The Epoch Times - Misplaced Pages

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The Epoch Times (Simplified Chinese: 大纪元; Traditional Chinese: 大紀元; Pinyin: Dàjìyuán) is a Falun Gong-linked , politically conservative (by United States standards) Chinese newspaper distributed free-of-charge in roughly 30 countries worldwide and translated in more than ten languages. Billed by its publisher as "independent," the newspaper claims to have a special strength in its coverage of China and human rights issues, and frequently contains articles with strongly opinionated views on the Communist Party of China, mainland Chinese society, and groups against the CPC, especially Falun Gong. The authencity and supposed bias of the paper has often caught criticism.

The Epoch Times was founded by a small circle of journalists in China in 2000. Among them were practitioners and sympathizers of the Falun Gong meditation practice--persecuted and vilified in China since 1999--along with other dissidents frustrated with the lack of independent media in the country. According to the Epoch Times, they "wanted to reveal the great contrast between glowing media reports of prosperity in China and the egregious human rights abuses and intolerable conditions imposed upon large segments of Chinese society."

The journalists relayed stories overseas of human rights abuses, infringements on civil liberties, and alleged corruption in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), among other things. In the summer of 2000, it was discovered that all twenty journalists had been arrested and detained, their offices raided. Some have allegedly died in prison (the Epoch Times says that 90 of their Chinese journalists remain in prison today).

Despite crackdowns by authorities inside China, the Epoch Times continued to grow overseas and has since become one of the largest Chinese newspapers serving the Chinese diaspora. It also claims to be the only major Chinese newspaper that is not directly or indirectly controlled by China's communist party, and was the first newspaper to carry in-depth coverage of SARS well before the Chinese government publicly admitted that there was an epidemic. It now has a weekly print distribution of over 1 million copies in 30 countries worldwide.

In August 2004, an English-language edition of the Epoch Times was launched in Manhattan. It has since grown to be distributed in Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, Boston, Washington D.C., Houston, Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Regina, and Ottawa, as well as in the UK and Australia. German and French editions were launched in late 2004, and more recently Russian, Spanish, and Japanese editions have started up in print.

The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party

In November 2004, the Chinese version of The Epoch Times published and heavily promoted a series of editorials and a booklet entitled "Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party" (simplified Chinese: 九评共产党; traditional Chinese: 九評共產黨; pinyin: Jǐupíng Gòngchǎn dǎng), which won the “Asian American Issues - Online”National Journalism Award at the 2005 Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) convention held in August 2005. The editorials give an alternate exposé of the CPC through its history, from its ascent to power under Mao Zedong to its present-day form, as well as a condemnation of communism in all of its forms. It is written in the propagandistic style of 'Nine Commentaries on the Soviet Communist Party', a 1963 Chinese publication, attacking Nikita Khrushchev. Portions of the history given by the Commentaries are allegedly difficult to support using traditionally respected history texts of 20th century China, which supporters of the "Commentaries" attribute to the CPC's need for control and tendency to try to cover up its more damaging actions. According to them, this results in a wealth of information that is often hard to come by and difficult to report on. It is unclear how Epoch Times obtains some of this information, as it lacks any footnotes or references of sources. The prevailing tone of the editorials is staunchly anti-communist with no consideration given to other viewpoints, and considered by some to be anti-communist propaganda. This attitude is attributed to the assumption that the intended Chinese audience who already knows the other side of the story need not be reminded of it.

The "Commentaries" were subsequently rendered into other languages. Readers of the English version often find the "Commentaries" to be rather one-sided and contain language that is overblown and unbelievable, making them difficult to take seriously. Much of this may be the result of a more literal translation from the original Chinese text. The editorial often uses unusual phrases to describe the CPC, calling it 'an Anti-Universe Force', 'an evil spirit from the West', and that the Chinese Communist Party is the 'red dragon' mentioned in the book of Revelations of the Bible. Such phrases are similar to the ones used by the CPC to outlaw Falun Gong, such as denouncing each other of being 'evil cults'. The tone is said to be geared towards the communication style to which mainland Chinese readers, mostly who grew up during the Cultural Revolution would be accustomed to. It is also said that such readers have usually been exposed to years of government propaganda, rarely gaining access to alternative information about their government, although it is not circulated in mainland China itself. While praised by some Chinese dissidents as having an adverse effect on the political control of the CPC, its contents are controversial and disputed by others who call it historical revisionism and Falun Gong propaganda. Because such text is banned in China, the paper often sends unsolicited junk mail to spread their message inside mainland China. .

In December 2005, the author of the "Nine Commentaries" was identified as Zheng Peichun, a Chinese dissident, who was arrested on the charge of crimes against the state and was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment . The paper has published a follow-up to the Nine Commentaries, The Real Story of Jiang Zemin.

CPC Renunciations and Controversy

The Epoch Times claims that the publication of the "Commentaries" and its subsequent call to CPC members to "erase the beastly brand" has caused more than 10.4 million CPC members to resign. The Epoch Times obtains this number by tallying renunciation statements submitted to them via internet, fax, email, or telephone. This methodology is not scientific and widely disputed, and may not reflect the actual number of CPC resignations within China since anyone regardless of Chinese citizenship or CPC membership could submit their name and be counted as a person who has claimed to have renounced their CPC membership. Submissions include anonymous and unverifiable online signatures, duplicate signatures, and public declarations for people inside mainland China unable to access the online website due to censorship. The count also includes any renunciations of past or current association with any CPC-affiliated organization. At their Chinese language renunciation website , it was stated that "the evils of the Communist Cult will be punished by God at Judgment Day", "The CPC will be destroyed in 2005" , and called members of the CPC to burn Communist memorabilia. However such renunciations are not recognised as valid and official by the CPC, as they are not conducted through the proper channels via the party .

The Epoch Times has also reported severe unrest in China as a direct result of the publication of the "Commentaries", but no major news outlet has verified the paper's claims concerning the effects of the "Commentaries". The Epoch Times has been accused by some of wanting to overthrow the Chinese government without any guiding political philosophy. Regardless, the commentaries have had no discernible effect on Chinese politics, and no CPC official in either the central or regional governments is known to have resigned on account of the "Commentaries".

References

Susan V. Lawrence, Falun Gong Adds Media Weapons In Struggle With China's Rulers - Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Apr 14, 2004. pg. B.2I

External links

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