Media complain about the lack of awareness of the Chinese threat among local people in the streets of Tallinn, the Estonian capital. (File photo)
The Chinese Communist Party uses money and other means to promote propaganda in the Baltic region, but the campaigns have drawn backlash from the local community and have been unable to win everywhere. After Estonia’s largest newspaper published a propaganda article from Beijing on Xinjiang, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief immediately apologized and admitted that he had made a mistake in publishing the CCP propaganda article. Estonia has also become more concerned about the Chinese Communist threat at a time when the Communist Party and Russia are strengthening their ties.
Publication of Chinese Communist propaganda article on Xinjiang goes against newspaper values
Last Thursday (April 15), Estonia’s largest newspaper, Evening News, devoted a full-page ad section to a Beijing propaganda article on the subject of Xinjiang. Immediately after its publication, the article sparked concern in Estonian society. The editor-in-chief of the Evening News, Shmutov, apologized to the public on behalf of the newspaper for the publication of the CCP propaganda article.
Shmutov told the Estonian public broadcaster that the newspaper published the advertisement in accordance with the relevant law. However, the newspaper did its best to make the advertisement consistent with the newspaper’s values. In the case of the Beijing Xinjiang propaganda article, the newspaper made a mistake because it went against the newspaper’s values. Shmutov said that the newspaper will improve its organization and avoid repeating mistakes in the future.
The propaganda article in the advertising section of the Evening News was written by Li Chao, the Communist Party’s ambassador to Estonia. The article criticizes the claims of concentration camps, genocide and forced labor as lies and disinformation that do not correspond to the actual situation in Xinjiang.
Evening News editor-in-chief Shmutov and the newspaper’s advertising staff refused to disclose how much monetary income they received from the Chinese diplomatic service there. However, local media, after reviewing the Evening Standard’s advertising price list, believe that a full-page ad in the paper would cost about 3,300 to 4,200 euros.
Another major newspaper, the Estonian Daily, also published another propaganda article on Xinjiang issues by Communist Ambassador Li Chao in February by way of an advertisement. The head of the newspaper’s advertising department also later admitted that publishing a similar article did not meet the newspaper’s advertising and marketing standards, and that the newspaper had made a chagrin-inducing mistake.
Chinese Communist Party Money Pushes Propaganda to Older Major Newspapers Without Temptation
In the Baltics, Central Asia, Russia, and other former Soviet regions, it has become increasingly common to see media there publish various propaganda articles by Chinese Communist ambassadors and diplomatic agencies there. For many newspapers, this is an opportunity to generate good advertising revenue.
But Beijing’s campaign of spreading money to promote propaganda does not always work, and not all media outlets bow to Beijing easily for monetary gain and against their values. Another very influential Estonian newspaper, The Post and Courier, has refused to run propaganda articles for Beijing.
Ledeser, editor-in-chief of the 150-year-old newspaper, said that Post is very passionate about Chinese culture, but that his paper would never publish propaganda material if it involved justifying repression and persecution. Ledeser told Estonian public broadcaster that the Chinese Communist diplomatic agency approached the Post last year to run a propaganda article, and only after it was refused did that propaganda article appear in the Estonian daily in February.
Understanding communist culture resents red propaganda
In response to the Chinese propaganda article that appeared in the Evening Standard last Thursday, Leducer said they did not receive a request from the Chinese. Even if the Chinese Communist Party wanted to publish a propaganda article, the Post-Dispatch would have refused. Because Estonia has its own national values, a similar Communist propaganda article would never be published in The Post.
Many of Estonia’s major newspapers have a long history. After the Soviet occupation of Estonia, these newspapers turned into local propaganda mouthpieces for the Soviet Communist Party. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and Estonia’s re-independence, these newspapers were privatized and returned to their century-old media business.
Russian-Chinese media propaganda cooperation raises concerns
Some current affairs analysts say that similar historical experiences have made the Estonian media and public opinion both aware of and averse to Red propaganda. On the other hand, the effectiveness of Russia’s Putin regime today is seen as far more effective than it was during the Soviet era, which has led to widespread concern in the Baltic region about the Russian propaganda threat, and the close cooperation between the Communist Party of China (CPC) and Russia in the propaganda and media fields has undoubtedly made Baltic countries like Estonia more wary of Russian and CPC propaganda activities there.
Former Russian media personality Panfilov said that the various interactions and cooperation between the two countries in the field of propaganda are now of particular concern when discussing Russia-China relations.
ACT-1, Panfilov: “The Chinese Communist Party is a communist regime and Russia under Putin is an authoritarian dictatorship, and when you think about these two regimes working together, especially in areas such as media and education of media professionals, these moves are undoubtedly aimed at further promoting propaganda.”
The new prime minister has been a fierce critic of the Chinese Communist Party
Estonia has been concerned about the Chinese Communist Party in areas such as Xinjiang, Tibet and human rights. Current Estonian Prime Minister Kallas, who took office in January, was a fierce critic of the CCP on the Xinjiang issue last July. Kalas, who at the time was the leader of the opposition Reform Party, described the CCP’s targeting of Uighurs in Xinjiang as the same as the Nazi treatment of Jews in Germany.
Callas called on Estonia to take a tougher stance against the Chinese Communist Party. She also criticized the European Union for failing to take a common and consistent stance against the Chinese Communist Party because of its desire to gain Chinese investment. Kalas said that Estonian diplomacy should be consistent and that if Estonia criticizes Russia in areas such as human rights, it should do the same for the Chinese Communist Party. She also criticized the then Estonian government for not formally and officially thanking Taiwan after receiving anti-epidemic medical supplies from Taiwan because of fear of the CCP.
Considering the CCP as a security threat and the two countries have cold relations
Annual reports published by Estonian security services in recent years have ranked the Chinese Communist Party alongside Russia as a national security threat.
Estonian media reported that Estonia expelled a Chinese Communist Party diplomat late last summer. The Chinese Communist Party then retaliated by expelling an Estonian diplomat as well. But officials in both countries have kept a low profile on the diplomatic incident, with neither country willing to report or comment publicly.
An Estonian academic serving in the defense field was recently sentenced by an Estonian court to three years in prison for allegedly providing information to the CCP. Estonian media said that the Chinese Communist Party’s military intelligence agency used the Center for Academic Analysis as a cover to establish contact with the scholar and paid for his travel to Asia and his stay in a high-end luxury hotel.
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