Ahead of the 25th EU–China Summit on 24 July in Beijing, an international media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has urged European Union (EU) leaders to push back against China’s growing efforts to spread propaganda within Europe, and to press for the immediate release of Swedish publisher Gui Minhai, who was abducted by Chinese authorities 10 years ago.
In preparation for the 25th EU–China
Summit, RSF has sent a letter to European Council President Antonio Costa and
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for press freedom
and the right to reliable information to be made key issues in bilateral
negotiations with China. EU leaders must demand the release of Gui Minhai, a
Swedish publisher and the only EU national among the 123 journalists and press
freedom defenders currently detained by Beijing. These journalists are often
held in appalling conditions that pose a direct threat to their lives.
In a press statement, the RSF Director for Advocacy & Assistance, Antoine Bernard, says as China continues to heavily invest in expanding its media footprint abroad — seeking to reshape China-related narratives and export their authoritarian model into European democracies — they also urge the EU to strengthen protections for the right to reliable information.
'This should be
done through the forthcoming European Democracy Shield and the revision of the
Audiovisual Media Services Directive, to better regulate the activities of
foreign propaganda outlets, particularly Chinese state-controlled media within
the EU, such as broadcaster China Global Television Network (CGTN).
'The European Union cannot turn a blind eye to the arbitrary
detention of one of its own citizens. As EU leaders prepare to visit China,
they must make the conclusion of any agreement contingent on the release of Gui
Minhai, who will soon mark ten years since his abduction. The EU must also take
decisive action to counter Beijing’s disinformation and influence operations,
which threaten the integrity of information and, by extension, the safety of
Europe.'
Gui Minhai, the founder of a publishing house known for its
investigative books on Chinese politics, was abducted in Thailand while on
holiday in 2015, only to reappear a year later in a televised forced confession
in China. In February 2020, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison on bogus
espionage charges. His only daughter, Angela Gui, has not received any news about him since and is unaware of his
whereabouts, as Chinese authorities continue to withhold all information.
Since Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, China has reinstated
a media culture reminiscent of the Mao era, in which independent reporting is
criminalised and severely punished.
The EU-China summit does present a strategic opportunity for
the European Union to address concerns over propaganda and disinformation, but
whether it should be used primarily to denounce China’s global
influence campaigns depends on broader diplomatic goals.
Because of
its expanding global narrative from
the Belt and Road Initiative to pandemic narratives and Taiwan, China has
sought to promote a version of global events that often conflicts with Western
democratic values and factual accuracy. The
West is not happy with it and hence raising the issue publicly sends a
signal not just to China but to audiences in Africa, Asia, and Latin America,
where both sides compete for influence.
But the West
also knows that China remains its
major trading partner. Harsh public criticism might backfire economically,
especially for countries like Germany, France, and Italy with significant
exports to China.
Experts
suggest that iInstead of making denunciation the summit's central theme,
the EU could:
- Include
disinformation and information security on the agenda.
- Push
for transparency commitments from Chinese media outlets operating in
Europe.
- Coordinate
digital literacy and media resilience programs within the EU and with
global partners.
- Strengthen
the EU's own global narrative capability rather than just reacting to
China's.
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