The West Assembles Its Media Arsenal

By Jamie Wright

During the lead-up to the CPCs 100th anniversary on July 1， Western media platforms assembled an army of antisocialist thought leaders in what looked to be a concerted propaganda effort.

Editors at prestigious news publications handed thousands of inches of prime media real estate to commentators with links to government agencies and defense-affiliated think tanks.

Strikingly， almost all authors appeared to be reading from the same hymn sheet.

The Wall Street Journal chose to give a platform to Andrew J. Nathan， a professor of political science at Columbia University and former board member of the National Endowment for Democracy （NED）. The NED is a U.S. government agency funded by Congress with the stated aim of fostering political change around the world. The organization played a key role in the unrest witnessed in Hong Kong. Its founder Allen Weinstein famously remarked， “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the Central Intelligence Agency.” Nathan pushed the idea that the Chinese Government is on the verge of a “crisis of legitimacy.”

For its commentary of the centenary， CNBC called on the services of Frederick Kempe， President and CEO of one of Americas most influential think tanks， the Atlantic Council. The think tank notably receives funding from the U.S. State Department， the Marine Corps， and a host of private defense contractors. Kempe attempts to present the Chinese Government as being racked by feelings of doubt and unease. The reason for such “nervousness，” he explains， is due to Chinas “inevitable” domestic upheavals.

Jude Blanchette， who holds a senior position at the Center for Strategic and International Studies （CSIS）， also pushed a narrative centered around paranoia and impending doom. The CSIS China chief used his platform in Foreign Affairs to lament Chinas political system and criticize its leadership. He argued that the belief the CPC must guide the economy “will constrain the countrys future economic growth.”

In keeping with the trend of providing a platform to Five-Eyes-allied think tank leaders， The Guardian invited Richard McGregor， senior fellow at the Lowy Institute， to chronicle the CPCs 100-year history. As could be expected， many of the countrys achievements were omitted and only its most tumultuous periods were given prominence. The author ended by floating the quite ridiculous idea that the government could be headed toward “a full-blown succession crisis and an ugly split at the top.”