| 中国共产党中央委员会宣传部 | |
 Headquarters of the Publicity Department | |
 | |
| Abbreviation | Zhongxuanbu (中宣部) |
|---|---|
| Formation | May 1924; 101 years ago (1924-05) |
| Type | Department directly reporting to theCentral Committee Ministerial level agency |
| Headquarters | 5Chang'an Avenue,Xicheng District, Beijing |
| Coordinates | 39°55′26″N116°23′55″E / 39.92389°N 116.39861°E /39.92389; 116.39861 |
| Li Shulei | |
Executive deputy head | Hu Heping |
Deputy heads | Shen Haixiong*,Zhuang Rongwen*,Sun Yeli*,Cao Shumin*,Wang Gang,Hong Dayong |
Parent organization | Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |
| Subsidiaries | National Radio and Television Administration China International Communications Group National Office for the Fight Against Pornography and Illegal Publications |
| Website | www |
| *Maintains full minister-level rank | |
| CCP Central Publicity Department (common abbreviation) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 中共中央宣传部 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 中共中央宣傳部 | ||||||
| |||||||
ThePublicity Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, also known as thePropaganda Department orCentral Propaganda Department, is an internal division of theCentral Committee of theChinese Communist Party (CCP) in charge ofideology,propaganda, andmedia regulation.
The department was established by the CCP in May 1924, structured using its counterpart in theSoviet Union as a model. In 1941, the department was put in charge of leading and reviewing newspapers and magazines. It became responsible for implementing CCP policies in literary and artistic work and news work in 1943. After theestablishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the department had an increased role in activities related to mass organizations like trade unions, artists' associations, and party branches. The department was abolished shortly after theCultural Revolution, with its powers transferred to theCultural Revolution Group. In October 1977, after the end of the Cultural Revolution, the department was re-established. In 2018, the powers of the department were expanded, with the newly createdNational Radio and Television Administration put under its control as part of the "deepening the reform of the Party and state institutions."
The department exercises direct leadership over the media control system, and is one of the main entities that enforcesmedia censorship and control in thePeople's Republic of China. The department also engages in propaganda work for both domestic and foreign audiences designed to increase support for the CCP, and is also responsible for researching, devising, and disseminating theideology of the CCP. Additionally, the department monitors and researches public opinion about public support for CCP policies. Its inner operations are highly secretive.
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Following the1st Party National Congress in 1921, theCCP Central Committee decided to establish the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP.[1][2][3][better source needed] The department was founded in May 1924. At its 1924 establishment, the department was structured using its counterpart in theSoviet Union as a model.[4]: 136 TheResolution on Propaganda Work of the4th Party National Congress in 1925 stipulated that "in order to make propaganda work perfect and systematic, the Central Committee should have a strong propaganda department to be responsible for all matters and to guide the local propaganda departments to have a close and systematic relationship with it."[5][6][better source needed]
In October 1928, the CCP Central Committee required the establishment and improvement of the organization of the Central Propaganda Department, mandating provincial committees, the county and district committees to set up local propaganda departments and that the party branches have propaganda officers to be responsible for propaganda work.[7][8][9][10][11][excessive citations] In 1938,Mao Zedong stated that the department's focus should bepublishing textbooks for soldiers and instructional material forcadres.[12]: 134 DuringWorld War II, the department was assigned leadership and censorship tasks in the areas of theory, opinion, education, and culture as part of the war effort.[4]: 136
On May 25, 1941, the Central Committee'sInstructions on Unifying External Propaganda in Various Base Areas stipulated that "all external propaganda leadership should be unified under the Propaganda Department"[13][14] and established a system for the Propaganda Department to lead and review newspapers and magazines.[15][16] On June 20, 1941, the "Outline of the Central Propaganda Department on the Party's Propaganda and Mobilization Work" pointed out that “all theories, propositions, education, culture, literature and art, etc., belong to the scope of propaganda and mobilization activities" and "printing, radio and film are powerful tools for propaganda and mobilization." After 1943, the Central Propaganda Department was responsible for implementing the Party's policies in literary and artistic work and news work.[17] In 1946, the Central Propaganda Department put forward requirements for positive propaganda in theNotice on the Propaganda Policy of Broadcasting and Newspapers.[18]
Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Central Propaganda Department managed cultural and educational work. After thefounding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the department had an increased role in activities related to mass organizations like trade unions, artists' associations, and party branches.[4]: 136 It became an important mechanism formass line politics.[4]: 136 Under the leadership of the Central Propaganda Department, it organized the Central Broadcasting Administration, the Central Publishing Committee, the Central Film Administration and other institutions. In December 1949, the Central Propaganda Department issued an instruction that party newspapers at all levels should not publicly promote themselves as official newspapers of the CCP, nor should they say that they are official newspapers of the government; they should simply say that they are newspapers of a certain place.[18]
In the autumn of 1962, the Central Propaganda Department began to abolish the Party Committee system of literary and art units. Xu Guangxiao implemented this system in theMinistry of Culture. Many units abolished the Party Committee system. In 1962, Yao Wenyuan 's article criticizing "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office" was resisted by theBeijing MunicipalParty Committee headed byPeng Zhen and the Central Propaganda Department headed byLu Dingyi. In 1966, Mao Zedong pointed out that the Central Propaganda Department was "the palace of the King of Hell" and that "the King of Hell should be overthrown and the little devils should be liberated." He criticized Peng Zhen, the Central Propaganda Department and the Beijing Municipal Committee for protecting bad people, suppressing leftists and not allowing revolution. He also said that if bad people were to be protected again, the Central Propaganda Department would be dissolved, the Beijing Municipal Committee would be dissolved, and the "Five-Person Group" would be dissolved.[19]
Shortly after theCultural Revolution, the Central Propaganda Department was abolished. According to the May 16th Notice of the Central Committee in May 1966, its powers were concurrently held by theCultural Revolution Group. The appendix to the May 16th Notice stated: "The Central Propaganda Department is the palace of the King of Hell", "the King of Hell should be overthrown and the little devils should be liberated", and "the Central Propaganda Department should be dissolved". Lu Dingyi was labeled a "counter-revolutionary." Nine deputy ministers of the Propaganda Department were labeled "traitors," "spies," and "Kuomintang members," respectively. The Minister, deputy ministers, and secretary-general of the Propaganda Department were the first to be implicated, referred to as the "Kings of Hell." An enlarged meeting of the Politburo made a "Decision on the Suspension and Removal of Comrades Peng Zhen, Lu Dingyi, Luo Ruiqing, and Yang Shangkun from Their Posts," and issued an "Explanation on the Errors of Comrades Lu Dingyi and Yang Shangkun". Tao Zhu was transferred to serve as the Executive Secretary of the Secretariat, concurrently holding the position of Minister of the Propaganda Department. Deputy Ministers Xu Liqun, Yao Zhen, and Lin Mohan, and Secretary-General Tong Dalin were suspended from their duties for self-reflection.[20]
On June 23, the Cultural Revolution Group of the Propaganda Department, headed by Tao Zhu, was established. In 1967, the department established the Office for the Translation of Chairman Mao's works.[21]: 86 At a meeting of all staff members of the Propaganda Department, Tao Zhu announced the "Decision of the Central Committee on Reorganizing the Leadership of the Propaganda Department," and announced the abolition of the original departments and offices, replacing them with four departments and one office: the Department of Mao Zedong Thought Propaganda, the Department of Party Member and Cadre Education, the Department of Cadre Management, the Secretariat, and the Investigation and Research Office. On July 27, 1968, the Central Committee decided to impose military control on the former Central Propaganda Department, and appointed Li Xiao as the head of the military control group and Wang Shaoping as the deputy head. After the Central Propaganda Department was first smashed as a "palace of the King of Hell", propaganda, publishing and cultural departments at all levels of the Party and government were also "smashed" and then "militarily controlled".[22]
In October 1977, the11th CCP National Congress approved the "Report on the Establishment of the Central Propaganda Department", reorganized the department, restoring its original functions and powers, and appointedZhang Pinghua as its head.[23] The directive on the re-establishment of the Central Propaganda Department reveals the structure and organization of the "extremely secretive" body, according toAnne-Marie Brady.[24] The directive states that the department will be set up with one Director and several deputies, and the organizational structure will be set up with one office and five bureaus. The office is in charge of political, secretarial and administrative work, and the five bureaus are: the Bureau of Theory, Bureau of Propaganda and Education, Bureau of Arts and Culture, Bureau of News, and Bureau of Publishing. The directive states that the staff will be fixed at around 200 personnel, selected from propaganda personnel across the country in consultation with the Central Organization Department.[24]
New departments and offices were set up in 2004 to deal with the growing demands of information control.[24] The Bureau of Public Opinion is in charge of commissioning public opinion surveys and other relevant research.[24] The department organized networks of cultural workers' associations which were headed by theChina Federation of Literary and Art Circles.[4]: 136 The state incorporated existing cultural enterprises into the state apparatus, which provided stable income and working environments for artists.[4]: 136 In 2018, the newly createdNational Radio and Television Administration was put under its control as part of thedeepening the reform of the Party and state institutions.[25][26]
The CCPPD has several Chinese names with various different English translations. Officially it is theZhōngguó Gòngchăndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Xuānchuánbù "Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Publicity Department" orZhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Xuānchuánbù "Chinese Communist Party Central Publicity Department" or "Central Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China", colloquially abbreviated as theZhōnggòng Xuānchuánbù "Chinese Communist Party Publicity Department" or "Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China", or simplyZhōng xuānbù (中宣部).[27]
The termxuanchuan (宣传 "propaganda; publicity") has a neutral connotation. Somexuanchuancollocations can be translated as "propaganda" (e.g.,xuānchuánzhàn宣传战 "propaganda war"), others as "publicity" (xuānchuán méijiè宣传媒介 "mass media; means of publicity"), and still others are ambiguous (xuānchuányuán宣传员 "propagandist; publicist").[28]
TheZhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Xuānchuán Bù changed its official English name from "Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China" to "Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China".[29][27] As China's involvement in world affairs grew in the 1990s, the CCP became sensitive to the negative connotations of the English translationpropaganda forxuanchuan.[30] Official replacement translations includepublicity,information, andpolitical communication[24]: 73 WhenDing Guangen traveled abroad on official visits, he was known as the Minister of Information.[31]
Under the "one institution with two names" system, the Central Propaganda Department has several external names it uses when dealing with a particular manner (i.e., a public government statement). These names include:
The Central Propaganda Department has a "direct leadership (Chinese:领导;pinyin:lingdao)" role in the media control system, working with other organizations like theNational Radio and Television Administration.[24]: 17 The Central Propaganda Department's tasks include managing, guiding, and censoring China'snewspaper,publishing,radio,television, andfilm industries to align with the CCP.[33]Internet censorship is handled by theCyberspace Administration of China. The department also engages in propaganda work for both domestic and foreign audiences designed to increase support for the CCP, and is also responsible for researching, devising, and disseminating theideology of the CCP, CCP theory and theCore Socialist Values. Additionally, the department monitors and researches public opinion about public support for CCP policies and to track potential political instability and engages in arts, culture, foreign cultural exchanges, as well as human rights propaganda.[34]
According to Bill Schiller of theToronto Star, its scope is to control licensing of media outlets, and to give instructions to themedia on what is and what is not to be said, especially about certain issues, likeTaiwan,Tibet, etc., that can affectstate security, or the rule of the CCP.[35] He says its central offices are located in an unmarked building near theZhongnanhai at 5West Chang'an Avenue, although the department has offices throughout the country at the provincial, municipal, and county level.[35] Schiller says the editors-in-chief of China's major media outlets must attend the department's central office weekly to receive instructions on which stories should be emphasized, downplayed, or not reported at all.[35] These instructions are not normally known to the public, but are communicated to media workers at the weekly meeting or via secret bulletins.[35] However, since the rise of social networking tools, Propaganda Department instructions have been leaked to the internet. Examples presented by Schiller include "All websites need to use bright red color to promote a celebratory atmosphere [of the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic]" and "negative reports... not exceed 30 per cent".[35]
Propaganda Department directives are enforced by disciplines within the CCP, as all media in China are required to be loyal to the CCP, and are to serve aspropaganda organs for the CCP in principle.[24][36] Operational and reporting freedom increased in the Chinese media in the early 2000s.[37] However, open defiance against the Propaganda Department directives is rare, as dissenting media organizations risk severe punishment, including restructuring or closure.[37] In 2000, a system of warnings was introduced for individual journalists, whereby repeat offenses can lead to dismissal.[35] One Chinese journalist,Shi Tao, was sentenced to prison after giving Propaganda Department instructions to a pro-democracy website; according to an American organization, the Dui Hua Foundation, the case was related to "illegally providing state secrets to foreign entities".[38]
One important way the Propaganda Department has ensured that the media system remains well controlled is by ensuring that the boundaries of acceptable reporting are kept "deliberately fuzzy" in an effort to ensure that "news workers self-censor to a critical degree."[37]
According to a report fromFreedom House, the Central Propaganda Department is the most important institution for monitoring media personnel and controlling the content of print and visual media.[39]
The report says that the Central Propaganda Department plays a key role in monitoring editors and journalists through a national registration system. It also says that in 2003, the CPD, along with theGeneral Administration of Press and Publication and theState Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, required Chinese journalists to attend nearly 50 hours of training onMarxism, the role of CCP leadership in the media, copyright law, libel law, national security law, regulations governing news content, and journalistic ethics prior to renewing press identification passes in 2003.[39] The report states that media personnel are required to participate in "ideological training sessions", where they are evaluated for their "loyalty to the party." Further "political indoctrination" courses are said to occur at meetings and training retreats to study party political ideology, and the role of the media in "thought work" (sīxiǎng gōngzuò思想工作).[39]
As of 2009[update], 90 percent of China's newspapers consisted of light stories regarding sport and entertainment, which are rarely regulated.[35][needs update]
In 2019, the Media Oversight Office (传媒监管局) of the Central Propaganda Department announced that training and testing of news professionals nationwide would be handled through theXuexi Qiangguo mobile app.[40][41]
According toRadio Free Asia, in December 2022, the department issued a directive stating that in order to obtain credentials as a professional journalist, they must pass a national exam and "...must support the leadership of the Communist Party of China, conscientiously study, publicize and implement Xi Jinping’s thoughts on the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, resolutely implement the party’s theory, line, principles and policies, and adhere to the correct political direction andpublic opinion guidance."[42]
The leadership of the Propaganda Department is selected with guidance from the CCPGeneral Secretary and thePolitburo Standing Committee member responsible for the media, while local committees of the Propaganda Department work with lower levels of the party-state hierarchy to transmit content priorities to the media.[39] The department's inner operations are highly secretive.[43] The department has the following organizations:[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][excessive citations]
The department publishes a journal calledInternational Communication (Chinese:对外传播).[53] The Central Propaganda Department owns and runs the following organizations:
The department also owns and controls the followingstate-owned enterprises:
In recent years however the Party State has recognised the negative connotations of the word "propaganda" in English and now official English translations refer to the "Publicity Department" (although xuanchuan continues to the used in Chinese).
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