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US anti-propaganda law ‘may set stage for war of ideas with China’

Washington’s new anti-propaganda legislation could be aimed at China in Trump era, analysts say

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US president-elect Donald Trump’s hostile views towards Beijing could make China America’s biggest enemy, an analyst says. Photo: AP

China and the United States could head down the slippery slope ­towards ideological confrontation after US President Barack ­Obama quietly signed an “anti-propaganda bill” into law, mainland observers said.

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China is mentioned just once in the 1,623-word Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act, but observers said it could become a tool to counter Beijing.

The legislation was signed as part of the National Defence ­Authorisation Act of 2017 shortly before Christmas.

The anti-propaganda act is backed by an annual budget of US$800 million to, among other things, establish a fund to train journalists, and to give contracts and grants to non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations, think tanks and private firms specialising in deciphering trends in disinformation campaigns by other countries.

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In a panel discussion hosted by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank, in mid-March, one of the legislation’s ­architects, Republican Senator Rob Portman, said the act was not meant to target a specific country but the propaganda itself.

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