All major outlets in western mainstream media attended private dinners and accepted sponsored trips from Chinese Communist propaganda front CUSEF, The National Pulse has reported. According to the report, journalists from CNN, The Washington Post, The New York Times and MSNBC have participated in these private dinners and sponsored trips.
The events were organized by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), a group funded by the Chinese Communist Party, in order to garner “favorable coverage” and “disseminate positive messages” regarding China.
Other media organizations are reported to include Forbes, the Financial Times, Newsweek, Bloomberg, Reuters, ABC News, the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, AFP, TIME magazine, LA Times, The Hill, BBC, and The Atlantic.
As per the report, the relationship between the mainstream media and the CUSEF was revealed in the Department of Justice’s Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings. A 2014 FARA filing revealed that over 20 attendees from top western media organizations attended a private dinner by CUSEF.
CUSEF is reported to be a CCP initiative founded by Tung Chee Hwa. Tung is also the Vice-Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a key component of CCP’s United Front.
CUSEF pushes the Chinese Communist Party’s agenda, neutralises opposition: Report
American universities are also targeted by CUSEF with offers to fund policy research, high-level dialogues, and exchange programs. The objective of the United Front, as per a US Government report, is “to co-opt and neutralize sources of potential opposition to the policies and authority of its ruling Chinese Communist Party.” “The United Front strategy uses a range of methods to influence overseas Chinese communities, foreign governments, and other actors to take actions or adopt positions supportive of Beijing’s preferred policies,” it adds.
