncharted waters, it is likely that the tightly knit party will now give sharper direction to messaging, which it considers necessary to prepare the domestic audiences, to undertake tasks that fit into Mr. Xi’s “new era” design. It is also quite obvious that a new top-down model of media management has been fully adopted, giving little room for the inclusion of voices from below that can shape the national media narrative.
Xinhua has reported that that the long existing Mao-era United Front Work Department is being bestowed with additional powers and responsibilities. The department has been known for co-opting non-party members, as well as ethnic minority groups such as Tibetans and Uighurs into its fold. According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, the department will now “oversee the country’s ethnic and religious issues as well as overseas Chinese affairs”.
Atul Aneja works for The Hindu and is based in Beijing
