Nikkei Asia: Beating The Competition In Anti-China Reporting – OpEd

Fri, 12 Jul 2024 16:44:00 +0000
World

Among international media engaged in China news reporting, CNN and BBC stand out as the most prominent in their production of anti-China stories and analysis. Of late, Nikkei Asia which is a part of Japan’s Nikkei Inc. media empire appears bent on giving these two organisations a run for their money in which outfit can produce the most mischievous and twisted interpretation and commentary to accompany any China news they carry.

In its China closeup column, Nikkei Asia most recently published a lurid account of a knife attack incident near Shanghai. Written by its Tokyo based senior staff and editorial writer, the article led with the title, *Tragedy shows China's anti-Japan social media fire burns out of control: Other stabbings reflect a society that cannot vent its social and economic frustrations*. In its inflammatory effort to generate propaganda and hate material against China and the Chinese population, the article linked what is a tragic and isolated incident to the “anti-Japan and anti-U.S. trend … seen as an outgrowth of China's "wolf warrior" diplomacy toward Japan, the U.S. and Europe”. See https://asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Picks/China-up-close/Analysis-Tragedy-shows-China-s-anti-Japan-social-media-fire-burns-out-of-control

In the attempt to further increase the volume of anti-China distorted news generally supported by manufactured ‘alternative’ facts and views by often anonymous ‘experts’, Nikkei Asia’s sister news organisation - the Financial Times (FT) previously a British publication headquartered in London with editorial offices in Britain, the US and Europe and now owned by Nikkei - came out with a similar story three days later with the title, *China stabbing attacks raise concerns of growing social tensions. Economic doldrums, unemployment and isolation could be playing into crime wave, analysts say. *

Despite its claim to be an ‘independent provider of quality journalism’, the Nikkei news empire is seen as far from being independent. Its political alignment has been variously described as Center-right, Conservative Liberalism and Conservative. What it stands for is to wave the Japanese flag of nationalism and militarism in support of the Liberal Democratic party which has led the government since 1955 in what is virtually a de facto one party state that few among its western supporters will admit to. It also has a long standing institutionalised relationship with the national government to benefit itself and Japan’s big business. According to reporter Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times in 2022, the Nikkei's purchase of the FT was "worrying" as "[the] Nikkei is basically a PR machine for Japanese biz; it initially ignored the 2011 Olympus accounting scandal (which FT broke). Nikkei has also hardly covered the Takata airbag defect; almost no investigative work on that issue whatsoever. Nikkei is Japan Inc."

**Breaking the Anti China News**

Besides the absence of independence in reporting on domestic affairs and business developments in Japan, the paper is engaged in conditioning and framing the mindset of its readership and Japanese leadership against China and in support of the ruling party’s military alliance with the United States. An examination of the publication’s China close up articles during the last 9 years since the column first appeared reveals an unremitting and often unrestrained critique of China’s politics, economy and society with responsibility pinned on President X and the communist party leadership as the enemy of Japan, Asia and the world. In the Asian region, Nikkei Asia is possibly unrivalled in its consistently anti-China news coverage and analysis.

Contrasting with Nikkei Asia’s policy of not publishing comments by readers responding to its opinion page, the Financial Times permits readers’ comments to appear alongside the news story. It is notable that the article on the knife incident has been flooded with feedback from readers. Although some are approving of the article - an equal number have provided discerning feedback in relation to what many see as disinformation on China churned out for daily consumption by the publication.

A sample of these views:

This is actually hilarious. China (population: 1.4 billion) had two stabbings attacks recently - two - and the FT is doing a whole piece on the "crime wave" that's overtaking the country, how that reveals deep issues in China, blah blah blah. Meanwhile in London alone last year there were 12,786 stabbings. A subject, I checked, that the FT and its lavishly-paid "remainer" pundits hasn't written a single article about in 6 years (even though it's their own, always "decent" and always "principled" and "values-based" country). In the meantime, in one single festive day in one single city in the glorious and progressive USA : "Chicago shootings: At least 109 shot, 19 fatally, in citywide 4th of July holiday weekend gun violence, CPD says."

A few months back I was in China and just switching channels in the hotel. Concurrently CNN and a local news (can't remember which one, but it's not state but provincial one) reporting on the same news concurrently. If i recall it was about hacking. The CNN one just reports china hacking, China is bad, China's a threat. Can't really figure out what else they are trying to report. The Chinese media was reporting the alleged hacking, analyzing how generally the hacking could take place, how everyone could potentially be hacked, including China, with the final conclusion that such hacking activities, regardless of who did to who, are not constructive. It seems that news reporting in the US is to drive certain message of the day (now being sinophobia) rather than to report....news.

One pipe explodes in Shanghai.

The FT: is it the beginning of the end for the Communist regime?

The usual crude propaganda. China is a country of 1.4bn people, i.e more than twice the entire EU. On even a good weekend in Paris alone, your have more violent assault than in a year in China

I’ve lived in China for well over a decade and have found it an extremely safe and welcoming place. This so-called crime wave in a country of 1.4 billion people is likely less violence or inter-cultural animus than you see in a major US city in a single afternoon. Indeed I feel much less secure when back visiting the US. I’ve generally found the FT’s coverage and analysis to be a bit more sensible and balanced but this piece is rather disappointing.

It's ironic that you can swap out China for virtually any country in the world, and the exact same article can be written, making this nothing but a propaganda hit piece made possible after FT found a few Western "experts" who would make the profound observation that economic distress has social repercussions. Truly enlightening. Purely one-sided reporting; I have yet to see a single article on this site about the crime and violence in the stab capital of the world U.K. or the homicide capital U.S. where they've literally had to bolt up shelves in supermarkets to prevent theft. There was a par for the course shooting in the U.S. on the 4th; any illuminating articles on social and economic stress forthcoming FT? A lot of talk of under-reporting in China, how about some talk of under-prosecuting in the States where prosecutors literally refuse to go after criminals engaged in assault, ransacking businesses and general pilferage?

**How Trustworthy is Western Media**

It is not surprising to find this feedback given the current disenchantment with news revealed by the most recent global study of the media by Reuters Institute. According to the study conducted in 48 countries in January, more people are turning away from news, describing it as “depressing, relentless and boring”.

Almost four in 10 (39%) people worldwide said they sometimes or often actively avoid the news, compared with 29% in 2017, according to the report by Oxford University's Reuters Institute. See https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj7799jv74vo

This year's report did not identify the key subject of whether or not readers trust the media. If it had done so, it would almost certainly reveal the low level of trust especially of the established media.

An earlier study explored the underlying reasons for low trust in the news media across the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Australia, France, and Greece. The study was based on analysing thousands of open-ended responses from the 2017 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, where respondents gave their reasons for low trust in their own words, using open-ended text fields.

The finding that Nikkei Asia, CNN, the BBC and other established western media need to be reminded of from this study is that among those who do not trust the news media, the main reasons (67%) relate to bias, spin, and agendas.

A significant proportion of the public feel that powerful people are using the media to push their own political or economic interests, rather than represent ordinary readers or viewers. These feelings are most strongly held by those who are young. In many countries, particularly the US and UK, some media outlets are seen as taking sides and encouraging an increasingly polarised set of opinions. Others are criticised for not calling out lies, keeping information back, or creating a false equivalence of partisan opinions that are obscuring facts and understanding.

**Today’s Journalism and China and World News**

The reality is that Western media giants no longer have a monopoly on news reporting on China - or on any other country of the world. Travellers from around the world today are covering every part and aspect of China and posting over YouTube, Tik Tok and other social media what they see and experience which is strikingly different from the news and stories provided by sedentary highly paid journalists ensconced and writing from five-star hotels and plush offices.

It is not simply China’s wolf warriors or critical readers writing in to refute the many lies and prejudiced China narratives that Nikkei Asia and other similar media have to contend with. It is also the thousands of ordinary visitors now pouring into China as the country opens up after the Covid shutdown. Unlike their professional counterparts who have to concoct anti-China angles and stories to justify their job and career advancement, the bloggers and vloggers - mostly budget tourists - have no hidden or paid agenda.

There is no China mission to justify. No editorial panel to oversee their work. No concern that they may be at risk for writing a story or reporting news construed as favourable to China. No claim that they are living up to self proclaimed journalistic values of integrity, honesty, fairness, balance, independence and credibility. No need to give priority to any political or commercial interest, except their own.

What we are seeing in this new era of international reporting on China is the Davids of ordinary travellers taking on the Goliaths of Japanese and Western media with their enormous financial resources and barely concealed roles as the front line troopers to demonise and undermine China. Reporters from Nikkei Asia, CNN, BBC and associated media would do well to read the article titled, *Bias, Bullshit and Lies: Audience Perspectives on Low Trust in the Media*.