China's Communist Party seeks to control media messages
22 March 2018 5:38 PM GMT
Beijing: The Chinese Communist Party's move to exert direct control over state broadcasters and regulators of everything from movies and TV to books and radio programs shows the party's drive to use the media for ideological efforts at home and to improve its image overseas, analysts say.
The move is part of a push by President Xi Jinping to tighten party supervision over much of Chinese public life as he renews his uncontested rule free of constitutional limits on his terms in office. Much of the civil service has been brought directly under party leadership organizations, affecting functions ranging from accounting to firefighting.
Under the plan announced on Wednesday by the official Xinhua News Agency, China Radio International, China National Radio and China Central Television, along with its international broadcast arm, China Global Television Network, will be merged into a new body with a name that translates to "Voice of China."
The government's regulator of the press and print publications, radio, film and television will cease to exist and its responsibilities and resources will be transferred to the party's Central Propaganda Department, along with control over the film industry, including the import and export of movies.
The new body's chief responsibilities include "implementing the party's propaganda guidelines and policies," Xinhua said.
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