<
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/6/china-media-coverage-ukraine-war>
"Hong Kong, China – China may portray itself as a neutral party in the war in
Ukraine, but the message it communicates to its audience at home tells a
different story.
State news agency Xinhua calls the war “a special military operation” and “the
Russia-Ukraine crisis” but never refers to it as an invasion. CCTV, the state
broadcaster, mentioned civilian casualties for the first time only three weeks
after Russia invaded. More recently, state outlets doubled down on the Russian
conspiracy theory claiming the US is funding the development of biological
weapons in Ukraine, including migratory birds that could spread avian viruses
in Russia.
How the war has been framed in Chinese state media is a reflection of where the
government stands.
China has not condemned Russia over the invasion of a sovereign nation with
which Beijing has strong economic ties, instead talking of “legitimate security
concerns” that need to be discussed by “all parties”. And while there has been
outrage in the West over the discovery in recent days of civilians allegedly
killed by Russian troops in Bucha, coverage in Chinese state media has been
brief, despite a recent subtle shift of tone to acknowledge the human toll.
Since the start of hostilities more than a month ago, one theme has remained
consistent: the United States is the villain."
Via Muse.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
