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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Science and Technology Daily

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Science and Technology Daily is the official newspaper of China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, established in 1986 with its name calligraphed by Deng Xiaoping. Based in Beijing, it’s a state-run media outlet described by Chinese authorities as a “central mainstream media” tasked with “propaganda missions for the Party and the state in science and technology.” The publication claims to maintain 33 domestic bureaus and 14 international offices, positioning itself as a comprehensive media organization connecting domestic and international science communities. The paper gained historical significance as one of the few Chinese publications to cover the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. In 2021, it launched an English edition “dedicated to telling China’s science and technology innovation story to the world.”

China Radio International and the Philippine Presidential Broadcasting Service Launch “Wow China” Broadcast

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Wow China, a collaborative radio program between the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) under the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and China Radio International (中國國際廣播電台), aired on government station Radyo Pilipinas from 2018 to at least May 2020. China Radio International operates under China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), which was established in March 2018 through the integration of China Central Television, China National Radio, and China Radio International, and is under the leadership of the Central Propaganda Department, according to HK01‘s report on the official announcement. The program described itself as a “light cultural program” focusing on China-Philippines cultural exchange, but sparked significant backlash in May 2020 amid tensions over the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic, with critics calling it “pro-China propaganda” funded by Filipino taxpayers. The controversy intensified as it coincided with the government’s cease and desist order against ABS-CBN, the Philippines’ largest media network, leading lawmakers to question the use of taxpayer money for the program.

Presidential Broadcast Service

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The Presidential Broadcast Service, also known as the Bureau of Broadcast Services (PBS-BBS), traces its origins to a U.S. military radio station established during World War II by the U.S. Office of War Information. This 50-watt portable station, call sign KZSO, operated from inside a U.S. Navy submarine before accompanying soldiers from the United States Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) during the invasion of Lingayen Gulf, held by the Japanese, in January 1945. After operating from makeshift Manila facilities, the station was renamed KZFM and transferred to Philippine government control in September 1946. It became DZFM in 1952 following international telecommunications protocols. The entity expanded in the 1960s with provincial stations in Baguio, Cebu, and Davao. Abolished during martial law in 1972, it was resurrected as the Bureau of Broadcast in 1973. After merging with the National Media Production Center under the Office of Media Affairs in 1980, the current Bureau of Broadcast Services structure emerged following the 1986 EDSA Revolution. It was renamed Presidential Broadcast Service in 2023.

China Newsweek

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China Newsweek (中國新聞周刊), launched in January 2000, is a Beijing-based magazine published by China News Service (CNS). The publication produces editions in multiple languages including English, Japanese, Korean, Italian, and South Asian languages. CNS claimed the magazine has been “widely accepted by the mainstream society” due to what it called stories written with “keen, profound, incisive and original perspective.” The magazine gained some recognition in the 2000s for its professional reporting, including investigative coverage.

Nova Telecommunications and Media

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Founded in 1995, Nova is Greece’s pioneering telecommunications and media company, introducing the country’s first internet, mobile telephony, and subscription television services. As a member of United Group, Southeast Europe’s largest telecommunications and media conglomerate, Nova emerged from the merger of Nova and Wind Hellas. The company serves approximately 5 million subscribers across subscription TV, broadband internet, mobile, and fixed telephony services. Leveraging its legacy of innovation and United Group’s international expertise and investment plans, Nova aims to “enhance daily life for Greek individuals and businesses while boosting their competitiveness within the European Union through comprehensive digital solutions”.

Propaganda Office of the Jinan Committee of the CCP

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The Propaganda Office of the Jinan Committee of the CCP is the primary propaganda and media control organ at the city level in Jinan, overseeing ideological work, media supervision, and public communications. The department oversees all local broadcast, internet and print media, including the local CCP committee’s mouthpiece newspaper, Jinan Daily (濟南日報).

China International Youth Exchange Center

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The China International Youth Exchange Center is a specialized agency under the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China (共青團中央) established in 2004 through the merger of the China-Japan Youth Exchange Center (中日青年交流中心) founded in 1985 and China Youth International Talent Exchange Center (中國青年國際人才交流中心) founded in 1993. Located in Beijing’s Third Embassy District (第三使館區) at 40 Liangmaqiao Road, it comprises 20 departments across exchange, operations, functional, and support divisions. CIYEC facilities include the 21st Century Hotel (二十一世紀飯店), Century Theater (世紀劇院), international conference halls, educational research buildings, Silver Olive Swimming Pool (銀橄欖游泳館), tennis courts, and the 21st Century Tower. With approximately 400 staff members, CIYEC hosts about 100 foreign delegations annually, maintaining partnerships across continents in politics, economics, culture, education, science, environmental protection, and innovation sectors to foster mutual understanding among global youth.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the PRC

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The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China is a cabinet-level executive department of the State Council responsible for agriculture and rural affairs nationwide. Formed on March 19, 2018, superseding the former Ministry of Agriculture, the ministry gained additional responsibilities from agricultural investment projects previously managed by other government departments. In 2023, it absorbed the National Rural Revitalization Administration and gained rural science and technology functions from the Ministry of Science and Technology as part of broader government restructuring. The ministry handles China’s “three rural issues” (三农问题) — agriculture, rural areas, and farmers — managing fisheries, animal husbandry, farmland resources, irrigation, agricultural mechanization, and food safety. It houses the Office of the Central Rural Work Leading Group and oversees China’s rural vitalization strategy, reflecting the government’s prioritization of agricultural modernization and rural development. The ministry can play a role, as most offices, in conducting external propaganda and public diplomacy around key areas within its remit — including advertising China’s claimed achievements in rural development and poverty alleviation for developing nations in the Global South.

Western International Communication Center

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Established in 2018 as the Chongqing International Communication Center (重慶國際傳播中心) to serve as the “main force” for the city’s overseas promotion, the center was upgraded in 2023 as the Western International Communication Center (西部国际传播中心), or WICC. It is operated by the Chongqing Daily News Group (重庆日报报业集团) under the guidance of the municipality’s provincial-level propaganda office. The center manages iChongqing — a multi-platform media network targeting international audiences through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other platforms censored within China itself. The center claims to have “expanded Chongqing’s overseas influence” through its foreign-language content, with officials reporting that Chongqing’s international exposure ranks “fifth nationally” and “first in western China.”It describes itself as China’s first provincial-level international communication center and bills itself as a hub for international communication serving western China and facing the world. The center runs a “3+X” content matrix built around three platforms: the iChongqing English-language website, the Bridging News app, and the Let’s Meet online TV program, which is co-produced with Chongqing Satellite TV. The WICC claims more than 24 million overseas users and over 4.74 billion total views across its platforms, according to the center. It is part of Xi Jinping’s broader drive, accelerating from 2021, to leverage provincial and municipal media resources and propaganda offices in a centrally directed campaign to “tell China’s story” to global audiences. In April 2025, the WICC expanded its overseas distribution network by launching a dedicated Let’s Meet channel on Sri Lanka Mirror, a Colombo-based news outlet, marking what iChongqing described as the platform’s first overseas “station.”