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Journalists in Chinese state media to be tested on loyalty to President Xi Jinping
- About 10,000 reporters and editors in Beijing are expected to take ‘pilot tests’ next month using Xuexi Qiangguo mobile app
- Nationwide exams – with sections on Xi’s political thinking and Marxism – will be held later and press cards will only be issued to those who pass
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Thousands of reporters and editors working in Chinese state media will have to sit a nationwide exam to test their loyalty to President Xi Jinping.
Some will be asked to take part in “pilot tests” in early October, before the exams are held nationwide, according to a notice late last month from the media oversight office of the Communist Party’s propaganda department. It did not say when the nationwide exams would be held.
About 10,000 reporters and editors from 14 state-run online media outlets in Beijing are expected to sit the “pilot tests” using the Xuexi Qiangguo mobile app, a media source who requested anonymity said on Wednesday.
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Often compared to the Quotations of Chairman Mao – or the “little red book” as it was known in the West – Xuexi Qiangguo is essentially a news aggregation platform for articles, video clips and documentaries about the president’s political philosophy. Launched in January by the propaganda department, it is an example of the party using tech to strengthen its ideological control in China. The name translates as “study to strengthen the nation”, but also plays on the character “Xi” to suggest it is a way for people to learn about their head of state.
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The media oversight office made clear that updated press cards, which are essential for those working in the industry, would only be issued to journalists who had passed the exam. Those who fail will have one chance to take the test again, according to the notice.
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