CDT has recently acquired and verified a collection of propaganda directives issued by central Party authorities to state media at the beginning of this year. These directives were issued on an almost daily basis in early 2020, and we will be posting them over the coming weeks. The following four directives were released on January 15, 2020.
Please take care to block this video, which violates regulations: Korean drama "Psychopath Diary." (January 15, 2020) [Source]
"Ssaikopaeseu Daieori" is [POSSIBLE SPOILERS] the story of a serial killer who loses the diary in which he has recorded his murders, and of his father’s timid employee who finds the diary, loses his memory, and comes to believe that the diary is his own and that he is therefore the killer. K-drama ensues.
Reminder! On the signing of the Phase One Economic and Trade Agreement between China and the United States:
1. Do not report live or livestream the signing ceremony, and do not carry livestreams from CCTV’s higher-level news channels or from CGTN.
2. For wire copy on the signing, strictly follow Xinhua copy as the standard. Do not modify headlines, take any independent actions, or cite information from other sources, especially information from outside of China. Strictly adhere to authoritative information when reporting on the press conference held in the U.S. by the Chinese delegation. It is strictly forbidden to republish or report old news about Sino-U.S. trade relations.
3. Strengthen supervision of online public opinion. Promptly find and deal with harmful information suggesting that we submitted or surrendered; playing up one-sided benefit; suggesting that the agreement violates WTO rules; starting or spreading rumors; inciting boycotts of the agreement, fear or adulation of the U.S., or pessimistic views of our economic prospects; or attacking the system or process. (January 15, 2020) [Source]
Issued on the day of the agreement’s signing, this is part of a series of instructions on handling of the Sino-U.S. trade agreement and preceding negotiations.
Reports related to Iran’s mistaken attack on the Ukrainian passenger plane must hold reliably to our officially stated position. Cite foreign media with caution, do not lend endorsement to American or other Western sensationalism, and do not play up negative information about Iran.
Regarding protest activities within Iran, cite foreign media reports with caution, do not blindly pile on, do not hype, and do not lend endorsement to American or other Western smearing of Iran’s image or incitement of conflict within the country. Exercise moderation in reporting on the brief detention of the U.K. ambassador to Iran, and appropriately expose and criticize Western double standards and underhand practices of inciting color revolution and interfering in other countries’ internal affairs.
Regarding issues with unilateral American sanctions on Iran that involve China, handle reports on Sino-Iranian cooperation cautiously. Particularly avoid the appearance of specific details on financial institutions, businesses, ports, transactions, etc. involved in our cooperation with Iran. Do not associate conflicts between the U.S. and Iran with Sino-Iranian or Sino-U.S. relations. (January 15, 2020) [Source]
Iran acknowledged on January 11 that it accidentally shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 near Tehran on January 8. Also on January 11, British ambassador Rob Macaire was detained for three hours in Tehran after attending a vigil for the 176 mostly Iranian or Iranian-Canadian victims. Macaire claimed that "I left after 5 mins, when some started chanting," but was accused by the Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Tasnim news agency of having tried to "organise, instigate and direct some of the radical and destructive actions" in the subsequent protest. Similar accusations have arisen in China with the endorsement of bodies such as the Communist Youth League and Global Times, particularly focusing on Western consular observers at rights lawyers’ trials after the 2015 "709" or "Black Friday" crackdown, and U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman over his presence on Wangfujing at the time of a planned "Jasmine Revolution" protest in 2011.
Reminder: Regarding the article "Cherishing Hong Kong as Our Common Home—An Address at the Central Government’s Hong Kong Liaison Office’s 2020 Spring Festival Reception," on Comrade Luo Huining’s speech at the Spring Festival Reception, news sections must not send pop-ups or give placement on site-wide or news front pages. Weibo, WeChat, Tieba, and other forums, and interactive platforms such as Zhihu and Douban, must not set up special topics or hot searches. Thoroughly clean up harmful information. (January 15, 2020) [Source]
Luo was installed as Beijing’s "enforcer" in Hong Kong at the start of January, after his predecessor Wang Zhimin’s removal amid the fallout from last year’s anti-extradition, pro-democracy protests. An earlier order directed coverage of the personnel change. China Daily’s Willa Wu reported on Luo’s address:
The central government’s new liaison chief in Hong Kong said on Wednesday that ending violence and chaos remains the most pressing task for the city, and appealed to the community to cherish Hong Kong and uphold the “one country, two systems” principle.
[…] In his 18-minute welcoming speech, Luo noted that Hong Kong had not completely emerged from the prolonged social unrest, which has dragged Hong Kong’s economy into a recession and severely affected the residents’ lives.
Luo then called on the whole community to cherish their home by making best use of “one country, two systems”, upholding the core values of the rule of law and a civilized society, and realizing the aspiration of prosperity and development.
“Harmony in a family makes everything successful,” Luo said, quoting President Xi Jinping, who made the remarks during his inspection tour in Macao late last month. [Source]
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. Some instructions are issued by local authorities or to specific sectors, and may not apply universally across China. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source. See CDT’s collection of Directives from the Ministry of Truth since 2011.
