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 Front page on 1 October 1949 (Proclamation of the People's Republic of China) | |||||||||||
| Type | Daily newspaper | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||||
| Publisher | People's Daily Press | ||||||||||
| President | Tuo Zhen | ||||||||||
| Editor | Yu Shaoliang | ||||||||||
| Founded | 15 June 1948; 77 years ago (1948-06-15) | ||||||||||
| Political alignment | Chinese Communist Party | ||||||||||
| Language | Chinese and others | ||||||||||
| Headquarters | No. 2 Jintai Xilu,Chaoyang District, Beijing | ||||||||||
| Country | China | ||||||||||
| OCLC number | 1011095986 | ||||||||||
| Website | en | ||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 人民日报 | ||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 人民日報 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
ThePeople's Daily (Chinese:人民日报;pinyin:Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple languages. It is the largest newspaper in thePeople's Republic of China (PRC).
The paper was established on 15 June 1948 and was first published inPingshan County, Hebei.[1]: 86 It was formed from the merger of theJin-Cha-Ji Daily and the newspapers of the Jin-Ji-Lu-Yu base area.[1]: 86 On 15 March 1949, its office was moved to Beijing, and the original People's Daily Beijing edition was renamedBeijing Liberation Daily. The newspaper ceased publication on 31 July 1949, with a total of 406 issues published. Since the newspaper was the official newspaper of the North China Central Bureau of the CCP, it was historically known as theNorth China People's Daily or thePeople's Daily North China Edition. At the same time, in order to indicate that the newspaper was published in Pingshan County, Hebei, it was also called thePeople's Daily Pingshan Edition. On 1 August 1949, thePeople's Daily was officially changed from the official newspaper of the North China Bureau of the CCP to the official newspaper of the CCP Central Committee.[2]
Ever since its founding, thePeople's Daily has been under direct control of the CCP's top leadership.Deng Tuo and Wu Lengxi served as editor-in-chief from 1948 to 1958 and 1958–1966, respectively, but the paper was in fact controlled byMao Zedong's personal secretaryHu Qiaomu.[3][better source needed]
At the start of theCultural Revolution, many news media executives were overthrown, and Wu Lengxi replaced Deng Tuo as editor-in-chief. Faced with the ever-changing political situation, thePeople's Daily was still at a loss as to what to do. On the afternoon of 31 May 1966,Chen Boda led a working group to "carry out a small coup" at thePeople's Daily, seizing power from Wu Lengxi and the editorial board. Afterwards, thePeople's Daily andRed Flag were led by a working group headed by Chen Boda, the head of theCentral Cultural Revolution Group. On 1 June, thePeople's Daily printed an editorial calledSweep Away All Cow Demons and Snake Spirits, seeking support for the Cultural Revolution and the moving against "rightist". During this period, the two papers and thePeople's Liberation Army Daily became part of what was known as theTwo Newspapers and One Journal, becoming three most influential media during the Cultural Revolution.[4]
In the late 1970s, the editor-in-chief of thePeople’s DailyHu Jiwei said that the "people’s spirit" should be primary in doing journalism, meaning that the media should report truthfully because it represented the interests of the people. Hu Jiwei argued in 1979 that "party spirit" should be consistent with human nature media should be independent from the Party, saying the media should be "the eyes and ears of CCP" in order to report accurately on the actual situation in the country and listen to the people's voices. His position was endorsed by reformist leaderHu Yaobang.Hu Qiaomu, in contrast, argued for the primacy of the "party spirit" in media and journalism. He continued to argue Hu Jiwei's ideas continued to poison the media after his resignation as editor-in-chief in 1983.[5]
During the1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, thePeople's Dailyeditorial of 26 April, which condemned "unlawful parades and demonstrations," marked a significant moment in the newspaper's history.[6] The editorial increased tension between the government and protesters, and top CCP leaders argued about whether to revise it. Anarticle that compiles the most important editorials was released by thePeople's Daily during the student movement.[citation needed] After the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, Hu Qiaomu argued the failure to properly control the press "guided matters in the direction of chaos".[5]
An analysis of the wording of all the issues of thePeople's Daily from 1995 to 2000 was used in the writing ofThe First Series of Standardized Forms of Words with Non-standardized Variant Forms.[7]: 3 In March 2018,People's Daily won the ThirdNational Top 100 Newspapers in China.[8][9]
ThePeople's Daily is published by thePeople's Daily Press, a ministerial-level institution. The agency is also responsible for the publication of the nationalisttabloidGlobal Times.[10][11] The newspaper is published worldwide in four editions:[12]
The Mainland Edition is the domestic edition, and the name of the edition is not clearly stated. The Mainland Edition initially had four pages, and later developed to 24 pages from Monday to Friday, 12 pages on Saturday and Sunday, and eight pages on holidays. From 2019, it started to have 20 pages on weekdays and 8 pages on weekends and holidays, which have been printed in full color. In addition, the People's Daily Publishing House issues reduced-print bound volumes of thePeople's Daily, one volume every half month, 24 volumes per year, and the content and layout are basically the same as the original newspaper.[12]
ThePeople's Daily maintains a unit called People's Data that conducts overseas social media data collection and analysis for police, judicial authorities, and CCP organizations.[13][14] People's Data also has data sharing agreements in place with various companies such asDiDi andTemu's parent companyPinduoduo.[13] In 2022, thePeople's Daily launched a commercial software service calledRenmin Shenjiao (People's Proofreader) that provides outsourced content censorship.[15] ThePeople's Daily also providesartificial intelligence companies in China withtraining data that CCP leaders consider permissible.[16] In 2024, thePeople's Daily released alarge language model-based tool called Easy Write.[17]
The overseas edition of the People's Daily was first published on 1 July 1985, and was originally published in traditional Chinese characters. After 1 July 1992, it was changed to simplified Chinese characters.[citation needed]Haiwainet is the website of the overseas edition of thePeople's Daily.[18] In February 2014, the People's Daily Overseas Edition launched the WeChat public account "XiaKeDao".[19]
In March 2018,BBC News pointed out that Haiwainet was the real body of All American Television, located inPasadena,California, United States[20] and that Haiwainet's American channel and All American Television were "one institution with two names".[21] However, Haiwainet denied the allegations and stated that it "had no relationship with All American Television"[22] and also had no relationship with the station's executive director Zhang Huijun.[23] Subsequently, the Seattle-based All American Television Corporation (AAT Television Corporation) also issued a statement saying that it had no relationship with All American Television.[24]
ThePeople's Daily also maintains a multilingual internet presence and established thePeople's Daily Online in 1997.[25] The website ofPeople's Daily includes content in Arabic, French, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and English. In comparison to the original Chinese version, the foreign-language version offers less in-depth discussion of domestic policies and affairs and more editorials about China's foreign policies and motives.[26][27] ThePeople's Daily in recent years has been expanding on overseas social media platforms. It has millions of followers on its Facebook page and its accounts on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. An unusually high proportion of its followers are virtually inactive and are likely to be fake users, according to a study by theCommittee to Protect Journalists.[28] ThePeople's Daily also maintains agreements with foreign newspapers to republish its content.[29]
The newspaper is the official "mouthpiece" (Chinese:喉舌;lit. 'throat tongue') of theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.[30] It is often viewed as most representative of the mainstream perspective of China's government and the CCP leadership's priorities.[31]: 77 [32]: 12–13
A large number of articles devoted to a political figure, idea, or geographic focus is often taken as a sign that the mentioned official or subject is rising.[33][34] Editorials in thePeople's Daily are regarded both by foreign observers and Chinese readers as authoritative statements of official government policy. Distinction is made between editorials, commentaries, and opinions. Although all must be government-approved, they differ sharply on the amount of official authoritativeness they contain by design, from the top. For example, although an opinion piece is unlikely to contain views opposed to those of the government, it may express a viewpoint, or it may contain a debate that is under consideration and reflect only the opinions of the writer: an editorialtrial balloon to assess internal public opinion.[35] By contrast, an official editorial, which is rather infrequent, means that the government has reached a final decision on an issue.[35]
ThePeople's Daily employs "writing task groups" (Chinese:写作小组;pinyin:xiězuò xiǎozǔ) of various staff to compose editorial pieces to signal the significance of certain pieces or their relationship to the official views of the CCP.[36] These groups are published under "signatures" (i.e.,pen names: 署名shǔmíng) that may correspond with the topic and weight of a piece, and what specific government or CCP body is backing it, often withhomophonous references to their purpose.[37][38]
| Pen name | Etymology/symbolism | Usage | Example articles | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ren Zhongping 任仲平 | From 人民日报重要评论Rénmín Rìbàozhòngyàopínglùn 'importantPeople's Daily commentary' | Used to represent the view of thePeople's Daily as an organization. | "Hong Kong scores brilliant achievements after return", June 2017 "Keeping original aspiration, CPC creates glorious achievements", September 2019 | [39][36] |
| Zhong Sheng 钟声 | Homophone of 中声Zhōng shēng 'voice of China' | Commentary on major international affairs by editors and staff. | "U.S. practice to claim compensation for COVID-19 outbreak a shame for human civilization", May 2020 | [37][40] |
| Guo Jiping 国纪平 | From 有关国际的重要评论yǒuguānguójì de zhòngyàopínglùn 'important commentary on international [matters]' | According toChina Daily, Guo Jiping is "used forPeople's Daily editorials meant to outline China's stance and viewpoints on major international issues."[41] Guo Jiping articles are rarer and generally longer than Zhong Sheng articles. | "Losing no time in progressing – grasping the historic opportunity for common development", December 2019 | [40] |
| Guo Ping 国平 | Unclear.Guó means 'country' andpíng 'peace, calm'.Píng is also the last character inXi Jinping's name. | Articles that focus on Xi Jinping and his political thought. | "在改革中更好掌握当代中国命运: 六论习近平总书记治国理政新思想新成就" ('Better Grasp Contemporary China's Destiny during Reform: On the New Thought and New Achievements of Xi Jinping in Governing the Country'), February 2016 | [42] |
| Zhong Zuwen 仲祖文 | From 中共中央组织部文章Zhōnggòng ZhōngyāngZǔzhībùwénzhāng 'articles from the Central Party Organization Department' | Pieces from theOrganization Department of the Chinese Communist Party, covering topics related to the Party principles and ideology. | "Moral standards for officials' personal life necessary", July 2010 | [36][42] |
| Zheng Qingyuan 郑青原 | Taken from the saying 正本清源zhèngběn qīngyuán 'clarify matters and get to the bottom of things'. | Used to comment on political reform, particularly in attacking Western-style liberal democracy.[43] A writer from the Beijing Morning Post (now part ofThe Beijing News) speculated that it represented thePolitburo in an article that was taken down within a day in China. | "China to promote reform with greater resolve, courage", October 2010 | [36] |
| Tang Xiaowen 唐晓文 | Similar to 党校文dǎngxiào wén 'Party School writing' | Central Party School editorials written during theCultural Revolution by a group under the leadership ofKang Sheng. | "孔子是'全民教育家'吗?" ('Is Confucius really an 'educator for the entire people'?'), September 1973 | [44] |
| Yue Ping 岳平 (historical) | For special guest commentator 特约评论员tèyuēpínglùnyuán | Used from March 1978 to December 1985 to republish select articles from the internal Party periodicalTheoretical Trends (理论动态) under the direction ofHu Yaobang. | "实践是检验真理的唯一标准" ('Actual Practice is the Sole Criterion for Judging Truth'), May 1978 (originally published inGuangming Daily) | [45] |
During theAIDS epidemic, thePeople's Daily downplayed the epidemic domestically while "presenting AIDS as a relatively innocuous social problem for the country."[46]
A 2013 study of thePeople's Daily coverage of the2002–2004 SARS outbreak reported that it "regurgitated triumph and optimism" and framed the outbreak as an "opportunity to showcase China's scientific achievements, and the strength of national spirits, as well as the wise leadership of the party and effective measures to protect the lives of ordinary citizens."[47]
In February 2020, thePeople's Daily published an article stating that thenovel coronavirus "did not necessarily originate in China."[48] In March 2020, the online insert of thePeople's Daily, distributed byThe Daily Telegraph, published an article stating thatTraditional Chinese medicine "helps fight coronavirus."[49] In May 2020, thePeople's Daily stated that the novel coronavirus had "multiple origins."[50] In November 2020, thePeople's Daily published a claim that COVID-19 was "imported" into China.[51][52][53][54] In January 2021, thePeople's Daily inaccurately attributed deaths in Norway to thePfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.[55]
In 2020, theUnited States Department of State designated thePeople's Daily aforeign mission, thereby requiring it to disclose more information about its operations in the U.S.[56][57][58][59]
In 2021,ProPublica andThe New York Times reported that thePeople's Daily was part of a coordinated state propaganda campaign to deny human rights abuses inXinjiang.[60]
In 2023, thePeople's Daily sparked a backlash on Chinese social media for exhorting citizens not to complain about their own poverty or boredom.[61] In 2025, thePeople's Daily published an op-ed piece byLeBron James that he denied writing.[62][63][64]
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