Propaganda in the Republic of China refers to
propaganda used by the
Republic of China government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
and has been an important tool since its
inception
''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infi ...
in 1912. The term ''
xuanchuan'' ( "propaganda; publicity") can have either a neutral connotation in official government
contexts or a pejorative connotation in informal contexts. Some ''xuanchuan''
collocations usually refer to "propaganda" (e.g., ''xuānchuánzhàn'' 宣傳戰 "propaganda war"), others to "publicity" (''xuānchuán méijiè'' 宣傳媒介 "mass media; means of publicity"), and still others are ambiguous (''xuānchuányuán'' 宣傳員 "propagandist; publicist"). It also was an important tool in legitimizing the
Kuomintang controlled Republic of China government that retreated from
Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
to
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
in 1949.
Themes
Patriotism
![Chinese republic forever](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Chinese_republic_forever.jpg)
Because the
national government of
this time was weak, it was difficult for any censorship or propagandistic measures to be carried out effectively. However, a bureau was set up to control the production and release of film in China. Also, newspapers unfavourable to the central government could be harassed at will. Following the
Northern Expedition
The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...
, the power of the central government increased significantly and propaganda campaigns became more effective. Propaganda was produced with different patriotic themes, such as
nationalism
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
.
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Republic of China produced propaganda against
Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, to booster morale and bolden resistance to the invasion., during the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
and
Second Sino-Japanese War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...
respectively.
File:Eight Route Army in Shanxi.jpg, Eighth Route Army in Shanxi.
File:Kwang-jeou Hu-man courageous battle poster.jpg, Kwang-jeou Hu-man courageous battle poster.
File:Navy Army Air Force fight the enemy poster.jpg, Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
fight the enemy
An enemy or a foe is an individual or a group that is considered as forcefully adverse or threatening. The concept of an enemy has been observed to be "basic for both individuals and communities". The term "enemy" serves the social function of d ...
poster
File:Hanjian poster in Nanking.jpg, Propaganda poster in Nanking
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
depicting the fate of traitors
File:Chinese anti-Japanese poster published after the revenge by Koreans.jpg, Anti-Japanese propaganda poster published after revenge by Koreans in the Wanpaoshan Incident
Anti-communism
In Mainland China
![Sino-german cooperation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Sino-german_cooperation.png)
During the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
, usage of propaganda against the
Communist Party of China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
was extensively used.
Chiang Kai-shek attacked the CPC in 1943 with the propaganda piece ''China's Destiny'', which questioned the CPC's power after the war, while the CPC strongly opposed Chiang's leadership and referred to his regime as fascist in an attempt to generate a negative public image.
[Chen, Jian. ]001 001, O01, or OO1 may refer to:
*1 (number), a number, a numeral
*001, fictional British agent, see 00 Agent
*001, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian fire brigade (until 1986)
*AM-RB 001, the code-name for the Aston Martin Valkyrie ...
(2001). Mao's China and the Cold War. The University of North Carolina Press. .
In Taiwan
One of the main tools for disseminating propaganda in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
has been the
Government Information Office
The Government Information Office, Executive Yuan (GIO; ) was a cabinet-level agency of the Executive Yuan of Taiwan (the Republic of China) in charge of promoting government policies and regulating domestic media.
History
In April 1947, the ...
and the various media properties controlled by the
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...
and the government. Besides controlling
commercial TV and
radio stations
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...
, there also exists a police radio station that often broadcast "educational" plays with propagandistic value and a film bureau. After the Kuomintang fled to Taiwan, propaganda through public education in Taiwan was an important tool in creating a Chinese national identity among Taiwanese, and preparing the people for "a counter-offensive" against the PRC. Although the government is now democratic, the legacy of authoritarian rule has created a confusion of identity in Taiwan, with many adults having grown up thinking that the ROC was going to launch a "counter-offensive" against the PRC and with Mandarin becoming the most common language. Previously, the people were educated in the evils of the Communists, and the good of the Nationalists, with many Taiwanese remembering lore taught in elementary school on the wisdom of
Chiang Kai-shek.
The Kuomintang also published numerous publications following their retreat to Taiwan, including the ''
Free China Journal
''Free China Journal'' () was a periodical sponsored by the Kuomintang that was published in Taiwan after the Kuomintang retreat following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War.
The first issue appeared on 20 December 1949. The publisher was H ...
''. Its popularity soared as the editors and writers analyzed political situations at the time, sometimes even advising or criticizing the government in earnest.
Occasionally, the ROC has attempted to
spread propaganda in PRC-controlled areas, usually in the form of leaflet drops over coastal provinces, calling for the locals to rebel against CPC rule, accompanied by promise that the ROC will one day liberate the mainland. This proved to be ineffective and after several years was largely discontinued.
The Government Information Office have been replaced after democratization and with
National Communications Commission
The National Communications Commission (NCC; ) is an independent statutory agency of Executive Yuan of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for regulating the development of the telecommunication and broadcasting industries, promoting compe ...
, an agency styled after the FCC in the United States. Most films in Taiwan today are Hollywood movies and theaters are all commercially run for-profit enterprises. Some activities of the Taiwanese government have been described as propaganda. Much of it has been directed against the mainland
People's Republic of 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 ...
.
Media
Films
![Sonsanddaughtersintimeofstormmovieposter](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/Sonsanddaughtersintimeofstormmovieposter.jpg)
In the Republic of China, movies were created even during wartime, such as ''
Mulan Joins the Army'' (1939)
with its story of a young Chinese peasant fighting against a foreign invasion, and ''
Children of Troubled Times'' (1935), a patriotic Chinese film about the Japanese invasion of China, and known for being the origin of the "
March of the Volunteers
The "March of the Volunteers" (), originally titled the "March of the Anti-Manchukuo Counter-Japan Volunteers", has been the official national anthem of the People's Republic of China since 1978. Unlike previous Chinese state anthems, it was ...
", now the
national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...
of the
People's Republic of 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 ...
.
Patriotic songs
There were several songs written in the Republic of China with patriotic messages. Some, such as
800 Heroes Song
The ''800 Heroes Song'', also known by the title "China Will Not Perish", is a Chinese patriotic song from the Second Sino-Japanese War. The song was written to commemorate the heroic efforts of the lone battalion of the National Revolutionary ...
,
Guerrillas' Song
The "Guerrillas' Song" () is a Chinese patriotic song from the Second Sino-Japanese War (called The War of Resistance Against Japan () both in ROC and PRC).
The song describes the guerrilla (i.e. the Chinese resistance) fighters in China dur ...
, and
The Sword March were written in the Second Sino-Japanese War, while others such as
Go and Reclaim the Mainland and
The Anti-Communist and Anti-Russian Aggression Song were written with
anti-communist messages.
See also
*
Cross-Strait war of propaganda
Cross-Strait propaganda () refers to campaigns made by the Republic of China on Taiwan and the People's Republic of China on the mainland. Many of these were aimed at turning military personnel against each other's regimes and encouraging them to ...
*
Cinema of China
*
Propaganda in the People's Republic of China
Propaganda in China refers to the use of propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or (historically) the Kuomintang (KMT) to sway domestic and international opinion in favor of its policies. Domestically, this includes censorship of pros ...
*
Voice of Free China
*
Radio Taiwan International
References
{{Authority control
Propaganda in China
Mass media in Taiwan
Kuomintang
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...