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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

China Academy of Information and Communication Technology

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The China Academy of Information and Communication Technology (中國信息通信研究院), or CAICT, is a state-affiliated research institution established in 1957 and directly subordinate to China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (工業和信息化部). The academy describes its mission as serving as a “national high-end professional think tank and an industrial innovation and development platform,” guided by the institutional motto “virtue and learning, industry and ambition” (厚德實學 興業致遠). Over the decades, CAICT has played a central role in shaping major strategies, plans, policies, standards, and testing and certification frameworks for China’s information and communications sector. In recent years, the academy has expanded its research portfolio to align with national strategies around China’s ambitions to be a “cyber power” (網絡強國) and “manufacturing power” (製造強國), with active work across 4G/5G, industrial internet, smart manufacturing, cloud computing, big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, connected vehicles, cybersecurity, and virtual and augmented reality. CAICT plays a key role in AI development and policy-making in China, and in February 2026 published the Artificial Intelligence Industry Development Research Report (人工智能產業發展研究報告). The academy has also provided institutional support for major state initiatives including Internet+, the “Broadband China” strategy, and the integration of “informatization” and industrialization.

Negocios Publicitarios Internacionales S.A.

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Negocios Publicitarios Internacionales S.A. (NEPISA) is a Nicaraguan joint-stock company that formally operates Canal 6 (第六頻道) on behalf of the Ortega government. Although Canal 6 is presented publicly as a state channel, a 2022 investigation by the independent outlet Confidencial found that NEPISA is controlled by two close associates of the presidential family: lawyer José María Enríquez Moncada and Eduardo Germán Morales Cuadra, both of whom appear across a broader network of companies linked to the Ortega-Murillo family. The Nicaraguan presidency has never publicly explained Canal 6’s relationship with NEPISA, though an executive decree has placed the channel under presidential responsibility since 2012. NEPISA is part of a wider pattern of ostensibly private companies used to manage state media assets within Nicaragua’s consolidated, family-controlled media system.

Government of Honduras

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The Republic of Honduras is a presidential representative democratic republic in which the president serves as both head of state and head of government, elected to a single four-year term by a simple majority. The unicameral National Congress (國家議會) holds 128 seats. Nasry Asfura of the conservative National Party was inaugurated on January 27, 2026, following a close election that was highly contested. A former mayor of Tegucigalpa with a background in the construction sector, Asfura signaled a rightward turn in foreign policy, pledging to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan (Republic of China) and review the 16 agreements signed with China by his predecessor Xiomara Castro (希奧馬拉·卡斯特羅), who established relations with Beijing in March 2023, severing relations with Taiwan.

Canal 6

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Canal 6 (第六頻道) is a Nicaraguan state television channel based in Managua, and the flagship broadcaster of the Ortega government’s media apparatus. Founded in 1957 as a private channel owned by members of the Somoza family, it was nationalized following the 1979 Sandinista Revolution and integrated into the state-controlled Sistema Sandinista de Televisión. The channel subsequently went through a period of insolvency and was off the air for nearly a decade before being revived under President Daniel Ortega after his return to power in 2007. It is formally operated by Negocios Publicitarios Internacionales S.A. (NEPISA), a government-linked company. Canal 6 operates within a broader media landscape in which the Ortega-Murillo family controls the overwhelming majority of Nicaragua’s open-signal television channels.

BSC Happy TV

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Happy TV is a privately-owned Serbian television broadcaster established in 2010 through the merger of two television channels, operating on a national frequency. Happy TV’s programming focuses on entertainment, including reality shows, international content such as Indian soap operas and Latin telenovelas, and talk shows. Its news programming has been characterized by some sources as “mostly pro-government and nationalistic,” with frequent appearances by members of the populist Serbian Progressive Party. 

Honduran State TV Airs CGTN Program Amid Diplomatic Shift

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On March 26, 2023, just hours after Honduras severed ties with Taiwan, the Chinese international state broadcaster CGTN (中國國際電視台) aired a special program on Canal Ocho (第八頻道), Honduras’s state-owned “Channel 8.” The program, clearly prepared well in advance of the shift of diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the PRC, revealed the diplomatic role played by Chinese state media in the transition. CGTN operates under China Media Group (中國媒體集團), the state-run conglomerate directly under the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (中央宣傳部). CMG subsequently established a permanent bureau in Tegucigalpa, while Xinhua News Agency (新華社) opened a local office positioned as a hub for Central American operations. Shortly afterward, 30 Honduran journalists participated in a ten-day, all-expenses-paid tour of China under Foreign Ministry supervision — consistent with Beijing’s post-recognition media engagement strategy across the region.

Nicaragua Signs Television Collaboration with China Media Group

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On February 22, 2022, Nicaragua’s Council of Communication and Citizenship (傳播與公民委員會) signed a collaboration agreement with China Media Group (中國媒體集團) to co-create a “Chinese Theater” (中國劇場) programming block for broadcast on Canal 6 (第六頻道), the Ortega government’s flagship state television channel, in a media system that has drawn frequent international criticism for its “favorable government treatment of their businesses and political interests.” The agreement was concluded with CMG’s Television and Film Dubbing Centre (電影電視配音中心) and signed by Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo, son of President Daniel Ortega and media coordinator of the Council, alongside a Chinese delegation attending virtually.

Government of Nicaragua

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The Government of Nicaragua (尼加拉瓜政府) is the national government of the Republic of Nicaragua, a Central American state of approximately seven million people. Since 2007, Nicaragua has been governed by President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, representing the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which originated as a guerrilla group in 1961. The two have ruled as co-presidents since 2025. Under their joint administration, Nicaragua has experienced significant democratic backsliding, with independent media systematically dismantled and more than 50 outlets closed, leaving the country among the lowest in the region on press freedom indices. Nicaragua restored diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China in December 2021, severing ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan), and has since deepened cooperation across trade, infrastructure, and media.

National Directorate of Radio and Television

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The National Directorate of Radio and Television (洪都拉斯國家廣播電視局), or TNH, is the Honduran state broadcasting directorate operating under the Secretariat of Cultures, Arts and Heritage of the Peoples of Honduras (SECAPPH). Known in Spanish as the “Dirección Nacional de Radio y Televisión,” it directly operates Canal Ocho (第八頻道), Honduras’s state-owned television channel, and Radio Nacional de Honduras (洪都拉斯國家廣播電台). The directorate describes itself as the “official channel of the Government of the Republic of Honduras,” with its mandate explicitly tied to the sitting administration — designating the 2026–2030 period of President Nasry Asfura as of March 2026. TNH produces and broadcasts government programming across television, radio, and digital platforms including YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.