William Moss, a public relations professional and writer working in China since 2004, writes on his Imagethief blog:
Over the past few days, China’s communication strategy with regard to the Tibet riots has become clear. It has consisted roughly of the following:
Ban all international access so that Chinese media can monopolize images and on-site reporting
Cinch down on the Internet (here too) and international news sources so that messaging to domestic audiences can be tightly controlled
Demonize the Dalai Lama as the black hand behind the rioting in throwback, Cultural Revolution language, and drive the point home with images of rioting monksThese three are all true to type. But then it gets more interesting:
Harness as many Tibetan voices as possible in condemnation of the riots (more here)
Emphasize brutal Tibetan attacks on Han people (and a Western perspective)
Give Chinese Internet users free reign to vent their rage at ungrateful Tibetans who have bitten the hand that is lifting them into development (see also this AFP story quoting Danwei’s Jeremy Goldkorn and citing Mutant Palm’s work translating Chinese tweets, and John Kennedy’s Chinese Internet roundup at Global Voices)
For a good overview of the Chinese approach to all of this, see Mark Magnier’s interesting article on China’s PR efforts around the Tibet riots. It includes this damning quote from Chinese blogger and journalist Michael Anti:“The [Chinese] government is showing more confidence and learning more about spin,” said Michael Anti, a well-known Chinese blogger on a Nieman fellowship this year at Harvard. “They’ve learned more PR tactics from Western people. They see the way the White House and the Pentagon do it.”
