CGTN America is a channel of
China Global Television Network
China Global Television Network (CGTN) is the international division of state media outlet China Central Television (CCTV), headquartered in Beijing, China. CGTN broadcasts six news and general interest channels in five languages. CGTN is reg ...
(CGTN), the international division of the
state-owned media organization China Central Television
China Central Television (CCTV) is a Chinese state- and political party-owned broadcaster controlled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Its 50 different channels broadcast a variety of programing to more than one billion viewers in six lan ...
(CCTV), the headquarters of which is in
Beijing
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Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. It is one of six international language news channels run by CGTN, under the control of the
Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party
The Publicity Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, also known as the Propaganda Department or Central Propaganda Department, is an internal division of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in charge of spreading C ...
. CGTN America is headquartered at 1099
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
Avenue NW, Suite 200 in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
and manages bureaus in New York City, Washington, D.C., as well as spanning coverage in
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
. CGTN America began broadcasting in the United States on 6 February 2012,
replacing the former English language
CCTV-9
CCTV-9 is a television channel operated by Chinese state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV), broadcasting documentaries in Mandarin Chinese. It shared the name with CCTV's English language
English is a West Germanic language of ...
in the region.
CGTN America employs American, Chinese, and other international journalists and produces U.S.-based programs with a focus on Asia for CGTN.
It maintains a separate schedule of programs each day from noon to 7 p.m.
MST
The Master of Studies or Master in Studies (M.St. or MSt; ) is a postgraduate degree at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of St Andrews, the Australian National University, University of Dublin and the University of Ne ...
(7 p.m. to 2 a.m.
GMT
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...
), and like its
African counterpart, it simulcasts CGTN International at all other times. CGTN America’s director general is Ma Jing, with veteran Asia journalist
Jim Laurie James Andrew Laurie is an American writer, journalist, and broadcaster who is known principally for his work in Asia.
Education
Laurie graduated from the American University in Washington D.C. in 1973 with a degree in History and a certificate ...
as executive consultant.
Observers have noted that the "aim
f CGTN
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
His ...
is to influence public opinion overseas in order to nudge foreign governments into making policies favourable towards China's Communist party" through subtle means.
Researchers Thomas Fearon and Usha M. Rodrigues argued that CGTN has a "dichotomous role as a credible media competing for audience attention on the world stage, and a vital government propaganda organ domestically." According to James Palmer at ''
Foreign Policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
'', the contrasting aims of
RT (formerly Russia Today) and CGTN, "mirrors wider strategies: Moscow wants chaos it can exploit, while Beijing wants a stable world order—on its terms".
In 2018, the
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...
directed CGTN America and
Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: )J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English, or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. Xinhua ...
to register as
foreign agent
A foreign agent is any person or entity actively carrying out the interests of a foreign country while located in another host country, generally outside the protections offered to those working in their official capacity for a diplomatic missio ...
s under the
Foreign Agents Registration Act
The Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)2 U.S.C. § 611 ''et seq.'' is a United States law that imposes public disclosure obligations on persons representing foreign interests. (FARA),
which CGTN America did on 1 February 2019
while Xinhua did not register.
In 2020, the
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
designated CGTN and its parent company, CCTV, as well as Xinhua, as
foreign mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
s, requiring them to submit lists of all employees and to seek approval to buy any property.
[
]
Production team
Anchoring team
* DC: Mike Walter, Anand Naidoo
Anand Naidoo is a South African anchor and correspondent for CGTN America based in Washington, DC.
He currently hosts CGTN America's daily political talk show, The Heat.
He joined CGTN America in October 2012 after six years as an anchor for ...
, Asieh Namdar
Asieh Namdar (born 1967) is an Iranian American journalist and television presenter. She is currently an anchor for CGTN America in Washington, D.C.
Early and personal life
Namdar was born to parents of Iranian origin in Karachi in 1967, and gr ...
, Elaine Reyes, Rachelle Akuffo, Susan E. Roberts, , Phillip TK Yin
Phillip TK Yin is a Journalist and a communications and corporate partnerships advisor. He is currently an advisor and partner with the American Chamber of Commerce and speaks on U.S. networks including Fox Business on current events. He was prev ...
(former anchor),
North America correspondents
US
* DC: Wang Guan, Jim Spellman
Jim Spellman (born 1968) is an American journalist and musician. Formerly with CNN, Spellman joined CGTN America in 2013. Before that, he also played guitar in the High Back Chairs and Julie Ocean and drums in Velocity Girl
Velocity Girl ...
, Sean Callebs.
Foreign state agent registration
CGTN America initially claimed that it had "editorial independence from any state direction or control". This claim was debunked by ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reporter Paul Mozur in interviews with "current and former CGTN employees hosay CCTV editors in Beijing often dictated plans for covering China. American employees sometimes pushed back, they said, and Ms. Ma allowed some flexibility when Beijing’s orders didn’t specifically forbid or dictate content. But three people interviewed said they had little choice but to air propaganda clips when Beijing said so". CGTN employees were disciplined when a news report mentioned Falun Gong
Falun Gong (, ) or Falun Dafa (; literally, "Dharma Wheel Practice" or "Law Wheel Practice") is a new religious movement.Junker, Andrew. 2019. ''Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora'', pp. 23–24, 33, 119 ...
, the religious group labeled as a cult and banned by the PRC. The Flag of the Republic of China
A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design employ ...
, which the PRC does not recognize, is banned from broadcasts. In November 2018, amid growing international criticism of China's imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs
The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...
in internment camps
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without Criminal charge, charges or Indictment, intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects ...
, CGTN America aired a pro-Beijing documentary portraying the camps as successful vocational training and anti-terrorism centers and Uyghurs as grateful. In addition, CGTN America has broadcast "exclusive" coerced confessions of people accused of a wide variety of crimes in China, most notably the example of a Briton, Peter Humphrey. In addition, some CGTN journalists "recall being asked to cross a sometimes blurred line between news reporting and intelligence gathering as they were asked to report on high-level government meetings".
The United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
characterized "CGTN America’s relationship with a foreign government and a foreign political party as one of interest to Washington". The United States Department of Justice was concerned about an "expanding influence campaign being waged by Beijing through the global arms of state media outlets" like CGTN and Xinhua News Agency. In putting pressure upon Xinhua and CGTN, a senior US official noted that US grievances towards the lack of reciprocity from Beijing on trade and media access as many American and international news outlets are blocked in China.
The Justice Department directed CGTN America and Xinhua News Agency to register as foreign agents under the Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA). CGTN America registered under FARA on 1 February 2019, but said that it disagreed with the Justice Department's decision, but nevertheless registered as a foreign agent. While this permits CGTN America to continue operating in the United States, it is required to disclose information about its annual budget and ownership structure, and also to include disclaimers on broadcasts, published materials and social media identifying itself as a registered foreign agent.
On 8 March 2019, after CGTN America registered under FARA, its director general Ma Jing and a dozen other staffers were recalled to Beijing. In the FARA filing Ma had said that CGTN America enjoyed editorial independence from any state control and that it operated like other news media organizations. It has been speculated that the recall is a result of her claim of editorial independence, which deviates from the Chinese Communist Party
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...
's position.
In 2020, the United States Department of State designated CGTN and its parent company, CCTV, as well as Xinhua News Agency, China Radio International
China Radio International (CRI) is the state-owned international radio broadcaster of China. It is currently headquartered in the Babaoshan area of Beijing's Shijingshan District. It was founded on December 3, 1941, as Radio Peking. It late ...
, the distributors of the official ''People’s Daily
The ''People's Daily'' () is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP. In addition to its main Chinese-language e ...
'' and English-language ''China Daily
''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party.
Overview
''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'', as foreign mission
A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually deno ...
s, requiring them to submit lists of all employees and to seek approval to buy any property.[
]
Airing of forced confessions
In November 2018, amid growing international criticism of China's imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of Uyghurs in internment camps, CGTN America aired a piece portraying the camps as successful vocational training and antiterrorism centers and Uyghurs as grateful. In addition, CGTN America has broadcast "exclusive" forced confession
A forced confession is a confession obtained from a suspect or a prisoner by means of torture (including enhanced interrogation techniques) or other forms of duress. Depending on the level of coercion used, a forced confession is not valid in re ...
s of people accused of a wide variety of crimes in China, most notably the example of a Briton, Peter Humphrey.
References
External links
*
{{Television news in the United States
China Global Television Network channels
English-language television stations in the United States
24-hour television news channels in the United States
Television channels and stations established in 2012
2012 establishments in China
Disinformation operations
Organizations listed by the United States as foreign agents