Front gate of the main building of Xinhua News Agency in Beijing

The Xinhua News Agency (Simplified Chinese: 新华社; Traditional Chinese: 新華社; Pinyin: xīn huá shè), or NCNA (New China News Agency), is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is one of the two news agencies in the PRC, the other being the China News Service. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Download high resolution version (784x1482, 553 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (784x1482, 553 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Xinhua (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), literally, New China, is typically used to refer to the era of the rule of the Peoples Republic of China (starting in 1949). ... Simplified Chinese character (Simplified Chinese: or ; Traditional Chinese: or ; pinyin: or ) is one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of printed contemporary Chinese written language, simplified from traditional Chinese by the Peoples Republic of China in an attempt to promote literacy. ... Traditional Chinese characters refers to one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... In journalism, news agencies are bodies established to supply news reports to newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. ... The China News Service (中国新闻社; pinyin: Zhong1 Guo2 Xin1 Wen2 She4, or 中新社 zhong1 xin1 she4 for short) is the second largest news agency in Mainland China. ...

Xinhua is an institution of the State Council of China. Some critics of Xinhua therefore consider it to be an instrument of state-sponsored propaganda. Reporters Without Borders has called it "the world's biggest propaganda agency",^[1] although its worldwide press freedom index ranking has improved in the past years. The State Council (国务院, pinyin: Guówùyuàn) is the chief civilian administrative body of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during the World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from during the Cultural Revolution. ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontières, Spanish: Reporteros Sin Fronteras, or RSF) is a French origin international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, founded by its current general-secretary, Robert Menard. ... Reporters Without Borders, or RWB (French: Reporters sans frontières, Spanish: Reporteros Sin Fronteras, or RSF) is a French origin international non-governmental organization that advocates freedom of the press, founded by its current general-secretary, Robert Menard. ...

In many ways, Xinhua is the fuel propelling China's print media. Perhaps unique in the world because of its role, size, and reach, Xinhua reports directly to the Communist Party of China's Propaganda Department; employs more than 10,000 people — as compared to about 1,300 for Reuters; has 107 bureaus worldwide both collecting information on other countries and dispensing information about China; and maintains 31 bureaus in China — one for each province plus a military bureau. As most of the newspapers in China cannot afford to station correspondents abroad, or even in every Chinese province, they rely on Xinhua feeds to fill their pages. People's Daily, for example, uses Xinhua material for approximately 25 percent of its stories. Xinhua is a publisher as well as a news agency — it owns more than 20 newspapers and a dozen magazines, and it prints in Chinese, English, Spanish, French, Russian, and Arabic. The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... Reuters Group plc (LSE: RTR and NASDAQ: RTRSY); pron. ... The Peoples Daily (Chinese: 人民日报 Pinyin ) is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ...

Like other government entities, Xinhua is feeling the pinch of reduced state financial subsidies. Beijing has been cutting funding to the news agency by an average of seven percent per year over the past three years, and state funds currently cover only about 40 percent of Xinhua's costs. As a result, the agency is raising revenues through involvement in public relations, construction, and information service businesses. Public relations (PR): Building sustainable relations with all publics in order to create a postive brand image. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

In the past, Xinhua was able to attract the top young journalists emerging from the universities or otherwise newly entering the field, but it can no longer do so as easily because of the appeal and resources of other newspapers and periodicals and the greater glamour of television and radio jobs. For example, midlevel reporters for the Xinmin Evening News in Shanghai often are given an apartment, whereas at Xinhua and People's Daily this benefit is reserved for the most senior journalists. Xinmin Evening News ( Chinese: 新民晚报 Pinyin: Xīnmín Wǎnbào), formerly known as Xinmin Po, is a newspaper published since September, 1929 in Shanghai, China. ...

History

The Xinhua press agency was started in November 1931 as the Red China News Agency and changed to its current name in 1937. It began broadcasting to foreign countries in English from 1944.

The Xinhua headquarters is located in Beijing. The Xinhua News Agency established its first overseas affiliate in 1948. Now it distributes its news in Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Africa where run the superior offices; in Hong Kong, Macau and many foreign countries and districts. There are more than one hundred Xinhua affiliates. Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ;  ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... World map showing the location of Asia. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Latin America consists of the countries of South America and some of North America (including Central America and some the islands of the Caribbean) whose inhabitants mostly speak Romance languages, although Native American languages are also spoken. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ...

Today, Xinhua News Agency delivers its news across the world in seven languages including Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Arabic, etc., as well as news pictures and other kinds of news. It has made contracts to exchange news and news pictures with more than eighty foreign news agencies or political news departments. Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ...

Unlike the People's Daily, which is an organization of the Communist Party of China rather than of the PRC government, Xinhua rarely offers editorials, but rather passes through speeches by government officials. Its position set as a platform of receiving and distributing the information all over the world and thus it covers the world news, live news and exclusive reports. (source: [1]) The Peoples Daily (Chinese: 人民日报 Pinyin ) is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ...

Like many other media organizations, Xinhua struggled to find the "right line" to use in covering the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. Although more cautious than People's Daily in its treatment of sensitive topics during that period — such as how to commemorate reformist Communist Party leader Hu Yaobang's April 1989 death, the then ongoing demonstrations in Beijing and elsewhere, and basic questions of press freedom and individual rights — Xinhua gave some favorable coverage to demonstrators and intellectuals who were questioning top party leaders. Even so, many Xinhua reporters were angry with top editors for not going far enough and for suppressing stories about the Tiananmen Square crackdown. For several days after the violence on 4 June, almost no-one at Xinhua did any work, and journalists demonstrated inside the Agency's Beijing compound. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labour activists in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. ... The Peoples Daily (Chinese: 人民日报 Pinyin ) is the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. ... Hu Yaobang (Chinese: 胡耀邦 Pinyin: Hú Yàobāng, Wade-Giles: Hu Yao-pang) (November 20, 1915 – April 15, 1989) was a leader of the Peoples Republic of China. ... June 4 is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2001, Hong Kong-listed media company Sing Tao News Corporation Limited invested in joint ventures with Xinhua News Agency to set up a market information Web site and offer audio and visual services planning and consulting. Sing Tao News Corporation Limited (Traditional Chinese: ) SEHK: 1105 is a Hong Kong listed company. ... WWWs historical logo designed by Robert Cailliau The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked, hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. ...

Xinhua and the internal media

The Chinese media's internal publication system, in which certain journals are published exclusively for government and party officials, provides information and analysis not generally available to the public. The State values these internal reports because they contain much of China's most sensitive, controversial, and high-quality investigative journalism. Investigative journalism is a kind of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or some other scandal. ...

Xinhua and many other Chinese media organizations produce reports for the "internal" journals. Informed observers note that journalists generally like to write for the internal publications — typically, only the most senior or most capable print and broadcast reporters are given such opportunities — because they can write less polemical and more comprehensive stories without having to omit unwelcome details as is commonly done in the print media directed to the general public.

The Chinese government's internal media publication system follows a strict hierarchical pattern designed to facilitate party control. A publication called Reference Information (Cankao Ziliao) — which includes translated articles from abroad as well as news and commentary by senior Xinhua reporters — is delivered by Xinhua personnel, rather than by the national mail system, to officials at the working level and above. A three-to-ten-page report called Internal Reference (Neibu Cankao) is distributed to officials at the ministerial level and higher. The most highly classified Xinhua internal reports, known as "redhead reference" (Hong Tou Cankao) reports, are issued occasionally to the top dozen or so party and government officials. Reference News (参考消息, Pinyin: Cankao Xiaoxi), began at December 7, 1931, is the daily with the largest circulation in China[1]. It is published by Xinhua News Agency, and was available only to high officials at first. ...

There are signs that the internal publication system is breaking down as more information becomes widely available in China. A Hong Kong-based political journal circulated on the Chinese mainland has questioned the need for such a system in light of China's modern telecommunications and expanding contacts with the outside world. Internal publications are becoming less exclusive; some are now being sold illegally on the street and are increasingly available to anyone with money. Copy of the original phone of Alexander Graham Bell at the Musée des Arts et Métiers in Paris Telecommunication is the transmission of signals over a distance for the purpose of communication. ...

Xinhua in Hong Kong

Xinhua's branch in Hong Kong was not just a press office. It was named a news agency under the special historic conditions before the territory's sovereignty was transferred from Britain to the PRC, because the PRC did not recognise British sovereignty over the colony, and an embassy cannot be set up within what it considered its soil. Until 1997, it served as the de facto diplomatic mission of the PRC in the territory. It was authorized by the special administrative region government to continue to represent the central government after 1997, and it was renamed The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong SAR on January 18, 2000. The State Council appointed Gao Siren (高祀仁) as the director in August 2002. After renaming as liaison office, a Xinhua Agency which is a true press office was set up. De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without... - Seal on the building of German Embassies. ... Special administrative region may be: Peoples Republic of China Special administrative regions, present-day administrative divisions (as of 2006) set up by the Peoples Republic of China to administer Hong Kong (since 1997) and Macau (since 1999) Republic of China Special administrative regions, also translated as special administrative... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. ... is the 18th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The State Council (国务院, pinyin: Guówùyuàn), which is largely synonymous with the Central Peoples Government (中央人民政府), is the chief administrative authority of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Gao Siren (Simplified Chinese: 高祀仁) is the current (since 2002) director of the Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. ... Entrance on Connaught Road West Sign at entrance Entrance on Des VÅ“ux Road West The Liaison Office of the Central Peoples Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Simplified Chinese: 中央人民政府驻香港特別行政区联络办公室) is an organ of the Central Peoples Government of the Peoples Republic of China, responsible...

As suggested by the name change, Xinhua's present role is mainly about liaison with the broad spectrum of groups and associations in Hong Kong, or what is known as "united front" work in the terminology of the Communist Party of China. The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ...

According to some press reports in Hong Kong, the Liaison Office was under pressure from Beijing after the July 1 mass protest in 2003. Beijing officials reportedly criticised the Liaison Office for its inaccurate assessment of the public sentiment in Hong Kong during that period. is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The former Hong Kong headquarters of Xinhua in Wan Chai was vacated in 2001, when the office relocated to Sai Wan, and sold in September 2002. The 23-storey building will be converted back into a four-star hotel with 480 rooms. Located at 387 Queen's Road East, the 1970s building had been Xinhua's home for more than 20 years. See Wan Chai District for the broader administrative district that covers Wan Chai, Causeway Bay, Happy Valley, etc. ... West Point or Sai Wan (西環) is an area in Hong Kong that corresponds to Sai Ying Pun, Shek Tong Tsui, Belcher Bay and Kennedy Town. ... A painting of Queens Road Central in 1865 The Japanese army marched into the City on 26 December 1941, following the fall of Hong Kong. ...

Previous directors of Hong Kong Xinhua

Xu Jiatun (許家屯) headed the Hong Kong branch of Xinhua until 1990, when he fled to the United States amid accusations that he sympathized with Beijing students during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 were a series of demonstrations led by students, intellectuals, and labour activists in the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) between April 15, 1989 and June 4, 1989. ...

Xu angered Beijing when he comforted Hong Kong students who staged a hunger strike outside the Xinhua office in support of the pro-democracy movement in Beijing in 1989. Years after, he joined to appeal for a reversal of the official verdict that the demonstrations were a "counter-revolutionary rebellion".

Zhou Nan (周南) succeeded exiled Xu Jiatun as the director of Xinhua in Hong Kong after the 1989 Tiananmen Square Crackdown. Zhou henceforth played a key role in the 13-year Sino-British argument on the handover in 1997.

During the hostile years, Zhou named Hong Kong's last governor Chris Patten as a 'sinner of a thousand years'. He said Patten had committed 'three violations', referring to Patten's political reforms, branded by Beijing as a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, the Hong Kong Basic Law, and understandings between the two sovereign nations. Christopher Francis Patten, Baron Patten of Barnes, CH, PC (born 12 May 1944 in Bath, Somerset) is a prominent British Conservative politician and a Patron of the Tory Reform Group. ... The Sino-British Joint Declaration, formally known as the Joint Declaration of the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Peoples Republic of China on the Question of Hong Kong, was signed by the Prime Ministers of the Peoples... Cover of Index to the Basic Law The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the Peoples Republic of China (中華人民共和國香港特別行政區基本法; or in short 香港基本法 or 基本法) serves as the constitutional document of Hong Kong. ...

Zhang Junsheng (張浚生), former Xinhua vice-director, was brought into the agency by its former Hong Kong director, Xu Jiatun, in 1985. He was one of the few pre-1989 staff to survive the post-Tiananmen purge. For 13 years, he was one of the few Xinhua officers who enjoy publicity by building up contacts in the film and arts world as the agency's cultural attaché.

His most famous manoeuvre was to repeat criticism of the Bill of Rights made in confidence by then-chief justice Sir Ti Liang Yang. Zhang also openly called Hong Kong's last governor Chris Patten a liar. He accused Patten of trying to create chaos in the civil service by undermining its neutrality. Yang Ti-liang (楊鐵樑) (born 1928) is a retired judge in Hong Kong and a former Chief Justice of Hong Kong (1988-1997). ...

Xinhua in Macau

A Xinhua News Agency branch was set up in Macau in the late 80s. The News Department of the Xinhua news Agency Macau Branch, a working organ sent by the central people's government of the PRC, is responsible for gathering news. The latter was renamed the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Macau SAR.

Xinhua online

The Xinhua News Agency runs the prominent news website Xinhuanet.com, which provides news in six different languages.

See also

• Xinhua Finance
• Reference News
• China News Service
• Media in the People's Republic of China

This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Reference News (参考消息, Pinyin: Cankao Xiaoxi), began at December 7, 1931, is the daily with the largest circulation in China[1]. It is published by Xinhua News Agency, and was available only to high officials at first. ... The China News Service (中国新闻社; pinyin: Zhong1 Guo2 Xin1 Wen2 She4, or 中新社 zhong1 xin1 she4 for short) is the second largest news agency in Mainland China. ... Within the Peoples Republic of China, there is heavy government involvement in the media, with many of the largest media organizations (namely CCTV, the Peoples Daily, and Xinhua) being agencies of the Chinese government. ...

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Xinhua News Agency

• Official sites of the Xinhua News Agency in different languages:
  • 中文简体
  • 中文繁體
  • English
  • عربية
  • Français
  • Español
  • Русский язык

• Criticism of the powers given to Xinhua:
  • Beijing Big Brother Gets Bigger