China has confirmed plans to merge its state television and radio stations to create a new broadcaster that will be one of the largest propaganda platforms in the world.
Chinese state media reported the merger of China Central Television (CCTV), China Radio International and China National Radio under a single network to be named Voice of China.
The goal of the new platform will be to “guide hot social issues, strengthen and improve public opinion, push multimedia integration, strengthen international communication and tell good China stories,” according to a notice published by Xinhua, China’s official news agency, on Wednesday.
The announcement comes as the Chinese president, Xi Jinping – who was unanimously elected to a second term at the weekend after pushing through changes to the constitution to remove term limits – takes tighter control over the government.
Xi, in power as head of the Chinese Communist party since 2012, has overseen one of China’s harshest crackdowns on dissent in decades, both among the public and within his own party.
“I think this reflects Xi Jinping’s approach of increasing centralisation and party control so that the Chinese government can project its views globally more effectively and without variation,” said Steve Tsang, director of the Soas China Institute in London.
The new broadcaster’s name echoes that of its US counterpart, Voice of America, the government-funded broadcaster established during the second world war and used throughout the cold war to promote American viewpoints around the world.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
