like-minded television
Political talk shows did not exist on Chinese television until relatively recently. Political discussions within the country are arranged in such a way that even the discussion of foreign policy issues can touch upon issues sensitive to domestic policy. That’s why invited experts are still rare, even in news reports on state television.
From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, the first talk shows in the host-speaker format began to appear in China, but soon many were closed due to the handling of issues to the detriment of the authorities. Various topics, from LGBTI to the state ideology debate, came under censorship.
“In the absence of an opportunity to truly discuss matters of public interest, most Chinese talk shows offer only emotional solidarity to the audience,” said Wu Changchang, a Chinese media researcher and professor at East China Normal University, in 2020. colon For the Sixth Tone.
Ultimately, this situation on Chinese television led to the fact that there was only one political show in the country called “China now” (“China Today”, 这就是中国). A distinctive feature of the program is the mentoring attitude towards the audience and the absence of discussion as such. Conceived by the authors, the audience is told how world politics works from the official Beijing position, and the rare questions “from the audience” are mostly of an official nature.
Presenters, as a rule, do not speak from opposite positions, on the contrary, they behave like like-minded people on almost all topics.
The permanent host of the program is Professor Zhang Weiwei, who is known for his extensive influence on modern Chinese ideology. According to some reports, in 2021, Zhang gave a lecture on propaganda to Xi Jinping and other members of the CCP Politburo, and was given the unspoken nickname “sovereign mentor” (国师). Zhang’s company is the well-known Chinese journalist He Jie, who is considered a veteran of local television journalism. Each edition is attended by an external expert who is sometimes given the right to give the keynote at the beginning of the programme.
Since the program began in 2019, the main topic for the authors has been China’s place in the world and its impact on world politics. Some of the talk shows in the last two years are “China’s world-shaking Industrial Revolution”, “Deconstruction of the West-Central Theory”, “Chinese Patriotism” and “Chinese Ideas That Can Impact the World”. “.
It is noteworthy that the subject of Taiwanese ownership became the main topic of the show only once – in December 2019. This issue is always visible on China Now’s agenda, albeit indirectly.
They were published on August 1, under the title “The History of China’s Millennium-Year Military System and the Glorious History of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army,” the day before Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, arrived on the island. The issue was timed to coincide with the celebrations of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese military, but the authors could not ignore the Taiwan issue.
“If something like Taiwanese independence happens, I’m sorry, we won’t stop at war. And we will definitely win this war,” he said.
“This is a question about the great rebirth of the nation. Especially now, with wars going on all over the world. The struggle is on all fronts,” said the invited expert, who answered the same question.
A few days after the US speaker’s visit to Taiwan, state-affiliated China Central Television (CCTV) aired a story about residents criticizing the local government’s decision to host Pelosi.
“Look how many people have gathered here. Everyone came of their own free will. We are confident that Taiwan should take a peaceful stance on relations with mainland China,” he said.
In the same issue, political commentators from Taipei and Beijing, Professor Yu Zixiang from Shi Xin University and Professor Yu Qiang, Professor of the School of Marxism at Beijing University of Technology and Business, took part as invited experts.
Pelosi has always been an anti-Chinese politician. However, her position fails every time,” said an expert from mainland China, who reminded Pelosi of her critical stance towards the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and her support for Hong Kong pro-independence activists.
“Even before Pelosi landed, we saw people in Taiwan expressing their dissatisfaction with her visit,” Yu Qiang said.
His colleague Yu Zixiang from Taipei expressed confidence that the American speaker’s trip not only caused discontent among the local population, but also provoked the fourth crisis in the Taiwan Strait.
“We can talk about crossing the red line when the third person in the US government hierarchy makes such a visit,” said the Taiwanese expert.
The Chinese state television, which broadcasts in the immediate vicinity, is organized in a different way.
In April 2022, Taiwanese authorities launched an investigation against Chinese broadcaster Xiamen Star TV (廈門衛視), which opened a studio in Taipei to produce political content, including talk shows.
In two such programs – “Across the Bosphorus” (兩岸直航) and “Cloud Living Room Along the Bosphorus” (兩岸雲客廳) – Taiwanese hosts from Xiamen, China actively discussed relations between the PRC and China. With well-known Taiwanese political experts, Taiwan focuses on the Taiwan side’s weak position in the confrontation with mainland China.
In the midst of the crisis associated with Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, Chinese television broadcasters became more active and, with the efforts of local experts, produced various materials critical of Taiwanese authorities. The day after the American speaker’s visit, the authors of the “Beyond the Strait” program focused on the Taiwanese military’s inability to respond in a timely and effective manner to the threat from China. The guest speaker was Taiwanese military expert Zhang Yuhua, who criticized the readiness and quality of the island’s aviation to resist mainland forces.
Taiwanese look
Local researchers write that the development of political debate on Taiwanese television was a result of the country’s overall democratization in the 1980s.
The first political talk shows in Taiwan began to appear in the early 1990s. In the following years, the format continued to gain popularity and today there are about 10 television political talk shows in the country.
Indeed, there is much more political television content in Taiwan than there is in mainland Chinese TV. However, Taiwanese dramas are also subject to criticism. yes, by idea The lion’s share of television companies is highly polarized in favor of the pro-China Kuomintang or the pro-independence Taiwan Democratic Progressive Party (there are eight parties in Taiwan’s parliament), according to Xie Shouchen, a researcher at the University of South Florida. The researcher concludes that the local broadcasters’ attachment to these two camps ultimately led to the political division of society.
Almost every Taiwanese TV channel has its own political program or a news broadcast format with the participation of invited experts. Channel programs are especially popular IT News and Sanlih E-TVMaking the most of Pelosi’s visit, she covered the event with live feeds from the airport and live feeds from the studios.
One of the main headlines of Taiwanese political television show face news (新聞面對面) has been at Era News since 2010. In addition to the host of the program, well-known Taiwanese lawyer Xie Zhenwu, four invited guests, activists, politicians and experts participate in the discussion of the issues. Unlike its Chinese counterpart, the participants of this Taiwanese show engage in active discussions and, as a rule, represent two different camps.
Often, guests of the program bring with them printouts with maps, quotes from competitors and infographics to confirm their position.
Therefore, in one of the latest episodes, which aired on the screens on August 4, almost all the participants of the show brought maps of Taiwan with the Chinese naval exercises.
So the main discussion point of Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was not the political program of the American politician on the island, but Beijing’s possible reaction to the reality of the visit. Special attention of experts was caused by the possibility of blockade of the island by the Chinese navy.
“Coal reserves may take 39 days, oil 146 days and natural gas 11 days. The government must be prepared to take responsibility for this,” said local politician Dai Xiqin, representing the opposition Kuomintang.
His rival, Democratic Progressive Party representative Gao Jiayu, on the contrary, did not see the risks associated with PLA exercises and pointed out the importance of Pelosi’s visit to ordinary people who were encouraged by this action.
“Yesterday I was talking to ordinary people. [о визите Пелоси]and they expressed surprise. Someone told me that even though he’s 82, he acts like he’s 28. The fact that he flew in really encouraged people. I don’t think they are afraid of the exercises and their possible consequences. China regularly conducts exercises with our people, so everyone is used to it,” said Gao.
Well-known Taiwanese journalist Huang Guangqin, who took part in the programme, described the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as “troublemaker” due to the start of active military exercises near Taiwan.
“Many people call Pelosi a troublemaker, but the CCP is exactly that. The US tells them there is no cause for concern; Tsai Ing-wen (President of Taiwan. – socialbites.ca) tells them: They don’t have to worry. However, Beijing still began the exercises. And now they actually have only two scenarios: to attack Taiwan or not to hit,” Huang said.