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Archives: Dispatches

All Lingua Sinica Dispatches

The Straits Times

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The Straits Times is Singapore’s flagship English-language daily newspaper, established on 15 July 1845 by Armenian businessman Catchick Moses. Originally titled The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce, it became a daily in 1858 and is regarded as Singapore’s newspaper of record with the country’s most extensive circulation. Under Editor-in-Chief Wong Wei Kong (黃偉光), the publication maintains 16 international bureaus providing comprehensive coverage of Asian and global news alongside local affairs. The Straits Times launched its website on 1 January 1994, becoming among the first newspapers worldwide to establish an online presence. The newspaper operates five main sections covering news, home affairs, sports, finance, and lifestyle content, while producing specialized educational editions for Singapore schools. Following a 2021 restructuring, it is now owned by SPH Media Trust.

Xinhua and ATV Sign Media Cooperation Agreement

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China’s Xinhua News Agency (新華社) and Hungary’s ATV Media Group signed a memorandum of understanding on May 2, 2024, in Budapest to strengthen cooperation across multiple levels, including news and information exchanges and personnel communications. Xinhua President Fu Hua (傅華) and ATV CEO Tamas Kovacs jointly signed the agreement during the 75th anniversary year of China-Hungary diplomatic relations, just days before President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Hungary. Fu stated that Xinhua was willing to work with ATV to consolidate “the bridge of friendship” of China-Hungary cultural exchanges and enhance cooperation in new media technologies. ATV, established in 1989 as Hungary’s first private television channel and currently owned by the Hungarian Faith Church, focuses on news and current affairs programming. According to Xinhua, the agreement builds on years of existing cooperation between the two organizations in translation, publishing, and marketing activities.

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.

Xinhua Signs MoU with Mehr Media

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Iranian Mehr Media Group and China’s Xinhua News Agency signed a memorandum of understanding on October 14, 2024, during the 6th World Media Summit in Urumqi, China. The agreement aims to expand media cooperation, strengthen information exchange, and develop collaboration in media technologies. Mehr Media Group, which includes Mehr News Agency and the English-language Tehran Times, also published the Farsi translation of Xinhua’s “Humanomics in the New Era” report during the summit. The three-day summit, themed “Artificial Intelligence and Media Transformation,” gathered over 500 participants from 106 countries and regions, including representatives from 208 mainstream media outlets. Xinhua’s president called for media organizations to embrace AI innovation while preserving human control, saying they should “proactively align with the technological wave” while ensuring “humans should have the final say in human-machine interaction.”

Islamic Development Organization

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The Islamic Development Organization (سازمان تبلیغات اسلامی), also known as the Islamic Ideology Dissemination Organization (IIDO), is an Iranian religious and cultural organization established on June 22, 1981, following a decree by Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini (روح‌الله خمینی) after the 1979 Revolution. Created in 1981 to promote the ideologies of the Islamic Republic, the organization operates under the direct supervision of Iran’s Supreme Leader as an independent legal entity. IIDO oversees several media outlets, including the English-language Tehran Times, Mehr News Agency (established June 22, 2003), and Tasnim News Agency, which has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The organization’s stated mission includes promoting Islamic culture, defending Islamic principles, and conducting what it calls “surveying misleading advertising and cultural invasion” from political opponents, effectively serving as a state propaganda apparatus.

Chinese Embassy Hosts Zimbabwe China Film Festival

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The 2025 Zimbabwe-China Film Festival opened in Harare on August 5, attended by Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding (周鼎) and over 200 officials and diplomatic representatives. The festival, co-hosted by the Chinese Embassy, China’s National Film Administration, and Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Sport, Entertainment, Arts and Culture, featured four Chinese films, including Panda Plan, YOLO, The Captain, and Red Sea Operation. Ambassador Zhou emphasized that the festival demonstrated China’s “Global Civilization Initiative” and aimed to deepen cultural understanding during Zimbabwe’s 45th year of diplomatic relations with China. Deputy Director Luo Yang (羅楊) of China’s National Film Administration noted this year marks the 130th anniversary of world cinema and 120th of Chinese cinema, expressing hopes for expanded film industry cooperation. Zimbabwean Deputy Minister of Sport, Entertainment, Arts and Culture Jessaya welcomed the festival as supporting the country’s “Film Strategy 2025-2030,” while a representative from Zimbabwe’s Film Association praised the strengthened bilateral cultural exchange.

Xinhua Signs Five International Media Agreements

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On December 2, 2023, China’s state news agency Xinhua News Agency (新華社) signed cooperation agreements with multiple foreign media outlets and institutions during the 5th World Media Summit in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The agreements, covering news exchanges, personnel visits, and integrated media development, were signed by Fu Hua (傅華), president of Xinhua News Agency, alongside representatives from Argentina, the Philippines, Russia, Burundi, and Barbados. María Bernarda Llorente, president of Argentina’s state news agency Télam, described the agreement as having “great significance” for strengthening media collaboration between the two countries. Luis Ausan Morente from the Philippine News Agency expressed hopes for increased personnel exchanges, while Andrey Pershin from Russia’s Rossiyskaya Gazeta said the agreement “opened up new prospects for collaboration.” The 5th World Media Summit, themed “Boosting global confidence, promoting media development,” attracted over 450 participants from 101 countries and regions, including representatives of 197 mainstream media outlets. Xinhua reports having signed cooperation agreements with over 3,600 institutions worldwide, including media outlets, government departments, and higher learning institutions.

Philippine News Agency

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The Philippine News Agency (PNA) is the Philippine government’s official web-based newswire service, established on March 1, 1973. Initially operating with teletype machines and typewriters, PNA has evolved into an internet-based news service providing coverage of government policies, activities, and programs. The agency operates with 19 reporters and correspondents in Metro Manila and maintains 16 provincial bureaus that submit content to its central desk in Quezon City around the clock. Under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration beginning in June 2016, PNA received significant modernization support, including fiber optic connections and equipment upgrades. The agency launched its redesigned website and mobile application on April 24, 2017, resulting in dramatic growth from 11,000 to 4.9 million page views by September 2021. PNA maintains news-sharing agreements with multiple state-owned agencies, including Xinhua (China), Yonhap (South Korea), and TASS (Russia), and participates in the Belt and Road News Alliance, comprising 63 founding members from 35 countries and regions.

China and Nigeria Sign Media Cooperation Agreement

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China and Nigeria signed a Memorandum of Understanding on August 11, 2017, in Abuja to enhance media and information cooperation between the Federal Ministry of Information and National Orientation of Nigeria and China’s State Council Information Office (國務院新聞辦公室). Nigerian Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed described the agreement as “a very important milestone in diplomatic relations” and outlined objectives including news exchange, joint coverage, training programs for Nigerian journalists and media practitioners, and cooperation in animation and film co-production. The Vice Minister of China’s State Council Information Office stated the MoU marked “a new beginning” in bilateral media relations and committed to scaling up news coverage about Nigeria in China.