Reuters recently published a report that revealed the propaganda war that China has secretly been waging over the airwaves all across the world. According to a Reuters report, the Chinese government covertly owns 33 radio stations around the world and has been airing China-friendly news and manipulating its image.

For example, there is a radio station called WCRW that serves throughout the Washington D.C. area. The Chinese government owns this radio station and controls much of the content that goes on air, but this fact is not generally known. The Chinese government is using WCRW as a propaganda tool.

One of the specific examples of WCRW’s propaganda was a news report about the construction of China’s artificial islands in the disputed South Asia Sea. When countries across the world condemned China’s action in August of this year, WCRW responded to it by saying, “Tensions in the region were due to unnamed ‘external forces’ trying to insert themselves into this part of the world using false claims.”

“The Protests in Hong Kong Ended in Failure for Lack of Public Support”

When hackers intruded into the U.S. government computer networks to steal the personal information of its federal employees, WCRW omitted the fact that the U.S. government suspected the involvement of China. When the student-led, pro-democratic protests occurred in Hong Kong, it did not report on why people took to the street. Instead, its coverage said that the protests that could not gain public support, and that the movement had ended in failure.

A Reuters investigation has found that there are 33 such radio stations in 14 countries around the world. A Chinese state-run company, China Radio International (CRI), holds the majority share via local subsidiaries in these radio stations.

After a Reuters report, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) started an inquiry. Under a U.S. law that the FCC enforces, foreign individuals, governments, and corporations are permitted to hold up to a 20 percent ownership directly in a station in the U.S. However, CRI has a 60 percent ownership stake, via a subsidiary, in WCRW.

Japan Must Explain Its Stance to the International Community

This is part of an information war or verbal war that China is engaged in. The Chinese government is concealing the fact that it owns radio stations, which indicates that it has some dirty little secrets.

In the meantime, Japan has not put much emphasis on transmitting information and opinions to the world so far. Now that China is advancing into Asia with a clear intent of invasion, it is essential that Japan explains its stance and gets it across to the international community.

Japanese people value the traditional attitude of “silence is golden”, but “staying silent” in the international community means accepting other countries’ claims. There is an urgent need for Japan to voice its opinion loud and clear.