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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Shaanxi Satellite TV

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Shaanxi Satellite TV, commonly known as SXTV, is a provincial-level satellite television network based in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. Established in 1997 when the former Shaanxi Television’s fourth channel went satellite, it serves as the flagship channel of Shaanxi Radio and Television Group. The network is recognizable by its distinctive orange logo featuring an “S” shape that resembles lightning, earning it the nickname “Lightning TV” among viewers. In 2012, SXTV underwent a major rebranding with a new focus on cultural programming, adopting the slogan “China Fusion, Fusion World” (中国融，融世界). The channel broadcasts in both standard and high-definition formats since 2014, with the transition to full digital broadcasting completed on March 31, 2021, when analog transmission officially ended. Programming includes a mix of news, entertainment, cultural shows, and locally produced content highlighting Shaanxi’s rich historical heritage. In December 2024, the network partnered with the Propaganda Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP to establish an international communication center, hoping to expand its global reach.

Propaganda Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP

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The Propaganda Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP is the functional department of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee responsible for ideological work throughout the province. The department formulates and implements propaganda tasks, policies, and measures in accordance with central government directives and provincial party committee decisions. Led by a director who holds an ex officio seat on the Provincial Party Standing Committee, the office coordinates and guides all propaganda and cultural units in the province, overseeing media regulation, cultural activities, educational content, and internet information management. It ensures consistent messaging across all communication platforms, maintains narrative control, promotes the CCP’s ideological principles, and translates central directives into local implementation. As a key component in the party’s broader propaganda system, the department wields significant political influence in shaping public opinion and reinforcing party authority throughout Shaanxi.

Internet Affairs Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP

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The Internet Affairs Office of the Shaanxi Provincial Committee of the CCP serves as the provincial-level branch of China’s national cyberspace governance system. It functions as the executive arm of the Shaanxi Provincial Cyberspace Affairs Commission, operating under the “one institution with two names” system that characterizes China’s cyberspace administration bodies. The office is responsible for implementing internet censorship, cybersecurity measures, and information control policies within Shaanxi Province. Similar to its national counterpart, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), it coordinates internet information content management, supervision, and enforcement at the provincial level. The office director holds an ex officio seat on the Shaanxi Provincial Party Standing Committee, reflecting the importance of internet control in the Party’s governance structure. It reports to both the provincial party leadership and the central cyberspace authorities, ensuring that national directives on digital policy are implemented locally while addressing province-specific internet governance issues.

Gazprom-Media Holding

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Gazprom-Media Holding is one of Russia’s largest media conglomerates, controlling nearly 20 television and radio channels plus digital platforms. Key assets include flagship channel NTV, sports network Match TV, entertainment channel TNT, and digital platforms like Rutube and PREMIER. The company also operates extensive radio networks, including Energy and Autoradio. Classified as “Captured Public/State-Managed,” Gazprom Media maintains complex state control through Gazprombank ownership, ultimately tracing to entities close to President Putin. The company’s flagship channel, NTV, has been documented by the EU’s disinformation monitoring service as running coverage that named individual European diplomats and cast them as “curators” secretly directing Russian civil society activists, implying the activists were foreign agents rather than independent actors, while the activists themselves were accused of betraying their country.

Berliner Zeitung

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Berliner Zeitung is a daily German newspaper first published on May 21, 1945, as the first post-World War II daily in Berlin. Initially established under Soviet control in East Berlin, it became the largest newspaper in the German Democratic Republic during the Cold War era. After German reunification, ownership changed multiple times through Gruner+Jahr and Robert Maxwell (1990), Holtzbrinck (2002), Mecom Group (2005), DuMont (2009), and finally to entrepreneurs Silke and Holger Friedrich in September 2019. The paper faced controversy when Holger Friedrich acknowledged working as an informant for the Stasi under the codename “Peter Bernstein” from December 1987 to February 1989. In 2023, Friedrich further violated journalistic source protection by informing Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner about leaked information from Julian Reichelt. In October 2024, the newspaper entered into a cooperation agreement with China Media Group (中央廣播電視總台), launching “The Chinese Perspective” column featuring content from Chinese state media correspondents.

Xinhua and Europa Press Sign Strategic Partnership

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On October 25, 2019, China’s Xinhua News Agency (新華社) and Spain’s Europa Press announced a collaboration agreement that both parties described as “a privileged broadcast channel” for Spain in China. Europa Press, Spain’s largest private news agency, partnered with the Chinese state-run agency in what Xinhua characterizes as part of its broader external propaganda. The agreement aimed to provide dual benefits: offering Spanish institutions and businesses a distribution channel to China and internationally through Xinhua, while increasing Chinese news coverage in Europa Press’s International Service. This partnership reflects Xinhua’s broader strategy of establishing content-sharing agreements with international news agencies worldwide, which critics have noted can facilitate the dissemination of Chinese government messaging to global audiences.

El Mundo Financiero

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El Mundo Financiero, founded in 1946 by José Luis Barceló Fernández de la Mora, is an international economic and financial daily publication based in Madrid. The outlet specializes in economics, finance, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), stock markets, foreign trade, banking, and insurance. The publication also features specialized sections on automotive, wine, and gastronomy. El Mundo Financiero maintains offices in Madrid, Barcelona, and Pamplona.

ANO TV-Novosti

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ANO TV-Novosti is the parent company of RT (formerly Russia Today), registered as an “autonomous non-profit organization” on 6 April 2005 in Moscow with registration number 1057746595367. The organization was founded by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti and operates from 111020 Moscow, Borovaya Street 3, Building 1. ANO TV-Novosti has been sanctioned by multiple jurisdictions including the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Australia for its role in spreading propaganda. According to EU sanctions documentation, TV-Novosti is “funded from the federal budget of the Russian Federation” and has “consistently spread pro-Kremlin propaganda and disinformation, and supported Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.” The sanctions restrict its media operations internationally, with the EU Council imposing a ban on RT‘s broadcasting activities in March 2022. Despite these restrictions, research organizations have documented that RT continues to circumvent sanctions through mirror websites and alternative domains.

Xi Pens Article in Greek Newspaper Before Visit

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) published a signed article titled “Let the Wisdom of Ancient Civilizations Illuminate the Future” (讓古老文明的智慧照鑑未來) in Greece’s Kathimerini newspaper on November 10, 2019. The piece appeared ahead of his three-day state visit to Greece at the invitation of President Prokopis Pavlopoulos (Προκόπης Παυλόπουλος). Xi drew parallels between ancient Chinese and Greek philosophy, emphasizing their shared “human-centered” (以民為本) values while promoting Belt and Road (一帶一路) cooperation. He claimed Piraeus had been transformed into the “Mediterranean’s largest port” through a bilateral partnership with Chinese state-owned COSCO Shipping (中遠海運), though independent analysis shows it ranks as the largest in the eastern Mediterranean and fourth-largest in Europe.