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All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

China Hosts Fourth Myanmar Journalists Training Program

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On July 3-13, 2018, in Kunming, Beijing, and Shanghai, the All-China Journalists Association (中國記協) and Yunnan Provincial Journalists Association (雲南省記協) hosted the fourth Myanmar Journalists Training Program (緬甸記者研修班) for 20 media workers from the Myanmar Journalists Association, Myanmar National Radio and Television (緬甸國家廣播電視台), and Myanmar International Television (緬甸國際電視台). Chinese officials claimed the program, which featured sessions on Xi Jinping’s signature Belt and Road Initiative and new media techniques, would “effectively promote exchange and cooperation” between Chinese and Myanmar media. According to a report from the official Yunnan Daily newspaper, participants from Myanmar expressed interest in technical cooperation and described China-Myanmar relations as offering “new opportunities everywhere.”

Hong Kong Liaison Office

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The Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (中央人民政府駐香港特別行政區聯絡辦公室) was established on January 18, 2000, succeeding the Xinhua News Agency Hong Kong Branch that operated since 1947. Also known as the Hong Kong Work Committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party under a “one institution with two names” system, the office serves as Beijing’s representative in Hong Kong and coordinates pro-Beijing candidates, mobilizes supporters for “patriotic” political parties, and orchestrates electoral campaigns. Critics have alleged that the office interferes in the affairs of Hong Kong against stipulations in the territory’s Basic Law that “no department of the Central People’s Government and no province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.” The office, and state media, have strenuously denied accusations of interference, arguing it has the power to “supervise” and that it is not bound by the Basic Law. The office controls pro-Beijing media including Ta Kung Pao (大公报), Wen Wei Po (文汇报), and Commercial Daily (商报) through subsidiary Guangdong New Culture Development.

Ta Kung Pao Wen Wei International Communication Center

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The Ta Kung Pao Wen Wei International Communication Center (大公文汇国际传播中心) was officially established on November 12, 2023, during the Overseas Chinese Media Cooperation Organization Annual Conference in Dongguan, serving as Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao Wen Wei Po Media Group’s mainland operational headquarters. The center integrates the group’s media brands, platforms, activities, and overseas resources to serve government departments and large enterprises in “international communication capacity building, foreign public opinion monitoring, overseas brand promotion, economic cooperation, and cultural exchanges.” According to official descriptions, the center aims to “tell China’s stories well” using “language that the international community can understand and accept,” organizing activities including Jin Yong centenary promotions, World Water Day campaigns, and Yellow Emperor ancestor worship ceremonies — standard PRC soft power initiatives positioning cultural events as international communication rather than independent media operations.

Nanfang Media Group Signs Agreement with SPH Media

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On June 6, 2019, China’s Nanfang Media Group (南方報業傳媒集團) signed a cooperation agreement with Singapore Press Holdings’ Chinese Media Group (華文媒體集團), establishing the “Guangdong-Singapore International Communication Platform” (粵新國際傳播平台), described in coverage by China’s official Xinhua News Agency as the first long-term media cooperation mechanism between Guangdong Province and Singapore. The agreement was signed during the opening ceremony of the China (Guangdong)-Singapore Media and Culture Exchange Week in Singapore. According to Xinhua, the partnership includes plans for the English-language site of Guangdong’s Nanfang Online (南方网) and Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao to launch a “Singaporeans Look at Guangdong” interview series, and the two sides will jointly organize online interactive activities to collect impressions of Singapore and Guangdong from netizens in both regions.

Hong Kong Students Complete CCP-Sponsored Jiangxi Media Tour

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On July 29, 2025, the state-run Hong Kong Ta Kung Pao Wen Wei Po Media Group (香港大公文汇传媒集团) and its associated Ta Kung Pao Wen Wei International Communication Center (大公文汇国际传播中心), held a media-related tour in Jiangxi province in cooperation with the Propaganda Office of the Jiangxi Provincial Committee of the CCP (中共江西省委宣传部). Themed around the life and work of Fan Changjiang (范长江), the famous Chinese war correspondent for the Ta Kung Pao who in 1949 established the All-China Journalists Association (ACJA) with the Marxist political figure and propagandist Hu Qiaomu (胡乔木), the Jiangxi tour introduced Hong Kong journalism students to the political history of Anyuan County — where Mao Zedong and others mobilized a labor movement among mine workers in 1922. Officials claimed the eight-day program covering four cities, called the “2025 Fan Changjiang Action Hong Kong Media Students Jiangxi Trip” (2025范长江行动香港传媒学子江西行), would help students become “bridges” for Jiangxi-Hong Kong cooperation and “spokespersons” for China stories. Cao Yinghua (曹英华) of Jiangxi’s propaganda office said students should use their “professional, objective, youthful” writing to “show the world a true, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China” — standard PRC political language suggesting ideological training rather than professional journalism education.

StarTimes Media Co. Ltd

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StarTimes Media Co. Ltd is a Chinese electronics and media company founded in 1988 by Chinese engineer Pang Xinxing (龐新星). The company, with a strong presence in Sub-Saharan Africa, offers digital terrestrial and satellite television services while providing technologies to countries transitioning from analog to digital television. As of 2024, StarTimes established “a network transmission platform covering 45 countries and 1.2 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa” and became “the only operator providing paid-long video services in English, French, and Portuguese-speaking regions of Africa simultaneously.” In 2018, the company began implementing the “Access to satellite TV for 10,000 African villages” project, which it described as a “China-Africa cooperation project aimed at giving rural areas of Africa access to digital media.”

Ministry of Culture of Brazil

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The Ministry of Culture of Brazil is a cabinet-level federal ministry first established in 1985. After being dissolved by President Jair Bolsonaro in 2019, it was reinstated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2023. Led by Minister Margareth Menezes, MinC oversees Brazil’s cultural policies through various secretariats, including Audiovisual, Creative Economy, Cultural Diversity, and Copyright. The ministry manages key cultural institutions such as the National Library Foundation, National Arts Foundation (Funarte), and the National Cinema Agency (Ancine). Its flagship initiative is the Rouanet Law, which allows companies and individuals to direct portions of their income tax toward cultural sponsorship.

Radiotelevisione Italiana

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Radiotelevisione Italiana, or RAI, is Italy’s state-owned public broadcaster founded in 1924 as Unione Radiofonica Italiana (URI) and becoming “RAI” in 1944. The group operates the nation’s largest television and radio network with a more than 30 percent market share, competing directly with the Mediaset empire of former Italian president Silvio Berlusconi. Headquartered at 14 Viale Giuseppe Mazzini in Rome, the company is 99 percent owned by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance, funding operations through broadcast license fees and advertising revenue. RAI’s programming reaches beyond Italy’s borders into neighboring European countries, Albania, Tunisia and beyond via satellite, while its management and board are elected by Parliament every three years, ensuring close ties between the broadcaster and Italy’s ruling political majority.

Communications Ministry of Malaysia

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The Ministry of Communications of Malaysia (Kementerian Komunikasi Malaysia) is a government ministry responsible for communications, multimedia, broadcasting, media, film industry, telecommunications services, broadband, and content development. Established on December 12, 2023, after the reorganization of the former Ministry of Communications and Digital, it is headed by Minister Fahmi Fadzil (法米法兹) with Teo Nie Ching (張念群) as Deputy Minister. The ministry oversees several key federal departments including Radio Television Malaysia (RTM), Department of Information Malaysia, and Community Communications Department, along with statutory agencies such as the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), National Film Development Corporation (FINAS), and Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).