An independent French journalist who had contributed to the Chinese Communist Party’s official media in support of Xinjiang has been questioned about his non-existence, and Figaro newspaper yesterday found the author of the article himself, a former anchor of CCTV’s French-language station. The newspaper analyzed the article as a new propaganda technique of the Chinese Communist Party, citing personal insights of Westerners.
On March 31, Le Monde revealed that Laurène Beaumond, the independent journalist who published the article “My Xinjiang: Stop the Fake News Tyranny” on the website of China’s official media China Global Television Network (CGTN), does not exist, causing an uproar.
Laurène Beaumond, the independent journalist who published the article “My Xinjiang: Stop the Fake News Tyranny” on the website of the Chinese Communist Party’s official media, China Global Television Network (CGTN), does not exist, sparking an uproar. (From the CGTN website)
A Le Figaro reporter followed up on the story yesterday, saying that the journalist did exist and that he had an exclusive interview with the “journalist”.
In the report, Le Figaro said that the journalist, who was once questioned as a robot, does exist and is a French woman in her early 40s living in the Sarthe department in western France.
I wrote that article from start to finish and then pitched it to CGTN,” said the contributor, who declined to reveal her real identity. I was worried about my safety and was shocked by the head-on attacks on my insights and the comments saying I didn’t exist.”
She confessed to Figaro newspaper that she was a former anchor for the French-language station of the Communist Party’s China Central Television (CCTV) and lived in Beijing from 2011 to 2017. She said she used a pseudonym to protect her identity because “I have several jobs in France and my work with CGTN is not my main source of income.”
Her article demonstrates the Communist regime’s new strategy of influence in its global campaign to promote propaganda through these self-proclaimed ‘professional journalists’ or ‘senior researchers’ in the West,” wrote the Figaro newspaper. ‘testimonies’ in an attempt to resist international accusations of the Xinjiang indoctrination policy, which the U.S. State Department has condemned as ‘genocide’ and which has led to the imprisonment of millions of Muslims.”
In an exclusive telephone interview, “Pomang” accused Le Monde of doubting the veracity of her existence and implied that CGTN had “fabricated” the journalist to spread the Beijing narrative.
Le Monde checked with the database of the French Professional Press Council, which issues press cards, and found no data on journalists who “have worked for several newspapers in Paris.
In response, the former CCTV anchor stressed that she had indeed studied art history and journalism at the Big Four in Paris, as CGTN had written, and had “done internships” at a number of newspapers, but she would not name the media outlets.
The author said she wrote the controversial article on her own initiative and submitted it on March 24, before it was published on March 29. “Coincidentally, it happened to be the day that several Western countries, including the European Union and the United States, imposed sanctions on Chinese officials involved in the Xinjiang crackdown,” the Figaro newspaper wrote.
Faced with the historic sanctions, the Chinese official media began a massive propaganda campaign to counter the “fake news” of the Western media through the “testimony” of a surge of Western supporters for China.
“While not denying the article, “Bo Meng” admits that he regrets the headline “My Xinjiang: Stop the Fake News Tyranny. In a lengthy personal testimony, Pomang described “complete harmony” between Han, Uighur and Kazakh ethnic groups.
The newspaper noted that the woman’s husband was from Urumqi at the time. She admitted that she did not conduct journalistic research, but only described what she “saw and heard,” which was then used by CGTN as a response to Western allegations.
Moreover, “Bo Meng’s” several “sightseeing trips” between 2011 and 2016 came after Xi Jinping’s 2017 trip in the name of fighting “Islamic terrorism” and “separatism. The “tour” was made before Xi Jinping ordered a policy of concentration camps in 2017 in the name of fighting “Islamic terrorism” and “separatism.
Beijing has engaged in a global discursive battle to stop international criticism of its human rights, using the “testimonies” of anonymous Western sources as a reference point.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, for example, cited the book “Uyghur: To End Fake News” by “renowned French author” Maxime Vivas at a press conference as evidence of Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability. In fact, Vivas, a retired engineer, has said that he is “not an expert on China.
CGTN contributor “Bo Meng”, now caught in a media storm, confessed to the Figaro newspaper that “her position is untenable” and asked to remain anonymous for fear of being seen as a “poor girl paid by China. “.
Fearing for the safety of her family, “Bo Meng” stated that she would no longer publish articles under this pseudonym, but did not say she would discontinue her relationship with Chinese official media.
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