All the news that’s approved

Typically, English-language media publications out of mainland China aren’t much fun to read. Story after story parrots the party line and extolls the wonders of President Xi Jinping’s every move. Unless you want to examine how Beijing feels about a certain topic, there’s not much there.

That’s why many find the news site Sixth Tone a breath of fresh air. Foreign Policy described Sixth Tone as the type of site you might expect if “Vox were acquired by the Chinese Communist Party.” The Chinese site touts a modern, photo-heavy look and articles from “fresh voices from today’s China.” This week, you can read about the rise of marriage counseling in China, the “truth about China’s unknown millions of drug users,” and about a city with a high level of twin births.

The site has more freedom in its coverage than typical Chinese media since it is published only in English, meaning most Chinese people can’t read it. That makes for stories you wouldn’t find elsewhere. Here at China Snapshots, I’ve linked to its articles about hard-line Confucians who want to boycott Christmas and why Chinese people love drinking hot water.

Still, the site is under the control of Chinese propaganda departments, meaning writers must self-censor in order to get their work published. Sometimes this leads to stories that remain superficial, focusing on personal narratives rather than digging into the policies that affect the people. Other times stories are left with glaring omissions that leave the story more harmful than helpful.

For instance, in a recent story seeking to explain why young Chinese journalists are leaving the profession, the author mentioned low salaries, the lack of “authenticity” in Chinese media, and the competition from sensationalized WeChat news accounts. Missing in the article was the biggest, most obvious constraint journalists face: government censorship. By avoiding those words, the article doesn’t give the full picture of the situation and can’t offer any solutions to a real, growing problem. A young Chinese journalist recently told me he was considering leaving the profession because “You feel that there are very important stories you can’t write about. When this happens more and more, you feel your work has no meaning.”

Another recent article looked at how Chinese Christians have given their faith a local flair by creating a Chinese opera retelling the story of Jesus’ birth and writing hymns using Chinese musical styles and imagery. Yet the story fails to mention the government’s persecution of Christians. While noting that the Chinese created their own hymns “due to a shortage of Bibles and hymnals,” the article fails to explain how the Chinese government forbade the printing of Bibles and imprisoned those who illegally printed or owned Bibles.

In Sixth Tone’s reporting of straight news, the pushing of pro-Beijing stances is even more obvious. The site covered how the Chinese government called out dozens of multinational companies—such as the hotel chain Marriott, the retailer Zara, and the airline company Delta—for suggesting Taiwan and Hong Kong were countries separate from China. In Marriott’s case, the Chinese government also complained that a U.S.-based employee had “liked” a tweet supporting Tibetan independence, and officials forced the company to shut down its Chinese websites and apps for a week. Marriott complied and the company’s president called it “a huge mistake.”

Western media decried the action as “economic blackmail” and an assault on free speech, an instance of Beijing forcing its political views on foreign companies. Meanwhile, Sixth Tone called the company’s actions a “gaffe” and described Taiwan as a “renegade province,” a description used only by the Communist government. Even with a separate government, political system, and currency, Taiwan’s status has been left undetermined by the U.S. government out of fear of repercussions from Beijing. Yet most Taiwanese do not view themselves as a part of China.

Stolen IP: In a recent article on China’s intellectual property theft, I mentioned how the Chinese company Sinovel stole the codes to American Superconductor’s wind turbines. Last week, a federal jury in Madison, Wis., found Sinovel guilty on multiple charges, including conspiracy, trade-secret theft, and wire fraud. The sentencing is scheduled for June 4.