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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

Nanfang Media Group Expands Partnership to Thailand and Malaysia

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In late October 2023, China’s Nanfang Media Group (南方報業傳媒集團) signed strategic cooperation framework agreements with eight media outlets across Thailand and Malaysia — expanding and upgrading a partnership framework the group first established with five Malaysian outlets in October 2021. Three Thai outlets joined for the first time: Asia News Time (亞洲日報), Chinese Headline New Media Thailand, and TAIGUO.COM. The five Malaysian partners from 2021 — Kwong Wah Yit Poh (光華日報), Oriental Daily News (東方日報), United Daily News (聯合日報), The Sun, and Malay Mail — were retained. Under the agreements, GDToday, Nanfang Media Group’s international platform, will conduct joint interviews and content production framed explicitly around Belt and Road Initiative messaging, ASEAN cooperation narratives, and promotion of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) — Beijing’s flagship strategy to economically and politically integrate Hong Kong and Macao with the mainland by binding them into a single high-tech manufacturing and financial hub anchored in Guangdong province.

Russian Cultural Center Hosts Chinese Journalists in Beijing

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On February 6, 2026, the Russian Cultural Center in Beijing (北京俄羅斯文化中心) held a New Year media exchange event, at which center director Tatiana Urzhumtseva (吴丹娜), a Russian embassy counselor, presented certificates of appreciation to Chinese media outlets including Xinhua News Agency, People’s Daily Overseas Edition, Global Times Online, China Youth Daily, China.com, Sina, and the Hong Kong-based Zhongwai News Agency (中外新闻社), an official news service launched by the Hong Kong SAR government in 2001 with a bureau in Beijing. Urzhumtseva stated that in 2025 the center held over 300 events with more than 150,000 participants, co-published more than 9,000 content items with media partners, and reached over 22 million people online. She noted that 2026 marks the launch of the “China-Russia Education Year” (中俄教育年).

Chinese Embassy Places Content in Two Icelandic Media

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On October 1, 2019, the Chinese Embassy in Iceland collaborated with two Icelandic publications — the daily newspaper Morgunblaðið and the Icelandic Times — to mark the 70th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The embassy produced an eight-page Icelandic supplement and a 38-page English special edition containing data on China’s development and articles on bilateral relations. Ambassador Jin Zhijian (金智健) used these platforms to state China’s positions on the “Belt and Road” initiative, Arctic policy, and trade friction. The publications included interviews and articles from Icelandic figures, including the former president and the Minister of Education, Science, and Culture. This cooperation serves as a regional example of the “borrowed boat” (借船出海) strategy, where the Chinese Communist Party utilizes established foreign media outlets to disseminate its official narratives and policy perspectives to a local audience.

IDN Times

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IDN Times is a Jakarta-based digital media platform founded on June 8, 2014. The platform targets millennial and Gen Z audiences in Indonesia and claims to reach over 80 million users. IDN Times operates multiple business units, including other news portals such as Popbela.com, Popmama.com, and FORTUNE Indonesia, as well as live streaming and other entertainment services. The company was founded by entrepreneurs Winston Utomo and William Utomo. 

Chinese Embassy in Ghana

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The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Ghana (中華人民共和國駐加納共和國大使館) is the primary diplomatic mission representing Beijing’s interests in Accra. Following the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1960 and their restoration in 1972, the embassy has overseen the elevation of bilateral ties to a “Strategic Partnership” as of 2024. The mission actively coordinates with local groups like the Ghana–China Friendship Association (加納—中國友好協會) to promote “friendship” (友好)—a term in CCP official discourse that generally entails the accommodating of China’s interests in relationships. The embassy’s economic and commercial office manages significant infrastructure and energy projects—such as the Bui Hydroelectric Power Station and the $2 billion Sinohydro bauxite-for-infrastructure deal—ensuring that local development aligns with Beijing’s broader strategic objectives in West Africa.

ATV Media Group

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ATV Media Group is Hungary’s news television channel based on viewership data, with its main programming profile consisting of news shows, political and intellectual discussion programs, alongside lighter cultural and public affairs magazines and travel shows showcasing Hungary. The channel’s most popular programs include the weekday Híradó appearing five times daily, the foreign policy-focused Világhíradó, and the highly popular morning Start and evening Egyenes Beszéd shows. ATV is accessible not only on television screens but also through the ATV. The station operates both traditional broadcasting and digital platforms through ATV. hu, and maintains an active YouTube presence for archived programming. ATV’s ownership has been complex and controversial, with reports linking the channel to the Faith Church founder Sándor Németh, who allegedly gained majority control through offshore companies by 2019, following the church’s acquisition of the channel in 2003.

Thmey Thmey

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Thmeythmey, launched in 2012, is a Cambodian digital media platform founded by a group of journalists who were working at the time for RFI and Cambodge Soir. The outlet was initially established as part of Mengly J Quach Holdings under the ownership of Mengly J. Quach (គួច ម៉េងលី). However, in May 2017, Mengly J. Quach resigned from the advisory board of Thmey Thmey, stating that he had sold his shares and had no further connection with Thmey Thmey. Based in Phnom Penh, Thmeythmey covers politics, economics, society, and culture through various journalistic formats. The platform operates sister sites, including Cambodianess (English-language version) and Thmey Thmey 25 (focused on agriculture and SMEs). According to CFI, Thmeythmey.com has around 500,000 daily visitors and maintains a Facebook page with more than 1 million followers. 

Italian Ministry of Culture

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The Italian Ministry of Culture (Ministero della Cultura), or MIC, is the government ministry responsible for national museums, historical monuments, cultural heritage protection, and promotion of cultural activities including landscape preservation, entertainment, cinema, and audiovisual production. Established in 1974 and headquartered in Rome’s historic Collegio Romano Palace, MiC operates through a national network of museums, libraries, and archives. The ministry’s Directorate-General for Education, Research and Cultural Institutes (DG-ERIC) coordinates education, training and research programs, including supervision of specialized restoration institutes. On February 2, 2026, Minister Alessandro Giuli signed a film co-production agreement in Beijing with China Media Group president Shen Haixiong, allowing joint productions to qualify as domestic content in both countries. MiC defines methodologies for cataloguing, conservation and restoration while promoting cultural heritage knowledge through publications, exhibitions, conferences and international collaboration.

Diario El Salvador

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Diario El Salvador (薩爾瓦多日報) is a state-owned morning newspaper launched on October 19, 2020, under the administration of President Nayib Bukele.It is operated by El Diario Nacional S.A. de C.V., a company owned by subsidiaries of the state electricity commission, Rio Lempa Executive Hydroelectric Commission (CEL).The outlet was established to provide a government-aligned alternative to traditional private media, with a significant portion of its revenue derived from state advertising and public sector subscriptions. It maintains a formal cooperation with China’s Xinhua News Agency, frequently co-publishing content that highlights bilateral infrastructure projects and diplomatic milestones.