Propaganda in the Republic of China (inmainland China before 1949 and inTaiwan since then) has been an important tool since its inception with the1911 Revolution for legitimizing theNationalist government thatretreated from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949.Anti-communism and opposition to theChinese Communist Party have historically been central to propaganda in the Republic of China.
Lai Manwai's film documenting theNorthern Expedition andChiang Kai-shek's consolidation of power, produced by Lai's production companyMinxin, was approved by theKuomintang (KMT) branch in Shanghai as the only long-format film for party propaganda.[1]: 54 This made it one of the first party films in China.[1]: 54
During theNanjing government, the ROC launched a cultural campaign promoting the "Arts of theThree Principles of the People."[2]: 120 It sought (mostly unsuccessfully) to attract cultural workers to create new propaganda works and more successfully established a censorship apparatus directed against unwelcome cultural products, especially left-wing artists and their works.[2]: 120–121
Because thenational government of thetime was weak, it was difficult for any censorship or propagandistic measures to be carried out effectively.[citation needed] However, a bureau was set up to control the production and the release of film in China. Also, newspapers unfavorable to the central government could be harassed at will. After theNorthern Expedition, the power of the central government increased significantly, and propaganda campaigns became more effective. Propaganda was produced with different patriotic themes, such asChinese nationalism.[citation needed]
Zheng Junli's 1941 filmLong Live the Nations (Minzu wansui) was the first Chinese propaganda film aimed at developing solidarity among the ethnic minorities living in China's border regions.[1]: 106 The film was produced through the Nationalist-controlled China Motion Picture Studio.[1]: 106
The Republic of China produced propaganda againstJapan during theSecond Sino-Japanese War to booster morale and bolden resistance to the invasion.[3][page needed]
By the 1930s and 1940s, both the Chinese Nationalist government and the Communist Party used documentary films as a form of propaganda.[4]: 874 During theSecond Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalists had mobile projectionists travel in rural China to play anti-Japanese propaganda films.[5]: 46 More was produced during theChinese Civil War.
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The Kuomintang used bothanti-communist andanti-capitalist propaganda. During theChinese Civil War, propaganda was extensively used against theChinese Communist Party (CCP), both to discredit communist ideologies as well as to counter propaganda from the CCP to depict the Kuomintang leadership as capitalist.[6] Under the rule ofChiang Kai-shek, propaganda was used to promoteChiangist ideology.
Chiang Kai-shek attacked the CCP in 1943 with the propaganda pieceChina's Destiny, which questioned the legitimacy of the CCP. The CCP opposed Chiang's leadership and accused his regime offascism.[6]
One of the main tools for disseminating propaganda inTaiwan has been theGovernment Information Office and the various media properties controlled by theKuomintang and the government. Besides controllingcommercial television andradio stations, a police radio station often broadcast "educational" plays with propagandistic value and a film bureau. After the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, propaganda through public education in Taiwan was an important tool in creating a Chinese national identity among Taiwanese and preparing the people for "a counter-offensive" against the PRC. Although the government is now democratic, the legacy of authoritarian rule has created a confusion of identity in Taiwan, both with many adults having grown up thinking that the ROC would launch a "counter-offensive" against the PRC and with Mandarin becoming the most common language. Previously, the people had been educated in the evils of the Communists and the good of the Nationalists, with many Taiwanese remembering lore taught in elementary school on the wisdom ofChiang Kai-shek.[citation needed]
The Kuomintang also published numerous publications after its retreat to Taiwan, including theFree China Journal. Its popularity soared, as the editors and writers analyzed political situations at the time and sometimes even advised or criticized the government in earnest.[citation needed]
Occasionally, the ROC has attempted tospread propaganda into PRC-controlled areas, usually in the form of leaflet drops over coastal provinces that call for the locals to rebel against CCP rule and are accompanied by the promise that the ROC will one day liberate the mainland. That proved to be ineffective and after several years was largely discontinued.[citation needed]
The Government Information Office was replaced after democratization with theNational Communications Commission, an agency styled after theFederal Communications Commission in the United States. Most of today's films in Taiwan are Hollywood movies, and all theaters are commercially-run for-profit enterprises. Some activities of the Taiwanese government have been described as propaganda.[7][8] Much of it has been directed againstMainland China'sPeople's Republic of China.[9]
According to a 1979 report by theUnited States Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Taiwan government operated one of the two most active anti-dissident networks within the United States, including large-scale propaganda campaigns implemented through front organizations, among other espionage activities.[10]: 7
Established in 1928, The Nationalist Government Radio Station was a major mechanism for disseminating ROC propaganda messages.[11]: 57–58
In the Republic of China, movies were created even during wartime, such asMulan Joins the Army (1939)[12] with its story of a young Chinese peasant fighting against a foreign invasion, andChildren of Troubled Times (1935), a patriotic Chinese film about the Japanese invasion of China, and known for being the origin of the "March of the Volunteers", now thenational anthem of thePeople's Republic of China.[citation needed]
Several songs written in the Republic of China had patriotic messages. Some, such as800 Heroes Song,Guerrillas' Song, andThe Sword March, were written during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and others, such asGo and Reclaim the Mainland andThe Anti-Communist and Anti-Russian Aggression Song, were written withanti-communist messages.[citation needed]
