appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Wei Qi

Violet Law

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.
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.
Deputy director reshuffle at Hong Kong and Macau affairs office
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.
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.
“To be clear, our legislation is not designed to permanently single out any one nation or nations for special attention, [but aims to create] a more comprehensive, proactive approach to winning the war of ideas,” Portman said.
‘Cheating, rapacious, venal, disease incubator': here’s what Trump’s new trade tsar thinks of China
But Portman did spell out what he and co-drafter Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat, saw as threats from China.
“China spends billions annually on its foreign propaganda ­efforts,” Portman said. “China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea is a recent ­example of how effective disinformation operations can be used to seize initiative, and in this case catch the US and its allies off guard.”
Beijing Institute of Technology economics professor Hu Xingdou said tension between China and the US could escalate with the passage of the bill.
“We always have ideological differences but with Donald Trump being the next [US] president and his hostile views towards Beijing, he may actually make China America’s biggest enemy,” Hu said.
“China and the US are the world’s two biggest economies, and China’s military power is growing very fast. It’s not going to be good for anyone if China and the US can’t get along.”
Diplomacy or rivalry? Wise choices are needed if US-China ties are to pass the Trump test
Shi Yinhong, an expert on ­Sino-US relations at Renmin ­University, said it remained ­unclear what the Trump administration would do with the bill, but agreed that it could be used against China.
“The initial purpose of this bill was certainly against Russia. But with the close relationship enjoyed by president-elect Donald Trump and his business interests in Russia, it now seems this bill is totally against China,” Shi said.
Observers also said it might be difficult for the US to use the funding from the bill to support NGOs in China, especially with Beijing rolling out a new law tightening control of the organisations.
Three non-governmental organisations contacted by the South China Morning Post declined to say whether they would be open to tapping such a fund.
In a 2014 anthology edited by a University of Hong Kong history professor Phyllis Roberts, Jilin University professor Guo Yonghu wrote that in the 1950 and ’60s, the now-defunct US Information Agency operated a programme out of Hong Kong to broadcast to the mainland and supply information on China to media outlets around the world.
Additional reporting by Stuart Lau


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

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

Diplomacy or rivalry? Wise choices are needed if US-China ties are to pass the Trump test

Yun Tang sees uncertain times ahead for Washington’s relations with Beijing under Donald Trump’s hard-line White House, but the signs are that wisdom will prevail

Fishermen, who has just returned from fishing in disputed Scarborough shoal, unload fish from a boat in Subic, Zambales in the Philippines, November 1, 2016. REUTERS/Erik De Castro

Lowa governor Terry Branstad. (Pix provided by the office of the governnor of Iowa)

AFP PICTURES OF THE YEAR 2016 Demonstrators protest against US President-elect Donald Trump in front of Trump Tower on November 12, 2016 in New York. Americans spilled into the streets Saturday for a new day of protests against Donald Trump, even as the president-elect appeared to back away from the fiery rhetoric that propelled him to the White House. / AFP PHOTO / KENA BETANCUR

This handout photo taken on November 19, 2016 and released by the official APEC Peru 2016 organisation shows President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) chatting with China's President Xi Jinping (2nd R) at the start of the ABAC and APEC Leaders' Dialogue at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Lima. Pacific Rim leaders are meeting in Peru on November 19-20 to push for continued free trade against the backdrop of rising protectionism globally. / AFP PHOTO / APEC PERU 2016 / STR / -----EDITORS NOTE --- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO / APEC PERU 2016 " - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Image captured from a video posted on YouTube shows U.S. President-elect Donald Trump saying on Nov. 21, 2016 that he would stick to his plan of announcing a withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact upon being sworn in on Jan. 20, 2017. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Craig Stephens - Trump kmnot, print

This undated picture released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on November 26, 2016 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) inspecting the skiing training of the mountain infantry battalion under KPA Unit 1045 at an undisclosed location. / AFP PHOTO / KCNA VIA KNS / KNS / South Korea OUT / REPUBLIC OF KOREA OUT ---EDITORS NOTE--- RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT "AFP PHOTO/KCNA VIA KNS" - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS THIS PICTURE WAS MADE AVAILABLE BY A THIRD PARTY. AFP CAN NOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, LOCATION, DATE AND CONTENT OF THIS IMAGE. THIS PHOTO IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY AFP. /

News

China

Diplomacy

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