Decode China: US backs Chinese-language news site in Australia as battle of the narratives heats up
- Decode China will operate under an arrangement with the US Department of State and the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting
- The venture has been linked to critics of Beijing and comes amid tensions over Hong Kong, trade and claims of spying
Decode China will operate a Chinese-language website under an arrangement with the US Department of State and the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), according to disclosures on the Australian government’s public register of foreign influence.
The new media outlet was chosen as a “sub-awardee” of IWPR, a non-profit organisation that “works with the US Department of State to disseminate and manage grants around the world”, according to the disclosures.
The London-based charity describes its mission as to help journalists and civil society “speak out” through training, mentoring and other support programmes in “countries in conflict, crisis and transition around the world”.
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While Decode China’s mission, coverage focus and details such as launch date remain under wraps, prominent Chinese-Australians known for their criticism of Beijing have been linked to the project.
Corporate records identify Feng Chongyi, an associate professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, and Wai Ling Yeung, former head of Chinese Studies at Curtin University, as directors of Sydney-based Decode China Pty Ltd.
In 2017, he was interrogated and prevented from leaving China for days while on a visit to the country. Yeung has sounded the alarm about Beijing “dominating the Chinese-language media”, and researched the activities of the United Front Work Department, which manages outreach to Chinese communities abroad, for the Jamestown Foundation, a Washington-based think tank.
Feng said he did not know when Decode China would launch or what his eventual involvement would be, as the project was in the planning stages. He declined to comment on the outlet’s goals or backers, citing a need to wait for official announcements.
Yeung, Ma and the IWPR did not respond to requests for comment.
The venture appears set to shake up a Chinese-language market seen by critics as too dominated by voices friendly towards Beijing.
Many of the biggest media groups – including Sydney-based Chinese Newspaper Group and Melbourne-headquartered Global CAMG Media Group – behind the dozens of websites, newspapers and broadcasters that cater to Australia’s estimated 600,000 Mandarin speakers are part-owned by Chinese state-owned media such as China Radio International.
“As most of them are commercial organisations, they respond to commercial pressures,” said Yun Jiang, a former Australian public servant who now serves as director of the China Policy Centre.
“So they have to consider how their viewers and advertisers would respond to their content. It is possible for the Chinese government to put pressure on advertisers in order to pressure the media companies.
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“However, it is also possible that its attitude to the Chinese government reflects the audience of the readers, as the more recent migrants may have a more favourable view of Beijing than the earlier waves of migrants.”
Vicky Xu, an analyst with Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said the site could fill an “urgent demand for Chinese-language news outlets here that are capable of taking a critical position”.
“The site’s popularity will be dependent on how it’s run and which stories it chooses to cover,” said Xu, whose institute is part-funded by Australia’s Department of Defence, the US State Department and Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
“But no doubt by the sound of it the outlet has much potential.”
Xu acknowledged the site would likely face questions about bias towards Washington, but drew a distinction between funding from US sources and money from Beijing, which she accused of not respecting “separation of power and the notion of checks and balances”.
“Chinese readers in Australia can and should consult a number of different sources and then make up their own minds what they think about what is going on in China and Australia,” von Kowallis said.
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The site seeks reader subscriptions and says on its website it rejects all government advertising. It also describes itself as a “strong advocate for a vitally important economic relationship and for 1.2 million people of Chinese heritage who’ve made Australia their home”.
The site, which publishes in English and Chinese, was positively cited last week by state-run China Daily during a Chinese Foreign Ministry media briefing after it published an article detailing ASPI’s funding sources.
During the briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said ASPI, which regularly produces research critical of Beijing, had been “criticised by many, including those with vision in Australia, for what it has done”.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Reubenstein was the founder of consultancy Red Door Asia from November 2014 to September 2019. The company promoted tourism, trade and cultural events in Australia and New Zealand and helped “Chinese organisations gain the maximum media and marketing exposure” in those markets.
His articles about Australia-China economic ties have been republished by China’s state media, and he has made several appearances on state-run China Global Television Network.
In an interview with CGTN in February, Sydney-based Reubenstein criticised Western media for its “negative tone” about China.
“I think one of the challenges for China – and certainly I see it constantly in mainstream media reporting on China in Australia – [is] reporting can’t separate the Chinese government, the Chinese economy, the Chinese trade situation, from the Chinese people. It’s regarded as this homogenous state,” he said.
Reubenstein declined to comment to This Week in Asia . ■