| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| The Chinese Penetration of Israeli Media |
| 2020-09-11 |
| Begin-Sadat center via JPost Not long ago, the Israeli paper Makor Rishon published a comprehensive cover story on a Chinese individual who goes by the name Itzik HaSini ("Itzik the Chinese"). His original name is Xi Xiaoqi, and he works in the Hebrew Department of China Radio International (CRI), which was established in September 2009. The station, which operates websites and makes videos as well as producing radio broadcasts, went on the air in 1940 as a tool to promote Communist Party of China (CPC) ideology. It has expanded dramatically over the years and is now active in over 60 languages. The interview with Itzik, along with other statements provided by CRI representatives that are dutifully passed along without critical comment by the Israeli media, raises the concern that those media are inappropriately providing a platform for the Chinese Communist party (CPC). The concern is not that the messages are being broadcast to the Israeli public but that they are being disseminated without comment—in other words, that the Israeli media, which should be providing independent news reporting, are simply repeating Chinese messages verbatim, without interpretation or analysis. This undermines the essential role to be played in a democracy by an independent and critical media. In the article, Itzik explains why CRI has a Hebrew department: to produce videos "that tell Israelis about China and about life there... [and improve] China’s image through content that presents the country in a positive way". When he is asked whether this endeavor amounts to propaganda, he replies by pointing out the difference between the reality of what happens in Israel and global public perceptions of it. According to Itzik, China is battling a similar gap between reality and perception. He then explicitly draws an analogy between allegations of Israeli treatment of Palestinians and Chinese treatment of various populations. Instead of confronting Itzik with the significant differences between those situations and the reasons why it is a false analogy, the Makor Rishon reporter shifts the conversation to matters of copyright violation in China. In doing so, he falls for a standard Chinese interview tactic. It is commonplace for Chinese officials and representatives, when asked about their country, to make comparisons with other countries and thereby divert the discussion. ...China’s international radio station has reason to congratulate itself on its successful penetration of the Israeli mainstream media. It has established itself as a key source on everything related to China and can depend on the local media to swallow its messages without challenge or complaint. |
| Posted by:g(r)omgoru |